Today’s interview is super exciting to me, because Kendahl is a good friend of one of my college best friends, and I have gotten to know her and seen the growth of her creative business venture firsthand. I also have a soft spot for husband and wife teams after working with Jake building our carpet cleaning company together for five years. (and oh man, it can be HARD.)
Hello Love Handmade hosts features and giveaways for handmade shops to help them gain exposure to their over 33k followers on their instagram. So many companies that “feature” handmade shops have popped up on instagram recently, but Hello Loved Handmade was one of the first – such a cool concept. They have such an incredible business model, because they are helping each client gain exposure on social media, and I truly believe when your business model can really involve helping others, you are destined to explode!
I hope you enjoy the written Q&A below, as well as the video of our Skype interview. There is only one small, tiny glitch: Brian’s head is cut out of the video. [I have a setting to display both sides as equal-width videos side by side, but during the recording it shows full screen and I had no clue it would cut him out!] Just #pressplay and get to your late night sewing, or whatever you are working on.
What did you do before @hellolovehandmade? How did you decide to start your own business?
Before @hellolovehandmade, I ran an online Print Business (@beprintshop). It seemed like a constant uphill battle. Every time I logged on to Etsy or Instagram I felt like I found 20 new print shops! They were everywhere! After much research and long talks with my husband, we finally decided that success was all about talent, hard work, and exposure! We felt that we were decent in the talent department, definitely working hard, but lacking in the exposure. So, how to get the word out? That’s where HelloLoveHandmade was born!
Can you give us a brief history of HelloLoveHandmade? How long have you been in business? What has your growth looked like?
We started a little over a year ago (May 16!) We grew pretty quickly, 10k followers in about 10 weeks! We leveled out after that and have been growing steadily since then! We are now just over 30k followers and growing by the day! There can be a lot of pressure to have crazy HIGH IG following to the point that people will pay for likes and followers, but we are firm believer that if you grow honestly, you will have more true success in the long run!
What’s your big picture WHY? What motivates you to work hard and build your business? What is your ultimate lifestyle goal?
Hardworking shop owners. We really do care about you guys! We have been there and know how hard it is to get noticed! Personally, replacing my income from before I became a stay at home mom would be a great perk! 😉
Where did you find your mentors, or resources to help learn about entrepreneurship and running a successful business?
We have a couple close friends who run amazing small businesses. Doing life with people who bleed the same as you is key. Supporting each other and having common goals is fun and very encouraging!
Can you tell a story of a specific failure you encountered while building HelloLoveHandmade? What did you learn from it?
Yeah, as we mentioned in our interview, we jumped into a fad that didn’t fit our business model. We thought because we had a following, and graphic t-shirts are all the rage, why couldn’t we sell a t-shirt? Well, because we are not a t-shirt business. It was a major flop. And that’s fine 🙂 We don’t love the product sales business anyways, just not our forte. We learned to stick to our niche and not run after what seemed like a quick buck. Lesson learned.
What would you consider your biggest strength?
My husband 🙂 He is type A to the max. Like almost annoyingly. But he is what has held this business together. I am the dreamer, but he is the planner. Being organized is a MUST when you run a small business!
Do you currently have help? What does the infrastructure of HelloLoveHandmade look like?
Currently, Bryan and I do all of the backend of HelloLoveHandmade. We have a couple projects we are working on with some different contracted workers (designers, programers, etc) but for the daily grind, it’s all us! 🙂
I’m Like Brave is about creating an uncommon life. What does an “uncommon life” you love look like for you? How does your business help create this ideal lifestyle?
Bryan and I are givers deep down in our souls. We find no greater joy than to give a well deserved or completely undeserved gift to someone. In a culture full of takers, we love to be uncommon givers. Creating extra income allows us to be able to financially support our family and do crazy things for others. God has given us well more than we ever deserved and if we can pass a little bit of that love on to others, we are nothing but grateful.
What has been the most exciting thing to happen to your business so far?
We love to celebrate the little things, but recently, we scheduled our 1000th feature! That was a fun milestone to hit! 🙂
What is your ultimate vision for your business in the coming year? Where do you see HelloLoveHandmade in 5 years?
We are in the process of working with a developer in hopes to start the next stage of HelloLoveHandmade. We would LOVE to tell you what that is, but don’t exactly have it all nailed out quite yet! Our goal is to create more ways for shop owners to get noticed across many different platforms and to help them get their handmade products into more homes!
What’s holding you back from where you are now and your end game?
Just making the final decisions! 🙂 We are close!
What is it that you need help with right now, and if you could get free advice that would solve your problem right now, what would it be?
We would LOVE to know from Handmade Shops owners what their biggest obstacle is!
If you could sit down with any entrepreneur for a 2 hour lunch and pick their brain, who would it be and why?
Oh man. There are so many. If I had to pick one, right now, I think I’d say Haley Morgan from @wildlyco. She and her husband have a clothing business together so I would love to chat the husband/wife duo-dynamic that we have going on. As well as pick her brain on the many different marketing skills she has used with her blog, ebooks, clothing shop, and conferences!
What advice would you give your “just starting a business” self knowing everything you know now?
Believe in yourself! And don’t worry about the copycats, there’s room for everyone 🙂
Do you have a morning ritual or routine?
I am NOT a morning person. 100% honesty, my morning routine is to sleep as late as my littles and my amazing husband will let me 🙂 #noshame
“Never hope for it more than you work for it.” Sonya Teclai
Closing thoughts to other entrepreneurs or those wanting to take the leap?
Never quit on a hard day. When you get that snotty message or that unkind feedback, just sleep it off and start again tomorrow. Harsh words don’t define you. – Kendahl
I seriously love their business model, and how it is based on helping other shops. It’s a total win/win. If you are interested in checking them out and being featured, you can find them on instagram @hellolovehandmade or visit the website www.hellolovehandmade.com.
If you would like to be featured, they are offering $5 off a single feature with the code BRAVE5!
The remainder of this week is going to be pretty exciting, because I’m going to get all caught up! So… that means you can look forward to daily interviews through Tuesday: Willow Crowns, Thrifty Littles, Little Blue Olive, Bannor Toys and June and January, just to name a few.
Hi! I'm Hillary.
I'm an entrepreneur, mom,
wife, and creative. And I
want to create a life that
allows me the time and
freedom to adventure the
world and experience beauty
with my family.
"I'm like Brave" is about
listening to your heart and
finding the courage to create
an extraordinary life.
Want to share your story? We
are always on the lookout for
inspiring, passionate business
owners to interview in our
Creative Entrepreneur Series.
