Inspired By A Small Shop
My husband and I opened a small shop last year in August of 2017, Freshly Lynn. It is a Hip Hop inspired clothing brand for babies, toddlers, kids, and parents. Yup, an urban clothing line for the whole family! It has been a dream that I carried in my heart ever since Naiomi was born. I was so inspired by the small shop community and all the moms who stepped out in faith. They boldly used the talents they were given to create and leave behind a piece of them in this world to share with other moms who love handmade. That to me takes courage! Freshly Lynn, as of this moment, is temporarily closed. We are in the works of rebranding and planning and hopefully by Fall we will reopen our shop. But remember the name, its going to be big!
I first stumbled upon the small shop world on IG when I was pregnant with my babe Naiomi. It was a giveaway loop that actually got me hooked, and through that loop I discovered tons of small shops. I became obsessed! Being pregnant with my first child, who is a girl, I mean, it was like these shops were calling my name. My babe was going to be fitted in the cutest and latest handmade baby girl clothing, with all the cutest accessories, and the world was going to know her name; Naiomi Ruth.
I legit went back and forth on whether I was going to make her an IG page and have her Brand Rep. There were so many cute babies out there, and they had thousands of followers for just taking pictures in these handmade clothes. It wasn’t till Naiomi was 3 months that I decided it was time. She was a cute baby and I thought I could totally get her followers based solely on how cute she was. I didn’t realize how much hard work it took to be a Brand Rep, although I loved it, it quickly burned me out.
I truly believe the burning out had a ton of different factors that contributed to me taking a step back from Brand Repping. Time, money, running our small shop, mom duties, wife duties, church duties, my relationship with God, and time to take care of myself. Somethings had to go, and so I stepped back from Brand Repping to focus on our small shop.
I loved seeing our ideas come to life! The best thing in the world was seeing a child or mom repping our tees. It is an amazing feeling to feel connected to a complete stranger because we share a love for Hip Hop. We wanted to create a brand for parents who love Hip Hop, and make it kid friendly for their kids. Being able to share with your child something that has impacted your life in such a big way, and feeling connected to them through our clothes, that is why we started our shop.
Although our shop is temporarily closed, I believe that the experience I gained from it has impacted me immensely. I learned so much about social media marketing, business, how to start an online store, building a website, how to get my ideas designed professionally and made into a product, and so much more. I could not do it all without the help of my incredible husband, he has been my rock through it all, and has helped me navigate the whole business side of making my ideas/dreams come to life. These experiences have grown me and given me courage to step out and keep pursing my dreams, even if I do not know how to navigate it completely. That is the beauty about life, there is always something to learn and grow from. Those things are what takes us to the next level, that push us to our limit, and make us stronger for the next adventure.
Being able to be apart of the women who have contributed a little something of them to this world, is an honor. If I could inspire someone, with a dream that started in my heart, in any way possible, then I did my job. I believe you can too! Don’t let your own fears and insecurities hold you back from doing something amazing. You never know how it could change your world.
Want to start an online business, but don’t know where to start? My husband does consulting for people who want to start a business online! He started his own shop last year and made over 6 figures within two months! He believes that anyone can experience true freedom from their 9-5 job by starting an online business. You can finally have the time to pursue your dreams. Click here to experience freedom!
That is great to see my fellow bloggers become successful, learn new trades and just grow as a person. There are so many ways to put yourself out there and inspire others to do the same! It gives us hope to go far & succeed. Great article and good luck on your future endeavors and the re-opening of your shop! 🤩
I go back and forth about opening a small shop, but it is so hard to go out on that limb! Sounds like it’s a great opportunity to learn, which is never a bad thing. Thanks for sharing, I love having small business resources!!
Yes. We can feed our fear or our faith. The choice is ours.
Thanks for sharing your story. It can be so easy to take on too much but such a powerful lesson to try and learn from the experience. Love the idea of the hip hop / baby brand. Intrigued to see more when you relaunch!