Yooooooo, Corner Kids is officially 1 year old!! Man, this year has been a roller coaster – just the regular pressures of starting and running a clothing brand, especially during a pandemic! It’s been crazy, to say the least. We’ve definitely had our share of successes and challenges over the past 12 months.
One of the greatest achievements by Corner Kids during our first year was when Master P showed us mad love! We were featured on Master P’s review show, which happened on the anniversary of my dad’s passing and the closing of our first home – it's still crazy how all that happened on the same day. Corner Kids was also featured in the local newspaper. I was recently interviewed by another publication that is set to drop the interview very soon! However, the highlight of it all is when I get an alert for an order from someone I don't know! That motivates and humbles me so much. Someone whom I have never met has taken the time to identify with the brand and chooses to support Corner Kids Apparel. As a new business owner, it’s always difficult to get the attention of the “organic” customer and for them to trust us enough to make a purchase. Every time this happens, it’s so gratifying. After customers receive their packages, they’re very complimentary of the packaging and presentation from such a small company. We may be small in size for now, but we have big ideas and even bigger plans!
While we are grateful for all of our accomplishments, it's the challenges that really mold us and show us who we are. Covid-19 affected the world, and that included Corner Kids. Specifically, it was very difficult to launch our brand in the middle of a pandemic. I was forced to change my entire business strategy. With the "new normal" of social distancing and face mask protocols, I had to reconsider strategies to keep moving forward.
While being forced to stay home, I really took the time to understand how to best utilize social media effectively. An amazing resource I discovered was Score Mentoring (www.score.org). They helped me out immensely with strategy, planning, and execution of my business goals. SCORE is a free mentor service available to all business owners who need any type of help with their business. I would highly recommend any small businesses looking for direction to take advantage of this free service.
Our next 12 months bring about BIG PLANS! Of course, we have a lot of new and dope designs coming VERY soon. I’m steadily working at getting the Meet the Owner Series going again. In addition, our “I Chose to Fly” campaign will shine the light on our supporters who are taking the necessary steps to leave their comfort zone. There will also be more blogs that will give you more insight into what goes on in my head.
As you may know from watching the “Meet the Owner Series,” this day, June 5th, is not just Corner Kids' 1-year anniversary, but it is also my dad’s birthday. My dad passed in 2017; he would have been 72 years young today. Today is bittersweet. The picture on this blog is the last time I was able to see my dad face to face. It also was the first and last Nebraska Football game I was able to take him to. I miss my dad.
For our 2nd year in business, I expect more challenges but even BIGGER accomplishments. We’re here for it all because, like YOU, we're NOT AFRAID TO FLY...
Last but NOT least! Special shout-out to everyone who’s made a purchase liked a post, left a comment, shared my post, sent words of encouragement, provided feedback, told a friend about us, sent personal DMs, participated in our giveaways, and or handed out our business cards. I appreciate y'all so much.
