One day in late March, while consumed with boredom and stress due to COVID-19, I decided to do what many of us know and love, and I opened TikTok. While scrolling through videos of online school and reactions to “Tiger King,” I stumbled across a video of a woman who was making clay earrings. Being the crafty person I am, I immediately thought to myself, “I can do that,” and decided to give it a try. I ordered all the supplies and got to making. Through countless hours of failed designs, I finally started to get the hang of things. After making nearly 100 pairs for fun and realizing how much money I had spent on supplies, I decided to start selling them on Depop and Instagram. Now flash forward six months, and I have a successful earrings business!
I’m not going to lie, when I started playing around with the clay, I was not in a great place. I was a senior in high school, and I was feeling defeated by all the changes happening in the world. With all the canceled plans, social isolation and impending uncertainty, I found myself shifting from my regular positive self to someone that constantly felt anxious, helpless and sad. I rarely left the comfort of my bed and was often found staring off into space or sulking around my house. However, that all changed when I found my creative outlet of making earrings. Looking back, I think I was just distracting myself from my sadness, but I really do think that it helped. Even if I only had one or two orders to fulfill every day, I had something to get me excited and out of bed. I began to feel passionate and excited about something again. I carried this passion into the summer and devoted multiple hours a day to designing, assembling and marketing my brand. I even moved all of my supplies from Springfield, MO to Kansas City, and I’ve continued to release earrings and fulfill orders out of my dorm room. As I approach my 250th earring sold, I honestly cannot believe that my business has grown so much. I’ve had customers from three continents and nearly all 50 states, and I am immensely proud of every pair I have sold.
If you are interested in starting your own small business, do it! All you need is something you are passionate about (or a willingness to grow your craft), a bit of money to spend on initial supplies and a positive attitude. Even though it is a ton of work and takes up the majority of your free time, it is SO worth it. I never thought that I would have my own small business, but I am incredibly glad that I took the leap. With that being said, here are five tips that I wish I had known and will hopefully make the process seem a bit less daunting.
- It’s okay to feel overwhelmed
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Starting a small business will feel draining and stressful at times — it’s just a fact. You are taking a huge risk, so it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. When I first launched my shop, it took me two weeks to get a sale, and it seemed like I would never be successful. I truly thought about giving up because I didn’t think that it was worth all the time and money I had invested. After two painstaking weeks, I got my first order. Then, another, and another. With every sale, my excitement increased, and I began to realize that my hard work was paying off. When I feel overwhelmed again, I just remember all the good that has come since I opened my shop, and I am motivated to keep going.
- Keep track of everything (and I mean everything!).
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I quickly realized that a lot more goes into running a small business than I originally thought. My mind simply could not keep track of everything that I had to remember including all the orders, expenses and daily tasks. In order to get this under control, I found that it is important to use a system of organization, like a notebook. I keep mine with me at all times as I track sales and expenses that occur on a daily basis. This way, I have something to refer to if monetary confusion occurs. I also keep a list of all the orders that need to get out and cross them off as they are sent out. These steps help me stay more organized, and they save me time throughout the day.
- Celebrate the victories, big or small.
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Whether it be getting a five star review, being featured on a popular brand page or making your 100th sale, I think that you should always be excited for all the milestones that you pass. Starting your own business can be stressful, so you should always commend yourself for stepping out of your comfort zone. This way, you will be motivated to grow your business in the future, and you can remain excited about the work you are doing.
- Always be thinking of new ways to grow.
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I believe this is the most important tip on this list. Unless you want your business to remain stagnant, you always need to be thinking ahead about how you can expand. Even though they don’t always pay off, taking risks is the best way to do so.Whether through social media strategies, ambitious marketing or new designs, it is beneficial to always be experimenting and thinking ahead. Currently, my goals for my own business are to add my earrings to Etsy, switch over to recyclable packaging and hold a booth at a craft show or farmers market. Because I have set these goals, I have things to strive toward and to be excited about for the future.
- Be your biggest cheerleader.
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At the end of the day, the person who can help your business the most is you. My biggest mistake when I started was that I rarely told people about what I was doing, and I kept to myself except on social media. In reality, I should have been telling everyone I knew about my business, promoting it on every platform available and practically shouting it from the rooftops. If you really want to be successful, then you need to take pride in your work. If not, then people may not want to support you. This is why it is so important to be your biggest cheerleader. When it comes down to it, you work extremely hard on a small business, so why not be proud of it
Looking back, I cannot believe how my year has turned out. I never would have thought that I would have my own small business, but here I am. I feel immensely grateful because it gave me a creative outlet and motivation to get through a difficult time. Overall, I am incredibly proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and for taking as many risks as I have. I know it is cheesy, but starting my own small business has truly been one of the best things that I have ever done, and I am so excited to see how my brand grows in the future.
If you would like to check out my designs, click these links that take you to my shop on Instagram or Depop!