Daily Inspiration: Meet Laura Baker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Baker. 

Hi Laura, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
It all started with a growing desire to serve others and a heart set on trying something new. Before unraveling a new journey, I graduated from Liberty University and began teaching. I enjoyed life in the classroom but moving on was a difficult process, as I struggled with fingerprinting machines (as part of the background check process). They were not as accessible to people with limb differences. My résumé favored the new positions and people reached out for interviews but it wasn’t long before I realized there were concerns of whether I was physically capable of the job. I was discouraged; however, I wasn’t going to resign myself to being unable to work. I had to overcome this obstacle but at the same time, God placed a new desire on my heart and nudged me toward service outside of the classroom, even though I wasn’t sure of what I was about to do. 

I was born in Los Angeles with a rare disease resulting in my underdeveloped upper limbs and heart anomalies known as Holt-Oram Syndrome. In other words, I’m missing bones in my arms and hands, some are abnormally developed and immobile. My dexterity is limited but these club hands are all I’ve ever known, so I’m thankful to have learned to adapt and improvise fairly well. If there’s anything about this that I still struggle with, it’s the awkward social situations on account of my physical differences, which can be very unnerving. I have found, however, that choosing joy and confidence while making myself and my differences known through familiarization and educating others has helped significantly. I had to remind myself that by His grace, I was still the person who overcame so much hardship, beating the odds and doing the unexpected. After spending my childhood in the foster care system, my little sisters and I were blessed with adoption; as a teen, I learned to play trumpet and varsity tennis; I raised 1300 lb. steers and I was active within my school clubs, all while remaining an honors student through my educational career. I could not be more grateful to have experienced such things to have helped me grow in so many ways. To get through the sting of being different, I chose to stay busy and redirect my focus while still finding ways to face these issues head-on. So, when I found myself within a career-transitioning situation such as this, I had to remember that success was not out of my reach and this was just another challenge I needed to gear up to conquer. 

Being my ambitious self, I took a leap of faith and decided to go from teacher to entrepreneur with, of course, zero experience in business, but thankfully Steffon (my husband) was there to help. I didn’t have a well-thought-out business plan at the time but I dove in anyway and started creating leather earrings and selling them on Etsy, Summer of 2020. They were fun to create but I ran into some issues: 1) I rarely ever wear earrings and I most certainly wasn’t brave enough to wear some of the styles I was creating; 2) there were a million others just like it out there, and 3) there was no way I was going to be as successful as I wanted to be if the majority of my supporters were people I knew. It was time for a change. After weeks of debating on whether this was going to be worth the investment, I finally bit the bullet and bought a laser. I had a plan to create wooden stud earrings. I purchased vector graphics to print on wood and then I started painting these wooden cutouts and assembling them into earrings. Two weeks after doing this, I was given an opportunity to display my work at Restoration 44 Coffee Co. in Mantua, Ohio, and I was over the moon — still am. I loved what I was doing and so did complete strangers. I was networking and business owners were reaching out from all over Northeast, Ohio offering a spot in more shops than I could possibly keep up with. I still had so much to learn about business, so it was overwhelming but also very exciting to grow. 

One day, after a customer saw my earrings at R44, they reached out and asked if I could create a pair of earrings of their dog. My heart skipped a beat and I suddenly thought of those awful portrait tattoo fails. I could possibly do the same to this customers’ pet portrait, as I have no drawing experience but I accepted the challenge anyway, purchased graphic design software, and got to work. I look back and I can’t help but be thoroughly embarrassed by that drawing. Although I think that customer was just being nice, they showed love for my work anyway. It was their kind reaction and idea that set me on a path for success in building a better business. This led to significant growth; more confidence in my art and ability to achieve higher; and to learning to not be afraid of change, and accepting the next challenge with a more optimistic mindset. I stepped out of my comfort zone, upgraded my equipment, and started drawing new earrings. My pet portraits were getting better with every opportunity I had to fulfill a new order. Thankfully, this customer wasn’t the only one who liked my first pet portrait because that Etsy listing exploded and led to new bestselling custom pet products. 

