When I was in college, theme parties were always my favorite. I loved coming up with the idea, decorating, and dressing the part. This continued on after college when I moved to South Boston with my cousin, Jane and a couple of our friends. We always threw great theme parties, with Jane and I staying up all night decorating.
While my inability to function on no sleep had killed the up all night decorating vibe as I got older, I was always still very into throwing theme parties. When I got engaged, I quickly took to Pinterest, and had so much fun making my visions come to life!
I remember being pregnant with my first baby, decorating the nursery, and planning every last detail of our Co-ed "Baby-B-Q". As always, I had Jane by my side as I spread out one hundred mini plastic bottles, all ready to be labeled and filled with barbecue sauce as a party favor. Another cousin of mine, after having three children of her own, smiled and told me this party planning energy would fade as the tasks of motherhood and life increased. I knew she was right, but I vowed to enjoy it as long as I could. However, as time went on, I continued planning over the top birthdays for my son and new daughter. I never seemed to tire of it.
One Tuesday night, I got a desperate call from Jane. Her daughters first birthday party was Saturday. She had been so busy lately, she had no time to do anything for it. She was panicked that her daughter would look back and wonder why her first birthday was hastily thrown together while her older brother's was not. "No problem!", I said. I will take care of it. And on the day of the party, I arrived with decorations, an outfit for my god-daughter, a one banner for her high-chair, and favors. I always thought nothing of doing this for my friends. I found it to be therapeutic.
After that day, Jane mentioned to me that I should consider creating a business out of it. I told her she was crazy for about 4 months, but eventually caved and created a facebook page, followed by an IG account. And so, Glitter, Glue & Guests was born. Originally, I was hoping to sell pre-made party kits for people who waited until the last minute. (my kinda people!) But after some time I realized my target audience had become those who wanted custom gifts and decor made on a last minute timeline. As a fellow procrastinator myself, I can appreciate this. I work very well with quickly approaching deadlines, so that became what I do. I thrive off making you look like you have your shit together in social situations.
In addition to making my products, I also worked on building my brand. I created a website and social media accounts, and uploaded photos of my products. I also wrote blog posts about my process and shared them on my website and social media. I found that people were interested in not only buying my products, but also learning about how they were made.
One of the biggest challenges I faced was marketing my product. As a new business owner, I did not have a lot of resources to dedicate to advertising. So, I turned to social media platforms, where I could show off my products and connect with potential customers. I posted photos of my products, offered discounts and promotions, and engaged with followers on a daily basis.
Another challenge I faced was finding time to work on my craft business while still holding a full-time job. I had to be very intentional with my time management and set aside specific times of the day to work on my craft projects and business tasks.
Despite these challenges, I began to see success in my business. I got my first few clients through word-of-mouth, and as my customer base grew, I began to get more online orders. I also attended craft fairs and local markets where I sold my products, which helped to reach even more potential customers.
Looking back, starting my craft business was definitely a challenge, but it was also an incredibly rewarding experience. I was able to turn my passion into a profitable business that provided me with a sense of fulfillment that I had never experienced before. I learned a lot about entrepreneurship, creativity, and hard work, and developed a newfound sense of confidence in my abilities.