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

Taylor, appreciate you joining us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

Like many crocheters, I started my small business on Etsy. I sold bags and custom items. Everything was made to order. Sales were great some weeks. I would crochet like crazy to get everything finished. Then other other weeks I would have ZERO sales. The inconsistency was frustrating.

I decided to build my own website so I could drive traffic to a site that belonged to me. I started a blog on my site and offered a free download to visitors in exchange for their emails. At the same time, my social media was really starting to take off. I have a knack for content creating so I leaned into creating crochet tutorials.

My bag sales were finally consistent… too consistent! I had to put a cap on orders because I couldn’t crochet fast enough. My hands started to ache from crocheting so much. I realized it was time to scale!

I was getting several requests per day for patterns and tutorials for the bags I sold. I slowly shifted gears from making finished bags to designing digital patterns for my creations. I also started selling crochet kits for my bags. I didn’t make the transition over night! I still sold finished products until my digital pattern sales replaced that income. In August of this year, I was able to finally stop selling finished items and completely focus on designing patterns and content.

Now, I’m working on building my brand partnerships, ad income, and affiliate networks! Growing and scaling my business has been such a fun challenge. I can’t wait to see what’s next. I never guessed when I started a year and a half ago that my business would evolve to what it is today. That’s the beauty of entrepreneurship-its a wild adventure.

Taylor, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started crocheting for my OCD. Counting stitches is a calming activity for me. I kept crocheting because I love creating!

I started my crochet business, Bags by Bento, in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. I took the challenges of living life online and made and cultivated an online community.

Like many people, I felt isolated during the height of the pandemic. I approached social media as a way to make friends and chat about something we love. I made a video asking people “wanna be crochet friends??” That concept really took off!

I’m a big believer in community over competition so I encourage my online community to support one another. I’m having so much fun connecting and supporting my crochet community. I’m most proud of how my platform has made people fell less alone, inspired, and connected to friends.

How did you build your audience on social media?

At first, I focused on Pinterest & Instagram. I started out pinning/posting lifestyle images of my crochet bags. I quickly learned it’s not enough to just post pretty photos anymore. I researched and observed successful crochet accounts to see what content was performing. It was obvious that video was taking over the internet.

I started posting short videos of me wearing my bags. The videos performed better than the photos but they still weren’t getting a lot of attention. I posted my first crochet tutorial on Pinterest and overnight it had over 100k views. I was shocked. That video now has over 10 million views!

It clicked that people are looking to gain something from the people they follow. I shifted my perspective from posting about myself and my products to how I can serve my community.

A year later I collectively have over 125k followers on my social media platforms! It’s been a crazy year of learning, shifting, and growing.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Four years ago I was fired. At the time, I was both relieved I never had to go back to a job that made me miserable and embarrassed that my exit was so dramatic. I had no idea what to do next.

I had always wanted to start my own business but I lacked the confidence to take the plunge. I was applying for jobs but nothing was working out. The pandemic started and I found myself in a unique position. I had nothing left to lose.

I brainstormed what I could do to work for myself. At the time, I was crocheting a lot for my anxiety. My friends commented that my crochet was good enough to sell. It seems like a good idea to at least try to make enough money to cover the expenses of my new obsession.

That shift made me realize I was made for entrepreneurship. I have never fit the mold of a perfect employee. I love taking risks, trying new things, and living on my own terms.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bagsbybento.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/bagsbybento
• Youtube: www.YouTube.com/bagsbybento
• Other: Pinterest: www.Pinterest.com/bagsbybento Etsy: www.Etsy.com/shop/bagsbybento

Image Credits
Taylor Bento