Elizabeth Chester, Maddy Moo Creations
Maddy Moo Creations in Woodstock, Ga., was started in June 2005 and is one of the hottest trends hitting the home party scene today – Design Your Own Handbags Made in the USA. Maddy Moo Creations is proudly creating new opportunities for women – professionally, financially and socially.
‘Ah ha’ moment that led to launching the business: After my second child, I wanted to be home with my children and I desperately wanted to leave the corporate job I had held for 10 years. On a whim, I bought some wholesale purses and started selling them. At the same time, I had a seamstress make several design-your-own-style bags. These became the favorite among my customers and I soon realized that Design Your Own was the direction I wanted to go.
Ideal customer: Handbags are the No. 1 fashion accessory. Let’s face it: whether you are three or 103, a purse can be a girl’s best friend.
Landing first customer: I started selling to friends locally and set up an online shop. However, I signed my first design consultant after meeting her at an expo where I had purchased a booth space. She fell in love with our handbags and said she just had to sell them herself. Her passion and desire to sell the bags helped me realize that I should look at a direct sales model and open the Maddy Moo Opportunity up to other women looking to supplement or make a fulltime income.
Measuring Success: For me, success is knowing that I am providing my children a comfortable life, and that I have the freedom to be ‘just Mom’ when duty calls. I will admit, seeing a Maddy Moo bag on someone’s shoulder while walking through the mall is an added bonus and certainly makes me feel successful.
Biggest Struggle: When we first started making the Design Your Own Handbags I used several seamstresses throughout the US. But I quickly discovered that this is not something that can be spread in several states and seamstresses. So, the best thing I ever did for my business was to open a facility and move all my fabrics/equipments/supplies and seamstresses under one roof. What a world of difference that made.
Surprise!: I never gave much thought to the fact that running your own business requires you to be “on” at all times. In the corporate world, my day ended typically by 6 p.m. and I didn’t have to deal with it until 8 a.m. the next day. While I don’t have that luxury anymore, I don’t mind that I may be working a 14-hour day or taking calls related to business at 10 p.m. It’s my business and I love working it.
What I wish I would’ve known: That sewing is a dying trade. There are not many people out who want to sew on a fulltime basis and we are constantly on the search for talented seamstresses. I also wish I had known about the DSA (Direct Selling Association) when I first got started. They are much like the BBB but for the direct sells industry and have been a constant resource and supporter of what we are trying to accomplish at Maddy Moo.
What keeps you up at night (business-wise!)?: All the details. Unlike my corporate job, where I managed one line of business, at Maddy Moo I have to think about every aspect of the company. I wake up at 3 a.m. and text myself messages reminding me to take care of this or that.
Ever tempted to throw in the towel and just get a job?: Never.The first three years were the hardest, and while owning your own business will always come with some challenges, those challenges are worth the freedom and opportunity Maddy Moo has not only afforded me but also the other women that have become Maddy Moo design consultants. I would never want to disappoint them by throwing in the towel.
Moving Forward: We would like to have 500 design consultants across the US. We will continue to offer an amazing product line, increase our training programs and tools for our design consultants as well as continue to develop our online and social media presence.
Pricing, Getting it Right: Pricing can at times be trial and error. I quickly learned the hard way that our prices were not high enough. Take a look at your product or service offering and know what makes you or your service different – then use it to your advantage. For example, we are one of the very few design your own handbag companies that actually make their products in the USA. Because we are custom made-to-order bags in the US, we can demand and get a higher price than the bag you buy at a department store that was made overseas.
Funding: I started Maddy Moo with less than $500 and added personal funds here and there, as needed. Some of the best advice I received was to not take out huge loans but grow organically which we have done. I am proud to say that we are debt-free.
A Few Good Tips: I never dreamed that I would be manufacturing custom handbags. Yet here I am doing just that in the USA. I want people to know that you don’t have to go overseas to produce a product it can be done here and I wish more people would search out factories here or do what we did and open our own.
Must-Read Online Resources: I read everything I can get my hands on, from the Direct Selling News, to various direct selling experts as well as anything related to the textile industry.
The absolute best part of owning my business is: the freedom it has afforded me. Not only do I get to work with an amazing group of women but I also get to step away from the office to read a book to my son’s kindergarten class or have lunch with my third grader anytime I like.
If I had to start over again, I would: have been as passionate from the start as I am now. The first two years I wasn’t as determined and committed. If I had been, I can only imagine how much further along I would be now.
I never imagined: finding dedicated employees would be so difficult.
If standing on a rooftop facing crowds of aspiring or struggling small business owners, I would shout: : “Go for it! If I can do it, so can you!!”
