Growing a brand- Kendra @ RBT
Hey!
We want you to meet one of our fave folks! Kendra Parker at River Babe Threads has been dressing our family [namely this guy] for almost 3 years now!
From dining room to 3 joining spaces on her town's square, Kendra has seen it all!
We caught up with her and got a tour and chat [& dinner!] with this incredible Mom Boss! Check it out :
BHUB:
Kendra, Why did you start your business?
Kendra:
In the summer of 2014, I found difficulty returning to work after having my second child, who had colic. I had a goal in mind, if I could just make $500/week, I could do this [Work from home]. I started with bibdanas and just post a photo while customers claimed. I literally wrote the orders on notebook paper.
BHUB:
What is your secret weapon?
K:
Travelling events. I didn't imagine they would be so effective. I don't make money at events. We look at them as marketing opportunities, and we see an immediate regional influx, and we retarget the cities. They connect with you in person and decide to jump on with the brand. The goal is to break even.
Making face to face contact with the people behind your brand is so important. It is so beneficial for growing and why I feel we have been more successful.
BHUB:
What has been your biggest fail?
K:
I would say that my biggest lesson early on was trying to take on too many things at once. When you are trying to manage too much too soon, you suck at everything.
Press your limits once you have the resources, but limit yourself to begin.
I have had spin-off brands that failed.
BHUB:
I agree- I use Freshly Picked a lot. They started with a shoe. Now they have all the things, but it has to be focused on one thing to learn and grow.
BHUB:
What e-commerce tools do you utilize that are out of the norm?
K:
We use text notifications, but we reserve it for BIG sales only.
BHUB:
What does a day in the life of Kendra look like?
K:
My oldest kid wakes me up around 8am to take her to school. I am one of those horrible people who go straight to their phone and I post on social media, check my sales, take her to school, drop her off and come home and hang out on the VIP page answering questions and check Facebook ads. I get ready and come to the shop around 11am. Print orders as soon as we get in, and fulfill orders. I try to be hands off on fulfillment. I do site maintenance and have our customer service assistant next to me, in case she has questions. Throughout the day I handle walk-through traffic, prep shipment and reconcile shipping records, and ensure there are no errors. I order shirts daily, and do daily pick-ups with our seamstresses. I sort blanks a lot as well. Typically we stay until 7pm, and the kids come here after school.
BHUB:
It's awesome your kids get to watch their mom hustle.
BHUB:
What one piece of advice do you have for someone starting right NOW?
K:
First, whatever your expectations are, throw them out the window-right now!
People seem to think once i have xyz done, i can do this!
Nope- JUST DO IT! Dive in! You will make mistakes regardless of the precautions you take. Embrace mistakes!
If you are ever in Grand Rapids, MI you have to make it out to see her incredible setup! She has really pushed the boundaries, all while thinking in numbers. Every square inch of space is utilized for profitability.
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