Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Rawlins and Brandon Sachs.
Alexis and Brandon, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My husband and I started Tiny Bee Cards about five years ago. We both had day jobs, and I made my husband a card for valentine’s day that said “To My Significant Otter’ on it. He loved it so much he said we had to start a card shop, and that’s how our company began! I figured that maybe it could be a fun side gig, but I had no idea it would turn into our full-time job within a year! So I worked on other cute animal pun card designs until I had just 12 cards. When we first launched our shop on Etsy, it was clear we were on to something, because it really took off! Now we work together on new card concepts, product ideas, and hand folding and packaging together. The significant otter card that started our shop is still one of our most popular cards today.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Starting a business I think is always a little different than what we had in mind. We love being our own bosses, but there’s been so much we’ve had to learn along the way. We do everything ourselves from design, creation, shipping, customer service, advertising, accounting, and more — and so we’ve had to learn each of those jobs along the way. And, accounting is hard! We’re always looking for new ways to streamline our work and make our process easier and faster so that we can spend more time focusing on making new art and designs.
There’s also the tendency for people who are self-employed to just be working all the time, and that’s taken us a long time for us to adjust to. We try to set mandatory days off, as well as ending the workday at a certain time (rather than midnight). Finding a balance is tough when you work for yourself, but I think it’s really important. And on the plus side, it’s great to be able to take a weekday off whenever we choose to.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Tiny Bee Cards – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We design & make greeting cards, stationery, stickers, enamel pins, and other gifts. One thing that sets us apart as a company and something we’re proud of is that our card line is cheery and fun. We believe that every card is an opportunity to make someone laugh or smile. Sometimes we find that mass-produced greeting cards are either too sappy or sometimes funny cards can be a little too rude! We wanted to make a funny yet sweet and happy card line, and I think we’ve achieved that.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our current focus is on getting our cards in more retail stores. At first, we only sold our products online, but having them in stores has been really exciting for us. Although we’re relatively new to wholesaling, we’ve had a lot of enthusiasm for our cards in stores so far. We’re also looking forward to designing lots of new products, especially more enamel pins.
Pricing:
- Cards – $4.50
- Stickers – $3.50
- Buttons & Pins – $3.50
- Enamel Pins – $10-$14
- Mugs – $14
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tinybeecards.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/tinybeecards
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/tinybeecards
- Twitter: twitter.com/tinybeecards
- Other: www.tinybeecards.etsy.com
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