{sponsor feature + giveaway: Barn Owl Primitives}

This giveaway is now closed.

I’m so proud to be working with Kristi; I hope you’ll take a few minutes to soak in her advice, because it’s so good!!!, and then at the end there’s a super generous giveaway for you to enter. ENJOY + happy Friday!

My name is Kristi and I’m a mom to Maddie and Connor, wife to Sean and a daughter, sister, aunt and friend to many. I’m a day dreamer with a LONG list of projects yet to be completed. I’m a lover of coffee and all things vintage. And I’m the creator of Barn Owl Primitives.

A few years ago, when money was tight and making handcrafted Christmas gifts seemed like the way to go, I started making hand painted door hanging snowmen for my family and friends. They were well-received and friends of friends started placing orders. That snowballed into Barn Owl Primitives {BOP} and a little shop on Etsy. Since Snowmen eventually melt I needed to add some things to my shop that would last all year. I started with my You are My Sunshine and a Family Rules Typography Word Art Signs. Things were slow at first, but after months of marketing my shop on facebook, building relationships with fellow shop owners and bloggers, I started to see some steady sales. During those first few slow months, I read every article on the Etsy blogs about building a good business. I educated myself on what it means to create a brand and I set out to make BOP something that people would recognize. I focused my energy and efforts on making new and exciting products and looked for big and small ways to set myself apart from my competition.

It’s important not to get too comfortable or too complacent in your business. Challenge yourself to always be moving forward. Set goals and continually revisit them and constantly set new ones.

I have sold signs to some pretty amazing people. My We Can Do Hard Things sign is hanging in the Etsy Corporate Office in New York City and the MTV Office in London. Brené Brown purchased my Playroom Rules sign and I almost fell off the couch when I received the order. But by far the orders that I am most proud of are from people you’ve never heard of — The daughter who purchased a sign for her dad’s 70th birthday with all the sayings he’s been repeating to her for the last 46 years. The mother who allowed me to see and paint the special and private poem that she repeats to her autistic son each night before he goes to bed. The grandmother who ordered my Strength of My Love sign for her granddaughter, who spent almost a year in the NICU before finally coming home. The mother who lost her twelve year old son to an unthinkable accident during a flood. These are just a few of the accomplishments that I am the most proud of and the one’s that make what I do so rewarding and worthwhile.

Starting this business has been such an amazing journey for me. I’ve gained friends, grown my confidence, tapped into a creative side I didn’t know existed, and developed a love of handmade products.

If you are thinking about starting you own shop the best advice I can offer you is this:
* We Can Do Hard Things.
* Owning and growing a successful business is HARD WORK. But, it is that hard work that will set you apart from your competition.
* That hard work that will drive you to produce quality products and to be passionate about what you create.

Remember, you are not alone. There is an entire community of people willing to help you. There are fellow shop owners, bloggers, customers, fellow creatives, and friends that want to see you succeed. Ask for help when you need it and more importantly, accept help when it is offered.

It’s been such an honor to share a little bit about myself with you here today! Hope to see you around the Barn real soon!!

xo ~ kristi

G I V E A W A Y: Kristi is offer a $100 shop credit to her shop, AMAZING! To enter, please visit Barn Owl Primitives and leave a comment below with your favorite item.

For extra entries, follow BOP on facebook or twitter, follow Gussy Sews on facebook or twitter, or share this giveaway with your community via blog, twitter or facebook.

Remember to leave an extra comment for each {up to 8 extra entries}; I’ll pick a winner in a few days!

G O O D ♥ L U C K