TSBC Alum, Caroline Vasquez is the founder of Paloma’s Nest, a family-run business, founded in 2007, that creates timeless, heirloom-quality pieces and new traditions for modern families to celebrate wedding, baby, home and holiday.   The brand has been featured in countless publications including Martha Stewart, the New York Times, Magnolia Journal and more, and their work has been carried by Anthropologie and Nordstrom.   Today, Caroline combines her education as a professional counselor with her experience and passion for small creative business through Handcrafted Consulting, where she provides education on the marketing, growth and management of online business to clients worldwide. She also serves as the marketing consultant for the web design firm, Aeolidia.  All while also running Paloma’s Nest and nurturing her family.   On today’s episode, Caroline talks about the growth of Paloma’s nest,  staying true to your brand story in both your messaging and the products you sell,  why we need to be proactive in press and marketing outreach and why it’s so important to know who your customer is. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: When Caroline & her husband decided to start Paloma’s Nest Her experience when she started selling her products on Etsy How she came up with the name Paloma’s Nest Her product line & how it has grown over the last 11 years The steps she takes to protect her product line from copycats The importance of expanding to different product categories How Caroline and her husband split responsibilities & balance each other out when they are working together The press mentions that Paloma’s Nest has received & Caroline’s proactive approach towards getting her name out there Her mentoring & coaching business The types of services she offers in her coaching business Caroline’s advice for entrepreneurs just starting out in a product based business What’s next for Paloma’s Nest KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “Our kids were definitely raised in the studio. To this day they're right by our sides every day.” - Caroline Vásquez “A dove represents peace, and hope, and all of those wonderful things that we really do think comes through in our collection, and in our product.” - Caroline Vásquez “Our mission, our tagline, the essence of what we do is to create modern heirlooms.” - Caroline Vásquez “I've always sort of had a reverence for that, and for creating things that have so much meaning that families want to hang onto them, and want to pass them on to generations.” - Caroline Vásquez “We really pay attention to the core values of our brand in creating items that are going to be passed on, and we look to see where we can create products that will add to traditions, or create traditions in their own rights.” - Caroline Vásquez “One of the frustrations of being in the creative world is having your ideas stolen, or taken, or recreated, however you want to put that nicely.” - Caroline Vásquez “While people might sort of take your design, or take your idea, they can't take your brand. And they can't take your target customer.” - Caroline Vásquez “The ideas come and go. Trends and styles come and go and as long as you continue to offer the best possible quality product, and you're known for the service, and for the ideas and things that you're known for everything else will follow. - Caroline Vásquez “I think most importantly in working with your spouse is, we share the same work ethic for better or for worse. We're both really driven, we tend to let work consume us quite a bit, but at least we're doing it together.” - Caroline Vásquez “There's something really neat about knowing that the two of us fully created that together from scratch.” - Caroline Vásquez “It's important to develop your own brand aesthetic and to understand that may vary from your own personal preferences.” - Katie Hunt “You can't really do anything new for your business if you're not open to the process of change.” - Caroline Vásquez “The most successful businesses are succe