There is a new shop of treasures opening in downtown Chula Vista on Third Avenue during the annual Lemon Festival on Aug. 12 that will be a new destination for collecting unique treasures and collectibles.
Next Step Treasures is an eclectic shop of treasures and is the culmination of Chula Vista-based Next Step for Downsized Living, a company designed for families and seniors in need of solutions for downsizing or rightsizing decisions.
Next Step for Downsize Living CEO and founder Rose Rugama said though based in Chula Vista, she helps families in need of downsizing throughout the county, and her main goal is to make the transition for seniors and their families and seamlessly and friendly as possible.
“I launched my business in 2019 because of the need of what I saw out in the community with seniors that needed help in making decisions with their living decisions,” she said.
“Now, it is more prevalent than ever. Seniors need help when their house has outgrown them, the house is too much for them, they cannot do stairs anymore, they live alone, they have ailments, and they can no longer live alone for whatever reason.”
Rugama said she meets with the seniors, their families, finds out where they want to go live, whether they want to downsize and stay in their home, if they need assistant living, a smaller place, or if they are moving in with family.
“I make an assessment of where they are going to go, what they are going to take with them with a house full of 40 years of items,” she said. “Probably, they can take very little. The rest, whatever they cannot take with them, decide what heirlooms are passed down, what is going to be donated, or we do an estate sale. With the estate sale, we donate what is left, and many times I get some of the nicer things. I continue to sell for the senior, which I have been doing out of storage, then Next Step becomes the owner. I have accumulated so much inventory, and in my business plan, was opening a store. I feel very proud that every item has come from a downsized family from the county.”
Rugama said that SDSU MBA Consulting Program took on her business plan as a project in the fall of 2019, where six adult students did her research, competition, financials, and projects. She said consulting with them, she had her completed business plan by December of that year.
In 2020, Rugama was diagnosed with breast cancer and decided to step back but said she did not realize that the pandemic would be the real break. She said she took that time to hone her estate sale techniques. She said she had many people reach out to her during the pandemic for downsizing and estate sales and the business has continued to grow.
“The senior market is huge,” she said. “10,000 seniors each year until 2030, so all my projects have been a little different, but very similar. Seniors outlive their homes. I also help seniors who want to stay in their homes but need to downsize their belongings. It is my aging in place strategy.”
Rugama said she is extremely happy that her daughter Mia Rugama is joining her at the store.”
“She came to me and said, ‘Mom, I do not love my job, I want to work with you,’” she said. “As soon as she said that it was like the skies opened and everything fell into place for the Treasures store.
Rugama said the store is not only going to be a “treasures” store, but the front part of the store will be used for workshops for seniors, a place to meet clients and find out what their needs are.
“We can make a plan for them,” she said. “Are they staying in their house? Are they moving to a smaller home or senior facility? We can create plans based on the seniors’ needs, plans, and wants. I do my business with a lot of passion, love and care. I must be strategic and make them feel comfortable with me and my services. I also like to talk to the adult children as well to make sure that they are comfortable with the decisions being made.”
Rugama said many children do not want to be involved and in 2020 her biggest hashtag was #helpmemovemyparents.
“It is a big undertaking. Especially when there is a big house full of stuff,” she said.
Next Step Treasures will open its doors to the public on Aug. 12 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is located at 286 Third Avenue. For more information visit DownsizingSD.com.
