This mama makes the cutest, and most witty custom T-shirts on Boho Rose Design Co. I always get a good giggle out of her new inventory posts and have a couple of her shirts and always get compliments. She is a local mama, so let’s read more about her story and cheer her on!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family:
I am a mother of two sweet girls, Leighton who is 5 and Madison who is 2. I met my husband while we were in the navy together and we moved from state to state and finally settled down in NC. I enjoy crafting, spending time with my family, and brunch!
2. What prompted you to start a business?
I starting making shirts and onesies for friends and family and eventually the demand was so high my sister in law finally was like START A BUSINESS! And it’s been amazing ever since! I’m totally blown away by the success of my little business in such a short time. I can only hope it continues to grow.
3. How did you decide on the name/brand of your business?
I really had no clue where to start with this actually. I knew I wanted something bohemian/gypsy related but didn’t know how to put the right words together. I started to look up names I really loved but almost everything was taken! Who knew naming a business would be so hard. So I reached out to a friend who was amazing at naming things and she asked me a few questions about my style and things I liked and together we came up with Boho Rose Design Co (which is now a registered LLC!)
4. Tell us more about your product/business and your role:
I do a lot of custom T shirts, onesies, LOTS of Disney related shirts, and mom life shirts (since ya know I’m a mom and wear the shirts too) I can almost come up with anything to put on a shirt no problems at all. I am the owner and operator of the entire business but my lovely husband helps me a lot with the financial side of things to make sure my profit margins stay high.
5. Do you have a storefront or do you work from home?
Right now I work 100% from home, I hope to one day have a small storefront or my own website. I currently am a full time preschool teacher so I can’t focus on that side of things just yet.
6. What does a normal “work” day look like for you?
So a normal work day for me is VERY long. I work full time as a preschool teacher from 9 am to 6 pm. I leave work come home cook/eat dinner and put my kids to bed around 8pm and THATS when I get to work. Some nights I’m up until 2 am and up back at it again the next day at 630 am. The weekends are when I get the most work done because I work when I get up till the time I got to bed, I can usually get 25-30 orders done on a Saturday or Sunday. I usually try to relax somewhat on one of those days just depends on how many orders I have at once. At one point I had 150 orders!
7. How do you handle work + kids?
Lots and lots of coffee! The baristas at Starbucks know my name AND order since I am there almost every morning walking in half asleep! Working 7 days a week really wears me out sometimes but I feel like Wonder Woman sometimes balancing two jobs, two kids, and a husband.
8. How do you balance all of the roles that you have?
I can definitely say that my husband is amazing at helping me balance life and a business! I’m not really sure where I’d be without him. He helps me so much when I need it and even when I don’t he’s always taking care of the girls to make sure I can get orders done. Having an organized system of getting things done helps a lot too!
9. What is the best aspect of having your own business?
Being my own boss is my favorite part of this whole thing. I’m quitting my job as a preschool teacher in June to do this full time and I couldn’t be more excited to see where it takes me. I’m also excited to not stay up till 2 am during the week!
10. What is the hardest part about owning your own business?
The hardest part is trying to please everyone. There will always be a few people who just aren’t happy and there’s nothing you can do about it except deal with it and move on. Some times you’ll have the best customers ever and then there will be others who try and push you over the edge. All you can do is keep your head up and keep on going.
11. What are some long-term or future goals you have for your business?
I’d really love to have my own website to sell off of instead of selling on Etsy. There’s so many fees involved with Etsy and it would be nice to not have those. I do love Etsy though because it brings me so much traffic and keeps things super organized. And maybe one day have a small store front but one step at a time!
12. What do you do when you’re not being supermom?
I can usually be found running or working out. I just signed up for my first 5k in August and I’m really excited and nervous all at once. I can also be found napping because who doesn’t love naps?
13. What famous person would you love to have dinner with, and why?
I would love to have dinner with Meghan Markle, she is such an inspiration to women all around the world. She became an advocate for women at the age of 12 without even realizing it!
14. What are the best resources that you’ve found as a small business owner and mom?
Finding a great company to help me get my LLC, and tax information for my business was the best thing I could’ve done for my company. I went through the Incfile website and it was a one stop shop for everything you needed legally for a small business! They even have amazing freebies like an interview with a tax professional to answer any questions you have about small business taxes.
15. What is one piece of advice that you can give to a mom starting a business?
Never give up. Many nights I’ve stayed up until 2 or 3 in the morning working on shirt orders. But without me putting in all the work I have I wouldn’t be as successful as I am now and I wouldn’t be able to quit my full time job like I am in less than a week! So never stop pushing, you maybe tired but it will all be worth it in the end you’ll have something you’re incredibly proud of.
Be sure to check Erin out!