handmadebyhiggins

[handmadebyhiggins]

I created the logo for HomemadebyHiggins around midnight, while my husband was working his night shift, and I couldn’t sleep. My body is still rewiring itself away from my night shift schedule, and I  figured if I couldn’t sleep, I should at least be productive. I knew I wanted a logo for my shop, so I grabbed my tablet and just started drawing. I went off of Etsy’s guidelines for the size of the canvas. On Etsy, the shop icon displays at full size at 500 x 500 pixels. I knew I wanted something that showed “H by H”. I played around with drawing big Hs, and when I got something decent, I copied it and pasted it on the other side of a very simple and blocky “by”.

This was too simple, so I played around with shapes around “H b H”.

I liked the circle, but felt it needed to be more detailed. I added two circles that overlapped. Then I added little leaves to the rings and filled them in.

I sent this to my husband, and he loved it, but he felt like it needed something more. So, I took the logo to photoshop, made the background transparent, and used the paintbrush feature to dot pastel colors on the background.

   This isn’t the best or professional logo I could have, but I think it was cute enough to start with. It’s definitely homemade! As for the banner to the shop, you have two standard size options, big banners, and mini banners. Big banners can be as big as 3360 x 840 pixels or a minimum of 1200 x 300 pixels and will take up a good portion of your shop home, which if you have a beautiful banner will add to the aesthetic of your shop. Mini banners are best if you’d rather your shop icon and listings take primary focus. At 1200 x 160 pixels, mini banners will shift your listings higher up when viewing your shop home on desktop, as shown below.

I chose to create a mini banner. I didn’t have a beautiful banner picture, and I wanted something simple and on theme with my logo. I also wanted shoppers to see some of my product without scrolling, catch their attention before they became busy or backed out of my shop. If they only had one millisecond to step into my shop, I wanted them to have an image of the product in their mind to try searching for in case they decided to revisit and forgot how to find me. I went to photoshop and again used pastel colors on a 1200 x 160 pixels canvas to create the banner shown above in my shop.

Maybe as my shop grows, my logo and banner will evolve with it. Aside from the cost of photoshop, my logo and banner were free and it’s a decent starter look for my store. I hope this short post gave some insight to someone wanting to start their own business, to show you don’t have to spend money for something simple and cute.

[handmadebyhiggins]

Finally, a post about the actual product! As mentioned before, I first made the neck wraps as Christmas gifts for friends and family, and it was their wonderful reception and feedback that made me think I could start a small business selling them. What we love about these neck wraps is that they’re versatile, aesthetic, and smell wonderful. They can be used as a heat or cold compress. You either place them in the microwave at 30 second intervals until your desired heat or place it in the freezer for a cooling effect. Wrap it around your shoulders and back of neck for stress relief and muscle relaxation. You can lay it across a sore back, muscle group or joints to ease pain, it can even be slung around an arm while laying down sideways for a comforting feeling similar to being "spooned". I found that out one night when my husband went to work, and I was lying in bed. I had wrapped it horizontal along my arm and remembered the sensation of being hugged! They’re filled with lentils and herbs that are chosen based off of the pattern of the fabric, of which the scent enhances the feeling of relaxation.  My friends and family loved them, and they were a wonderful relaxation gift.

Fast forward to beginning to produce neck wraps for sale. I didn’t start off by buying all the fabric prints currently listed on the store in bulk. At the time of this post, there are currently 7 fabric patterns neck wraps. I went to hobby lobby on the 5th and bought small samples of those patterns, as well as a lot of the flat cotton drawstring cord for the handles. The prices per pattern varied, but it cost me $72.64 for about a yard or two of each print plus the flat cord.

On this trip I also picked up a very large green measuring cutting board, cutting tools, and some stamps (which I later returned), which ran up the total cost to $228.58. A quick run to Walmart to refill on lentils cost me $24.92 for 14 one-pound bags.

