We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Liz Confiliano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Liz below.

Liz, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

When Edgar’s Bath Goods first launched, it wasn’t just a business, it was a mission. From day one, we had team members on board, because the entire purpose of Edgar’s is to provide vocational training and real work experience for adults with disabilities through Goodwill North Central Texas’ S.T.A.R.S. program. Our early days were filled with excitement and learning. The training was built to be hands-on, supportive and tailored to each individual’s pace. Our “recruiting” was really about finding the right participants from within the S.T.A.R.S. program who were ready for the opportunity to grow.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Goodwill is more than a thrift store. The largest employer of people with disabilities in the world, Goodwill provides education, training and job placement and believes that it’s worth celebrating!

Goodwill North Central Texas is based in Fort Worth and serves 18 counties in the region. The nonprofit’s 27 area retail locations provide revenue through the sale of donated goods to support Goodwill’s mission to CREATE lives of independence and BUILD a stronger local community. Education, training and job placement programs for individuals with disabilities, the formerly incarcerated, at-risk youth, our veterans and people experiencing homelessness are guided by the organization’s vision of a North Central Texas where every person has the opportunity for maximum independence and abundant living.

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

Goodwill funds its mission primarily through the sale of donated items in its retail stores. When community members donate clothing, household goods, or other gently used items, those donations are sorted, priced, and sold, with the revenue directly supporting programs like job training, career placement services and vocational opportunities for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment. In short, every donated item helps change a life. The continued support of the public through donations is what makes Goodwill’s mission not only possible, but sustainable. Without those donations, programs like Edgar’s Bath Goods couldn’t exist.

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

We sell our products directly through our website, edgarsbathgoods.com, which allows us to share our mission-driven story and connect personally with customers. In addition to our online store, we’re proud to have products in a few local boutiques, and we’re excited to be expanding into our local Goodwill retail locations soon. Choosing to focus on our own site has given us more control over branding, customer experience, and pricing, but it does come with challenges, especially around driving traffic and managing fulfillment independently. That said, every sale feels more meaningful when we know it’s supporting vocational training and providing real opportunities for our team members with disabilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.edgarsbathgoods.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edgarsbathgoods
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edgarsbathgoods

Image Credits

Justan Martinez