Today we’d like to introduce you to Trisha Maxwell.
Hi Trisha, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
You would think having grown up with a mother who owned a craft supply business, for over 30 years, would set you up for success, right? It sure gave me the desire to own my own business, and the access to all the crafting supplies a girl would need, but there was a missing piece. I was driven by the thought “if my mom can do it, I can too”, but I wasn’t educated on the business side of things, and had no idea where to start or how to build a company from the ground up.
There was a gap from knowing I wanted to own a business to where I am now, and that gap was large and lonely. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do, all I knew was that I had that entrepreneurial itch, but I didn’t have the guts to try. Not having the know-how or a clear path, really held me back from taking the leap.
Throughout the years of adulthood, I had tried multiple jobs in different industries, all while having the nagging feeling that they were all wrong for me. I started out in the sports performance industry, tried real estate several times, sales, you name it. I met some amazing people along the way and learned so much in every new journey I took, but nothing was satisfying that desire for a passion in my career.
Finally driving home from work, late to my son’s baseball game, feeling helpless in bumper-to-bumper traffic, I had an epiphany.
I was no longer willing to be in a miserable job just for the money. It wasn’t worth it to me anymore. Time with family was more important than continuing down a path that I had followed because I thought that’s what everyone else had envisioned was right for me.
I knew I wanted to set myself apart and do something that not everyone else could do. I landed on a niche market that would allow me to enter a field that had not been tapped into, it was expensive to get started so it limited the number of people doing it and allowed me to put my personal spin on it and stand out among the crowd of makers. I chose metalwork. After receiving the most important support and thumbs up from my husband, I went all in. I purchased a plasma cutter and all the equipment necessary to get started, and I did it. I put it together myself, I figured out what, where, and how to sell. After adjusting my business model from boutique and vendor shows to strictly online, my business boomed. I was dedicated to efficiency and figuring out how to make it work from the comfort of my own home.
After seeing the success, I found on the Etsy platform, I found myself with a passion for teaching creative women how to do the same in a shorter time frame. I am now launching my first digital course for Etsy beginners and am loving it.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
To be quite honest, when you’re in the mix of it, and working with a vision every day, it doesn’t seem difficult, you just do what you can to stay afloat and keep going. I started out with my plasma cutter in my dad’s open workshop, with smoke filling the space. No one was allowed to be in there with me while I was cutting, and I often found myself lonely and not wanting to spend that much time in there. At that time, I was pregnant with our 5th child and it was very strenuous. I was not cleaning or sanding my metal at the time, and painted on the concrete shop floor, with cardboard pieces to protect the flooring. I was shipping from my living room floor and had my supplies everywhere in my house. I did not have any processes in place, and hindsight has given me the ability to see how inefficient I truly was. Today, I have my own workshop right outside my back door, the plasma cutter is in its own room, sealed off from the rest of the shop to prevent smoke filling my space which allows my family to visit at any time. I have a designated space for sanding, painting, shipping, and photography. I have thought through my space and how it is laid out to eliminate the struggles I had when I started out. I am now able to spend that free time with family, which drives me every day to perfect my systems.
Looking back on those struggles gives me confidence to know I can continue taking new steps and venturing out into new things.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have two businesses, the first one is my product-based business, Dandelion Decor & Metalworks. The second is my coaching business where I teach creative women how to turn their hobby into a business. My metalwork business is what drives my coaching business. I work hard in my shop with my plasma cutter, making home decor and custom metal signs for my customers. Not only am I striving for success with that business for myself and my family’s sake, but I keep going to give me more content and better coaching strategies for my clients. I’m the test subject if you will to testing out new ways of selling handmade online.
I am proud of what I have done with this business because I continually strive for more. I’m not content with where I am and I’m always looking to improve and do better with my business, as any entrepreneur does. I hope to be an example for my kids and give them a positive perception of what a mom and wife are and what they are capable of.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
One year I made a word of the year for myself to focus on. That word was efficiency. If I can get more work done in the same amount of time, I will grow. If I continually focus on that, I will be successful, but without my continued passion for growth, I wouldn’t have the drive to continue on through hard times. I am pretty stubborn and failure is just not an option for me.
Contact Info:
- Email: trisha@dandeliondecor.com and info@trishamaxwell.com
- Website: dandeliondecor.com and trishamaxwell.com
- Instagram: dandeliondecor and trishamaxwellbizcoach
- Facebook: dandeliondecor and trishamaxwellbizcoach
Image Credits
Cassie Edens
EffJay Photography
