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Celebrating 10 Years of Success with Tara Sutton Everything Done to a T

• Erin Alexander

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In this exciting episode of the Product Powerhouse Podcast, Erin chats with the incredible Tara Sutton, owner of Everything Done to a T. Tara shares her inspiring journey of building a successful online boutique that specializes in personalized, giftable items. From the early days of making Lego bags to navigating the challenges of running a full-time business, Tara’s story is filled with valuable insights and practical advice for anyone looking to start or grow their own business.

Key Topics Discussed:

  • Introduction to Tara Sutton and Everything Done to a T
  • The evolution of Tara's business over the past decade
  • Transitioning from a full-time corporate job to full-time entrepreneurship
  • Navigating the challenges when her husband was laid off
  • Strategies for maintaining a consistent social media presence
  • The importance of trusting your gut in business decisions
  • Practical tips for beginners in the business world

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Hello friends, welcome to another episode of the product powerhouse podcast. I am so glad you are here today. This is going to be a really fun episode. I am chatting with my friend Tara Sutton from Everything to a T. And Tara is just an amazing human being. Like, I adore her. She is so kind, so funny, and someone you need to be following. So Tara runs an online boutique with personalized, giftable items. So you're talking like, Tumblers with your name on them, tags for your kids sports bags, all sorts of things that are personalized. She doesn't do plain and boring. I love how she says, I don't do live, laugh, love. She is against anything generic. She loves the personalized touch on everything. And today we're chatting about how her business has evolved in 10 years. She just celebrated her 10th anniversary earlier this year and how things have grown and changed. How Business has shifted over the years, as well as what happened when her husband was laid off from his longtime job and how that affected her business and that whole conversation. It's a really awesome interview and I hope you enjoy.

Erin Alexander:

Hi Tara. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. How are you today?

Tara Sutton:

Hi. Thank you so much for having me. I'm good. I'm good. How are you?

Erin Alexander:

I am doing great. I'm so excited to talk to you today. I always like to tell people like who are listening, like how we met. And we, I think first connected on Instagram because we were both going to go to UPP this year, or like I followed you because you had been to UPP or something like that. And now it's been like two years. How crazy is that?

Tara Sutton:

I know. I know. And we got to party in Nashville last year together. So that was super fun.

Erin Alexander:

It was so fun. Are you going again this year?

Tara Sutton:

I am. I am.

Erin Alexander:

I will see you there.

Tara Sutton:

Yes. I told Allison. I said, I want to make like an alumni shirt or something.

Erin Alexander:

Oh, that would be so fun, wouldn't it? Yeah. So let's talk about your business. Why don't we start by telling everyone who you are and what you do?

Tara Sutton:

Okay, so I am Tara. I am the owner of Everything Done to a T. It is a small business based out of my home in New Jersey. I have been in business for 10 years. I just celebrated my 10 year anniversary in March, which is so exciting. And unbelievable and crazy and wild and all the things. To think that I started the Etsy shop 10 years ago making Lego bags. Which, let's face it, it was a gift bag with a circle glued on it, but for some reason, with a baby and a toddler, I thought the world needs these, like the world needs this. I had started, I'd done my own kind of DIY wedding in 2009, which this is pre Pinterest. So I felt like. martha Stewart making my invitations, making my table numbers, doing all those things. And then when that was over, I still wanted to do parties. And a lot of my friends were getting married. I did their weddings. Then those same people were having babies. I was doing high chair banners and favor bags. And that's how it just got to the point of. I wonder if I could do an Etsy shop. I had just started at a company as an executive assistant. It was a great job, but I just had to do more. There was just something that I needed. I don't know if it was the creative outlet, I don't know what it was because it was not the ideal time to start a small business looking back. I started with party favors, party decor, first birthday hats. Then it got more back into wedding accessories, bridal party hangers to hang the dresses with everyone's name and invitations and favor tags. And that went great for several years of just me working during the day, coming home, dinner, bath, bedtime. Now it's to a T and that and I would clock in to a T at night and do that on the nights and the weekends and then right around 2020 the beginning of 2020 I thought the wedding style has died down. I want to get more into just gifts like personalized gifts. And so I ordered a laser engraver and it got delivered the week of COVID. So it was perfect timing to switch gears because there were no weddings. Had I only relied on the weddings, I would have been shut down quite frankly, because no one was even having weddings or birthday parties, but they were sending gifts when they couldn't see the person in person. So it actually, Worked out really well for me. And now I do personalized gifts, sports accessories. I have two boys, 12 and nine, and we are in the sports world day in and day out. So I do a lot of bat bag tags and sports things, but personalized gifts, keepsake gifts, that's really my market now. And. In October 2021, I left my full time job to do this full time and I will not be going back. I loved that job, but I will not be going back. I love being home with the kids and being able to do school pickup and run the business at the same time. And it has just flown in several different wonderful directions, but that's where we are now.

