We were lucky to catch up with Meredith Limoges recently and have shared our conversation below.
Meredith, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
A lot of people have great product, service, and business ideas. What has been most challenging for me is bringing said idea successfully to market. I still wonder if I’ve completely figured that out. The first thing my co-founder Shirley Beaudin (a.k.a. mom) and I did was decide on the final products we wanted to launch with. Then we researched the ways we could get it in front of people without a lot of capital. We are a grass roots, no investors company that pulled ourselves up from the bootstraps. We started out at retail pop up events and selling on Etsy. All while finding suppliers and figuring out manufacturing that was scalable.
Meredith, 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?
Realizing that a conventional job wasn’t going to cut it for me I began seeking what “my calling” in life was. After much prayer and searching I realized to bring beautiful creations to market in a meaningful way is what I’m meant to do. Beaudin was co-founded with my mom who had taught me how to sew and who had a career being a designer.
We’ve dedicated our walls to the liberation of women from all walks of life. Specifically, we provide training and employment for those in difficult situations. We hope to inspire all of our employees with tangible skills they can carry through the rest of their lives. In 2014, Beaudin partnered with Out of Darkness, the anti-trafficking ministry of Atlanta Dream Center, to expand ministry efforts beyond our walls. Out of Darkness specifically aims to reach, rescue, and restore lives bound by this affliction. At Beaudin, a portion of all proceeds goes to Out of Darkness to support these efforts for the betterment of our local and global community. As Beaudin expanded, we moved from a basement to a full studio in 2017!
We still design and make EVERYTHING in our studio. Leather & Hair on Hide is our jam! We pair trends with luxury materials and create cute accessories. We have anything from a Cowhide Apple Watch to a Leather Backpack Purse.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
2020, the year of change. Where everything was abnormal in every way. It was no different for us. News of cities quarantining visitors had just started. I could see something was happening and I would need to be flexible. I kept thinking to myself “businesses that stand the test of time are the ones that adapt and do it fast”. I didn’t know what we would need to change or exactly how much time we would have to do it, but I knew if Beaudin was going to make it through we had to do something. A friend who owns a similar company in South America had started making face masks. After praying about it one day I woke up and said let’s try it ourselves! Research on materials were underway. I designed a style, created the pattern, and ordered the proper supplies. All this before any shutdowns in the USA. To be able to turn our leather crafting studio into a mask factory took new tools, equipment, and training. Some of our artisans had never worked with fabric before. Two weeks later the president announced we were going to have a 14 day nationwide shutdown. Fear swept through our team. We all came together and I encouraged them that we already had a plan in place and we just needed to work it. Trucking companies, doctor offices, local charities, and moms wanting to protect their families – these are all people who started buying our face masks. We ended up hiring locals who were furloughed and needed work. We worked 11-12 hour days six days a week to help supply our community and country. Looking back I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard, but wasn’t a bit tired. Fueled by purpose we pushed on and made thousands and thousands of masks. I’ll forever be grateful for the experience, but even more grateful to be back to making our leather creations.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
Being self funded we were always looking for the biggest bang for the buck to market our products. Local retail pop-up events and regional trade shows were our typical stomping ground to get in front of buyers. Our first trade show was at AmericasMart. It was super expensive and a total flop! I was burned and didn’t want to go back. After a few years exhibiting at smaller wholesale trade shows we set a goal to aggressively expand our wholesale customer base. This meant stepping out of our comfort zone budget wise and playing with the big dogs. I had been paralyzed by fear from losing my shirt the first time. Regardless we had a goal and were going to go back to AmericasMart. I was so nervous. We booked the smallest sized booth we could get to keep costs down. Then an opportunity came my way – a chance to be up front and center (like real estate location is EVERYTHING when it comes to trade shows). This was going to come at a cost. Double the cost to be exact. That’s double what I was already sweating spending. This opportunity doesn’t come often. Most companies in these locations stay there for decades. “Okay – I’ll take it”, I told the booking agent. Every day leading up to the show I questioned if I had made the right decision. We even had to invest in a new booth set-up because of the change of size. “What have I done?” I would often ask myself as I shelled out more and more money to make this venture happen. The first day of the show was nearing a close and we had sold as much as we normally sell during a 3 day show elsewhere. Phew! The risk paid off. We go back to this location every time and continue to sell more and more. It is now my most lucrative trade show.
Contact Info:
- Website: beaudindesigns.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/beaudindesigns
- Facebook: facebook.com/beaudindesigns
- Linkedin: Meredith Limoges
Image Credits
Hannah G, Lateralus