Small Business Saturday Mom Sarah
This Small Business Saturday Mom Amy is from Woodstock in Ulster County. Sarah is behind SO Handmade and a mom of two kids- 5 year old boy and her daughter is almost two. She started her business in 2012, how does this mom do it?
How did the idea come about? I have always been crafty and had a project on the go- be it sewing, painting or home improvements. When my son was born I started making things for him. Friends always commented on these and asked me to make for their own kids. I decided to start my business SO Handmade to begin selling them on Etsy and in local stores. I came up with the name as a play between SO as in Sarah Omura and Sew! I have also just started teaching sewing classes which is really fun, I do some adult lessons at Sew Woodstock and also kids classes at Woodstock Elementary school.
What is special about your business? I love incorporating fun fabrics in wonderful colors with great design for kids and the home.
How do you manage having your own business and motherhood? It has been really hard getting the balance right and there are times when I have got really frustrated not being able to concentrate on my business as much as I would like. My son is at school now and I manage to fit work in during my daughters nap times and after the kids go to bed in the evenings. I have also started taking her to a babysitter for a few hours every week to give me a little extra time.
Walk us through a typical day: Get up breakfast and see my husband and son off to school. Get myself and my daughter dressed and clear up after breakfast. We usually go out to play dates or music class until lunch. After lunch I put my daughter down for her nap and immediately start working on my product line for SO Handmade. When she wakes up she sometimes is happy playing while I continue working. I get dinner ready for when the boys get home from school, we like all eating together so most days eat about 5pm. After dinner, its bath time followed by some tv for the kids before they go to bed. Once the house is quiet I usually check my SO Handmade web site and work on a new blog. I also update my SO Handmade facebook page and sometimes update instagram and pinterest too. Around 8.30 I finish up and spend some time with my husband.
If you had to give one piece of advice to a mom wanting to start her own business what would it be? If you have kids then realizing from the outset that you just can’t do everything is key. Prioritize and focus on one idea at a time so you don’t get overwhelmed. And just start, there will never be an exact right time so just do it!
Sarah teaches sewing classes at Sew Woodstock, for more information on upcoming classes check out www.sewwoodstock.com
So Handmade products can be found at:
Illuminated Baby, 62 Tinker St, Woodstock NY 12498
Karmabee, 73 A Broadway Kingston 12401 NY
Or her website: www.sohandmade.com