Erin Alexander:

That is so cool. I love hearing the behind the scenes. I think we are, we have a little bit in common. When I started my business, there was no reason. It was just like, I feel this pull. I feel like I want something more. My job was fine, but I just wanted something different.

Tara Sutton:

You can't put your finger on it. And people are like, how do you have time for that? Or why are you doing this? Or, are you, do you need money? Then they start whispering are you in trouble? I'm like, no, I'm not. I just, I really love doing it and I want to see where it can go. And thankfully I did because here I am now.

Erin Alexander:

Yeah. Here you are. That's so cool. I love it. How did you, when did you transition? I guess I want to know, when did you start having your own website to go along with your Etsy store?

Tara Sutton:

So I had my website built, actually, this is a funny story. So I was doing paint night events where I would cut the stencil. My dad was making the wooden boards and as a fundraiser for like local organizations and birthday parties and charities, I would have people sign up. They could personalize their sign to have their name or married in whatever it was. Not, I do not. Live, laugh, love. I don't do that. They could personalize their sign. I would come with the paint and the boards and it would be like a night of paint. It was like a paint and sip, but you left with something that looked normal because you were using a stencil. It wasn't like freehand. And I needed a way for them to pay and pick their design. Because it was beyond a Google form. I didn't want to pay the Etsy fees for local people that were coming to this event. Like it was not working out with just Etsy or just free tools. So I actually only built the website for that, for people to look at the designs. Pick the one they wanted and pay me. And then I would cut the organization a check at the end of the fundraiser. So that's how the website started. And it just sat doing that separate from Etsy. And then in probably 2020. I started hearing all these rumors of people getting shut down, or people violating, I had gotten a couple dings against me for the most bizarre reasons on Etsy. Etsy is it was described to me by someone that it's like a toxic boyfriend you know it's not good for you, but you cannot, you can't get away. I love Etsy,Etsy is great, but they also have, you know, If anyone from Etsy is listening, please don't shut me down. But they also have a tremendous amount of rules and back end stuff that you can't control. And so I got too nervous, especially around the time of my husband and I were planning on me leaving my full time job. I could not risk losing all of that. I had no email list. I had no way of, if my Instagram got shut down or my Etsy got shut down, I was dead in the water. So I thought, I have this, I have, I own the URL, I own the domain, like, why am I not at least having it operate, at least having it function, at least collecting email addresses? So that was, it was already there and it was fear, quite frankly, of what would I do if I got dinged for a weird reason or a, someone report, these people can report you for anything. Customers and you have no control over. He said, she said, Etsy will take a side and that's it. So I got way too nervous and I already had it sitting there. So I started putting products and now obviously like I do a lot more on my website. I do a lot more on my email list. I push people to the website. I will never Probably ever let go of Etsy, but we run side by side.

Erin Alexander:

That's really smart. People ask me should I have an Etsy store or should I start with Shopify? And I'm like when they're asking me if they, how they should start, I'm like, start with the one that seems the easiest to you. Like low barrier to entry, which a lot of times is Etsy, but they work together. They should work together. They can work together. I had an Etsy store. This must have been like, so it was when Lizzie was a baby. Cause I started with the baby shower invitations I made for her because I'm a graphic designer. Like I worked in graphic design for the last 15 years. Oh my gosh. How am I that old?

Tara Sutton:

Right out of high school.