I concluded that it’s counterproductive to fully make all the neck wraps in the beginning stages of the shop. I wouldn’t have been able to make complete neck wraps without obtaining a LOT more lentils, I was running on a large yet limited amount of herbs and essential oils for the scents, and the space they would take up would be a challenge I wasn’t ready for yet. I realized I only needed one wrap from each fabric pattern to take pictures to start promoting them. Using my little SewMighty ($25), I was able to make 3 neck wraps before I turned in for the night.

The next morning, my husband and I were talking about product photography. I either read in an article or saw in a video that I wish I could properly reference, but it said that consumers “eat with their eyes” when shopping. How the product is presented plays a major factor in grabbing attention and consideration in purchasing. Similar to how we choose food based on its smell and appearance, online shoppers heavily rely on their sense of sight to decide between products. Take a moment and reflect on how listings either turn you away or seal the deal for you. Picture quality, lighting, background, all it makes a difference between a poor product image and a good product image. If you have an in-house photography studio, photography skills, professional camera,  etc. you already have a great advantage compared to everyone else like me who doesn’t. Professional cameras can easily cost thousands of dollars. We did some quick research and saw a reddit thread that said that the right lighting can replace thousands of dollars of camera equipment. To test this theory while treating ourselves simultaneously, we went downtown Rogers to Onyx Coffee Labs to take some tester photos with my husband’s iPhone 12.

I have zero experience taking professional photos, but I was elated with how these turned out! All we did was play around with the studio filter and focus on his iPhone. The coffee shop was a gorgeous backdrop, the lighting felt right, and the coffee was delicious (doesn’t apply to the picture quality but it was definitely a bonus). In the future we may purchase an expensive camera, but right now I feel like if we wanted to upgrade, we might just get the newest iPhone instead. This was a major win, as it was one less major purchase needed to start our business. You can check out our Instagram to see more of the pictures we took at Onyx.

We then decided to go ahead and try making a small in-home studio with a white background. We needed something more accessible than Onyx Coffee. In order to get good pictures at Onyx, we would have to rely on being there at the right time for light placement, on a nice sunny day, and hope that the seating areas next to the big windows weren’t taken. This was too unreliable; we needed another option for photography. This time on our Hobby Lobby trip, we picked out a thick white sheet among the fabrics used for tablecloths, grabbed a yard of some discounted fabric for a potential project, and some small floral items to help decorate the scene around the neck wrap for a total of $50.88. We also hit up our local Joann’s. 4 beautiful flowers cost us $32.90.

Using vanity lighting we already had, here are some pictures we took with our little in-house studio setup. The lighting was harsh and created a lot of shadows that detracted attention from the product and required photoshop to smooth out. Here are two examples of the harsh lighting and a touched-up picture.

At this point, now we have some starter product pictures. We know that Onyx is a great backdrop, that our iPhone camera is able to take adequate pictures, and our little in-house studio works, although we need to figure out better lighting.

So, the lessons I learned here: If you have a phone with a good camera, try taking pictures in good lighting and review the quality you’re able to produce. This may save you thousands of dollars in camera equipment. Your product pictures don’t need to all be taken at home. You can use coffee shops, parks, eccentric areas in your town, etc. If you do decide to have an in-house studio, consider getting a  thick white sheet of fabric to use as your background, you can find these in your local craft store like Hobby Lobby. Using a sheet of fabric instead of a hard surface like two white boards can eliminate the need for photoshopping the crease that would appear at the intersection. Product materials add up quickly, figure out your investment in starting a new business, take pictures and save your receipts.

The next challenge: creating our online presence.  

