Eric: [00:00:00] Welcome everybody. This is Eric Y Chen of the Y-Factor podcast and today I have Brittany and Tye from the willow company. It’s a baby fashion company, but I love to have you guys introduce yourselves and explain what your company is and what you guys do. 

Brittany & Tie: [00:00:16] Yeah, thanks for having us.

Brittany: [00:00:17] Thank you for having us. I’m Brittany Davis. I am the owner of Willow and Co and this is my husband Tye. We’re actually own it together as a couple and we love Rocklin California. We have a  little one and she’s an inspiration of our business. We’re very excited to be here.

Eric: [00:00:35] Awesome! No, I’m excited to have you guys here the light just turned off on me. Some of my video is dark now, but not a big deal since this is a Podcast so no one’s going to be seeing too much of the lighting here anyways, but just so the audience knows I’m just sitting here in the dark. Now with the automated sensor but yeah both you and we go way back obviously, [00:01:00] right?

So it’s been incredibly fun to see your guys journey in terms of starting a business. So, you know both Brittany and we actually work together back in let’s say 2000, did you jump on in 2013? 

Brittany: [00:01:14] I went in, 13 and 14. 

Eric: [00:01:17] Yeah, so we were both at the same corporate job selling ADP the largest payroll company in the world.

Basically just hustling out there, right? That’s that was pretty much our knocking on doors in our respective territories and then seeing each other once a week, but I’m so glad. That you know, we’ve kept in touch and you know, I was able to meet your incredible husband and as well who’s been super cool and super supportive and your guys’ Journey so far and so,  obviously there’s always been like the sense of at least for me as an entrepreneur or starting the business that.

I feel like salespeople themselves always have kind of a natural hustle or Instinct [00:02:00] within themselves to want to start a business or do something because they have that Natural Energy or that sense to be able to just keep hustling, right? So with that what was it that you feel like the same or is that’s what are the reasons why you started the business in the first place?

Brittany: [00:02:20] Yeah adp that was quite the experience teaching me kind of I mean I still use some of the things I learned from adp with the sales training for some of the stuff I do now. It’s just kind of something nice to have ingrained in you but definitely, have that hustle drive and always the thing is I liked what I was doing and it’s fun to talk about certain things because you know, you’re getting a good commission and pay but it wasn’t fully my passion.

So once I was kind of able to find something that I loved and just use what I kind of had that foundation and knowledge I had from being in sales. So I did it. I mean I had another sales job [00:03:00] after that so maybe about four or five years of experience and but now being able to do what I love and something that I mean, it’s my own business so that helps a lot too to be motivated.

 Yes, to answer your question 

Eric: [00:03:12] you’re saying selling HR software payroll systems health benefits. None of that was fulfilling a passion? 

Brittany: [00:03:18] The thing was the people I met from the company. I still talk to so many people. I mean obviously you being one of them and then getting to work with you.

I mean, that’s the cool thing. So I met the most awesome people.

Eric: [00:03:31] Some are even the customers now of your business which is pretty cool. I feel like both of us, you know,  going through that that company in itself is almost like a kind of like a frat or sorority right because you’re going through this initiation process of going through training and then just knocking on doors every day and then getting rejected.

All right. So then the whole thing. It’s like we all experienced this and so I think that’s what helped,  all of us develop [00:04:00] this relationship closely together, but now the tables have turned right instead of you selling payroll software to small businesses. You yourself are now a small business, right?

So for people who are trying to figure out like what do they want to do? Maybe they’re working a corporate job today or you know, they’re trying to figure out what is it that they want to do as a side hustle or a business that they want to build out. How did you come to the idea of wanting to build out a baby brand company?

Brittany: [00:04:28] Yeah, so back to you and talking about small business.

I mean even just me experiencing working with small businesses was pretty cool to see because families are involved. I mean you’re that’s our whole entire livelihood. They’re working 24/7 whether restaurant, store, whatever it may be definitely gave me that actual appreciation for a small business and it really reminded me.

