You know that saying: “Life is Better At the Lake”? Yeah, Rachael Koenig agrees with that. In fact, Rachael has created an entire brand and business around the notion that coastal living is the best kind of living. A full-time graphic designer by day, Rachael started her side business, Shore Society, as a way to fuel her creative nature. Now, Shore Society is a bustling business serving as a nod to the nautical, rust-belt ideals of the Great Lakes & life in the Midwest. We recently caught up with Rachael to learn how she got her start and how she incorporates her love for lakeside living into her daily life.
AdvisHer: Tell us about you – who is Shore Society?
Rachael: Shore Society is my personal brand and business, and has been around since 2012! It has really grown and changed a lot over the years, but has always been rooted in the same values and inspiration. It started mostly as a blog with a few products, and I’ve since shifted to focus more on my product line and custom design services, but I still love blogging and maintain it as part of my website!
AdvisHer: What was your inspiration for creating Shore Society?
R: I started my business as a creative outlet and a way to express my love for the lake and all things coastal here in Ohio. There wasn’t much on the market here that focused on Lake Erie, or the Great Lakes in general, and I wanted to capture the unique coastal feel that we have here in Cleveland. I honestly never imagined I’d be designing a line of products – I have a degree in graphic design and always imagined I’d be doing something on the side, but never pictured this! It’s been awesome how things have fallen into place; I took a chance on putting myself and my work out there, and kept an open mind about where it would lead. It’s been a really fun journey.
AdvisHer: Take us through a day in the life!
R: A day in the life is busy, haha! I have a full time job as a designer for American Greetings, so each day I have to plan everything I need to do for Shore Society in my off hours. Most days I wake up, get ready, and run a quick errand (like the post office, or pick up apparel from my screen printer). Then I’ll head into the office and work an eight hour day – I will usually answer emails or do some social media posts on a quick lunch break to stay on top of things. When I get home for the day, my husband and I cook dinner and take our dog for a walk. We both love to cook and it’s a great routine to maintain – where we put phones away and spend some time together.
After that, I head to my home studio and take care of whatever needs to be done for Shore Society for the day – whether it’s shipping orders, taking photos, or working on custom design requests. I’ve always been a night owl, so I have to really discipline myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour – thankfully my husband keeps me in check! I do work on the weekends as well, which I’m trying to minimize, but I do a lot of markets and shows so weekend work is sometimes unavoidable. I’ve learned to take things a day at a time and be flexible – some days I’m able to come home and not do anything, which is amazing, and I don’t take those days for granted!
AdvisHer: What is your favorite type of project to work on?
R: I absolutely love creating visual content – whether it’s photos for Instagram, the website, or designing something new – the creative process is my favorite part. I’m extremely visual and love to tell a story through styling, so doing lifestyle shoots with a photographer are so fun for me. I’m a designer, so “selling” products is not second nature for me, so I try to communicate the value and quality of my designs with visuals, which I think my customers enjoy and find inspiring.
AdvisHer: How do you stay inspired?
R: Staying inspired is tough, especially with a creative day job. I definitely have days where my creative reserves are just tapped out! Stepping away is a big one for me – so just getting away from my desk, going for a walk or spending time with friends, and of course spending time at the lake! We recently became boat owners and that’s played a huge role in inspiring my line and giving me an outlet outside of work. I also LOVE to travel and that inspires me endlessly – seeing the patterns/colors/habits of other cultures and places always gives me tons of ideas!
AdvisHer: If you could give your younger self some advice, what would it be?
R: Be patient; walk through the doors that open for you.
AdvisHer: What has been your favorite project you’ve worked on or designed?
R: My husband and I built a new display for my merchandise last fall, for the Cleveland Flea, and that was such a fun project to work on. It was a product of both of our skill sets and I love that we got to do it together. Whenever I do shows, people always want to hear how about how we did it – and it really makes the product shine!
AdvisHer: How do you prioritize your financial health?
R: In the early days of my business, I wasn’t focused on my sales and numbers much. I think because I was doing SS on the side, and didn’t rely on it for income, I was treating it a little like a hobby. Once I could tell it was growing, I looked at my numbers and sort of had this wake up call, like I had a legit business on my hands! I realized it was probably time to call an accountant, haha 😉 I brought on an accountant last year and that’s been helpful for a zillion reasons, but mostly because I’ve become more aware of the health of my business, and feel empowered by that knowledge and my ability to steer things in the direction I want.
AdvisHer: What are your financial goals for 2019?
R: My goal for this year – double last year’s sales, and I have a profit goal as well. Knowing I have that goal has kept me motivated and accountable – especially knowing that 2019 is just about halfway over already (whaaaat?!). I also wanted to increase my wholesale presence outside of Ohio, which is happening right now and super exciting!
We would like to thank Rachael Koenig for her incredible perspective and for her time in helping create this post! For more on Rachael and her wonderful business, check out her website, or follow along on Instagram at @shoresociety!
Leave a Reply