Oregon student learns valuable business lessons that high school could never teach.
Eighteen-year-old Miriam Frank, a senior at Summit High School in Bend, Oregon, started her business when friends and family told her she should sell her handmade goods. Once she started, she quickly found success and learned to balance school, her business and planning her future.
Tell me about Mimi’s Doodads. How did you get started and why?
I started last summer just making scarves, hats and headbands because I had made several for friends and family members. They told me I did a good job, and if I were to sell them it would be really neat because they would like to buy them.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced?
I was 17 when I started out, and a lot of people don’t take a 17-year-old seriously when it comes to business-related things. I proved to them that I was completely dedicated and interested in working with them.
How has your business changed since you’ve started?
When I first started out, I just had a shop on Etsy. Then I talked to the manager at a local clothing store, and they started carrying my scarves and headbands over the winter. I gained a lot of popularity through that. I had no plans of that opportunity originally, but the store needed items from a local artist for the winter. So I went in and talked to them, and they gave me a spot.
How do you define success?
It’s not necessarily how much money you make or how many products you produce. It’s about whether or not you enjoy what you’re doing.
How do you stay competitive in a market space like Etsy?
I try to keep prices reasonable rather than expensive to try and make more money. If there’s a cheaper option for the same thing, people are going to go with the cheaper one. But you can’t cut back on quality. You have to keep up quality in the products and still offer them at a reasonable price.
What have you learned from being an entrepreneur?
It’s a lot more difficult than I expected it would be. The product placement and how you display your products is very important.
Tell me about your marketing and styling process.
At first, I didn’t have very good pictures on my Etsy page. They were not great quality because I didn’t really know what I was doing with all this. As things picked up, I took better pictures and got more creative with how I displayed my items. Then I started a Facebook page and an Instagram account to post additional pictures.
One thing I noticed was that when my products were in the store for a while, my stuff started out in the front. Then, toward the end of winter, my stuff was moved to the back of the store in a basket, and my sales went way down.
What do you love most about owning your own business?
I really enjoy working my own hours. As a high school student who is also taking classes at the community college, having a job where I work for someone else can be tricky because there are not a lot of standard hours I can work.
How do you find that balance?
It’s kind of challenging. I have some days where I’m really busy with school stuff, and other days where my schedule isn’t quite as crazy. I try to work on the stuff for Mimi’s Doodads on those days and weekends.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m going to Oregon State University in the fall for interior design. I’m planning on taking my business with me. I’m hoping that living in the dorms will give me more opportunity to advertise to people around me.
