How I Started A Company On My Own in 11months

Awhile back I mentioned the launch of my new company Teluna. Teluna is a handcrafted, home and lifestyle decor company dedicated to creating designs to bring people together over a common cause. Our mission is to provide support to causes and communities by bringing people closer to the issues through art and design. Our mission is built on the simple action of designing your life while helping to build others. Every product is connected to a wonderful nonprofit organization and 5% of every purchase will go towards those products corresponding charity. We believe in the power of design and the effect that a creative and giving lifestyle can have on an individual and the world.

I’d been thinking about starting a company since my junior year of college and 1 year post graduation I was thrilled to get started…until I got started. Okay, I was still very excited but also absolutely terrified and very doubtful. I had NO IDEA how much work and sacrifice it took to successfully start a company; especially if you’re going to be doing every single thing on your own. There were so many things I wish I’d had a mentor for or some sort of helpful guide. I read any business book, entrepreneur tips, and small biz blog posts I could but nothing compares to jumping head first into it yourself.

After launching I decided I would share helpful tips, ideas and plans to start your own creative company and how to become a successful entrepreneur. Everything I wish I’d had in one place you can now find here on my Small Biz Owners page. Today I’m going to give you an overview of how I started a company on my own in 11months. Let’s jump in to your new life plan!

Prior to Starting: I moved home to save as much money as possible and got a full time job in my field (graphic design) and began reading everything I could on becoming your own boss and starting a company. From then on out I was hooked.

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Month 1 December

Decided to quit my job in February. This allowed a few months to make sure I had enough in savings to start my company and still be able to eat and do fun things.

Started with a very rough business plan and began laying out ideas on what products I wanted to sell, what I wanted my company to stand for, who I wanted to sell to and how I would sell my products.

Month 2 January

Decided which products I would officially start with, what would make my company stand out (find a niche!) and started on designs.

Month 3 February

Quit my job! That was so awesome and terrifying all wrapped in one. I honestly did not do anything but research and taking free online business courses this entire month.

Month 4 March

Spent this month continuing to create designs and designating how patterns would lay out on the products and how they would be sewn.

Month 5 April

Began researching who my manufacturers would be. I hand paint patterns, have them printed on fabric, then cut and sew every pillow and headband myself. I also hand paint/draw every print and have a wonderful local printer produce and cut them.

When you decide what your products will be and how they will be crafted together, this is a very important factor in who your manufacturers will be and if you’re going the hand crafted artisan route like myself, this is an important part of the personality of your company. Remember to explain this in your company description if it’s important to you and your desired customers.

Month 6 May

Continued researching, contacting, and narrowing down my manufacturers and decided on who my printers would be. Once I decided on my printers I decided on the products I would officially start with, how I would advertise them, and pricing.

I also wrote my detailed business plan (compiling all those crazy notes, drawings, and ideas I’d been writing on anything within arms reach). It’s important to have one for yourself and one for a media kit if you plan to do wholesale.

Month 7 June

Designed the brand image: name, logo, colors, fonts, website, business cards, etc.

Ordered my first test round for all the fabrics and prints. This gave me enough time to edit anything that needed changing (colors, layout, fabric thickness, etc.).

Month 8 July

Filed for all the legal paperwork: Sales & Tax license, Articles of Organization, LLC Certificate, etc. Not gonna lie, it feels pretty cool getting business licenses in the mail =)

Set up my business bank account. This is a very important step if you are creating an LLC. An LLC is a Limited Liability Company which is very simple terms means your company is completely separate from your personal assets. Say someone decided to sue you (so mean), they will only be able to go after your company assets, not your personal finances, home, car, etc.

Month 9 August

One good and bad thing when I started my company is that I’m a graphic designer. I didn’t have to hire anyone to design my website, brand my company, create ads, or social graphics for me. On the other hand this has been by far the most time consuming as I do everything myself. It would have been really great to have had help creating everything for the website however, I did not want to pay for something I went to college for and I truly loved and enjoy. It was a huge sacrifice on time and weekends but worth the trade it in the end for saving money. This is a decision you’ll have to make for yourself.

I chose to host my website on Shopify. I’ve used a lot of website builders and e-commerce plugins but Shopify has been by far the best yet. It’s very easy to use and they track everything you could want for analyzing who your customer base is and where your website traffic is coming from. I highly recommend Shopify if you’re building an online shop.

Month 10 September

First large order from all my printers for the initial stock up for the launch. This is when you have to really bite the bullet and spend time and money on the products you created and believe in and pray that your company takes off! Scary right!?

Set up company email, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. Looking back now I definitely recommend setting up and building your social following at least 4-5 Months prior to launch.

Month 11 October

Launched on October 6th, 2015!

I am the Founder, CEO, graphic designer, accountant, blogger, photographer, manufacturer, shipper, and social media guru wrapped into one super tired and overly excited entrepreneur. I love it. I can’t wait to hire my first intern/assistant/helper, but in the meantime I will keep working my butt off to make my dream come true. Teluna has been open now for 63 days and it’s going great! Really excited about our new design line launching next month! Keep an eye out for our new headbands all you bloggers, artists, cross fitters, military, and travelers! Good luck fellow entrepreneurs and I’ll see ya on the other side.

xxDiana

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