Meet samantha handler

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Samantha Handler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Samantha, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

As KicksBySammy begins to grow bigger, I often look back at life before it and reflect on my childhood experiences that shaped me into the business woman I am today. I grew up in a small town in Westchester, NY. I am the eldest of three, so from a young age I always felt the need to be a good role model and leader. What many people do not know about my childhood is that my friends never knew me as an artist, but rather as an athlete. I think being an athlete growing up was a huge factor in shaping my leadership abilities, work ethic, confidence, and outgoing spirit. Soccer was my life from 6th to 12th grade. I traveled all over the USA for games and tournaments, held captain positions, and made life-long friends with diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and views. I always say it is important to have grit: passion and perseverance for long-term and meaningful goals. I believe in order to start and run a successful business you have to have enormous passion and persevere when obstacles come your way!

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

KicksBySammy originally began with just a pair of shoes and sharpies.

The summer going into my Freshman year of college (2013), I was bored at home and found an old pair of white Keds in my closet. Eager for college and desperate for some cool tailgate outfits, I had the idea to draw on the sneakers with Maryland logos and fun doodles. I loved how they turned out (at the time) and decided to post my creation on Instagram. I began to receive numerous comments and requests from friends and family who wanted a pair of hand-painted shoes for their college. I decided this was a great way to make some extra cash and began to take orders all summer.

Fast forward to my first semester at the University of Maryland, I wore the shoes out and people constantly approached me asking who made my shoes. More inquiries started to roll in from people I didn’t even know. One night, while hanging with my college friends they all said, “Sammy, you are onto something big with the shoes. You should make a business account for it and take more orders.” Hesitant at first, I decided to go for it. My first question to my friends was, “What do I even name this business?” My friend shouted out “KicksBySammy.” Not thinking twice that this would turn into my full-time business by 2017, I immediately went with it and KicksBySammy was born.

Recognizing that painting on shoes was not scalable, Sammy pivoted the business in 2017. KicksBySammy is now a made-to-order, e-commerce accessories company featuring artist and founder Sammy Handler’s hand-drawn, colorful, and whimsical designs on a variety of products. With collections centered on Baby, College, Camp, Bridal, Home Decor, and more, KicksBySammy offers products that are perfect for both everyday life and life’s milestones. With the ability to request your own designs and feature your own name, phrase or initials, KicksBySammy products are truly one-of-a-kind. Samantha also creates artwork for events, invitations, promotional products, and murals, having partnered with companies and celebrities such as NBCU, CBRE, NY Met, LA Dodgers, WNBA Mystics, JCK Las Vegas, and so much more.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think the three main factors behind the success of KicksBySammy is that we have built a community, provide transparency, and collaborate with other like minded brands.

If you want your brand to have longevity, you need to build strong relationships with your customers and followers by interacting with them daily on social media, involving them in product development, giveaways, and more. Show your customers that you care about them and their needs.

It is also important to be honest with your customers. The more your brand tells a story at every level of the business the more involved people will feel with your brand. I show my customers there is a real person behind the brand. I involve them in my entrepreneurship journey by showing day in the life videos, struggles, intern experiences, and more.

Lastly, by working with other brands through limited-edition collections, giveaways, live conversations, and more  we are able to expand to a larger audience. It keeps your brand interesting and hip! Always continue to be open to evolving your business, learning new skills, and surrounding yourself with people that are smarter than you.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

My parents allowed me to fail from a young age.

I have realized that many parent’s helicopter their children, never allowing them to make mistakes or shaming them when they mess up. Therefore so many people from a young age are taught that failure is bad or embarrassing.

I have recognized as I got older that we all should embrace failure. Failure often means we tried something out of our comfort zone and took a risk to accomplish something. I encourage everyone to share with others when they fail. What did you learn from it? What can you change to succeed next time? What was the reason for the failure? Answering these questions will teach you so much about yourself.

When I first took on KicksBySammy full time, at 21 years old, I was terrified with the idea of failing. What if no one bought my products? What if no companies wanted to work with me? What if I couldn’t pay rent or make a stable income? All of these what if’s in my mind almost stopped me from following my dreams.

I was so blessed to have parent’s that encouraged me to try all on my own, no financial backing from them.

I realized if I didn’t try, then how could I know what I was capable of? I am so happy my parent taught be from a young to not let the fear of failure control me because I would have never been able to do what I love everyday, meet so many amazing fellow girl bosses, and work with so many incredible people and companies! The fear of failure is real, but just remember you never know what your fears will cause you to miss out on!

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