16: How Shawna Dalton Built a Multi-Million Dollar Children’s Apparel Line on Her Own From Scratch… and How You Can Too!

In this episode, Amy is so excited to bring on her client, Shawna Dalton! Together, they have been developing Shawna’s brand story for the new brand that she is launching.

Previous to this new endeavor, Shawna has built a multi-million dollar children’s apparel line on her own — from scratch! This brand, Twirls and Twigs, has been in retailers like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Barneys, Fred Segal, Zulily — all of the dream retailers that you’d ever want to be in if you were building an apparel line! And now, she is launching a coaching and consulting business to help entrepreneurs like you launch their own apparel line.

Amy just knew she had to get Shawna to come on to the podcast and share some of her wisdom with all of you! She is so talented and so full of insight about this industry and has a ton of great anecdotes and fantastic stories to share with you all.

If you are someone who has ever dreamed about — or is currently building — a product or apparel line and you’re interested in learning how to sell through those products, this interview is for you!

Key Takeaways

[:50] About today’s awesome guest, Shawna.

[2:23] Amy welcomes Shawna to the podcast!

[2:37] More about Shawna Dalton.

[3:42] How Shawna originally got into apparel and design.

[4:45] About the children’s apparel company that Shawna built.

[5:34] When and how did Shawna realize she wanted to leave her stable, well-paying job to pursue entrepreneurship?

[9:05] What were the very first steps Shawna took after realizing she wanted to build a brand from scratch? And what were some of the early challenges and lessons she learned?

[15:09] Important/not-to-skip steps when making apparel.

[15:49] After prototyping, what were Shawn’s next steps in making her brand a reality?

[18:03] An important mistake not to make before investing too much!

[20:20] Shawna shares what flipped the switch in the number of sales she was making!

[26:32] Shawna’s tips for entrepreneurs that are afraid of selling.

[27:45] How storytelling catapulted her brand.

[29:08] Shawna shares one of the unforeseen challenges that popped up for her business.

[30:18] Shawna shares a fear in building her business and how she overcame it.

[33:03] How did Shawna structure her day (going from a corporate structure to running her own business)?

[35:05] What did Shawna like best about running a business besides designing?

[36:45] Shawna speaks about one of the biggest adjustments she had to learn.

[37:53] Shawna shares a moment where she had to stand up for herself.

[41:27] How Shawna describes the role of intuition and inner guidance in her life and in her business.

[42:33] Shawna’s process for tuning into her intuition.

[46:54] Shawna’s tips for entrepreneurs building and setting up a really strong brand for a product or apparel-based business.

[49:09] Shawna shares a special offer for 20 Seconds of Insane Courage listeners!

[50:33] Where to learn more about Shawna online!

Key Highlights:

• How Shawna walked away from a secure job to jumping with both feet into a brand she was building from scratch!
• Powerful lessons she learned from the challenges she faced
• Shawna’s tips for entrepreneurs looking to build their own product or apparel-based business
• What completely flipped the switch in the number of sales she was making!
• The power of having a brand story and what that did for her business

Mentioned in this Episode:

Shawna Dalton

Twirls and Twigs

Email: Shawna@ShawnaDalton.com — Send Shawna an email to learn more about her steps for launching a clothing brand and her top five tools for getting into the stores you want to be in!

Connect with my Guest!

Website: ShawnaDalton.com

Hey listeners! Do you want to get your story out into the world in a really big way?

Visit AmySelbach.com/BrandStory to access my free, one-hour brand story planner! In under an hour, you can have a beautifully crafted brand story to use everywhere! Your brand story should be on your website, your packaging, and at the beginning of any presentation you give. A brand story is crucial for pitches to the media, brand deals, podcasts, and investor decks. Not only that, this formula can be used for brand case studies, testimonials, and ad copy.

Follow-up with Me!

If you want to get more resources on marketing, branding, content strategy and building a business, you can follow me over on Instagram @AmySelbach or at AmySelbach.com!

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