Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maggie Davis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Maggie, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I have learned through experience in various jobs across various industries that really nobody knows what they are doing! From the big corporate CEO down to the small business owner, we’re all just learning as we go! People have more experience than me, but they didn’t start out that way and it’s been a wonderfully freeing feeling when I actively think this 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?
Greetings from Minnesota!
I started a company called Namakan Goods with my best friend! Namakan sells winter weather accessories.
We met at the University of Wisconsin (go Bucky!) and are complete opposites– but our skillsets are perfect compliments for running this business. Our friends refer to us as “the unibrain” as we are constantly thinking, saying and doing the same things at the same time, even when we’re not together.
In the winter of 2014, I stood at a St. Paul, Minnesota bus stop, freezing my butt off. The previous day, I’d worn a parka with faux fur trim on the hood and was notably warmer. My analytical brain started working on a way to transfer her faux fur ruff from one coat to another. Long story short, Maggie invented the first-ever universal faux fur trim that attaches to any hood or collar with a super-strong magnetic design.
We love winter! And with our gear we think customers will too!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
As I look back at where we’ve come with Namakan, I think the first thing that got things going is my strong interest in problem solving and being creative! I couldn’t stop thinking about how I should be able to easily put that fur onto another coat and was passionate to figure that out! I didn’t even think about it being a business concept at first but once I got going, it seemed like I might be onto something.
As a very type A person once I started down the path of turning my idea into a business I think I benefited from the drive to stay organized and just get things done. I didn’t stop and wonder if I would be successful but just kept moving forward. I was also able to recognize early that I needed help on the marketing/creative aspects – I first reached out to Molly when I was trying to come up with a name and quickly learned she could be an invaluable asset to the success of Namakan! The name inspired by and taking after a lake in northern MN – Namakan Lake, where I grew up learning to love the outdoors on annual camping trips with my family.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Our number one challenge today, and I think many small businesses will run into this, is simply cash flow. As a very seasonal business we have a simple cycle of lots of sales in the winter, lots of spending on new inventory in the spring. It has taken a lot of organization an coordination to manage that. We never set out to get huge, and weren’t interested in seeking outside funding and all that goes along with that, the goal was always to try and keep it fun, as best we could, while also striving to make money. All that said, to manage cash flow we’ve had to take the leap and get some small loans to cover inventory expenses. That always feels scary but is an important part of growing the business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://namakangoods.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/namakangoods/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/namakangoods/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
