Conversations with small business owners – lessons from the design world

Written by Christina

This is the third in our series of interviews with solopreneurs and small business owners.

If you have read the prior posts about these interviews, you know the story, but in case you haven’t, here it is again:

As small business owners, we are often isolated from our peer group of other business owners.  This feeling of isolation and figuring it out on our own was exacerbated in 2020 by the effects of the pandemic.  While Facebook groups like “DTU: Marketing & Running an R+ Dog Business” can help to provide a sense of community, I was inspired this summer to reach out to other small business owners and talk to them about their industries and their stories, to see what I could learn and pass on to you. I recorded our conversations and want to share them with you here.  I had a lot of fun asking questions, finding similarities and hearing about lessons learned. Be forewarned: the recordings are unedited and low tech, more for listening to than looking at, but you may learn from the shared experiences.

This conversation is with Sandra Venus, the designer and owner of SweetGum, a home furnishings company.  Sandra talks about how her business has changed and developed over time, and gets technical about online marketing, website, and selling.  Even if you are not selling products online, Sandra shares lots of information about how to build a loyal customer following.  And as a bonus, her designs are beautiful!

Christina

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