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Success Stories ~ Polli

Maja and Tess of Polli

I love finding new handmade companies that make me stay on their website for nearly an hour oohing and ahhing over their products.  Polli grabbed in me a few weeks back and I knew I needed to contact them so I could share their advice on running an extremely successful business with you!  Maja and Tess were sweet enough to agree.  You’re going to enjoy this interview on how these two ladies went from full-time jobs in design consultancies to full-time jobs for themselves.

Can you take us on the journey of your creative career path so far?

Maja and I studied Industrial Design at UTS in Sydney. We loved working together and collaborated at uni and became great friends. After graduating we were both lucky to secure full-time jobs in design consultancies, mine from a part-time job during uni and Maja’s from a prize we’d won from the Design Institute of Australia. The only problem was that they were competing consultancies with strict confidentiality. So we started a hobby on the side, with the vision that we could make things for our demographic, that were fun, usable and affordable. Polli grew for about 4 years very much as a weekend hobby while we worked-full time. It was a great luxury as we could reinvest any profits back into the business as we had full-time jobs. In 2007 Polli had grown into such a demanding hobby we had to choose between it and our day jobs and we took the plunge into full-time Polli. It was an exciting and liberating experience and in our first year we went on our first international trip to a trade show in NY and we had a team of friends working part-time. In 2008 we moved into our studio in Stanmore where we are today, still designing and making products with a great group of friends.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve overcome so far in your business?

In 2012 Maja moved to the US with her family and we’ve been working long distance ever since. It’s tricky running a small business this way but we’re intent on making it work as we feel we have a unique partnership with great complimentary skills.

Sweet Polli Babushka Pendant

What has been the biggest ‘fist-pump’/successful moment for you so far?

Probably moving into our studio in Stanmore. It was a huge achievement to move ‘out of home’ and really love this space. It’s a converted ginger beer factory with lots of great salvaged timber, exposed brick walls and polished concrete floors. It feels like a creative little oasis amongst the busy inner west.

Do you ever have doubts as to your future creative direction? Are there things you yearn to achieve, but haven’t yet found the time for?

Brands do need to evolve their aesthetic and we’re in the process of exploring new materials and products. It’s a really exciting time to think we can do something new but it’s also been strange to start a blank canvas with no knowledge of different industries.

Are there times when your creativity and inspiration seem to disappear? How do you handle that?

Certainly I think that happens to all designers but we’re lucky to be in a partnership and have a great team around us to bounce ideas and bring new inspiration.

Australiana Tape

How do you balance your work with the rest of your life ~ what does a typical day in your life look like?

Having children has really changed our work / life balance. (Tess) Generally we start the day early (like all mums), we’re often walking our dogs or enjoying a family breakfast. I’m at the studio just after 8am and the rest of the team arrive within the next couple of hours which gives me time to catch up on emails and plan my day. We have deliveries daily of new stock or samples so we’re often reviewing them over a cuppa. Chatting with suppliers and customers. Designing something: either a new product or something simple like a newsletter. We’re always busy on facebook and instagram, sharing our story with our lovely customers. I’m always home by 5 to start the kids’ dinner and catch up with them before bedtime.

What has been the best marketing move you’ve ever made for your own business?

Two words: Pistol. PR.

Kate does an amazing job promoting Polli to the press because she really understands Polli and has worked with us for a long time.

Wooded Hexagon Beaded Necklace

What is one piece of advice you’d like to give fellow makers about running a successful creative business?

Don’t try to wear all the hats. It’s often good to know when to call in experts like photographers, book keepers, web developers so you can get the best results and focus on the things you love and are really good at.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

Still here in our sunny studio, working side by side on new and exciting products. Travelling the world to promote our collections and visit customers and being inspired all the way.

You can find more of Polli’s work online in their shop

On Instagram

And on Facebook

Introducing my Mentee – Stacey from Max & Me Designs

Today I have a special someone to introduce to you all!

