Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Birkel.
Hi Megan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Willow Crowns began at my kitchen table in 2013. I had just moved to Houston with my husband and our (bald) infant daughter. I was looking for something to keep me busy during naptime while I acclimated to our new life in Texas and making headbands for Olivia gave me the creative outlet I didn’t know I was missing!
I started selling my creations on Etsy, reaching out to local bloggers with baby girls, and slowly but surely built our social media following. After a couple years, we moved to our own dot com and it was time to bring on extra hands to make the ready to ship model I was envisioning work.
Today we employ nearly 20 stay at home moms just like me – women who are raising their families and needing a creative outlet and something to call their own. We specialize in classic hair accessories and custom apparel and launched our own app called The Hive which sells our products as well as other items from small, women owned businesses.
We are proud to be classic, created by moms, and crafted in Texas!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think entrepreneurship is ever a smooth road!
I remember a particularly hot summer in Houston when our packages sat in the heat waiting to be picked up and over 100 bows completely fell apart from the glue breaking down in the hot temps. Not my best business memory but it provided an opportunity to learn, show our customers that our customer service can’t be beat, and now I can laugh about it.
We are always dealing with little hiccups like a glitch in the app, or a supplier who runs out of material, but the biggest thing I try to remember is that it’s all okay at the end of the day. Communicating well and often with your customers smooths most bumps in the road!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Willow Crowns?
I am so proud of the business we have built these past 8 years!
We are known for classic hair accessories and apparel and our lightning fast turnaround time – we are the Amazon Prime of hair bows! Our ready to ship items will leave our studio in 2 business days max – most of our local customers receive their orders within 24 hours of ordering – that is something that I’m very proud of.
What I would like people to know (and is also what I am most proud of and what sets us apart) is that we are a team made entirely of stay at home moms. I believe so strongly that women who choose to stay home with their families have SO much to offer. They are the best multi-taskers, they are organized, they are creative – because they have to be – and that makes them such assets to our business.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
“Necessity is the mother of invention” has never rung more true than this past year and a half.
I have learned there is always a new market to tap in to and that people want to support small businesses who are innovative and working for something bigger than their own gain – in our case, providing income and a community for stay at home moms.
There are going to be supply delays, staff shortages, things that provide real challenges to running a small business, but if you have a great product and good customer transparency, you can keep growing and evolving – it just requires flexibility and communication.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@willowcrowns.com
- Website: www.willowcrowns.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/willowcrowns
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/willowcrowns
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/willowcrowns
Image Credits
Ashley Cardoza
