Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Clare Louise Frost, a fabric and clothing designer based in Brooklyn, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
I design and produce original block-printed kimonos, handmade clothing, and block-printed, handwoven, and hand-embroidered fabrics. My customers are people who love colorful, unique, interesting clothing and have a bit of a flair for making their own style and interior designers.
Tell us about yourself
I am so lucky to do what I love. I can't imagine doing anything else but what I do, but who knows? Life is long if we're lucky. I am a designer and an actor/filmmaker. I started in textiles working for an antique kilim collector/ethnographer/documentary photographer in Istanbul. Then I really got lucky to work for Elizabeth Hewitt of Tulu Textiles. She showed me the way. As an actor, I learned on the job, and like handmade fabrics and clothing, it is a labor of love. No one asks me to do what I do! I am motivated in a sense in both by the hopes or belief that my audience is out there; it's just going to take some doing to find them.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Those months when I can pay my rent off my sales of what I have designed and produced. That feels like a million bucks.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
You will spend longer than you ever hoped or wanted working sustenance jobs. It is what it is. I've seen people get bitter, but you just can't. Everything is in service of doing the thing you love. Eyes forward.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Be yourself.
- Love what you do or don't do it.
- Appreciate everyone who helps you along the way and helps others along the way, too.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.clarelouisefrost.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clarelouisefrost/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarelouisefrost/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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