I’ve had the opportunity to serve many people, from those looking for a way to memorialize their fur babies, to newly engaged couples on the hunt for an alternative solution to including their pets on their wedding day. It fills my heart to know how much joy people are finding in something I am able to create with my own club hands. Everyone has shown my business a tremendous amount of love and support, as I have added my bestselling art to a growing number of shops located around Northeast, Ohio and featured my products on The Knot, WeddingWire, and in magazines like The New Barker, with a recent appearance on BRIDES. My custom pet products have reached nearly every U.S. state and an ever-increasing amount of countries. I’m deeply grateful for the support, the opportunity to succeed, and to have found a meaningful life in service. I never saw a business coming after grad school but I’m more than elated to have taken the leap of faith, as I try new things and be confident in standing before others knowing they see my work before my differences. I can’t wait to see what’s next. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’m not sure running a business is free of obstacles for anyone. There are so many hats to wear, which is stressful but growth through trial and error truly leads to rewarding work. I’ve had some bumps in the road, thankfully nothing severe but definitely situations I’ve learned from and are still navigating through. I needed to learn the importance in marketing my business, knowing my numbers and products to manage my business effectively, along with providing my customers with transparency. I had quickly discovered that I could not please everyone and I needed to let go of the times I had to turn down some offers because I simply couldn’t take on the workload. To keep up with demand, getting some help is a must but I’m struggling to figure out where to begin the hiring process and how to delegate my work. One of my biggest issues is time management and setting boundaries, as I am working so much that I have found myself responding to customer messages chiming in after hours, along with working or thinking about work during the limited time I have with friends and family. Consistency in sales has also been an issue, as the first couple of months of the year can be slow but wedding season through Christmas can be very overwhelming. While there are many other challenges, I face in managing a business, the last I would like to shine light on is that I had to learn to be confident in my talents and to not be afraid to network with other small business owners, as we all have experienced similar situations in our entrepreneurial journeys. Networking is just another great opportunity for us to come together to collaborate, to grow in knowledge, and to build each other up for success. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Laurel Eve LLC is a retail business selling hand-painted, laser-cut, wooden products such as earrings, cufflinks, pins, magnets, keychains, work badges, etc. The basic earring designs (from fun florals and foods to holiday-themed icons) are all available at a growing number of Northeast, Ohio shops (Restoration 44 Coffee Co., Master Crafter DIY, Forage & Feather, Sandy’s Notions Flowers & Gifts, Sugar Baby Patch & Garden, etc.). Home decor pieces such as large, script words are available at R44 Butcher & Baker Shoppe in Mantua, Ohio. While I occasionally receive business logo requests (such as the pictured keychain for Five Five Media Co. in Mantua, Ohio), I am most known for my custom pet items sold online. The earrings and cufflinks of pet portraits have been my top-selling items since I’ve introduced them to my line of custom pet products, as they have made for the perfect gift because who doesn’t love their pets? I am most proud of the fact that I started this business in a niche market and of the growth, especially within my painting skills. As per my 5-star customer reviews, I have found that the style and details within my paintings, quality materials, value in custom work, overall uniqueness in both product and creator, and excellent customer service all go hand-in-hand in what sets my business apart from others like it. 

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I contribute many qualities and characteristics to the success of my business: servitude and giving customers more than what they ask by handling customer concerns quickly and always putting forth my best work, given the passion I have behind it; showing kindness and walking with grace and integrity, especially when difficult situations present themselves; and tenacity and persistence, as I persevere through challenges, learn from failure and remain goal-oriented. All of these qualities have benefited my business significantly. Although I wrestle with this characteristic every day, I somewhat reluctantly say that my willingness to sacrifice my personal time and adapt to customer requests within my means has also led to a win for the business. I find joy and success in building other small business owners up, as I understand we are all looking to support our personal lives, we have inspiring stories to share, and we desire to pursue our dreams. The opportunities we have to network and collaborate encourages the growth we need and it gives us a platform to shine a light on the hard work and sacrifice behind every detail within a small business. 

Contact Info:

• Email: laurelevecc@gmail.com
• Website: www.laurelevecc.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurelevecc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/laurelevecc
• Other: www.etsy.com/shop/laurelevecc

Image Credits
Five Five Media Co
Mandee Johnson Photography
Emily Netti Photography
Anna Cahill Photography
Jackie Beachy Photography
Brian Nejedly Photography
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