Growing is hard work . . .
As most of you know, CK is my midlife career. I love what I get to do everyday . . . but . . .it has certainly not been without its challenges! Not surprisingly, but nonetheless, challenging. There is so much more to running a business than a pretty website and shiny IG posts.
While I am confident in my ability to make a beautiful handbag, it is the “back side” of the business that tends to hang me up the most. By back side, I mean the behind the scenes; marketing, keeping my website up to date, you know, kind of like the aging process . . .it just takes a lot of maintenance!
In 2017 I hired my first marketing firm, Backroad Brands. I love Candace, the owner, and worked closely with her for years to elevate my brand and increase my marketing capabilities. She was amazing, lovely to work with, and brought CK Designs and me a long way. After a few years, in 2020, I became interested in switching things up. I hired a new marketing firm based on a recommendation from another local entrepreneur who inspired me to jump aboard. Excited and confident that I was headed on a new and strong track, I eagerly consulted with them and made some great changes. Things were happy, happy and I loved the direction we were headed. Unfortunately, I was met one day with a rather surprising notice that we would no longer be working together. It felt out of the blue (I kid you not!), and was in the form of a strongly worded email letting me know that they would no longer be keeping me as a client. This was challenging moment for me. It felt shocking and quite frankly, devastating. Its sudden nature still shakes me to this day. One day I thought things were going swimmingly and the next I was out on my own! Boom! Buh-bye . . . .Holy shit!
It took a few months of really hard work, both professionally and personally, to come to terms with why and how this had occurred, but then I was able to move forward. In hindsight, as with most things, it happened for a reason and has been an overall net positive change. Back to the drawing board . . .
After a deep dive into researching marketing firms and making a couple of disastrous decisions, I was able to discern exactly what my needs were and what kind of people I wished to bring into my “fold.” Perhaps most importantly, throughout this whole ordeal, I have come to realize that I am all about “the feels”. Just as I like with my clients, I also need/want to feel a strong connection to “my team”. It has been through this process that I learned to follow my instincts and keep my standards high!
Luckily, I have since found and hired a great new firm. Everyone working on my project is thoughtful, timely, and goal oriented. Whew, such a relief after an arduous journey!
It is through working with my new team that we have decided to shake things up a bit at CK. After analyzing all of my marketing content, the first and most obvious item on the agenda was to narrow down the selection of bags on my website. After a minor panic attack, I have succeeded and am so darned excited! We are calling it: CK Core Collection. We will be offering a highly curated collection of my all time, best selling standards available through my website: cindykirkdesigns.com. From here, I will be adding very limited quantities of seasonal items, which means that once they are gone, they are gone for good!
In addition, if you want a bag that is not featured on my website, I am more than happy to work with you to create your perfect, personalized bag. Simply click on “custom” in the header on the home page and you can connect directly with me.
Words cannot express how great a feeling this is for me. I finally, after all these years, have a solid plan in place to move CK forward. I hope that you enjoy and love what you see and will also be anticipating new and exciting, limited edition bags!