February 6, 2025 • 25 mins
Dakri, the owner of Shielded Hearts Clothing Co., shares her journey from crafting bottle cap necklaces to establishing a thriving creative business. She discusses overcoming personal challenges, the importance of community, and practical strategies for balancing life and entrepreneurship.
• Exploring the origins of Shielded Hearts and Dakri’s crafting journey
• Navigating personal challenges and the leap into entrepreneurship
• Importance of community support and overcoming initial barriers
• Effective time management strategies for a busy life
• Advice for aspiring craft business owners, including starting small and embracing adaptability
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the Turn Down the Hustle podcast.
Today I am welcomed by a veryspecial guest, daiquiri.
She is special to me and Ithink once you guys get to know
her you're gonna realize she isalso special to you.
She is the business owner ofShielded Hearts and she started
her unofficial business and kindof hobby journey roughly 13
(00:21):
years ago.
It became official five yearsago.
So she's been doing this thingfor quite a bit and she evolved
from bottle cap necklaces if youguys have seen those super cute
bottle cap necklaces to sewingonto vinyl and tees and more.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
You're listening to Tear Down the Hustle, the
podcast dedicated totransforming how you run your
creative online t-shirt businessby working smarter, not harder,
so you can spend more time withyour why, people and passions
that matter most in your life.
So throw on your favoritegraphic tee and turn up the heat
press because it's time to turndown the hustle.
Here's your host digitalmarketer.
(00:58):
Cold brew lover, t-shirt maker,freckled hype girl and owner of
Sunkist Virtual Assistant, amymaker.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Freckled Hype Girl and owner of Sunkist Virtual
Assistant Amy.
So with that I'll turn it overto you.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Welcome, dacri, and why don't you introduce yourself
for the audience?
Thank you, I'm so excited to behere.
So my name is Dacri and, as yousaid, I own Shielded Hearts.
I've been doing this officiallyfor about five years.
I had two boys first and then Ifinally got that little girl.
So I wanted to have all thingspink bows, frilly, girly so it
(01:39):
just started as a hobby making.
I figured I could make thosethings rather than buy them.
So that's how it started, andthen it just has grown from
those bottle cap necklaces toteas and tumblers and all kinds
of fun accessories.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
I can relate on that one where it turns into like
wait, I think I can make thatand that's pretty much how it
started for me too, like I'msure I could figure this thing
out, and then back in the day wewere just YouTube figuring it
out A lot less resources thanwhat we have today.
Absolutely I love it.
So let's get into.
How did Shielded Hearts kind ofstart?
(02:17):
So how did your journey intocrafting and even sewing begin?
Sewing I wish I had that skill.
My mom has always said she'llteach me and I still have never
learned.
But how did you get into that?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I grew up in a family of crafters.
My grandmother quilted, shecrocheted, she knitted Barbie
clothes for us.
My mom was also pretty crafty,so I grew up around that.
Then, like I said, I justthought oh, I can make this
bottle cap necklace.
It's just some hot glue and alittle round image and a bottle
(02:52):
cap and it just took off fromthere now?
Speaker 1 (02:56):
do you still offer bottle cap or have you set that
aside?
No, I haven't done those inyears, really, okay, and how old
was your daughter when youstarted?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
It was when she was born and she actually turned 14
today.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Oh, wow, so you have some celebrations to go
celebrate.
Wow, that is special timing.
Yes, I was wondering if you hada little model.
That's amazing.
When I first started, I wasdoing tutus.
Yes, we've all done the tutus,or 19.
I think we should ask peoplehave you made tutus before?
And I need to find that wasactually technically my first
(03:32):
show I ever did 18, 19, but myniece was my model and like
having them hanging up, they didnot sell, but throw one of them
things on a cute girl at thefront and, oh, they sold yeah
well with the sewing.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
I can't read a pattern.
I remember my grandmother, mymother, using those old like
brown tissue paper butterickpatterns and I could.
I can't read those, my mindjust doesn't work that way.
So I just started doing elasticwaistband skirts because you
didn't need a pattern for that.
Yes, yeah, I don't know howmany of those I made.
And then I found a patterncompany that they had pictures
(04:09):
with every step of the sewingpattern so, and they were mostly
like rectangles and things likethat.
So it was very easy to do.
So that was the only way Icould sew with a pattern.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Well, and it's probably even better now.
It's probably, like thestep-by-step videos are combined
, what you had to use.
Oh, I'm sure I love it.
So, going back into ShieldedHearts, so okay, so that's how
you started crafting and sewingand then you moved into actually
formulating Shielded Hearts asa business after so many years
of being a crafter.
(04:41):
Kind of walk us through thatjourney and what made you decide
to actually make a business now.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
So about, let's see 21.
So about four years ago I wentthrough a divorce, found myself
a single mom of three living inFort Lauderdale.
Cost of living was outrageous.
