Prospects Thrift Store – Michelle Staehli

June Meet the Members features Michelle Staehli and her business Prospect Thrift Store.

Here’s a word from Michelle…

“Hello my name is Michelle Staehli, I am the owner of Prospects Thrift Store. We recently celebrated our 10th Anniversary! I was born and raised in Alberta, and moved to Whistler to snowboard in 1993. I met my husband at work in Whistler, and his family has been in Pemberton for 3 generations. I moved to Pemberton in 2000. I am almost a local.”

We asked Michelle what brought her to being a business owner and she responded, “I wasn’t looking for a career change, but left a 20year position at Whistler Blackcomb to be closer to our kids who had serious medical conditions – it was then that I bought the local Thrift Store (which has been in the same location for nearly 40years). The store came up for sale in 2014, I saw an opportunity to be directly involved in our community, with the bonus of making my own schedule. I have the same mission statement I had from the beginning; to provide a friendly space for our community to have access to clean affordable quality items. 

The biggest challenge we had was the slow start that we experienced.  Getting people back into the store took time – it required a face lift. We spent lots of time decluttering, cleaning and organizing. I feel the business grew with me. Early years were hard to make a go, word of mouth was my advertising and people loved the ‘new store’. I’m thankful to everyone who supports local businesses.

The greatest reward I receive everyday, is connection with people from our network of communities. Over the last 10 years I have had help from all my family, and each of them has been integral in supporting and loving people. I meet people everyday, and have made life-long friendships through this store. It is truly a special place.

Prospect Thrift Store is not just a store, its a meeting place, a safe place, an uplifting space. Everyone is welcome. We are here for community.

Michelle Staehli”