Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michaela Peragino. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Michaela thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with something countless entrepreneurs have had to figure out on the fly – how have you dealt with the rise of remote work?
How have I taken advantage of being remote for my company? Well since I have started my business during Covid I didn’t have much of a choice! But the internet and social media does give small businesses a huge advantage towards growth and meeting others. When I was in high school I had taken classes such as photography and graphic design. This helped me tremendously when it came down to putting my business out there on the internet. I first started off on Etsy and self taught myself about SEO and used it to my advantage. Then when I was ready I used my knowledge from high school, and a website builder, to launch my own website! I also use social media apps – the two I happen to use the most are TikTok, and instagram. Using social media to you advantage because it’s free advertisement. The best way I like to look at using social media is: if your video isn’t getting a lot of likes, make sure you are paying attention to your views. Sometimes I will have a video that doesn’t get that many likes but will have a few hundred views. Now with this in mind, imagine you own your own physical location and you had hundreds of people walk into your shop. It would be overwhelming and amazing! As frustrating as it can be to not see certain numbers going up while being remote. It’s still a great tool to have.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Michaela but I like going by my nickname Mick. I’m a 19 year old artist from the northern New Jersey area. Throughout high school I was highly influenced by art and fell in love with the art of pottery and sculpturing. Unfortunately ( two weeks after my 17th birthday) Covid arose my junior year of high school, and I was sent home to be online. During this time nothing could keep me from making art. I started out simple by wire wrapping crystals and fossils to make into jewelry. A few months go by and I wanted to try something else, and that’s where I found the craft of silversmithing. I’ve been silversmithing since January 2021 and hope to be able to do this craft for the rest of my life! My dream is to open my own studio space to be able to teach others all different forms of art and share the beautiful talent others have to offer. Through out this amazing journey I have met so many awesome people and can’t wait to continue to change and grow with my business.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
One of the biggest things that I believed help grow my business is being authentic. Forming connections with people is a huge way to keep your reputation and earn respect from others. I treat every single person as if they are friends or family. People want to feel related to and respected, having a friendly face and remaining who you truly are is what gains the respect from others. Something else that helped me build my reputation is getting to know and working with others in the same industry. This helps you grow and expand, by teaching and learning from others. Personally, I have worked for a few other people that have been in the same industry as me for ten times as long as I have. Taking the time to listen to others, what they have learned, and sharing what I have learned helps you out tremendously. In conclusion and in my opinion, it is best to grow your reputation by being as authentically you, as you can be.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Personally my best source of new clients is meeting them in person. Social media is great and all but there is nothing better than a face to face conversation with someone to see who really is the face behind it all. The way I gain new clients in person is mainly vending at marketplaces. This gives me a great opportunity to allow people to talk to me, see my art/products in person, ask me any questions, and allows me to ask them questions as well. Some marketplaces can be small home town events or even events were thousands of people stop by! No matter the size, you are always going to gain from doing these events. Even if people just stop in to look at your products you can get a feel what they like and don’t like. Sometimes I hear people say, “oh I love this but it’s not my size!” And to that I will give them my contact information and offer to make it in their size, or I now know to maybe bring more of that specific size to the next event. And lastly , one other great source of new clients for me would be to wear my art. Since I hand craft jewelry I am able to wear my products out for people to see! If I get a compliment from someone I will tell them I made it, and if they ask I will give them my social media links!
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.micksmeraki.com
- Instagram: @micksmeraki
- Facebook: @Micksmeraki
Image Credits
All photos taken by me