I mean as much as I love some of the bigger corporates, I would make every effort I could to shop [00:05:00] at boutiques. I mean, you can find everything at boutiques like even a birthday card, you know what I mean? So just instead of going to Hallmark or whatever it may be. Going into a small business buying something from there.

It’s so much more satisfying. I love the experience of it too I actually feel like way better and I find way more things that I would say actually are my style or whatever it may be. So that definitely helped like you just gave me a good insight. And then from there, I started working at I was at adp at the time, kind of towards the end of adp.

I started working with a boutique called Drift co. And it’s completely my style hundred percent and they have this sort of having me do pictures for them. And so I just do the content pictures and I got to basically play dress up and have fun in the girls who work there were Hustlers amazing super smart, super just talented.

It was just so fun. It really made me literally just happy. So I saw just the energy and the effort behind [00:06:00] everything. I mean, she’s the owner. She worked very hard, they all did that because they were so invested in it. So I saw that side of things and that was something that’s definitely inspired me, but then I did also see the side to of how challenging it is and actually owning a storefront that’s a whole other level.

So that was something that I kind of started asking questions, you know. What is it like owning a storefront and they talked about things too, the overhead this and that responsibility. So I started realizing. Okay. That’s great. I could I would love to open a boutique. That’d be something really fun and then kind of evolved into me being like I actually just want to do my own brand like my own thing.

So this was all me thinking I was going to do women’s clothing. 

Eric: [00:06:41] So the whole idea was to start with women’s clothing? 

Brittany: [00:06:44] I can name a couple of brands that or probably somewhat of the inspiration. And then I started doing research on that realizing. Okay.

There’s a lot in the market. There’s a lot of the market for everything but baby was not really on the radar [00:07:00] yet. But as I kept doing my research on what I would want to do, I’m like, okay, I think I need to find something unique if possible so fast forward we find out about Kennedy super excited, she just turned two.

A little over a week ago

Eric: [00:07:16] Happy birthday to Kennedy. 

Brittany: [00:07:19] So in that time I moved over to a new company and great job incredible experience. Hey was amazing. It was also great right and then I was up four months in with Kennedy and my company was bought out by another company. So basically all jobs were terminated in my department.

Huge bummer for everybody. It was an incredible team, but at that time, I mean here’s my opportunity. Right? So I took that too. Okay. This is kind of this is not going to happen unless I do this now, so that’s when it kind of involved, you know into baby line. I was like, okay, but if I do something.

it’s going to be [00:08:00] something different. I have to do something different. There’s so many, right.  

Eric: [00:08:03] This with point of transition really that motivator was essentially when you got laid off from your job during the acquisition, right?

So did you have an idea of like wanting to find another job and then work on the side hustle to or this was like. This is the gap time where you are going to focus a hundred percent on just getting started and building out the brand. 

Brittany: [00:08:24] Yeah. I wanted to find another job too. I did and I mean just as time passed, time was kind of ticking anyway, I had a couple months into where I’d probably do maternity leave at that point anyway, but I knew I’m like I have to have something.

That’s when I just kind of put everything full force and we just completely made the brand a priority. So put all my effort into that and realizing though obviously not going to get an income right away. So a lot of people, you know, you don’t realize that especially taking the route of [00:09:00] doing a brand versus a shop.

That was a huge decision for me because once I realized kind of how the two work, I thought okay, I do believe that I can take a brand further than a shop and for many reasons, but mostly because I knew I was going to just be competing with every other shop that’s out there and you’re basically the best marketer and my mind so I was nervous about that piece of it.

And I also wanted it to just be my own thing. So whatever I made I can pack up a hundred percent not depend on another brand essentially.  

Eric: [00:09:32] both you and I came from a sales background, right so and I know Tye does a bit of marketing too so at the point of transition when Brittany wanted to launch a company like what were you thinking?

Like? What was your input like, where was your head? At that point. 

Tye: [00:09:47] like we really talked about how she had landed a great job after adp is a great company great pay, you know, we got married and we found out on our honeymoon that we were pregnant. So that was [00:10:00] like a very quick marriage and then alright baby’s coming and she had been talking about that idea of opening up something and that’s where.