Erin Alexander:

exactly like when I was 13. So I started making the baby shower invitations, and I started with the ones that I had made for myself. And then I made some more for my friends and their babies. And, every time I made a new design, I'd put it up on my Etsy store and I was doing really good. But then someone was like, you copied my design. And Etsy did a temporary close my store. And I panicked. I was like in tears. I'm like, I didn't mean to copy their design. Like I had no idea, So I'm calling my best friend, Brie, and she's does the digging. And she's your first sale on this product was this day. And their first sale on this product was after yours. And you had it listed on this day. And she just did the digging. And so I was able to submit all the documents or whatever and recover my Etsy store, but it terrified me. I was like, someone's going to sue me. We don't have any money. Yeah.

Tara Sutton:

I first started, I was, I did a lot of candy bars. That was back when you got all the glass jars and different color coordinated candy. So I was selling personalized stickers that you could put on the bottom of a Hershey kiss. that matched your theme or the person's baptism or whatever it was. And they were like, this is a takedown letter from Hershey. I'm like, I'm encouraging people to buy kisses. Because the stickers fit the kisses. I'm not selling kisses, but you can't explain anything to them. And again, it was like panic because I was new and I was excited. And I thought, Oh my God please, no. Can I talk to someone at Hershey? And they just don't care, they were like, no, you're done.

Erin Alexander:

Yeah. It's crazy. Now I want to say congratulations on your 10 year anniversary. That's huge. That's so exciting.

Tara Sutton:

Sometimes it feels like I've been doing it for 50 years and sometimes I can't hardly believe I'm in double digits. So thank

Erin Alexander:

right. How did you celebrate?

Tara Sutton:

I had a photo shoot. I treated myself to some new headshots at someone else's house, which I, you probably saw on my Instagram. You can rent someone else's house. That has like a much more aesthetically pleasing house than you do that doesn't have like fat bags and glitter on the floor like my house does and so we went there with a friend of mine That's a photographer and I had balloons and cup like I did a little 10 year aspect of it and then I did different head shots and then some product photography and Stuff like that I wouldn't normally treat myself to all the time so we did that. We went out to dinner with my family and the kids are really into the business. Even though they're boys and they're not really interested in glitter tumblers. They know what I do and they obviously can see my office. And so it is a family affair. So we went out to dinner and celebrated and toasted to 10 years. And yeah, that was fun back to work,

Erin Alexander:

That's so fun. Congrats. That is really fun.

Tara Sutton:

Thank you.

Erin Alexander:

Do your boys like talk about your business to other people?

Tara Sutton:

They do, and talk about melt your heart like you could get promoted or shared by the most famous person it's not. Going to be your son telling his teacher. Have you seen my mom's tick tock because it's really good. Or, my older son. Now he takes like a digital media class. And he's do you want me to bring in my mom's ring light? The teacher's no, but like the fact that he knows like what I'm doing down here and he's interested and he's proud. We, like I said, we do a lot of sports stuff. So a lot of his friends, bat bags have the tags on them. And the coach say like, how did you guys all get these tags? And Connor will be the first one to say, my mom has a small business and it like absolutely just melts my heart when they, Know what I'm doing or promote to their circle of friends. What I do, it is just the funniest, most adorable thing ever. I love it so much.

Erin Alexander:

My daughter is the same way. She did this program and they would like make charts and things for her. And she's you're not really good at this. You should hire my mom. And then anytime she's talking to someone and she hears like that, they have a business. She's like, if you need a website, my mom can make it.

Tara Sutton:

It's so fun. Like it's a, it's so funny what they pick. You can say go make your bed a hundred times. They don't hear it, but you have one conversation at the dinner table about an Etsy customer. And the next thing, they're telling grandma did you hear the problem? Mommy had oh, now you picked a list. And now, you know what I'm talking about?

Erin Alexander:

Yes, exactly. That's so fun. Okay. Man, I have, we have, we could take this conversation so many ways, but your husband, he just got a new job. So yay! Your husband got laid off. And you guys were like, okay, now we're gonna work the business.

