Interview With a Paper Maker

Hello friends.

Today's interview is with Tina from PaperRecyclery .

She has hand-made paper business. Her papers are beautiful as well as have unique quality.

Thank you for participating in the interview AND for inspiring us, Tina! 

Facebook: The Paper Recyclery

Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperRecyclery

1-Why did you decide to have your own business (as opposed to getting a job somewhere)

 I have an education in science and was working as a postdoctoral fellow at a research institute until my third child was born and I decided to stay home with the children for a few years rather than continue in the high-stress environment of academic research. During this time, my childhood passion for arts and crafts was rekindled and I started thinking about ways to make it a source of income for me and my family. The most compelling reason for me to have my own business was being able to work from home and being in control of my own time, which was hugely helpful as a parent of young children (and has continued to be so as they’ve grown older).

Question 2- Did you have any worries at first? And how did you overcome them?

When I first started the business, my family was living entirely on my husband’s income and there was no immediate pressure for me to turn a big profit as any amount I made was a plus for us

Question 3- What were the first five actions you took to get started?

           My first five actions were 

1)  Learn about the process of papermaking and the science behind it by reading all the available books (there are lots of information on the Internet too, but I like books).

2 Invest in the necessary equipment and teach myself to make paper by hand.

3) Read several books on the topic of starting and running a business selling handmade goods. There were several books specifically on being an Etsy seller.

4) Officially establish the business by applying for all the necessary licenses, tax-IDs, etc.

5) Take product pictures and start posting listings on Etsy

 4- Did you come across with challenges and doubt yourself (What am I doing?)

The start of my small business journey was littered with trial-and-error situations, and it took me a few of years to really start turning a profit that made a difference for my family. There have been many times that I feel that I don't make enough money to justify all the hours of work I put into it. I try to use those moments of doubt to sit down and really think about goals and areas of improvement and I usually manage to come up with way to turn things around for the better.

Question 5- Did you invest a lot of money?

  I intentionally chose to build my business on a craft that initially required a very minimal amount of investment which took away a lot of pressure

 

Question 6- How do you see the future of your business?

I am currently at a point where I can't significantly increase my output without expanding the business by hiring other people, and I have decided that this is not a route I wish to go down. I will probably keep it going this way until we have put our kids through college and after that I will reevaluate. The fun thing about this business is that I can keep it interesting for myself by experimenting with making new items to sell, and my customers seem to like that.

Question 7- Do you have any advice for people who want to start a business? 

My advice would be to find a niche that does not have a lot of competition. For me, this was probably the single most important reason why my handmade paper business was initially able to take off. There were very few other paper makers out there and I had to spend almost nothing on advertising. The other thing is to provide excellent and personalized customer service, which will help your business grow by word of mouth. Finally, branding and a strong social media presence is a great way to reach a lot of customers at no cost.

INTERVIEW WITH A BAG DESIGNER / BUSINESS OWNER

In this interview we are with Saverio Barbarito.

He just started a business and planning to expand it and wants his products to be used worldwide.

Website: Allamma.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allammabags/

Instagram: https: //www.instagram.com/allamma.bags/

 

Question 1- Why did you decide to  have your own business (as opposed to getting a job somewhere ).

I have been working since 15 and had many jobs.  I have high       work-ethics.  The last job I had was working at a restaurant as a manager.  At some point, I was given more responsibility closing the restaurant, my duties included counting money, depositing it, making sure the kitchen is in good shape, make sure everything is stocked etc.


After that my first experience in having more responsibility was in Real Estate. It showed me the potential of no ceiling. At a $12 hour job you are responsible but income is limited.

So even though I was doing Real Estate for about a year, the competition in the industry is ridiculously high. 

And how I had the idea of starting my own yoga bag business is,
one day I made a bag for my mom's yoga mat.  (My grandmother thought me how to sew when I was little). She loved it.
I loved it, and instantly knew I could turn it into a business and I also knew that this was the product that other people would want to have.
I didn't do anything about it for a while, about 2 years in fact, but eventually made some bags to test how many I could make in a day.

