I never imagined back in 1995 when I started Small Dog Electronics in my garage on Prickly Mountain that 20 years later we would have four retail stores and well, a 20-year old business! Back then it was a one-man show and buying and selling Macs was a bit more than a hobby but I still bump into some of you that bought your first Mac from me in my living room. Hapy used to come over on Sundays and help me with the books and soon I twisted his arm into joining me at Small Dog Electronics. When Grace tossed us out of the house we ripped up my strawberry patch and built an office space next to the house. We soon outgrew that and eventually moved our headquarters to Waitsfield. I still remember those stalwart UPS drivers carrying huge loads of Macs up my icy or muddy driveway, though.
We never really wanted to do retail, however, customers came to visit us regardless and one day as I was processing payroll with a family on the couch in my office and others wandering around the warehouse, it was clear we needed to do something to serve our live customers, so our first retail store was opened in Waitsfield. So many people were driving from Chittenden county to Waitsfield and the sort of perfect storm of opportunity led us to open the South Burlington store which quickly became our flagship.
Our experiment with another large store over in New Hampshire was not a success and we reluctantly closed that location but opened smaller stores in Rutland and acquired another Apple Specialist in Key West, Florida. Now with four retail stores and 20 years of history, we are ready to celebrate our anniversary this month and all year long.
The most common question that I am asked is: “Where did the name Small Dog Electronics come from?” It was at another company when we were searching for a name and my friend and employee Wendy Cohen suggested Small Dog Electronics. Of course, I pooh-poohed that idea. Fast forward a few years and I am again thinking of a name and watching my small dogs play. I didn’t want to name the company “Mac-this” or “Data-that” so I decided Small Dog Electronics was perfect, and I still think it is!
Please join us in celebrating our 20th anniversary by coming into one of our retail stores, talking to our team and perhaps taking advantage of some of the 20th Anniversary specials we are running all month!