[handmadebyhiggins]

Brackets, Taxes, Elopements, and Other Notions

So, January 3rd, the day I decided to sit down with a CPA (Certified Public Accountant), I didn’t know that I was going to keep this guy on retainer, let alone file for my LLC then and there. I was so focused on finding someone to explain to me what the hell the difference between an LLC and S-Corp is and what benefitted me, that I didn’t think about the possibility of my questions being answered to the point that I’m ready to file. I had woken up at like 5am that morning in my excitement to get this ball rolling. I couldn’t go back to sleep; my mind was racing with the ideas of what to ask and what venture I should choose. I knew I wanted to make and sell the neck wraps my friends and family loved, but my mind still had the idea of food trucking pop into it. So, there I was on google before the sun had risen, searching for all the local CPAs I could ambush call at 8am precisely. I had about 6 or 7 candidates on my list that were within a 30-minute drive from me before I decided that was good enough for me to shower and get dressed in case someone had an opening early. I even had typed out a prompt so I could sound more professional and knowledgeable than the kid I very much felt like in that moment. It said, “Good morning, my name is Wendy Higgins, and I am interested in starting a small business and would like to sit down with a CPA to discuss questions.”. It saved me from sounding like a complete idiot, but as soon as someone asked me if I was interested in an LLC or S-Corp I’m sure I sounded as lost as I felt. I even described my business ideas to one lady, and she stopped me and reiterated if I wanted an LLC or an S-Corp. It was embarrassing, even over the phone! A majority of the CPAs on my list were not available to meet that day. I booked two for the next day (which made me feel even more silly for showering so early and being dressed to run out the door), and I somehow managed to secure a meeting with a CPA down the road from where I lived for the early afternoon.

Now before I had gone to meet this man, I tried to do as much research as possible so I could ask questions I couldn’t find the answer to online. To someone who has no experience with LLCs, S-Corps, business legalities in general, all those terms seemed overwhelming. I had initially gotten the idea to even meet with a CPA because I thought I could do what big corporations like Walmart does. Not pay anything in taxes. Minimizing my taxes sounded like a wonderful concept, I was so naïve I wondered why the hell did anyone pay taxes at all, if they could just start a business and use that money towards their own brand? I was talking to my husband about all the big investments in this business we’re going to make, now that Uncle Sam is going to let go of my money. Nice photography camera, big ole creation machines, top of the line sewing and embroidery machines. We were living in a fantasy for a moment. Yes, I was a big fool, very naïve and uneducated as to how big corporations like Walmart get away with paying nothing in taxes. I learned very quickly in the meeting with the CPA, that Wendy Higgins is not a corporation, and if I wanted to pay nothing in taxes, I would have to invert my entire income into my company as a net loss investment. The difference between credits and deductions were made clear to me as well. Credits can be applied to what you would owe in taxes, lowering your contribution owed. Deductions go toward lowering your taxable income, so you’re still going to pay taxes and it will depend on the tax bracket you land in the amount of money you owe the government.

Once this was explained to me, I figured, okay I was in the 22% bracket trying to hang out with the 12% homies, but unless I was willing to invest about $60,000 into my new business, it wasn’t going to happen. Worth mentioning, at that point, I am spending more money than I am trying to save. I still had bills to pay, my husband’s college tuition to fund, renovation plans for the house, savings I needed to build. Standard life expenses. I couldn’t fathom sinking in the majority of our income to an intentional net loss to avoid taxes like the big boys, and it certainly was not something that could be sustained for years, even if I decided to open the most expensive small business possible. For me, the best thing option was to invest into the business as needed, not open the dam. It wouldn’t get me the same tax benefits as the big corps had, but I would still have a small business without massively impacting my budget. That being said, an LLC was the right fit for us. We didn’t have any employees, if we ended up net negative the cost would be deducted from our taxable income, so we’re still winning in a small way if the year is slow for us. If our business were to grow, I would be able to change my LLC into an S-Corp. There is a tax rate on the business if it is profitable, so be aware of what the tax rate is for you before starting a small business. I hope that cleared up at least some confusion for anyone who was as new to all this as I was or thought that us small people could easily wield the no-tax-magic that big corps have.

  Side note:

What really sidetracked me, and again, I hope this blog helps at least one person out there learn from my mistakes, is that my husband and I eloped (still unbeknownst to his family) at the very end of 2021 so that we could qualify for the 12% bracket. Remember, as long as you get married before or on December 31st, tax-wise you have been married that whole year. So, in 2021, my husband and I made enough to qualify for the 12% bracket as he only just recently got hired at where I worked. In 2022 my husband and I were going to qualify for the 22% and I was not expecting this life uno reverse card. I felt like I had finally stepped away from the 22% tax rate that’s been haunting me since I graduated nursing school, only to get pie-faced at the start of 2022. Don’t even get me started with the fact that I got fired the day after I had this realization. Spirit airlines has nothing on the turbulence that has been my life at the start of 2022. The memories of my coworkers telling me to not get married for the tax benefits will forever be haunting and hilarious. I love my husband, and we knew we were going to get married. We kept things hush hush from the family and will likely have a proposal and a ceremony in the future. I won’t mind marrying him twice!

[handmadebyhiggins]

Many times, during 2020 and 2021 I’ve had thoughts of starting a business. I’m Hispanic, with a Caucasian husband, and among our ideas we bounced around were starting a food truck, creating a game, programming, or even breeding our beautiful Alaskan Malamutes. We were tired of the rut of working for other people, what was the point of living if you spent your life recharging your body for your next shift? Are you only allowed to live on the weekends when you’re catching up on sleep? While I was out for my injury, my husband signed up for Secret Santa at our work. During the last week of my leave, I was Christmas shopping for his Secret Santa as well as looking for some gifts for the family. I came across this small shop in downtown that sold lots of cute and quirky items like wooden kids toys, handpicked clothing, barware, and carved owls. I stopped for a long time to look at what was called a “neck wrap”. It was like a small thin cloth tube that was filled with lentils, and when you were to warm it up in the microwave and place it around your shoulders, it would help relax you. I kept looking at it because I liked the idea of it, and thought it would be a great gift, but it was so pricey, $47 for something that looked like I could easily make myself, and it was just lentils inside of cloth. There was nothing more special to it than that. I went home that day after buying other gifts for my family, such as a big, beautiful lunch bag and handmade soaps, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the neck wrap. The next day I went to the local craft store and bought Christmas themed fabric and beige flat cord, as well as lentils and tea herbs from the supermarket. At home, I brought out my little Sew Mighty sewing machine and just started making neck wraps. I made them bigger and fuller than the ones I had seen, and I added herbs inside for a lovely relaxing scent once it was warmed up. It took a while to figure out the size I wanted and work with my little Sew Mighty for the first time, but after the kinks were straightened, I was churning them out. When my leave was up, and I returned to work Christmas week, I gave them out to my coworkers and my husband’s Secret Santa. The reception I received from them was overwhelmingly positive. We worked nightshift, and as cold as it was during Christmas it was a very welcome gift. One of my previous coworkers who lived the nearby, Rosanna, came by to chat and she also loved the neck wrap. She told me I could sell them, and I thought, “yeah, maybe I could…”. A few days later, on the night of the incident which resulted in at least 4 of us being fired, I had my tarot cards read by a newer coworker. She had multiple tarot decks, and she used more than one in a reading, to give more detail or portray more of the message we were needing to hear. She pulled out a 3 in reverse, meaning I have an opportunity coming up out of the blue for me sometime soon, combined with a card that said, “high honors”. She took this to mean I was getting a higher position or a promotion soon.  Among some interesting perspective on my past love life and current situation, I also got a warning of a speed bump via the 3 of cups in reverse. The tarot reader placed down two more cards, trying to decipher what this speed bump meant. They showed a house and a card that said “expectation”. She thought it was trying to convey that I was going to put an offer on a house soon and it would not go well, but that I would get a better opportunity. In retrospect I think I know what the speed bump is, since I got fired about 2 days later, but I still don’t know what the house and expectation card mean. We have talked about buying or building a house, but nothing in the near future. The last card I got was the the sun card after the 3 of cups in reverse, which she read as very positive in terms of career and finances and was a very good card to get at the beginning of the year. She pulled out an additional deck and pulled out “Prosperity lies ahead. New moon in Taurus. Climax approaches. Don’t let pride get in your way. You’re not the center of the fucking universe. Irritated? Eat cuddle sleep repeat. Time to talk money. Grown ass folks take care of their money. Listen. You still won’t fucking get it.”. Overall, it was a very fun reading and it’s given me a lot to think about. The day before I got fired, I had already talked to my husband and family about sitting down with a CPA (certified public accountant) about what I needed to do to start a business legally. I wanted to be legitimate from the beginning before I jumped into making neck wraps for profit. So, I found someone that was willing to sit down with me that same day, and when I left, I had given him all my information and hired him to file for my LLC and sellers permit and all that jazz. It was very nerve-wracking to set up that meeting. I was a 25-year-old Registered Nurse, I’ve seen dead bodies and gross things and helped people through their worst, but I was very nervous about sounding like a child to this CPA. The research I had done online kept pointing me to talk to a CPA, but I desperately wanted to go into that meeting feeling like I could tell if I was being taken advantage of somehow. However, it all went well, he was able to go as in depth as my questions and understanding allowed, and I felt safe in his care. I hadn’t discussed with anyone as to what to actually call the business since I met the CPA with the expectation I was just getting some questions answered, but my mouth blurted out “HandmadeHigginsLLC” and that’s what it was filed under. Afterwards, I went home, felt incredibly tired and took a nap. When I woke up and checked my phone, I saw I had 2 missed calls, crying voicemails and texts from my coworker saying she just got fired. I’ll have to finish that part of the story another time, this post is getting too long, but that’s part one in how HandmadeHigginsLLC was created.

