EPISODE SUMMARY
We’re excited to welcome Mellisa Trojack of The Art of Etiquette onto the podcast. We’ll hear from her about how she developed a unique and luxurious product with her Vow Books and how she’s serving both clients and vendors. Stay tuned!
MELLISA TROJAK DARES YOU
Take a big deep breath and trust yourself and really think about how you can invest in yourself. I don’t think we take enough time as creatives to realize we’re just as important as the product or that email blast that we’re about to send out.
We need to allow ourselves to wander quite a bit, or keep a list of books or podcasts you hope to check out and take advantage of one of those, and not feel guilty about it.
FAST FACTS ABOUT MELLISA TROJAK of THE ART OF ETIQUETTE
What’s your favorite tool in business?
I love my eCommerce site on Shopify. I say that because I had these grand illusions of a really beautiful customized site when I first launched the business and it was built on very custom code with another platform. Then I realized that my eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach and the site was very fragile and it was like unnerving to me, but man, Shopify makes it so easy!
I also love Flodesk. My web designer just opened me up to them, like really easy to create templates and create segments. My designer helped me create a few templates and, I just tweaked one ever so slightly the other night and I’m like, Oh my God, I can do this all day.
What’s your favorite wedding/creative pump up jam?
I love anything by the bleachers and the banners. I also love anything really positive and uplifting. There are some good quality songs in Frozen, too. “Into The Unknown”. Can there be any better for an entrepreneur like that one?!
What is your favorite thing to do outside of your business?
I love to sit down and do puzzles. My favorite are the wooden puzzles, you just open it up and it smells like a forest in the bag. I’m also a big Disney geek, right now that’s paused, but can’t wait for that to open back up again.
What is one daring the leap you’ve taken in your business?
I think the first daring leap was actually deciding to do the business and stay with the business. There’s been a lot of moments as you’re going through prototypes and trying to find the right partners to work with.
There are definitely days where you’re like, really, is this it? You know, am I missing something? Is there something else that I should be doing? So I think taking that step into the business was definitely a big one.
What is one thing you feel like you’re really great at in your business?
I love thinking through all of the little touches that are going to set the product apart and all the ones that will show up and surprise and delight people. That’s something I take a lot of great pride in.
I think the strength that I bring to the table is definitely product design and thinking through all of it and how everything fits together and telling that cohesive story.
Where can our listeners find you?
Website: https://theartofetiquette.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofetiquette/
Do you have any special announcements / offers for our listeners?
I’m happy to extend the wholesale offers that we have running.
If you DM on Instagram or you send me a note, through my email addresses at hello@theartofetiquette.com. I’m happy to explain those packages to you. We make them very affordable. I’m happy to share any further business advice and connect you with any of my partners that I’ve worked with in the past to help accelerate your business as well.
RESOURCES
- Marie Forleo
- Proof to Product
- “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle
- “Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert
- “Creativity, Inc” by Ed Catmull
OTHER D2D EPISODES YOU MIGHT LIKE
We dare you to check out the other Dare to Develop Podcast episodes including 000: Welcome to Dare to Develop where you get to meet your hosts Kristine Herman and Ashley Baumgartner.
For another fun shop, check out Kaylia Fisher’s Episode about how she pivoted her floral design business to open an online shop and pop ups!