You know the inspiration instead of a women’s Boutique came around being baby brand and making something that’s a little more modern and that, you know, all these moms or even dads that are shopping at those boutiques are looking for a certain style and transferring that into a baby style.

As you know, that layoffs happened. It was a hard time for us, obviously. She had worked hard, you know college and to get to where she was in a career and. At four months pregnant, you know, even though it’s technically illegal. It’s not exactly easy for a woman to get a job at 4 months pregnant because employers have the you know think that oh, well, she just going to be gone in a few months except for a while.

So that wasn’t easy and it’s just kind of that was the opportunity where she said, you know, [00:11:00] this is I’m just going to give it my all it’s kind of like this is how the cards have played and it’s maybe a sign and for me. Obviously want to support her and her trying to do something that she’s dreamed about and kind of have that Independence that she’s wanted of, you know, not working for the man, same to what you’re doing and what she’s doing and have that entrepreneurship kind of drive.

And so obviously all in here to help her, my background is in marketing. I’ve done sales as well. So I try to help where I can on that part of the company. 

Eric: [00:11:34] . Yeah, definitely. So going into now you guys have started it, right? And then Brittany you mentioned starting a business. A lot of people don’t realize that they’re not going to make a profit and it’s moreover that they are going to be putting an investment into the business and they might not realize a return for a long long time.

And so is that something that you kind of knew ahead of time or [00:12:00] that’s something like okay you went and you started sourcing materials for your clothing and then you’re like wait a minute. I’m not gonna be making any money until this inventory is being sold. 

Brittany: [00:12:10] Yeah, definitely and I knew you know, people always say that’s like the Golden Rule.

Okay, you’re not going to make money for three to five years. You hear that? But you don’t realize it till you’re in it and you’re like I’m putting in all this effort. You talk about it constantly, you know, whether it’s with your significant other or even my friends. My family will be just out and about doing our own thing and got to stop everything because something comes up, you know, and it’s a 24/7 type of thing.

It really is. It’s not like I’m working 24/7 but it could be eight o’clock at night, whatever. I love to watch the show, but I need to get stuff done. And of course, you bring everyone else and it with you so as time did pass, you know, I started realizing.  yeah, I’m not making income. I’m just you know, you invest your money, your time, your freedom.

[00:13:00] There are events. We’ve missed for things, you know, the last photoshoot we did we missed a birthday party and I was just so frustrated because we felt so bad we couldn’t be there but I am in this phase right now where I’m like, I know not everyone fully understands and you can’t expect them to you can’t expect your friends and your family to you know, fully get it because they’re like what can be so busy about a baby like baby clothes, you’re selling clothes like what? 

But the details. behind it everything there’s always something so, you know, you can’t expect everyone to just understand but when people do ask that is one of the things I definitely I don’t go into it right away. All negative, like we’re not gonna make money. You need to have all this money upfront, you know don’t expect anything in return but it is true.

So. I mean, we’re at this turning point right now where things have grown so much that I know that there’s definitely gonna be something, significant in the future, but it’s crazy. Of course, income is the whole reason you started business pretty much. But we’re so invested in it.

Now that it’s just seeing the Brand [00:14:00] and grow and continue to thrive. It gives you much more motivation. But that is the main thing that there is no income and that’s why I still work. So I also have another job and whenever people hear that they’re like, I don’t get it. You have a great company.

It’s clearly doing well and you’re working too.  but I also need something else to supplement for now and I think that’s what. The main thing I ask people to and they want to start a business.

I’m like, okay tell me do you want this to be a hobby or do you want this to go next level? Do you want this to be big like your full-time career? Were you and your partner can maybe or whoever he could be or whatever doing this on your own this is going to be. Actual full-on livelihood and a lot of the time people like.

I wanted to go back, you know, of course, but I think maybe just for now a side hustle I decided right from the beginning. This is not going to be a hobby or aside. Possible. This is a hundred percent going to [00:15:00] be a career. We met not to go off too far off-topic, but we met the most amazing business owners.