When I ran the inaugural session of Set Up Shop, I let it be known that I would be choosing one of my students to mentor for 3 months. When the course came to a close, I set about the tricky job of picking one person from my 75-strong class of wonderful women to work with one-on-one. It was a difficult decision, because so many of them are passionate, hard-working, dedicated, and giving.

In the end, I made my choice… and today I am very pleased to introduce my new mentee to you all – the lovely Stacey from Max & Me Designs!

Stacey makes wonderful and unique art from vintage postage stamps, as well as postage stamp jewellery and a few other bits and pieces. I am impressed by what she’s managed to achieve in the short time she’s been in business, and I reckon she’s just going to go from strength to strength.

I asked her if she’d be happy to share her journey over the next few months while we work together, so today she’s going to tell you a little bit about her business and how it began…

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How did Max & Me Designs begin?

Like many businesses in the handmade community, Max & Me Designs began by accident. I was cleaning out the cupboard in our new nursery/old junk room when I came across some stamps that I had collected as a child. After spending a few moments looking through the pages of the album and reminiscing about my childhood inspiration struck! I decided to use some of the stamps to create a piece of art for my new little baby boy, Max. I loved the idea that I could take something special from my own childhood and upcycle it into a keepsake gift for him. Little did I know that this very moment would set me on a path to creating my own business.

Fast forward a year down the track and Max & Me Designs is now a successful small business featuring a unique range of art, jewellery and giftware which have been handcrafted using upcycled postage stamps from all over the world.

I love being able to take something so small and insignificant as a postage stamp and reincarnate it into something truly beautiful and unique that will be treasured by its owner.

Every piece is a one of a kind and I often have customers who buy them as keepsake gifts to celebrate birthdays, christenings, Christmas, wedding anniversaries (1st anniversary is paper), Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or the arrival of a new baby.

What was the motivation for starting your business?

Like many new mums I found the first few months of maternity leave very isolating. While I loved being at home with my new little baby I was used to talking to people all day long and being busy, busy, busy! Suddenly I was at home by myself and I missed the mental stimulation of working and being around people.

Several of my friends had commented on Max’s artwork and suggested that I try selling the designs online. I figured I had nothing to lose and set up online shops on the Etsy and Made It sites. I also set up a Facebook page for Max & Me Designs which is where I discovered the AMAZING community of handmaidens!

What has been your favourite part about the journey so far?

My favourite part of running a handmade business would have to be connecting with so many new people. It’s been wonderful getting to know my customers, Facebook fans and fellow small business owners over the past year. I love interacting with my fans on Facebook and find it to be such a beautiful, supportive community. It’s due to their support, and that of my family and friends, that Max & Me Designs is where it is today.

I have also met some very generous philatelists who have donated thousands and thousands of stamps! I have several people who regularly send me envelopes filled with exotic stamps from all over the world, including one lovely grandfather who regularly sends huge envelopes of stamps from his collection. I feel as though they are entrusting me with a part of their lives that is very important to them and I feel very honoured that they appreciate and value the designs that I create.

What do you think the future holds for Max & Me Designs?

Wow, this is the big question, thank goodness I have Jess to help me along the way!

With Jess as my mentor and the very generous business grant from Renata at Forming Circles I’m hoping to take Max & Me Designs to the next level by further developing the product range and spreading the word far and wide.

I would like to extend my social media networks and finally getting onto Twitter… I would also like to increase the number of retail outlets which carry my products and try my hand at some of the larger design markets in Melbourne and possibly interstate.

The key thing that I have learnt from the past year is that anything is possible if you put your mind to it, after all what have you got to lose?

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P.S. Term 2 of Set Up Shop will run this July! I will, again, be choosing a student to mentor for 3 months. If you’re ready to craft an online business and shop that will rock your socks, make sure to sign up here to find out when registration opens.

Why Fear of Failure is So Funny

{Photo by Tim Walker}

I want you to ask yourself: What’s the worst that will happen if you fail at your business?

