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

Alissa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Over 11 years of having my storefront, I’ve noticed the answer to this question evolving. The overarching answer and feeling is most definitely YES I am happier as a business owner than “working for the man”. My life before owning my own business was working in corporate real estate, where I reported to a cubicle from 9-5, had to wear “day time separates” to work and commute to sit in front of a computer screen. I realize that this is the daily grind for many people, but for me, it was soul crushing. I don’t need to wonder, since i experienced it!

The flip side of that is, when things are really tough (and they definitely can be at times!) the security and consistency of a “real job” is something I sort of wish for. There are times when it would be nice to know that the paycheck is coming in, even though it’s been slow, or that I wish I had a team of co-workers to run an idea or a concern by. It’d be a lot easier if the health insurance premiums were covered by my employer, and if I got two weeks paid vacation where I could shut down and really remove myself from the work.

The main theme for me of opening my own business was to have freedom. And not just financially–but in principle, and time. In other words, to be able to operate with complete autonomy. For much of my time in business I have felt that I have that, and it keeps me going. Post-pandemic, I feel that some of the freedom is gone–replaced by new worries that didn’t exist before Covid. But even with that in mind, I still wouldn’t go back to a “regular job”.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Alissa Sampogna. I am an illustrator, graphic designer and the owner of The King’s Scribe–a stationery and gift boutique located in Chappaqua, New York–about an hour north of NYC. I started my business in 2008 as an Etsy store (Mew Paper) .back when Etsy itself was a small, “handmade” enterprise. I was working in corporate real estate and selling my original card designs to my office mates and on Etsy. When I added wedding invitation design, it grew enough to allow me to quit my day job and work full time from my home studio for about 3 years. It had always been a goal of mine to open my own store. Plenty of people discouraged me from taking that risk–why would I give up a successful, low-overhead business to take on monthly rent, staffing issues etc. Because I wanted to–that’s why!

So in 2011, I opened the doors to The King’s Scribe in a 700 sq. ft. storefront. In 2016, I moved a few doors down King Street into a 1700 sq. ft. space. In addition to some of our own original stationery designs, we take pride in curating goods from other small and independent makers, and try whenever possible to source US made products. Custom wedding invitation design is a large part of my business and, and as of the pandemic, we’ve added balloon art/installation to our offerings.

What I’m most proud of is the resilience of this little operation, which I credit in large part to being a member of a very supportive community. My customers are the heart and soul of the business–so I value their input and feedback as far as product selection. I want to be able to give people what they want, and that’s changed over the years depending on what”s going on in the world. I’m grateful for a customer base that keeps me running!

Have you ever had to pivot?

The pandemic forced change on a lot of small businesses, and I definitely felt it! It manifested for me in learning balloons! We always did a small amount of birthday balloon business–we would use up a helium tank in about 6 months. When lockdown hit, people started doing “drive by birthday parties” and that blew our balloon business up–pun intended! We didn’t have walk-in customers, but we started doing balloon bouquet deliveries and then, after watching tons of you tube videos, and zoom master classes, we learned a ton about balloon garland decor. We were then using about two helium tanks per week! We bought a van for delivery and have basically developed a whole second business under the same roof.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Over all the years I’ve been operating I have been physically present for almost every day–so my personal presence has sort of *become* the brand, if that makes sense. I’ve gotten to know my customers and their families over the years and they now count on me and expect to see me. That’s been awesome and really fulfilling, and a huge part of why I wanted to do this! At the same time, it has also become one of the most difficult parts. It makes it hard for me to delegate to staff, as people only want me, or only trust me, or if I’m here with one of my staff members they bypass talking to them and go straight to me.

If I could go back in time, I would like to have set these boundaries earlier on so that when I deputize a member of my team that they hold the same authority, and level of expertise as I do so that my clients trust and believe that anyone under me is as good as me.

Additionally, something I continue to struggle with and would like to get better at is personnel management in general. I can do every aspect of running this business really well, but when it comes to managing staff, being a boss, delegating duties etc. I really struggle. It’s part of my goal for 2023 to get better at this, and to have a reliable staff that I can comfortably direct and count on to be there for me and get back some of the freedom that I had when I first started.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kingsscribe.com
• Instagram: @kingsscribeshop
• Facebook: The King’s Scribe

Image Credits
Amy Rizzuto
Andrea Daugherty