So I had been talking aboutmoving to Tennessee.
(05:08):
I have family here and I justfinally came to a point where I,
just, like, was living insurvival mode all the time.
So I took that leap of faith,packed up the U-Haul pods and
moved to Tennessee.
It was at that time that Ithought I really need to make a
(05:29):
go of this, I can do this and Ihave a great community around me
for support.
So I just I found myself at acrossroads and that was the time
to do it.
I found myself at a crossroads,and that was the time to do it.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
So I put I went all in, invested in myself and here
I am.
I love that and I can relate tothat as well as far as like
when a lot of us started ourbusiness.
It's interesting because Ithink for a lot of us it wasn't
like I was bored.
So, I dabbled in something.
For some people it does becomewhere you enjoy crafting and it
turns into an expression.
But for a lot of people itseems to be when you're almost
(06:15):
trying to find a close to onechapter, and it's like when
you're growing your business.
It's also symbolic to like whatyou're growing in your personal
life too.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
I can relate to that too.
I started my shirt businesswhen I was going through a
really tough time and I realizedthat I didn't have time to sulk
because I had orders or I had,or my passion was also fueling
and making me happy again.
I think that's beautiful andI'm sorry to hear about all
those troubles you went through,but I'm thankful for what you
created out of it Beautiful forsure.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I believe, I'm a firm believer in everything happens
for a reason and that we are puton paths for a reason and we
just have to have that faith tofollow those I completely agree,
and the sooner we can find whyis this happening?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
it seems to be that it's not closed doors anymore,
it's open doors, exactly.
It's beautiful.
I love that.
So going into shielded heart,so one, how did you come up with
that name?
Speaker 3 (07:19):
So when I originally started this, the name was DL
Designs.
I remember that.
Yes, I remember that.
Okay, but I felt like, becauseI was starting over, I needed to
rebrand and get rid of the L?
Ah.
So the shielded heart comesfrom my children and my faith.
(07:44):
My oldest son works in lawenforcement.
I have another son who isserving he's active duty in the
army, so that is where theshielded part comes from.
And then my daughter she is anepilepsy warrior, so that's
where the heart comes from whydid I never know this?
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I need to ask more people about their business name
.
It says so much that isbeautiful, yeah, and so, within
shielded hearts, some of thevalues that you have in Shielded
Hearts as far as, like I know,you mentioned protection,
strength, love, influence someof your business ethos.
(08:27):
Walk me through, starting withprotection.
What does protection mean toyou and your business?
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I understand the feeling of wanting to be
protected and protecting mychildren physically, to be
protected and protecting mychildren physically, emotionally
and spiritually.
So I feel like my brand showsthat and that we are covered by
faith and resilience.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Wonderful, and then that leads into the strength.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
So you went into the strength a little bit, but tell
me more about the strength inyour business, the strength
military families.
You got to have a lot ofstrength to be a military family
, and it's not just for theservice member, it's also for
the parents and siblings andthings like that.
Strength is not just aboutendurance, it's about rising,
(09:16):
rebuilding, rebranding.
I think people think ofstrength as strong muscles, but
it's not always that the love.
I love people.
I don't call my customers, Icall them friends, family and I
want people to feel loved whenthey get a product from me.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And I'm sure they do, and that goes into the last
part, love.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
I just.
It comes from the love for myfamily, my community that is
around me with my business andjust.
I am loved.
So Shielded Hearts is not justabout clothing for me.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
And that's definitely evident.
I have no doubt that yourfriends feel that the same.
I love that, okay.
So your kids are the foundationof your business, but you're
not just a mom or just abusiness owner.
So you juggle quite a bit ofthings.
So let's shift gears a littlebit into balance, because that
(10:24):
is a big thing for a smallbusiness owner.
Some of us are working nine tofives, some of us are working
nine to five inside the house,or I guess you could say 24
seven for those that are stay athome moms.
There's a lot to it.
So how do you manage running abusiness while you're also
working full time in lawenforcement yourself, in raising
three children?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Giving myself grace, that is, there are only so many
hours in a day and I wouldstress and I remember nights and
tears because I couldn't getthis done, I couldn't figure
this out.
Stress and I remember nightsand tears because I couldn't get
this done, I couldn't figurethis out.
So just giving myself thatgrace that hey, if I don't get
it done today, it's going to bethere tomorrow and if it's not
(11:07):
done tomorrow, it's going to bethere the next day.
I know that to five.
I am employee and I just I haveto manage my time very well.
We're very active in our church, my daughter plays volleyball,
(11:28):
my business, so it just I haveto be very good at time
management and prioritizing whathas to get done, and if it
doesn't have to get done it'sokay.
If it doesn't, exactly, no oneelse knows but me, right?
Speaker 1 (11:40):
exactly like it's okay.
If it doesn't Exactly, no oneelse knows but me Right, exactly
Like it's okay to let it go.