Tara Sutton:

it was, yes, that was quite a time. He was at a company for 18 years, right out of college. Him and I are college sweethearts. So we went to college together at Montclair and got married afterwards and got, he got this job right out of college. So he lived, breathed, worked at this company for 18 years. When I started TuaTea, it, I was working full time as well. So that TuaTea money was quite frankly, my concert fund and I love going to concerts and you're, there's just something about a VIP package where you get the lanyard and the front row. And I, and that was my fitting and that's what I wanted to work towards. And it was fun money. I hate to say it that way, I had a full time job. Then when we started talking about me leaving, the business had a different reason for functioning. It was like, okay, let's see what this is bringing in. Let's look at the numbers. Let's crunch everything much differently. Now we have bills if we take away my full time income. How is that gonna look? What do I need to sell to break even or what whatever you want to call it? Then when he got laid off it was like, oh my god I mean he would at the time he was our primary income he was our insurance, he was our savings account, he was everything. Because the money that I was making, I was reinvesting into the business, setting aside as like an emergency fund. Like we weren't per se paying our bills with that money. It was business money and life money. And so it was, Shocking. And I would love to say that I was the supportive partner and I was curled up in a ball, crying my eyes out Oh my God, how, what is this going to do? I need to go back to work. Is this the end of two a T because I, have connections from my previous job I left on good terms. I probably could have went right back. Is this the end? And so it was a very scary time for the business, for our family, for everything. It, the business took a whole nother perspective, I guess you'd say. I took down a bunch of listings. It was let's streamline this so that we can get orders out fast so that I can batch orders that are similar. Let's trim the fat of these things don't sell. There's no use promoting them or, the season has ended. Let's clean all this up. It was right in the heart of Christmas orders and elf kits and things that I do for the holidays So the pro was that I got free labor out of him And he was able to and he's so great, we've been married the whole time that i've had the business So he knows what I do how to do it You know, he jumped right in even if it was just running to the post office or anything like that He jumped right in and we became co workers While he was looking for a new job. It was an interesting time, I'll say that. Then he started getting into the videos on social media, and he was like, I have this idea. And I'd be like let's think about that one. But he was a good sport about, being in videos that I had, or helping make orders or glue things together, whatever I needed him to do, basically. But it's just interesting how different, The business has looked, depending on our life in the background, from it being concert money to, you know, our only income for a while.

Erin Alexander:

I can completely relate my husband. when I started my business in 2016 like within the first 30 days, Blake got let go from his like job. He had been the maid breadwinner, he had been working. Like over time, he had been working at that company for five years and my money at the time was just like extra, like we use it for the groceries, the gas, I'm not someone who would ever not work. I'm just very driven. I wanted that kind of I've always wanted to work and. So he had a hard time finding a job and it was like, Oh my gosh. Okay. So it's only been a month. Do I go back to my old job? I knew it was available, but I'm like, if I give up now, I don't think I'll ever try again. I feel like this would be the end. I wouldn't actually do it. And so for that first year, because I was also pregnant with my son, we found out I was pregnant the same time he got he got let go. And it was like, Ooh. In their right mind with, obviously we didn't know he's going to get let go. But so I was dealing with trying to start a company throwing up nonstop. I was so sick and and then he had a hard time finding a job. So he was working at home Depot part time and pizza hut part time because there was like just nothing. I was working a part time job and starting to get the business off the ground. Who was it rough. And, we had to lean on our. Our people at that time I think Blake's grandma paid our phone bill one time because we just couldn't get it together. And she was so sweet and helpful and it was just crazy. But then it also happened again in 2020. He lost his job in the middle of the pandemic or right at a few months in. And again, it was just like. I don't know what to do because like at that point you're thinking like during the pandemic it's like you can't get a job right like

Tara Sutton:

where are you gonna go, even as an option? Yeah.

Erin Alexander:

yeah, and I think the saving grace was that unemployment was awesome during the pandemic. And so he ended up staying home watching the kids and I would just focused on working and it worked out really well. For a long time. And then we were still using our savings a little bit and it was like a teetering and we weren't quite there. And then he finally got, he got a part time job and then he started getting more hours at that job. The last four years, since the pandemic have just been so wild. I never thought that they would happen, but I am very fortunate that I've been able to keep my business and. Make it work.

