Ian MacDonald: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome back to best in the biz, the pod talking business with college of the North Atlantic student and alumni entrepreneurs. I'm your host, Ian McDonald, and today we're talking with Sarah Crow, owner and operator of Sarah Crow Designs. Originally from St. John's, Sarah stayed in the city, where she then went on to study textile and apparel design at CNA.
After schooling, Sarah founded Sarah Crow Designs, a handmade apparel and jewelry business. Thanks Sarah for taking the time to be with us
Sarah Crowe: today. How are you? I'm great. Thanks for having me. I'm very happy to be here. Yeah,
Ian MacDonald: of course. Thanks for coming out. So we'll jump right into the main content here. So the first question tell us a little bit about your [00:01:00] business and how it came about
Sarah Crowe: Sure.
So my business is called Sarah Crow Designs. Um, I do handmade and bespoke apparel. Um, and I also make handmade textile based jewelry. Um, I operate out of the Kitty Vitty Artisan Studios, which is a small, uh, craft based business incubator in the city. Um, so there's 10 of us down there. We all exist in our little studios and, um, open all year round.
It's a great space to operate your business in. Yeah, sounds
Ian MacDonald: like a great little initiative there with the incubator. It is. When did that get started? Do you
Sarah Crowe: know? Um, they've been on the go for 10 years. This is our 10th year now. Wow. Yeah.
Ian MacDonald: Wow. That's fantastic. Okay. So next question. What kind of role did CNA play with respect to your business?
Sarah Crowe: A huge one. Um, I always say that my, uh, I did the textile and apparel design program and that's kind of the foundation that I built my business on. Um, before that I, you know, did the traditional route and got my [00:02:00] degree through MUN and, um, you know, just kind of felt like I was spinning my wheels in the mud.
So when I went back to school and did the textiles program, I mean, I truly like every, uh, every skill that I use in my business. I started in the textiles program, you know, I learned how to sew and make jewelry and dye fabric, all of that. But then I also got to learn a lot of the business side of, of operating my small business through them as well.
And I still, you know, still use contacts and people that I met through that program all the time in my business. That's
Ian MacDonald: great. It's, uh, it's really nice to hear about, like, the, the networking that happens within classes and stuff, and I think that's, that's something across the board in post secondaries as well.
For sure.
Sarah Crowe: It's so important to surround yourself with those kinds of people and not to lose touch with them after you graduate.
Ian MacDonald: Exactly. And, uh, rolling it back to the, uh, the KittyViddy place. I mean, that's a, that's a great spot to network. It [00:03:00] seems like there's a little community down there, so it seems like a great spot to be operating a business.
Sarah Crowe: It's amazing. And I think, um, you know, that's my workplace. That's where I go every day and work. And there's nine other people who are also running their own small businesses, even though they're completely different businesses from what I do, we all have that in common. So, you know, I have nine little sounding boards and we can all help each other out.
So it's, it's fantastic.
Ian MacDonald: Yeah, exactly. It's nice to bounce ideas off each other. Yeah, it's great. Good stuff. So what made you become an entrepreneur?
Sarah Crowe: Well, like I mentioned earlier, I did go through the traditional route. I studied French at Memorial, thought I was going to be a teacher, thought I was going to be a translator and just didn't end up doing either of those things.
So yeah, I was working in the service industry for a long time. COVID hit, uh, I kind of realized, I think like a lot of people that what I was doing wasn't. fulfilling anymore. Um, and I needed a change and I've [00:04:00] always been a super creative person. I've always Kind of marched to the beat of my own drum. So I kind of always had it in the back of my mind that one day I'd have my own business and I've always worked for small businesses.
So I had that experience of, you know, I kind of knew how they operated. So it was a pretty natural next set for me. Natural, but a little scary.
Ian MacDonald: It's definitely a big undertaking to, to start and operate a small business. But, uh, no, it's great to hear. It's interesting that you said, uh, COVID kind of pushed you into, into business because, uh, one of our other guests that we had on went through the exact same thing, uh, when COVID hits.
They found themselves, you know, wanting to, wanting to do something and, and just kind of launch their business from there. Yeah. So it's really interesting that you said that. Yeah. I think
Sarah Crowe: it gave, it gave a lot of people pause, you know, to just kind of be like, you know, I had a break. I got laid off from my, uh, from my job.
So it was like, what am I going to do now? And it's an [00:05:00] opportunity that you probably wouldn't have gotten organically.
Ian MacDonald: Exactly. Hey, Ian here. When I interview entrepreneurs for Best in the Biz, they often talk about the importance of a support network, especially one that includes other business owners.
