It is another Monday in quarantine, which means it is another Monday #PrepTalk. Last week, I launched a new content series called #PrepTalk to highlight some of my favorite entrepreneurs and creatives as a way to inspire those who may be career planning or launching a new side hustle with the extra time they have on their hands.

Today, I want to introduce you to Morgan Julia who is the entrepreneur behind Morgan Julia Designs, a shop that offers hand-painted needlepoint canvases for people to stitch themselves. With needlepoint currently trending across the internet, I was so excited to hear what inspired her to launch her company last year. Learn more about Morgan below!

Interview Questions:

1| Tell us a little bit about your business. What is it? When did you start it? And what inspired you? 

Hi everyone! I am a needlepoint canvas artist and my business is named Morgan Julia Designs http://www.morganjuliadesigns.com

 I design hand-painted needlepoint canvases that my customers can stitch themselves. If you’re not familiar with needlepoint, I always refer to it as “paint-by-numbers but with thread”. When people finish stitching a project, they work with people called ‘finishers’ who turn their stitched pieces into anything from pillows to clutches to acrylic trays.

I started my business in May of 2019. Growing up, I knew I always wanted to be in the creative & design field. I was always painting and making canvases for myself.

I had started needlepointing a few years prior and in early 2019 I started playing around with painting my artwork on a needlepoint canvas. I posted a few pictures of my canvases on Instagram for fun and needlepointers immediately asked me where they were from and if they could buy them. I have never looked back since!

2| How has the COVID-19 crisis impacted your business? 

I actually think there has been a resurgence of needlepoint and growth in the market because of COVID-19. Since more people have more free time on their hands and they’re stuck at home, we’ve seen a lot of new stitchers join our community which is good to see. One of the reasons I started needlepointing was to combat my anxiety and spend less time on my phone. Since this is a stressful time for so many, I think people are turning to new outlets that they can do from home. I know many other businesses have been negatively affected, so I’m definitely grateful that my business hasn’t been hit too hard. We’re trying to give back as much as possible.

One of the main issues we’ve seen has been issues on the supply chain. Some of our vendors have international factories so we have seen shortages in supplies and longer wait times. I already have long wait times between my canvas restocks because all of my canvases are hand-painted. It can take up to 10 hours to paint 1 canvas. Sometimes it will take me up to 12 weeks to restock a canvas because of the time that goes into 1 canvas. With there being delays with my vendors, and already long restock times, we’ve had to get creative on how to offer products during these long waits.

Some of the new challenges we’ve had to face are scaling and shipping. I was planning on bringing on my first employee later this year, but this growth has forced me to bring someone on now. I’ve never managed someone before so that in itself was a change for me, but now I had the added pressure of figuring out how to train someone who is working remotely to protect ourselves. I’m so thankful for our new employee Brooklynn who has been so flexible and great during this time!

The other issue we’ve had to face is shipping. There was a point a few weeks back where I was worried post offices would close. We had to learn how to ship and package faster to try to get all orders out in case of closure. We’ve thought about how to ship our products to keep our customers safe. We’re trying to look at this as a learning opportunity so we can come out stronger on the other end. I feel like I’ve learned more over the past month than I’ve learned in a whole year!

3| What has your daily routine looked like these days? 

Because my company is still less than 1-year-old, I’ve always worked from home. My daily routine hasn’t changed much except there are longer hours. Here’s a quick schedule:

7am: Wake up

7-8am: Chores & getting ready for the day

8am-9am: Emails

9am-12: Shipping, painting canvases, social media marketing

12-12:45: Lunch & chores

12:45-5: Ship, paint, run to the post office

5-6pm: Emails & chores

6-8pm: Miscellaneous work that I didn’t get to. This is time I typically use to stitch my samples.

4 |How are you staying motivated on working on and growing your business during this unpredictable time? 

I truly think the one thing that is getting me through is my customers. I’ve heard from so many new & returning stitchers that my canvases are bringing them comfort and joy during this uncertain time. Every time I get an email or a DM saying that, I can’t help but smile. I have always found art & being creative therapeutic, so it’s amazing to hear that something I create is helping others. My workdays have been long lately, but it’s truly worth it.

