Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kimberly Weaver. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kimberly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

After stepping away from the corporate world and spending 60+ hours in my work week, I finally had time to do something outside of my career. Some of my fondest and most fun memories were crafting with my grandmothers. Each had their own talent. One was an artist by trade and highly gifted in painting. The other, gifted in floral arrangements and accenting custom wood working pieces made by my grandfather. My other grandmother didn’t necessarily have a “talent” in the trade, but she loved all things crafty and enjoyed exploring the multitude of outlets offered in the crafting world. It was what I decided to spend my newly found time in. I had also dreamt of entrepreneurship. I bought a Cricut machine, went to town, and the rest is history! Being able to have an outlet to channel my creativity of crafting and entrepreneurship helped tremendously in my mebtal “blues”. On top of that, I reside in Belews Creek, so Belewsy was born!

Kimberly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I spent over 20 years in the customer service, retail and sales industry. I have always loved assisting and helping people in their buying decisions and breaking the common stereotype of “sales people”. I am focused on the customer’s needs vs getting the sale. I have always had a servant’s heart so it just fit for me. As much as I loved the industry, it came with a cost; long hours with absolutely no work life balance. I stepped away and got into an administration position that allowed me to have time for a hobby and to create a “side hustle” out of that hobby making home decor, personalized gifts, and party favors. Two and a half years later, I am now full time in that side hustle. I feel offering the highest level of service and products has led me to be able to live this dream of entrepreneurship full time. I am proud of the fact that each customer deals with the same person (me) from start to finish. I handle all design work, the website, listing photos, making the products, shipping, customer service, etc. It’s one person from start to finish, assisting in every need!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

PIVOT! PIVOT! PIVOT! Okay, I’ll stop, but those FRIENDS fans know where I’m at. Oh, the PIVOTS! So many! Life and business are full of them. I have pivoted a ton throughout Belewsy’s life-span. I primarily started out selling in my shop onesies and can coolers. Now, my main sellers are Flour Sack Towels, Faux Embroidery, and Home decor. It took trying SO many new things and throwing wet noodles at the wall to see what stuck with my audience. One of my favorite stories is how I use to hand embroider and cross stitch. It was so very time consuming and didn’t feel like it was what I wanted to do and sell in the shop. I still had a few embroidery hoops and some fabric left and was primarily working with vinyl at the time, so I decided to print some designs in vinyl and do a “faux” embroidery. They sold out instantly. I recognized the want and need for an embroidery style decor that was cost (and time) effective and now they are my top selling product!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I started my business with $500. I purchased a Cricut machine and a few supplies to make some products to list on my Etsy page. ie: vinyl, blank can coolers and some onesies. As I pivoted and added more products to see what would sell and eliminated what wasn’t selling well, I continued to invest 97% of my profits for the next 2 years into equipment, products, supplies, etc to grow the business. In doing so, I have an efficient, streamlined process to maximize profits and create high quality products with a quick turnaround. $500 turned into $50,000 in sales my first full year of business. After stepping away from my W2 position and ingulfing myself 100% into Belewsy 2.5 years in, my sales have almost tripled. It’s amazing what a little cash and a lot of determination can do!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.belewsy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belewsy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/belewsy
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@belewsy