And I'm going to butcher thisquote.
But they say that your taskexpands to the amount of time
that you give it.
So it's amazing how, when youonly have truly an hour to work
on something, you were likelightning speed, right, but then
you have like 10 hours, maybe afull day, maybe you're working
(12:04):
on a weekend and you get nothingdone, or all of a sudden you
have all of this stuff to getdone your tasks expand to the
time you give it.
So, with that time managementyou talked about, are there any
tools you use or how do you stayon?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
track.
Time blocking is a lifesaver.
Yes, I took one of your coursesthat talked about priority
blocking and that has been anabsolute lifesaver.
And I found it really funny how, like things come back around
because a leadership class thatI'm taking, they did a whole
(12:33):
segment on time blocking.
That's cool, yeah.
So I was like, oh wait, I'veheard this before.
I know how to do this because Ido it.
So I just I take every daythree of my top priorities that
have to get done, that are notnegotiable, and those go onto my
calendar first and I make sureI schedule.
(12:54):
As bad as it sounds, I schedulefamily time Like I don't work
on Sundays, that is, that wholeday is blocked off for just
family and not work.
But that has been a gamechanger for me.
I think I posted today onsomething that my business was
running me.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
I wasn't running my business, but with the time
blocking, I blocking, I run itheck, yeah, yeah, and I don't
think it's bad at all that youschedule family time, because we
schedule what is a priority tous.
There's been thosedemonstrations about like the
jar you've maybe seen it, Ithink I've even learned about it
(13:35):
in church but like where youfill the jar with rocks or if
you stuff it the wrong way, yeah, when you prioritize
incorrectly and then the sandand the water, it doesn't fit.
But when you put the rocks infirst and then you put it, you
can make it work.
And so that's why I love thosethree main priorities and I love
that you've identified.
I'm going to, instead of doingthree, maybe all for your
(13:55):
business, because that canhappen and then things fall off.
No-transcript exactly so okay.
So it sounds like you've gotthis thing down.
So you've not only been makingthings for years over a decade
(14:16):
now you've been in business forroughly five officially.
I have no doubt there's beensome challenges that you faced
during this time.
Can you tell us more about whatobstacles you've encountered
transitioning when you movedShielded Hearts into a business,
and how did you overcome those?
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Definitely the time management was huge.
Throwing things at the wall andseeing that they stick just
didn't work.
That was huge.
And just learning.
There is so much to learn andthings seem to change daily with
this, whether it's trends orvendors, or now everybody's
doing this type of product andnot everybody's real willing to
(15:01):
help you when you say, hey,where did you get that screen
print from?
And they don't want to tell you.
So I really had to do myresearch and learn.
I've watched a lot of YouTubevideos, watched a lot of TikToks
, trying to figure some stuffout and really just asking for
help.
I'm not usually one to ask forhelp, I'll just figure it out,
(15:24):
but I've had to learn to do thatReally.
Building a community has helpedtremendously with some of those
challenges.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
And I can speak for Sanadly.
I've loved having you in ourcommunity, for sure.
But yeah, I agree, if you do ittogether or you find your group
of people and businessownership, it can feel very
isolating and lonely at times.
So a lot of things I'm sure youshare a lot with your friends
and your Facebook group, butthere's some things that you
(15:53):
don't share, maybe due to it'snot maybe appropriate for them
to know, or there's otherstruggles you're going through,
whether it's on a business levelor personal or professional.
But yeah, having thatclose-knit community, I think,
really makes a difference.
It does To grow.
And so, over the the years, howhave you seen shielded hearts
(16:13):
grow and evolve?
Has there been anythingspecific that has enabled some
of your growth?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
I definitely put myself out there more.
I've learned you can't just sitbehind a keyboard and just make
random posts here or there andhope that someone's going to see
your post from two weeks agothat you had this t-shirt for
sale I wish I could have yourepeat that again for every like
everyone.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
If you could just hear that again.
If you learn nothing else fromthis episode or gleam nothing
else, just listen to what shesaid again.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Just one more time cannot post once every couple
weeks and see you're gonna getsomething consistency.
I may go months with no orders,but I am still posting every
single day on TikTok, instagram,facebook, snapchat, like I
cover all of them, but you neverknow when that one is gonna
(17:11):
stick.
I've.
I had a huge order last yearwhich was monumental for me.
I got asked to do shirt thespirit shirts for my daughter's
middle school, so that was abouta 250 shirt order.
Like I have arrived yes, solast year.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
So what was that three or four years in?
Yeah, like you said, it finallywas like all right, that's the
one, and that one turns into 250it did and I put myself.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
I was I'm on the pto board, okay, so like I put
myself in the situation wherethere was potential, when they
asked about spirit shirts, Isaid, oh hey, over here I can do
them.
Yeah, I pressed all of thoseshirts by myself.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I can relate to that.
