Check Out Dana Schrader’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Schrader.

Hi Dana, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I am excited to share my story. Shortly after I was married in 1998 we moved to a small town, where I didn’t know anyone. I soon became a mom of 3 boys who was doing “all the things”. We signed them up for club sports, school teams, and swimming, and I helped create a moms club. The Mothers of Brentwood.

I was the vice president and headed the cooking club and hosted kids’ crafts at my home every month. I was also a Creative Memories consultant when scrapbooking was popular. With all of our new activities and team logos, I couldn’t keep up buying apparel to support them. I decided to create my own. I purchased supplies and with trial and lots of error I started making tee shirts, wood signs, and wine glasses.

My hobby quickly turned into a small business when my friends started purchasing them. It was exciting to be earning money and contributing to our family. I opened an ETSY shop and started learning the ropes of an online business.

In 2012 my husband passed away. I remember sitting in the living room after the funeral, I was in shock at 39 years old I was going to have to rewrite my story. Everything changed. How was I going to raise three boys ages 13, 9, and 6? They still needed guidance, supervision, and lots of love to deal with the loss of their father.

As everyone left the funeral I had a talk with my best girlfriend -who was that girl, who always said what I need to hear. Honesty, even when it was brutally honest. We all need that girlfriend. She asked how my little business was going. I always downplayed it and laughed because I was still a stay-at-home mom.
She looked me in the eye and said just keep doing your business… but start kicking ass. Run it like a job. So, I did.

I recreated my side hustle, I got my accounting in order, rebranded my logo and look, and focused on activewear for women. My therapy was running. I started running with my sister. We signed up for every 5k, 10K, and several marathons. Our tradition before every run (besides a fun new outfit that I created. We had a donut and a shot of tequila before every race.

I remember a 5 am race at RunDisny and my kids laughed as I took a shot that early in the morning with my sister. I designed shirts and sold them at events and built my Etsy shop with the things I loved. Running, animals, and being a sports mama.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I decided to revamp my business. Turing it from side hustle to a full-time business and bringing in an income that I could depend on. I reached out to SO many small businesses. I’d private message women all over the US that I looked up to. In my opinion, they had lots of sales and created an inviting look on social media. To my surprise, people were rude. I was ignored most of the time and blatantly said no they wouldn’t help me.

I was not looking to copy them; I was looking for guidance and I got nothing. So, I stalked a few of my favorite Instagram pages. I ordered items from other shops to see what it was like to be a customer. What I liked about their procedures, apparel brands, and what I felt in my heart when I opened my new purchase. I wanted to create that flutter most women get when opening a new item from the mailbox.

Building a business on nearly no income was definitely a challenge. After my husband passed, I didn’t have him to fall back on. I taught myself how to create listings in Inscape and photo illustrator. I couldn’t spend a lot of money on fancy packaging. I ordered poly bags from Amazon, business cards from VistaPrint, and organza bags and loved them.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
People ask, what I do all the time and I don’t have a rehearsed answer. Simply Making shirts sounds a little less than what I do. I created a small business. I make custom apparel and sell it online. I bring orders in every single day and that is what makes my children and I do a Happy Dance every time I get an order notification.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
The accounting part has been a struggle for me. I believe keeping business and personal accounts is key. Keep it separate, pull a paycheck but don’t get comfortable on good months. Hide it from yourself because there are always slow months that will happen. It’s all that you put into it.

Pricing:

• $15-$35

Contact Info:

• Email: simplysaidstudio@aol.com
• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SimplySaidStudio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplysaidstudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimplySaidS

Image Credits
Kisses from Sunshine Photography and Bridget Homer