Self-Employed Marie Jensen Knows What It's Like to Juggle More Than One Business
After living in the Big Apple and working as an actor for a few years, Marie Jensen moved back to North Dakota where she established Relax Event Studio to plan parties and sell wedding graphics on Etsy. Along with doing a ton of volunteering work, she also found time to become a state representative in between!
We spoke with Marie about juggling it all, the one regret she has after trying out Pinterest advertising and how she developed her pricing formula.
Name: Marie Jensen
Business: Relax Event Studio
Started: July 2014
How did you create your awesome job?
I have several jobs, so I’ll tell you about all of them!
After graduating from NYU, I worked in the acting industry for a couple years and found it wasn’t my path, so I moved back to North Dakota and worked as the executive director of the local arts council. The job involved planning events, like a conference for 30,000 people or a dinner meeting for ten. I was also responsible for marketing and graphic design, so I taught myself Photoshop and InDesign.
I was volunteering for all sorts of organizations during this time and had a friend who was involved in local politics. A state legislature seat opened up in my district, so I decided to run for office. It meant knocking on doors every day for 6 months, but I was elected in 2012 and now I spend four months in Bismarck every two years.
When I got engaged in 2014, I designed chic signs and made chandeliers from origami for the wedding. I realized a lot of my ideas weren’t available online, so I set up an Etsy shop! Now I design graphics for weddings (like invitations), wine labels and ceremony programs.
I left the arts council after four years and turned the store into my full-time job. But I still plan events if I get word-of-mouth bookings!
When did you know your business was going to work?
I knew things were working when I made a profit from the Etsy shop in August of 2015 and my mom had to start helping me in the studio because I had a ton of orders!
Today, I focus more on the store because it’s so busy and I don’t have the capacity to plan events as much.
What has been the biggest surprise so far after starting your own business?
The biggest surprise is that I have a successful online business, especially because e-commerce is not something most people know a lot about in Grand Forks, North Dakota. And, it actually works, which is a pleasant surprise!
How do you price your products and services?
I asked a friend who is a super-talented photographer what her half-day and full-day prices were, and adapted these to suit my event services. What I charge depends on if I plan an event from the beginning or if I’m only needed on the day. Hiring me costs anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500, plus a little extra if the event is out of town.
Pricing for Etsy is challenging because I handcraft everything. I design, print and apply adhesive to wine labels, which is very labor intensive. To stay competitive, I have to keep my prices low.
I calculated that my competitors earn $3 to $4 per product when customers buy one or two items. I try to aim for a similar profit margin, but I can’t exactly charge $4 per gift tag. When selling online you can’t say, “Hey, we spent 20 minutes handcrafting this label for you, so please pay us $20!” That’s ridiculous! We need to sell a lot of volume to make any sort of profit, but it’s hard because I have a small studio.
I’ve learned not to react too quickly with pricing when sales are slow. I went onto Etsy’s forums and found out that August is a good month for wedding product vendors. But in September I panicked and lowered my prices when purchases dropped, only to raise them a couple of weeks later. I should have held firm because sales quickly steadied.
What is your most effective means of getting new customers?
For event planning, I don’t do any advertising. I know people in the community, so I rely on word-of-mouth to be commissioned for projects.
I buy Facebook and Instagram ads for the online shop, but they aren’t as effective as Etsy advertising, which brings in more immediate sales. I only buy ads for my most popular products because it drives a bigger number of people to them. I've learned that social media is also a good way to develop a following and for people to see what you’re making.
If you could go back in time, what’s the one thing you would do differently when starting your business?
I feel like the event planning part of my business has grown so organically that I’m happy with how it’s turned out. I rented a studio space in December 2015, but if I could go back I might have waited a while longer because it’s a big expense. Still, I was getting cabin fever working from home.
On the product side, I spent a lot of money on Pinterest advertising and wish I hadn’t. People re-pinned and liked my items, but I didn’t earn enough to cover the ad costs. Admittedly, I think I need to spend more time researching online advertising.
How do you juggle other responsibilities and interests outside of your businesses?
I don’t always manage my work-life balance super well. I track my hours and try to keep it to a certain number every week, which forces me to get the important stuff done so I’m not working for an unlimited amount of time.
I’ve had to year figure out what’s most important to me this past year because I was spreading myself way too thin with volunteer work. My husband and I would like to start a family, so now I’m putting my head down a little more. I also want to focus on my business, but unfortunately this means stepping away from being a state representative.
What would you like to learn today from a community of other small business owners and self-employed professionals?
I’m wondering about new ways that I can strategize for the future. How do others here plan to grow their business responsibly?
Do *you* have experience planning and strategizing for the future of your business?
If you have a story to share with Marie, post it here in the comments! We can't wait to hear your ideas and tips. :-)