Check Out Rosemary Salerno’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosemary Salerno.

Hi Rosemary, It’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us. To start, could you share some of your backstory with our readers?
I love Kansas City! I was born in Northland and have lived there my whole life. My professional career has been spent here in Kansas City, primarily in shopping center management and event marketing. I am also a real estate broker specializing in commercial and residential sales. In early 2020, I had the opportunity to purchase (with my business partner) a franchise called Vintage Market Days. VMD is an upscale, vintage-inspired market featuring original art, antiques, clothing, jewelry, handmade treasures, home decor, yummy treats, and much more! We rent facilities across the metro to hold three-day pop-up vintage markets twice a year. Our markets are unique shopping events featuring over 100+ small business vendors from Kansas City and beyond. These vendors use our markets to display their talents and passions in creative venues. Our carefully curated list of vendors makes Vintage Market Days markets the ‘don’t miss’ events of the year.

It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I found out early on that learning to pivot and adapt to the situation at hand is the best way to handle most things in your personal life and career. I changed careers in my early 50s to focus on commercial real estate and Vintage Market Days. After 25 years in shopping center management and working FOR someone, it was time to ‘be my boss’ and work for me. We signed the VMD KC franchise agreement in January 2020, after over a year of discussions and conversations with ownership (Because, of course, who doesn’t purchase an event-based business two months before a global pandemic). It was a crazy time, but we held our first market in the Fall of 2020 – with masks, restrictions on attendees, the social distancing of vendors, and all the things. And we’ve been going strong ever since!

Thanks. What else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Since I had previously spent years creating and executing considerable events in the shopping center world, pivoting to VMD was a natural transition. Shopping center management/property management fueled my love for commercial real estate, and I love being able to help friends, family, and businesses connect with their real estate dreams. I am a creative soul, and Vintage Market Days fuel that passion. I also have a vintage/reseller partnership called RT Rustics, and I love a good estate sale or auction.

Fun fact: I went to auction school and plan to run my auction events someday! We have to keep things interesting!

Before we let you go, we have to ask if you have any advice for those just starting.
Two things: Even though it’s cliche, it’s essential to love what you do. Truly. We all spend too much time at work,’ and if you don’t love your industry, those will be long days. Keep trying, and always feel free. It’s always possible to pivot to another career. And secondly, the most important trait I learned in years of management is the ‘shades of gray’ theory. Not all decisions can be judged as simply right or wrong – this way or that way. Decision-making becomes more of an ‘art’ than a ‘science’ and learning to evaluate things will help you grow and flourish no matter what you’re doing! Trust your gut – it’s going to steer you right most of the time and when it’s wrong – it’s a great learning experience!

Pricing:

• Tickets to our markets range from $10 – $15

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vintagemarketdays.com/market/kansas-city/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vintagemarketdays.kc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vintagemarketdayskc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosemary-salerno-crrp-crx-csm-cmd-73471a5/