We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Heather Armstrong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Heather thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business
I used to be in TV news, fighting for stories and trying to beat other reporters for scoops. That ain’t got nothing on the insane competition that goes on in having your own business. We’re talking about copying designs, edging you out of opportunities and closing doors you’re trying to enter. No, literally, a guy once kept a door closed so I couldn’t enter a show so I’d be late setting up.
My best example is my first. I had just started my cowhide bag biz when I got a fortuitous call – someone had cancelled at the San Antonio Rodeo. Did I want to apply? My inventory was pathetic – only 100 or so bags, 25 wallets, about 15 belts, and approximately zero idea of what I was doing. So, of course I said, hell yes.
I got there with my piddly set-up and realized across from me was the literal Universe of Cowhide. My competition had everything – cowhide rugs, bags, belts, furniture, lampshades. Hell, they even had a cowhide rocking horse.
As we brought in my stuff, my husband, Todd, said some guy was outside taking pictures of our license plate, and when Todd caught him, he looked up and walked off. Come to find out, that was the Cowhide Universe guy. He quickly tried to make nice (more like fake nice) but asked way too many questions about where I got my stuff and how I made my designs. He didn’t even ask my name. I answered him and went on about my business. He softened up when I spoke Spanish to him (he was from Colombia) and I thought well, we’re gonna be alright. But once day he lost his you-know-what. A customer of mine wanted a fanny pack and I didn’t have any so I sent her to the Universe. She came back over to me and next thing I know, he comes barreling over, red-faced screaming at me that “you stole my customer!!” I laughed. It was so over the top I thought he was kidding. No! He screamed and shook his finger in my face, calling me “maleducada” – basically trash. And so went the next three weeks with him staring me down, sneaking to my booth to take pictures of my bags, and accusing me of copying his designs. It got so bad, I screamed at him in Spanish and told him he came over to my booth one more time, I was going to pop my fist in his face. I finally told the woman in charge and she said she wondered how things were going since he sent her pictures of our truck “parked illegally” the day we moved in, and wanted her to call the police. Lord, help, this was only the beginning.
Since then, there have been lots of elbows rubbed wrong, designs “borrowed” and opportunities stolen, but it turns out, it made me better and smarter. I’ll never forget what Bobby, a former drug dealer turned spice dealer told me: if you ain’t got people mad at you, you ain’t no success.
That said, I couldn’t even begin to. enumerate all the help, advice and support I’ve gotten from other vendors and friends, whose sage advice, beautiful brainstorming and quite frankly, cold beers helped get me going in new directions and on paths I would never have taken. Almost all of them are women who, with babies or husbands or full-time “real” jobs and even health issues, go gut it out every day trying to make their small business fly.
And just in case you’re wondering, the next year, once again, I was set up across from Cowhide Universe at the San Antonio rodeo. And of course, that first day he took one look at my new bags and proclaimed them all “stolen designs from him.” I walked over to him, got in his face and said if you start that crap again, this is gonna be a looooong three weeks. And, we didn’t.
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 love bags. I mean, I really LOVE bags. I love crossbodies, clutches, shoulder totes. My bag is always the sleekest thing I have on me – way more so than my clothes or shoes! I also love cowhide. I grew up on a farm outside Troy, TX and used to draw cowhide print on everything – my book covers, my Trapper Keeper, even my diary!
Fast forward years later, my husband, sons and I lived in Bogota, Colombia for six years, which is the capital of exquisite leather. Colombians know how to tan leather and especially cowhide. It’s so soft and supple – like butter. I bought so much leather stuff in Colombia I could have opened up my own store. It wasn’t until we moved back to Texas that I decided to start making some of my own designs. I made about four or five designs, had a little trunk show, and sold out. Had another one, sold out. So I thought hmm, I’ll put some of these online! Didn’t sell a thing. Ha! Turns out, I’m no SEO specialist but I decided to go to a few shows and be a vendor. Some were flops, but others were big wins. But we’re going to keep on keeping on, as each year we grow just a little. We now have home goods and have expanded to lines that include Guatemalan huipiles and fabrics. I also made leather jewelry and accessories that are very boho and minimalist – my two favorite things! We now sell online and on Etsy.
The best part is I am partnered with a small family in Bogota who make every single bag with loving and experienced hands, putting great attention to detail on every piece. They are also the nicest, most down to earth people in the world, who cherish our business and we hope to give them lots of work in the years to come.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
I try to keep in touch with all my customers because their loyalty is huge and means everything to us. I figured out how to reach them and that’s by doing what I wish companies would do to me – be kind, thoughtful, responsive and most of all, funny. No, I’m not kidding. Everything in life is better with a sense of humor. Even if a customer is upset because they received something damaged or the wrong item, I fix it quickly and with some fun, and it always brings their stress level down.
I try to follow-up with customers to see how they’re doing. I try to listen to them if they have suggestions. Once a woman at one of my trunks shows got one of my bags, folded it in half, and told me to put adjustable straps on the side of this bag and she would buy it. It seemed so basic and small. I did it, and sold a lot. It is now my #1 selling bag. Listen to your customers!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I listened to about 50 million “How I Built This” podcasts with Guy Raz and decided right away, I didn’t want to start out with a huge loan. I decided to start out small, make money and use that money to grow. That is what we’ve done and with this method, we’ve grown slowly, but at a pace we’re comfortable with. From time to time, I bemoan that so-and-so company started at the same time as us and they’re moving so much faster, etc. But the truth is, I don’t think we can handle it. Some of my friends had a bunch of kids, one right after another and some spaced them out. The end goal is the same – having a happy family/business that is growing and doing well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lulotexas.etsy.com
- Instagram: LuloTexas
- Facebook: LuloTexas