Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laura Chesney-Gadd. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Laura, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was leaving my steady paycheck, well-paid, comfortable, corporate job in November 2018. Growing up the constant message was college, then a job with a 401k. My Dad worked for the same company his entire life, taking the same train into downtown Chicago every morning, and always coming back home on the 5:28 p.m. train each day. This was what I saw during my formative years, and what I assumed my work future would be like when I was older.

I did the responsible, expected thing for the better chunk of my life working a “regular” job. I started working in 8th grade, and I’ve worked pretty much every year since. Since college, I have worked for three different companies. After 25 years of working in the corporate world, I took a leap of faith and left the company I had been working for for 14 years. It was the biggest risk, and scariest thing I’ve ever done. But boy has it been worth it!!

For the last couple years of working that job, I was also doing 1331 Custom Decor & Goods evenings and weekends. Orders came in a pretty steady pace and I kept quite busy. As business continued to grow, I was seeing that I was making almost as much as my 9-5 job, but I was much happier. My husband had owned a business for 15+ years so I knew of the benefits, but also all the negatives. As a Type A personality, I struggled for a long time about whether quitting my job and building 1331 Custom Decor & Goods was the right thing to do? No more steady paycheck. No bonuses. No paid vacation & sick days. No company match 401k. But what I did see was happiness, fulfillment, flexibility, and growth.

I made a list of what things had to be in place before I could leave my job. There weren’t too many things on it – maybe 4 or 5. At one point, I met up with a friend who had several of her own companies and was quite successful. We talked about the great things about owning your own business and the crappy things about owning your own business. When I told her I was ready to take the leap, but only after the 4 or 5 items on my list were checked off, the next words she said really hit me. She said, “Laura, there will always be 4-5 items on your list. You cross one off and another will take its place. You just need to do it.”

The list was shortened to just 1 item, and shortly after that one item was checked off I started plotting my “exit strategy.” The next couple months were terrifying, nerve wracking, exhilarating, excited – all the emotions.  After my last day of work my husband and I celebrated, and I got the best night of sleep I had gotten in years!

It was definitely a risk to do what I did, and the first couple years were a bit tough, but my business has been booming the last couple of years and just had my best year yet in 2023. Even with the tough times, I would do it over again in a heartbeat.

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.

From being around my Mom who was a constant ‘crafter’ to teaching myself to do counted cross-stitch when I was 7 to frequently making gifts for friends and family to years of scrapbooking, I have always been a creative. I feel like my creativity flourished as a way to calm and temper my analytical, Type A personality. Making something, doing things with my hands, has always brought me happiness – and quiet my overactive mind. And then to be able to share it or gift it to someone else just makes my heart full.

My Mom died in September 2002.  About a week before she died she told me to go through all her craft related stuff, keep what I want, and open a store with what’s left.  Let me tell you, she had a lot of stuff so it would have been a big store.  LOL!  For a while I did actually look into some options, but that “responsible” voice in me kept saying it was too risky, so I didn’t do anything.

Fast forward a little over a decade.  A decade of still hearing my Mom tell me to open up a shop.  A decade where I hadn’t been making things like I had in the past.  I started creating again, and creating, and creating, and creating.  One day I jokingly said to my husband, “maybe I should start a company and start selling my stuff.  Don’t worry, I’m not quitting my job or anything.”  He responded with, “Why not?  If it’s something that makes you happier, why not do it?  You know I’d support you in whatever you decide.”  And so, the birth of my business happened.  It started slowly, and took several turns & pivots to become what it is today – but today it is perfect, and I can’t imagine things any other way.

