We were lucky to catch up with Anya Pinkney recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Anya, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea?
I knew I wanted to self brand but could never figure out with what exactly, what product would fit me? One day I was cleaning my room and it hit me. I wanted to do a clothing line, I took out some paper and I sketched what I wanted it to look like. I knew I
wanted it to be simple! I struggled with a name for weeks! I had so many ideas but doing research many of them were already taken. My logo is “Aa” which are my initials. “Apparelbyaa” is what I eventually decided on. My idea for my line was that any and everybody could wear it, not just women or men, not just young or old. I had to look into vendors for my hoodies, shirts and beanies- the first three products I began with. It was HARD! I brought vendors list from influencers on Instagram that weren’t so good, it was a super long process. Many of these wholesale companies I looked into required your business license, EIN, etc. believe it or not that was the easiest part of the whole process, registering my business in Georgia. I set my appointment up with my bank and created my business account because it’s very important to keep personal and business money separate! I found an embroidery company not too far from my home, the owner gave me a great deal! He had my products done for me in less than a week. Now it was just time for me to create my site. There are plenty of beginner friendly sites for creating your own website for your business, I decided on using squarespace. It was so easy to use and I got my website up and running but I still had to take product photos. Me being a model and wanting to self brand, I was the model for Apparelbyaa. It felt good, I had come so far into setting up my business now it was down to personalizing a few more things and creating promotions. I did all these things on my own! It was super convenient not having to pay for creative directors, people to make my site or promotions. This process is what brought Apparelbyaa to life! Now with me being a new mom I’ve expanded my products a little more. I have a mom/baby collection, lifestyle products and many more to come. For those that like to write there are journals available to purchase.
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 background and context?
The pandemic had hit and my job had closed for a little and I realized how quick things can turn around. I wanted more financial freedom and I was just ready to step out with faith and try to reach my full potential as a model and entrepreneur. I began self submitting for background work in movies and Tv shows. I created a math workbook for children to serves my passion for kids. And I just kept myself busy being a model, actress, and business owner.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media is so important in owning a business today! Create your business page on Instagram and make sure the professional settings is on. Utilize all the features Instagram offers for business pages such as paid promotions. Create content and hashtag hashtag hashtag! Its so important!
For an example I am a new mom. I know plenty of other moms and I want to capitalize from that using social media, here’s how… Apparelbyaa now has a mom/baby collection. I create content on my personal and business page curated to other moms to drive them to my business!
Social media is essential to small businesses today.
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
I sell my math workbook on Amazon. The cons to this decision is they 100% print and ship for me, which I love because I found with my business Apparelbyaa going to the post office every day can be a hassle. The pros to this decision is that there is a time period that you have to wait to receive your money from Amazon and of course they do take fee out of your profits.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.Apparelbyaa.com
- Instagram: @anyaalexis_
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCBwI2i2ozap6trdNVP09u9Q
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Addition-Subtraction-Animal-Anya-Pinkney/dp/B095GJ5R7V/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=anya+pinkney&qid=1621976971&sr=8-3
Image Credits
Calvin Miller Georgio Conroe