Gail Chovan Blackmailed Me

In his State of the Union speech this evening, President Bush reminded us that small businesses are good for the economy. Somehow I don’t think Blackmail, on South Congress Avenue, is the sort of place he had in mind. But who knows? As governor, Bush jogged at Town Lake just a few blocks away. Blackmail is a little bit hard to describe, but “Cowboy Noir” pops to mind. This place is all about black. Black belts, black western snap shirts, black jewelry, black jackets, black vintage items, black gift items–you name it. I’m most impressed with what Gail Chovan, the owner, has done with the space. After all, just over a year ago this was a computer parts store with fluorescent ceiling lights. Put it this way, if you cleared the floor of displays and racks, and added a bar and some chairs, you would have a perfectly comfortable bar. Nothing else needed.

I met with Gail this afternoon to learn a little about Blackmail and her experiences as a small business owner. This is the first in a short series of interviews with some interesting local entrepreneurs.

What is Blackmail all about?
Blackmail was my idea. A monochromatic boutique.

So the items you’re selling are monochromatic, or the store itself?
Both. I like specialty stores. I lived in Europe for a long time. If you wanted a button, you go to the button store. And I hate stores where you can find everything–you know, Wal-Mart. I like small, home-grown businesses that sell special things. When I wanted to start the business, I didn’t want just another “dress shop” (my husband always tells me that I have a “dress shop”)… and, um, I wanted a concept. I like black. I wear a lot of black. The clothes I design are black.

So you’ve designed the clothes you’re selling?
No, nothing in here is mine. Yet. But I studied clothing design for a long time and I do design a lot and… usually kind of custom, one-of-a-kind stuff.

Where did you live in Europe?
In Paris.

That makes sense with the noir feel…
I went to design school in Paris in the early 80s. It was heavily influenced by the Japanese. They were doing a lot monochromatic stuff. That is my background. Sculptural. Architectural. And noir… Anyway, that’s what Blackmail is. It’s a challenge for me–a fun challenge, to just fill the store and keep within that framework.

Do you buy from distributors, go on buying trips…
I go on buying trips to several markets. You know… there are a lot of ready-to-wear
markets around the U.S.

I didn’t know that, actually.
(laughs) Well, for anyone starting a business doing clothing, there are different levels of clothing. There are levels of markets. Menswear shows. Womens. Everything. All the different vendors go to set up.

New York? L.A.?
New York, L.A. I go to Las Vegas twice a year. That is the biggest menswear show in the United States. You go for three days.

Oh O.K. I’m into skateboarding and I remember there was the ASR event every year.
Exactly. Action Sports Retailers. I used to work for a company that shopped that. So then there are gift shows, accessories, jewelry shows, shoes–everything.

Switching gears a little bit… What would you say is your biggest challenge with the store? Rent? Getting people in the door?
The rent is great. I have a wonderful landlady who really appreciates independent businesses. She is the woman who owns The Austin Motel. We hit it off. She is totally into my love for the history of the building. Getting people in the door is easy. That’s not a challenge. There are sooooo many people on this strip.

So you get a lot of South Congress foot traffic?
Oh my god, yes. Some weekends everyone will be from out of town. They will be staying at Hotel San Jose or Austin Motel. I was on South Lamar for four years before I came here. There was always a challenge of “Who do I advertise with? How do I get people in the door? Word-of-mouth? Yadda, yadda, yadda.” I guess I’m still a destination here. For like… West Austin women or something (laughs). But I’ve had so much support from the neighborhood. From walk-by traffic and then word just gets out. South Congress is just great. Only place I want to live. Only place I want to shop.

It’s funny, when we moved here someone told us, “You may not want to live in that area–it’s kind of sketchy.” Strange thinking about that now…
But I think it’s still… Y’know we have a merchants association and we’re dedicated to keeping it not so funky that people won’t spend money but some kind of a balance. But not filled with The Gap and all that–basically what is happening on The Drag. All the home-grown businesses are having to leave.

What advice would you give someone starting a business? Be it retail, boutique, etc.

Generally, starting a small business… I’m a creative, I’m not a business person. If you’re like this, hook up with someone who has the business side. It’s invaluable. I have no clue about that stuff… You have to have discipline and have to know about business and I’m not good at that. That’s the hard part. I can shop! I can sell stuff! And I can imagine what people want to buy. I can create the environment and ambiance. But when it comes to “O.K. this is what you have to spend at market” and somebody says, “You have $10,000″, I’m like “Fine I can spend within that…” but I don’t even know how to figure out that that is how much I have. I don’t know how to make sales projections.

I had an intern from St. Ed’s who was a business major… She came in and found me because she wanted to know about starting her own business. She figured out my projections, she figured out everything for me. Now she has a full-time job and she still comes and does books for me. One day she came in and I said, “So… how’s it going?” She replied, “You know what? Having a small business is too much work! I don’t want to do it anymore! I like getting a paycheck.”

Oh man… I’ve been in here on First Thursdays and thought, I would love to do this– people hanging out, DJ, drinking… but I knew it’s not really like that…
It’s hell!!! I have been doing it for five years. First year, you’re coasting. It’s like “Woo hoo!”… Make money, make money and then you plateau. How do I do cash flow? Then what? Do you take out a loan? I didn’t. It’s really hard to know what to do. I mean, everyone I talk to–especially girls–are like, “Oooooh, I wanna have my own shop”. I’m thinking, (laughing), if only you knew! Sometimes I wake up and don’t want to do it. But I do have fun. The funny thing is, my husband was travelling out in West Texas and he was like… “all the buildings are ugly–you’re so lucky you can sit here in your own little world. You have the control to create this beautiful space.” It’s true. I can play whatever music I want to hear. I can paint the walls. I don’t have to sell products I don’t want to sell.

What direction do you see the store going?
I constantly do research. I’m going to London on Thursday. Why? Well, because I want to see what’s going on. But also… look and observe. Everything from store windows, to the way something is placed on a shelf, to what someone is doing at point-of-purchase.

Trying to find the subtle things that make the overall experience nice.
Yes. All the time. Someone came in here yesterday and said, “I love to come in here because it feels so different than all the other shops.” So, I travel all the time. The ultimate goal…. Blackmail has grown so much… I guess I would love to have my own stuff in here. I do several shows a year of my own stuff and I never quite get it on the racks. I would love to have a third of the stuff in here mine… And, you know, to be in Vogue. (laughs).