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

Marissa, appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

My initial idea was only to customize Ugg’s with monograms. I planned to partner with an embroidery company, but a friend of mine told me to get the machine & learn embroidery. In 2020, I disagreed. That was so far fetched to someone who knew nothing about fashion or anything in the clothing industry. I’d been a journalist my whole life. However, when I unexpectedly got pregnant… I had to figure out how to flip the negative situation & create more income. I began to study embroidery on YouTube & was confident enough to give it a try. I invested in the machine, studied harder than I ever had in college because I had such a drive to make up for getting knocked up. It sounds crazy but they say people appreciate real & I’m just being real. I’m so grateful that we have YouTube because flipping through the manual, I would’ve given up. I had a guy who’s channel I studied and we connected on Instagram. I was able to ask him questions along with the Facebook groups that I had joined. As I mentioned, I was a media girl who studied broadcast at Howard University. I started a podcast in 2021, but I was tired of begging people to support me. I knew that people would spend money to make money & that I could be the next upcoming clothing manufacturer. I didn’t know a soul who did embroidery. The rest will be history.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For those who aren’t familiar with me, I’m a broadcast journalist who studied at Howard University and until 2022, everything I did was related to the media & journalism. I covered most of the sporting events while attending Howard University from 2014-2018. I started a podcast in 2021 but the field is currently oversaturated & I got discouraged by the lack of support I received. I figured that people wouldn’t mind spending money with me to manufacture their custom merchandise for either marketing or resell purposes. As I researched the embroidery industry, I learned that there is so many different lanes I can take & different items that can be embroidered making it a smart investment. It’s a billion dollar industry that’s growing so I need parts.

What sets me apart from all other businesses is my mission & the meaning behind my brand. My mission is to rebrand the value of Love because the world has lost its touch. I genuinely believe that if we love our neighbors & just love each other again, we can make the world a better place. The company is Stitch’d with Love & my business partner, aka, my daughter’s name is Love. That was not the initial business plan. I decided I wanted to name my daughter Love & then I came up with the name of my business. It kind of just manifested into my lap to be the perfect Love mission. Now, that’s what I say. We’re missionaries spreading Love like the old days.

I’m the most proud of the fact that I’m thriving in a completely new industry that I knew nothing about 2 years ago. I learned a billion dollar skill & my products are being work all over the country & even overseas. It’s an indescribable feeling. To say the least.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Motherhood was unexpected for me so it was the time I had to pivot the most. I was too content in my every day life living paycheck to paycheck 2 jobs at a time spending whatever I wanted. Honestly, although I spoke my daughter into existence… it wasn’t a highlight in life finding out that I was pregnant. I had always been very popular so my life & drama was always watched like a Lifetime movie. I was embarrassed by getting knocked up while I was single to put it very bluntly. I plotted on what I could do to flip the negativity of my situation into something positive & beautiful. I also needed more income now that I would be responsible for a whole new life. The way that my business manifested into my lap with the perfect name and message linked to my daughter has truly been a blessing because there are so many things I plan to do relating to spreading Love.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Yes. I manufacture my products along with anyone else who trust my business with their brand. The first time I learned anything about embroidery was 2022. During my depression, once I decided I was going to start my business in embroidery, I had to learn. I knew nothing about the industry at all. Not sewing. Not fashion. Not hand embroidery… so I had to learn. YouTube University was my best friend. I started with videos that showed how much I would be able to make in the field and that secured my decision to invest in the machine. Once the machine arrived, I was sooooo nervous. It took me about a month to actually break the thing open, but when I did…. It was magical. I began to practice and practice on different materials but my initial idea didn’t work on my machine (personalized snow boots) so… that left me room to learn everything else that I could embroider. I was having a baby so that lane was going to be easily fulfilled. Every new thing that I made shocked me. How could I, a girl who grew up saying I couldn’t dress and knew nothing about fashion, be manufacturing such high quality, long lasting products. A year and a half later… I still shock myself each time I complete a new project.

Contact Info:

• Website: stitchdwithLove.com
• Instagram: Stitch’dwithLovee
• Facebook: Stitch’d with Love
• Youtube: Chattin with Ris