Pivoting to Products & Opening Up a Storefront with Regan from Doe a Deer
In this week’s podcast episode, Emily chats with Regan Doely, owner of Doe a Deer, a product-based business offering kitchen decor and home goods. Regan shares more about her leap from freelance to products, how she’s driven growth and what her expansion to a storefront has looked like.
Reagan graduated from Grand View University with a graphic design degree and spent her first few years working in corporate graphic design departments. Feeling the itch to flex her creative muscles beyond strict brand guidelines, she started her side hustle, Doe a Deer. What started as a primarily freelance business designing logos and brands for other entrepreneurs quickly became part product-based as Regan began selling her stationery designs. A love for vintage kitchen decor like flour sack towels pushed Regan to begin experimenting with designing her own and eventually landed her at craft shows, selling her stationery, towels, and greeting cards. At first her freelance clients gave Regan the cash flow to be able to invest in buying stock of her products but over time she continued to grow the product side so that less and less clients were needed. Today her primary focus is on the products.
Regan walks listeners through her experience growing her business and the steps she’s taken to drive that growth, especially her approach to wholesale. She breaks down some of the wholesale markets she’s tried and which ones are her favorite. Regan also shares her experience sourcing the perfect building and getting ready to launch her own storefront in Stuart, Iowa. She offers her advice for any new or aspiring product based business owners ready to launch their idea into life.
If you’ve been curious about what it’s like to build your own product based business or launch a storefront, listen to this episode with Regan!
Tune in for topics like:
Evolution of Doe a Deer from freelance to products
When Regan knew it was time to leave her corporate job
The story behind Doe a Deer’s signature flour sack towels
Why and how you should prioritize your margins
Regan’s advice for anyone dipping their toes into wholesale
How to test the waters before opening your own store
Launching F is for Fawn, new baby product line
Links from the episode:
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