Today we’d like to introduce you to Allison McMahon.
Hi Allison, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
A little about me: I am a proud wife and mama. My husband and I have been together for over 10 years and we have the most amazing little girl who is 1.5 years old. We also have 3 dogs and a tiny turtle. We are outdoor enthusiasts. We hope to one day own a big piece of land with at least a couple cows. That’s enough about me, let’s get to the important stuff. I am so excited to introduce my new business, The Happy Cow Clothing Co.!
I have always loved letting my creativity flow and learning how to do new things. From art projects (anything except drawing, my stick figures are horrible), to scrapbooking, to sewing, really any kind of craft project was my jam. I just loved that I could come up with an idea and figure out a way to turn it into reality. Doing crafts was my way to relieve stress. I would find something really cool and think “hey, I can make that” then I did just that. I started making things for myself and for friends and family as gifts. I guess people started to like my stuff because I constantly was getting told that I should sell my things and people started asking me to make things for them and it just blossomed from there.
Having my daughter brought about a new road on my journey as I was now staying home with her and although I wasn’t ready to go back to work, I still wanted to help support our family. It helped that I now had a new muse, making things for her is so much more fun than making things for myself; she is so cute in everything I make her, my little model! With the full support of my amazing Husband, I decided to turn my crafting hobby into a business. We hit the ground running and didn’t look back. Our life has been busy ever since, but I am so happy to have taken this leap of faith! Creating makes my heart happy, even more so when I create something for someone else and they love it just as much or even more than I do. I put my whole heart into each and every one of my creations and I pray that shines through.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
“Nothing worth having or doing comes easy.” This journey has not been without its struggles, but I would not change a single thing as then it wouldn’t be my journey. Starting a business is hard. There are so many things to think about to get things up and running and then even more to keep things going once you’ve started, i.e., things I didn’t think would be important or things I never even thought about. I love being creative and making things and I am great with customer service (thanks to all my years in the restaurant/service industry) but the behind the scenes business side isn’t as easy. Pricing, social media, and balancing personal life and business are some of my top struggles. For me, learning that not everyone is in your corner (or want you to succeed) has been a struggle, but the amount of customers that have turned into friends really make up for that. Having a good support system makes all the difference and I am so thankful to have people who support my dreams and truly want me to succeed. In my opinion, social media is one of the biggest struggles for all small businesses. You want to be competitive, put yourself out there, and share your business with the world but in today’s society, constant social media interaction is the way to do that. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. there are so many platforms and society expects you to be all in, on all of them, all of the time. While understanding that social media is a big part of your business you also want to be present in your personal life and with your family. Finding the balance is a must! My best advice, and what I tell myself every day, is to give yourself some grace. Make time for what is important and if something takes a little longer than you expected, that is okay, just keep going and never give up on your dreams.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We create custom apparel, accessories, gifts, party decor, and more. We cater to you, creating custom items for yourself, your family and friends, and your business. We can personalize anything! Made-from-scratch designs are my favorite as that is when I can get the most creative but putting your design or logo on something is just as special for me because I helped bring your dreams to life. We do more than just clothing, however, custom shirts are one of our top-selling products. We create both single-shirt orders for special occasions and large orders for businesses. Custom party decorations have been a favorite lately as I can get super creative making lots of different items using the same theme, such as banners, cake toppers, cupcake picks, goodie bags, labels, invitations, etc. We just started making acrylic welcome signs (for weddings, baby/bridal showers, etc.) and are in love! Drink koozies are another favorite of ours, especially as wedding/party favors. For the holidays we did custom ornaments, stocking tags, washable coloring shirts, and matching family shirt sets. Big news coming for 2023…we will be offering full service on-site custom onesie stations for baby showers! I am so proud of everything we create each time a new order is finished. It’s hard to let it go because I put my whole heart into it, but I do it for the joy of others. I absolutely love seeing customers wearing my apparel, the parties adorned with my decorations, and the smiles we helped create. I’d have to say that my passion for creating is what sets me apart. I love making people happy and sharing my creations with the world.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
This is an easy one. My favorite childhood memory is taking a family vacation to Europe to visit my grandma’s birthplace, to meet her family, and explore some of her favorite countries. It was then that I developed my love (and obsession) for cows. I was so little and had never been anywhere outside of my hometown and hadn’t yet gotten to experience much. While driving through the countryside, I was amazed at the site of cows, thousands, stretching as far as the horizon in every direction. I begged my family to stop the car countless times so that we could get out and see them up close. The cows were so friendly I called them “Happy Cows.” This name stuck. Growing up every cow was a happy cow. Birthdays, stuffed animals, clothes, everything had to be happy cows. I always associate happy cows with my grandma, and it makes my heart happy. To this day cows are my favorite animal and everyone that knows me knows that. So, when deciding on a name for my business, it was no question that it had to involve happy cows. So, The Happy Cow Clothing Co. was born.
Contact Info:
- Website: thehappycowclothingco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehappycowclothingco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHappyCowClothingCo
- Other: https://linktr.ee/thehappycowclothingco