I think, and you could probablyrelate to this when you're at
work, there's been a few timeswhere, like opportunities have
definitely come up and I don'traise my hand and it is somebody
else, a coworker.
It's like wait, amy, can't youdo that?
So I'm like crunch yeah, I madestickers.
So, but I love that for you,that you found the opportunity
(18:21):
and you put yourself there, andit wasn't day one.
You showed up that you probablymade that opportunity.
That was time invested, gettingto know and putting yourself in
the right place.
But being not only able to bethere for your daughter, but
also being in the right place,right time.
I love that.
Best of both worlds.
Yes for sure.
Okay, let's.
(18:42):
You've talked about communityquite a bit.
Let's wrap up some of theepisode talking more about
community.
So, for you specifically, howhas some of the community
support you've received, andthen also networking with other
businesses, helped your business?
So you talked about how it waslacking when you first started.
How has that maybe changed foryou?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Definitely.
When I first started, otherbusiness owners were not so
willing to share the information, Like if I would ask, well,
where do you get that particularsupply?
I've been told to go figure itout.
But now I'm very blessed andfortunate that I have landed in
a community that is sosupportive, Other business
(19:26):
owners and like our pods that wehave and like our pods that we
have those the benefits that youget from that is astounding and
it just it's so weird to mebecause we're all selling the
same things.
A lot of us are, but we canstill support each other.
(19:53):
And oh hey, I found this, reallythis new DTF vendor that you
ought to check, to check themout.
They're really good.
Like there's not thatgatekeeping.
Like I need all the t-shirtssales to myself.
There is enough for everybodyout there.
And I'm just I'm so gratefulthat I have stumbled.
I don't even remember how Ifound, found you and Brittany,
but like it was, it has changedeverything for me.
(20:15):
I don't feel like I'm spinningmy wheels all the time.
I feel like a real businessowner because it's working.
We're not meant to do lifealone.
I hear that all the time atchurch and they talk about
communities and things like that, and it applies to business.
We need that support and thosefriends and people that will be
honest with us and support usand do like us.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Absolutely.
If you want to go fast, goalone.
If you want to go far, gotogether.
And I think that's what youfound in your pod, so shout out
to your poddies, yeah, once theyhear this episode.
That's amazing.
And it's amazing whenever youcan take some of those
conversations more privately.
I've experienced that too,getting like more close knit.
(20:58):
I found like three to five isusually enough that way, three
is the minimum, because ifsomebody's having an off day, at
least you have somebody elsethat could maybe give some
feedback.
Once you start getting abovefive, six, now you're having too
many conflicting ideas and it'soverwhelming.
On which direction do I go?
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Yeah, it loses, I think, some of that
personalization that you get,because you do build
relationships.
And I still even talk to my thepods we had before this one.
We still have our group chatand we still I mean, it's not
real often, but we still chat inthere and say, hey, did you see
this?
And so you do buildrelationships with people.
Yeah, and those are importantrelationships.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
I love it.
So last question to you, then,would be what advice would you
give someone starting their owncrafting or sewing business?
If they were starting today,what advice would you give?
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Start small and do it with something that you love.
I get just as excited today tosee an email that says I got an
order as I did the very firstorder.
Like I am always, it is a partyin here when I get that email
that I have an order.
Give yourself grace.
There's no, like you said,about going fast and just make
(22:14):
sure you have surroundedyourself with community that
will support you and love youand help you and be honest with
you and just to really take inall those ideas and suggestions
from your community.
That is so valuable valuable atleast it was for me, and I hear
(22:36):
you say this all the time ispivot.
You've got to be flexible andbe willing to pivot and change.
If something's not working,you've got to move and do
something different and findsomething that is working.
And if it's not working, sixmonths down the road we pivot
again and just to take thatchance on yourself.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
I love that.
I wish you had that advice whenyou're first starting, but then
you wouldn't be who you aretoday.
That's right.
Wonderful.
I am grateful for the journey,absolutely so.
Yeah, so you went from startingunofficially 13 years ago to
now official bottle cap,necklaces to sewing and now
T-shirts to 250 shirt orders.
(23:17):
It's just amazing.
And then, in a community whereothers do look up to you and
your optimism, for sure thecommunity could always use more
of that all the time.
So if you guys want to see ifyou can get some of your hands
on some of Shielded Hearts goods, you can check out the show
notes.
I'm going to have her websitelisted there If you want to
(23:38):
punch it in now.
It'sshieldedheartsclothingcocom.
She is also on IG and TikTok,like she mentioned.
I'll drop those in the shownotes below.
So make sure you go giveDaiquiri a follow or even check
out her website and support hersmall business.
Well, daquiri, I just want tosay thank you so much for being
(24:00):
a guest on the podcast.
Interviews like this reallyrefuel me and recharge me.
It's just so exciting to hearstories like yours.
It is extremely encouraging.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Thank you.
