Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Montano.
Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all started with a birthday gift I had received. My parents, grandma, and daughter gifted me a Cricut for my birthday. It took my trying out multiple different things before deciding that I wanted to try out badge reels and keychains. My oldest daughter came over, and I was showing her all the different designs and ideas I had floating around in my head. She became intrigued and started to help me put everything together. My youngest daughter had a little side business that she had started, making jewelry. She’s the one that motivated me to begin my small business. It started with making a couple of keychains here, to making my oldest daughter badge reels for her job as a social worker. We decided to post them online and started getting more and more orders. We’ve branched out from making just badge reels and have started making pens, wristlets, lanyards, car charms, and more! What started out as a way to spend my free time became a way for me to have a side hustle. We love it!
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?
It definitely has NOT been a smooth road. When we first began, I had a lot of help from my oldest daughter because she worked from home twice a week and would come over during her free time. The orders started to come in slowly, and we were able to keep up. Now, my daughter is a social worker and is not able to help me as much as before. We were getting more and more orders, and it started to become overwhelming. I love bringing everyone’s ideas and visions to life but doing it with less help became a struggle. Both of my daughters help as much as they can in their free time, and when it’s all three of us, we get orders out the door pretty quickly. It became a struggle to balance roles as well. I work full-time and have two children who are involved in extra-curricular activities. It became stressful having to learn how to balance my work life with my social life and still have time to sit back and relax.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The name of my business is Dazzling Divas Designs. We make customized badge reels, lanyards, keychains, earrings, pens, wristlets, car charms, bag tags, and more. We are mainly known for our badge reels and lanyards. I am most proud of how fast our business has grown in less than a year. We have done many craft shows and posted photos and videos on our social media to grab the attention of our communities.
Our determination, creativity, and eagerness to learn sets us apart from others. We are constantly trying to keep up with the current trends. We love when our customers come to us with their own ideas that we can put together for them. It’s not always easy, but we’re always up for a challenge.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Be persistent. There will be times that you will fail but do not let that discourage you. Be open to new ideas. The idea you start out with may not be the idea you end with. Set goals for yourself and stay on track.
Interacting with other small businesses will open doors for your business. They become your tribe.
One thing I wish I would have known is how social media is a game-changer. With our social media pages, we are able to interact with our customers and constantly post our products. We gained a lot of attention and support by creating our social media pages.
Pricing:
- Interchangeable Badge reel or lanyard set (includes one topper and one beaded reel or lanyard) – $15
- Topper only (topper with no reel or lanyard) – $10 *this is perfect if you purchase other badge reel sets so that you can interchange them as you’d like*
- Beaded pens and beaded wristlets- $10
- Keychains, bag tags, and car charms – $13
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/dazzlingdivasdesigns.tx?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084541429102&mibextid=LQQJ4d
