We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elliot Wills-Begley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Elliot, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When I was maybe 14, I was deeply involved in Scouting. One summer, I got to go to the now shuddered Camp Greilick in Northern Michigan. Or, as we called it, the Merit Badge Factory. That was my first exposure to leather craft. I loved it so much, I lied to the instructor when I took the course for the second time. He knew who I was by the third time. My mom still has the first wallet I made for her.

But then, things got busy, I went back to school, focused on getting into college, and looking cool in my 1993 Volvo 240. Throughout college and into my professional life as a teacher in Ann Arbor Public Schools, I completely lost touch with my desire to create things with my hands.

Then, while home on a snow day, I was scrolling through videos on YouTube, and a leathercrafting video popped up. I clicked on it, and watched at least 10 more videos on the topic. By the time the sun went down, I had ordered my own set of tools. I instantly felt a connection. The first few things I made were not even as good as what I had made at Boy Scout camp. But, I was obsessed. I learned as much as I could, made mistakes, and pushed on. It’s crazy how quickly you can progress when you put your mind to something.

When the pandemic started, I needed a creative outlet to stay sane. So, I started Wills Leather. At that point, I was confident in my skills, but needed to learn a lot about running a business. It became clear almost immediately that there was a need for such a business in my area. To this day, I have only met 2 or 3 people in all of Michigan who do what I do. People want goods that they know where they came from – that wont fall apart in a year or two… that’ll have their measurements on file for their next belt. Things like that. At this point, I have more business than I can handle!

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?

Building a brand is something that was completely new to me. At first, I took any sale that I could, often at a loss. While I loved being able to help people and give them a great product at a good price, it caused my business to stagnate. To survive and grow, I needed to focus on what products I could make well and efficiently. So, I focused on building custom products that used patterns I had already made. By cutting down on the design and prototype phases, I was able to focus on quality as well as quantity. This still allowed my clients to make crucial decisions as to what type of leather was used, where pockets were located, and the size of things like handles and straps, but I was building from something I already had.

Have you ever had to pivot?

One of the biggest pivots I made in recent years was to open my doors to commercial projects. I was approached by the sommelier of a local restaurant who was interested in commissioning leather menu covers for their wine bar. At that time, I had only done made to order custom goods like belts and wallets.

When I went to meet with the management staff at the restaurant, it was the first time that I felt like the kind of professional that belonged in that situation. We talked through different designs, how to apply the brand, and which type of leathers to use. We met a few more times, and I made a number of things for them.

Since then, I have partnered with a second restaurant, and I have been so lucky to add that to my resume as well. My initial response to taking on the project was a firm no. But, I am so glad that I decided to at least take the meeting. In that portion of my journey, I got to meet and work with so many wonderful people that I never would have otherwise.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Haha! I am the last person to ask! However, when I first got started, I used social media to quickly grow my brand. The best advice I ever got was from a friend who started his own woodworking small business: don’t overthink it. Post as often as you can. At least, that’s how you build an audience. After that, if you want to get more fancy with your posts, go for it.

I took that advice to heart, but soon found that the more I posted, the more orders I got. So much that I couldn’t keep up. I never want to keep my clients waiting for too long, so I dialed it back. The one thing I would say is that social media is a wonderful tool, but it can also be a distraction. I can’t count the number of hours that I’ve lost when I intended to make a post, saw something interesting, clicked on it, then got stuck scrolling.

To build your audience, be who you are, post pictures and videos of the process. People love that. Also, engage with those who engage with you. It’s especially good if you can get your clients to post their own photos of your work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.willsleather.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willsleather/?hl=en
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wills-leather-ypsilanti?osq=Leather+Goods