We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alli Bates a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alli , 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?
I get my worth ethic from my mom. My mom raised me and my twin brother on her own. She worked so hard to provide for us and give us the best life possible. In order to spend more time with us she quit her 9-5 and started up her own daycare business. She put her heart into everything she did and she never sat still, and she instilled that in me. I always put my heart into everything I do and give it my all. From my business, my art, and most importantly; being a mom
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
hi, I’m Alli and my daughter’s name is Lilly. I have my degree in education and minor in art and after I graduated I became a teacher. I loved teaching and although challenging in many ways, it was very rewarding. I loved helping children learn and grow and giving them tools to become their best selves. As I was teaching I always had an Etsy shop for different items and things sold here and there but nothing substantial in the slightest. When I had my daughter I KNEW I wanted to be home with her so I wracked my brain for how I could make that happen. I started to take my Etsy more seriously and come up with new ideas. At first it was mainly my friends who supported me. But as they shared my products and as I came up with new ideas I had an idea that went viral, and that was the embroidered hat. This was my first viral product. This allowed people to see my shop and opened up new doors. I then introduced the embroidered name sweater and that went more viral than I could possibly imagine or dream of. Everyone would soon be wanting one. So many that I couldn’t keep up with and each drop my sweaters would sell out in seconds! I couldn’t believe it 😭 fastforward to today and we have expanded our shop substantially. We have our own knitwear line, we come out with new products every month and we have inspired so many people to start embroidering! But the best part in all of this is that your support has allowed me to stay home with my daughter. My daughter Lilly is my inspiration and she drives me to always grow and be better. We will continue to grow and continue to spread the beautiful art of embroidery. We truly believe that each sweater is a piece of artwork, wearable art as I like to call it 🥰 designed and embroidered with so much love.
We recently started a new collection for preemie babies called “Little&Loved”. We have decided to donate 1 preemie sweater to the NICU for every preemie sweater sold in our shop! NICU families go through so much and there aren’t a lot of options when it comes to preemie clothing so we decided to start our own line of preemie clothing that also gives back.
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?
Ride the waves:
So many times we get discouraged when business is slow or our social media isn’t doing well, but while running a business there are so many ups and downs. Instead of fighting against the ups and downs we need to learn how to “ride the waves” When it’s slow: how can you use this time to be creative or inventive? How can you prepare for the future and possible busy season that may lie ahead?
Be YOU:
What are you passionate about? What gives your joy? What is your style like? Who are you? Show these things in your small business! Don’t try to conform or be anyone you’re not, that won’t come across as authentic to viewers and it doesn’t increase sales. You are the best you and the only you! Be true to that!
Find something sticky and keep sticking it until it doesn’t stick anymore:
Keep trying new things. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake or look silly. Because trying new things not knowing the outcome is how you will reach success. Once you try something and it sticks, REPEAT IT, again and again and again until it doesn’t stick anymore. I see so many influencers posting the same trend over and over again, you know why? Because it’s working! If it’s not broke don’t fix it. So if you find something that works for you: run with it, full speed ahead
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
As a SAHM and full time business owner, I often feel overwhelmed. I have a lot on my plate but here’s what I learned while juggling it all:
Sometimes when we have a long list of tasks to complete it feels daunting. The best way to feel less overwhelmed, at least for me, is to break the list down into smaller chunks. Break your big goals down into smaller more manageable goals that are more obtainable. For example: If your goal is to grow on social media, you can break that goal down into smaller goals such as; I will post 3x a week, I will take product pictures this weekend, ect.
And most importantly: do something you love and don’t lose sight of your purpose.
I get to make cute clothes for Littles and stay at home with my daughter, that’s my inspiration and that helps me reset my thought process from: ahhh I’m so overwhelmed to…I GET to do this as my job. This is amazing, I’m so blessed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://littlelooksbylilly.com/?fbclid=PAAaY6pyqPxtbDkIfLEVmVh5XIqOfoIzl7st1_Py_wKlSzi-R9nzqcEkf1HsE_aem_AYrWQ6YoXw7KE62CDnKF_ARp2K9Rx6zp01JVg8NCyfeNzKfHuwoeN-RyMtmh2MEzL6k
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlelooksbylilly/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd8zap7HZbM5FX6uQUqgNLw
- Other: Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@littlelooksbylilly
Image Credits
Kehring Moments Photography LLC
