Blue Owl Designs- Taylor and Sydney

You don’t need to be a mother to be a part of our mother’s day feature week. These two ladies have got me addicted to there instafeed and I LOVE wearing my Pray Each Day sweater from Blue Owl Designs. Please read, share, and go check out Instagram to win a t-shirt and earrings from Taylor and Sydney!

Name: Blue Owl Designs (Taylor & Sydney)
Small Business Product:
Where can we find you?
Instagram: @blueowldesigns
Facebook: @blueowldesignsx
Website: http://www.blueowldesigns.net
Others: n/a

Tell us a little bit about your family and how long you have had your business up and running?
We started this little business of ours five years ago, when Taylor was just starting nursing school, and Sydney was graduating and working towards getting into the nursing program. We thought it was a great way to have a creative outlet while working through such a tough program. It was always fun during school to sit down together, and get away from all the hustle and bustle of school. Taylor is now graduated, and Sydney has just completed her second year of nursing. Although Taylor is working as a registered nurse, and Sydney is still trucking on through the final two years of her nursing program, we continue to create these unique pieces.
What was the inspiration behind starting your own business?
Although we love providing care in our community through nursing, we wanted to be able to create things that touched lives in a different creative way.

What is your favorite part about running your own at home business?
With Taylor now being married and out of the house, it is a great reason to get together and come up with cool pieces that we both love. We also love communicating with our customers and stockists, as they have been very supportive of our small business. We love working for ourselves, and not to mention always having some new jewelry and clothing.

Which house hold chores do you detest?
We collectively both detest doing dishes and laundry! With nursing school and being a registered nurse, it’s sometimes hard to come home after a long day and say “Hey! Let’s do some dishes after this 12-hour night shift!”. With that being said, we somehow seem to get them done.

What was the greatest advice you have received since starting your own business that has helped you?
What has been your greatest hurdle when it comes to running your own business and raising your family?
The biggest hurdle would be lack of time and scheduling. Between our different schooling and work schedules, the business sometimes gets a little hectic with packaging, social media and designing new product. Taylor fortunately recently married her high school sweetheart who is really supportive with her crazy schedule. Sydney is in a long-term and long-distant relationship with her high-school sweetheart too, who is very supportive with our small business as well.

How do you balance your other relationships in your life (such as friends, parents, partner?)
What we try to do is get our orders wrapped and shipped all in one day. We also try to stay on top of stock, making several earrings at once allowing us to be set for our future orders. Staying organized and planning ahead for busy order times allows us to have spare time to spend with our family and friends on the weekend. We leave most of our evenings and weekends for family or friend time to try to maintain a healthy balance.

What did you want to be when you were younger?
Sydney: When I was younger I dreamed of designing wedding and other formal dresses.
Taylor: Ever since I was young, I dreamed of being a nurse.
We both have also always wanted to have a few children, and still can’t wait to start families of our own.
What careers have you had I the past that led to where you are today?

What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Our greatest advice on starting a business would be to try to build yourselves on social media outlets, such as facebook and Instagram. That’s how we really started to brand ourselves, as well as got our customers attention. Be unique, be bold, and don’t give up. Small businesses are like a little family. They’re always there for your support, so don’t hesitate to reach out for some advice. Also, put yourself out there, don’t hold back when an opportunity is presented.

What is the greatest gift you have ever received?
We each were given cars on our 16th birthday! It was amazing and super thoughtful of our grandparents and parents.

 

Thank you for participating in our Mother’s day Feature ladies! go to our Instagram to find out how to win these items below!

 

WINNER IS——— KIMNORCROSS– congrats!