We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tamara Ross. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tamara below.
Tamara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
I’ve always felt discipline is the thing above all traits that will keep you on your path. Being able to put your head down and keep moving forward despite all circumstances – when you don’t have support, when the money isn’t coming in, the sales aren’t there, you don’t know what your next move will be, and when life around you is crumbling. Finding the discipline within my own inner strength has continued to show me my own Pokemon-esque evolution – in life and in business. They say that when you do what you love, you won’t work another day in your life but I’m not a fan of that phrasing. Some days, I don’t want to do anything, not even the thing I love. Yet, I push myself through it because it’s my job to get it done. Right now – I don’t have the resources for a team. It is just me. And that’s okay, because I know it’s temporary. But for the time being – it is up to me to keep pushing. People will only see the final product. Not the sweat and the tears. At the root of success in any lane is to continue to take your L’s with grace, absorb as much information and growth as you can, and work at your discipline. No one else is going to do it for you but that way, every win will be sweeter than the last. You grow from the seeds you plant, and it is amazing to see yourself do things that felt impossible at one point.
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
The launching pad of my business was really day-dreaming. In December of 2020, I was tired of just imagining the world around me, I wanted to create it. That’s how 360 Home Goods was born. It was born from dreams. Wanting to curate the items that people had in their home but also wanting to curate the energy in a home, too. Any time I left my house, I had some sort of mask (no pun intended) I had to put on to fit into somebody’s world – my job’s, my family’s, society’s version of what I was supposed to be. But when I came home, it was always a massive sigh of relief. Shedding those layers, being completely comfortable with this safe space. And I wanted to create or provide home goods that made people feel like they were creating an experience for themselves. You should always feel like you’re coming home to you. Your home is the one place where there is no judgement, only love and truth. That is the motivation behind what our company sells – candles, kitchen towels, throw pillows, custom welcome mats, posters, journals, or ashtrays. Three hundred and sixty degrees of your own joy and peace. I want people to design their space beyond just a live, laugh, love sign you know? I want all of that energy just with more identity that is your own, not something you could find on Amazon or in the aisles of Target. The goal is to grow together and help you grow into a space that you know undoubtedly, belongs to you.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
We meet most of our clients through in person events and word of mouth. Being able to attend or host events has been a beautiful way to market ourselves but also bring a sense of community together. There are other small businesses that also need that sense of understanding of what each other goes through. We’re all trying to hustle and grow and build our brands. So I think being able to come together and pool resources (your network and my network, and his and hers and theirs) helps to expose new clientele to the brands. As scary as it can be to put yourself out there, it is so rewarding. Especially when you meet someone that gets it. They take one look at your product and go, “YES! I get it!” maybe not like that – but they express their joy, they laugh, or they uplift you. That one new customer can be the difference between thinking I can’t do this, and I can’t wait to do this again! Right now, word of mouth is the best source of new clients. One tag on social media can make all the difference.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Starting a business will force you to unlearn everything you thought you knew about business. I have my degree in business administration but that did not prepare me for owning one. For example, market trends. In the home décor industry, you’re always seeing things go viral – hacks and diy’s. In the beginning, the only goal was to try and continue to stay on top of those trends based on what I thought my audience would like. I once purchased a pallet of an item, thinking I would flip it easily and also draw an audience from that. But it did not translate as well to my core audience. After it was all said and done, I was left with a ton of inventory that I couldn’t seem to push. So, I learned from the preconceived notion that all you had to do was be trendy. There is much more research to be done. Now I test products. I’ll see how people react to a new product at a pop-up or live events in small batches and that helps me determine what the attraction level is before stocking that product in full. I also tend to go with things that I actually like now rather than what I “think” is trendy. Staying true to the energy of the brand has taken me farther than doing exactly what I thought would appeal. If I could make an analogy, it is like having a hit song on the radio. It might be hot for a short period of time, but if it isn’t authentic to the sound of the artist – do you really like it? I think Nipsey Hussle talks about that in an interview – being able to create things that outlast any wave is what has the potential to make you timeless.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.threesixtyhomegoods.com
- Instagram: @360homegoods
Image Credits
Last film photo – @skrats_