The next amazing entrepreneur I’d like to feature is my sweet friend, Jami of
Freckled Laundry. We became friends almost two years ago and it has been so inspiring watching her business, ideas and confidence blossom. This is a real mom of three kids (one set of twins) who has stepped out and pursued her dreams with purpose. I’m so excited that she took the time to share her story and her advice…
I can’t even tell you how honored I am to be among the business bunch here this week.
Thank you so much for having me, Marian!
I still consider myself a bit of a rookie when it comes to my business, but I have a story nevertheless, and I hope that by sharing my story, you’ll walk away with more confidence to start your own creative business. Over the past year and a half, I’ve learned what I love & don’t love, experienced awesome moments and growing pains, I’ve had to use the left side of my left brain a little more than ever, and I’m going to spill all the beans here.
My business journey started after I had been blogging for about four months. It didn’t take me long to realize, especially after watching Marian’s business grow, that the opportunities from blogging could take me further than I could ever imagine. Actually, let’s take blogging right out of the equation because I know that many of you don’t have blogs. Really, blogging is just another powerful voice for your brand, but the beginning starts with you.
It starts when we gather up enough confidence to move passed our fears and take a risk.
Some entrepreneurs are naturally confident and business savvy. I’m not one of them. And I would think that some of you aren’t either. It’s totally okay though. It just takes a little more work to get where we want to be, so keep reading.
Back to the start of my journey. My daughter was still an infant and I had been making baby shoes for her. When we were out and about, I would always get compliments on them and asked if I sold them. Of course, my answer was always no. I wanted to sell them but to actually make something for someone else and sell it to them? Yeah, right.
I don’t have enough money to start a business.
What if they weren’t happy with my sewing?
What if the shoes didn’t fit right?
What if they were too expensive?
What if they did well but I let the business and accounting go to pot because I hate numbers?
What if. What if. What if.
{insert me rummaging through the fridge}
“Babe! Where’s the Pepto?! I thought we had some in here.”
But, at the same time I thought,
What if they loved them?
What if they sold like hotcakes?
And then I thought a little bigger.
What if my dream of owning a little vintage chic shop filled my little shoes and other wares was actually possible?
I’d rather life a live of trying and failing than a life of wishing and regret, so I tried.
I shared a picture of the shoes on my blog and put them in my Etsy shop, which I had actually opened much earlier. Like a year earlier. Yeah. That whole confidence thing.
And they were loved!{sigh of relief}Little Business Lesson (LBL) #1: Believe. Take a risk.
Then, I did something else that would begin to change my creative path, and life really. Marian, who had been such a real friend and {can’t even find the right word} blog and business mentor up until that point, announced that she was invited to be a part of the Wild Rose & Co. bunch (remember?!) around the same time I put my little shoes in my Etsy shop. In an email to her one day, I wrote something like, “If you ever want a cute little pair of shoes to add to a vignette or hang from something in the shop…”
Imagine my reaction when she responded, “Yeah, that would be great…send me five pair.”
Oh. my. My shoes were going to be in Miss Mustard Seed’s space in an actual, physical boutique.
Did that just happen?!
{insert phone calls to my mom and sister}
LBL #2: If you want something, ask for it.
All of that to say that if I hadn’t just gone for it and taken the first step, I still wouldn’t have an Etsy shop or be in {a year and half later} a handful of retail shops in the U.S. and one in London.
I don’t think I would have done it so soon without a mentor either–someone who had already traveled my path. I had Marian. You have Marian. My resume isn’t nearly as sparkly yet, but you have me too if you ever need it. And I really mean it. Lean on someone if you can. There is very little in life that we can do well alone besides brush our teeth.
LBL #3: You can’t do it alone.
And for the record, my shoes didn’tsell like hotcakes. They opened doors.And I loved making the dozen or so pair that did sell. I loved those that bought them. I loved the feeling of being a creative business owner. I loved the drop of confidence in my bucket.
