We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jodi Maertens. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jodi below.

Jodi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

THE IDEA: This idea came to me after a conversation with friends that seemed too far-fetched to be true. “One of us should open up a boutique so we have somewhere to shop [in our small community of 300 people]” was the comment made. After thinking about it, I thought “why not me?” Afterall, I had been trying to find something to do that was a hobby for myself since recently becoming a mom. It was a perfect mix of doing something I love (shopping) and still being able to spend time with my baby. I also worked from home and traveled for my full-time job, so I didn’t get a lot of time with other adults, so this doubled as an opportunity to meet other people and earn some extra “fun” money outside of my full-time career.

HOW IT ALL STARTED: I stumbled upon a supplier who created graphic shirts for boutiques and immediately had to have their unique style in my store. I offered their customized mascot designs, and my customers went wild over them! After selling hundreds I was driven to figure out a way to purchase transfers and press them onto my own shirts. This research led me to focusing the business primarily on offering graphic t-shirts. I purchased transfers from many different vendors, but never really received the quality or customer service that we strived for. which then led me to figure out how to manufacture my own prints. After many sleepless nights, a ton of research, lots of trial and error, the business has transformed once again, and we now primarily print transfers and ship them to other boutique owners for them to press onto shirts of their own. Over the course of the past 4 years, we have gained customers from all 50 states and 4 provinces in Canada. We pride ourselves in offering top-notch customer service, trouble-shooting alongside our customers, brainstorming new and innovative trends, and testing consumables to offer the highest quality products on the market.

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?

It was completely unintentional. I had no plans to do this full time in any way. When I first started in 2017 as a small boutique owner it was for my enjoyment and hobby. I manually invoiced customers, had limited inventory and participated in a handful of vendor shows in my area throughout the year.

The deeper I got into building relationships with vendors and learning what customers in my area desired, I began to see a trend that there was a true need and desire for more support and customer service for small business owners, particularly in the boutique industry, and I felt called to fill the gap. The organization I was working for at the time focused on small business support and training, so the notion was already engrained in my professional life.

As the brand was being built, it was founded on customer service and reliability. Word of mouth, positive customer reviews and recommendations have been the sole form of marketing. Within the first year of operating, we had customers in all 50 states and 4 provinces in Canada. It was inspiring and humbling to say the least. I knew that this success was based on the success of other small businesses, and their success was based on a positive experience and high-quality product they knew they could rely on receiving in a timely manner from us – it was a full circle.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

This business is built on relationships with our customers. We continue to communicate via our Facebook group, email, and other social media platforms to foster relationships. Being clear, upfront, and honest is the most important piece for us. Even when things aren’t going as planned, communication is key. Customers build trust in you when they know that you are being honest and not trying to hide or misinform them. Another small, yet immensely effective, form of relationship building is a simple hand-written note on an invoice now and again. Our business is based online, so we don’t get to see or talk in-person to our clientele, so a simple hand-written note on an order invoice that gets sent with their product is extremely impactful. We also enjoy keeping emails less formal – to create a “conversation-type” environment.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing people is hard, but when the environment they come into every day is happy and fun, it makes it easier. We are a small team of 3, so we are like family. We work closely with each other on day-to-day projects, and also in a small space. We are all moms, so we share ideas on how to manage work and home demands. As the owner, I value hard-work and putting our best foot forward each and every day yet maintaining a family-friendly work environment. Kids get sick, daycares close, field trips or school outings happen, and we make it possible for all of us to manage those demands and be present in our families lives while filling in the gaps at work during an absence. We make it work!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.2arrowsapparel.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2ArrowsApparelLLC

Image Credits

Brian Jeremiason – Jeremiason Photography