I took a Handmade business and opened a Boutique (and this is what I have learned)

So many people have handmade businesses these days (Etsy,IG) What possessed me to open a whole boutique?

Anyone that has a handmade business does it for the love and passion of what they make. They want to share it with everyone. But, for many it is a hobby, and a business never really emerges.

I am NO different. Woobies is my love and passion. this is very true. It is also true that I wanted to share them with everyone. But I have another passion that goes beyond just the creation of them. I believe with all my heart that they make you smile. I believe that everyone can benefit from a handmade friend. Having a business online is good but very impersonal. I wanted the opportunity to be able to speak to people about what a Woobie is and my vision for this.

This is the Grizzly Bear Woobie. He makes me smile because of a book I used to read to my youngest child, "Bear Feels Sick". When you see something that gives you those little memories, it is a great happy feeling. I honestly had forgotten about that book until I found this little guy.

Most of my inspiration comes from my children raising days. The happy times. As we get older and the kids move on with their lives, those memories get harder and harder to remember. An item, like a Woobie, can bring back that feeling or memory.

So Why a Whole Boutique

I wanted Woobies in front of humans! Online is great for many things. Pictures can only do so much. You will never get to feel what the material feels like (another thing that can spark a memory). Online I never really know how a person feels about an item. I love talking to people. They tell me stories. I see their smiles. I love when a Woobie chooses them! As they walk by my window and walk into and bee line to the Woobie they saw. You can't get that online.

A couple of weeks ago I had a young girl drag her mom in. All she said was dinosaur pillow. I had them in the window and asked which one. The mom looked confused. The way the girl was talking, I walked over and looked at 4 of them and instantly knew which one and held it up. The look on that girls face when I chose the right one! Her mom, still confused, asked if that was what she saw and of course she said yes. Woobie chose her.

A Leap of Faith is never easy

A very small percentage of people, making anything, go into retail with their products. The reason is the cost, it's hard, it doesn't just change your job it changes your life, change of schedule, change, change, change, and did I mention....change.

Everything, whether we want it or not, changes. But deciding on change is one of the hardest decisions to make because we all strive for comfortable and when we get it, we don't want to let it go. When comfortable doesn't equal happy then the change has to be made. It doesn't have to be drastic, like opening a boutique, it can be something small that brings a genuine smile.

I have learned that people are not as bad as the internet has us believing. Men smile the biggest when they walk in. Younger adults (GEN Z) absolutely love things handmade and love to watch and asked about what I'm working on. Older women almost always have a story about what they used to make for their kids. Kids are not out of control. They are polite, respectful. New moms are more worried about where their stuff that they buy for their babies are coming from and love that they know where Woobie came from. This has been eye opening. It has taught me to believe in humanity again.

Comment on what you have changed. No matter how small. What makes you smile? What is your leap of faith?

If you need a friend to help find that smile, browse Woobies and see which one chooses you. https://www.woobies.shop