Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Flatt.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve always been interested in the world of collectibles. Each piece represents a memory frozen in time. I set up a table as a vendor at my very first event in 1988 at age 11. Like many 80s kids, I started out in the sports card hobby but eventually branched out into more pop culture related collectibles like toys and comic books. I opened my first retail location in April 2002 near Cookeville and remained there until October of 2013. I then moved to Wilson County and refocused my business going to a convention only model and investing more time and energy into building sales online through social media.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Selling non-essential items dependent on your customer’s disposable income can be a roller coaster ride. We’ve endured many economic challenges over the years. We’ve tried to stay ahead of the curve and operate in a manner keeping overhead low to ensure long term survival. 2020 presented an entirely new set of challenges that we had never faced before. The Covid pandemic shut down all events so conventions were non-existent. We had to regroup quickly and decided we should continue to leverage our social media following being among the first to really go all in on Facebook Live sales in our industry and “Virtual Autograph Signings” which proved to be a big win. The success we had in 2020 set us up to re-open a brick and mortar retail location sooner than we had planned.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Our tagline is: “We sell memories. Stop by and rediscover your childhood.” Nostalgia is a powerful drug. We all romanticize about days gone by and a simpler time. Everyone has those core memories from childhood usually centered around their favorite movie or TV show, their favorite song or bands, video games, toys, etc. We wanted to recapture that. 80s and 90s kids are now adults, many with children of their own. Creating an atmosphere that takes them back and pushes them to pass on their love of the things from their youth to the next generation is what drives us. All the collectible stores within an hour radius of Nashville have different specialties and different vibes. Although we carry a full line of all the popular toy lines, we have found great success in the world of pro wrestling. That stems from our convention days. We would routinely see major wrestling stars from the 80s and 90s signing autographs as guests at comic cons. They would often have longer lines that some of the Hollywood A-listers at neighboring tables. Wrestling fans were turning out in droves to meet them then they had nothing else to spend their money on so they would just leave. We found a segment of the consumer base that was being ignored and underserved so we pushed more in that direction. For better or worse, depending on your thoughts on pro wrestling, it gave us an identity and forced other vendors to embrace that genre of entertainment as well when they saw our success. Now every collectibles store sells wrestling merchandise and there are usually multiple vendors selling wrestling related collectibles at every convention.
What does success mean to you?
Success is making a comfortable living and providing for your family doing something you love while inspiring others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.MusicCityToys.biz
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MusicCityToys
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/MusicCityToys
- Twitter: https://x.com/MusicCityToys
- Other: https://tiktok.com/@MusicCityToys