But how do you build that network? Well, you can start right here. Our mentorship program pairs new business owners and budding entrepreneurs with experienced business mentors. Why should you consider mentorship? Think of your business mentor as a trusted confidant. A mentor is someone you can bounce ideas off of and it can help you avoid the missteps they made along the way.
A mentor can also give you access to resources as well as a wider professional network. Support is here. Apply to our mentorship program today. Visit www. cna. nl. ca slash entrepreneurship or email me at entrepreneurship at cna. nl. ca. Contact info is in the show [00:06:00] notes. Now back to our episode. Okay, on to the next one.
So what was the most successful small business moment you've had so far? So we kind of like to touch on this one because it's a, it's a good taste in everyone's mouth.
Sarah Crowe: That's a good question. I'm still very new. I only started my business officially in November and it's February now. So just a few months, but I don't know, maybe this is a cheesy answer, but, um, somebody recently asked me to make her wedding dress.
I think that is like. It's such a special thing that, uh, you know, somebody like saw my work and thought, I want her to do that for me. Um, so that was good for my ego for sure. But also, you know, kind of, I think. I don't think I have like a big breakthrough, best small business moments, but it's little moments like that where somebody puts their trust in you or believes in you to do something for them.
Those are kind of, I guess, [00:07:00] essentially why I do what I do.
Ian MacDonald: Yeah. My God. I think that's a huge moment. Yeah. That's massive. That's really cool to hear actually. Yeah. Yeah. So
Sarah Crowe: when did that happen? Uh, just recently actually. Yeah. So I'm working on it now. Wow. That's
Ian MacDonald: really cool. Yeah, I'm cooking it up. Good stuff.
Okay. So what advice would you give an aspiring entrepreneur?
Sarah Crowe: I would say just do it. Like, I think it's very easy. Um, especially if your business is like my business is my art, um, which is a super vulnerable thing. Um, you know, you're putting it out into the world and. You're just letting everybody judge it.
So I think it's very easy for creative people to hold that very close to them and feel like it's a very precious thing. Um, and that is what prevented me for so long from, you know, starting the business. But, um, I think if you can recognize that everybody feels that way and, you know, don't let [00:08:00] the imposter syndrome get the best of you, um.
Yeah, you owe it to yourself to just go for it and, uh, don't hold back. And there's, I don't think, or at least I don't believe there is a, a right time to start your business. Um, you know, when I was starting out, I was like, Oh, you know. I don't have a website. I don't have a ton of funding. Like, you know, I, I always thought I'd have all this money saved up and, you know, it didn't work out that way.
And, uh, and it was fine, you know? So I think if you can kind of surround yourself with people who also get it, reach out to people who have done it before you. My experience was that everybody wanted to help me, which was amazing. Like, I think. Um, I kind of expected people to gate keep, you know, um, their secrets and how they got into their business.
But people were so open and helpful and people want to see you succeed. So yeah, go for it. And, and don't, [00:09:00] you know, don't wait around. Cause there's, if you have energy for it now, then now is the time. There you
Ian MacDonald: go. Wow, that's a really good answer. Um, it sounds like you've got a great support network as
Sarah Crowe: well.
I do, yeah. I'm very lucky. Yeah, that's
Ian MacDonald: really important too. You've got someone to bounce ideas off of and always support you no matter what, so. Yeah.
Sarah Crowe: And I think that a huge part of that is my network from, uh, from the college. Like my instructors wanted, you know, I went after I graduated, I went back and spoke to one of my instructors who was a mentor for me.
And I kind of said like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't have a job. Like I was scared. And she was like, I believe in you. Like, and, and that was enough to be like, okay, great. Like I have her. So, so yeah, like reach out to people, people, you know. People want to help you.
Ian MacDonald: Yeah, exactly. And yeah, and I think when you were talking about, uh, the businesses, like there's no perfect time to start.
I think that's so important and it's a message that seems to come [00:10:00] across almost every time as well is to just kind of jump in and really, really get started. Yeah. And, uh, and take it from there. So that's great. I got to say that was, uh, those are some really informative stuff. Um, so that's, that's pretty much all the questions for today's episode.
Uh, thank you for chatting with us again. Uh, would you like to share any of your social media so the audience can get in touch with you?
Sarah Crowe: Sure. Yeah. I'm, uh, Sarah Crowe Designs. S A R A H C R O W E. Designs. Everywhere. So. Perfect. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook and my website. Go for it. Chat to me.
If you want to open a business, I'll help you.
Ian MacDonald: There you go. There you go. Maybe we'll see that wedding dress up there shortly as well. Awesome. All right. Well, thanks again for coming in. Uh, that's a wrap for this episode, folks. So, uh, thank you again for tuning in to Best in the Biz, CNA's entrepreneurship podcast.
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