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

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

BB Babes comes from humble beginnings. Starting as a hobby, I really didn’t know what I was doing or where it would take me. We have rebranded twice since the beginning in 2018. Each time, I was seeking to step more into alignment with who I am. I was seeking authenticity verses trying to turn my business into what I thought others wanted it to be. The biggest lesson I learned to share from those experiences is to not be afraid of pivoting. If something doesn’t work, change it.

Aligning my business to be more of a reflection of myself, helped me to grow confidence and self belief. I invested in my business by getting my business license and LLC. This gave me the push I needed to take my business more seriously and really step out and take more chances. This also forced me to truly look at my numbers and adjust my prices. I was severely undercutting my work for years. Don’t be afraid to charge what you are worth. Find a pricing formula that makes sense for your craft or service and charge the right prices. Undercharging can actually make others devalue your work as well.

I show up for my business daily. Whether it’s on our socials, working on new pieces, or hosting in person shopping events. Staying consistent with creation, and connecting with your current & potential customers, has helped me to scale up in a big way.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Well to start, I’m Rachel Brick. I’m a 36 year old wife & mom. I have always enjoyed being creative. I’ve had many creative outlets over the years. BB Babes has easily become an outlet, passion and income stream for my family that I can be super proud of.

I was born and raised, right here, in Savannah, Georgia. I truly love it here. I’m happy to raise my family here & join the amazing group of small business owners here as well. There is so much talent and creativity buzzing all over this city.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Showing up has helped me build my reputation in my local, small business market. In the beginning, I was intimidated and clueless on what to do. I felt like an imposter and thought everyone felt the same way about me. The only way to get over that is to get out there!

Towards the end of 2021, I decided to commit to my business. I did this by getting my business license and LLC. I started applying to any market I learned about. There were plenty of markets that were busts, but I learned, I connected with others and I kept going. When I wasn’t doing in person shopping markets for myself, I was attending as a guest. I would go to meet other small business owners and creators. I followed them on social media. I saw what worked for them and applied it to my business. I showed up on social media and worked on growing my following and developing relationships with current customers.

All of these steps have led me to slowly build a following and brand identity. It is now common for other small business owners to know and recognize my brand before I can explain who I am. I often see repeat customers & Instagram followers at pop ups that seek me out. Long story short, this is the long game. It takes time to build a reputation. Stay consistent and don’t give up. Play around with different techniques. Don’t be afraid to drop what doesn’t serve you and pivot into new ways. The only thing that needs to remain, is your passion.

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

BB Babes began in 2018 as Joyous Creations. I was postpartum with my third child & was newly a stay at home mom. I needed an outlet. I began making teething accessories for my daughter. Eventually, I began selling them, thus Joyous Creations was born. As my daughter got older, the need for teethers was no longer there and my passion began to fizzle. I started making earrings and necklaces for myself and found my new passion.

In 2021, I rebranded to Beaded Boho Babes. This is where I really began to pivot towards being more true to myself and my style. We also dropped teethers and only offered jewelry. It was during this period that I had the realization that it was time for me to commit to my business. I needed to truly shift from hobby mindset to big picture goals, going full time. During this period, I began to apply to any market I knew about. I wanted to get in front of as many faces as possible. I invested in my business and took the big step of going legit. I got my business license and LLC. I stepped up my social media presence too. It was during this period that I really grew more confident in myself and my business. By the end of 2022, it was time to pivot again.

This pivot brought out BB Babes. I wanted my business to truly reflect me. BB Babes is a true representation of my values and my love for style and fun. We have kept jewelry, but added in lots of fun new products like; car charms, keychains, jeweled headbands and sunglasses, pop culture magnets and hats. It took quite a lot of pivoting to get where we are now. I am sure that the future holds more changes, but we embrace it. I have big goals for BB Babes, so staying the same won’t work.

Contact Info:

• Website: bbbabes.bigcartel.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/beadedbohobabes
• Facebook: facebook.com/beadedbohobabes
• Other: email: [email protected] TikTok: @rachel_brick_