Business Discussions

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    We're celebrating #CustomerLove by sharing our own stories of how we show our customers we care — whether we're going after repeat business, or just focusing on building a new brand.   Nigerian-born and Memphis-based, Funlola Coker created her Etsy shop and custom boutique once she discovered that she loved making miniature food out of polymer clay. Now, she sells a range of quirky accessories to a growing number of fun-loving fashionistas and art lovers alike.   We talked to Funlola about taming her detail-obsessed demons, tackling technology and why she's so focused on making her customers happy.   Name: Funlola Coker Business: Funlola’s Workshop Started: 2010   Tell us more about your background. How did you come to create your business?   I moved to the US from Lagos, Nigeria in 2007 and I've been determined to take advantage of every opportunity since then.    During my college years, I focused on metalsmithing

    With two daughters, a full roller derby practice schedule and a coaching itinerary to juggle, Erica Voges proves it's not impossible to balance a hectic social life with the demands of a business. Her derby-inspired t-shirt store started small, but she quit her day job and now creates for a living.   We caught up with her to talk about getting her Etsy shop noticed, the benefits of being a workaholic and how to deal with running a business *and* having a life.   Name: Erica Voges   Business: Caustic Threads   Started: 2009   How did you create your awesome job?   My business started on Etsy and that's still a large source of my income. I also now have a decent wholesale business and sell to boutiques across the country.    I have a degree in fashion design and originally intended to sell primarily original hand-sewn designs in Caustic Threads. I had a new baby girl and found that most of those kinds of products were too time-consum

  When her personal antique collection started taking over her home, selling her treasures online seemed like the perfect solution for Jill.    Now, what started as a solution to a problem has turned into an internationally successful business — and her husband has been able to reclaim the garage space!    We had to find out more about how Jill made the transition from hobby to running a real business and where she's hoping to grow next in her business (hint: she's looking to *you* for some ideas    Name: Jill Ridener Business: Bellalulu Vintage Started: January 2008   What inspired you to open up your shop and start selling your vintage finds? I never had ambitions to run a business, actually! I worked as an interior designer before I had my girls, but stayed at home after the first was born. I’ve always loved shopping for vintage goods, ever since my mom, who is an antique collector, used to take me out to flea markets with her

    After receiving a request from a friend for an anime-inspired ring, Kevin Hayden realized there was a demand for his geek-inspired accessories. He created Critical Hit Collectibles soon after, an Etsy shop where like-minded folks can find the offbeat trinkets he makes by hand.   We talked with Kevin about what it's like to be featured on blogs, selling to Star Trek actor Wil Wheaton and how a small favor for a friend started him on a path toward something *big.*     Name: Kevin Hayden Business: Critical Hit Collectibles Started: 2011   What inspired you to launch your online shop?   I started making things when I was enrolled in art school, specifically a jewelry class. I originally took orders through my DeviantArt page, but after that I moved onto selling things through eBay.    Then I migrated to Etsy, which is where I've been ever since.   Do you remember how you got your first customer?   A f

          Todd Eby describes himself as an “anti-consultant.” The seasoned veteran in customer success — which he describes as everything that happens *after* you gain a client — launched SuccessHacker earlier this year to help small businesses achieve big results.   Not one to get lost in theory, Todd favors a practical approach, breaking down his recommendations into manageable milestones and charging based on results. We caught up with him to ask why having a solid business plan is a good idea and how anyone with a growing business can improve their chances of holding onto customers.   Name: Todd Eby Business: SuccessHacker Started: February 2016     How did you create your awesome job? I’ve been working in customer success for 24 years, most of which I spent building customer success organizations and implementing software for telecomms providers. While I found working with bigger companies interesting, it

    We first met Jen Jones in OWN IT. We loved her story of why she started her business and how she's currently tapping into our amazing community here to get answers and grow her business. So, we asked her to share more about how it all began.   After Jen and her husband moved across the country to spend several months taking care of her husband's terminally ill grandfather, the couple soon found themselves in debt. A year and a half later, thanks for Jen's part-time work hosting jewelry parties, they paid off everything they owed. That's what really pushed Jen to quit her day job and focus full-time on growing her business.   Jen knew she loved bringing people together to have fun and relax, but jewelry and fashion were never really her thing. She noticed a lot of painting party studios popping up and was struck by the idea of creating a mobile version she could take to people’s houses. There was only one problem: she didn’t know how to

    Between teaching sewing classes and running her own business, Sarah Burroughs of Anne B Designs also manages to give back to her community by hiring refugees. Her beautiful bags and totes have seen a great response so far in Europe and in the US, but she's still growing her business slowly step by step.    We chatted with Sarah about how she got up the courage to quit her day job, what she's learned about work-life balance and what she's hoping to learn next from *you.*   Name: Sarah Burroughs     Business: Anne B Designs     Started: 2014     What inspired you to start your own small business?   Anne is my middle name and I loved the thought of calling my fashion design company Anne B ever since high school, when I first started making bags. By the time I went to college, I was making them for friends and getting more and more positive feedback.   After college, I had a marketing job that ju

