Solopreneur Stories: House of Moruka (+Giveaway) #nablopomo ⋆ Ok, Dani

I’m excited to start a new feature to go along with the Inspiring Entrepremom feature series. For you readers who aren’t moms but are in biz, this is for you. Solopreneur Stories. We’ll feature a sassy solopreneur each month who will share how they do it and how you can too! (Email dani@okdani.com to be featured)

Our first Solopreneur Story is by Julian of House of Moruka!

Tell us about your business
HouseofMoruka.com is a handbag and jewelry company based in New York. I started out 5 years ago when I was going through some trials and needed a distraction so I bought my first sewing machine off of Craigslist and decided to learn to sew, which is something I always wanted to learn. My grandmother taught me how to sew by hand as a child so naturally the next step was to learn on the machine. After some time I stumbled into making my hobby of making bags for myself, a business. Now I enjoy being in service to women who love fashion and want to look their best.

What are the best and worst parts of solopreneurship?
The best part is that I get to work on my own, make my own hours, and pursue my dream wanting my own business since I was a child. The worst part is being by myself and not having people close to me who understand what I do as a business person. That’s where the internet come and local business events come in. There are lots of websites, forums, and facebook groups where you can gain support like Meetup.com, eventbrite.com, and facebook business support groups.

What’s the best biz advice you’ve received?
The best business advice that I ever received is to constantly market my bags. The term ‘if you build it they will come’ doesn’t work here. If I don’t market how will people know about me right?

How do you balance biz and life?
I haven’t found the perfect balance as yet. As much as I’d like to give myself a cut off time from biz stuff I don’t because I always feel like time off = time wasted. I know it isnt and that sleep is important but when you’re responsible for the operations of a business all by yourself there’s always something to do. I do take time off though, I’m just going to check email in between my DVR shows. In a perfect world I wouldn’t sleep.

What’s next for you and where can we find you?
I want to put a little more focus on my jewelry collection. I’ve started off with earrings and have many more designs to share.

What’s your top biz goal for 2016?
My top biz goal for 2016 is to improve the physical branding of my bags and expand my jewelry line.