Meet Marcie Frazee

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marcie Frazee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marcie below.

Marcie, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?

My need for self discipline goes all the way back to my childhood. I am the sixth of eight children and by the time my youngest brother was born, our ages ranged from 16 to newborn. While I’d like to convey my brothers, sisters, and I were raised by both of our parents, the stark truth is the first six of my siblings, including me, were mostly single-handedly raised by our mom. See, our dad was a raging alcoholic from the time I can remember until he finally found sobriety that he kept until his passing. By that time, I was a 19-year old newlywed.

Because my dad drank his wages, Mom raised us on Dad’s retirement check from the US Army. We lived in a crappy house my parents rented that was three bedrooms and one small bathroom. I was told it was temporary—I guess temporary could be considered 15 years in some other world. I remember times Mom having to travel to get food stamps, depending on my aunt to drive her to the county seat where the welfare office was located—Mom didn’t know how to drive. I’ll never forget seeing her wash my brothers’ blue jeans in the bathtub and hanging them over one of the radiators so they would have clean clothes for school. I remember our horrible landlord and his equally horrible wife constantly asking for rent money—he lived two doors down in a nice home, had full knowledge our living situation, yet they didn’t care. There were times we had no heat during cold Indiana winters and it seemed to me that he would take his dear, sweet time to get it fixed. The upstairs had absolutely no heat. This is where our bedrooms were—my two older sisters and I shared one room and my three oldest brothers shared the other. We slept many winters in our winter clothes and coats, plus all of the itchy wool Army blankets we could get our hands on. After my two older sisters moved out, I was given a small electric radiator to try to heat my room.

It is because of my upbringing, I instinctively learned to be independent and became self-disciplined enough to keep myself out of trouble, for the most part. My mom had her hands full with my two rambunctious little brothers, so I was left to my own devices. More often than not, I made the right choice, yet I was no angel, either.

I was a good student in school because learning came easy. There was no help with homework from our parents, but in the event I needed help, my older sister would help, as we all did our homework at the dining room table. Good grades were important to my parents—report cards were always something our dad managed to look at. If one of us had an ‘A-’or perhaps a ‘B’, he would always ask why the grade wasn’t higher. So I put pressure on myself from a young age to be a perfectionist, and thus, developed the discipline needed to try to bring home ‘A’s’ on that report card. I never earned all ‘A’s’, yet by the time I rolled into my junior and senior years of high school, I had a GPA high enough to almost to earn a spot in the National Honor Society.

As I grew, I knew in order to get the things I want, actually need, I would need a job. I started babysitting when I was 11 years old–I think neighborhood folks presumed since I was charged with babysitting my own younger brothers every Wednesday night while Mom attended Al-Anon meetings that I was the perfect person. I did okay, too! I ended up being the go-to babysitter for my cousins’ kids, neighborhood children, even a family on the other side of town, all by 13 years of age. I used this money to buy notebooks, pens, and pencils for school—not because I wanted to, but because I knew I had to. I was lucky enough to get lunch money from Dad.

I tried waitressing twice during my high school years. It was my first experiences in utter failure. I was fortunate enough to find another great babysitting job during my senior year of high school. That job paid well enough that I was able to finally buy myself clothes for school—no more wearing my brothers’ and sister’s clothes and shoes they left behind when they moved out!

College was expected. My mom and I actually got into an argument about it during my senior year of high school—I was in love and didn’t want to go to college. Mom, in no uncertain terms, told me flat-out that I had to go at least one year. There was no scholarship fund for my siblings and me. Instead, I relied on a Pell Grant and a small guaranteed student loan from the Federal government. I also wrote an essay on the economy for a scholarship contest sponsored by my dad’s employer and was awarded a $1,200 scholarship—that was a chunk of change in 1981! Unfortunately, that scholarship cost me most of my Pell grant. Instead of completing that one year my mom commanded, I could only afford to attend one quarter, despite my plans to stay and earn my Associates degree. Again, I had to depend on myself to do what was needed to leave college, sadly. Meanwhile, my high school sweetheart, now my fiancé, became unemployed. He wanted to go to Florida to look for work and wanted me to go with him. Our parents wanted nothing to do with us living together before marriage, so in February 1982, he and I decided that what was going to be a June wedding, suddenly would be a March wedding. Between my now-husband’s savings and his parents’ help, we put together our wedding in a single month.

After my husband failed to find work in Florida, we borrowed money from his parents two months later and drove back to Indiana with our proverbial tails between our legs. My husband and I both found jobs, we found a cute apartment, and things finally started clicking for us. I loved retail! I worked my way out of the store office and onto the sales floor, where I made more money earning commissions, despite taking a cut in my hourly wage when I left the office.