      Erik Burling and his wife, Lauren, run a full-service yoga studio with a difference. Located in one of Philadelphia's toughest areas, Roots Philly Yoga sets itself apart by offering free classes to homeless people in the community once a week.   With business burgeoning less than a year in, we sat down with Erik to talk about how patience pays off, why outreach is so important and what yoga can do to help create an inclusive community.   Name: Erik Burling   Business: Roots Philly Yoga   Started: June 2015   How did you create your awesome job?   I studied broadcasting at Temple University and worked as an anchor for a local news channel for three years. I loved the job, but the lifestyle that came with it wasn’t for me.    I started practicing yoga as a way to unwind, and became so drawn to it that I knew I had to find a way to do it every day.    I eventually left the world of broadcastin

      Author, entrepreneur and USA Today columnist, Rhonda Abrams is widely recognized as one of the nation’s foremost experts on small business, entrepreneurship and business planning. She was also one of our special guests atQuickbooks Connect Chicago recently, where she led a session on the five key things every small business owner must do in order to get more customers online.   We asked Rhonda to share with us a bit more about her own journey to entrepreneurship and why it's crucial to identify your niche.          Tell us a bit about your background. When and how did you decide you wanted to be an entrepreneur?   I grew up in Los Angeles and went to UCLA, then attended grad school at Harvard. I lived in Texas for a few years after that, but soon found my way to San Francisco.    I worked for the Anti-Defamation League for awhile, but realized early on during that experience that I wanted to work fo

      Husband and wife duo Nate and Erin Moren have been on the same track since they met at college. Now, with their company Tandem Made, they've combined business with pleasure to make high-quality, bespoke furniture, jewelry and home accessories that blend function with style.    Erin loves the excitement of producing unique items for equally unique clients, so we chatted with her to learn more about what their day-to-day is like, how they price their products and what areas she's hoping to master next as a successful small business owner.     Name: Erin Moren Business: Tandem Made Started: 2011   How did you create your awesome job? I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a focus on furniture design from Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). That’s where, in the woodshop, I met my husband and now business partner, Nate, who was in the same courses.   We started  Tandem Made just after w

        Videos tell great stories. For small businesses and self-employed professionals looking to get more customers or grow followers, they also hold within them lessons worth stealing.   Dollar Shave Club launched a subscription razor business in 2012 with one perfect video. Three years later, their launch video "Our Blades Are F***ing Great" has racked up 19 million views on YouTube and the company has raised over $72 million in capital. This means they have also figured out how to generate cold hard cash through predictable sales from new and returning customers. So, how did they get started? Let's roll the tape.   A Clear Customer in Mind: Twentysomething Dudes The Dollar Shave Club customer was clear. It was created for young, "metrosexual" men who cared as much about their wallet as their face. These men probably looked a lot like Mike Durbin, the company co-founder and host of the video.   It's not hard to imagine the gu

  The love of the deal and a desire to help other entrepreneurs inspired Julie Gordon White to start her own boutique acquisitions firm and The WELL, a consulting and mentoring business for female entrepreneurs. Both of Julie’s business ventures are aimed at helping small business owners take their business to the next level — and make them appealing to potential buyers.   Here, we chat with her about the secrets to making your business sellable, bringing in more cash and what you can expect from her talk at QuickBooks Connect 2015: “Lessons Learned from Growing a $1M Business and How You Can Too,” all about taking your business past the one million mark.       Tell us a little more about yourself and the businesses you’ve created.   I started my first company in 2004, after spending five years in the hotel industry. Once I started having kids, it was a bit hard to travel the world with little ones in tow. I worked on a lot of things that didn’t pan out u

      How did a former stay-at-home mom buy a 32,000-sq. ft. equestrian complex and start a horse riding school so trusted that its clients come from as far away as Australia? We *had* to hear her crazy story, so we asked Corinne Lettau, owner of Denver Equestrians Riding School, to share with us how she used Groupon to launch her business and why she focuses on word-of-mouth momentum to build customer relationships.   We'll let Corinne take it from here...     Name: Corinne Lettau Business: Equestrian Center Owner Started: 2008    How did you create your amazing job?   Back in 2008, I was a stay-at-home mom and my child was starting kindergarten, so I made the decision to go back to work. I couldn't find any jobs in my previous field, which was advertising and marketing, so I thought, "I'll just teach some riding lessons and see how it goes."   Then I heard about  Groupon in 2009. I recognized i

    Jess McClary used to bake for the local farmer's market. Now she makes "shrubs," or colonial drinking vinegars, and they're wildly popular as creative cocktail ingredients. She told us about how she focuses on the bigger picture, shares her stories of running into unexpected difficulties with bottling and discusses her plans for future growth.   Let's hear from Jess!  Name: Jess McClary Business: Owner of McClary Bros., a drinking vinegar producer Started: 2012   Q: Tell us about the inspiration for McClary Bros.! How did you guys get started?   A: My husband started a business in 2006, but it failed during the 2008 recession and we had to declare personal bankruptcy. I'd always baked with my mom when I was younger, and I still enjoyed it, so I decided culinary school was the next step. I started the McClary Bros. Bakehouse from home and named it after my twin boys Jack and Ben.   But about eight months in, I

