We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Samantha Keenan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Samantha below.
Samantha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today
If I got the opportunity to start all over, I would know my worth. I would believe in my product and my ability to deliver quality and creativity that cannot be replicated, and I would earn what I now know that I am worth. I am part of a large and growing community of passionate artists and entrepreneurs who I see undervaluing themselves daily. I know the time and effort that my product takes to produce, and there will only ever be one of me who can create what I can. In that same way, there will only ever be one of every other painter, baker, soap maker, and every artist in between who can do what they do. Time and time again, I will visit booths at art markets and see a product being sold for hardly the cost that it takes to produce. I started out doing that too, and now I know that I could have built myself up so much more had I just known my worth.
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.
In 2020, I was working a job that drained the joy from my life. I was overworked, undervalued, and stressed beyond what I had ever been before while working a dead-end customer service job – so, I left. I spent COVID quarantine working on myself, my relationship, and figuring out what I wanted to do in life, all while not being able to leave my house more than was required. There were plenty of days where I was unproductive, sitting around on my phone and wondering what to do with myself beyond cooking dinner, cleaning the house, and trying to get a few orders for my no-contact home bakery. Sitting around on my phone, however, turned out not to be the worst idea. I found a new interest through Pinterest in polymer clay earrings. At first, I just wanted the earrings, but with no income and very little savings, I wasn’t going to spend frivolously on earrings that I couldn’t even wear outside of my home. So, I looked into how much it would cost to make them myself. I have always been artistically inclined – painting, wood working, and creating recipes to name a few ways – so I knew I could do it, and I could make beautiful earrings for every occasion. But there was one problem: cost. It would run me upwards of $300 to get the starter materials for making earrings, and I couldn’t justify that cost just for my own personal jewelry collection. Thus, a small business was born. I started creating just for myself, friends, and family for the first few months while I tested my product before I launched. I started with Etsy, art markets, and selling to friends and family before quickly realizing that if I wanted to grow, I needed to strike out on my own and leave Etsy behind. I started my website, redleavesstudio.com, and focused on quality, creativity, and making something that no one else could. I love helping people find an accessory that makes them feel beautiful, that completes an outfit, or that they just think is fun. Once, at an art market, a woman was headed inside the hotel next door as part of a wedding party. She quickly stopped at my booth and asked for me to choose a pair of earrings that would compliment her royal blue dress. I quickly matched her with multiple options and watched her walk away happy and already receiving compliments from the rest of the wedding party. I became an artist for my own joy, and now I also have the ability to spread that joy to others. I have never been more proud of myself, been more confident in myself, or been as happy as I am now that I have my own business doing what I love.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
When I first started my small business, I used Etsy. It was the easy and obvious choice of where to get started, I quickly learned that it would not be a great tool for growing my business, though. I’ve heard of people having great success on Etsy, but for me, it seemed as if no one could find my shop unless I paid tooth and nail for advertising. Otherwise, I was lost in the ever-growing app. Even friends and family who wanted to purchase from my Etsy shop had a hard time finding me. Additionally, the fees that Etsy charged just were not reasonable for me. I would sell a product for $20 and only pocket $13, not including the cost of my product and packaging materials. After switching to my own website through Shopify, I can make the same $20 sale but pocket $18. With every item being carefully handcrafted and priced so that the public can still enjoy my product, that extra $5 is the difference of my business being able to survive. I control my own marketing now, through social media and with online ads, when I choose to run them. I no longer have to hope that my shop will get through to just one person.
Have you ever had to pivot?
In the two years of my small business’s existence, I have put the majority of my focus into in-person art markets. In 2021 and 2022, it was great. I would spend a weekend day growing my network and making sales and come out with what I considered a good day’s work. In 2023, though, I noticed that art markets were starting to attract a smaller number of customers and those customers that did make an appearance were spending less and less money – they seemed to be at the market just to browse with a coffee in hand and gawk at the prices of handmade items. The past few months have shown me that the way for my business to continue to grow is through other small businesses. I have begun doing fewer markets, unless I know the market to be reliable, and I have spent more time working to get my products into local, handmade shops on consignment. Yes, I then have to pay the store a consignment fee, however the trade off of not spending eight hours in the sun only to get five sales is well worth the trade. Since placing my items into these local shops, I’ve had more time to work on new designs and business strategies and to take care of my family and our new home without letting my business fall to the wayside.
Contact Info:
- Website: redleavesstudio.com
- Instagram: @redleavesstudio
- Facebook: Red Leaves Studio
Image Credits
@officeladiespod