Tara Sutton:

right, and that's like you said, that's the first thing that goes to your head. Like I what can I do More than this business? I can go back to work. If push came to shove and it was a scary thing because I had worked so hard to get to where the business is now to get to leave my full time job. We got accustomed to me doing all the school runs, baseball pickup, the, things at home because I was available and the thought of going back. It's equal parts, like this horrible feeling, but this we're a team and I have, now I'm up to bat. Like I, what am I going to do? I can only make so many ornaments, that are going to bring in a certain amount of money versus what I can make at a nine to five. So I was actually terrified because I didn't want to give this up. And the same thing, once you turn the switch off of a product based business with followers and email lists and. Social media presence and trends and just, even just the inventory that I have, was I really going to start over and go back in, two, three, four years, I thought this could be like the end, but thankfully he just started two weeks ago. Yeah. Two or three weeks ago at his new job. It all worked out. I can say that now I can, at the time I was in level 10 panic, but I can say now that it all worked out. He was home for the holidays. He was able to help me with orders, which got things out much faster than they normally would have. And now he's at a new company and things are going well. So it, I can say now it all worked.

Erin Alexander:

Yeah. I yeah. It's always hard. It's really scary, I think, in the moment. But for me, also, I was able to look back and see oh, if he hadn't have been here, we wouldn't have been able to do this or that. One of the things is when Blake was Working part time, we qualified for the state insurance and I had to have I had to have my gallbladder removed and I ended up in the ICU for 10 days because of surgery complications and because of him only working part time and qualifying for state insurance for a year, we didn't have to pay for my ICU. Like what a blessing. And I would. When I think about it, I'm like, man, I shouldn't have been so resentful. It's just so hard in the moment.

Tara Sutton:

right. In the moment, you can't even think past the same day making decisions or how is this going to pan out? But once it's over and you can look back and say, okay, we got through that. It all worked out. It, it actually helped me during the holidays. So it was good, but man, it was not cute. And, because then I'm panicked looking like a hot mess, but now you have to be on social media. Who wants an ornament, it's the most wonderful time. And it was just a really hard to balance, like being realistic with my audience who know my kids and my husband and everything. It's just me. It's not like a hundred person company. So my whole life is on there. I didn't want it to be a secret, but nobody really wants to follow like a Debbie Downer of like day 11, no job still. Nobody really wants that either. So it was a tricky time, but it all worked out. Thank God.

Erin Alexander:

That really makes me curious. Like, how do you've been doing this for 10 years. How do you manage to be present and show up when you are feeling like the Debbie Downer? Do you have, what do you do?

Tara Sutton:

I have a lot of B roll. Truthfully, I do make a lot of B roll or film myself, now it's easier because I'm not chasing the seasons or the holidays as much or I'm trying not to. So there are certain things that I sell year round. So I could make a video today about something and not post it for two weeks and it's still relevant. It's still something that I can use. So that has helped me a lot which I learned. this past couple months with him being home. If there are days where he can take the kids out of the house and it's super quiet, I'm going to make as much content as I can so that the next day when, you know, that Cobra payment is due or, like I'm feeling down or like there we're having a tough time or I'm just super stressed or I didn't sleep. I have the content. In my back pocket because it's just me. I also have a balance of faceless marketing versus me. So I can try to push out some stuff that you don't see that I look like a hot mess or you don't see that I've been crying, things that I can just post my hands working on things. I don't know how much more story to have on my phone. Because of all the b roll that I keep but really that's my only advice is just when you feel you're good, look your best or you feel good about it, record everything you humanly can because there's going to be a day where, there are days where I don't work at all because I have orthodontist appointment. I have to clean the house. I have to go grocery shopping. I have to do all these things. I can still have it look as though things are, which they are still functioning. I don't want it to sound like it's a fraudulent account, but that, it can look as though you can still see me making stuff. You can still see stuff that's going out the door or getting shipped. So B roll is your best friend.

Erin Alexander:

That's really practical. I struggle when I'm overwhelmed. I want to hide. I don't comment. I don't, I scroll, but I don't post, I don't show up. And then I just get deeper and deeper into my hole or my cave where I'm like not doing anything. And it's so hard to come back from that, but having that B roll, having the silly things, like just to keep things going is so practical because the truth is yes, there are ways to market. And I'm fully ingrained in those ways to run your business without having to show up every day. Like having Email sequences in all of those things. But at the end of the day, social media is a part of our marketing and you do have to be consistent and you do have to show up and having a library of things that you can use or reuse or whatever, just really helps take some of that pressure off. So you don't have to feel that you need to be on every single day.

