We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cindy Laverty a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cindy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Success is an ambiguous concept. Ask anyone and you’ll get a different definition. As we come to the end of our 7th year in business, we look back with great pride as to how exactly our success has evolved. In the beginning, a successful week was if we didn’t have to put business expenses on our personal credit cards. During our times of growth, success was how many new wholesale accounts we opened and honestly, it wasn’t very many. Today we have a wait list. As we reflect back, we see success as having a recognizable name, the ability to give back regularly, happy customers and consistently creating a ‘cool’ product.
To be successful at anything, you have to have a burning desire and commitment to make it happen. You have to be willing to bleed for what you want and you can’t let setbacks or failures (and there will be many) get in your way. You have to be willing to sacrifice to get where you want to ultimately go. And you have to know that it’s not easy. Success doesn’t just happen. It’s damn hard work.
You have to be laser focused on the what outcomes you want. You have to be crystal clear on your values and you have to continually move in the direction of ultimate outcomes. You must have a plan. Without a strategic plan, you’ll find yourself being pulled in many different directions. The old saying, “Stay in your lane,” is applicable here. You don’t have to do or sell everything, but you do have to be the best at what you do.
How do you want your customers to feel about your product? What do you want them to know about your company? Who is your ideal customer? Everyone is not your ideal customer, so hone in on who it is and what they want and make that happen. Our product is not for everyone. We have a very niche market, but we’ve created a loyal customer following and we never lose sight of that. For us, this is success.
Does money have to be part of success? Yes, on some level, but you can be and feel successful without comparing yourself to massive corporations. That being said, if you aren’t generating income and making tough decisions about finances, then you most likely have a hobby and not a business.
Ultimately, success is constantly changing and it’s vitally important to change your focus as your business grows.
Cindy , 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?
Franklin Flannels give vintage flannel shirts a second chance by artistically reverse dying and softening them one shirt at a time. The final outcome is the softest, one-of-a-kind flannel shirt you’ll ever own. Our artists have mastered the art of determining the colors that lie beneath the surface of the shirt and that is what makes our product unique. Franklin Flannels began with an experiment, one vintage flannel shirt, and a talented artist. Dominic (Cindy’s husband) is a true creative and the artist behind Franklin Flannels. He is 100% dedicated to breathing new life into vintage flannel. In his words, “I read the shirt, and then decide what colors to bring to the surface.”
Only an artist understands this, but the outcome of reading the shirt is discovering the most beautiful hidden colors that lie beneath the surface. Our flannels move through our Signature softening process and the outcome is the softest one-of-a-kind flannel available today.
We create a unique product, but the reality is that we’re in the happiness business. No one really needs what we offer, but they want it. Our goal is to create a happy experience from the first point of contact to the purchase of a shirt, which means we never settle and are never content with just doing the minimum. Small businesses cannot compete with big box stores, so it’s essential that every member of our team gives 100% every day. It’s been 7 years and Franklin Flannels has set the standard for vintage flannels across the United States.
We believe in sustainability – nothing is ever wasted. We believe that beauty lies in stories – thus vintage flannels. We see beauty in what others might toss aside. We believe that comfort should also be fashionable. We believe that everyone was born to stand out. – no two flannels are alike just like no two individuals are alike.
The Back Story
You never really know what life has in store for you. In 2013, Cindy felt called to leave her lifelong home in Los Angeles. “My family and friends were all in Southern California, but I felt my soul was being sucked dry. Even buying groceries was a stressful experience. Dominic drove 8 ½ miles to work and it took an hour and a half each way. It was weighing heavy on our quality of life.”
Someone mentioned Franklin, Tennessee and honestly, we thought, “Tennessee? No,” but Franklin suddenly kept crossing our path.
So, we came to see what this little place called Franklin was all about. Cindy fell in love. Dominic took a little longer. We were here for four days – bought a house and moved from our lifelong home in Los Angeles three months later.
We had no family and knew no one. It was a true leap of faith in every sense of the word. Franklin is a “tad” different from bustling Los Angeles. Work didn’t come easily and we wondered what kind of crazy thing had we done? There were real struggles.
One day we were trying to figure out next steps in our lives, when out of the blue, Cindy saw a very cool distressed flannel. (Today, our shirts look nothing like the original shirt.) Cindy pointed the shirt out to Dominic and he said, “I can make you a shirt like that,” and he did. And that was the beginning of the next chapter in our lives. Franklin Flannels changed our lives forever. From Los Angeles to Franklin…hair styling and life coaching, to giving vintage flannel shirts a second chance, together, we have come to embrace the mystery of life.
Today, we have a loyal customer base and our shirts are sold in boutiques all over the United States.
Have you ever had to pivot?
The vast majority of our business had been selling wholesale to boutiques across the United States, but when COVID hit everything changed. Suddenly stores were closed and business was slashed, plus it was also increasingly more difficult to acquire vintage flannel shirts.
We had an eCommerce site, but we had been so busy with wholesale, that we didn’t have the time to focus on it like we should have. We literally had to take all of our business online and even though we had a small email list we began communicating regularly with our list. By communicating with our list, we didn’t just market to them. We sent emails checking on them and their families. We told them how we were doing. It was actually a beautiful time because they felt more a part of the Franklin Flannels experience than ever before.
What happened next was miraculous. Because everyone was at home during COVID and they wanted to be comfortable and fashionable, and stores were closed, they began shopping online. Our online business literally tripled during COVID. It was more than a pivot in business. It was a whole new business model that required fine tuning different skills and consistently keeping our website up to date.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
We’ve been incredibly fortunate. We have never advertised our product on any social media platform. Our growth has been strictly word of mouth. We do have a social media presence and we ask our customers to share photos of themselves wearing Franklin Flannels. Many celebrities (mostly in the Country Music industry) own our shirts and some have been gracious enough to let us share their photos. It sounds simple, but all of our growth has been organic.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://franklinflannels.com/
- Instagram: @franklinflannels
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/franklinflannels