Terminology Tuesday (Tricks of the Trade) – Dollar Stores

(Note: I think it’s important to know the terminology and words used when learning any new business including mobile home investing. I came up with ‘Terminology Tuesday’ as a way to go over the terminology used in the mobile home business. It’s important to know the terminology when talking to people in the business so you’re all on the same page).

**** Tricks of the Trade is a new series I have started that will be included with “Terminology Tuesday” posts. The goal of this series is to share with you the “tricks of the trade” I have learned in the mobile home business.

When first getting into the mobile home biz, I had heard and seen dollar type stores usually driving around the parks. I think, some of us may have passed by one at some point in our lives. They all have different names (i.e. 99¢ store, Dollar General, Family Dollar Store, The Dollar Store, etc). But, what exactly are these places all about?

To be honest, I had never been in a dollar type of store in my life before the mobile home biz. Sure, I had heard of them and seen them around. But, honestly – I just didn’t know what they were all about.

It wasn’t until earlier in my mobile home investing career when I was having lunch with one of the park managers that the topic even came up. As I remember, we were talking about the different types of places folks go to shop who live in the parks.

At the time, I was in study mode. My mission was to learn all I can about the habits of folks who lived in mobile home parks including where they ate, shopped and went out for fun. Seriously, I was studying what it was like to live in a mobile home park.

(Note: For some reading this, you may think it’s a bit odd. Though, I have to admit – the mobile home biz and the world I once knew are two completely separate worlds. To be honest, from where I came from – the mobile home biz and way of life was just not compatible to the lifestyle and crowd I grew up around. To make a long story short, let’s just say I was a gal who grew up in this type of world. And, being in this business and meeting folks in the parks has truly humbled me as a human being).

In any case, the topic of dollar stores had come up. I was the one who brought it up and asked the park manager, “What are they all about?” And, I went on to tell her – I’ve never been in one in my life.

To my amazement, she was shocked. She just couldn’t believe it. Without hesitation, this park manager told me I absolutely have to go into one and check them out. She went on to tell me the benefits of dollar stores and how folks in the parks raved about them.

As a novice, I asked the park manager what types of things folks bought. She told me all kinds of things. Then, she went on to list her favorite things to pick up at these dollar type stores.

After lunch and upon her advice, I went to check one out very near to the park. In fact, the park manager told me this particular store was a popular one residents frequented – I’m glad I made the visit.

To my surprise, I found many items that were useful not only for personal use but for business use as well. There were even items I spotted that I could use to help get homes ready and fixed up before showings including this item here.

From this experience alone, I discovered a new world which was unknown to me. And, now – I do make it a point to visit dollar stores on a regular basis.

To give you an idea of some of the items you may find at these dollar type stores, here’s a video my pal Jolene SugarBaker the Trailer Park Queen, made on her finds during a recent trip:

Video Link

(Note: For those of you who may have missed it, I posted a real cool video she did about what it’s like to live in a park here).

So, what do you think? Pretty cool stuff! 🙂

(Note: If you’ve ever been to any type of dollar store, I’d definitely be interested in hearing about your experience. Thanks for reading!)

I hope this “Terminology Tuesday” post has been helpful and has given you some useful information – it definitely has for me.

Happy investing!

p.s. Feel free to leave comments on any post either here and/or my Facebook Page. Comments are always welcome, thanks for reading!