I also showed the bags to my friends and to the rest of my family  and they all loved it. So I said I'm gonna go ahead and start a business with this.

Question 2- Did you have any worries at first?  And how did you overcome them?

I still worry. Even though initially you think people will love your product, you still wonder if people will actually love the products as much as you do and how they will react to it. Everyday you learn something and it is a roller coaster.
 

 

Question 3- What were the first five actions you took to get started?



1- Testing the product to see if people like it, how long it takes to make bags and if I can do it.


2-Making the bags was a lot of work. So my uncle suggested that I find a contractor to get them sewn. So finding a local contractor was the second step. He can make the bags way faster than I do.


3-Obtaining the material. Had to get everything in big quantities but also had to make sure that quality is still there.


4- Legal stuff. Deciding the company, setting it up with the  government, image and trademark etc.


5-Find out where to sell. Took pictures for the web site, built the web site, joined the local Business Community.


 

Question 4- Did you come across with challenges and doubt yourself (what am I doing?)

I read a lot of books about entrepreneurs, starting businesses, marketing and a lot of shark tank (tv show)!
 

I learned from all that, you need to be invested in it 100%. One foot in, one foot out doesn't work.

If I need to do it, I need to do it full force. Challenges are there everyday. No quitting. 

 

Question 5- Did you invest a lot of money?

A lot more than I thought. I invested money from my real estate work and still investing. Material, trademark, starting corporation, web site design, branding, marketing, trade shows and festivals. I paid for some of the festivals and trade shows ahead of time, you need to book the space in advance.

 Question 6- How do you see the future of your business?

I knew the future when I made the 1st bag. I saw the picture.


I have two types of bags. I want my Yoga Bags  in Yoga Studios throughout the nation and worldwide.

I want to design more appealing back-packs (leisure bags) to be a daily product for people worldwide. 

I want them to be sold at boutiques and festivals. When people see  or hear the Allamma bags, I want them to think fun and quality bags.

Question 7- Do you have any advice for people who want to start a business?

Everyone has ideas. Ideas are the easy part. The backbone is the effort, hustle. It can only go as far as you take it. You don't doubt yourself. There are highs and lows. But there is nothing more fulfilling seeing your baby succeed. Your product is your baby. Also one thing I learned from the books that I can forward to readers is this. Steps to creating a business are Crawl, Walk, Run and Fly. There are no shortcuts. 

Thank you Saverio for your inspirational story.
 

 







 

INTERVIEW WITH A METAL ARTIST (BLACKSMITH)

Hello world.

Meet Leslie Tharp.


Web site: www.leslietharp.com

Facebook: Leslie Tharp Designs
 
She is a guest here, because , despite challenges,  she made it go right and
established her studio and business and a producing artist now.

She uses traditional and modern methods to do her job. And  she is located in Gainesville, Florida.

I'm going to let her tell her story. Very inspiring! 
 
But before I go, you know how Grant Cardone says "Success is your duty, obligation and your responsibility".

I think Leslie is a living example of that. And thank you so much Leslie,  for sharing your story with 

the world.
  

Leslie Tharp

Q: Why did you decide to have your own business (as opposed to getting a job somewhere).
I’d come out of art school around the time the economy was failing and there seemed to be zero well paid creative jobs in my field. After picking up some different jobs and working for minimal pay in fields I wasn’t passionate about, I decided it was time to get serious about selling my artwork.



Q: Did you have any worries at first? And how did you overcome them?
I was mostly worried I would be rejected. That no one would appreciate my skills. I got through my anxiety by making lists of tasks to complete by certain dates, and then treating them like homework assignments. I put aside time every couple days to get something crossed off the list.

 

Q: What were the first five actions you took to get started?
1-I signed up for every cheap or free tutorial, blog series, or workshop on owning a business. I had a whole slew of creative and technical skills to make beautiful art, but knew very little about how to sell that art. These tutorials would cover topics like pricing my work, budgeting for costs, negotiating contracts, utilizing social media and more.