My goal with 1331 Custom Decor & Goods is to create items that evoke memories for people. From an ornament on a tree celebrating the birth of a child, commemorating a marriage, or remembering the death of a loved one or a furry friend, to a map documenting travels and adventures to custom pieces designed specifically for someone, I love creating memories for people. And when I get to hear from someone who has bought something I’ve made and they share what it means to them or the person they purchased it for, my heart wells up with happiness and pride that it means as much to them receiving it as it did to me making it. I want the person who has something I’ve made to get a smile across their face when they see it as the memories come flooding back.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There have been a number of resources I have used over the years. I have read numerous books and articles on so many topics. Basically, if there was something I needed to know about, I’d look it up (but if it was tech related, I usually went to my techie husband for help). :) The three books I took the most from were Make Your Bed by William H. McRaven, Profit First by Mike Michalowicz, and Atomic Habits by James Clear.  I highly recommend all three!

A resource I recently discovered that I have utilized several times now is our local SCORE chapter – SCORE Twin Cities. SCORE is associated with the Small Business Administration, and in addition to providing free mentorship for business owners (future or current), they also have local workshops they hold on very wide range of topics – marketing, branding, taxes, hiring, etc. Many of the workshops SCORE Twin Cities provides are free of charge and take place virtually, with you getting access to the recorded session afterwards. I have learned a lot in the workshops I’ve attended so far, and have several more coming up that I’m sure will be just as good. I highly recommend checking to see if you have a SCORE chapter in your area.

While reading books, looking up information online, and going to workshops have been great, I’ve actually found the best resource to be other creatives and entrepreneurs. Every Monday morning, I have a call with 5 other female business owners. We “found” each other through a program we had each purchased. Geographically, we are scattered across the U.S. and none of us has the same type of business. For the last two years we have met weekly to talk about our struggles, get advice, celebrate wins & brainstorm through challenges, bounce ideas off each other, set goals, learn new things, and tackle technology. In addition, doing the number of in-person events that I do I have gotten to know many amazing local makers. We get excited seeing each other at events and share ideas for what else we could be doing. We exchange information about other shows we should, or shouldn’t, do in the future.

I think back to what my business looked like two years ago, and I can absolutely say the success of my business over that time has been due to the connections and time I have spent with other people.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

So many thoughts on this! The first thing that comes to mind is to stop devaluing artists & creatives, and what they create. What you are seeing in our shop, at an in-person event, etc. is made by us. In addition to the raw materials we are using to make our product, they also contain our hearts, our souls, and many times blood, sweat, and tears. We take pride in our work.

Being at in-person events, whether I’m a vendor there or a customer, I’m constantly hearing people ask what kind of discount can I get for this, will you take $X for this, what will you do for me if I buy 2? Many people don’t understand that as an artist or creative we have probably already discounted our own work because we’re afraid to price our product at what we should based on how long it takes us to create. When estimating the cost of our time, most likely we have set an hourly wage way below minimum wages. I have come to learn the value of my time and work to price my products to show that my time is worth something. Asking to pay less for something devalues my me as a creative, my work, my skill, and my time. Please don’t treat an in-person market or art festival like a garage sale.

The other way we can be supported is to share with others. I do my best to share information about other artists with friends and followers. When I do an in-person market or art festival, I try to visit some of the other vendors there to meet them and see what they do. Even if their product is not something that I would purchase or use, it doesn’t mean that I won’t tell others. If there are other makers who also do laser work, I like to see what their specialty is. There have been times that I have referred a customer to a different business because I know they can do a better job for the customer. Community over competition.

Share your purchases with friends, and followers if you’re on social media and tag the business. Don’t just tell someone you got it at the “ABC” Art Festival, or purchased it on Etsy. Tell them the name of the company.  Go to the business’ social media and follow them. Like & share their posts, stories, reels. Sign up to be on the business’ email list – I can almost guarantee they’ll email you way less than the majority of other email lists you’re on. When you get an email and you think “hey, so-and-so would love this!” forward the email to that person.

Be our cheerleader!

Contact Info:

• Website: 1331Decor.com
• Instagram: 1331Decor
• Facebook: 1331Decor

Image Credits
headshot taken by: Elaine Goepfert, I Love Photography all product photos taken by me