I am so grateful for thiscommunity that you have built
and continue to pour into.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I say all the time, but it's you guys, I'm literally
just the owner of the group,right, you guys make it the
community.
Well, thank you so much,zachary, thank you.
Welcome back to the Turn Down the Hustle podcast.
Today I am welcomed by a veryspecial guest, daiquiri.
She is special to me and Ithink once you guys get to know
her you're gonna realize she isalso special to you.
She is the business owner ofShielded Hearts and she started
her unofficial business and kindof hobby journey roughly 13
(00:21):
years ago.
It became official five yearsago.
So she's been doing this thingfor quite a bit and she evolved
from bottle cap necklaces if youguys have seen those super cute
bottle cap necklaces to sewingonto vinyl and tees and more.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
You're listening to Tear Down the Hustle, the
podcast dedicated totransforming how you run your
creative online t-shirt businessby working smarter, not harder,
so you can spend more time withyour why, people and passions
that matter most in your life.
So throw on your favoritegraphic tee and turn up the heat
press because it's time to turndown the hustle.
Here's your host digitalmarketer.
(00:58):
Cold brew lover, t-shirt maker,freckled hype girl and owner of
Sunkist Virtual Assistant, amymaker.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Freckled Hype Girl and owner of Sunkist Virtual
Assistant Amy.
So with that I'll turn it overto you.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Welcome, dacri, and why don't you introduce yourself
for the audience?
Thank you, I'm so excited to behere.
So my name is Dacri and, as yousaid, I own Shielded Hearts.
I've been doing this officiallyfor about five years.
I had two boys first and then Ifinally got that little girl.
So I wanted to have all thingspink bows, frilly, girly so it
(01:39):
just started as a hobby making.
I figured I could make thosethings rather than buy them.
So that's how it started, andthen it just has grown from
those bottle cap necklaces toteas and tumblers and all kinds
of fun accessories.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
I can relate on that one where it turns into like
wait, I think I can make thatand that's pretty much how it
started for me too, like I'msure I could figure this thing
out, and then back in the day wewere just YouTube figuring it
out A lot less resources thanwhat we have today.
Absolutely I love it.
So let's get into.
How did Shielded Hearts kind ofstart?
(02:17):
So how did your journey intocrafting and even sewing begin?
Sewing I wish I had that skill.
My mom has always said she'llteach me and I still have never
learned.
But how did you get into that?
Speaker 3 (02:29):
I grew up in a family of crafters.
My grandmother quilted, shecrocheted, she knitted Barbie
clothes for us.
My mom was also pretty crafty,so I grew up around that.
Then, like I said, I justthought oh, I can make this
bottle cap necklace.
It's just some hot glue and alittle round image and a bottle
(02:52):
cap and it just took off fromthere now?
Speaker 1 (02:56):
do you still offer bottle cap or have you set that
aside?
No, I haven't done those inyears, really, okay, and how old
was your daughter when youstarted?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
It was when she was born and she actually turned 14
today.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Oh, wow, so you have some celebrations to go
celebrate.
Wow, that is special timing.
Yes, I was wondering if you hada little model.
That's amazing.
When I first started, I wasdoing tutus.
Yes, we've all done the tutus,or 19.
I think we should ask peoplehave you made tutus before?
And I need to find that wasactually technically my first
(03:32):
show I ever did 18, 19, but myniece was my model and like
having them hanging up, they didnot sell, but throw one of them
things on a cute girl at thefront and, oh, they sold yeah
well with the sewing.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
I can't read a pattern.
I remember my grandmother, mymother, using those old like
brown tissue paper butterickpatterns and I could.
I can't read those, my mindjust doesn't work that way.
So I just started doing elasticwaistband skirts because you
didn't need a pattern for that.
Yes, yeah, I don't know howmany of those I made.
And then I found a patterncompany that they had pictures
(04:09):
with every step of the sewingpattern so, and they were mostly
like rectangles and things likethat.
So it was very easy to do.
So that was the only way Icould sew with a pattern.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Well, and it's probably even better now.
It's probably, like thestep-by-step videos are combined
, what you had to use.
Oh, I'm sure I love it.
So, going back into ShieldedHearts, so okay, so that's how
you started crafting and sewingand then you moved into actually
formulating Shielded Hearts asa business after so many years
of being a crafter.
(04:41):
Kind of walk us through thatjourney and what made you decide
to actually make a business now.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
So about, let's see 21.
So about four years ago I wentthrough a divorce, found myself
a single mom of three living inFort Lauderdale.
Cost of living was outrageous.
So I had been talking aboutmoving to Tennessee.
(05:08):
I have family here and I justfinally came to a point where I,
just, like, was living insurvival mode all the time.
So I took that leap of faith,packed up the U-Haul pods and
moved to Tennessee.
It was at that time that Ithought I really need to make a
(05:29):
go of this, I can do this and Ihave a great community around me
for support.