2-I budgeted time to work on my business. I chose to wake up an hour earlier to work on my website before work, or dedicate 5 hours of my Saturday to being in the studio, methodically practicing new techniques. Basically, I had to prioritize my time, and make sure I was showing up and putting in the hours even when I was tired or would rather be fishing.

3-I found ways of surrounding myself with folks doing similar things. It really helped to know other people were in the same boat as me. We shared tips on getting started, but we also drank coffee and complained about how broke we were. It was just what I needed.

4-I started saving money to buy tools. $40 for a grinder one month. The next month I could afford a $50 vice. I didn’t have much extra income at the time so this was tough, but bit by bit I started building my shop.


5-I made time and space to make my art. It was really hard to learn all the business stuff, work a bunch of jobs, and still be creative and make art. I started clocking my hours, and proving to myself that if I just showed up to do the work than inevitably the work would get done.


Q: Did you come across with challenges and doubt yourself (thinking “what am I doing?” )

All the time! I’m really stubborn though, so I’m used to just gritting my teeth and going for it. It helped to know other people who were at the same stage as me, trying to create their own art business , having the same issues (we even got to complain together) and also searching for mentors.
 I organized a group of artists in town and we would meet and hold meeting in each others' studios. This group helped me meet people who were finding success in creative fields, and they would help me sort out problems I was having.


Q: Did you invest a lot of money?
I started small by buying power tools at local pawn shops. Probably $50 a month for the first 6 months. I was able to acquire basic shop tools that way, which included a drill, grinder, safety gear, and some other handy tools. After about 6 months I began investing in “big ticket items” like a  , forge, anvil, and oxy/acetylene set up. Those each cost anywhere from $300-$600. With those items I could operate a modest blacksmithing business and would only have to come up with the cash for coal and gas to burn. It wasn’t until I got my first big sculpture commission that I bought a nice welder, which cost me $1400. Over the next couple years I spent nearly everything I made on buying large tools for the shop, a power hammer, plasma cutter, all the big investments that could in the long run would increase my efficiency and make me money. It took several years to have a shop that wasn’t always in need of something, but I was able to get there without having a dime to my name when I began.




Q: How do you see the future of your business?

Interest in my artwork and custom metalworking has increased and I hope to move into a larger metal studio in a couple years and possibly bring in some help, as I typically make large public art sculptures or large custom metal projects.
Part of my original business model was to incorporate teaching into my practice. I love teaching and it was so difficult for me to find someone to learn from in Florida when I caught the blacksmithing bug, so it always seemed like a great idea to offer blacksmithing classes. I’ve been teaching in my studio for about 5 years, but interest has really picked up lately and I’m working to expand that endeavor into a blacksmithing school, under the name of Leslie Tharp Designs, that offers both short terms and long term learning opportunities that focus on the art of blacksmithing.


Q: Do you have any advice for people who want to start a business?
Be willing to learn and adapt as you go and take every opportunity you can to refine the way you run your business.  Enjoy the ride! It’s a wild one, but it’s so worth it!

The Chase, photo by Historia Photography

The Chase, photo by Historia Photography

Out of the Woods

Startle

Startle

Summer Showers

Cycle

                                                              Photo by Angela Boggs Photography

Lift,  Photo by Historia Photography

Lift- photo by Sean Deckert

Lift- photo by Sean Deckert

Lift- photo by Sean Deckert

Lift, photo by Historia Photograpy

(Only the metal work is done by Leslie)

Work Your Way Up

  Hello everybody.

Today we are with Mauricio Munoz.

He is the founder and owner of Pressure Washing Clearwater.

His web : http://www.pressurewashingclearwater.com/

Without further delay, here are the questions and his answers.

    

Q:  Why did you decide to have your own business (as opposed to getting a job somewhere) ?

A: My entire life I wanted to have my own business. To do the things that I wanted to create.I wanted to generate employment for others as well. Also I didn't want to be like my father who worked all the time and didn't have time for his family or anything else.

 

Q: Did you have any worries at first? And how did you overcome them?

