We recently connected with Danielle Sallas and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, thanks for joining us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

Owning my own business means that I never really stop working or turn my brain off, however it also gives me the flexibility to attend events for my children, travel with my family and take time off for holidays. My husband is also a business owner and there are times we are both working weekends, evenings or even while we are on a trip, however we both agree that the flexibility to make our own schedules is priceless to our family.

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?

My name is Danielle Sallas. I own and operate BB’s Shebang on Etsy. I run the business, do the social media, design work, printing and packaging on my own (with a little help sometimes from my awesome family). I sell personalized gifts with a focus on UV printing. I started crafting in my kitchen when I was home with my son when he was a baby and turned that into a business that grew from there. I am proud of my brand because I grew it from nothing. My husband is incredibly supportive and has encouraged me to grow what I love doing into the business it is now.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I started out putting decals on cups and heat pressing material to make t-shirts just for fun. It was a costly hobby so I started selling some of my creations. I knew I wanted to be able to provide a better product that was more professional and started doing research. I found a brand of cups that was local to my city and tested them and love the quality. I next started looking into UV printing. This would allow me me to work faster, do larger scale orders and provide a permanent more professional product. My husband and I took a leap and invested in the printer and it grew from there. I still sell cups but they are no longer my top product. My best sellers are chalkboard signs. I did not know anything about digital design, or printing. I have to learn the programs and processing from scratch. I also have to perform all of the maintenance including cleaning and part repairs on my own (with a little help from my dad or husband on occasion).

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I started out with my own website and it was very challenging. Now, I am exclusively on Etsy and I love it! Etsy helps connect buyers and sellers in a trust environment. It has really helped me grow my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bbsshebang.com
• Instagram: @bbsshebang
• Facebook: @bbsshebang