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

Kali, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?

I’ve experienced several failures while running this business! The most recent time I remember, I was planning for my busiest time of year, Halloween. Not only was I creeping up on busy season, but I also had a 3-day event booked for the first time ever, that was Halloween-centric. In the past, creating products specifically for Halloween was lucrative for my shop and they would still sell the rest of the year. Typically, I’m a last-minute scrambler when it comes to producing products for an event. Not this year! I was fully prepared a month or two beforehand, had my designs ready to go and pins in hand well before October. I was so excited about what I had designed and was super proud of myself for having it together (for once)! Needless to say, the event was a gigantic flop and the pins I’d designed barely moved off the shelf the rest of the Halloween season. Of course I was bummed, but that’s how it goes sometimes! Especially for someone like me, who almost solely creates products that I, myself would want. Not everyone fits into my niche set of likes, and that’s ok! I’ll still have those Halloween pins out for sale, crossing my fingers someone like-minded stops by.

Kali, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Kali (kay-lee) and I am the owner of Kill ’em With Cuteness. I mostly sell enamel pins, but the last couple of years I’ve branched out more into stickers, prints, cards and other printed goods. I started this little business seven years ago, with the hopes to create products that I hadn’t yet seen available! Specifically, I wanted to focus on creating retro and pop culture inspired products, that reflected my own interests. Enamel pins were having a huge resurgence and I had already started a collection of my own. Working with my partner at the time, he helped bring my design ideas to life, and I launched one design at a time. It took some time to figure out the correct factories to use and how many pins to order at a time, but the business picked up quickly! Advertising on Instagram was different back then and was my only source of marketing, but worked beautifully. The internet community of pin sellers was very supportive and I was invited to join a group of makers that were all women. Within that first year, the group of women (dubbed Girl Pin Gang) put together an in-person event in Chicago, that was wildly successful. It’s insane to think that my very first in-person market was in a different state and city! Flying with a crate full of pins was an experience. Since then, the internet has slowed down significantly, and I do the majority of my business at local events in Orlando. I also have my stock available for purchase in local shops.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I did not have a large amount of money to launch a full collection of items at once, so the first pin I produced was paid for out of pocket. After that, I was able to produce one pin at a time from the profits made from the design before. I would eventually be able to produce a few items at once, after sales picked up and multiple items were selling at a time.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell on my own website, powered by Shopify. I have sold on Etsy in the past and did not enjoy using that platform. Etsy is very oversaturated and it is difficult to standout without spending quite a bit on advertising. There are also lots of fees included when selling on Etsy, where using Shopify for my own website there is just a flat monthly fee associated with using the platform.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://killemwithcute.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/killemwithcute/