Molly McGinness

What is your product(s)?

I sell athletic equestrian apparel for women. I try to select fabrics that have an element of sustainability in them, such as recycled fibers. The shirts are made in the USA and packaging is EcoEnclose. For me, I’m trying to build the business with as little footprint as possible and make it financially sustainable for myself and my life/family/work balance.

Where were you with your idea or business before joining Factory45?

I wasn’t jumping in, I had the idea, had done a ton of research and had begun to source materials and the manufacturing process. I was nervous about going all in and making things official. I knew if I joined a program like Factory45 I would work the program as best I could to get results. If I pay for something, it makes me work harder to make the value worth it. So it gave me motivation to be part of the group, but also it was the right group to get value out of and the program flowed with information.

How did joining Factory45 help you?

The program has tons of information and resources. I was able to improve my process and get clarification on how I should go about taking steps in my business, specifically the manufacturing process and selling process. There was a point when I had to decide which manufacturer to work with for pattern making and sampling and Shannon was a good sounding board for which was a better situation. Honestly, you can throw money at the process and get what you want, but I needed to stay within my anticipated budget and make smart moves. Having a group to ask questions and get ideas from on the business process is invaluable.

In your opinion, what is the most valuable thing about Factory45?

I would say the community and the lessons. The process of going through the lessons and taking what you need from the resources is there for you at your own pace and you can always go back and review topics that are more important. The video interviews of other business owners were also helpful. It’s always great to hear first hand experience and helps you avoid mistakes learned by other people.

What were some big or small milestones that you hit after going through Factory45?

After Factory45 I was able to get my first collection manufactured, photographed, selling online direct-to-consumer and a handful of wholesale sales. The biggest deep exhale I had was when my first production was finally finished and I had all my stock in hand (with only two flawed pieces that were already tagged by the manufacturer.) I felt it was huge to finally send out an email “Fully Stocked!” I had done pre-sales, and that first sale was exciting. Watching the number of visitors to your website is exciting and deflating (good days and bad!) so I try not to make it habitual. Just about every week has a mini milestone…. giveaways, BFCM, learning about email funnels and sales conversions, seeing which mass email works or fails, etc.

Please describe your business after Factory45.

I’m trying to work on my next collection and every day I work on sales and content. My focus now is to get the sales and social media content on a little more of an automatic system so I can focus more on the design and manufacturing of the next collection. I approach this slower (I think) than other business owners b/c I have another business (20 yr old interior design business) that I need to keep going and I prioritize my family over the businesses, so it’s all a balance. I’m working this as a long term business, not an immediate high growth situation. I don’t see it as a win or fail within 1-3 years, but more as a series of wins and learning episodes to build upon and every year the business will get stronger.