A: To begin with, I had a good paying job but I decided it wasn't too ethical. So I quit it. I didn't have a job, no money, no credit cards. My wife was pregnant.  At that state I didn't have any other choice but do something....So I worked for construction business' for a while. To answer your question, no I didn't have worries about starting a business. I was already broke. 

 

Q: What were the first five actions you took to get started?

A: 1- Decision to have my own business

     2- Observation. When I was working in construction, I was looking to see what was needed and wanted in the field. I saw that window cleaning was  easy and didn't cost much money to get started.

     3- Get information on how to do it.

     4-Buying the tools necessary to clean windows.

   5-Printed Business Cards and Flyers.  Free Google Advertising, Craigslist. Anything free I could find online I used. Then headed to local stores and offered my window cleaning service.

 

Q: Did you come across with challenges and doubt yourself (what am I doing? ) 

 A:    Yes. It had been a while I was cleaning windows, I remember  my younger daughter was about 1 year old. I used to work all the way from 7 am to 12 at night. Looking for new work, I didn't have a car, so I was riding my bike to work. Between work and riding bikes, I was exhausted. Physically I wasn't in good shape. I used to fall asleep soon after I got home. I had no time for my family or anything else. Then I started working with another person, he had a truck, that handled the ride situation but still I was tired and didn't have any time but work only. If I didn't work we wouldn't eat...those times I used to occasionally think, maybe I should work for a company and get a paycheck instead of working so many hours.   

 

    Q: Did you invest a lot of money?

   A:  No. Only about $200 to start  (for tools and business cards ). 

   

Q: You started with window cleaning, how did you get into pressure washing field?

 A: I was cleaning windows ,mostly for gas stations, then I got a call from a regional director,he asked  if I could clean the windows for all of their gas stations. Then I was asked if I could pressure wash their driveway. At first I was renting the pressure washing equipment, eventually I got a new one and even built one myself as well. 

 

 Q: How do you see the future of your business?

 A: I see a very bright future. I want to produce 1 million dollar worth of service. I want the people I work with to prosper and expand too.

Q: Do you have any advice for people who want to start a business?

A: I suggest people to start their own business'. Because the society is on the shoulders of small business owners & entrepreneurs. 

     If a person isn't happy with what they are doing or they are frustrated with their work conditions, they need to take the chance and see things from a different point. Look around, see what you are good at.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?

  A:  My wife's name is Charlotta. My parents in law are Ralf and Doddi Gerhardy. Without their support in every stage of my business from day one until today I wouldn't be able to make it.  Thank you.

 

 Thank you Mauricio for sharing your story with us. 

 

 

 

                                                                         Before

                                                                    After (wow!)

                                                                       Before

                                                                       After

 

  I say, great job!

  

    

     

   

  

      

 

 

      

 

 

   

DO THIS

Even if in a small scale, share your story, beyond your family and friends. Create a web site, a blog, write a book, join twitter and any similar channels where you don't have to necessarily have to share your story with your usual circle. I've experienced this myself. I had opinions, very strong. Noticed that I don't have to sell my opinion to my usual buyers who were not always interested. The world is a big arena. So if you have strong opinions, they are meant for bigger circles. 

People are interested.

To prove this, I have started this blog less than 2 months ago....views went up when I posted "About Me"...I don't think I had over 30 views in one day before that, that day I got 153 views. See.

That is why I am attaching this interview of Grant Cardone talking to Hank Norman, so you have a better idea.

Hank Norman is the co-owner of  2Market Media.

Here is his company's motto;
2 Market Media takes you and your ideas to market. What's your opinion of how the World Works? Cool. Let's sell it.


I totally agree with what they are saying...people are hesitant to share their views in the way they want to, afraid of rejection....Hank Norman is saying that, you need to move out of your "usual circle"...very to the point. Apply these points as an individual, you don't have to have a business.

So the points to learn
1- Use social media and connect with people (you don't have to have long chats).
2- Get out of your circle (extend it, or adapt a new circle on the side).

Here is the interview  Grant Cardone interviewing Hank Norman