Sara and Steph dish with D.C. local wedding stationery creator Sasha Willis about starting her business from a hobby and how she planned her own wedding.

SHOW NOTES

BUSINESS

How long have you been in business?

I started my business in 2010, but it was completely different from what it is now!

What areas do you serve?

Nationwide, although primarily the DMV area

Why did you decide to start your own business?

My business originally centered around scrapbooking! I liked capturing memories. That was very short lived though and I transitioned into stationery and event design after friends noticed how elaborate my halloween parties were. I decided to really focus on that because I like making events special and those little details that stationery can add really can make an event stand out.

What's the coolest thing about owning your own business?

I get to decide what I want to focus on. My business has shifted from scrapbooking to stationery and event design, to stationery and an online shop and now a more lifestyle brand with stationery and my shop included. My business has grown and shifted as I've come into more of my own as a person.

What challenges have you had to overcome?

My biggest challenge with my business is that I sometimes don't know what to focus on! I think as a creative we have lots of ideas and we want to do them all. Recognizing what I'm good at and "staying in my lane" has been hard for me!

What advice could you offer to someone starting a business like yours?

Know your target client and know that you might not be it! And that the point of a business is to make money which ties into knowing your target client. In the stationery industry there are so many hobbiest. That coupled with clients not always valuing "paper" can make it a challenge to get paid what you're worth. By trying to compete with online shops, it's a race to the bottom. Know your worth, know what your target client will spend on your product, and make sure you can make a profit.

YOUR WEDDING

What, if anything, would you change about your wedding?

I actually wouldn't change anything about my own wedding. My husband and I were engaged in 2011 and then broke up. We got back together in 2012 and then re-engaged in 2015 so I essentially got to plan 2 weddings. The wedding I had planned for us the first time around would have been nice but I'm actually glad that one didn't happen because our actual wedding was everything I wanted it to be.

How did you choose your wedding vendors?

Since I'm in the industry I knew a lot of the vendors. I hired one of my event planner friends as my planner and went with pretty much everyone she recommended because I trusted her.

What advice could you offer to engaged couples planning their wedding - as both a wedding professional and a married human?

Don't go broke paying for a wedding. There's nothing wrong with waiting to save up for your wedding to have the day you want. I also always tell my couples not to stress about anything that may go wrong on the day-of. You are the only people who know what you have planned, so most of the time, if something goes wrong, your guests one even noticed. And the most important thing happens when you walk down the aisle. If you walk down and walk back up married, than ultimately the day was a success.

What was the most important decision you made about your wedding?

To limit our guest list. My husband has a HUGE family and we paid for pretty much everything ourselves. We knew we couldn't afford to invite everyone so we we strategic about who we did invite. We also didn't include children.

Follow Creations by Sasha! @creations_by_sasha