We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sean Kelly. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sean below.
Alright, Sean thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
When I started The Clay Corner, I didn’t really have much of a mission beyond creating a cool pottery studio that would support me financially. Over the years, my mission has developed substantially. I wouldn’t say that The Clay Corner is a “mission driven company” in the way that a charity or non-profit is. I strive to operate just like any other for-profit business should. You could say that one of my missions is for positive impact goals to be integrated into success in the same way that revenue and growth are.
When running my company, I view it as a piece of a larger community, and the healthier, happier, and successful that community is, the better it is for my “piece”. And I think that communities prosper when all pieces of the puzzle are working in that way. Art is often associated with providing fun, mental support, and social community, and at our core, that is what we focus on. We provide another space, another social community for those in our greater community.
In 2020, it became very clear that there were a lot of people in the area with varying economic situations and we were only able to reach those in a higher percentile. Ceramics is an expensive art form/ hobby. Another mission became reaching as many people as possible and doing our part to increase accessibility to such an amazing art. We started a diversity scholarship program in 2020. This program still operates and supports individuals who identify with underrepresented communities; BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, Persons with a disability, etc.
Since 2020, we’ve grown our community support programs dramatically. So much so that I co-founded a non-profit organization, along with my studio manager, to further organize and grow these programs beyond my capabilities. We currently operate a scholarship program that funds 12 fully supported students per month, regular charity fundraisers such as an event for the Ballard Food Bank that raises ~$8,000+ per year, a free weekly pottery night, a tuition free ceramics career program, and volunteer opportunities that provide another option for gaining studio access. The non-profit however, doesn’t remove burden or responsibility from The Clay Corner. It gives us access to more tools and resources to make a bigger difference with what we’ve got to work with.
Now, my mission is to operate my for-profit business just like any other business but to show others that giving back isn’t just possible, it’s beneficial. These programs are an amazing addition to the community but they also benefit the business. I strive to create layered eco-systems within the business structure that promote growth from a shared sense of support. From how we treat staff, small customers, big customers, and other businesses success will follow.
My mission is to be proof that exploitation, trickery, and schemes have no place in business.
Sean, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Sean Kelly. I grew up in Anchorage, AK and moved to Seattle when I was 19, in 2013. My first jobs were in restaurants and customer service. I also had some really hard jobs that pushed me pretty far. In search of something more stable, I wound up in property management. I loved the slower pace, supporting residents, and the consistent paycheck but I was quite bored. I needed ceramics back in my life, which wasn’t available in my position. I went to school for Economics so I thought, “I’m good at taking care of customers, business theory, working really hard, and ceramics. I should open a pottery studio!” And I did.
I started out really small providing pottery classes in the classic sense. I quickly realized that my scale wasn’t sustainable and I was getting burnt out. My students all came from highly diverse and usually extremely successful backgrounds so they helped me reevaluate my structure for me to grow. Who better to advise you on how to provide services than those buying the services, right?
For years, that was the magic, get to know my students in classes and then ask them, “how could I structure this better?” or “Here is what I’m struggling with, what can I change?”.
I’m very proud of my journey. I started very small and allowed myself and my business to adapt as needed. I started with 500 sqft, 4 wheels, and 35 students. Now I have 4 full-time staff, 10,000 sqft, 28 wheels, and 300+ members.
I love managing this life-giving community, supporting artists, and supporting a way of life for my team and myself.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
When I got the idea to start the pottery studio I had absolutely nothing. I applied for a loan with Business Impact NW, which I eventually received. That process was amazing. Applying for a loan, especially through a non-profit, gives you feedback on your business plan and revenue strategy. They don’t want to loan money to someone that they think is going to fail, so they are going to help you create a solid plan. I don’t think that I would’ve been successful without their pre-loan support.
Even with the loan, the 1st year in business was really tight. I couldn’t always make rent on time and I was seeking advice from everyone. There are many free business meet-ups, classes, coaching opportunities out there, don’t hesitate to seek them out! But I will say – I needed to take a moment to trust myself and to trust my customers over the expert advice. The experts don’t usually know you like you do and they may have a different perspective. Listen to them, but deviate when it feels wrong.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Managing a team has been my biggest struggle and my greatest learning curve. I believe that the most important thing that you can do is to treat your team like equals. When they are at work or when they are training, you are the expert. But outside of those times, you’re the same, or they’re the expert, who knows. Put yourself in their shoes. Sometimes they won’t prioritize their job, and that’s reasonable! I think that resentment seeps in when they are being reprimanded for things that they disagree with. They shouldn’t be late to work, for example, but be honest about how you feel and try to understand how they feel. “I understand that you chose to prioritize something else over work. I am going to outline the affect that that decision had on me, your coworkers, and the company. Next time, _____ might be a more accommodating solution.” or “I disagree with your sense of priorities and I can’t continue to support those choices in the future.” I’m still not an expert, but my overall advice is to treat performance correction as a negotiation and a team effort.
We also have unlimited sick-time. If you’re sick you’re sick, don’t come to work. They shouldn’t be penalized for illness. This culture means that people rarely call out sick… they know that their coworkers pick up the slack and we’re all happy to do so as long as it’s real.
I’ve also been operating a 32-hour work week for awhile now. I’ve organized what I call “Paid Rest Time”. For every 4 hours worked each week, they get 1 hour of PRT. So their paychecks list 40 hours but they are only scheduled for 32.
Last but not least, stay on top of your team’s issues and needs. No matter how much or little you can do for them, they need to feel listened to. Once they stop feeling like you’re listening they will stop telling you things and then things will build up and you won’t even know until it all explodes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://seansclaycorner.com
- Instagram: theclaycorner_seattle
Image Credits
Ryan Warner, Dida Lopez