Be honest and write it out:

  • Deplete savings account

  • Have to go on food stamps

  • Have to sell the car

  • Have to move back in with your parents

  • Have to move to a smaller apartment

  • Have to go back to an old job/get a job

  • Have to take your child out of daycare

As you’re writing out your worst case scenario, are you realizing how unlikely it is that it would happen?  I’m betting you would come up with quite a few steps to take before phoning your mum to ask about the state of the basement.  Yes, you MAY have to move into a smaller apartment but if that’s your worst case scenario, you have it much better than most people in this world.

When we have a big decision to make and the fear of failure confronts us, we tend to overreact.  Sort of like how a chair with a coat on it becomes a short axe-murderer at night.  Suddenly that little voice in your head tells you you’ll never make as much money as you need.  You’ll sell one of your newest product despite all the time and money you put into it.  Or worst of all…you’ll never sell anything ever again.

So let’s get real about fear.

I’m going to be honest here and tell you something that most ‘successful’ entrepreneurs will never tell you: we all suffer from fear of failure and it’s definitely not a pretty time for us.  Every three months I fall into this pit of despair.  It’s always after a hugely successful week or sale or show.  I get this overpowering fear that I will never be able to replicate what I just did.  Then I’ll go two days without a sale and suddenly I feel certain no one will ever buy from me again.  I’ll have to live on the streets while handing out frozen yoghurt at the nearest TCBY.

It’s not till I say these fear out loud (usually amid sobs and a cuddle with a pillow) that I realize how stupid and unrealistic those fears are.  (Plus how silly it is to be crying into my pillow and not my boyfriend’s.)  Almost immediately I grit my teeth and come up with a dozen new ways to market my business.  I refuse to fail.  I refuse to give up.  The universe always seems to be listening because, without fail, the next day I’ll receive an email that knocks my socks off.

Fear of failure is an inherent part of working for yourself.  How you choose to confront that fear is what determines if you stay in business or close up shop.

If you do fail, at least you went down fighting.  Plus, there is nothing that says you can’t get right back up and start again.  If I had to go to work at TCBY, you can bet I’d be plotting out my next adventure away from frozen yoghurt almost immediately!

 

If you had to sum up your business in 60 seconds, you’d say…

Have you heard of an ‘elevator pitch’?

Basically, it is a statement that sums up what you do in your business that can be delivered in the time it takes to ride an elevator – about 60 seconds or so.

I don’t know about you, but often people will ask me – “so what do you do?” And I’ll sit there tongue-tied for a few moments while I work out just what the heck to tell them.

I still suffer from a fear of telling people that I’m “just an artisan/crafter”.

Which is, really, rather ridiculous. I guess I’ve got a little hubris going on, and am afraid that people won’t take me seriously like they did back when I could say “I’m studying to become a scientist” or “I’m a teacher”.

The fact of the matter is – yes, I am an artisan, a maker – but I’m also much more than that, and I’ve struggled to fit all that I do into a short paragraph when confronted with that question.

I decided it was about time for me to come up with my own ‘elevator pitch’ so I didn’t need to sit there tongue-tied in future.

My elevator pitch is:

“I’m a creative entrepreneur and silversmith. I create sleek, modern, eco-friendly sterling silver jewellery under the brand Epheriell, and I teach people how to have a successful online handmade business via my site Create & Thrive. I’m passionate about helping people realise their dream to have a lifestyle and business they love, like I do!”

I’m happy that this statement does a great job of summing up not only what I do – but how I feel about it. It’s probably a little ‘close-ended’ to be a traditional elevator pitch – but hopefully this statement would leave the listener wanting to know more about me and what I do…

So – what would be in your elevator pitch? Consider:

  • what you do
  • who are your customers/target market
  • what makes you special/sets you apart
  • what’s your story
  • what emotions do you want to convey

Need a little more help? Why not try the Harvard Business School elevator pitch builder

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{image by Stefan Witte}