We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Oros recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

Asking friends and family for support has felt like a rollercoaster for me. I have some anxiety around feeling rejected, which means that I can struggle to ask the people closest to me for support. I also never want anyone to feel like I am just using them or that our relationship is conditional on them supporting my businesses. One thing that has helped me is taking a sort of personal inventory of my own expectations when it comes to my business. Who are the best people to get to help me? Am I willing to compensate them if they ask? What are my own boundaries when it comes to accepting help?
I think there are definitely boundaries for relationships and how much support a person can reasonably ask for. For example, I know not everyone in my circle wants to purchase a custom quilt, nor do they have an interest in quilting. So that means asking them to listen to my podcast is out. I think it would be crossing a boundary, in my opinion, to make repeated requests of my friends and family to purchase quilts or listen to my podcast if they aren’t already in the market or haven’t asked for more information. Badgering your friends to do something for you that they maybe don’t want to do will start to build resentment in the relationships.
I do however believe that as an entrepreneur it’s important to talk about your business to anyone who will listen. It might seem scary to just bring up what you do with a stranger, but it’s a great way to spread the message of your company and get your information to more people. In coffee shops especially, the barista might ask what you’re up to, and I usually say, “Oh, just heading to work” and 99% of the time they ask “what do you do?” Then I can launch into a conversation about my businesses. I’ve been asked for my information on multiple occasions and gained some new clients because the barista or cashier went on to tell someone else about my business.
My best advice for asking friends and family for support is to ask if they’re willing to have business cards on hand or recommend your business to anyone they come across that asks. Most of the time, they will want to sing your praises to people they know, but I think it also has to be natural. If you’re not paying them to be your advertising agent, then placing expectations on them is also crossing a boundary. It can cause strain in the relationship where there doesn’t need to be any.

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?

I got into quilting and podcasting after an 8 year-long teaching career in elementary education.
In 2017, my friends sat me down and taught me how to make a quilt top, and making quilts became my new favorite hobby. I was in the classroom full time, but I would spend evenings and weekends making quilts. Then in 2018, my mom and I took a long-arm quilting certification class to be able to use the long-arm quilting machines at the local quilt shop. Just a few months of trying to use the machines gave my mom and I the idea to purchase our own, and thus, Sweet Pea Design Company was born! July 1, 2018 was the day we opened for business, offering long-arm quilting, quilt creation and other sewing services.

After about a year or so of being in business, my husband and I were talking and we decided to get a podcast started. Not Your Granny’s Quilt Show is a conversational podcast about navigating the quilting world as a millennial. I interview a wide range of creative people, mostly quilters, who are willing to have open conversations about life, growth and their experience in the creative space.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think it’s hard for a lot of people to recognize creative businesses as legitimate, more than just a “little hobby”. It’s an ingrained view for a lot of people that if you aren’t working for a corporation, or don’t have the same structure as one, you’re not in a “real” career. I have noticed a lot more people making businesses from their creative passions as a way to get out of the corporate structure. It’s a hard environment to be in and still maintain joy and humanity if you’re not in a role that provides that for you. I also think a lot of people are waking up to the importance of their mental health over being stuck in a career that is harming their mental health.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal in all of this is to be able to live my life with autonomy. Being a business owner is hard sometimes and can be overwhelming, but I would rather be the one to figure it all out than feel like I’m not truly living for me.
I find so much joy in creating beautiful quilts, and helping others bring their quilty visions to life. I get so much satisfaction from working with my hands and being the director of my own workflow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sweetpeadesigncompany.com
• Instagram: @sweetpeadesigncompany @notyourgrannysquiltshow
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweetpeadesigncompany?mibextid=JRoKGi
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@notyourgrannysquiltshow

Image Credits

Amanda Oros