Life & Work with Danielle Wilks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Wilks.

Hi Danielle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My professional background is Human Resources, but I’ve always been “crafty”. In 2019, I received a Cricut die cutting machine as an anniversary gift. I started making cute gifts for my friends and family. Those family and friends would share my information with their family and friends and from there, things just took off. I was balancing a full-time professional career and working my craft business in the evenings and on the weekends.

In October 2020, I resigned from my full-time position as an HR Manager to pursue my business full time. I now operate my business out of the 3rd-floor space in my home. I also have a small team that helps me fulfill orders, maintain my social media presence and keep things organized.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some of biggest challenges for me has been time management, choosing what to sell, marketing strategy, delegating tasks.

Since I wear all the hats, it has been challenging tackling all the necessary tasks on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. I also find myself working 12+ hour days and still feeling like there’s so much left to be done.

When I first started, I was all over the place. I found myself trying to sell any and everything I saw on the internet. It got to be a bit overwhelming.

With marketing, I didn’t really have a strategy. I just knew I wanted as many people to buy my products as quickly as possibly. I started out marketing to friends and family on Facebook and realized they were not necessarily my target market. I have successfully found my target audience who happens to be on TikTok which is where I get over 80% of my sales from.

While I’ve gotten better at delegating tasks, I still struggle with letting things go and trusting others on my team to handle some responsibilities.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I customize and personalize all types of products and merchandise including apparel, drinkware, home decor using screenprinting and vinyl transfers. I also offer monogramming and embroidery services. I make and customize face masks. I am most proud of my recent endeavor to introduce the art of rhinestones in my business. In addition to offering blinged out rhinestone merchanside, I also offer rhinestone starter kits and teach individuals (mostly other small business owners) how to create rhinestone designs so they can offer it in their business. Since introducing rhinestones, I have sold over 100 Rhinestone Starter Kits.

The one thing that sets me apart from others is that I’ve taken my professional background (in HR) and transferred those skills over to teaching others how to grow and expand their own businesses.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I am often reminded of my favorite poet Maya Angelou when I think about success. She said, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it”. Those words describe how I feel about my success right now.

Pricing:

• Rhinestone Starter Kits start at $40
• Custom Embroiderable Plush Elephants $40
• Custom Tumblers/Cups start at $25
• One on One Workshops/Tutorials start at $40
• T-Shirts start at $10

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://www.DistinctiveDesignsByDani.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/distinctivedesignsbydani/
• Other: TikTok –> @ddbydani