Most Makers Don't Know the Difference Between a Hobby and a Business | Katrina Parris @ NiLu

Katrina Parris, founder of Nilu Goods in Harlem, joined Keenan Kok-Carlson on Beyond the Register to share how she built an 11-year retail institution out of a simple belief: when you support a maker, you support a community.Nilu is a gift shop on Lenox Avenue in Harlem that has quietly functioned as something closer to a startup incubator. Over the past decade, Katrina has taken makers from kitchen-table batches to retail shelves, including her mailman, who mentioned in passing that he made natural deodorant and eight months later had product in the store with regulars coming back for it. She does this without charging rent, without taking equity, and without a formal program. Just a framework, a set of honest questions, and a willingness to tell founders what most retailers won't.In this conversation, Katrina and Keenan get into:- Why a great product and a great business are not the same thing and the three-tier test she uses to show makers the difference- The homework assignments she gives every maker before she buys a single unit from them- How she pivoted through the 2008 financial crisis, Covid, and near-closure in 2023 using the same core instinct each time- Why she stopped buying wholesale inventory after a decade and moved to an 85% consignment model- The GoFundMe that forced her to go public about struggling, and the brands-in-residency program she built out of that moment- What she learned from 15 years in the floral business about the difference between passion and a viable operationIf you run an independent retail store, if you're a maker trying to understand what a retailer actually needs from you, or if you want to see what community-rooted business looks like in practice, this one is worth your time.Beyond the Register is brought to you by Genius™ (Link globalpayments.com/genius) from Global Payments, the retail point of sale system designed to help busy store owners track inventory, manage customers and take payments.