It was a couple sweet and swag. They are the little baby moccasins. We met them at The Magic Convention in Vegas and she was a nurse he was a lawyer 

 they have their Booth we talked to them and you know, she was the type of business owner that I thousand percent strive  to be, sat there and it’s after she ignored the customers are coming up to her, but she gave us and her husband as well her co-owner gave us. Full attention they gave us the best advice.

They really wanted to see another person succeed and I love that. So when I really try to model that to some people come to me and ask me questions, I want to give them as much advice as I can. I’ve been rejected on advice before I’ve reached out, I reach out to as many people as I can in my network or outside of it and there will be people that [00:16:00] are just don’t want to and that’s okay.

That was huge for me. So that was a really great model and really great success the story that sticks with me. 

Eric: [00:16:10] Yeah and I feel like it’s so important, you know for a lot of the newer business people or people who are just starting their business right from the beginning who asked for help right A lot of people once they start, you know working on a project.

They just focus on it focus on themselves and then as I have to just figure this out on my own. But then not a lot of people realize that there are people who are willing to help and who want to help and see other people succeed. And is that something that you learned or do you just naturally gravitated towards like yeah.

I’m going to reach out to people who want to learn from and get advice from and even facing that rejection from people. Like what was that the mindset like there?  

Brittany: [00:16:53] Yeah, so I will have to give it to Tye a lot for encouraging me [00:17:00] to continue to reach out and not be  shy about it, but I will tell you that my network and who I’ve reached out to people that I just thought about Okay  who is possibly like in this industry has even some form of knowledge for me whether it’s something about sourcing.

Or Fabric or zippers or I mean, of course, you’ve got so much information, you know from anything videography photography, you know, all of that. I have gotten so much of my resources from just reaching out and saying hey, what are your thoughts on this from anything from? Hey tax write-offs.

Like can you help me out with that, you know things that you don’t just know. By Common Sense and the little pieces of information that people want to give to you and it just really does remind you there are so many good people out there that want to see you succeed and there will be people that don’t of course.

I mean you’ll get even some of your close friends that. While fully support things or want to see you [00:18:00] succeed, but not too much, you know, and I won’t say I’ve had too many close friends like that, but it does happen and that it’s just candy human nature 

Eric: [00:18:08] you bring up a good point right a lot of entrepreneurs what they’re afraid of is the outward response.

You know failing right or you know, like you said earlier on it’s like you guys had a miss a friend’s birthday party to prioritize the business and you know, sometimes they don’t understand and just that whole new lifestyle or just what you have to go through.  how is that impacted you guys just when you do come across that and you talking about like, oh, you know friend may not support your business, even though they’re great friends with you or maybe they’ve grown up with you then all of a sudden you’re working on this business and then just everything that.

You know you talk about with them or at least with your business, they’re just so negative about it or they’re not supportive of what you do. Like. How does that you know affect you in the business and then your relationship with other people? 

Brittany: [00:18:59] Yes. Well, [00:19:00] I’ve had some really great responses and of friends , of course Stand By Your Side and everything else and there’s been moments, of course, if like, oh good for you like okay, you know, it’s good, but I will say one main thing and this is not even to be about gender.

Or anything of that sort or but as a mom when you have a bit seems like more of. A hobby usually it’s when a women business owner a lot of the time it seems like okay, you know, she’s just doing it for fun. She’s married. She has probably a husband that supports her fully Anyway  so this is kind of just something that she’s just doing to like have almost a hobby and I, in the beginning, was very adamant about making sure that that was not the perception and now I’ve kind of just realized that that doesn’t really matter the perception because.

that’s not the case and you’re going to get different opinions different responses from all different types of people [00:20:00] and some amazing people that will come out of the Woodworks and there are people from middle school. See their name pop up on an order like that’s so cool, you know, but there will be definitely negative responses that I would say a lot of it is I’ve actually held back a lot of putting my face out there being the face of the company for that reason and I think it’s kind of ridiculous to do that.

