Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shallon Thomas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Shallon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

We were trying to make our first color expansion for our lunch totes. We decided to play it safe and go for a dark brown color. We were immediately disappointed when the sample finally arrived as the bag was light brown. Money was tight, so we could not immediately return to the sampling process. We sat on the bag for weeks, if not months, until we decided to share it with social media. The internet went crazy for it. Today what we thought was a big mistake is our top seller.

Shallon, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was a full-time contractor working for the US patent office. I had to wear a suit and tie every day. It wasn’t long before I caught my reflection in the mirror and realized I was carrying my lunch in a plastic bag, which looked very unprofessional. In searching for a professional lunch bag, I came up short. So my co-founder and I set out to make one. It’s been a crazy and fulfilling ride since. It gives me pride to show the world what a black-owned business can achieve, regardless of the adversity we face. I want the world to know no matter who you are or the color of your skin; you are capable of more than you can fathom given the proper determination.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Finding a manufacturer is not hard in this day and age. Finding a good manufacturer that you can depend on is. We found our first manufacturer through Alibaba and eventually traveled the world searching for other manufacturers. Finding the right manufacturer is a mix of a few ingredients. 1. Start with a list of 10 to 20, providing as much detail as possible on what you are trying to create. 2. Cut any from the list that take longer than three business days to respond or whose response is poorly written. 4 get initial pricing if possible. Don’t just select the cheapest option, as you may get the most inferior result. 5 Down-select to three vendors to make samples based on price and how you feel about your conversation with them. 6 lastly, once you have tested the samples and selected your manufacturer, always send an independent quality company to review production before you pay for shipment. (thank me later) I use this method every time we seek a new manufacturer as we now manufacture in 3 countries.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

We put together our initial capital out of our own pockets. In hindsight, that was the better choice. As a new entrepreneur, you make many assumptions about what you should spend money on, and you won’t always be correct. However, if you spend what little you can personally afford, you tend to think very lean and can recover sooner than a company that may have had a large budget but no experience. Mistakes are a part of success, but you need to survive them financially. Once you prove that you can spend one dollar and make two, it’s time to take the loan or get funding.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.twtote.com
• Instagram: @twote
• Facebook: twtote
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/72980319
• Twitter: twtote