Mompreneur Of The Month
MEET THE MOMPRENEUR® OF THE MONTH
Michelle Masters
Upstate New York
Mother of: 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter
My Biz: Michelle Masters Topiary Art: Unique topiary- themed gifts for the home & gardener
www.michellemasters.com
Where your business is based: On a farm in Upstate New York
When you planted the seed for your business: 1996
How did you fertilize your business idea?
Upon completing my Masters degree in Computer Graphic Design, I worked in the graphic design industry for a couple of years and found myself deeply dissatisfied. I couldn’t lay out one more brochure for air conditioners or design another logo or catalog for someone else’s business. I also knew that I wanted to be home with my children when my husband and I started a family. We took a leap of faith and I stopped working in the graphic design field and began doing what I loved—painting. I gave myself a year to just paint with the idea and faith that out of my exploration/passion I could start a business out of our home that would continue once we started a family. Pretty risky, but I never borrowed any money and only began to feel pressure as the year came to a close and the funds that I had set aside began to dwindle.
I am an avid gardener and during that year of painting I began making little topiary doodles. The doodles seemed to captivate people’s attention and their sense of whimsy. I thought of them as little plant sculptures on paper that could be grown/trimmed any way I wanted. On paper anything was possible. Fashionistas loved the topiary Daffodil Shoe and Lady Lavender Hat designs. Cat lovers enjoyed the topiary Cat & Butterfly design. Soon the original watercolors began flying out of my booth at art festivals and I realized that they were becoming that business that I had been praying about.
How did you nurture your business and make it bloom?
I listened to my customers. More than once my customers have given me leads and/or ideas for the “next step.” Once at a holiday show one of my customers emphatically told me that I should have my work in the New York Botanical Gardens Gift Shop. I thought… why not?! I called and set up an appointment and drove down to the Bronx. I laughed to myself all the way to my car after receiving my first wholesale order for $700 worth of product at one of the nation’s premier gardening institutions! I was certain that I would be “found out” as only an artist… not a true businessperson.
Trade shows were the next step for my business-—to sell my designs/products in the national marketplace. At my first wholesale trade show I made a contact with Ethan Allen and eventually designed three images for their children’s wall art collection. That experience helped take my business to the next level financially as well as allowing me to have my designs printed and reproduced on cards. At this point I no longer hand-painted each design. I had a basic e-commerce web site for many years that continued to grow in online sales.
Once the children came I did fewer and fewer wholesale shows and began to focus primarily on my retail business. My first commitment was to my family and the business had to change to fit our lives. I have always looked at my business as an organic process with an ebb and a flow. At times it is crazy busy and at other times it’s quiet and I am challenged to be patient and appreciate the lull.
When and why did you decide to partner up with a soap maker?
A local business owner inquired about using my artwork on her soap labels since she worked with numerous local artists. I thought she had a lovely product and agreed to produce her labels with my artwork. I tested the Gardener and Lavender soaps at the Philadelphia Flower Show in 2008 and sold out before the show was over! A nice surprise. Selling her soaps has expanded my product line and helped me to branch out into a different market. She also reps my cards to her existing wholesale customers which makes for a larger point of purchase display in their stores. The soaps make such a nice gift when given with a coordinating linen towel or set of cards.
What was the biggest mistake you made and how did you fix it?
I think the biggest mistake that I made was the year after my daughter was born I committed to 13 shows all over the Northeast. My entire family (aunts and grandparents included) was worn out from traveling, babysitting, production and animal sitting. I realized that year not to spread myself and my resources so thin. I had somewhat of an epiphany while doing a dreadfully slow craft show with my mother in Western New York. I remember saying… I need to do the Philadelphia Flower Show! That is where my customers are! That Fall I was contacted and offered a space at the show the following Spring (after being on the waiting list a number of years). It’s a 10-day long commitment but it has become one of the biggest retail sources of income for my business. I have picked up numerous wholesale accounts with garden boutiques and botanical gardens all over the country because of the national scope of the show. I have also made a contact there that has opened doors for me to do illustrative work for the JFK Presidential Library and Museum as well as other museum gift shops.
I try to make one calculated risk a year now. Maybe it’s trying a new show or maybe it is advertising in a national trade magazine depending on what is in the budget… nothing that will break the bank or overextend my family.
What has been the biggest thrill in starting and growing your business?
My biggest thrill is that my artwork makes people smile, laugh and sometimes get a little misty-eyed. I am so honored that my customers spend their hard-earned money on my work. I LOVE to hear someone laughing because they found the humor in one of my designs. They “get” my humor… and I love that! Life is so short and I consider it a great blessing to create images that make people feel happy… simply happy. Once an older gentleman purchased 3 of my large Hedges & Hares prints to hang in his home just because they made him feel happy when he looked at them. Is the treat for him or for me? My children have helped unlock a whole new side to my artwork and I feel like I am truly JUST getting started.
I am also thrilled that I have been able to “be there” for all of the bumps, bruises, laughter and tears of my kids. It has been a constant state of wonderful frustration—having a business and being home with my children. It’s challenging, but I wouldn’t change a thing. This will be the first year that both of my children will be in school the full day. I don’t know whether to weep or jump for joy on the sofa! I am bursting with expectations for myself since I will soon have time to focus again quietly on my art/business.
Any advice for balancing work & family under the same roof?
Be flexible. Go with the ebb and flow. Some days the cleaning/laundry will have to give. Other days accept the TV being on more than you would like. It will all balance in a messy, beautiful organic way.
Be a part of a community—online or in your locality. It helps so much to hear the struggles and achievements of other women who are trying to find that balance too. So much of what I have learned about business I have learned from other knowledgeable women here at Mompreneurs!
Accept help when offered.
The marketplace is always changing, always looking for a new product or service. Why NOT your product? Why NOT your service? Why NOT your designs?
To learn more visit www.michellemasters.com