How Kpelle Designs built a successful online business with Instagram

by: Charlene Dunbar

We’ve been following Gwanyan, the boss lady and designer behind Kpelle Designs for a few years now and we were thrilled when we had a chance to talk with her about how she organically grew her culturally inspired hand-crafted jewelry business by being savvy with social media. Here are our top three takeaways from our conversation:

#1 – Go to where your audience is – When she started her brand, Gwanyan took high-quality pictures of herself wearing her loc jewelry and posted them on her feed and also tagged popular loc hair community IG pages. Her pictures usually got reshared on the community page for free and those high-potential customers would follow her. She also invested in advertising with similar pages (where her target audience was already hanging out) and gained lots of customers from that exposure.

#2 – Invest in high quality images – Gwanyan worked with other creative friends who took fantastic photos or had styling skills to make sure her products images and brand put their best foot forward (and was more shareable). It’s easy to skimp on this step, but presenting high-quality, lifestyle images of your brand helps you standout from the pack, engages your audience and communicates the value of your brand.

#3 – Share your journey – The fact that Gwanyan actually cut/forms her own jewelry (she’s a proper craftswoman with milling equipment!), is a plant mom and occasionally goes into rant mode are things that have endeared her to her customers and makes then want to shop with her vs. some faceless jewelry company on the internet. Gwanyan consistently used her IG stories to share her handmade entrepreneur journey in a way that built trust and made her customers feel invested in her story and ultimately, her success.

Our talk with Gwanyan of Kpelle Designs was full of gems! Check out the full IG Live interview here and follow her now. Need a second set of eyes to look at your handmade business Instagram page? Want to find out how you can use IG to get more sales for your online business? Sign-up for our customized Instagram audit service, Up My Gram Game.

Image Credits: Kpelle Designs

Three Mistakes I’ve Made As an Entrepreneur

“When you know better, you do better. That said, it really is a shame to know better but don’t do better.”

― Germany Kent

We’ve all made some mistakes as because we are humans. The key though is to learn from our mistakes and chart a better path when we get the opportunity again.

Here are 3 common mistakes I’ve made as an entrepreneur:

1.Assuming that I had to fight for every customer’s business. I realized early on that not I would not be able to please everyone as a customer. Don’t get me wrong, I say go above and beyond for customers, but some customers will be unsatisfied regardless of if you go the extra mile or not. I learned that sometimes a sale may not be worth the peace of mind and mental drain. When we encounter those people, it is okay to preserve our peace and let them go.

2. Not investing in my business. I think when we start out, we want to save as much money as possible. But in order to grow, we may need to invest in a masterclass, new tools, or some other opportunities that may cost us. As long as we know that the investment will benefit our business, we should be open to sowing seeds into it.

3.Taking various aspects of business personal. When it comes to customers or to rejections, we tend to internalize and see it as a rejection of us as individuals. I’m learning to remind myself that while my work is an extension of my passion, and essentially a part of me, customers see a product. They typically make decisions about the product and not necessarily the person selling the products. A no is a no to my product because maybe it’s not exactly what they need at this time, its not what they choose to spend on at this time, or a variety of other reasons. My talents are still valid and worthy even if a customer chooses not to purchase from me.

What mistakes have you made in your journey?

By Jandi H.

How To Invite Your Tribe to Support You

Many of us are afraid or embarrassed to ask our friends, family and loved ones to support us. But truth be told, our loved ones are often times our biggest supporters and even if they cannot personally attend, they will do what they can to support us. This might include invite their own circle, making a purchase, etc.

As an entrepreneur, one of my biggest fears I’ve had to move past is not being afraid to invite those who love me. People can’t support us when they don’t know what we are doing. And they can’t even support us with one last minute text that we send the week of the event.

Here are three things you can do to reach out to your friends, family, coworkers and loved ones during your upcoming entrepreneurial endeavors:

Be sure to support those that you love and would be glad to support you. No, we can’t be everywhere, but we can’t expect people to do what we are not willing to do. So, go out and support your circle. They will remember how you went out of your way for them and likely return the favor.
Send personalized invitations to your circle. I know what you are thinking – who has time to do that? It can be as simple as a phone call or a text that specifically addresses the individual. While group communications (text, emails, etc) are easier to do, they are impersonal. Your invitation will get more traction when it is personalized.
Respect the calendar. I love to plan and sometimes I have dates on my calendar months in advance. In order to give your tribe a chance to support you, we need to respect that they too have calendars. So this means we need to step up our game and give ample advance notice and follow up with a reminder or two.

Remember, the worst that can happen when you ask for support is that you get a “No”. The best that can happen is that your tribe shows up and showers you with love. Who doesn’t want that?

Do you have any unique tips for soliciting support from your friends and family?