We recently connected with Keisha Ricketts and have shared our conversation below.

Keisha, appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

The first time I got an official sale was exciting! I made the jump to start a wreath business and show my designs to people who weren’t friends and family. I began posting my designs on social media and even opened an Etsy shop. I had about 10 wreath designs posted and waited for someone to “stroll” into my online shop and make that first purchase. I was so apprehensive because Etsy displays the number of sales for a shop and mine said a big ZERO. I wondered who would want to buy from a shop with no sales. I worried that my mom was the only one that thought my wreaths are beautiful and that I had made a mistake and wasted my time even trying such a thing.

Late one evening, I heard a strange ding from my phone. It was actually more a “CHA-CHING.” If you know anything about Etsy, you know this sound is infamous for sellers and shop owners on the platform. I reached for my phone and mumbled, “It couldn’t be.” But it was; I had made my first sale…to a stranger! Someone took a chance on me and handmade wreath design. I opened my Etsy app and saw that the sale was for my Juneteenth wreath. Its was headed to a family in Chicago, my hometown. It was at this time that I realized I had no idea how to pack and ship a wreath! I never anticipated making sale so soon. I scoured the city for a box big enough and then scoured Youtube for tips on shipping such a large item. The next day, I carefully packaged the wreath and mailed to Chicago. The feeling of knowing that someone found, liked and chose something I handmade was such an overwhelming delight and I wanted more it. I knew I had made the right decision to share my wreath designs with others.

Eventually, I made more sales to other homes across the country and even more sales to that first family in Chicago. This family has become one of my best customers, and have purchased wreaths for every season and for their friends and family. I’ve even become friends with them and have hand delivered purchases to their home when I’m visiting Chicago. I couldn’t have asked for a better family to be my first! Even after hundreds of sales on Etsy and at craft shows, the feeling of that first sale never goes away.

Keisha, 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 interest in home holiday décor stems from helping my parents with their holiday decorations each year. Choosing ornaments for a Christmas tree, garlands, lights and all things! I specialize in deco mesh wreaths. These designs can be used primarily as décor for your front door and other spaces in your home: over a mantle, a window, or wall space. Wreaths can be hung in any room in your home that requires a festive or decorative touch. My wreath designs are not bound to just Christmas; I create for all holidays and seasons and all homes, large, small, and even apartments!

These aren’t like your grandma’s evergreen wreaths! While I create pieces with traditional elements, many of my more whimsical or playful designs are becoming most known and recognized; bold colors, fun shapes with shimmering accents, and playful attachments like gnomes, Santa Claus and Frankenstein. Things you won’t find in the décor aisle of your average retail store.

I’m most proud of my growth in designing quality door décor and the ways I share that with my customers. I strive to help my customers style their front door and front porch with ease, while not sacrificing the whimsy, glitz and/or glam they desire. I strive to educate my customers on how to best maintain the quality of their wreaths and how to effectively use it in and around their homes. I share tips and videos via social media and email about the best way to hang a wreath, where to hang it, when to hang it, how to store it, and what type of wreath might suit them best. I want customers to be educated on simple yet beautiful ways to style their homes and porches for each season and holiday.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Using social media to market my business has been a needed topsy, turvy rollercoaster ride. Typically, I use social media to reach out to potential customers and other wreath makers. My following is not large, but they are dedicated. I try to share helpful tips for using a wreath to easily style your home from season to season. Often I share behind the scenes content or images from the wreath room to let my audience know that each design truly is handmade by someone real that enjoys what she does and values home décor for their home. I “built” my social media audience by having fun and simply just posting. I began to post pictures of my wreaths, memes, or pictures and videos of myself with my wreaths and took note of what resonated with different people. If there was low engagement, I refrained from posting things similar to that and if there was high engagement on a post, I looked to share more things that was similar. I was throwing spaghetti at a wall…not necessarily recommended. But eventually, I noticed trends of what worked and what didn’t, what led to sales and what didn’t.
Overall, I strive to be consistent and “show up” for my audience to entertain or educate about wreaths as home décor on all platforms. And most of all, I try not to put the worth of myself or my work solely on what happens on any social media platform. I understand that on any given day the tides of social media can change and leave me discouraged or comparing myself to others. As valuable and as useful as social media can be, it is only a part of what I do and create and should be used as one avenue of reach to my audience.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Using an email list is great strategy for growing clientele. Meeting people in person and offering an option to join an email list is a great way to stay in touch and share what you choose to share with your people. With all the algorithms of social media, sometimes its hard to pinpoint who is exposed to your content or sales when. However, an email list is a great way to know exactly who is being exposed to your brand and at what time. Its a great way to follow up with customers after meeting at a fair or delivering an item for the first time. Most importantly, its a great way to help your audience KNOW, LIKE AND TRUST you, which is such a valuable component of building a long lasting brand in any arena or industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chubbycherubwreaths.etsy.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/chubbycherubwreath
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/chubbycherubwreaths
• Other: www.tiktok.com/chubbycherubwreaths www.pinterest.com/chubbycherubwreaths