We were lucky to catch up with Danielle Laurent recently and have shared our conversation below.

Danielle, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My business has evolved so much over the last two years! I have had 3 different names, various different products, and a lot of growing pains, but it all started when I watched a YouTube video about a mom and son who did a random act of kindness every day for a year! I was so inspired by them I started an Instagram with the name Kindness365, hoping to spread kindness in any way that I could! My business has evolved so much since that point, but my mission is still and always will be to bring joy through my creativity! I want people to see what I make and smile, whether or not they buy something, I strive to do that!

Danielle, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I worked in retail for about 10 years previous to owning this business. I worked for a small business with 4 different boutiques, in my hometown, in a lot of different capacities! I was a manager of a few of the stores at different points as well as a merchandise and gift buyer! I loved both of those jobs for different reasons, but they both truly taught me how to build impactful relationships and how much it means to care for others! I believe if I show how much I care about those who support my business it will come back to me, you know, karma is a way!
To change gears slightly into the creative side of my business, that’s honestly a funny story. I grew up with a super artistic family! Everyone was just good at it and, well, I wasn’t, or at least I never believed I was! I always used to joke that I couldn’t even draw stick figures, but in 2020 I got an IPad and an iPad pencil, and it all kind of changed! I decided to download procreate and started to try and doodle! There is a brand called Have A Nice Day, @haveanicedayy_ on Instagram and I was obsessed with everything! I love colorful, bright, fun brands and she was just that! She would post about drawing on procreate and I just wanted to try it and see if I could even do it! The beginning was rough, sometimes I look back at those drawings and laugh and sometimes I get really proud, because I truly always thought I didn’t have a creative bone in my body and being able to see the progress is so incredible!
Now my business has evolved and changed, I really focus on designs for travel cups! I am a coffee lover through and through, so I was always buying so many fun cups to drink my coffee out of! I found that a lot of the cups seemed to have similar types of designs, some stood out, but some really didn’t! I wanted to create every design to stand out! I want someone to walk by my table at a popup and catch all the different colors out of the corner of their eyes and stop in their tracks, because they have to see what’s going on!
I know that not everyone drinks coffee, but everyone at least drinks water and these cups are great for all of it!

Have you ever had to pivot?

Honestly starting a business is hard, I cry a lot, but I also celebrate a lot of wins! It’s an epic rollercoaster of emotion and I wouldn’t have it any other way! So in 2021 I quit my very stable, decent paying job, to make my side hustle a full time job AND move to California!
And WOW did I learn a lot, first I learned California is VERY expensive, and surviving off my new business may be harder then I had originally anticipated! I had no idea what I was getting into, but if I had I probably wouldn’t have made that jump, but I’m glad I didn’t over think this move! I learned so much about myself because I had to truly rely on me and just me for my income!
Well I learned that California wasn’t for me, after about a year, I got to a point where I just couldn’t keep going the way I was. I was so exhausted, stuck in my room creating or at markets, never seeing friends, or doing anything outside my business! I became severely depressed, yes I could pay rent and my bills were paid, but I could not afford much else, it was a vicious cycle and I couldn’t let it keep going. It was so hard for me to admit what I felt was defeat, I wanted to be able to survive in California with my business, even thrive, but that just wasn’t in the cards for me. So I called my mom who had just moved to Florida and she said come out here, try it, so I did just that. No I did not go excitedly by any means, I was honestly embarrassed, but I knew I had to. So I drove across the country and took my business with me! And boy was I wrong about my feelings, yes Florida is HOT and I hate that part, but my business has never been better! I’m actually profiting, I can pay my all bills and then some, I have met the best community of small business owners here, I never thought in a million years I would live in Florida and actually enjoy it! So sometimes it’s okay to change your path, because I honestly believe everything happens for a reason!

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

I am myself when I talk with clients! I use instagram as the main way I interact with my clients! I will post funny stories, things that are relatable to my audience and life updates. I want my clients to really feel like their my friends, because honestly I feel like they are! I will message with them all the time, send hand written personalized notes with every order, again I want them to feel like they are getting a fun gift from a friend, someone they trust, because they are trusting me with creating a reliable product for them! This has helped me have so many repeat customers, people want to come back and purchase the things I’ve made because they trust me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.daysoffcollective.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daysoff_collective/

Image Credits
Samantha Morgan