Branding YOU Better! – Susan Newman Lerer

Brand Interview – Sarah Shaw, Entreprenette

How long has your company been in business? Please tell us a bit about your company, its mission, goals…

I have been coaching through Entreprenette for 3 years. I work with women entrepreneurs to help them develop their product line, teach them to manage their manufacturing, get it to celebrities, into stores, find showrooms, work with sales reps, sell on-line and get PR.

Sarah’s early business expansion:

“I came through this experience with an amazing realization: that Sarah Shaw, me, wasn’t just some name on the door of a building. I realized that I was the BRAND.

And I realized that being the brand was way more important than having one.

I felt inspired to do something new. I was empowered.

Sarah talks about moving forward from 2005:

“Towards the end of 2005, a friend referred me to Ladies who Launch, a national women’s networking group for entrepreneurs. I took their Incubator class, hoping it would redirect me with the Handbag Hanger and get me back to my manufacturing roots.

I was so inspired and encouraged by my launching buddies that I created Simply Sarah in early 2006 and grew the company to be profitable in less than 10 months. Simply Sarah sells the Handy Hold All® (AKA the Handbag Hanger), Cosmetic Bags and Organizing Baskets. It is now sold in over 400 stores nationwide with exclusive distribution deals in Australia and Japan.”

Giving back to female entrepreneurs:

“Had it not been for my years of hard work and mistakes, I would not have been able to create my latest passion, Entreprenette.com.

It is my gift to share with all of you, my fellow female entrepreneurs. It is your opportunity to learn firsthand from all I have been through without having to experience it yourself.”

From a feature article on Sarah Shaw from American Express Open Forum, Powering Small business Success

read the full interview “5 Secrets To Getting Celebrity Love For Your Products“ by Rieva Lesonsky dated: May 26, 2011

“In the 1990s, Sarah Shaw’s line of Sarah Shaw handbags became a hit with celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and Sarah Jessica Parker, and were featured in the pages of People, InStyle, and Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine. The resulting publicity helped Shaw grow her business to a $1 million company, with Sarah Shaw bags sold in over 1,200 boutiques and department stores nationwide…”

Do you donate to charities? Tell us about that also and why.

Not at this time.

How did you know what typeface (font) would be right for your company wordmark or logo? If your logo has an illustration, describe why that art was the right thing, animal, place, object, etc…

I didn’t actually have any idea to be honest.  I have a graphic designer, Nicole Lennol, Nic Norman Studio I work with a lot and she came up with the font with the polka dots which I loved.  It felt whimsical yet professional.

How did you decide on the right color palette to fit your company look and feel?

Again, my Graphic Designer picked the colors and I just helped tweak them a bit.

How did you decide which type of designer to work with, or did you design your own identity and web presence?

I have known and worked with Nicole my graphic designer for years. The web designer was Josh Schuyler from Every Angle Media.

In what order did you present your company to the world? Did you start with marketing and products, or website, blog and social media?

I actually started coaching first through word of mouth and then realized I needed a website and logo!  I created the website and social media platforms first, then marketing and sales and only started my blog about  27 months ago.

How long after the launch of your company did you start pitching in social media?

Right away.

Did you do research or study any software, take webinars, teleclasses, before approaching any area of your marketing or web presence?

I worked with a business coach for 6 months to learn about marketing online for service based businesses and then brought on a partner who specializes is that.

Do you advertise locally in newspapers and/or nationally in magazines? Are they effective?

Nope, I don’t do any advertising.

Do you advertise online using Google, Facebook or on other company sites? Are they effective?

I do some google ad words and find it to be up and down as far as sending traffic.

When you printed your products, packaging, business cards and other print marketing did you choose an online printer or visit a local vendor?

I used both.

Did you know anything about different types of papers, when you wanted to print your marketing materials?

Yes, I am quite familiar with paper but don’t believe in spending a lot on paper for cards, stationery or line sheets.  I have never found it makes a difference is sales.

Have you ever used “green” technology in printing, using FSC certified papers or recycled paper and if not, how likely are you at trying this on a next project?

I have not, but am planning to look into it for next time.

If you sell products, are they produced in the USA or abroad?

My product line is made in China but I do use a lot of local sewing factories with my clients and some of my own smaller lines.

Is there anything you haven’t yet tackled, but will want to do soon?

Find a ghost-blogger that can really write like me!

Sarah on Extra from Obsidian on Vimeo.

To learn more about Sarah Shaw, Entreprenette and Simply Sarah, visit the links below:

Website:  http://www.entreprenette.com

Blog:  http://www.theentreprenettegazette.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/entreprenette

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/entreprenette

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedIn.com/entreprenette

• ← Heavy Loaded Web Content: Stop the web pages that are too long and oh so slow
• How Well Do Your Social Media Clients Know You? And You Them? →