Today we’d like to introduce you to Meg Piercy.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Meg. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
When I was pregnant with my first son who is now six, my husband was starting a new company and we were really broke. I had very expensive taste and essentially no budget, so I decided to paint a dresser a neighbor was getting rid of. It turned out cuter than imagined so my husband and I would find furniture and paint it for our house. Naturally, we didn’t need 25 dressers in our home, so we sold some on Craigslist. We had no idea it would turn into a business at the time but was a fun way to make extra money.
It was one specific customer, her name is Jess Lively and has a big podcast, who gave me the confidence to turn it into a business. She challenged us and we rose to it just two weeks later, signing a lease on a tiny little store in Ravenswood. Little did we know, we would grow out of that space within a month and add on a warehouse nearby. A short year later, we moved into an 8,000 square foot space in Roscoe Village where we ran Megmade for another 2 years. Just recently, in April 2018, we moved yet again into the most amazing new space that we are renovating to be perfect for us and our customers.
MegMade will be 5 years old in November and it has grown from hand painting in our basement during our sons nap-time into something we had only dreamed about. We now have 14 employees, professionally spray every piece and have added several services to our menu, including custom upholstery, interior design, and accessories.
Great, 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?
I don’t think any entrepreneur could ever say that starting a company is smooth. I have learned more about myself by starting a business than any other aspect of my life. It is hard. It is a grind. It is worth it though. There are many struggles along the way, but I think the hardest part has been getting the right employees. We have had to go through many people in order to find the right people. Another challenge is being in the customer service industry. Some customers can be really unreasonable and disrespectful. learning how to combat that with grace and understanding was a struggle, but one that was worth learning.
Another challenge with being an entrepreneur and a woman is finding the right balance. This is in many different aspects of the business. I am a woman managing many men and that can be hard. I have learned the right way to communicate, but it took a lot of time and errors on my part. I am a mom who has two little boys and one on the way, which is yet another challenge. I have learned that my family comes first and if I need to do something extra at night it needs to be after they go to bed. When my kids are happy, I am happy – and they need their mom fully engaged to be that way.
My advice to young women who are starting their journey would be to hustle hard, but not take yourself too seriously. My sister just reminded me of a quote from Nelson Mandela that I find to be so true, which is “I never lose. I either win or learn.” Not beating myself up for every mistake was a huge lesson that I am so glad I learned. Stay positive and keep your dreams big.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about MegMade – what should we know?
MegMade is most known for professionally painting furniture, but we are seriously growing our upholstery (both new and -re-upholstered) and interior design business as well, which is so exciting. Our brand is associated with quality and creativity. Our organization is known for being generous to the community and friendly to customers. MegMade is set apart from others because of our quality, good prices, and amazing customer service. We are really proud of what we do and we want our customers to see that. I work with people who are so smart, kind and fun. I think that our customers really see that we are all a family, not just a business. I am proud of the culture we have created here.
Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
So many reached milestones have happened at MegMade because of people we have met who have advocated for us. Although we have never had a proper mentor, networking is one of our biggest assets. My husband loves to meet people and so do I and through people, we have met, we have been featured in magazines, met designers and vendors, as well as many successful business owners, who have helped us navigate through the crazy world of owning your own business. We do not pretend for one moment to be the smartest person in the room – we are always looking to learn from those that have gone before us!
Contact Info:
- Address: 2728 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
- Website: www.megmade.com
- Phone: 312.636.3583
- Email: hello@megmade.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megmade/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megmade/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/hello2819/
Image Credit:
MegMade
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