Now let me back up for a minute. When I sent that email to Marian, I didn’t expect to actuallybe sending her shoes. Yeah. That whole confidence thing. Again.I was a little underprepared. No professional business cards. No professional packaging. No professional labels, hang tags, etc. Looking back, I would have had all of those ducks in a row before sending an email because it did delay getting the shoes to her immediately.LBL #4: Be prepared and have your branding materials ready.
I made do though. I didn’t have hundreds of dollars for a professional branding package. I didn’t even have tens of dollars. What I did have was a yard sale stamp set, laundry, creativity and attention to detail, so I made everything I needed, which worked because I wasn’t sending 100 pair. I don’t have a photo of the business cards, but they were similar to my package tags, only vertical.
I also made a catalogue out of craft paper and glued in photos of shoe styles. Hey, I had to start somewhere and was able to create my branding materials without a big financial investment up front. And just to clarify, a big investment at the time would have been anything over fifty dollars.
Keeping it real, folks.
That said, you should really establish your brand from the start and keep it consistent. So, if you can afford professional looking business cards and tags, etc. that echo your logo, look and fonts, that’s the wiser way.
I wanted to sell other handmade wares too. I used the profits from my shoe sales to purchase supplies to make clay tags. I didn’t expect them to sell like hotcakes, but just like my little shoes, I loved making them and coming up with different styles. One day, I shared them on my blog and added a bunch to my Etsy shop.
They sold like hotcakes.
My awesome and supportive blog readers bought them and those with blogs of their own shared them, and their readers bought them, etc.
Wholesale orders started coming in too.
Oh. my.
Did that just happen?!
Remember LBL #4?
I was totally prepared for my Etsy sales.
Not so much for wholesale.
Again, I made do. I had already purchased a die-cut punch and started making my own package tags by printing out a sheet of logos and punching them out, so making several was much easier and faster than the completely handmade version above. I used my profits to hire Reni at Bliss & Tell Branding Co., whom I had connected with through Marian, to design and print a new business card. Around the same time, I hosted a giveaway for an online printer in exchange for custom customer appreciations cards that I designed in Photoshop Elements. (I think it would have been around $45 to have them printed.)
I now had professional and consistent branding materials.
Can I get a finally?
In addition to my shoes, I started selling my clay tags in Miss Mustard Seed’s space at Wild Rose & Co. When Marian was given her opportunity of a lifetime to sell at Luckett’s and eventually needed to leave Wild Rose & Co., I was invited to stay! Again, another door opened.
I started selling more smalls, incorporating the vintage laundry that I love so dearly, and had Reni (Bliss & Tell Branding Co.) design matching hairpin cards too. Reni is awesome and “gets” the handmade business. If I have an emergency business question, I call Reni. Remember LBL #3.
LBL #5: Keep your branding materials and style consistent.
I worked day and night for months rolling out and packaging clay tags so much so that they lost their lustre to me. My business journey was about discovery and I realized that although I love to create, I don’t love monotony. The creative part of me wantedneeded to work on something fresh.LBL #6: You have to love it.
In January, I decided to take a break from making clay tags, listen to my laundry lovin’ inner voice, and work on three new collections…one of which is a lifelong dream to design my own printed line of faded, vintage textiles. I am also a stay-at-home mom and was finding it very difficult to balance being a mom with my freckled laundry success. I just wasn’t ready. Who was going to watch my children? Do I even want someone to watch my children? Am I spending too much time on my own dreams, or am I teaching them valuable lessons of the heart? Is this what I’m supposed to be doing? Oh yeah. I had a whole Santa Claus list full of questions fear.
I still continued my wholesale relationships behind the scenes though and was asked to design a ruffled tote for the lovely farmgirls at the The Urban Farmhouse Market in Lousville, KY. (Lisa has been such a blessing and awesome business mentor too. Remember LBL #3.) I saw an opportunity to design a matching ruffled iphone pouch, so I did that too. freckled laundry was still in retail shops, but not online.
I wanted to be back online though. I missed making clay tags and decided that making them in limited edition batches would work and still allow me time to focus on the new collections, plan, sort out growing pains, etc. So, that’s what I did. I created a new style of fleur tags and a handful of ruffled iphone cases, and put them in my Etsy shop.
