Meet Trenice Martin

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

Hi Trenice, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My ethics are a result of a combination of things, primarily how I was raised, life experiences, cultural influences, my religious background and a sense of what is right and wrong. It helps grow my professionalism, responsibility, and discipline, which is based on how I want to be treated as a customer.

My work ethics have contributed to how I serve my customers. Listening to my customer’s suggestions for improvement has helped improve my services.

For example, my written “approval process” stemmed from an issue in which I delivered a product based on an verbal order and upon pick up, the customer let me know that it was not what was requested. I took the loss on this and redid the order. However, with the written “approval process,” I design shirts or other products to my customer’s specifications and then require that they look over every aspect of the design, allowing the customer to approve the order before it is completed. In doing this, my customers share in the creativity process, as well as the excitement of creating a product that is uniquely theirs. This is what’s so incredibly special about the service I provide. Another exciting aspect is the personal attention I can offer and the guidance my many years of experience provide. I stand behind my work and its quality. This particular work ethic is important when it comes to meeting and exceeding the needs of my customers. I genuinely care about the people I serve and the products I sell. Caring is an essential work ethic that I try to show in every aspect of my business. Customers
are more than a number or a dollar sign to me. I care about what matters to them and the special occasions that are close to their hearts.

Of course, I have learned a lot over the years through trial and error. My approach and how I run my shop is always changing and that is a good thing for me and my customers. I am learning from their experiences, which allows me to be a better businesswoman than I was the day before.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My customers have always referred to me as “Da T-shirt Lady,” but my name is Trenice Martin and I grew up in the New Orleans area. I am what some people may call locally grown and I am very excited to be a business owner. I am also excited about this opportunity to share a little about myself and introduce new people to my business and the personal service I provide.

While I often feel as if my business is my baby, I am the proud mother of two daughters and three sons. My oldest is 20 and my youngest is 4. My children are my life and the inspiration for pursuing a business of my own and making it work for all of us. They are the “batteries in my back,” so to speak…they are my motivation. I want to show them that if I can do this, they can do even more. I can say with all honesty that they are my biggest fans and my biggest critics all at the same time.

While this company I own today is fairly new, my experience in this field is anything but new. I have over 17 years of experience, but I am flying solo now and loving every challenging moment. One of my favorite things to do is create new designs. That is my thing. I can sit in front of the computer for hours and hours creating and learning new things. Birthdays, graduations, baby showers, gender reveals, funerals, business endeavors…all of those events I get to be a part of
which is pretty awesome. It is hard work, but truly worth it.

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?

My three qualities would be organization, accountability, and being open-minded.

Organization is not only a quality, but a skill. It is something that any person should have whether in business or just life in general. The t-shirt business can be very fast-paced and depending on the event, can be stressful due to time restraints and the individual needs of the customer. Additionally, I may have to juggle several things at once and please everybody. Organization helps with that. It helps reduce stress and improve customer service.

Accountability is important because like the old saying goes, “The buck stops with me.” We all make mistakes in business, especially when a business is new. As I said, I have 17 years of experience and I am a veteran at this, but “Trenice – Da T-Shirt Lady” may still make a mistake. Being able to admit that and correct my error in a timely and professional manner is key. More importantly, learning from my errors is crucial to the success of my business. When the error is not mine, being willing to resolve the error to the customer’s satisfaction is also the right thing to do whenever possible. This experience is invaluable and actually helps in reducing errors and improving overall customer service. I have developed forms that are clear and concise to help avoid errors or discrepancies. I allow my customers to review their orders and answer any questions or concerns they may have before finalizing their order resulting in no surprises on the back end.

Being open-minded is an invaluable quality. I feel like listening to my customers is one of my greatest strengths. I often learn from them and I am thankful for their suggestions because the customers are the ones we serve. As a business, my advice would be to impress your customers with outstanding customer service and quality products to retain and maintain their loyalty. A customer should also never be taken for granted. We cannot dictate to the customer their needs, rather we should cater our products to please our customers. Having an open mind is key to a great and long-lasting relationship.

There is always something we can learn and do better and this is my objective. My advice to new businesses is to function your business as if you were the customer and treat everyone fairly, kindly, and respectfully.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

I believe it is okay to feel some stress, as long as the stress does not cripple or negatively affect the smooth operation of the business. My advice would be to step away from the situation and use whatever resources are available to relieve the stress or anxiety.

I ran into some challenges when trying to start my new business and initially felt overwhelmed despite my many years of experience. I am not ashamed to say that sometimes it took tears… more than tears…it took some ugly crying (LOL)… some praying and ultimately good business decisions. There have also been times when it only took that one person who believed in me to say, “I’m listening” or “you can do this.” A good support system or network of family and friends is helpful.

Laughter is also helpful. Yes, laughter is good for the soul and it helps to counteract feelings of stress and frustration. For me, all of the above helped to drown out negativity and people who did not believe in me. Of course, believing in myself also helped.

My loyal customers are definitely a big help. I have had long-time customers, who are used to the quality of my work, tell me straight up, “Come on now, Trenice! You can do better than this!,” and they were right! I appreciated their honesty. The key is finding that space that makes you happy and keeps your head above water because things may not always be perfect. We have to realize that we are often stronger than we know and should never give up hope or the drive to be successful in whatever we choose to do.

Lastly, I would say be courageous, stay encouraged and make your mark!

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