We recently connected with Erin Hoy and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Erin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Often outsiders look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight. Even media and especially movies love to gloss over nitty, gritty details that went into that middle phase of your business – after you started but before you got to where you are today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. Can you talk to us about your scaling up story – what are some of the nitty, gritty details folks should know about?

Two years ago, in 2020, I started from ground zero. I didn’t have a single follower (and my business was actually called Sewing Creations by Erin). I started my business by sewing a variety of different products, including bags, crayon holders and more. I started sewing headbands and scrunchies about 2-3 months into my business and realized how much I loved it! Headbands can be a tough sell–lots of women have suffered from headaches from poor, factory made headbands that we are all too used to. I came into this specific sewing community with the goal to create comfortable and ethical accessories. And that’s what I did. I created a brand through my sewing talents and through the process I created hair accessories accessible to all women in my community. I have built a following of over 1,000 individuals who trust my hair accessories and know they are comfortable and came from a place of love.

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 background and context?

The Messy Brunette is a one woman business dedicated to creating comfortable, ethical and handmade accessories. I fell in love with the craft and the niche the minute I began sewing these hair accessories. I started doing pops up and realized how much the hair accessory niche is lacking in the small business world. It was very rare for me to find another maker who sews & creates headbands and scrunchies. That made me even more eager to get my name out and promote my products. I love seeing my customers wearing The Messy Brunette products: and it gives me even more joy knowing they feel confident and beautiful.

I have to say I am most proud of my following. Although I don’t have the most followers out of all the small business owners, I know that my customers trust my products and my process. And that is more important to me than any amount of followers could ever be.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Last spring, I noticed my small business needed some serious changes. At that point in my life, I knew that I wanted to become a professional Social Media Manager in my new state of Texas. I knew, however, I needed to hone in on my skills in order to level up my business and my social media abilities. Thus, for 2 months this past summer, I took a break from The Messy Brunette. I was very upset with the idea of stepping away from my small business. The success of The Messy Brunette was (and still is today) the one thing in life I wanted the most. But I knew if I didn’t take a break to strengthen my brand image, my business would never extend to it’s true potential.

This summer, I not only spent hours upon hours studying social media trends, I also moved from Minnesota to Texas. At the same time I knew I needed a change in my small business, I also knew I needed a personal change as well. This move has allowed me to meet new small business owners and gain access to new opportunities for myself and my business. Not to mention, I now run 3 other professional Instagram accounts, along with The Messy Brunette.

My business re-opened September 1st and sales & followers have been on a steady increase ever since.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

At first, The Messy Brunette was simply a hobby I would do a few hours a week. I never imagined it would become much more than just a side hustle. I continuously believe that opening up my own small business was the best thing that I have ever done in life. When I first started my business, I was in college in the middle of the pandemic. In addition, I was studying to become a Speech Therapist, but I felt like something was missing. Thus, I tried out promoting and selling products on Instagram. I fell in love with creating accessories that made others feel confident and beautiful. From there, I opened up my own website and gained a great following of amazing, loyal customers. Although my small business cannot financially be only job at the moment, I learned so much valuable information about running a business, marketing, content creation and more. Through 2+ years of promoting my products of social media, I realized I wanted to work in marketing. With the skills I obtained through my small business, I obtained a Social Media Coordinator position for an engineering company here in San Antonio. I am so excited to see where The Messy Brunette takes me in the future!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://themessybrunette.com.co/
• Instagram: @the__messybrunette
• Facebook: The Messy Brunette
• Twitter: @messybrunette3