I was so afraid that being absent on Etsy for months would leave me in tears about a week later.
Disappearing usually does.
Well, I was in tears. Not because nothing sold, but because my shop was empty within 24 hours.
That is just another reason why I love that blog of mine. I disappeared from Etsy for six months, but I didn’t disappear online. I still had a voice. I shared my journey with my lovely readers, told them everything I’m telling you, they understood that thing above love, and they believed in me too.
{Okay. Tears. Great. Hang on while I go kick on some Adele.}
I didn’t start my blog with the intention of launching a business. I started it because I was bored while my babies napped and wanted to share my home projects. I thought that would be my business. (The design dream was much too, as Marian would say, pie in the sky to have even considered my own line of textiles at the time.) But, from a business standpoint, my blog ended up being a very powerful tool. And I really even hate to call it a tool because it implies use. It’s just a place where I share my life with other creative readers who get me.
LBL #7: Consider a blog.
It isn’t necessary and not everyone has the time it takes to blog, but if you do, you’ll go further faster.
Also, while I have supportive readers, I most certainly lost momentum on Etsy when I went missing for six months. Retailers interested in wholesale and those that didn’t read my blog couldn’t find me. I expected that when I made the decision to take an Etsy break. If you’re a little more dollar signs oriented than I was, I don’t recommend it.
LBL #8: LBL #6 is always most important, but try not to lose the momentum that you already have, especially if you want to grow!
I could have hired an intern to make my clay tags, but “letting go” is currently a growing pain. I’m big on attention to detail and spend just as much time wrapping something as I do making it. I could have hired an intern to wrap for me. Again with the letting go. But to me, at this stage in the game, the thought of someone else making my designs loses the connection and personal touch. However, I will go on record here and say that if anthropologie came a knockin’ for 10,000 clay tags I’m sure I would quickly think of a way to let go!
I actually did contract a seamstress for wholesale ruffled tote orders, but right now, I really want to make the things I sell on Etsy. I think that those who purchase wares in my own shop don’t just buy for the cute factor — they buy because I made it. I know it’s still my dream either way, but still. I have plans to add to the laundry crew in other areas though.
So, that’s where I am at today. I’m getting ready to share my new “softly spoken” collection next week and an almost finished {yet to be named} collection.
I’ve had time to prepare and brace myself for both success and failure of the new collections. Actually, let’s not even mentioned the f word here.
I actually have a pie in the sky dream for the “softly spoken” collection too.
Hmmm. You know what? I’m going to share it with you. Marian seems to have a magic blog over here. Everything she writes happens. 😉
(Kidding, of course. Every opportunity that comes her way is a result of the passion, work, and smart decisions that she puts into it. That and she’s just good people.)
BUT, on slim to none chance that we are, in fact, dealing with magic mustard seeds over here:
I would love for my cuffs and a few other wares in the new collection to be picked up by anthropologie. There. I said it.
LBL #9: Don’t be afraid to set a goal and humiliate yourself on someone else’s blog.
If my collections do well in brick & mortars and online, I’m going to use my profits to either invest in a new camera or hire someone to take professional photos of my wares and create a professional look book – a stylish catalogue of your products. Then, I’m going to send that look book to anthropologie–a business lesson that I learned from an interview I did with Christina Strutt of Cabbages & Roses.
Remember LBL #3.
After all, at the end of the day, it’s taking risks, building confidence, and an unbelievable love for what you make {or do} that will get you where you want to be.
Also, if you’re totally a “dreamer” type like me, that’s fine, but
LBL #10: Spend as much time planning and setting actual goals as you do dreamin’.
Wishing you success.
love,
Jami
Thanks again for inviting me to share my story, Marian!
I hope you and your family are having a lovely time in Maine.
P.S. If you want the nitty gritty on starting up your own Etsy shop, branding, packaging, etc., I participated in a selling handmade series and you can find each topic here.
Oh my gosh…I love this line, “It starts when we gather up enough confidence to move passed our fears and take a risk.” So many amazing things start that way. I think your story will really resonate with a lot of women out there, Jami. Thanks so much for sharing it here.
