Mom by Day, Jewelry Designer by Night: Meet Meghan Benson!

Meghan Benson started her business selling unique necklaces as a way to raise money for the adoption of her son. When it became clear that she was building a fan base, she decided to keep it going. Now, she has two toddlers at home and she's working hard every day to create harmony between family life and entrepreneurship.

We asked Meghan to share with us about her own experiences with finding new customers, how she plans her week when she's balancing kids and family and the difficult lesson she learned from a disgruntled customer.

Name: Meghan Benson

Business: Ellie & James

Started: August 2014

How did you create your awesome job?

I started Ellie & James as a fundraiser for our child’s adoption in 2014. It all started when my sister moved back to Barcelona and I made her a necklace with a map of the city as a going away gift. 

I started creating jewelry for other people and kept hearing that I should sell my creations. At the end of August that year, I opened up my Etsy shop. Then, a few months later I switched to selling from my own website. The business has grown from there!

Who was your very first customer?

My first customer was a friend of mine. When I officially announced I was opening an Etsy shop, she went on the website and bought something to show her support. There were a lot of word-of-mouth orders like that at the beginning, but it wasn't until I started going to events that my sales really took off. 

When I go to event, I try to choose the events where I'm most likely to find my target customers. I cater to a Christian audience, as many of my necklaces have Bible verses incorporated into their design, so I go to a lot of women's ministry events and handmade craft fairs.

At what point did you know your business was going to work?

In 2015, I got into a large handmade event in Southern California called the Queen Bee Market, which is notoriously difficult for sellers to get accepted to. After that came through, I had a lot more confidence in my business.

When I attended the event, I was even more surprised and pleased at the reception my necklaces received. There was such an outpouring of support that it made me even *more* confident that I was making pieces that people want.

What has been the biggest surprise so far after starting your own business?

First of all, I didn't know there was this entire community of handmade business owners! I was familiar with Etsy, but the first event I actually went to was the first one I sold at. I was completely unaware there was a whole world of makers doing what I was doing until I found myself selling next to them.

It's also been surprising how close knit and supportive the maker community is. It's not all about competition — in fact, the business owners in this community are constantly looking for ways to collaborate and connect with each other in positive ways. That's been an awesome surprise for me. 

How do you price your products?

I knew a few other people who sold necklaces, so I had a good place to start when I was figuring out my pricing.

I started out with a very specific formula for my prices, but then I kept having people tell me I wasn't charging enough. After five people different came up and told me that at one event, I knew I needed to re-evaluate my pricing. 

Now, my prices reflect what it costs me to make the products as well as the value of my time and skill in making them.

What does a typical day look like for you?

That's the best part of having my own business: there are no typical days for me! 

Usually I work Tuesdays and Thursdays in the morning while my daughter is at preschool. My son is pretty self-sufficient, so I'm able to get some quality work done during that time. It used to be that I could only get my work done while my kids were sleeping. When my daughter stopped napping, it made things difficult for awhile. 

Now, I try to get work done pretty much whenever I get the chance. I'll focus one day every week on planning my business and spend the rest of the time making and fulfilling orders.

We've decided to keep Ellie & James at a part-time level to meet the needs of our family as well as the business. During the holidays, things get super busy and I'm easily working a full-time job. But making an effort to set boundaries and being flexible with balancing the business and family life has worked well so far.

If you could go back in time, what's one thing you think you would do differently when starting your business? 

I've only had a few negative experiences, and with each of them I learned something pretty important, so I'm not sure I would have done anything differently. 

An example that comes to mind was something that happened at an event I was selling at. First of all, my necklaces are not waterproof. When a customer bought one and then promptly had a leak in the bag she was holding it in, she came back to my booth asking for a refund or a replacement.

While I do hand out a little card to my customers which says the necklaces are not waterproof, I was sympathetic and offered to replace it for her at half price. She thanked me and left, but came back again later with a friend who was up in arms about how I didn't refund her flat out. 

It was a really awkward situation where she confronted me in front of other customers in the middle of their transactions. I was so shocked, I didn't know how to respond. But now that I've been through that, I'm prepared and know how to respond if something like that ever happens again.

What would you like to learn today from a community of other small business owners and self-employed professionals?

I'd love to hear about how other small business owners make a schedule for themselves if they work from home. I love the flexibility I have, but I know that if I was able to get on a more clearly defined schedule, I would be able to get so much more work done in the same amount of time.

Do *you* have scheduling tips for Meghan that will help her increase productivity and get more done?

If you work from home, how do you plan your day? Do you set up a strict schedule every day, or do you have better luck with being flexible?

Share your own productivity tips with us below — and hopefully together we can help Meghan maximize her day!