Tara Sutton:

right. I even when I booked that house for the photo shoot that I did, I had some time with the photographer and I had some time that just, my husband was there helping me and we just filmed me typing at my laptop, me writing on the calendar, me, because I had the hair. I just kept changing my outfit over and over again. And now I have a ton of content that I can post a tick tock without filming a tick tock. I can post something in my stories without filming it. And it's still engaging and it's still me helping the algorithm and showing my audience, reminding them I'm here and what I do, but I can be in my sweatpants. It's still me. It's not, but it's just that's my, and it takes a long time to get in the habit of thinking that way. Because you want to think, I want it to be in real time, I want it to be about, where is Kate Middleton, I want it to be relevant, I want it, but there has to be a balance of, just basic, content that you can use at any point on any platform at any time that you just have in your back pocket. That's the only thing that's, you can't be on and excited and everything going right. And the kids are quiet and the dog's not barking and your hair is done. You can't live like that. And I tried to do that when I first quit my job, because I thought, okay, this is my full time job. Now I have to be on. It is not sustainable. It just is not for a one man show like myself. It's just not. Once you get in the habit of always bringing your camera, always having a tripod, I have one in my car, I have one in my office, I have one upstairs. And when you're on, you can be, and then when you're off, you don't have to be.

Erin Alexander:

I love that. It's so practical. I don't want to take up too much of your time. Like I feel like we could talk forever. I can't wait to hang out with you again in california. But before we go, I want to ask you like a lot of people listening to this they feel like beginners. They don't know, they're like, they're still getting started. So if you were like thinking back to your younger self or, you're talking to someone who's just getting started, like what's one thing that you wish you could tell them?

Tara Sutton:

Trust your gut. And I wish I had something way more, profound to say. I've had so many people say, you have to have one ideal customer. You have to have one product category. You have to have one piece of equipment in your office that you focus on. You have to do it this way. And my gut has always said. I can do this and that, or I can have this and that as well. I can work and be a mom. I can be a mom and own a business. I can own a business and, you don't have to just fit, in this specific set of rules that people want to coach you to, I have always trusted my gut and. 10 years. I think I'm doing okay. I've been all over the place. I've made a ton of twists and turns. I've followed a lot of advice. I've been given by coaches, financial advisors, people in the industry, friends. If you just trust your gut, it will take you where you need to go. And there's no harm in failing. There's no shame in failing. There's a ton of products that I have done incredibly well with, and there's an equal amount that I thought were the greatest, and I never sold one. So it's okay. You're going to fail. You're going to have success. You gotta take the good, you take the bad. It's a tough journey, but just trust your gut and it'll lead you the right way.

Erin Alexander:

I love that. That's really awesome. Thank you so much, Tara. I appreciate that. Okay. So let's tell everyone where they can find you and what's the best place or where's the best place to hang out with you online.

Tara Sutton:

The best place is Instagram. I am at everything done to a t with dots between everything dot done, dot to like that. The same handle is on TikTok. I am much more on TikTok now these days than I previously was. My website is www.everythingdonetoat.com and. I would love to chat if you visit.

Erin Alexander:

I will make sure all of those links are on the show notes and the blog posts that accompanies this post. You got to follow Tara. You're going to love her. I wish I would have worn my power product powerhouse hat today.

Tara Sutton:

I know. I know. I am making so many hats for businesses in my town right now. And it's just bringing me back to the UPP days. That was a fun, that was a fun little giveaway.

Erin Alexander:

That was a fun one. TerraMade logo hats with logos for every business owner that came to the ultimate product party last year in Nashville and they are so cute. And I love mine aware all the time.

Tara Sutton:

A fun project just to see everyone's reaction. Normally I ship the products and you don't hear back or you get a review, but you don't get the hugs and the excitement that when people saw their logo on swag, normally swag is like a pen. So it was a fun day for sure.

Erin Alexander:

Yeah. Awesome. Thank you so much for sharing behind the scenes of your business. I just want to say congratulations again on your 10 year anniversary. That's really exciting. And thank you for being here on the podcast today.

Tara Sutton:

Yes. Thank you so much for having me.