But that’s just something that I have personally struggled with so. I would definitely say yes   you will experience great people but also naysayers.

Eric: [00:20:30] Yeah, and that’s something you know you and I’ve talked about moving forward with the brand to you know, personalize it putting yourself out there in order for more people to support the brand right because once they put a face to the name of the company the brand and the mission then I think there’s going to be more positives than there are negatives right and you know you telling your story about friends or acquaintances in the aspect of supporting, you know, Mom owned businesses. It’s almost like they’re [00:21:00] reflecting on themselves about the opportunity that you have right? But again you’ve gone and to show that you yourself already admitted. You have to go work another job in order to even sustain.

You know the Willow company until it, you know, it gets to a point where you guys are going to be comfortable to go full-time, right? So that’s what I love about you guys working on this business is that you’re not just a stay-at-home mom and just wanting to just work on this for fun. Like this is a very serious business you’re passionate about it and you recognize that you’re not going to just let your husband support you you’re basically a full-on independent woman working at a job and working on the business of the same time and taking care of kids.

And then having your husband support you in that right? And I think it’s absolutely amazing what you guys have going on. 

Tye: [00:21:48] I agree with you because you said it perfectly. she’s amazing. She really has three jobs because 

like not as much time as the other but she has two jobs that mean she’s a contractor for and [00:22:00] then she has this company that she’s growing and one huge full-time job, which is being a mom and another part-time job of being you know, My wife which I’m sure I take extra time. Yes, you do but I take extra.

Brittany: [00:22:17] Thank you. 

Tye: [00:22:17] she’s amazing and doing all that kind of stuff. Like you said. I just want to second that, so four jobs. 

Eric: [00:22:24] that is amazing, right? Oh, I think you know as guests in terms of the podcast right? I’ve interviewed a lot of you know solopreneurs, you know, I guess more like boys and girls or not boys and girls but guys and girls like me, you know, they have the freedom and ability to just like, okay.

I am going to go you know travel the world and work on my online business and not have to worry too much. It’s still a lot of work right, but then just having the dynamic. Understanding the different dynamics. I interviewed these friends who actually. We’re best [00:23:00] friends.

I think coming out of college and they started a business together and then understanding how their Dynamic works and it basically say like they love working together and it’s like the best energy that even their girlfriends are so jealous of them with the type of relation they have right and then just even.

Like with you guys as husband and wife, right? There are so many people out there. They’re always talking about like what opportunity they have or what are their situations of like what they want to do. How has it been working together on this business in itself, right? Is it like you make all the decisions you take the input from Tye?

How does that all work right now?

Brittany: [00:23:41] Okay. Well, I would say it’s really great. It’s cool. We have I love seeing like how excited he gets about things. I feel like sometimes even gets more excited about talking about it, than his own job. I’m just kidding but really because it’s something that he sees that [00:24:00] I’m passionate about to but I will say it’s been amazing there have been challenges and I think a lot of it comes back to how you work as a person.

And for me, like Your Love Languages mine’s definitely quality time. And so losing quality time has been hard for me because a lot it is we’ll talk about Willow. We will talk about  anything just business-related that could be something that has to do with work besides, you know, just having some downtime and shutting off and hard worker right here.

we but we both end up becoming so consumed by it. So. That has been a challenge of just that gets taken away a lot of the time your quality time together, but it does it’s cool because we get to go do certain things together that mean when he can come to LA with me and hasn’t been that many times yet, but enough to where we’ve gotten to do some fun trips and experience this together from it.

I would say that there is just there it can put a little bit of pressure and it goes in [00:25:00] waves, you know, like this last six months has definitely been a lot more than it was in the beginning and we just have to come back and communicate with each other why and maybe try to carve out more time for ourselves, but this is all part of it.

And if we think that this is intense. I’m sure it’s gonna get even more intense as we grow. So it’s been mostly amazing and just to be honest there have been challenges.