So I just I found myself at acrossroads and that was the time
to do it.
I found myself at a crossroads,and that was the time to do it.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
So I put I went all in, invested in myself and here
I am.
I love that and I can relate tothat as well as far as like
when a lot of us started ourbusiness.
It's interesting because Ithink for a lot of us it wasn't
like I was bored.
So, I dabbled in something.
For some people it does becomewhere you enjoy crafting and it
turns into an expression.
But for a lot of people itseems to be when you're almost
(06:15):
trying to find a close to onechapter, and it's like when
you're growing your business.
It's also symbolic to like whatyou're growing in your personal
life too.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
I can relate to that too.
I started my shirt businesswhen I was going through a
really tough time and I realizedthat I didn't have time to sulk
because I had orders or I had,or my passion was also fueling
and making me happy again.
I think that's beautiful andI'm sorry to hear about all
those troubles you went through,but I'm thankful for what you
created out of it Beautiful forsure.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
I believe, I'm a firm believer in everything happens
for a reason and that we are puton paths for a reason and we
just have to have that faith tofollow those I completely agree,
and the sooner we can find whyis this happening?
Speaker 1 (07:06):
it seems to be that it's not closed doors anymore,
it's open doors, exactly.
It's beautiful.
I love that.
So going into shielded heart,so one, how did you come up with
that name?
Speaker 3 (07:19):
So when I originally started this, the name was DL
Designs.
I remember that.
Yes, I remember that.
Okay, but I felt like, becauseI was starting over, I needed to
rebrand and get rid of the L?
Ah.
So the shielded heart comesfrom my children and my faith.
(07:44):
My oldest son works in lawenforcement.
I have another son who isserving he's active duty in the
army, so that is where theshielded part comes from.
And then my daughter she is anepilepsy warrior, so that's
where the heart comes from whydid I never know this?
Speaker 1 (08:07):
I need to ask more people about their business name
.
It says so much that isbeautiful, yeah, and so, within
shielded hearts, some of thevalues that you have in Shielded
Hearts as far as, like I know,you mentioned protection,
strength, love, influence someof your business ethos.
(08:27):
Walk me through, starting withprotection.
What does protection mean toyou and your business?
Speaker 3 (08:32):
I understand the feeling of wanting to be
protected and protecting mychildren physically, to be
protected and protecting mychildren physically, emotionally
and spiritually.
So I feel like my brand showsthat and that we are covered by
faith and resilience.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Wonderful, and then that leads into the strength.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
So you went into the strength a little bit, but tell
me more about the strength inyour business, the strength
military families.
You got to have a lot ofstrength to be a military family
, and it's not just for theservice member, it's also for
the parents and siblings andthings like that.
Strength is not just aboutendurance, it's about rising,
(09:16):
rebuilding, rebranding.
I think people think ofstrength as strong muscles, but
it's not always that the love.
I love people.
I don't call my customers, Icall them friends, family and I
want people to feel loved whenthey get a product from me.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
And I'm sure they do, and that goes into the last
part, love.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
I just.
It comes from the love for myfamily, my community that is
around me with my business andjust.
I am loved.
So Shielded Hearts is not justabout clothing for me.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
And that's definitely evident.
I have no doubt that yourfriends feel that the same.
I love that, okay.
So your kids are the foundationof your business, but you're
not just a mom or just abusiness owner.
So you juggle quite a bit ofthings.
So let's shift gears a littlebit into balance, because that
(10:24):
is a big thing for a smallbusiness owner.
Some of us are working nine tofives, some of us are working
nine to five inside the house,or I guess you could say 24
seven for those that are stay athome moms.
There's a lot to it.
So how do you manage running abusiness while you're also
working full time in lawenforcement yourself, in raising
three children?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Giving myself grace, that is, there are only so many
hours in a day and I wouldstress and I remember nights and
tears because I couldn't getthis done, I couldn't figure
this out.
Stress and I remember nightsand tears because I couldn't get
this done, I couldn't figurethis out.
So just giving myself thatgrace that hey, if I don't get
it done today, it's going to bethere tomorrow and if it's not
(11:07):
done tomorrow, it's going to bethere the next day.
I know that to five.
I am employee and I just I haveto manage my time very well.
We're very active in our church, my daughter plays volleyball,
(11:28):
my business, so it just I haveto be very good at time
management and prioritizing whathas to get done, and if it
doesn't have to get done it'sokay.
If it doesn't, exactly, no oneelse knows but me, right?
Speaker 1 (11:40):
exactly like it's okay.
If it doesn't Exactly, no oneelse knows but me Right, exactly
Like it's okay to let it go.
And I'm going to butcher thisquote.
But they say that your taskexpands to the amount of time
that you give it.
