Emily Rose's Small Business Is on the Brink of Expansion — and She Has an Important Decision to Make
Artist and illustrator Emily Rose Thomson designs colorful critters to hold, wear or display. Whether it’s a hedgehog totem, a bird necklace or a plush Loch Ness Monster, her pieces are cute, quirky and adorable.
We caught up with the New York-based maker to talk about why asking for help from her fellow small business owners is so important, what she's learned about making your product photography stand out and — most importantly — the big questions she has for all of *you* here in QB Commununity!
Read on to hear her small business story, and help her out by sharing your own tips in the comments below!
Name: Emily Rose Thomson
Business: PeriwinkleNuthatch Illustration and Art Pieces
Started: October 2011
How did you start your awesome business?
I thought I was going to lose my day job, so I decided I could try selling my art online. As a kid, I always made a profit selling art — I used to paint pictures of people's pets on rocks!
My mom was actually selling on Etsy at the time and she suggested it to me.
When did you know your business was going to work?
Right after I launched my shop I wrote to a couple of established store owners I admired. A few replied with a compliment or two, but one shop owner gave me some great advice when she told me about product photography.
She was honest and gave me constructive criticism about the photos I had featured in my shop, so I began speaking with her regularly and worked on my photos. I immediately noticed a spike in views after I updated my product photos and, ultimately, in sales!
I opened my shop in October of 2011 and by that Halloween I started to sell fairly steadily.
What is your most effective means of getting new customers?
What I find works best is making pieces I would buy. I really think that’s what attracts customers. I make what I like and if it works, I expand on that.
For example, I made a set of bears that people responded to on an emotional level: The Keep Calm Bear, the Sweet Dreams Bear and so on. The four I initially made did so well that I created lots more types.
I find that if people have plenty of options in a shop, they stick around longer and they also tend to come back more often.
What does a typical day look like for you?
It's crazy! And I don't even have kids! I still work a part-time day job, so I wake up at about 8am, feed and clean the cats and the guinea pigs and get myself ready. I make a quick breakfast, clean up the kitchen and go to work.
At 3pm I get home and eat. My husband goes to work at 5pm and takes anything I have that needs to be shipped. Then, I head up to my studio to work, where I put on a favorite old movie or TV show. I pull up my orders on my Mac and make a mental note of which ones are on a deadline, which ones I made today and which ones are the oldest. I begin with those or any products customers need before the estimated shipping date.
If I have pieces to sculpt, I do that first and put them in the oven to bake. If I have items already sculpted and baked, I start painting. Clay is just an example: I could be sewing plushies, drawing shrink plastic charms or painting nesting dolls, too. I make my orders until about 10pm, then I can start packing them up.
I love wrapping a product as much as I love making it. Usually, my pieces are put into perfect little boxes with a custom stamp, then filled with bright turquoise shredded paper and topped with baker’s twine.
I add a business card and a thank you note, and print out my shipping labels. I put the packages at the front door for my husband to send out the next day. I finish at midnight with a shower after he gets home from work.
The weekends are saved for product photography, editing pictures and hopefully fitting in new creations.
How do you juggle other responsibilities and interests outside of your business?
I’m very into interior design, so I always spend too much time making sure my home looks Apartment Therapy ready!
I’m actually at a point in my life where I’m wondering if I should be brave and take the leap to being a full-time artist. I get up early, stay up late and have very little free time.
Fortunately, I love creating art and would be doing this in my free time anyway!
Do you have any staff?
I actually had to "hire" my husband for the Christmas season last year. I was averaging over 50 orders a day and needed someone to do prep work. Boy, were my hands callused after that!
I think I would probably quit my day job before I considered hiring full-time employees. I’m not opposed to it, but I have a very distinct vision for my brand and am a bit of a control freak over my creative work, so it would have to be someone who respected that.
If you could go back in time, what’s the one thing you would do differently when starting your business?
I would have trusted myself more. I feel like if I'd just gone for it, I would be even farther along than I am now.
I think if I'd had a braver outlook and trusted my vision and my competence as a small business owner, I would be supporting myself solely on what I love most. Sometimes playing it safe isn't always the right thing to do.
What would you like to learn today from a network of small business owners and self-employed professionals?
There are three very big things I would love to know from everyone here!
1) How do you juggle it all? I can barely find time in my schedule!
2) Any advice on successfully interacting with an audience on social media? How do you keep people engaged?
3) Any tips on how to make that leap and quit your day job?
Let's all help Emily Rose out and get her some answers to her *big* questions!
Do *you* have a story to share with Emily Rose about when you decided to quit your job and pursue your small business full-time?
How do you manage your time as a self-employed professional or small business owner? Or, do you have tips for Emily Rose that she can use when engaging with her customers on social media?
Share your own stories and experiences here in the comments below! :-)