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

Alright, Morgan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Ever since I was a little girl I’ve been writing on any surface I could get my hands on. Paper, notebooks, mirrors, napkins, driveways, etc. You name it, I’ve probably written on it. Seeing a blank surface drew me in like a good sale at your favorite shoe store, I just had to make it into something pretty by writing or drawing on it! I dabbled in some light drawing in my early adolescent years and quickly learned that I loved forming letters and words more than drawing. I was bullied some in elementary and early middle school and one of the things I was bullied for was ironically my handwriting. Stupid, I know. I often think back and wonder if those harsh words helped mold me and my business into what it is today. Fast forward to my early twenties and I’m still admiring all things pretty letters. One person in particular noticed my desire to letter, and on a whim they invested in me and my little dream and bought all the tools I needed to get started. I didn’t take a single class on lettering or calligraphy, I just knew that hand lettering takes practice and I was determined. I’m 100% self taught and began by studying the letters of the alphabet and learned from mistakes, practice, more mistakes, and picking up on small tips and tricks along the way. After two and a half years of practicing on my own, I decided it might be fun to create signs for people to have in their homes. And boy was I shocked at how my business took off! I quickly evolved from wood home decor signs to party signs, hand painted Bibles to weddings, and now I’m teaching my very own hand lettering classes from a booklet that I created! What?! Is this real?! Please… nobody pinch me!

Throughout my business growth journey I have had people compliment me regularly on my work and say things like “I wish I could write like you.” This got me thinking… “Well why can’t you?” A lot of the hand lettering tools available now are more complex than I feel that most beginners need. The “fad” is everywhere, but how many people are teaching and helping others truly learn this skill? In my town, the answer is NONE. After thinking about the interest that everyone has shown in my work, I wanted to put the “community over competition” to practice… and teach! After 6 months of lettering, editing, deleting, and lettering some more I designed my very own hand lettering booklet called Learn to Letter. It’s filled with all the tips and tricks needed to continue to learn to letter even after my class when you’re practicing at home. It’s simple, but it’s everything a beginner needs. It has been so rewarding to teach others something I’m so passionate about. My “students” love learning with me! My whole lettering journey has amounted to this surreal dream coming true in front of my very eyes. Nothing is more rewarding than creating something with your own hands and having others willing to not only purchase it, but invest in teaching themselves the same skill through your business.

Morgan , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a 28-year old full time stay at home mom and small business owner. I’m married to my highschool sweetheart and we have the most wonderful 1 year old son together. My life in my late twenties looks a bit different than I expected it to in my 16-year old mind, but I’m so thankful. I changed my major in college five times and graduated with an accounting degree that I honestly don’t care to use. Working for myself and building something from the ground up has always been in the back of my mind, but all the while I was waiting for this “grand business idea.” A Shark Tank idea, if you will. The idea never came and I fell into this industry without even realizing it. Writing and drawing letters has always been something I have done, but in the beginning I never thought I could make a business out of it. As I mentioned, I started with wood home decor signs and have evolved from there. A few years ago, I truly fell in love with the wedding industry. I create wedding signage including welcome signs, bar menus, seating charts, and the list goes on. Creating these pieces for the biggest day of someone’s life is so special. I mean, I get to hand paint signs that couples display on their wedding day… How awesome is that?!

The wedding industry may still have my heart, but I’ve even more recently discovered that teaching classes has my soul. I teach hand-lettering classes called “Learn to Letter” a few times a month in my hometown. These classes are for even the earliest of beginners. I give students all the tools and tips they need when learning to hand letter including my favorite pens and a booklet that I created including basic strokes, the entire alphabet, numbers, as well as some fun projects for them to try on their own. My hand-lettering class journey has filled a space in my life that I didn’t even know I was lacking. The Learn to Letter booklet and class has opened so many doors for myself and for others and I’m truly so proud of how far my business has come. The cool thing about lettering is the fundamentals are the same, but the style is different for each artist. I love that I can teach something that can be learned by all, but they can still have their own individuality and spin on their lettering style. I want people who come to my class to know that I want to share what I’m passionate about and I want them to have the opportunity to love it too. Whether you come to my class and love it just for the hour and a half experience, or you love it long after and create on your own outside of my booklet, I want you to carry the fundamentals I provide with you and use them moving into whatever is next for you.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of my main struggles since starting a hand lettering business is sticking out from “signs you can buy at Hobby Lobby”, as people would say under their breath as they shopped in my tent at a vendor event. Those words hurt.. Others don’t see all of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes and the hand painted signs that I stayed up painting until 2am the morning before. My custom signs could not in fact be purchased from a retail store, but what was making people feel like they could? I had to work hard to sell each product and make viewers feel like they needed to have it. I realized over the course of time that my work was not going to appeal to everyone and I grew to accept this reality because my main goal was to create products that I enjoyed painting while also offering items my followers wanted to see.

Over time I evolved and separated the value in custom orders and signs that I kept in stock. Keeping these separate broadened my potential because I wasn’t stuck creating one type of product until I found my niche. Owning a small business means you go through a lot of trial and error, but the lessons learned help mold your business to be as successful as you always dreamed. My dream hasn’t changed just because the original product line played out a little differently in my head.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Have you ever been excited about something that you planned out for weeks and it was a complete flop? You spent weeks on end getting everything ready, the anticipation built so high you could hardly stand it, the moment finally came and nothing happened? Me too, sister. Me too. I can confidently say one of the top five most challenging things about owning a small business is having an amazing idea that you feel like people are going to love and not a single person makes a purchase. When I tell you I have been there, I have been there more times than I can count. It’s heartbreaking. The amount of work that goes into creating a product from scratch is underrated. Talk about wanting to throw in the towel when you launch a new item and no one makes a purchase. At the start of my business I was working for people to get to know my name and brand while fulfilling custom orders to showcase my versatility. I was so excited any time I had a new idea but I began to lose confidence in my creativity and it would sometimes take me weeks to come back to the drawing board and try again.. But I’m so glad I did.

There have been a number of things I thought I knew when it came to Letters & Company. I’ve learned over the years to not hang my hat on the losses, but celebrate the wins and work up from there. I never dreamed I would be teaching hand lettering classes or fulfilling orders for weddings. The lessons I learned through those losses taught me what I was capable of and sparked ideas that I may have not reached if I never had to start over. Keep going. If you love it you’ll find a way to make it happen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lettersandcompany.square.site/s/shop
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lettersandcompany_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lettersandcompany/
• Other: https://linktr.ee/lettersandcompany

Image Credits
Kaitlyn Kitchens Photography Kaitlynkitchensphotography.com @kaitlynkitchensphotography Victor Villatoro Photography (last two photos) @thevictorvillatoro