Thinking about how long 365 days is.
Second Thoughts has officially turned one year old!
This past week on October 5th marked one year since I hit publish on my Shopify.
And then carried on with my day.
A big thing I didn’t want to halt at was The Launch. After doing all of the sewing and logos and policies and marketing it seems like when you have The Launch things should automatically arrive to you. Success, on some level, should show up. That is naivety at its finest.
So I reminded myself constantly leading up that I am a nameless no one who has a business no one knows about. It sounds harsh, but I think it set me up for a more hustler-forward mentality of making sure then that I was always getting ST out there whether it be wearing it, on social media, or getting pop ups going (all three would be the answer).
By November, the business had enough money from its initial few sales to start covering its own inventory costs. By December, I was no longer putting any personal money into the business. By January ST had a few pieces consistently in a store in SoHo. By February I was doing additional store outreach and wholesale connections. By March, I was prepping a 30 piece wholesale order. By April, ST was in another store in SoHo. By May, the wholesale order was fully in the customer’s hands and live on their site. By June, I was planning a summer pop up in the Hamptons. By July, ST had its first solo pop up at a store in the Sag Harbor. By August, ST sold its first international order and I completed our first major price increase. By September ST went viral for the first time selling double what we had stocked of a specific collab piece. And by October, we had completed a full year in business.
Listing out the highlights like that makes it sound really quick and easy - and I am PROUD to list all of these in just one year. I would be remiss to add that in all those highlights, there was money lost in there, failed products, months with no direct sales, days with no direction, days with no motivation, but the one thing I will say that never got old was the rush of connecting. Connecting with a customer, or watching them try on one of my pieces. Connecting with another founder and having some of the most raw and therapeutically vulnerable conversations. Connecting with anyone who complemented my shirt or asked about ST because a friend told them I had a business. There was so much that on some days tried to blow out my fire. But there was always more that kept it lit… and under my ass.
When I started this, I knew it was the right time and the right moment. I couldn’t tell you how except it just was. Famously I learned to sew to pull this off, and I can’t even tell you what brought me that moment (the sewing machine sat in my closet for 2 years). I just know I’m grateful for every moment. And the moments I dreamed of – like carrying 4 packages to be shipped out – still feel dreamy. The moments that taught me the most were from some of the dumbest moments.
And in the light hearted vein, here are some funny moments from the last 365 days:
Learning that “Council Bluffs” is where Shopify servers are and is not a part of the country that ST is popular in.
Buying a handful of shirts from Goodwill only to realize they have people’s names written in them, or unremovable stains, and eating that money… and then donating them back to Goodwill.
My first wholesale order being 30 pink button downs - both myself and ST are not diehard fans of the color pink.
Staying up for an extra 3 hours to finish a set of shirts I loved for a pop up - and none of them sold.
Freaking out over the flow of my Instagram feed for the pleasant notification that it pushed out the post I agonized about to 12 people.
The name and branding initially were the complete opposite of what ST is now - including an entirely different arrangement of names (think more emotional and less simple/witty).
I paid late fees on my sales taxes more times over this past year than I paid on time.
I learned how to bead embroider and I’ll be the first to say I thought it would be a major part of the business and customization… abandoned it the week after.
Someone on Tik Tok pointed out the poor construction of a garment - and they were 100% right. We don’t sell something unless we can make it properly!
For the most recent photoshoot we had I actually just picked a model and a photographer, who thankfully was a friend. I had zero direction and essentially told her to follow her heart and I would follow her lead. I was soooo creatively blocked!
Thank you for making this year so unbelievably inspiring and welcoming for a small secondhand brand. This success is not just mine or my business, but it is a huge win constantly for the planet. Every single piece is secondhand. Every single piece gets a new life because of the community and the customers surrounding Second Thoughts.
To my entire family, Ian, my friends, Melanie – thank you for accepting me in all of my ideas and sometimes delusion, and thank you for never letting me settle for less than what I want. You created that bar for me.
With love,
Molly