So it's amazing how, when youonly have truly an hour to work
on something, you were likelightning speed, right, but then
you have like 10 hours, maybe afull day, maybe you're working
(12:04):
on a weekend and you get nothingdone, or all of a sudden you
have all of this stuff to getdone your tasks expand to the
time you give it.
So, with that time managementyou talked about, are there any
tools you use or how do you stayon?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
track.
Time blocking is a lifesaver.
Yes, I took one of your coursesthat talked about priority
blocking and that has been anabsolute lifesaver.
And I found it really funny how, like things come back around
because a leadership class thatI'm taking, they did a whole
(12:33):
segment on time blocking.
That's cool, yeah.
So I was like, oh wait, I'veheard this before.
I know how to do this because Ido it.
So I just I take every daythree of my top priorities that
have to get done, that are notnegotiable, and those go onto my
calendar first and I make sureI schedule.
(12:54):
As bad as it sounds, I schedulefamily time Like I don't work
on Sundays, that is, that wholeday is blocked off for just
family and not work.
But that has been a gamechanger for me.
I think I posted today onsomething that my business was
running me.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
I wasn't running my business, but with the time
blocking, I blocking, I run itheck, yeah, yeah, and I don't
think it's bad at all that youschedule family time, because we
schedule what is a priority tous.
There's been thosedemonstrations about like the
jar you've maybe seen it, Ithink I've even learned about it
(13:35):
in church but like where youfill the jar with rocks or if
you stuff it the wrong way, yeah, when you prioritize
incorrectly and then the sandand the water, it doesn't fit.
But when you put the rocks infirst and then you put it, you
can make it work.
And so that's why I love thosethree main priorities and I love
that you've identified.
I'm going to, instead of doingthree, maybe all for your
(13:55):
business, because that canhappen and then things fall off.
No-transcript exactly so okay.
So it sounds like you've gotthis thing down.
So you've not only been makingthings for years over a decade
(14:16):
now you've been in business forroughly five officially.
I have no doubt there's beensome challenges that you faced
during this time.
Can you tell us more about whatobstacles you've encountered
transitioning when you movedShielded Hearts into a business,
and how did you overcome those?
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Definitely the time management was huge.
Throwing things at the wall andseeing that they stick just
didn't work.
That was huge.
And just learning.
There is so much to learn andthings seem to change daily with
this, whether it's trends orvendors, or now everybody's
doing this type of product andnot everybody's real willing to
(15:01):
help you when you say, hey,where did you get that screen
print from?
And they don't want to tell you.
So I really had to do myresearch and learn.
I've watched a lot of YouTubevideos, watched a lot of TikToks
, trying to figure some stuffout and really just asking for
help.
I'm not usually one to ask forhelp, I'll just figure it out,
(15:24):
but I've had to learn to do thatReally.
Building a community has helpedtremendously with some of those
challenges.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
And I can speak for Sanadly.
I've loved having you in ourcommunity, for sure.
But yeah, I agree, if you do ittogether or you find your group
of people and businessownership, it can feel very
isolating and lonely at times.
So a lot of things I'm sure youshare a lot with your friends
and your Facebook group, butthere's some things that you
(15:53):
don't share, maybe due to it'snot maybe appropriate for them
to know, or there's otherstruggles you're going through,
whether it's on a business levelor personal or professional.
But yeah, having thatclose-knit community, I think,
really makes a difference.
It does To grow.
And so, over the the years, howhave you seen shielded hearts
(16:13):
grow and evolve?
Has there been anythingspecific that has enabled some
of your growth?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
I definitely put myself out there more.
I've learned you can't just sitbehind a keyboard and just make
random posts here or there andhope that someone's going to see
your post from two weeks agothat you had this t-shirt for
sale I wish I could have yourepeat that again for every like
everyone.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
If you could just hear that again.
If you learn nothing else fromthis episode or gleam nothing
else, just listen to what shesaid again.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
Just one more time cannot post once every couple
weeks and see you're gonna getsomething consistency.
I may go months with no orders,but I am still posting every
single day on TikTok, instagram,facebook, snapchat, like I
cover all of them, but you neverknow when that one is gonna
(17:11):
stick.
I've.
I had a huge order last yearwhich was monumental for me.
I got asked to do shirt thespirit shirts for my daughter's
middle school, so that was abouta 250 shirt order.
Like I have arrived yes, solast year.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
So what was that three or four years in?
Yeah, like you said, it finallywas like all right, that's the
one, and that one turns into 250it did and I put myself.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
I was I'm on the pto board, okay, so like I put
myself in the situation wherethere was potential, when they
asked about spirit shirts, Isaid, oh hey, over here I can do
them.
Yeah, I pressed all of thoseshirts by myself.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
I can relate to that.
I think, and you could probablyrelate to this when you're at
work, there's been a few timeswhere, like opportunities have
definitely come up and I don'traise my hand and it is somebody
else, a coworker.
It's like wait, amy, can't youdo that?
So I'm like crunch yeah, I madestickers.