[handmadebyhiggins]

Starting out

I recently got fired along with at least 3 coworkers for what we believe was to make an example of us. I had only been working there for less than a year, but some of the coworkers also let go were there for as long as 8 years. Personally, me and one other coworker had never received a warning or write-up before this happened, and the reasoning given was something that could have been redone or a write-up at worst. I cannot give more information as I would have to ride the line of not breaching the company policy (I don’t want to get sued), and HIPPA. It was an extremely heavy-handed move from our director and the coworkers that remain there have voiced their disagreement with the decision, but it's done, I live in an at-will state. Not even everyone who had been involved got fired, so their reasoning was quite shite. Frankly, while being fired for the first time in my life wasn’t fun, it gave me the push I needed to say, “fuck it, it’s time” and start my own business. I’ve always hated working for a corporation, and even after getting a degree in Nursing and becoming licensed I saw that you are always, always expendable. Being overworked, being undercompensated, being guilt tripped into picking up shifts despite being tired or staying late to help out, being fired with no previous warning or writeup, or laughably being expected to give a two weeks-notice to an employer who can change your life on a whim. I feel especially bad for one of my coworkers, they had literally worked four to five 12 hour shifts each week because of how short staffed we were, and they were also let go with no previous warning or writeup. I myself had been out for close to 2 months due to an injury, and I felt pressure to go back to work earlier than my Orthopedic prescribed. I didn’t cave in, and while at the time the guilt of not forcing myself back early weighed on me, I am now glad I stood up for myself and allowed myself to heal. Anyways, I was fortunate enough to store money aside for rainy days or a venture, and now I am taking this opportunity to start my own business and see how it grows and where it goes. I hope to use this space to share the experience of what it’s like to take a chance and run with it, share what I feel as I come across new hurdles, learn from my mistakes (of which there will be plenty), the reality of what starting a new business looks like financially, and how I try to expand it into a successful venture. I’m thinking of this as a diary of sorts, but I hope that someone out there benefits from my experience.

 And so, with all that said, HomemadebyHigginsCo was created on Etsy on January 7th, 2022.

[handmadebyhiggins]