Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tara Little. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Tara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Loving all things home decor, I started painting furniture, as a way to redecorate my own home. I would show friends and family my projects and began having friends ask if I could do pieces for them. After a few years of this, I decided to attempt to repurpose furniture pieces and sell them on Facebook marketplace. I was very nervous and feared no one would be interested. My first piece sold within a matter of 5 hours. This gave me the confidence I needed and I have not looked back since.
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?
When I began my journey repurposing vintage furniture, farmhouse decor was very trendy in my hometown. I spent many hours on YouTube looking for different techniques with paint and researched the paint colors that were in style. It was a lot of white paint.
As time passed, I wanted to try different colors and different styles. I began experimenting with darker colors and more modern looking pieces. I liked the versatility that this gave me. Now, I not only paint, but I can transform pieces by sanding and staining.
I love keeping up with current trends and trying different looks. This really broadens my clientele.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
I continue to sell my furniture on Facebook, but I feel that one of the greatest source of clients have been referrals from clients that have either purchased a piece from me or had me repurpose one of their own furniture pieces. I have a few amazing repeat clients who have also referred me to their friends and family.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Moving away from my hometown of Savannah, Ga to the suburbs of Detroit Mi. was very hard emotionally but by leaving my old 9-5 occupation, it gave opportunity to really focus on my business. It was then when I really began trying different styles and trends. I was in a much larger city and that brought a much wider audience. I have had my furniture in several shops and have even shipped a couple of pieces across country.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @tarajanestreasures
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarajanestreasures