We were lucky to catch up with Cortnee’ Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Cortnee’, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

During my sophomore year in college, I downloaded the app postmark. I wanted to make some extra cash, and this was going well. After that, I joined Etsy, and I opened a shop. My first start-up business was a shop I called pgb. I decided to buy some inventory. The next thing I did was create an Instagram account for the boutique. After a year I felt like this was not it. In 2018 while I was, I was watching the Netflix series Girlboss and I felt inspired to keep going with my business, I decided to buy a Cricut and make monogrammed items, and graphic t-shirts. I made my first t-shirt and did a photoshoot, and I started an ambassador program, but after a year of 12 sales and I also had attended a trade show and it didn’t go as planned, so in 2019 I had a feeling that I needed to change my business after creating a new vision of the clothing brand I wanted. After a flood destroyed my home office, I lost a lot of inventory and my laptop. I decided to take the opportunity to give my business another shot and start from scratch and re-brand. I launched my new brand Tassels & Confetti; I came up with the brand’s name and concept while I was at work. The first two t-shirts I first launched did not sell. I didn’t give up; I designed more products and I decided to keep my ambassador program I am proud to say two years later we have had over 70 sales.

Cortnee’, 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?

My name is Cortnee ‘ I’m from Houston, Tx. I started my clothing brand with two keychains and one t-shirt. My brand is happy and colorful. I love creating fun products that promote kindness and positivity. I create t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies. I am very proud that we have sold over 70 products. I’m very proud of the ambassador program that I started. Every product I launch for my brand means a lot to me. I am very passionate about my business. What motivates me to keep growing my brand and overcoming challenges is that I love my brand.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I started on Etsy and switched to Shopify it was the best decision I ever made for my business. I have changed my website probably 3-4 times . I love the new design. I would find it a little difficult to make sales on Etsy because there are a lot of Etsy sellers on the platform. also each listing there is a fee.

I love Shopify because there are so many apps that helps my website run and it’s very customizable. I asked my customers to dm to order after I closed my Etsy shop. I realized this hurt my sales, but also your website should be easy to navigate.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I grew our first Instagram account to almost 2k followers account got hacked. So I’m starting over with a new Instagram account. Ambassadors are great to utilize also when customers post on their social media accounts. Giveaways helped. My advice is don’t get discouraged when a video isn’t getting that many views, the post you posted didn’t get that many likes, or maybe the poll you posted didn’t get any votes. Keep posting.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Tasselsandconfetti.com
• Instagram: @Tasselsandconfetti_
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Tasselsandconfetti
• Twitter: @tasselsandconfetti
• Youtube: @Tasselsandconfetti
• Other: Tiktok: @Tasselsandconfetti