We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Quinn Reitz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Quinn, appreciate you joining 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?

It was 2014 and I had just had a baby. I was searching for a cotton nursing tank top with built-in padding for breastfeeding. I didn’t want a top with those removable pads that would come out in the wash. I also didn’t want the tank top to look like an undergarment. After a lot of research, I came to the conclusion that it did not exist and that the options for nursing clothes were limited in general and moms deserved more!

At that point, I began the real market research which I think is a step that some people miss. They might focus more on brand names or even book a trip to visit a factory. I think you have to be extremely thorough in your market research to really understand what else is out there. So, I went to every store in the area and ordered from every online company across the world that sold anything remotely close to this tank top. Then, I got to work designing the perfect one.

Someone told me once that your first production run should be perfect. I agree with that in some regard because just starting out, it’s going to be very difficult to move inventory. However, I admit that I spent way too much time and money on this one design and then sadly learned that it didn’t sell well but that customers will have a lot of feedback, which will require even more changes to the design. So, my advice is to find a factory with low order minimums!

From there, I spent a lot of time building the website and social platforms and then promoting the products on social media. It requires so much time especially when you’re learning it all yourself but it’s fun to see those sales come in. When you’re first beginning, have low expectations. My goal was to sell only one top a day. Some days there were no sales but I didn’t give up. We didn’t start making money until year three so take it one day at a time!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Quinn, and I’m the owner and founder of Nursing Queen. We are a clothing brand for breastfeeding moms. We specialize in nursing shirts and dresses with hidden zippers and flaps to help make breastfeeding easier. I launched the brand from our home in 2017 and after a few years expanded to a warehouse, located in Plant City, FL. I started the brand after realizing there was a need for more options for nursing moms. I design each peice myself, focusing on boutique-style clothing with mostly cotton fabrics.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

We use Shopify and sell mostly on our website. Facebook and Instagram ads are pretty much the only way we got sales to start. We eventually added Google ads. We do sell on Etsy and Amazon but it’s a very small percentage. As we grew, we started getting more organic (free) traffic but it took time.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

My parents were business owners so I always wanted to own my own business. That being said, I was also greatly inspired by the book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” I think it’s the perfect illustration and comparison of owning your own business vs. working for someone else. I was always told that I was the hardest working employee that my boss had ever hired. Why not put that energy into something you own where there are no glass ceilings and unlimited potential? I will never go back to being an employee!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nursingqueen.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nursingqueenclothing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nursingqueenclothing/