Melissa Clayton is the founder and CEO of motherhood jewellery model Tiny Tags. She is a former CPA who’s enthusiastic about entrepreneurship and motherhood and is dedicated to sharing the teachings she has realized alongside the way in which with different ladies.
As of 2022, Melissa has grown Tiny Tags to a multi-million greenback enterprise with out taking up any outdoors funding and manufacturing within the USA. A serial entrepreneur, Melissa can also be the inventor of The Matte, as seen on ABC’s Shark Tank and Right now Present’s “The Subsequent Large Factor,” the foldable mat that lays over a sink, creating extra counter house to make use of whereas preparing.
We requested Melissa about scaling Tiny Tags from a facet hustle and her recommendation for fellow feminine founders.
Q&A with Tiny Tags Founder Melissa Clayton
Q: Earlier than Tiny Tags, you have been a CPA within the company world. What motivated you to make the soar into beginning a enterprise?
A: I feel I used to be born with the entrepreneurial bug so after I noticed my mates’ reactions to the primary “mommy’ necklace I made–I knew there was one thing particular there. After I began Tiny Tags all the orders have been by way of emails and telephone calls so I used to be capable of join and chat with different mothers and I cherished that.
Q: I’m certain your accounting expertise have come in useful whereas rising Tiny Tags. What are the standard monetary missteps startups take?
A: Completely accounting has helped me within the early years and nonetheless does. I feel one of many largest errors startups make is just not pricing merchandise accurately which normally means not charging sufficient. After I initially priced my product, I calculated the price of items in my pricing mannequin but in addition included my time in addition to all the opposite prices of operating a enterprise from IT to the price of tax preparation.
Q: You’re enthusiastic about being open about numbers. That may be scary for bootstrapped startups. Why is it essential?
A: I’m enthusiastic about being open about numbers when somebody is able of giving recommendation or being held out as an professional in a subject. It’s essential to know either side of the stability sheet to get an actual image of the well being of a enterprise. I’ve sat in loads of occasions the place an professional provides recommendation and shares their year-over-year development however leaves out how they’re funded or how a lot debt they’ve taken on.
I really feel that if you’re going to give recommendation you ought to be prepared to be clear together with your numbers.
After I was requested to talk on the Feminine Founder Collective occasion about find out how to get to one million {dollars} in income I shared my numbers with the viewers as a result of I needed to provide the total image. I feel others are reluctant to share numbers as a result of they wish to seem larger than they really are and I perceive that. I felt very susceptible sharing my numbers however in the end felt it was value it.
Q: Was there a second if you realized Tiny Tags was greater than only a facet hustle?
A: The second my husband stop his job to affix Tiny Tags was positively when this enterprise went from a facet hustle to the actual deal!
Q: Your neighborhood and tradition at Tiny Tags are simply as essential because the merchandise. How have you ever remained true to your values as a enterprise?
A: Our neighborhood makes it very easy to remain true to who we’re as a result of they encourage us day-after-day. Considered one of our group members stated final week ‘I’m a greater particular person from working at Tiny Tags’ and I feel that actually captures how particular our tradition and our neighborhood are.
Day by day we obtain both an e mail or DM, see a publish or learn a present observe that makes you pause to both mirror on how valuable life is or how a lot all of us want one another. I truly obtained a textual content message from a buyer at present (sure many have my cell quantity) who ordered a Tiny Tags with the date of her good friend’s final chemo remedy and he or she needed to verify it arrived on the precise date. I pinch myself that folks come to us to commemorate such unbelievable moments.
Q: Okay. We have to hear the Meryl Streep story.
A: I really like this story as a result of it’s about hustling and never taking no for a solution. Meryl Streep was the keynote speaker on the MA Convention for Girls and I used to be attending in addition to had a desk on the occasion. I discovered the particular person answerable for the audio system and informed her I had the right speaker present for Meryl Streep—I imply in any case what do you give Meryl Streep? I made a shocking 14k gold circle pendant engraved along with her 4 youngsters’s names and simply knew if she noticed it that she would like it.
The day of the occasion I hunted down the best particular person and handed her the Tiny Tags field and made her promise handy ship it to Meryl Streep. I defined that I used to be a small enterprise proprietor and that this meant all the pieces to me- my hope was that she would really feel the magnitude of what this might imply for us.
Two days later a buyer tagged me on Instagram the place Meryl was carrying her Tiny Tags.
She then proceeded to put on it for 2 main photograph shoots. It was unbelievable and only a pivotal second for the enterprise.
Q: How do you know The Matte could be a perfect product to deliver on Shark Tank?
A: I assumed Lori Greiner, the shark who works with QVC would love The Matte as a result of it solves a common drawback hundreds of thousands of ladies have day-after-day–restricted counter house.
Q: What’s the worst piece of enterprise recommendation you’ve obtained?
A: The worst recommendation I obtained was that I ought to make child jewellery. Within the early years and even nonetheless at present, individuals will make recommendations on merchandise or markets we should always go after, nevertheless, I at all times believed that to construct a model we wanted to have a really particular viewers in thoughts. Considered one of my favourite books is Model Warfare by David D’Alessandro and Michele Owens the place they introduce the concept when you attempt to be all the pieces to all people you might be no one. This actually resonated with me which is why we’re 100% centered on mothers. Not solely do I feel it’s good for constructing a model, it’s what’s in my coronary heart.
Q: What’s the perfect enterprise recommendation you’ve obtained?
A: Know your why. As Simon Sinek talks about in his e-book Begin with Why–realizing your why is extraordinarily highly effective particularly if you’ll be able to share it together with your clients. Clients wish to really feel related to a model and sharing your why is likely one of the greatest methods to do that. I’ve shared that Tiny Tags has been a means for me to specific my very own emotions about my mom and join with different ladies.
I grew up with my father and my mom usually struggled to point out up, not as a result of she didn’t love me, however as a result of she didn’t absolutely love herself and lacked a neighborhood. A lot of what has propelled me in Tiny Tags is sharing tales of motherhood so that each mom feels supported, cherished and never alone. I’m so grateful for all of the moms prepared to share their story with the hopes of serving to and galvanizing others. That is my “why” and whereas it’s laborious to share typically I do know it’s why we’ve got the neighborhood we’ve got at Tiny Tags.
Q: We obsessively focus on work/life stability within the entrepreneurship neighborhood. Do you assume discovering a stability is feasible?
A: I do assume stability is feasible if you’ll be able to concentrate on the journey and never take a look at beginning a enterprise as a method to an finish.
Q: As a feminine founder, what recommendation would you give to different ladies seeking to begin a enterprise?
A: Discover a mentor who you belief and provides you with sincere suggestions.
