We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ebony Belser a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ebony, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

Most folks will look at my online presence/content and ASSUME that I didn’t put in to much work to be where I am, or even deserve the accolades I’ve accomplished thus far. Little do most know I actually had to put in an immense amount of work, funds, time and energy to get where I am and to receive what I have received. Let’s just say I took many losses before I got to where I am, and that leads me in to how I made my first $1, $6 to be exact lol. I officially starting selling my product’s October of 2016 at an event called Trapxart that was based out of Oakland ca. for Artist/Creatives/Business owners to market/promote their brand/business/Art, big or small. Being that I was a up and coming business I took the initiative to be a vendor at their event. Long story short I didn’t make a dime that day. I can laugh about this story now but I was distraught at that time. The Event itself was amazing and new for me and I actually enjoyed myself seeing all the other artists/businesses making sales inspired me to not give up, although I didn’t make a sale that day. I then again applied to be a vendor at another one of Trapxart’s events and made my first $6 for one of my hand made accessories. I was ECSTATIC! I didn’t care if I made another sale that day, but that 1 sale inspired me to continue to work with Trapxart + MORE companies/event curators to be a vendor after my first debut. Big thanks to Trapxart for even creating a business that is a FREE platform to build your brand/business. Your success depends on your effort+ consistency .

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Besides being a mother and dedicated, hardworking business owner, I also live a pretty normal life. I know there is a stereotype about “ditching your 9-5 to start a business” but that’s not always the reality of many business owners. I still work a 9-5 along with being a business owner, and I actually started my business with a 9-5 to fund it with the objective of starting my business, to one day my business being my only 9-5. Until then I am the ultimate MOM-ENTREPRENEUR. I actually started crocheting on the job lol. I was already in search of my purpose and just a new interest as I was working on healing from a very detrimental time in my personal life. I was inspired by a crochet artist online, and the rest was history.

At ECBC, LLC we offer handmade crochet couture, and accessories, made to order and premade. I also specialize in handmade vegan cosmetics, and soon, handmade home goods. Virtually, my Instagram for ECBC LLC and crochet and Convos offers much inspiration in more ways than one. Follow my Instagram and subscribe to crochet and Convos for new and previous ep’s. @ecbcllc via Instagram and @ecbcreationsllc via YouTube.

What sets ECBC, LLC apart from others is the unique styles/designs for our ensembles/creations. Everything is created with intention, meaning anything done at ECBC, LLC is of substance. This is not a business solely based upon “making money” per-say , the funds come, but the impact is what’s most important to me, it creates value for/of the business and that’s one of the things I’m most proud of. Not the money or how many sales I make but the impact.

What I would like potential supporters to know is that supporting ECBC, LLC goes a long way, it’s bigger than a sale, a view, or a like, but also about what you can gain, whether that’s knowledge, inspiration, unique threads, etc. I don’t want my business to just cater to 1 specific audience but a multitude of audiences.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn, rather quickly, was trying to do everything on my own. Meaning, literally playing ALL the roles regarding ECBC, LLC. The saying “it takes a village” is relevant for not only raising a child, but growing a business. I started out with the support of family but eventually I went off on my own because I had a specific way I wanted to run my business. After attempting to do everything solo, I got over my pride and begin to network in search of supporters who were interested in marketing for ECBC, LLC. Thankfully, I managed to naturally find two lovely ladies that agreed to assist me with growing ECBC, LLC.

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

At ECBC, LLC you can shop via our website ECBcreations.co/ and also via Etsy (ECBcreations, LLC). These are my main two platforms for selling but I definitely plan on EXPANSION, so be in the look out of ECBC, LLC products via more platforms in the near future. No “cons” whatsoever! When you’re trying to market your brand/business to several audiences you don’t want to narrow your options down to just one, you can obtain way more sales having multiple platforms, it’s like having multiple streams of income, and that right there is the ultimate “PRO”.

Contact Info:

• Website: Ecbcreations.co/
• Instagram: @ecbcllc
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ecbcreationsllc
• Other: Etsy; ECBcreations, LLC

Image Credits
@snapsbyjessiemarie @grim_productions