We were lucky to catch up with Erica Messer recently and have shared our conversation below.
Erica, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
I took a significant leap to create a product aimed at helping people heal from the grief of losing a pet based on my own traumatic experience. After careful development, my mom and I launched Wolfie’s Wish Grieving Cards and were honored to have received a Best New Product Award at an international tradeshow in 2o22. I now have 16 products in 5 languages.
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?
I got into my business because pet loss grief is often ignored. Many pet owners search for grief support and are unsure where to turn. I’ve created books, affirmation card decks, sympathy cards, coloring books, activity books, and guided journals to help adults and children process the loss of pet. We also have a virtual community and free resource library so pet owners can connect to other pet parents in similar positions. The Grieving Cards helped me immensely in my grieving journey and I hope to help fellow pet parents find a bit of light and encouragement during that challenging time.
Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.
I was really lucky that while for printers all over the world, I received a high recommendation for a manufacturer in Hong Kong. We have a great relationship and I hope to meet them in person one day.
In my journey, a lesson I learned early on was that it is always good to test a product and get a hard sample made. Do not just click “print” and hope for the best. It is expensive to make a one-off, but more expensive to re-order!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Building meaningful connections in business and seeking recommendations and referrals is crucial to me. In a landscape where not everyone operates ethically, I prioritize finding solutions to challenges. Instead of over-analyzing problems, I focus on the mentality of overcoming obstacles directly—asking myself, “How do I move forward?” rather than dwelling on the details of the setback.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.wolfieswish.com
- Instagram: @Wolfies_wish
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wolfieswish
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolfieswish/