305 | Hiring Family & Creating Boundaries in Your Business with Katie Hart, Odd Daughter Paper Co.

Today we are continuing our conversation with Katie Hart of Odd Daughter Paper Co. If you missed the first part of our conversation, head back and listen to episode 304. In that episode, Katie and I talk about how she got started with her product-based business, and why you don't necessarily need to exhibit at trade shows to be successful with selling wholesale. Katie waited 10 years to do her first show, and we're talking about it in episode 304.

For today's episode, which is part two of our conversation, Katie Hart is taking us behind the scenes of her business and what it is like running this business with her sister by her side. We also talk about setting boundaries in business and how the best lessons truly come from just years of experience.

Katie Hart is a self-taught illustrator and the founder of a stationery brand called Odd Daughter Paper Co. She founded that company in 2013 and it began as a side hustle that she ran on the weekends and during her lunch hours; it evolved into a full-time brand that both Katie and her sister now work at.

Michelle helped on the side for years and finally joined the team full-time in 2022. Katie does all the illustrating and hand lettering while Michelle handles operations, wholesale, and sales and marketing.

They both love brainstorming sentiments for cards and their goal is to sound like a real friend in their products, whether that's clever, sincere, encouraging, or empathetic. Odd Daughter is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and draws a great deal of creative inspiration from the desert.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our free, on-demand wholesale audio series. In this audio series, I’ll walk you through the biggest mistakes and most common questions folks have when they are starting and scaling wholesale—so you don’t make the same mistakes myself and others did. You can binge this audio series in less than an hour and you can listen on the go in your favorite podcast player. No fluff here, just concrete action steps and answers to help you simplify and strengthen your wholesale sales.

Hiring Family in Your Business

When Katie first started Odd Daughter, she was living with her sister, Michelle, so she’s been around the brand since the beginning. Thankfully, Michelle’s background in accounting meant that she was a huge blessing in handling the numbers and finances for Katie.

As time went on, Michelle took on more and more roles for Katie at Odd Daughter—many of which went unpaid for a long time. This included compiling lists of retailers to pitch and connect with in order to grow the wholesale side of the business. One day it just clicked that Michelle should be working with Odd Daughter full-time, which happened in 2022. Now they have their own roles in the business, yet work seamlessly together on everything.

text overlay: "when you're working with family or friends, it's the things that are not said that end up being an issue. katie hart episode 305."

The Benefits of Working with Family

For Katie and Michelle, they work really well together, communicate seamlessly, and trust each other. They have the same vision and understanding for Odd Daughter and want to see the business succeed. This alignment makes it easy for Katie to let go and avoid micromanaging her.

Additionally, the way the two of them complement each other is one of the most powerful things that coworkers can have, because it also allows you to grow faster.

The Disadvantages of Working with Family

On the other hand, for many people hiring a family member does have its own complexities and disadvantages. In Katie’s case, the good outweighs the bad and she finds that the directness she can have with her sister allows for more to get done, while also knowing that conflicts between them can be resolved pretty quickly because they know each other so well.

Utilizing friends or family in your business can be risky which is why it is important to weigh the pros and cons of working with family before diving in. Overall, Katie feels very fortunate to be able to be self-employed and working with her sister.

Creating Boundaries with Your Employees

When it comes to creating really solid boundaries with your employees, especially if they started as friends or family before, it’s important to have clear and concise communication. One of the best things that they did for Michelle’s role was to create a job description in the beginning that covered the role that she would play in the business.

When working with anyone you’re close to, the things that go unsaid become the issue. Therefore, if you’ve created clear, concise, and open communication, you’re setting yourself up for success.

Through that communication, boundaries are also important. A few boundaries that Katie set in her working relationship with her sister included:

Creating separation between work and personal life. When they first started working together, Katie and Michelle also lived together. To create separation for them when they both went full-time in the business, Katie got her own place. This could also translate to separate workspaces too.
Creating clear expectations and checking in. When you have a clear vision of what you want for everyone involved, working relationships run so much smoother.

While things will never be perfect, they have worked out really well for Katie and she wouldn’t do it any other way.

Creating Boundaries with For Yourself in Business

In addition to creating boundaries for her sister (and future employees), Katie has also realized the importance of boundaries for herself.

Creating intentional work hours to avoid late nights and weekends as much as possible.
Saying no to opportunities that don’t align with her brand, goals, or intentions (which is learned through experience).

Every single experience that you have in business will impact your boundaries. While you may want to say yes to everything to avoid missing out on opportunities, you will find what works for you.

text overlay: "I think having boundaries around the time that I'm willing to do work has added to the sustainability of the business. Katie Hart, episode 305""

Celebrating a Decade of Hard Work

As Katie celebrates 10 years of Odd Daughter and selling wholesale, she’s most proud of sticking with it and still being in business. There are always going to be challenges, issues, and struggles that we will all face in entrepreneurship, yet sticking through it and seeing her business thrive in the end is what’s been worth it for her.

quick links:

Here is a recap of links shared throughout this episode and post:

Download These Quotables to Save and Share

MEET KATIE

Katie is a self-taught illustrator and founded her stationery business, Odd Daughter, in 2013. It began as a business run on weekends and lunch hours and has evolved into full time work for both Katie and her sister, Michelle. Michelle helped on the side for years and finally joined the team full time in 2022. Katie does all of the illustrating and hand lettering, while Michelle handles operations, wholesale, etc. They both love brainstorming sentiments for the cards and their goal is to sound like a real friend-- whether that's clever, sincere, encouraging or empathetic. Odd Daughter is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico and draws a great deal of creative inspiration from the desert.

CONNECT WITH KATIE

WEBSITE: odddaughterpaper.com | INSTAGRAM: @odddaughterco | TIKTOK: @odddaughterco

Connect with Katie Hunt

Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct