The First Step, and the Next Ones That Followed.

It’s hard to believe that what started out as a simple hobby and creative curiosity has somehow morphed into a full-time business of tying fancy knots…

For those of you who are somewhat new to the story of Meraki Macrame, I wanted to take some time to tell you more about how I got started, my process of early growth, and some reflections on the past three years of running a small business. I write these words to hope inspire people who are thinking about taking their craft which brings them joy and turning it into a business, encourage others who are in the early days of getting their small business venture off the ground, and cheer on those who are in the thick of running their small business. I am by no means an expert on all things small business, nor do I try to pretend I’ve got it all figured out. Three years is hardly enough experience to boast such claims, but I do think it’s still a big deal and worth celebrating. Never diminish your progress and success, no matter how small it may seem. Trust me, it all adds up in the end!

I started experimenting with macrame in late 2020. I was working at a bank as a teller at the time, but I was in search of a creative outlet. My husband was trimming some trees on our property, and he brought in a very nice branch. I loved the way it was sturdy and straight, and I decided to try my hand at making a plant hanger with it. I had some nylon cord from Hobby Lobby, and with the help of some pinterest and youtube tutorials, I made my first wall plant hanger. I am proud to say that it is still hanging in our bedroom today. This process was so fun to me, I tried my hand at different plant hangers. They were not the highest quality, but they successfully held plants, and that’s what I was going for at the time. My work station was a coat rack on our wall in the living room, and while it was an awkward setup, it was sufficient for making plant hangers from. I ended up making a few extra and posted them on my personal Instagram story and asked if any of my friends wanted to buy them from me. To my great surprise, they did. I quickly mailed out these pieces, and I felt the desire to make more an do it all again. I felt energized by the reality that people wanted to have something I made, and I wanted to explore this new idea. My next step was making a seperate Instagram page for my macrame. I wanted to have a space to share my work with others without feeling like I was cluttering my personal page. I also wanted to potentially reach out to other businesses, so I needed to have a public platform to do this. This is when I came up with the name “Meraki” for my business. I tried a couple of different name ideas, like “Knot so Great”, “Knot a Big Deal”, or even “Knotty Abi”. I felt like all of these felt pretty cheesy, and even a little negative. They also didn’t encapsulate the joy I felt in creating. This is where I came about the word “Meraki”, which means to do something with soul, love, and creativity; to put a little of yourself into your work. It was perfect. I now had the name, the Instagram page, and the hunger to grow. I posted each new project I completed, and people could now DM me to order the pieces they wanted. I was met with such support and excitement, it was so encouraging! I initially started the business as a fun way to make some extra cash to “buy a shirt or fun money”.

My next big step was contacting a local Makers Market to see about selling my work there. Mill Spring Makers Market in Jonesborough, TN was a shop that I had frequented quite often, and I noticed that they did not have any macrame. I reached out to the owner, Melinda, to ask if I could put some of my macrame in her lovely shop, and to my delight, she quickly said yes! I set my stuff up in her shop in March of 2021, and as I was setting up, I was informed of an upcoming Makers Faire that she was hosting later that year. I had never been to a makers market, much less participated in one, so I had no idea what to expect or how to prepare, but I quickly signed up. As the market drew closer, I ended up calling out sick from my bank job so I could spend an extra day preparing for it. It was becoming more and more obvious that I wanted to spend time doing macrame instead of banking… I borrowed a tent from some friends, I bought a single 4-foot folding table, and I even ordered a Square card reader for my phone. I showed up on a Saturday morning in May with a cardboard box full of macrame, and a heart full of hope. The day went by and my mind was blown at how many people wanted to buy my macrame. It may not have been a lot to people who do markets a lot or have been in business for some time, but for me, it was absolutely flooring. These people wanted to pay actual money for something my hands created!

After this market, I was inspired to reach out to other businesses to see if I could sell my macrame in their shops similar to Mill Spring Makers Market. I was met with some no’s and some non-responses, but I was also met with some yes’s. I kept chasing those potential yes’s. The fear of being told no was a pale feeling in comparison of the rush of excitement I felt when someone said yes. I quickly ended up having products in 4 different locations, and my followers on Instagram steadily rose. I was amazed at how many next steps presented themselves as I took each one. It all felt like it was falling into place for a reason, but I couldn’t see it yet.

Then it hit me with such a dramatic force, I couldn’t ignore it. While my macrame business was beginning to blossom, I was still trying to make my banking job work. This, however, was quickly becoming unsustainable. I began to become incredibly depressed and anxious at my bank job, and I was struggling to find joy in what I was doing for 8 hours every day. I was also struggling and making more mistakes at my job which only added to my stress and anxiety. I didn’t know if I wanted to quit though, because it was a steady job with a decent paycheck, and I had waited so long to have that job. Was I giving up on this dream of having a stable job, or was this even a dream of mine to begin with? Was the risk of quitting my banking job going to be worth the time I could spend on growing my new macrame business? These were thoughts I was wrestling with, until the answer was quite clear. I had made so many mistakes due to my stress and mental disassociation that I was on a final warning. I felt incredibly embarrassed and anxious, but it was also the clear sign I had been asking for. The next day, with a shaky breath, I handed in my two weeks notice. My time at the bank was coming to a close.

I now had time. I had time to do what I really wanted to do. I had time to create and grow my business. My next big step was to create my own website. I had an etsy shop, but I was quickly encountering a lot of issues with the platform, such as difficulty being visible, the increasing fees, and the competition between other makers. I wanted something that would set my work apart, something I could design myself, and something I had total agency over. That’s when I decided to go with my current platform, Squarespace. In August of 2021, I spent the whole month designing the website, uploading products, and figuring out all the details that having an individual website came with. At the end of August, I launched my own website. It felt like such a huge deal to me, because I could now direct people who may not have a social media to a place where they could buy my work. I could also hold special sales, list details about each product, have color and size options, and have an easier way to take payment and shipping details. It definitely improved my product sales and made my business fell that much more official!

As the year continued, I took more next steps. This looked like buying my own tent for markets, a rack to make macrame from, buying better quality cord from Amazon, and experimenting with different products. I participated in a few more local markets, set up in a few more shops, and even held a workshop. There were some great wins, and some hard lessons, but the general direction of things kept moving up and forward. It was tempting to compare myself with other people who were doing full-time small business work and seemed to be killing it, but I was encouraged by so many people to keep up my own good work. As I approached the first anniversary of my business, I was amazed at how it had grown from a creative outlet to a full blown business. I was so happy to realize though, that the joy of creating was still my biggest reason for running the business. I knew that as long as that remained my biggest “why”, I would continue to succeed.

As I sit here, 3 years later, I can honestly say that the joy of creating is still my greatest why. I have grown so much from where I started in March of 2021. Some of my biggest “next steps” look like having a designated creative space in my house to do my work, participating in higher end, juried markets, being more choosy with which shops I sell my goods in, switching my cord supplier to a small, woman-owned business which uses sustainable practices in their cord production, and opening a seperate business account. This is all after 3 years of learning on the go. I did not take all the steps at once, because they were not all there at once. I wouldn’t have known to take these most recent steps if I had not taken those first few shaky ones at the beginning of my business. If you are in the beginning stages of running a business, know that every next step you take is the right one, even if it feels insignificant. If you are in the middle of running your business, celebrate your next steps that you are able to make because of the beginning ones you took. If you are a successful business person who has worked hard to get where you are, share your steps with those who are working to get where you are. We can all learn from each other, and there is a special comradery that comes with being small business owners.

I am so thankful to be three years into this journey, and I am excited to see what my next steps this year will be.

Cheers to three years!