We were lucky to catch up with Kayla Da Silva recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kayla , appreciate you joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

In the third grade we were given an assignment; teach the class how to make something. My Mom sewed and my 9 year old self -being interested in the craft – decided I would make a blanket for the assignment.

That’s the first vivid memory I have of crafting.

I fell in love with it. Soon after I would try my hand at cross stitch, and then crochet, and then any craft that ignited my curiosity.

My parents always encouraged me to pursue my interest.

They installed this vision of the importance of work ethic, independence, and thinking for yourself.

“If there’s a will there’s a way.”, was a phrase they used often.

I never doubted whether or not I could achieve my goals, because they never doubted me.

I knew I would be supported in what I pursed even if it was different from what they wished I would pursue.

This holds true even to this day.

Last year I was a vendor at two different craft fairs/markets for the very first time.

Weeks before they were staying up late helping me tag inventory, set up payment options for my booth, print QR codes, etc

They rallied around me day of to help with setting up/ taking down my display, continued to encourage me throughout the day, and calm my nerves.

I’ve learned how to trust in myself. Knowing if I want to accomplish something I can.

It might take many tries. It might take a lot of time. But I can accomplish it.

Knowing and trusting in yourself is a huge advantage when starting a business. Trusting that despite not having all the answers, you can and will sort it out. It’s an advantage that is priceless. That keeps you going. One I don’t think I’d have without the mindset my parents helped me obtain.

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?

Let me introduce myself! My name is Kayla, or Kay for short.

I’m a book nerd, pet mom, foodie, concert goer (country music is the best!) chocolate chip cookie lover, and fiber artist.

I love my comfy clothes as much as I love getting dressed up. The beach has my whole heart and I hope to travel extensively someday.

Deciding to start a business is something I think I always knew I’d do, albeit subconsciously.

I’ve always wanted to be my own boss. The rat race life never appealed to me.

I wanted the flexibility of creating my own schedule, having time to explore other interests and prioritise myself/ family.

I wasn’t sure how, or what that would look like. But I knew ultimately, that’s what I wanted for my life.

After high school I took a gap year.

I moved to a new state, worked a few part time jobs, and didn’t really give my future any thought

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

This was a surprise to me, but Facebook groups. Specifically, Two Moos online craft and vendor fair.

This group already has a built in audience of 7.0 k + members.

Being a virtual vendor for them has gotten me in front of so many new clients.

It’s great for networking too.

Before joining/signing up:

Keep in mind that you want groups with more members than vendors in it.

(Two moo has around 55 vendors per show and 7,000 members)

You should also ask about engagement. If the group has a low content engagement rate, your posts won’t be seen by very many people.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Owning a business is a never ending learning curve. You will be pivoting all the time.

When I first started out on Etsy I quickly learned that it was not working for my business.

I created my own website instead and still don’t get very many orders through that route.

Pricing was another pivot. When you make handmade items, a lot of time and labor go into them.

I used to price my items for what I thought they would sell for. Now I price by materials used and an hourly rate of $8-10, determined by how difficult/labor intensive the item is to create.

Yes this does make my items more expensive than before. But it’s a fair living wage. If you’re not charging for your time, you’re cheating yourself and undercutting the market.

I would say being an in person vendor has been the steepest learning curve.

I gave craft fairs a try only to realise that if an item is over $45 it’s really difficult to get it to sell.

This has caused me to rethink my inventory and make sure I’m picking fun trendy items that are quick to make as my main focus.

Big items will sell just less frequently.