We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mary Meier-Evans. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mary below.

Alright, Mary thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

My Business, The Curious Cowgirl, began in 2018 as a Travel Blog. And today, The Curious Cowgirl offers so much more than travel….including antique sourcing and selling, Social Media Coaching for Antique Dealers, Antique and Vintage Textiles, and the newest venture…needlepoint canvas designs.

The Curious Cowgirl has been a serious of pivots, but very inter-related. Each challenging, and each incredibly fulfilling.

And it’s NEVER too late to turn your passion into a profitable business….I’m 56 and am certain there’s more evolution in store for The Curious Cowgirl!

Mary , 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 Business, The Curious Cowgirl, began in 2018 as a Travel Blog. My husband and I are avid collectors of antiques and art, and traveled frequently to attend Antique Shows, Auctions, Flea Markets, and Exhibits across the United States and Europe. A friend encouraged me to document our travels in the form of a Blog, which gained huge momentum in 2019, with numerous collaborative travel opportunities with specific destinations and partners. Travel Guides, Restaurant Guides and Pre-Planned Itineraries for destinations like New York City, Paris and Rome were popular products available for purchase on my website.

And then 2020 happened, and the Travel Industry came to a screeching halt. As did the entire Antiques Industry, relative to Antique Shows, Flea Markets and Auctions.

Because The Curious Cowgirl was an on-line business, I had to learn how to market my business via Social Media. I had to learn about SEO for my Blog Posts. I had to begin gathering emails for newsletter communications. And I knew absolutely nothing about digital marketing. So, I listened to several podcasts, signed up for on-line classes, and learned as much as I could.

In the Spring of 2020, with no travel in the foreseeable future, I decided to offer coaching assistance to the many friends I had in the antique industry, who were scrambling to find a way to continue to make sales in the absence of any in-person events.

And so, The Curious Cowgirl added a new “pillar” to my business, which continues to this day. I often teach groups of Dealers selling within the context of an Antique Mall, how to market their business on Social Media. And I have a podcast called “Getting Social with The Curious Cowgirl”, offering tips, guidance and coaching in a podcast format.

One of the by-products of the challenges of 2020, was a HUGE resurgence in interest in decorating with antiques and vintage. Supply chain issues made ordering and receiving new furniture and home decor almost impossible, and so many people turned to their local antique shops and malls to find what they wanted for their homes.

My husband and I decided it was time to get into the selling side of antiques and art, not just the collecting side, and so we rented out first antique booth in November 2020 at Benny Jack Antiques in Dallas, Texas. We enjoyed fast success, selling furniture, decor and art so quickly, we decided to rent a second booth at a different antique mall in Dallas. And in the Spring of 2021, we opened another booth at Forestwood Antique Mall in Dallas, Texas

Now The Curious Cowgirl had three areas of focus: Travel, Social Media Coaching for Antiques Dealers, and a thriving antiques business!

We resumed travel within the United States in May of 2021, with a singular focus of sourcing antiques and vintage for our new business. And, when travel resumed, so did my travel blogging, with an emphasis on where and how to source high-quality antiques and vintage.

With many hours spent on the road, my favorite hobby got a lot of attention: needlepointing. I learned to needlepoint in my 20’s, and have been an enthusiastic stitcher for over 25 years.

At a Flea Market in Ohio, I came across a new-to-me-find that would dramatically change my business model once again. I discovered antique Feed Sack Cloth, a textile dating back to the 1920’s with a rich and interesting history. I purchased a few pieces of this charming textile, brightly colored, and whimsically designed, and considered how I could “up-cycle” this textile for a modern use.

I decided this textile was PERFECT for finishing needlepoint projects, and so I began to market my textile finds to needlepointers and needlepoint shops across the United States. The response was so positive, I became an approved Seller at Needlepoint Industry Markets, held twice a year, exclusive to Wholesale Sellers and Buyers.

Now, the fourth pillar of The Curious Cowgirl, sourcing and selling a wide range of antique and vintage textiles to many different industries, has become a huge part of my antique business.

And, if all of those efforts were not enough, I wanted to try my hand a designing needlepoint canvases, inspired by two things I truly love: Textiles and Vintage Christmas. Today, I offer over 70 needlepoint canvas designs to the industry, many paired with coordinating vintage textiles for finishing.

The Curious Cowgirl has been a serious of pivots, but very inter-related. Each challenging, and each incredibly fulfilling.

How did you build your audience on social media?

As I mentioned earlier, when I started The Curious Cowgirl in 2018, I had to build an on-line presence from scratch. Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest were the focus of my efforts at that time, and I had zero professional marketing training.

I began to seek out training, tips, articles….anything I could find. One of my most trusted resources was via podcasts. There are SO many good coaches out there offering VOLUMES of free training via their podcasts. And, of course, many of these coaches offer courses, articles, and other ways to dive deeper.

So, my best advice is to find 3-4 Social Media coaches who publish regular podcasts, and begin listening to them. You will find that some are a perfect fit for what you need to learn. And, as they bring on guests to the shows, you will be exposed to new experts and coaches to follow. Soon, you will have plenty of tips and recommendations and advice to follow as you begin to build your own Social Media presence.

And don’t be intimidated if you are on the “older” side of life. Learning to market on Social Media is like learning to do anything else. You will be slow in the beginning. You might feel awkward. You will make mistakes. So what? Be patient with yourself, and don’t give up. You will get better the more you practice!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Do it YOUR way!

One of the most harmful effects of Social Media is believing the lie that you have to follow the trends. That you have to do what others are doing to gain an audience.

Absolutely untrue!

When I started selling antiques, I watched other dealers on Social Media source and sell a particular type of material. And so I began looking for similar pieces. But what I quickly realized, was that I needed to source and sell what resonated with ME. Because I could not effectively, authentically and enthusiastically sell finds that I did not truly love.

I continued to enjoy watching what others were sourcing and selling, but I began to follow my own gut, and that’s when my business truly turned the corner and became wildly successful.

Your goal is to cultivate an audience of followers who like what you are doing, because you are being authentically you. Numbers are vanity. Quality is always better than quantity. Authenticity is always best.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thecuriouscowgirl.com/
• Instagram: The Curious Cowgirl
• Facebook: The Curious Cowgirl
• Other: Pinterest: Curious_Cowgirl Getting Social With The Curious Cowgirl Podcast: https://gettingsocialwiththecuriouscowgirl.buzzsprout.com