This business series is something I love. It allows me to feature companies that I adore and people I look up to as role models. Today’s post is with a very inspiring lady, who envisioned beautiful stationery and has worked incredibly hard to make it happen. I’m thrilled to be able to share today’s Q&A with you as I first found the business when it was relatively new and since then, have seen it grow immensely (and at such a rapid pace!). So, without further ado, let me present to you: Gabi, founder and Girl Boss of Chroma Stationery!
P.S. If you haven’t heard of Chroma Stationery before, you’ll need to check out my previous post on it – I shared two notebooks that I purchased back when the store was quite new. I fell in love with Chroma Stationery when I first came across it and I love seeing how successful it is now.
- Why did you start the business? What’s the motivation behind it?
I started Chroma Stationery whilst in my final year at Uni, as part of my final major project. After graduating and job hunting for a little while I decided to really give Chroma a go. I launched a Kickstarter crowd funding campaign to raise enough money for stock & a machine. The rest is history.
- Are there any tips or quotes that you’ve been told that have helped you?
‘Don’t make plans, before you’ve made decisions.’ I am chronic worrier, if I don’t have anything to worry about, I’ll usually find something. This quote often sticks in my mind. It’s important not to worry, over think and plan ahead for every scenario until you know what you’re doing, else you’ll drive yourself mad.
- How has starting a business affected your life?
Chroma has hugely taken over my life. Working for myself on something I am so passionate about, means my job is 24/7. Whether the company is a success, or not, is completely dependent on me – it’s a lot of pressure and can be hugely stressful. It has also changed my life for the better. I get to do what I love every day and the perks of being self employed for me, outweigh the negatives.
- What motivates you to carry on when things are hard?
I guess ultimately, I want to make Chroma a success. I am determined to succeed, so will keep going even when things get tough. It’s also a great feeling to prove all the doubters wrong.
- What’s your favourite thing about being your own boss or a business owner?
Being able to dictate my own hours is brilliant. I have Crohn’s Disease, (a chronic, incurable, Inflammatory Bowel Disease), symptoms of which affect me on a daily basis. Being self employed means I can work around this. It’s amazing being able to wake up and love what you do, every day. I also hugely love talking and promoting other inspirational women.
- What’s your least favourite thing about it?
Working alone, from home, isn’t always the best thing. I do miss having other people around me to bounce ideas off of. Because of this, surrounding myself with a good support system and online, remote contacts is so important.
- What do you think is most important when it comes to running a successful business?
Don’t give up, always believe in yourself and your idea.
- If you could work or collaborate with anyone or any brand, who would it be and why?
Working with brands is one my favourite aspects of running Chroma & we’ve had the pleasure of working with the likes of Estee Lauder, American Airlines, Schuh, Boots & Soap and Glory, I would love for this to continue. Publication wise, it’s always amazing to be included in Gift Guides and ‘Girl Boss’ features.
- If you could speak to your pre business self, what would you say?
Don’t listen to the negativity, some people aren’t going to get it, and that is okay – you can’t please everyone. Stop, take a breath and make baby steps.
- Where would you like to see your business go in the next five years?
I want Chroma to continue working with amazing brands and lovely individual customers whilst continuing to bring out new and exciting, colour-loving, personalised stationery products. Soon, I’m hoping to move from working from home to our own office space, which will be amazing.
Show us how you use your favourite products:
The beauty of Chroma is that you can create a truly unique product. With 20 colours, across four ranges, every customer can build their dream notebook. Chroma can emboss pretty much anything, in any font, whether that be a name, set of initials, a logo, line image or quote.
Gabi is a great example to represent the “Girl Boss” status. She’s grown her business incredibly – branching out into various different sized notebooks. I absolutely adore that the products are so customisable. Not only can you pick the exact product but you could also pick the colour, the inside pages of the notebooks, what you’d like embossed (and the colour of the embossing), the font, the location of the embossing or even get an image on it instead! It doesn’t really get much more personal than this and these products would make a great gift – to your loved ones or even to yourself! All that being said, I would suggest you run over to Chroma Stationery now and check it out! If you need any more convincing then head over to her Instagram page because it’s full of eye-candy to feast on or check out my more in-depth review to see what I thought when I first came across her products, almost two years ago.