Tye: [00:25:29] I will Echo what she says. Yeah. It’s really cool thing to watch grow together. You know, I guess it is like another little baby but  you don’t have to feed it, don’t have to change its diapers 

Yeah, I mean, it’s still not like all smooth sailing and you know, it’s time that actually said that we could probably watch of episode of Game of Thrones, but you know, I probably bring up. You know, like operational stuff.

We wanted to talk about that and I need to leave it [00:26:00] for our working hours that we have together and just focus on turning off for a minute. I do think and I know she thinks it’s important every now and then. Turn off for a minute just to kind of revitalize even if it’s like staring at you know, a bunch of dragons burning people or whatever shows.

she really likes but there’s a lot of little things and owning a business that you never know until you’re right in the middle of it and it’s like little things that never crossed. Someone’s mind that didn’t know. Otherwise about owning a company whether it’s making sure you pay.

Taxer having your books up to up to par and making sure you know anything from returns and all that sort are taken care of that takes away from some of the time but it’s still been a really cool experience with her.  

Brittany: [00:26:51] I would say I’m much more on the creative side of things where I come up with whatever it may be or and he [00:27:00] definitely does a lot of the technical stuff.

So. I don’t know anything from website and stuff. I rarely have to go and website and fix anything thankfully.  so you can just find your skill set and I think that’s what helped. This company evolve is knowing what you’re good at in yourself and what you’re not and then reaching out and figuring out how to get better at something or finding someone to do it for you because  there is in a lot of things that I could have not done on my own and without resources or my partner, you know, working with you the marketing side of things too .

Eric: [00:27:35] So you just mentioned that understanding your skill sets and you know one person knows one thing or you know, the other or learning to Outsource like what are the. Division of responsibilities that you guys have for the business.  

Brittany: [00:27:47] Tye definitely does a lot of the technical stuff. I’ll do a lot more on the website. I mean even just the tax side like all that, the books he really does take  Lead on that which is [00:28:00] great leaves me a little bit more open for other things and I would definitely say the more creative side of things.

That’s me. But now that he is been in this with me the whole time he kind of has much more of an eye for things now so I can run things past him and before it was a little bit more challenging because I obviously see all the little things and realize okay, that’s not going to work because X Y and Z and that’s just because.

I’ve been at the clothing, it has been my thing for a little while. He’s never paid attention to that until now. 

keeping things on brand has been extremely important for me everything from. The name to where we produce our clothing and you know, Los Angeles and everything is just staying on brand is so essential for me. And so that’s something that I just consistently do but there are things that he does that are time-consuming.

He will help me with like it is putting together [00:29:00] orders the amount of time that takes and I look forward to when we get to prioritize what we can Outsource even more that will be ordered. But those are things that you can help me with. It’s the things that just take time and but things I would never be able to do like coding.

Tye: [00:29:16] Let’s say I’m a good executive assistant for her.  But obviously, yes. She has  the vision she knows the industry. She knows. You know what the market is looking for. And yeah, I hope on I’ll hop on the back end and doing the more mundane stuff cuz obviously her being ahead of the game and understanding you know, what people are looking for getting that feedback from customers and even our retailers is really important and then her building out those relationships that she has with all the sourcers or whether it’s our cut and sew or it’s our fabric provider or the zipper button people. She does a really good job at that and I [00:30:00] want help on the back end so she can keep her Focus there. 

Eric: [00:30:04] Yeah. That’s awesome. It sounds like the perfect partnership regardless of the ups and downs and figuring things out has there been anything that’s kind of gone.

Awry in the business itself or the challenges that you guys had to overcome. 

Brittany: [00:30:19] Nothing been that’s been so detrimental? I think the main thing for me. I don’t know if this is getting like too detailed or not helpful, but timelines have been a struggle, you know, it just lining everything up perfectly with all of our sourcing basically and getting everything and keeping things as quality as possible and we sell obviously at a little bit of a higher price point for you know for the fabric itself and to be made in the USA and all of that that all adds up. So everything that we’re using is going to be a higher price point. So keeping it all. Consistent everything just flowing [00:31:00] perfectly has taken some serious effort because we’ve had to switch around sourcing we’ve had to something’s not up to par.

