Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in impactful gift giving but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Graham Williams, founder of Impart, located in Denver, Colorado.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Impart's mission is to improve the human condition by leveraging hard-earned lessons from trusted communities to make life transitions more successful. Impart created a platform to create one-of-a-kind gifts by inviting friends and family to share wisdom, encouragement and love which are automatically arranged in a beautiful keepsake book. Our customers are parents, grandparents, family and friends who want to celebrate a loved one in a more meaningful and impactful way than giving a traditional material gift.
Tell us about yourself
My career has primarily been focused on Internet infrastructure and business to business communication. Starting Impart was a huge leap for me at a time when I was looking to create something that would help people become more successful, not just make tasks easier. I am motivated every day by the idea that there are certain insights from trusted people that can shorten the learning curve for each of us as we approach new phases of our lives like starting high school, graduating college, getting engaged or having a baby for the first time. If we can use technology to support collaboration among those who have already gone before, we can make those transitions more successful and unleash the energy that would otherwise have been used learning lessons through mistakes on other more productive endeavors. Creating a consumer brand is outside my comfort zone but I can't stop thinking about the power of sharing wisdom and fostering connectedness in today's world.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I am most proud when I see Impart customers telling us how impactful their gift was and then creating another Impart gift for someone else in their life. A close second is when we see people who have contributed to someone else's gift start a project of their own. Repeat and referral customers are our most important metric and help provide courage on days that feel more overwhelming.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things about being an early stage business owner is finding the right balance between self-confidence and self-awareness. Passion is a cornerstone but you also have to be smart and realize that just because you can do something for your business or in the marketplace, doesn't necessarily mean you can do it better than someone else.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Stay focused and constantly simplify your messaging.
- Understand your customer acquisition costs before you finalize your go-to-market plans.
- Constantly check back into your mission and remind yourself to have fun.
Where can people find you and your business?
https://www.instagram.com/giveimpart/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/giveimpart
https://www.facebook.com/GiveImpart
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one