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

Hi Sandi, thanks for joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

This is one of the best and easiest times to start a business in my opinion, especially when it comes to e-commerce. Entrepreneurship keeps rising each year, and you can really take your success in your own hands. I honestly feel I started my business when I was ready and during a time I was willing to completely focus and take the necessary steps to do so.

I began my entrepreneurial journey in 2018, while I was in college. I started off as an online boutique and then transitioned to a custom brand. I’ve always wanted my own business even as a kid so it was only a matter of time before I actually executed my ideas.

There’s not really a “perfect” time to start a business, if everyone waited for the “perfect” time it would probably never come honestly. If I had to look back on my experiences I wouldn’t necessarily change the time that I started my business, but I do wish that I would have promoted and put my business out there more in the beginning stages. I feel there’s a period of time where creatives and entrepreneurs  feel like their ideas are not good enough or we worry about every little thing being perfect. This is what made me feel like I needed to gatekeep all of my work and ideas and push back release dates etc. Sometimes you forget to just enjoy the process and give your ideas a chance to succeed or fail instead of creating hypothetical outcomes based on your fear.

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

My brand Savage Gold is a beauty and apparel brand. We specialize in cruelty free beauty items and custom clothing. We’re currently rebranding the apparel part of the business and expanding the beauty side as well. What you can expect from us this year and moving forward, is a wide range of unisex clothing that conveys a message while also being unique and stylish. The beauty side of the brand will also be expanding and adding lots of new products and items.

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

E-commerce plays a big role in how my business operates. I think your website or the platform your business sells on is very important. It’s like your virtual storefront.
I personally prefer having my own website for my business. It allows me to customize more and be hands on. I also don’t feel like my products get lost or have  to compete with other businesses, with this method. When you’re on my website you only see Savage Gold products, with other platforms that’s not always the case, there’s thousands of other businesses and products right next to yours.  Having my own website gives my customers direct access to my  business without having to go through any third parties.

There’s also some cons to doing this as well, compared to selling on bigger platforms such as Amazon, or Etsy. Those platforms give you access to a wider audience and allow you to outsource more. What really made me decide to go with my own platform is that I wanted to create my own community for my brand and be in control of things on the backend. Every platform has their benefits and caters to certain needs. I personally think it comes down to how you want your business to operate and how you want to sell. Not every platform works for every business. I’ve personally switched platforms multiple times since starting, as your business grows and its needs change sometimes your platform will too.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thesavagegold.com
• Instagram: @_savagegold
• Other: Tik-Tok: @_thesavagegold

Image Credits
1. Brionna Larae 2. _savagegold