Hey all!
Hope life is treating everyone well. My birthday was pretty good. I managed to knock back an entire bottle of pink champagne pretty much single-handedly. Had a great dinner with the fam - all good. 
School and life are keeping me very busy. I'm learning a lot of new and fabulous things in my classes and every art and design class gives me new ideas and plans for my online stores. I'm letting things in my Etsy shop kind of expire and run out until the next school break, then I'm going to completely revamp things. New wonderfulness to come so stay tuned! And if there's anything in there you've been wanting, get it while you can! http://www.amozarkian.etsy.com
For my Intro to Business class we were required to interview a small business owner. I chose to interview Amanda Swan, owner of Sygnet Creations on Etsy. There were a lot of reasons I chose her, not the least of which is the fact that she is unfailingly kind and generous and a really awesome person. So - without further ado, the finished product - check out her shop on Etsy - you won't be sorry!
Week
4 Written Assignment – Interview a Small Business Owner
Amanda
Swan is an Air Force wife and mother of four.
Sewing has always been something she has done for family and friends,
but on the advice of one friend, she decided to take it a step further and use
her talent for added income for her family.
Amanda had been making mainly blankets, pillows, scarves, and hats for
her friends and family, but with some pushing from her best friend, she decided
to go into business and began her company, Sygnet Creations, in April of
2007. The name of her company comes from
her husband’s name of Swan. In her
words, “A cygnet is a baby swan and growing up my husband’s nickname was Sygnet
with an ‘S’. With our household of babies it was a simple transition to bring
that name forward, thus Sygnet Creations.”
When she first started her business, she was just making
blankets, but soon expanded into her signature “neck nests,” travel pillows for
infants, adults, and children. Since
adding in the neck nests, she has branched out even further into offering pillowcase
dresses; craft/waist aprons; full aprons/apron tops; pot holders & accessories;
tags and bags (fabric bags, fabric wrapping supplies, fabric gift bags, purses,
diaper bags); towels, pillows, scrap fabric, and baby slings. Her reasoning on the new additions is simple,
“I actually started with blankets then moved on to the neck nests and other creations
as my skills improved. You see, I am a self learner. My mother taught me basic
skills of the sewing machine, but anything past that initial learning has been
self taught. My children are my
inspiration; they are the backbone behind everything I do. The colors I use are
an expression of the joy I feel when I am able to create a piece of work
dreamed up on a whim.”
Amanda chose to set up her business as a sole
proprietorship, “I felt sole proprietorship worked best for me.” When asked how she got the startup capital
for her business, she answered, “I am completely self financed. I used to have
a free website on Lycos where I listed and sold my creations. It wasn't my best
laid plan, but it introduced me to the world of Etsy.” On the e-tailing crafter’s site Etsy, Amanda
seems to have found her niche. Billed as
the “place to buy and sell all things handmade,” and featured on shows like Oprah and Rachael Ray, Etsy is the largest online crafting e-tailer. On Etsy, Amanda has been able to set up her shop,
http://www.sygnetcreations.etsy.com,
and also network to find new opportunities, such as being featured on
LarkBooks.com for her winning Pillowcase entry.
http://www.larkbooks.com/article/pillowcase-challenge-winners
As far as being featured and published, Amanda had that
as one of her goals with her business. “One
goal I set when I started was to be published within the first 5 years. That
goal will be achieved this year and that is wonderful. I have written a
tutorial for an upcoming craft publication, and I am hoping it will give my
business the push it needs to reach my 10-year plan of having more wholesale
accounts with my products being featured in boutiques around the globe.”