That’s how it began. Being self-disciplined was necessary, as by the time I was 26, hubby and I had three children, ages 4, 2, and newborn. Working outside of the home was a necessity, so in my independent spirit, I found various administrative jobs in Indianapolis over the years, with a one-way commute anywhere from 40-50 miles away from home.

Being “Super Woman” ultimately cost me my health, and to be truthful, I lost myself because I lost my ability to work. I had to apply for Social Security Disability at the mere age of 46 in 2009—something I never imagined. It took three-and-a-half years to win my case, and it was just over four years since my initial application before I started receiving monthly checks, backpay, and Medicare.

Fast forward 12 years. While I know I’ll never be as healthy and active as I was once, I feel better than I have in 20 years! I have my limitations and I know them. I started an Etsy shop in 2021 because the wreaths I was making were liked by many, and they encouraged me to sell them. I even had a well-known personality commission a custom wreath! This was in the throes of COVID-19, and since I only left the house for medical appointments, I did just that. I had slow, steady business for a couple of years, then I was hit with a cease-and-desist order from a company because they felt my clock design was a bit too like their own copyrighted design. I decided it wasn’t worth the trouble, so I closed my shop.

Since that time, I’ve opened and closed a shop on Tedooo—I had zero sales, even though the merchandise I produced was of a much higher quality. A few months later, I jumped to the Goimagine platform and I also have a Shopify website that’s begging for more of my handmade merch to fill its vast space. I make and sell stretch chakra bracelets, wooden signs, wreaths, beverage sleeves, and I’m now beginning to make tulip hats and handbags. I still have a record of zero sales, yet I’m optimistic that it will go as the Universe intends. And I’m okay with that.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

While I started my entrepreneurial endeavors as a wreath maker, I am now now migrating toward handmade, sewn items, e.g., reusable beverage sleeves, baby quilts, hats, and handbags. I continue to also make and sell chakra bracelets. I am selling my remaining signs and wreaths to concentrate on the aforementioned sewn items.

I learned to sew in junior high school and when my oldest was 9 years old, she wanted to dress as an indigenous person, so I sat down at my sewing machine and did a fair job with that dress I made out of that fleece fabric I bought and dyed. She was happy with it, and that’s all that mattered.

Just before COVID-19 reared its ugly head, I bought a refurbished Brother sewing machine with the intention of making my own clothes. Instead of making clothes, I was making masks for my grandson to wear to school, as well as for myself. A dear friend was spending her COVID-19 days quilting and I decided I would try making a small one for my granddaughter. I quickly learned that my little Brother sewing machine was not meant for heavy-duty action that quilting requires. I talked my husband into letting me buy a Juki sewing and quilting machine, which makes my sewing much more enjoyable! That Juki is my baby!

I have a Shopify website that I continue to add merchandise to and tweak: https://itsmarciemade.net
I also have a shop on the Goimagine platform. You can find it at https://goimagine.com/marciemade

I thoroughly enjoy the challenges that sewing brings, from pattern cutting and piecing, to seeing the final product. I’m always proud. to say, “I made that!” when a successful beverage sleeve, hat, or bag is complete. Little victories.

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?

Three Qualities: Self-discipline, use your imagination (don’t worry about what others might think—just go with it!), and always have a willingness to learn.

Advice: My advice to anyone early in their entrepreunial adventure is to not let anyone talk you down from the tree you’re climbing. If you need to get a job to make ends meet, do just that. Just remember to be diligent to dedicate the time needed to learn and create—they’re lifelong processes and essential in creating the life you want for yourself. While it may seem some experience success seemingly overnight, for most of us it takes time and dedication to develop and hone our craft, as well as grow your business. Be always evolving, again, a product of continual learning. Start small, climb that tree one branch at a time, because once you get to the top, the view is beautiful!

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I’m creating and become overwhelmed, instead of trying to push through, I stop what I’m doing and step away from my craft room. I learned the hard way through wasting precious fabric that pushing through is futile. Instead, I’ll get something to eat and drink then take a break until I feel like I can go back to my project with refreshed eyes and mind. I think that strategy works well in life. Instead of thinking that the tough keep going, I think the tough know when to say, “Stop!” I often talk things through with my son or my best friend. You know, if the weather is nice, I’ll take myself outside on our porch, sit down on my lounger, turn on some Yacht Rock, and just be. It’s a good way to refuel my mind and spirit.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://itsmarciemade.net
• Instagram: itsmarciemade
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsmarciemade/
• Other: https://goimagine.com/marciemade

Image Credits

Marcie Frazee