This begins in Lima, the capital of Peru. In the southern part of Latin America where a great Inca empire once existed with an amazing textile tradition carried out by hard-working people.
Centuries later, there are still communities of knitters proud of their origin who lovingly transform by hand the best materials from their land into textiles recognized around the world.
Although my story begins in 2012 when I received an email from North America, from a then new designer, and a business apprentice who became my first client.
She asked if I could bring to life a handmade baby collection made only of natural fibers.
Faced with her email, I asked myself:
What did I know about hand-knitting?
What did I know about the clothes babies wear?
What did I know about natural fibers?
Almost nothing.
But I was passionate about the idea of having a new project “to bring to life”.
I was passionate about a project where I could be “out” of the office. There where I felt very alive, like in my childhood in my parents’ craft workshop.
As a computer engineer, the technology projects I had managed had given me stability in every way: financial, personal, and a prosperous career.
I had advanced, I had learned, I had ascended.
But I felt an emptiness that I can only explain with a phrase that I heard once, it was as if “something had started to die inside of me.”
I put a replay to the email and answered, yes.
This was the beginning.
My neighbor knitted the first five samples of baby clothes. She wasn’t very talented nor was she responsible with her commitments, but she helped me get started.
Back then, I wasn’t aware that I couldn’t start a business with just one knitter.
And it’s a good thing I wasn’t! Today I learned that first comes “What do I want to do?” and then how to do it.
And since I didn’t know how difficult it was going to be, I did it!
Today I believe that passion is not enough, at least for me, my passion alone is not enough to sustain me all the time.
That’s why I want to share with you what helps me grow my handmade business, besides passion.
1. Passion sustained with discipline works for me, it works for my business.
During the first two years of my business, clients were few, cash flow was scarce, and stress was high.
And my desire to find stability in the midst of my new life put on the table, several times, the option of returning to my former “safe job.” The beginning is usually hard, and full of doubts, but it is necessary for later.
And because the beginning is like that, today in my experience, I think that to build a business and survive while doing it, you need something “stronger”, something that pulls you up in the hard times.
I call that stronger discipline.
The discipline to do what my business needs, even though I don’t feel like it, don’t want to do it, or feel fear and doubt.
Disciplined to figure out how to do it when I don’t know how.
2. Economic management as a fundamental task
I also need to learn to save at least 10% of all the profits my business generates to invest them and face the lean times, which there always are.
That 10% gives me the freedom to invest in projects such as taking professional photos and catalogs of my products, building my online and social media presence according to my values, and digitizing my business.
With that 10% I can study, and learn with priority and without excuses.
With that 10% I can face unforeseen events from the business, personal, or those of the people who work with me.
With that 10% I can save.
It is so important that the healthy management of my business gives me peace of mind, stability, and energy to wait when my business is slow or when our artisan production – by its nature – is in progress for about 2 to 3 months. And we receive full payments at the end of this period of time.
3. Innovation through my cultural roots, my experience and that of my clients.
Search for what makes me different from other businesses, in my cultural roots and in my personal story, that which makes me unique and unrepeatable.
Welcome moments of need and trials, because that is when I have felt most creative and innovative, and from those moments the best ideas to generate income were born.
And it also helps to frequently ask other people, who know more than me, how to do things. This practice has marked important milestones in the development of my business.
This includes talking to my clients. In addition to sharing a passion for our businesses, I realize that we share similar challenges.
To my surprise and without having intended it, this practice has strengthened our relationship and contributed to building trust. Trust that I see tangible in the form of clients who stay with us for years, increase their orders, or are open to developing new projects together.
I feel accompanied by them and if they are capable of continuing with their businesses, I feel capable too. It is then that my passion stands up and comes to my rescue.
Returning to the thread of my story…
A year after starting to work with my neighbor, about 1,000 km from Lima in southern Peru, I met the best knitting leader I know so far: Constantina.
Her dream? Get clients and grow her group of knitters.
That was her dream and that of about 15 other knitters.
9 years have passed, and at our maximum capacity today we are 70 knitters, women and men, giving life by hand to exquisite textiles for clients from different parts of the world: North America, the UK, Japan, South Africa, and of course Peru.
And until now I believe that everything has been possible thanks to discipline and because every time we feel that we can’t take it anymore, that we can’t find the resources, we put our heart into it and trust that he will do the rest.
Because I believe (from what I once heard) that when you put your heart into something small like a dream, and you commit to making it grow, it becomes something big and wonderful.
This is my story. I invite you to press play on the video ⤵️.
Share with me, what are the pillars that support your passion for the business you have in hand? I read you and learn from you.
If you have questions, comments or want to talk about how to place wholesale orders for our handmade Ambassadors Collection (toys), Baby Collection and Home Collection and enjoy all the benefits, please contact me or book an appointment with me.
Thank you!
Maria del Pilar
