An Imperfect Napkin
Rochelle is one half of Cry if I Want To, a boutique design house. While today she considers herself a creative professional, that wasn’t always the case. For years, Rochelle worked in the education world, where she quite successfully climbed the corporate ladder.
A reflection exercise during a professional development workshop, provided Rochelle with a moment of sudden revelation. Rochelle was in the wrong job. It just didn’t feed her soul.
This moment of inspiration continues into the evening, when Rochelle meets her sister for drinks. As many of us have done while out with a loved one, the two recount the challenges of their day and cathartically lament some of the unfulfilling aspects of their 9-to-5s. But, the conversation continues beyond simple venting and they two women start to brainstorm the things they were passionate about and would want more of in their life.
A napkin becomes the repository of the initial concept for their business.
While they had a napkin, they didn’t have a crystal ball. And it turns out that original business concept was going to need to evolve over time if Rochelle was ever going to live the creative life she longed for.
The first iteration of the business centred on party décor and rentals. They loved the event design aspects but weren’t super fond of the fact they were spending a ton of time washing all the rental plates. Time to adapt. They jettison the rental business and focus on the parts of the business they love.
They go back to that napkin, which laid out their original intentions, and redirect from there. And that leads them to opening their first retail location.
After a while, Cry if I Want To expands from party supplies and décor to interior and event design products and services. Basically, if you can beautify it, Cry If I Want To is in. However demand for all their product offerings aren’t equal and the most in-demand item turns out to be invitations. So the business pivots again.
This part of the business grows and clients begin to ask for more variety and customization. The vendor Rochelle is working with is apprehensive to do that, so she volunteers to make the design changes herself. They agree, since it means they don’t have to do the work and this becomes a training exercise in graphic design for Rochelle and her sister.
They hone their design and technical skills, becoming fairly adept graphic designers. The invitation business continues to grow, eventually becoming up to fifty percent of the sales. And that’s the next pivot point.
The retail items aren’t profitable, but the design end of the business if growing. So, Cry if I Want To makes another evolutionary step, from retail store to design house. That’s where the business is today.
That napkin was imperfect. It didn’t hold THE IDEA; the perfect business concept. But it was close enough to start. To move beyond the moment of inspiration and do something. To initiate change. That’s a pretty amazing napkin.
The lesson in this? Just start. Then adapt and evolve.