We have to move on to the next thing because we have of course our customers that are we a lot of returning customers and our wholesalers. I mean our shops that we work with they expect a certain quality and consistency and so that’s up to us and I think that. The coolest thing about having a brand but the most responsibility.

Because you can’t just call up your brand, you know your brand and say hey this wasn’t great. Send me a new one, you know because it’s there for their fault. Yep. It’s on us. 

Eric: [00:31:36] it is amazing because you know, obviously you I’m working with you guys now and helping build out the brand and getting it to the next stage.

But even when I jumped into your guys’s store just to see the data that you know, the system is able to display of you guys having such a high percentage of return customers coming back and buying more right and to me that’s such a great sign of how great [00:32:00] of quality products that you guys are making and the attention to detail that you guys have so it’s been a pleasure working with you guys so far and seeing where it goes and obviously.

I  saw the struggle, you know that we had with delays in manufacturing and just things getting pushed back. But that’s probably to me. That’s just the tip of the iceberg compared to what you guys have had to deal with so far so kudos to you guys. I did want to ask you guys. Because you mentioned the brand itself for the Willow Co like can you explain more like what the whole brand is the identity and the mission and just the Willow Co?

Brittany: [00:32:40] starting out. Like I said, I wanted everything to be kind of on the luxury side as much as it can be for baby things that you’re not going to find at your typical store not gonna be able to walk in somewhere and find it. So the color. Of course, were very important I wanted to be gender-neutral as possible.

Of course. We [00:33:00] still have some that are definitely more girl or boy, but not too many and just everything to be essential everything when you think about Willow you think Essentials you think quality luxury eco-friendly, you know, the things that not everybody cares about but those that do it works for that so little bit of a niche brand.

But something that kind of gives you just like the earthy tone feel being made in the USA was so important to me because that’s just what top of my list and being able to work with my manufacturers and go see them in person and see actually what’s even going on in the warehouse, and having that relationship with them.

So for everything to be high quality as possible, of course, and I. Yeah, I really wanted to make sure that it was something that when people thought out of the brand they knew what they were going to get. So [00:34:00] there are so many items that I could do. Of course. I have a huge list of things.

There’s a lot of products you can have but I really wanted to establish the brand and start with the essentials that. Would be needed over and over and over again for a baby so that, I would say just all around. It’s a very well-thought-out brand

Eric: [00:34:25] all the attention to the detail that you just mentioned, right and then the material itself is more special than what you can technically like find out there right now, right?

It’s is it bamboo that you guys make your fabric out of or clothing out of? 

Brittany: [00:34:40] Yes, so everything is 95% bamboo 5% spandex. Oh, it’s has a four-way stretch for two ways stretches lengthwise and with and that’s so important because you can get such a longer use out of it. So cotton of course shrinks.

It pales up a little bit more. It loses its color for an [00:35:00] integrity and that was huge. It doesn’t stretch that well and that is like when I was thinking about what I wanted to do with the brand is. Get you use out of your items because that’s a huge thing that people always say I have all these clothes they grow out of them.

I spent all this money and they got to wear it a couple times and that was just a no-go for me. I wanted it to be one of the most used things in the entire wardrobe. Literally I look for the willow item. I look for it because I love putting it on them.

So that’s cool. That’s something that is exactly what I wanted.

Tye: [00:35:35] I like to call it. I mean for me it’s like the cry free kind of clothing because it stretches so much that like and every new parent or old parent out. There will know that when you try to get like cotton over a kid’s head.

Like it. It’s like tight it on the head because most babies have big ol heads and they’ll start to cry so it with bamboo-like it just flexes you can get it right over the head and it retains its [00:36:00] structure. So it doesn’t like stretch it out anything it’s stays and less crying. 

Eric: [00:36:04] I think using a smaller size on Kennedy still but she still fits it,

Tye: [00:36:07] the longevity of it is like crazy because of the stretch like Kennedy. I think just maybe. Went to like she was wearing 12 to 18 and she’s over two years old and kind of growing out of it and she’s normal size.

