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

Roberta, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I started my business by accident. My husband was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer and was unable to work and at the same time I was also raising my grandson with high functioning autism.
Money was super tight. My husband beat cancer but it took a toll on his body. Unfortunately he was unable to return to work.
I was starting to see a lot of painted furniture in the Facebook groups. I loved it Unfortunately I couldn’t even afford the paint at the time.
I picked up a $5 oops can of paint and a dresser on the side of the road and went for it. I learned everything I could in every single Furniture painting group I could find.
I realized as I was painting furniture it gave me control over something again which I had lost when my husband was diagnosed. It became not only an income but therapy as well.
I had always thought you had to have money to start a business. Who knew I could start one with only $5? 10 years later and thousands of pieces have been saved from the landfill. So I’m feeling pretty proud of myself. Not only did I save our family from Financial ruin…I also found my passion.

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?

So I learned early on in my business that it was pretty competitive and just about everybody was trying to make a few bucks on the side painting furniture. I knew I needed a niche. I focus my business on custom painting. So my clients are able to get the look they want with the color they want. Over the years I started redesigning furniture by updating Hardware, feet, etc. And again that gave me something that set apart the others in my area.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I first was getting started I joined every Facebook group I could in the local area. That was before Marketplace. I would advertise by selling a piece of furniture in the group and also attaching My Link back to my own Facebook page.
Slowly but surely that’s when I started getting likes. I was so excited when I reached a hundred likes.
I still post in the groups along with marketplace with my links and how they can get ahold of me if they have a piece of furniture they would like redesigned as well. It’s a great way to bring in clients with a zero advertising budget.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I am always surprised of how people have found us through the years. It’s just myself and my disgruntled employee AKA husband. I have always put everything into each piece I have created over the years. My clients tell me they can see the love and attention to details compared to others in my field. Word of Mouth has been my best advertisement.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/Eastern_shore_chic
• Facebook: Www.facebook.com/easternshorechic

Image Credits
Roberta Burke