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Kate Stewart: How a Family Tradition Became a Million-Dollar Business Making a Global Impact
APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY The Christmas lights are twinkling, the hot cocoa is flowing, & our favorite Christmas movies are making their debut. It’s officially the holiday season & we are so excited to have one of our first holiday-based entrepreneurs on the show. Kate Stewart is the founder of Bauble Stockings. From family tradition to a […]
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APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY
The Christmas lights are twinkling, the hot cocoa is flowing, & our favorite Christmas movies are making their debut. It’s officially the holiday season & we are so excited to have one of our first holiday-based entrepreneurs on the show. Kate Stewart is the founder of Bauble Stockings. From family tradition to a thriving holiday company, hear how Kate has scaled a business by creating lasting memories in households across the country.
Creating global impact, pricing for wholesale, saying yes to the things you truly love in business & no to the things you don’t— all inside.
Press play for the full interview or keep reading below!
In this Episode:
Saving the Best for Last 🎁 Growing up, Kate learned that the best was saved for last through a thoughtful family tradition.
The Bauble Tradition 🎄 It wasn’t until she grew older that she learned no one else had the tradition of a bauble stocking. The idea for her dream business was born.
Confessions of a Workaholic 💼 While she won’t argue she’s the smartest in the room, Kate knew she was always the hardest working. Through a career of diverse positions, Kate developed skill sets and work ethic that served her well as she began her entrepreneurial journey.
Meet the People You Do Business With 👥 It took Kate a few years to find the perfect manufacturers for her product. She dreamed of partnering with a sustainable, fair-trade manufacturer that valued its employees. While the path was long, she stands by the importance of meeting the people you go into business with.
Shark Tank Profit Margins 🦈 When asked about how she first priced her product, Kate shared how Shark Tank helped her out.
Impact Motivated 🌍 Shanna explains her core motivators principle & how that connects to Kate’s passion for social and global impact over potential for profits.
Honesty is the Best Policy 🤚 Kate’s best business advice, to overcommunicate with your customers.
If it doesn’t sound like fun, I’m not doing it 🙅♀️ After a season of burnout, Kate drew a hard line to only pursue the things in her business that sounded fun. The result? Increasing company revenue & more FUN.
Attracting High-End Clients 💰 As a fair-trade company, creating a luxury experience isn’t typically top of mind. However, fair-trade products typically come with a luxury price tag. Kate explains the importance of attracting high-end clients & how she did it for Bauble Stockings.
Changing The Pitch 🎶 After her first Christmas season, Kate called the stores that sold her stockings for feedback. The result? Shifting her pitch to potential customers & drastically increasing her sales.
An Inbox Pro 💌 Kate opens how not being the creative in her business frees her up to handle tasks most entrepreneurs dread. Swipe her inbox system to maximize your productivity!
Tighten the Belt 💵 When starting out as an entrepreneur, sometimes you have to tighten the belt around your finances to help your business dreams flourish.
When to Get a PR Team 🗞️ Kate shares her tips for receiving press for Bauble Stockings.
Put’em on a Bumper Sticker. These Quotes are Pure Gold.
“It is based on my family’s Christmas tradition where after all of your presents have been opened, you go to the tree, you get your bauble stocking down, and then the final gift of Christmas, or a clue to it, is in the stocking. So the idea is really to save the best for last.”
“It was such a huge part of my childhood. I grew up with such gratitude for my mom, because my dad took us out to lunch every Christmas for us to talk about my mom and how awesome she was and all the things she did for our family. And how could we make her feel special?”
“I’m a crazy workaholic. I’ve always told people I’m never going to be the smartest person in the room, but I can outwork most anybody.”
“I’m a huge believer that you have to meet who makes your products. You need to go and look them in the eye and make sure you’re doing business the right way.”
“In terms of pricing, I just looked at what Shark Tank told me I had to do. That was how I decided price.”
“So the way I do business is a little bit backwards, because I’m always thinking, I need to move my product faster to create more jobs.”
“I think if I could give anybody business advice, it’s over communicate what’s going on. Honesty is the best policy.”
“With fair trade you tend to be more expensive, but being a fair trade based company, you don’t necessarily have a high-end mindset, because you’re really just trying to help people, right?”
“I’m really good with my email. I have three categories, I have three folders that I usually use. Every time an email comes in, it’s filed into a folder called now, a folder called pending or a folder called follow up. Every time an email comes in, it usually moves into now, which means the next time I sit down I’m going to need to respond to it.”
“So you just have to be willing to tighten your belt. Peter and I both own our own companies, we’ve had a lot of very tight belt years, but now we’re both at a place where it’s not as stressful as it was. We just had to put our heads down and work through it and say no to some things for a little while.”
“The minute you don’t trust your gut, get out of there. Get rid of whatever the situation is. Push it aside. You need to trust your gut.”
“Give yourself grace. You’ve gotta give yourself forgiveness for things you didn’t know. I’m so mean to myself when I don’t know the answer to something. You don’t know what you don’t know. It’s okay.”
More from this Episode
To hear the full story and more about Kate, press play on the player above for the full interview or click here to download the transcript.
Resources Mentioned:
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Kate Stewart
Not many people can claim they’ve woven their way into the fabric of holiday traditions, but Kate Stice Stewart is one of those rare individuals. As the founder of Bauble Stockings, Stewart has transformed an ornament-sized Christmas stocking into a cherished symbol of family togetherness. Launching her family’s tradition into a thriving holiday company has created memories in households across the country.
Bauble Stockings are meant to contain, or hold a clue to, each family member’s final gift of Christmas. Not necessarily the most expensive gift, but the most thoughtful one. The one that makes the recipient feel warm, fuzzy and thought-of. Launched in 2018, Bauble Stockings are hand-stitched needlepoint made for fair trade in Jacmel, Haiti.
Carried in 300+ specialty gift shops, Bauble Stockings is a brand to watch. Their 2024 collaborations include custom designs with Neiman Marcus, Talbot’s, and The White House Historical Association. Since launching, Bauble Stockings has worked with many notable brands including Nicky and Kathy Hilton, Alice + Olivia, Love Shack Fancy, Draper James, Vietri, Black Berry Farm, Sea Island, and Ocean Reef Club, among others. Since its founding, Bauble Stockings has given over $130,000 to charities.
Kate is an Atlanta native, HIES alum and attended Florida State University, majoring in Public Relations. She resides in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with her husband, Peter, and their two children, Brianna (8) and Calder (7).
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December 5, 2024
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