Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in clothing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Sabrina Moore, Founder of White Muck, located in Dover, NH, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I own two vegan businesses. My first company, White Muck Vegan Apparel, is about to turn 5 years old. White Muck is an exclusively vegan clothing brand. This means that not only are the designs representative of being vegan, but the materials used in the clothing and screen printing process are also vegan as well. I create the designs for the clothing with the help of a fantastic graphic designer and artist, Lindsey Serata. I then hand screen print each item of clothing. I travel the country going to large-scale vegan events to sell the clothing. I also sell online at www.whitemuck.com.

My second company is This Stop Is Willoughby - Vegan Shoppe. Initially, this brick-and-mortar vegan shoppe was due to open in April 2020, but for obvious covid reasons, the opening was postponed until July 2020. However, I had still been hard at work getting ready to open the shoppe since Dec 2019. The shoppe was open until February 2022, but it was undeniable that given the state of the world, trying to keep a new physical small business open without any help from government funding or bank support, it was best for myself and my family to close the physical location and change to a mobile one. Willoughby can now be found online at www.thisstopiswilloughby.com + doing pop-up events around New England or some of the larger-scale vegan festivals that White Muck can be found at.

While you might think my customers are exclusively vegan, that isn't the case. That is mostly true for White Muck, as the designs portray vegan messages. However, for Willoughby, a vegan shoppe that carries everything from snacks treats, chocolates, skincare, journals, art, and more, my customer base is a good mix of vegan and non-vegan customers. The goal is always to support animals and end animal abuse so my products are available to all. They are the same fantastic products you use in your daily life or for special occasions, just sans animal exploitation.

Tell us about yourself

My name is Sabrina Moore, and I went vegan on April 1, 2015. A month later, I moved from my hometown of Los Angeles to New England. After moving to New England and experiencing a very different lifestyle than back home in LA, I realized a new dream I had for myself. I knew one day I would want to open up a farm sanctuary. Buying land in California is nearly impossible, but that dream is more realistic here in New England. I knew that at some point, running a farm sanctuary would be time-consuming, so I should start thinking about how I could become self-employed. In 2017 I decided I wanted to launch a clothing brand in hopes that one day it would become my full-time job and I could have the flexibility to run the sanctuary. And so April 19, 2018, White Muck officially launched. White Muck was established with the goal of one day using the profits to establish and maintain a farm sanctuary. Covid has really inhibited the progression of this goal, but it is still the plan for the future!

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My greatest accomplishment as a business owner, despite all the challenges the last few years have thrown me, is making my side hustles into my full-time businesses. I have been fully self-employed since July 2019. It's not to say this process hasn't had any struggles. The last few years have been brutal for small business owners. I am just grateful that while I may have had to make some changes to the structures of the companies, they still remain my full-time job almost 4 years later.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

There is no safety in being a small business owner. The financial burden of the business lies solely on its owner. Your income is not guaranteed. You do not get a salary or hourly wage for all your hard work. So many times, small business owners put in countless hours and don't get paid a cent for them. There is a lot, A LOT, of behind-the-scenes work that no one sees. Some businesses are lucky enough to be able to afford staff, and some businesses cannot function without staff, and staffing itself can be an issue. For me, running two full businesses by myself with no employees can be a real struggle. Every single aspect of both businesses falls onto me. I do not have the support of a co-owner or staff. Does it beat having to work for someone else? Of course! But having to always do everything on your own wear a person down. I am sure many of my fellow small business owners can relate.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. When I started my businesses, let's be honest, it was a totally different time. They were created pre-COVID (for the most part). Starting a small business today is such a different beast because of the economic impact of covid. I would say that, given the current circumstances, start small. Start working on your business on the side and build it up over time. Don't just quit your job to go all in.
  2. Start online - having a physical brick-and-mortar is a lot of work and a lot of money. All of my small business friends who now have brick-and-mortar also started online or as a mobile company and saved up before jumping into brick-and-mortar. I created Willoughby out of pocket, with no loans or grants. This worked out well for me because when I closed the shoppe, no money was owed, and I was able to just walk away.
  3. Prepare yourself to accept failure. I am not trying to be all doomsday here, but many small businesses don't stay open for as long as we might hope, and it is even harder now to stay afloat. When I had to close Willoughby, everyone kept saying to me, "I'm so sorry, this must be so upsetting for you," and honestly, the experience of opening, running, and closing a shoppe at the height of covid was brutal for me. I was excited to close it and go back to being online/mobile. No part of me looks at closing Willoughby as a failure. It was a dream I had, so I did it, I made it happen, I tried it, and that wasn't the right time for it, so I closed it, and maybe one day I will reopen it somewhere outside of New England. No part of me feels like a failure for it closing after 2 years. I had a goal, and I went for it.
  4. So overall, have fun with it, be creative and be financially smart, and don't get too hard on yourself if it doesn't go as you had hoped. You tried, and honestly, that's more than most people can say for their business dreams.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.whitemuck.com/
Instagram (company): https://www.instagram.com/whitemuckvegan/
Instagram (shop): https://www.instagram.com/willoughby.vegan.shoppe/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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