When asked about a trend in her business that she used to
make her shop more successful, she shared the following, “The blankets I was
making were not selling like I wanted, so I decided that the overall feel of my
shop might be off. I needed more price points. I added the neck nests at this
point. Once I sold a few in a week I realized they were going to be a big
asset. The blankets stayed, I just down-sized; instead of making big twin-sized
blankets for a higher price, I again made a smaller price point with the lovey
and baby blankets. It gave my shop versatility and gave my customers a wide selection
to choose from.” When asked how she competes
with the competition or bigger business, her approach is simple, “I do not pay
attention to what others are doing as far as competition, and I prefer not to
compete. In all honesty the fact that I make everything by hand is more
appealing than any big business assembly line. That in itself helps us stand
apart.”
I asked Amanda how she feels as a female and minority
business owner about the Etsy phenomenon and women such as herself choosing
that option to generate income while taking care of their families. “Etsy is wonderful for all small business
people, not just women. Although being over 70% women owned, I am happy to be a
part of such a wonderful community. Without Etsy I would have closed up shop by
now. There have been many ups and downs over the last few years and Etsy has
allowed me to reach customers I couldn't have reached on my own. I am a very
extroverted individual so I enjoy being around people. I have only sold my
goods at one craft show and, of course, the BX. With comparison to Etsy, I do
sell more in person in one day than online, but I prefer the flexibility of
setting up shop in my night clothes.”
When asked about selling at the BX on the Air Force base where her
husband is stationed, Amanda said, “Selling at the BX has been a goal since day
one. I actually applied over a year prior to being accepted. I am not
interested in making it a full time gig, but I enjoyed the exposure of the day.”
I asked Amanda how she felt Etsy measured up to other
sites such as eBay and Artfire, and how those sites differed from taking the
direct approach of setting up a site on her own, which she has at http://sygnetcreations.com. She stated, “They are actually quite similar.
When setting up your own website you need to pay for the site, shopping cart,
any support you may need and so on. With Etsy you have all the above with a
much smaller price tag.”
When I asked Amanda what she considered to be the upsides
and downsides of owning her own business, she mentioned the freedom of being
able to be there for her children as one of the biggest plusses of being her
own boss. “I am able to stay home with
my children and not spend a fortune in day care costs. With the profits I have
been able to upgrade my computer system, buy glasses for my children, and
contribute savings to our household. On the opposite note, I have spent a lot
to get to this place. I still have months where breaking even is the goal. It
is stressful when you have no financial backer but yourself and the long hours
tend to make you loathe the Internet.”
But, overall, she finds that she prefers the avenue she has chosen, and
says the most rewarding part of small business ownership is “Freedom! I make
what I want, set my own price, and work when I see fit.”
As someone who has been selling on Etsy for over 2 years,
and who has made it a point to give back and reach out to help others there
with her membership in the Etsy HomeFront street team for military families, as
co-Leader of the EtsyFriends street team which encourages friendship and
cooperative selling, and the Etsy Sellers Assisting Sellers (TeamSASsy), I
asked Amanda what advice she would give to anyone wishing to start their own
business. “First of all, have realistic
goals, and a strong support system. You could have the best ideas in the world,
but if you do not have a realistic sense of where you want to go and how you
plan to get there, nothing will fall into place. The support keeps you going
when you realize nothing is easy! Also,
never give up. If one idea doesn't pan out, rethink and start again. There is
always a diamond in the rough, you just need to know how to polish it up and
make it shine!”
Since joining Etsy in August of 2007, Amanda’s Sygnet
Creations has conducted 388 individual sales transactions garnering a 100%
satisfaction rating with her customers.
In addition to Etsy, Amanda has generated income from her own business
site, sales on Craigslist.com, and sales in markets and the on-base BX. A central ethos of her success is taking
pride in her customer service skills and her creations. Interpersonal relations, even over the Internet,
are vital to the seller/customer relationship, and she maintains that going
that extra mile to help a customer is another aspect of what sets her apart in
the ever-growing Internet marketplace.
From the small beginnings of making gifts for friends and family, Amanda
has seen her own personal Sygnet grow into a profitable enterprise benefitting
her family and offering opportunities to make her personal dreams and goals a
reality.
Cheers all and have great days!