So, but I love that for you,that you found the opportunity
(18:21):
and you put yourself there, andit wasn't day one.
You showed up that you probablymade that opportunity.
That was time invested, gettingto know and putting yourself in
the right place.
But being not only able to bethere for your daughter, but
also being in the right place,right time.
I love that.
Best of both worlds.
Yes for sure.
Okay, let's.
(18:42):
You've talked about communityquite a bit.
Let's wrap up some of theepisode talking more about
community.
So, for you specifically, howhas some of the community
support you've received, andthen also networking with other
businesses, helped your business?
So you talked about how it waslacking when you first started.
How has that maybe changed foryou?
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Definitely.
When I first started, otherbusiness owners were not so
willing to share the information, Like if I would ask, well,
where do you get that particularsupply?
I've been told to go figure itout.
But now I'm very blessed andfortunate that I have landed in
a community that is sosupportive, Other business
(19:26):
owners and like our pods that wehave and like our pods that we
have those the benefits that youget from that is astounding and
it just it's so weird to mebecause we're all selling the
same things.
A lot of us are, but we canstill support each other.
(19:53):
And oh hey, I found this, reallythis new DTF vendor that you
ought to check, to check themout.
They're really good.
Like there's not thatgatekeeping.
Like I need all the t-shirtssales to myself.
There is enough for everybodyout there.
And I'm just I'm so gratefulthat I have stumbled.
I don't even remember how Ifound, found you and Brittany,
but like it was, it has changedeverything for me.
(20:15):
I don't feel like I'm spinningmy wheels all the time.
I feel like a real businessowner because it's working.
We're not meant to do lifealone.
I hear that all the time atchurch and they talk about
communities and things like that, and it applies to business.
We need that support and thosefriends and people that will be
honest with us and support usand do like us.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Absolutely.
If you want to go fast, goalone.
If you want to go far, gotogether.
And I think that's what youfound in your pod, so shout out
to your poddies, yeah, once theyhear this episode.
That's amazing.
And it's amazing whenever youcan take some of those
conversations more privately.
I've experienced that too,getting like more close knit.
(20:58):
I found like three to five isusually enough that way, three
is the minimum, because ifsomebody's having an off day, at
least you have somebody elsethat could maybe give some
feedback.
Once you start getting abovefive, six, now you're having too
many conflicting ideas and it'soverwhelming.
On which direction do I go?
Speaker 3 (21:15):
Yeah, it loses, I think, some of that
personalization that you get,because you do build
relationships.
And I still even talk to my thepods we had before this one.
We still have our group chatand we still I mean, it's not
real often, but we still chat inthere and say, hey, did you see
this?
And so you do buildrelationships with people.
Yeah, and those are importantrelationships.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
I love it.
So last question to you, then,would be what advice would you
give someone starting their owncrafting or sewing business?
If they were starting today,what advice would you give?
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Start small and do it with something that you love.
I get just as excited today tosee an email that says I got an
order as I did the very firstorder.
Like I am always, it is a partyin here when I get that email
that I have an order.
Give yourself grace.
There's no, like you said,about going fast and just make
(22:14):
sure you have surroundedyourself with community that
will support you and love youand help you and be honest with
you and just to really take inall those ideas and suggestions
from your community.
That is so valuable valuable atleast it was for me, and I hear
(22:36):
you say this all the time ispivot.
You've got to be flexible andbe willing to pivot and change.
If something's not working,you've got to move and do
something different and findsomething that is working.
And if it's not working, sixmonths down the road we pivot
again and just to take thatchance on yourself.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
I love that.
I wish you had that advice whenyou're first starting, but then
you wouldn't be who you aretoday.
That's right.
Wonderful.
I am grateful for the journey,absolutely so.
Yeah, so you went from startingunofficially 13 years ago to
now official bottle cap,necklaces to sewing and now
T-shirts to 250 shirt orders.
(23:17):
It's just amazing.
And then, in a community whereothers do look up to you and
your optimism, for sure thecommunity could always use more
of that all the time.
So if you guys want to see ifyou can get some of your hands
on some of Shielded Hearts goods, you can check out the show
notes.
I'm going to have her websitelisted there If you want to
(23:38):
punch it in now.
It'sshieldedheartsclothingcocom.
She is also on IG and TikTok,like she mentioned.
I'll drop those in the shownotes below.
So make sure you go giveDaiquiri a follow or even check
out her website and support hersmall business.
Well, daquiri, I just want tosay thank you so much for being
(24:00):
a guest on the podcast.
Interviews like this reallyrefuel me and recharge me.
It's just so exciting to hearstories like yours.
It is extremely encouraging.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Thank you.
I am so grateful for thiscommunity that you have built
and continue to pour into.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
I say all the time, but it's you guys, I'm literally
just the owner of the group,right, you guys make it the
community.
Well, thank you so much,zachary, thank you.
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