We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shamariah Pratt. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shamariah below.

Alright, Shamariah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

When I first started my small business, my offerings looked a bit different than they do now. The items I made were “safer”, and appealed to a much broader audience. However, as time went on, I realized that what I really wanted to sell were products that spoke to who I was as a person and the beliefs I held. The phrase that would eventually become our logo – “Your values matter. Live them loudly. Wear them proudly.” – kept pressuring me to be true to myself and create the products that mattered to me. I needed to use my voice to speak up about issues that mattered to me, and this seemed like a great way to do just that.

As a single mother, it was a huge risk to take a chance on that type of merchandise. My small business is still just a side hustle, but I hope that someday it will become successful enough that I can quit my “day job” and do this full-time. I would love to have the opportunity to create my own hours so that I can be there for my children more consistently, instead of working long hours constantly to make ends meet. So the idea of narrowing my target audience was pretty frightening and terribly risky.

Nevertheless, I started designing products that spoke to my progressive beliefs and found that the more I designed, the more I felt that I was being true to myself. I started wearing my designs that promoted equality, progressive ideals, inclusivity, advocacy, and much more. As a queer, disabled, neurodiverse person, I was finally able to find fun and aesthetic designs that I couldn’t find anywhere else – because I created what I found to be lacking in the overall market.

Now over a year later, I have designed over 100 products that allow my customers to live their own truths, just as I do mine. I’m still working on expanding my customer base and profits, but I’m finding that customers are responding to the authenticity in my designs.

I am so grateful for the support of everyone who has made a purchase and/or shared my business, and my hope is that my products will inspire others to use their voices for the greater good just as I am trying to do. Together we can make a difference in this world, and I hope that the messages my store promotes inspires others to join the movement and effect positive change for everyone.

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?

I am a nurse and single mother who first started my small business as both a creative outlet and a way to bring in extra income to support my children. Eventually, my business evolved into what it is today as a result of me trying to live a more authentic life – and using my voice and privilege to speak up about important issues in today’s world.

In 2020, I served as a state delegate candidate for a presidential campaign (#FeelTheBern). The work I performed for the campaign over the course of about nine months really empowered me to speak up about my beliefs and convictions. Previously I had struggled with worrying about what others felt about me, but as time has gone on – and issues became more pressing under the previous administration – I could no longer remain silent.

My brand works to help others find and use their own voices to speak up about important issues in today’s world – and therefore spark conversation that will hopefully lead to change. As an advocate and someone who is a member of marginalized groups (I’m a queer disabled woman), my customers can rest assured that the messages I promote are genuine and from the heart.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I wish I had a more inspiring story for this question, but the truth is that I’ve scraped and saved every step of the way. I started small – attending craft fairs and starting a Facebook page – before eventually creating my own website. I’m still operating on a pretty small scale, but my hope is to increase revenue enough to put it back into the business (mostly marketing) in the hopes of increasing reach and therefore sales.

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

For me and LaLaSassafras, the best source of new clients has been word of mouth. I can create products and imagery to post on social media, but that only goes so far when you’re growing organically. The best way to grow and increase your following is to perform well, deliver outstanding results/products, and inspire brand loyalty. You want customers to not only come back and repeat sales, but to tell their friends and families about your products. My customer base is naturally somewhat more narrow than I would prefer simply because of the messaging I utilize on my products, but over the past two years I have grown to over 400 followers. That may seem like a very small number to many, but to someone like me who has no reach and no friends with large followings to help promote my business, that’s a great amount of growth. It shows that my customers are not only satisfied with their purchases, but they’re telling others about my brand. And that is what you want to see as a growing business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lalasassafras.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/lalasassafras
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/lalasassafras