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

Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the toughest parts of scaling a business is maintaining quality as you grow. How have you managed to maintain quality? Any stories or advice?

As we continue to grow, my mom and I are constantly monitoring the quality of our items. Each shirt, cup, coaster, anything, is handmade by one of us. We work really hard to insure our customers are getting exactly what they want, when they want it. Maintaining high standards of quality is easy when you’re dealing with a perennial perfectionist. Every inch is measured and accounted for. If something is made and not up to out standards, we remake it without question and rush shipping in the event it causes a delay. We like to think of everyone as family. We wouldn’t distribute a product that we wouldn’t want for ourselves or our loved ones.

In terms of maintaining quality control as you grow, it’s important to show up and be there for your company and each other. That way, if something does go askew, you’re there to address it. The beginning investment of time can establish the protocols necessary to mimic the appropriate conditions to produce high quality items with repetition. You have to do the work–no one is going to do it for you!

Nicole, 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?

Cathy’s Finest is the result of decades of people and family members urging my mom to go into business. Growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, my sisters and I always had customized shirts, party favors, signage, and blowout sweet 16 parties. No stone was ever left unturned. She is incredible with her hands, from paper flowers to building furniture, she can do it all. Growing up with a mom like that, I picked up things along the way. We always had the opportunity to build and craft alongside her.

As I got older and started planning my own parties (engagements, weddings, showers), I leaned on my mom to teach me the basics of crafting and personalization. Even though I was learning, I had to learn the right way so I could replicate her style– clean. efficient, beautiful. Every day, she teaches me something new. As I ventured deeper into the crafting world and customization realm, I discovered my passion for graphic design. From there, we pivoted from smaller crafts to apparel. We’re able to play a special role in people’s party and planning by taking the apparel stress away. We provide innovative designs for our costumers with the shortest possible turn around time we can provide. We’ve hand delivered many a t-shirt bundle to make birthday parties magical.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

We’re currently selling on Etsy and one of the factors that played a huge role in that choice is the way Etsy markets your shop. As novices, we did not have the tools or following to appropriately market ourselves in a way that made sense financially. Etsy does an excellent job at getting products in front of folks who are interested in that niche. It really helps to teach entrepreneurs about SEO and marketing. There are so many tools at one’s disposal through Etsy. It has a great education aspect for beginners. It also has established ethos. When customers are shopping on Etsy, they know they will be safe while shopping.

The glaring con is what most Etsy sellers gripe about–fees. They range from 30-45 percent, based on how something is purchased, if ads are running, etc. While that doesn’t seem like a great deal on the low end, it can be fairly demoralizing to see almost 50% of your sales not hitting your account.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

In the beginning of our official journey, my mom and I focused on smaller crafts, mugs, glassware, and tchotchke. While these items were adorable, and taking forever to make, they weren’t selling. We headed to craft show and craft show but ultimately, we were barely making enough to cover the table. We were not catering to our clientele and we certainly weren’t reaching them. Many nights, we worked until 2 am hot gluing, and ironing, and cutting, to no avail, nothing was budging. After several failed attempts, my mom really wanted to end the operation. We were getting nowhere fast and invested lots of capital and time into making it successful. I begged my mom to just give it time, to forge on. She was not convinced. It took a lot of talking and restructuring to ultimately make the pivot to where we are now.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathysfinest/
• Linkedin: https://www.facebook.com/people/Cathys-Finest/61554326371575/?paipv=0&eav=AfbsrPSxHOzsS6O_ykmqX0hhew7y8bZ_2eHuEUO7hUomiEzBoqXzYxaqnj7p2O7xcPM&_rdr
• Other: Etsy:
  cathysfinest.etsy.com