Kelly Lass & Nicole Jones are the owners of the new mobile boutique Nickel + Birch located in Southern California. They got their start on Etsy selling hand-painted door mats and when that business began to boom, it led them down the fashion truck path.
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IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL FIND OUT ABOUT:
- They originally started an Etsy shop over a year ago selling hand painted door mats.
[bctt tweet=”We just fell in love with the maker spirit…” username=”nickelandbirch”]
- They decided to open a truck because they also wanted to share / sell other people’s handmade items in addition to their own.
[bctt tweet=”Opening a truck was a cost effective way to expand our business & showcase other products.” username=”nickelandbirch”]
- They believe that they should’ve had a business plan, but their main focus was to find the truck and get started right away.
- They purchased their truck on-the-spot. it was a 1987 w/ less than 20k miles and previously owned by the Forestry Service.
- About 6-7 months after opening the Etsy shop is when they started to discuss opening the mobile boutique.
- The products sold in the truck are handmade items from around the country.
- They purchase most of their inventory wholesale.
- They are completely self-funded. They did not get any loans or use personal funds. They used the income from their Etsy shop to fund the mobile boutique renovation and inventory.
[bctt tweet=”We got financially stable BEFORE we jumped head-first into the mobile boutique.” username=”nickelandbirch”]
- They used Pinterest to get ideas / inspiration on geometric patterns for the truck’s exterior design. And then they took their ideas directly to the wrap company.
- The wrap cost around $4k w/ the graphic design included + prepping the truck.
- They completed the entire interior buildout themselves.
- They used a vinyl plank floating floor purchased from the Home Depot.
- Since they are in Southern California, the weather is pretty consistent, so they chose not to purchase a generator, or install heat & A/C.
- Recently, they both decided to quit their full-time corporate jobs.
- Their 1st big event was a 2-day maker’s mart at the end of July.
- Shopify is the POS system they decided to use.
- Their advise to future truck owners is to have a clear vision about what you want b/c that is the most important part in starting the biz.
- They used Legalzoom.com to setup their business structure as an Limited Liability Company (LLC).
SHOW LINKS:
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FIND NICKEL + BIRCH:
Web: Nickel + Birch
Facebook: Nickel + Birch Boutique
Instagram: NickelandBirch
Twitter: NickelandBirch
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