Meet Lisa Mecham | Creative Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Mecham and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My first business was born out of necessity. At 21, I was pregant, single, unprepared, and completely broke. One of the first baby supplies I shopped for was a diaper bag ….. and I quickly realized that I couldn’t afford any of the ones in the store. I even went to thrift stores to see if I could find one in my price range second-hand, but couldn’t afford any.

So I did the only “logical thing” and decided to make one myself- but I couldn’t afford materials. Luckily, I’ve always considered myself a resourceful person and decided to go dumpster diving at local billboard shops to collect any discareded scraps. Getting in and out of the dumpsters while pregant was difficult but I somehow made a great-looking diaper bag. The printed canvas created incredible designs on the bag and after receiving a few compliments from strangers, decided I would open an Etsy shop and use this as a means to provide for my new baby after he was born.

After a lot of hard work, late nights, and trial and error, my little shop did grow to provide for us. I personally packed and shipped over 1,000 orders from my little apartment, got picked up in 12 boutiques across the US, and was carried in boutiques in Japan, and Australia.

When my son was 2, I was able to go back to college for fashion design, start designing women’s clothing, and was award the RAW Fashion Designer of the Year award for my state.

Now, I teach other women to do the same with my latest business, HandmadeBusinessHelp.com

Handmade Business Help felt like a logical transition. I’ve learned so much over the last 12 years and want to help other women start profitable, creative careers. It seems like so many artistic women wish they could start profitable shops but struggle with anything labeled “business” and “marketing.” That’s where I come in.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Currently, I run 3 different websites: HandmadeBusinessHelp.com, ModernSewingPatterns.com, and CreativeFashionBlog.com. Each website stands as its own leg of business that works together to help other women start creative careers. I think it truly sets my mission apart from others in the creative space.

On CreativeFashionBlog.com, you can find over 300 unique tutorials to get your creative juices flowing. My tutorials there reach over 10 million people each month on Pinterest alone and is a great resource to brainstorm new ideas. It doesn’t matter if you are looking to create something for yourself, as a gift, or to start a new side-hustle. You can find so many resources there.

ModernSewingPatterns.com is where you can download and print sewing patterns and templates to update your closet, make some new accessories, or start a handmade business. I stopped enforcing any copyrights on my patterns last year and all of my new designs won’t have any to begin with. While most pattern companies don’t want you to ever use their patterns to create an income for yourself, I encourage you to!

Lastly, HandmadeBusinessHelp.com is the ultimate resource to start a profitable handmade business online. I have loads of tools and resources for creatives to grow their shops there.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Currently, I live in Salt Lake City, UT and I love when out-of-town friends come to visit. I would start out by taking them to my favorite coffee shop, 3 Cups. They always have the most interesting elixirs and drinks. My favorite this month is the Orange spice/ white mocha nonfat latte. Next, I would take them to the Utah Art Market on Foothill drive. They feature new and established artists and are so friendly. For lunch, we’d go to Wasatch Brewery. They serve the most incredible locally brewed beers and delicious food. When it’s snowing, they create individual, heated igloos on the patio so you can take in the view of the mountains while you eat. Afterward, we’d go to the Leonardo Museum to see what exhibit they are showing. It’s easy to let the day slip away there since there is so much to see.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband is the best hype-man. Whenever I come up with a crazy idea, he is always right there with me, cheering me on and encouraging me whenever I want to quit.

I am also blessed with an incredible group of friends. Among them is my accountability partner and dear friend, Erin Reeder of https://theincrementalmama.com who have been meeting with via zoom each week for nearly 4 years.

My business mentors, Kara Charron https://karacharron.com and Lindsey Schwartz https://www.lindseyschwartz.com have been monumental in helping me take my business to the next level.

Website: HandmadeBusinessHelp.com

Instagram: @handmadebusinesshelp

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LisaMechamDIY

Image Credits
Jon Mecham FemForce Media