I don’t know about you, but I have never thought of myself as a “girl boss“, and I certainly never connected with the word “entrepreneur“.
It turns out, though, I am my own boss because this little Unwrapped Yarn thing has become an actual real business.
Somehow!
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change it for the world, and I love creating things and seeing all your lovely comments when you open up your packages of goodies!
How we got here
Really, I had only just got back into knitting in a serious way. A lovely colleague had encouraged me, I think she saw that I had been super stressed.
It wasn’t my intention to make things and sell them. In fact, this whole thing partly came from some playful banter with my husband.
You see, Chris is what might be described as a total and utter geek.
He also obsessively gets into hobby after hobby, with some of them then getting abandoned in favour of the next shiny.
This means when I was grumbling about knitting tools, and he said “you could make one of those”, I jumped at the opportunity to either prove him wrong (maximum wife points), or make use of the $$$ paperweight that was cluttering our garage.
Something weird and magical happened when I started playing with that laser machine (which I now call “Rocky”, along with his partner, “Bullwinkle”).
All of a sudden I was creating new things. Taking ideas and then later being able to hold the physical item in my hands. I was hooked, but I didn’t tell Chris that for quite a while. Can’t have him feeling too smug about it.
As encouragement grew, I took more chances, each time wondering if I was going to publically fall flat on my face.
Always learning
After that initial massive learning curve (Adobe Illustrator, laser engraving concepts, selecting safe and attractive materials, product photography) the need to learn new things has never subsided.
Just consider everything that goes into your first market:
- Pricing and labelling
- Taking credit cards
- Tables, coverings, shelves, props
- Logistics/unloading/loading
- Promotion
- Signage
- … and on and on!
Speed Bumps and Fist Bumps
Of course it has never been all smooth sailing. The last couple of years in particular have been a real struggle. Dealing with grief and a move to a different country, whilst trying to set up my business in England has taken its toll on my body and mind.
I often feel a droop in self-confidence as my imposter syndrome raises its ugly head.
But on other days I get so much love and support from our community that I feel like I am getting a dozen hugs from all over the world.
That is probably the biggest lesson I have learned from all this – that you have to face the fears, and keep pushing ahead, even when it gets overwhelming, because good things wait for you on the other side.
Over to You!
I would love to hear from you about your story, what your situation is, and where you started out.