5| Do you have any WFH hacks on how to stay productive? 

My biggest tip is to learn how to time block. This has always helped keep me on track. Time blocking is essentially carving out specific time in your day to accomplish specific tasks. I try to use it to schedule my day. For example, I’ll give myself 1 hour to answer emails in the morning and evening. Then, I’ll ship and only focus on shipping for 2-3 hours (without checking emails). I think this helps me to be more efficient too because I can fully focus on the task at hand instead of trying to juggle many little things at once.

6| How is your work/life balance in a world where your bed may also be your desk? 

I live in an apartment so this has been something hard that I’ve had to learn! My best advice is to dedicate a specific space to get your work done and try to separate it from your bedroom. This could be a kitchen table, a coffee table, a small desk, or a home office. I created a home office out of an extra bedroom in our apartment and I try to only go in there during work hours. The physical separation of space helps me feel like I’m ‘going to work’ even if it’s just a few steps away from my bed. What I currently am trying to work on is to have a better work-life balance. This has been a struggle for me. I’m starting to physically log out of my business Instagram, business email, and website around 7-8pm every night. I also put my phone on ‘do not disturb’ around 9pm. These small tips help me feel like I’m ending my workday so that I don’t get burnt out.

7| How are you staying connected to your work family? If you are a one-man-show, how are you staying connected to those you care about at this time? 

Since I recently hired on my first employee, we have been having a lot of virtual training meetings and phone calls! We typically facetime at least once a day and stay connected via text. Towards the end of each day, we touch base and try to talk about something fun that isn’t work. I know some managers will say to keep it all about business, but I feel like in this time that we’re currently in it’s important to have personal connections. I’m trying to build that while still staying professional.

In regard to staying connected with my family, we have a standing zoom call with my extended family every weekend. It’s something that I look forward to every week. I also try to send funny memes, tik toks, or photos to my immediate family members every day. I’m truly grateful for technology for keeping us all together!

8| Has the quarantine life inspired you in any new ways?  

I’ve always found art to be the best outlet, so whenever I feel stressed, anxious, sad, or uncertain I try to pick up my paintbrush and create. I saw a tweet that said “Just a reminder that when Shakespeare was quarantined because of the plague, he wrote King Lear”. I can’t wait to see what kind of art and creativity comes out of this quarantine. I think what inspires me most is the connection that has been built from all of this. There is a large needlepoint community on Instagram and I feel like it’s really flourished and been a great way for people to connect. People continue to share how their canvases from all artists bring them so much joy and peace. It’s been wonderful to see that other people find joy in art, and wonderful to see that new stitchers are picking up a creative hobby as an outlet. All of this has pushed me and inspired me to make more canvases, build a stronger connection with community, and kept me going.

9| How is your business or you personally giving back in this time of crisis? 

I’m proud to say that we have been able to donate over $1,000. I know it may not seem like a big amount, but I’m proud of accomplishing that as a small business. We made donations to the WHO COVID Response Fund and Bstrong, Bethenny Frankel’s charity. We also worked with some of our manufacturers to purchase N-95 Masks and some other PPE to donate to our local hospitals.

We’re also trying to host more giveaways on our account to try to keep morale up and give our customers something to look forward to!

10| We’re about to see an influx of new ecopreneurs join our community, what is your advice to them? 

Here is some of the best advice that I have ever received:

  • If you’re looking to start a business, pick one thing you love and stick with it.
  • Don’t grow your business too quickly. It can be exciting to add SKUs and new products, but each should be calculated additions that fit into your overall brand.
  • Be patient yet dedicated. It may take a while to grow, but don’t give up.
  • Learn how to run every single part of your business before you hire others.
  • Find a good accountant before you start your business to make sure you form your company, obtain state certificates (if you need them), and learn the proper way to bookkeep.

Running a business is hard work, but it is incredibly rewarding. If you’ve always wanted to start your own business, now is the perfect time!