Staying true to your small business vision

When starting your own small business, as many at-home or unemployed workers may be contemplating these days, it's important to keep your ideas small and manageable, and define your vision, before you dive head-first. A neighbor of mine, Shannon, had this thought when she began making personalized shirts, travel mugs, and other branded home products from her FROG (Finished Room Over Garage). I wasn't sure she was going to be able to compete with sites like Etsy, where you can receive high-quality items in just over a week, but she proved me wrong.

She began testing a few products, primarily ornaments and koozies and shared her items on the neighborhood Facebook page. Quickly she gained interest. Friends were thinking up quirky ideas during their stay-at-home days, candles that said, "quarantine and chill" or mugs for moms that said, "Employee. Chef. Gardener. Parent. Teacher." We're just doing all the things these days!

Shannon decided to purchase some quality equipment, built a simple Facebook page, and set up client expectations for how long each personalized product would take to be finished. By creating quality products and being authentic in her communication with her customers, she's made herself a small business with the work/life balance she's been looking for. She's keeping up with demand because she's staying true to her vision, quality first, before delivery. Her customers are thrilled with the end product and referring her to other friends, who don't mind waiting in line.

Her small business is growing quickly. She didn't have to start big, she just had to start with vision.