She’s not like a small little girl

Brittany: [00:36:26] . She was like 3T and most stuff. So most like things you’ll find at the department store. She’ll be on three T. So we shoved her in and the other night it was. Laying around like I was doing all the laundry haven’t touched in a while and I threw her a 9 to 12.

Yeah, do nine to twelve anymore. It’s 6 to 12 12 18, but it was an original one and it was pretty stretched out on her but it fit her. So I have so many like items just sitting around and it’s just funny because you’re in the wrong size. 

Eric: [00:36:57] Yeah for the audience out there. were saying like it’s a [00:37:00] 6 to 12-month baby close-fitting on a two-year-old. toddler at this point.  it’s so amazing. I mean I was obviously have been able to play around with the product. I’ve actually purchased some and you know gifted at the friends and everything. So it’s obviously a great gift, you know newborns and new parents essentially.

So obviously I want to wrap things up but. I wanted to ask you guys a final question in terms of you know for the couples out there the boyfriends girlfriends or husbands and wives or even the partners out there that want to start a business. What is the you know one piece of advice that you’d want to share with them if they were to come ask you today about them starting on their own Journey?

Brittany: [00:37:46] I would definitely say find your vision right off the bat and stay in your lane and become an expert at what you want to do and figure out [00:38:00] first your intentions. So is this a hobby? Is this something that you are willing to talk about all the time stand behind and.

I mean get other people into as well because this is going to become a part of you now. So figure out whatever that is and be ready to make it one of the hugest parts of your life and together. I would say you both have to be just as committed and just as passionate about it because I don’t think if he wasn’t completely supportive.

I don’t think it would work honestly because marriage is a commitment obviously or you’re in a committed relationship. And if you or you have a business partner, you’re like in a relationship with a business partner whether or not you’re you know a thing, but I would say you have to both be a hundred percent committed and supportive otherwise.

I don’t think it will last so that’s why I would say you have anything. 

Tye: [00:38:59] I [00:39:00] mean, she said it perfectly. So yeah, you just got to be committed and it’s like I think the biggest thing like you said, it’s not a hobby. It’s like a business. That you’re trying to grow and understanding that it’s going to be like three to five-year process.

And you know, it’s you’re not going to make money right away. Maybe you will if I cue you found a niche and you make it right away and you have the capital to like put all that up, but it is a process. You’re not gonna you know, it’s hard. Sometimes we don’t see an income you put all this work into.

But when you start seeing the sales increasing that kind of makes you have high hopes for what’s to come

Brittany: [00:39:42] don’t get too excited take money out right away because you got to reinvest it anyway so big and that’s okay. 

Eric: [00:39:49] That is true. Yeah, you can’t just go out and just splurge on how do I continue to grow it now?

That’s amazing. It’s been so fun to work with you [00:40:00] guys so far and see where the journey is. See if you guys are listening to this podcast. Ideally. We’re at the point of basically doing a relaunch of their entire brand new clothing line new colors and everything. So definitely check it out.

I’m going to have a link on the website as well to go and check out the willow Co and I’ll probably have a discount code for those listeners out there. Who do you want to check it out and take a  little bit of a discount as a thank you guys for listening and just being able to experience the brand see what Brittany and Tye have created something amazing and especially for something to grow, you know with your newborn your baby your your nieces and nephews and things like that.

So enjoy guys and thank you for you both for jumping onto the why Factor. 

Brittany & Tie: [00:40:46] Yes, thank you. Thank you and let me know and I’ll you have the last word, but I just want to say really thank you to you for all your help and then we’ll give a special shout out to Eric Lee who’s helped us [00:41:00] Angel who’s been great.

Help Paris as well. Those are thank you talk about important people. Yes, part of this journey. So, thank you. We love working with you. We appreciate you very much and we’re excited for the future and all that comes with it. So, thank you

Eric: [00:41:18] amazing.

Thank you guys.