    Matt Clackett is a musician who has worked with some of the world’s biggest artists. Now that he's moved into a music business consulting role, he's utilizing Facebook and LinkedIn to reach a new audience and grow his client base. He talks to us about the importance of having a finely-tuned strategy and why word-of-mouth referrals are golden.     Name: Matt Clackett Job: Freelance Session Saxophonist and Music Consultant Started: 1990   Q: How did you get started as a freelance musician?   A: At 17, I had just relocated to a new city and I searched Time Out magazine to find open jam sessions. I went to as many as I could and played whenever I could. I started seeing the same musicians at different venues and soon I was building a network of contacts, which eventually turned into paid work that took me all over the world.   Q: What has been your biggest challenge when it comes to consistently getting new work?  

    Unlike your average photographers, Adam Hendershott and Will Harper work out of a bright magenta truck that trundles around the streets of LA offering actors a chance to get their headshots taken. They told us how they developed a unique brand, found a crew that personified their brand, and weathered some unexpected legal challenges.   Read on to see what they learned from their first year of business and where they'll be moving next!  Name: Adam Hendershott and Will Harper Occupation: The Headshot Truck Started: 2014   Q: What were you doing before The Headshot Truck?   Will: After I got my MFA in film, I went to an ad agency to make commercials, and my job somehow slowly morphed into a business-oriented position where I was helping client agencies launch new startups. I spent a couple years consulting, creating new ideas, and getting businesses past their early hurdles. I had a pretty interesting ca

      Tyler Patin had a long career in real estate before he decided to launch his own design and development company, studioPATINA. His focus now is on building affordable homes and nurturing communities in New York and New Orleans.    When we met Tyler and heard the story of how he started his business, we knew we needed to share it out. So without further ado... here's Tyler!    Name: Tyler Patin Job: Founder and CEO at studioPATINA Design + Development Founded: January 2014    Q: How did studioPATINA come about?   A: studioPATINA was an idea to merge my interests in architecture and interior design with real estate development.    Having worked on numerous mixed use and multi-family development projects over the years, I felt as though there was a disconnect between the design intent that initially drove these projects and the development teams in charge of making them viable. 

  Let’s get this part out of the way: I think theSkimm is amazing. Full-on brilliant. If you’re a woman in her 20s or 30s, chances are you’ve known about theSkimm for at least a few years now. If you’re anyone else, expect to start hearing a lot more about these women very soon.   Back in 2012, when Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin sent out the very first edition of theSkimm, it’s hard to imagine that either could have predicted how exponentially successful their daily newsletter would become. Nearly four years later, over 3.5 million people (us included) look forward to starting every day by reading theSkimm’s sharp, deliciously on-point recap of the news. Even Oprah and Reese Witherspoon have pledged their allegiance to what Weisberg and Zakin have created.   Taking an idea from zero to 3.5 million is no small feat. So how did they do it?   We decided to dig in and find out exactly how these entrepreneurs turned on the gasoline in their business without breaking

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      Fashion was never a big part of Benjamin Steele’s youth in Grand Junction, Colorado. Yet, when he reached British shores as a missionary, he noticed that men wore slimmer fits, different fabrics and patterns — and paid far more attention to detail. After deciding to become an entrepreneur, Benjamin set out to revive the American gentleman with his neckwear line, Sir Wylde.   Sir Wylde started off small but is steadily growing while Benjamin studies Public Relations at Brigham Young University. We caught up with this budding entrepreneur to talk about the sacrifices he's endured so far and what he's learned about using social media to get new customers.       Name: Benjamin Steele   Business: Sir Wylde   Started: October 2015   How did you create your awesome job?   I knew I was ready to start a company when I returned from missionary work in England two years ago. A friend suggested I start a neckwear company and I

  Last year, Hamilton took home 11 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Book and Original Score. The hit hip-hop musical about the Founding Fathers is groundbreaking not just because of its unique story and musical style. While classic productions like Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King each claim to have grossed $6 billion worldwide, Hamilton has a clear path to becoming a billion dollar business — and it’s only in its first year.     This is the story of how they took a creative project and turned it into an unexpected success.   After picking up a copy of Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton biography while on vacation, Lin Manuel Miranda began a six-year labor of love writing the lyrics and music for what would become Hamilton.   The musical made its Off-Broadway debut to a sold-out crowd at The Public Theater in February 2015 before moving to the Richard Rodgers Theatre in August of 2015. On Broadway, it was ecstatically received from audiences and critics

I have a Real estate cleaning business.  I do not sell anything.  I only charge for labor.  Someone told me I needed to charge sales tax on labor.  Some others tell me no I don't need to.  Anyone know the facts on this?