Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kacie Calderon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Kacie, thanks for joining us today. Do you manage your own social media?
Yes, I do! I choose to run my own social media marketing for Auntie’s Accessories. I made this decision for a couple reasons, namely because I run a small business and I am the face of my brand. Running my own social media pages means that I can tailor the content to my customer base exactly how I have envisioned the ideas and I don’t have to rely on a company or social media manager to create marketing that fits my brand. Also, despite the time commitment that running my own social pages takes, I actually really enjoy making content! My business is centered around me being an Aunt which means a lot of my content can simply be me hanging out with my nieces and nephew, which makes the content aspect pretty enjoyable!
However, just because I enjoy running my own social pages, doesn’t mean it is an easy task! The time commitment of creating posts for Instagram and Facebook, plus TikTok videos, plus my marketing and welcome emails is a pretty hefty chunk of the day. I’m sure if I added up all the hours spent creating content, thinking of ideas, researching current trending sounds and videos, and creating weekly content plans, plus all of my other tasks as a small business owner, I’m definitely putting in more than your average 40 hours per week. I often consider whether the cost of hiring a company is worth the ease of not having to make content myself, but I always come back to the decision that I enjoy making content and right now the best thing for my business is me running my social media myself.
Running my own social media has actually brought a lot of connections and opportunities to Auntie’s Accessories. I have gained over 13.5k followers across my social platforms and have made connections with an amazing group of women who now rep my business and products and post social media content for Auntie’s Accessories daily. Creating these connections has not only been the main source of sales and traffic to my business but has also made my job of posting to social media that much easier, as my reps do it for me sometimes! I firmly believe that Auntie’s Accessories is where it is today because I’ve chose to run my own social media and create those lasting connections with my customer base through content.
My advice to those looking to start a business but who are worried about running a social media is: take a look at your customer base and what type of content those customers would be looking for, and then decide from there whether you feel confident in creating that content effectively. if you chose to run your own social medias, it will be trial and error in the beginning, but once you find content that does well and your customers gravitate to, keep doing that!
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.
I’m Kacie! The owner of Auntie’s Accessories. I have worked with mothers and children in several careers throughout my life and have wanted to be a mom myself for as long as I can remember. During my time working with children, I witnessed the joys and struggles of motherhood. In 2020, I became an Auntie and got to see my sisters become mothers and navigate motherhood. I created Auntie’s with the mission to provide a safe space for mothers to experience all sides of motherhood alongside hundreds of other moms. What started with cute outfits for my first niece has evolved into a successful small business focused on creating a nurturing community of moms supporting one another through the ups and downs of motherhood while creating memories with their kiddos. Aunties Accessories makes lots of different items, however we place a big emphasis on special occasion outfits and accessories, giving parents and kiddos the opportunity to celebrate even the smallest occasion in a big way! I started Auntie’s in my grandparents basement with a hand-me-down sewing machine and extra fabric I had laying around, and have grown my little business organically and slowly, with the utmost love and joy for my craft. Investing in myself and my business was a gamble that I was terrified to take, but I have loved every second of growing Auntie’s into what it is today. If I had to chose one thing for potential customers to know about me and about Auntie’s Accessories it would be that I hope to transform ordinary moments into remarkable memories through the love and attentional to detail that is put into each unique, and handmade, Auntie’s piece.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
Yep! Each piece at Auntie’s Accessories is handmade by me. I love my craft and love the detail I’m able to put into each item I sell because it is manufactured by me. I did know a bit about sewing when I started Auntie’s Accessories, but there honestly is so much more that goes into it than simply knowing how to sew. I also am completely self taught and am always learning knew things about manufacturing and running Auntie’s Accessories. Starting out, I used whatever supplies I had on hand or the first thing I saw in store that worked for what I needed. I didn’t do much research into safety regulations or what the best type of fabric for children would be. Over the course of the last three years I have learned an immense amount about the safety regulations around children’s clothing and how the materials I’m using effect the safety and functionality. This, among other things, has changed the way that I create and supply my items a ton. I’ve learned quite a bit over the years but I hope to keep improving and learning the best techniques to manufacture my products.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I’m not sure if you would really consider this a lesson or not, but when I began Auntie’s Accessories I completely thought that my friends and family would be my biggest supporters. Starting out, they were, but as Auntie’s Accessories has grown and I’ve been able to grow my social media connections I have gained an incredible group of supporters from people I’ve never even met! This is not to say anything negative about my friends and family, they’ve been amazing throughout the lifetime of Auntie’s Accessories. Im just saying it’s really cool to have people outside of my friends and family that love my business as much as I do! My outside supporters and the ride-or-dies that I’ve found through social media have had a huge part in making Auntie’s what it is today.
Contact Info:
- Website: auntiesaccessories.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aunties_accessories/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/auntiesaccessoriesplus