🧠 How I Started My Own Business: JuliaJude Bamboo

Starting your own business can be one of the most challenging—and rewarding—decisions you'll ever make. In this post, I'm sharing my journey of how I launched JuliaJude Bamboo, what I've learned along the way, and tips for anyone thinking about taking the leap.

🚀 Why I Decided to Start My Own Business

It all began when I realized that I was able to create prints and designs that I wanted to see on my child. Julia had severe eczema and that was our main reason for starting our business, but truly I had so many print ideas that i wanted to see come to life.

I had a passion for a clothing company, and I believed that I could make a difference by creating a company that has five star quality and service.

🛠️ The First Steps I Took

Starting a business can feel overwhelming, but I began by researching all the requirements for having a safe children’s company along with ordering many samples to find the perfect fabric to make our items out of!

Some of the most important early decisions I made included:

• Choosing my business structure: We were a LLC at first, but changed to sole proprietorship at the suggestion of our tax representivie

• Defining my niche: We defiantly are geared towards Families with small children

• Creating a basic business plan to outline:

  • My goals: Release SAFE clothing items and prints that our family would enjoy

  • Budget: When we first started we dedicated 20 thousand dollars of our personal savings towards starting this business; it was a huge investment, but we wanted to make sure we gave it our best shot at being successful.

  • Marketing strategy: Primarily use Facebook as our marketing tool, we use email campaigns, Instagram, and TikTok. Our best marketing tool to date is word of mouth, a good personal review can do wonders for a brand!

💡 Biggest Challenges I Faced

Starting out wasn’t easy. I struggled with learning our customer needs, learning what sizes to order and what sizes would do better was our biggest struggle for the first year, we defiantly have a better idea of what sizes our loyal customers need.

🌱 My First Win

I'll never forget when we SOLD OUT of a print withing 5 days of release, not once TWICE this happened to both Gone Fishin and Junior Park Raner. It validated everything and gave me the motivation to keep going.

These moments showed me that this was worth all the time and effort I had put into our brand.

🧩 Tools and Resources That Helped Me

Here are some of the tools and resources that made a big difference in getting started:

• Procreate – for designing promos and prints

• Squarespace – helped me with designing my website and sending emails

• Community – I have met some amazing women who also run their small businesses and give each other support through social media interaction or orders.

📈 Where I Am Now

Fast forward to today, and we release 15-20 prints a year, have almost 6,000 followers on facebook, and do 4-5 local in person events a year!

I’m currently focusing on Down Syndrome Awareness Month for October prints and models, and the journey has been incredibly rewarding.

🔑 My Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs

If you’re thinking of starting your own business, here’s what I wish someone had told me:

1. Tip #1 – "It takes time, ALOT of time."

2. Tip #2 – "Don’t wait for perfection, nothing will ever be perfect and you don’t want to miss the moment."

3. Tip #3 – "Focus on what YOU want from your business. Priorituze your goals and dreams when building it better."

💬 Let’s Connect!

Are you thinking about starting your own business? I’d love to hear your story or answer any questions you have.

Thanks for reading, and remember— You can do it if youre dedcated enough! Joscelyne Eddy.