{Momentrepreneur} Meet Mariëtte: “95% of My Marketing is Done Online”

Today meet Mariëtte, who lets us in on how she juggles motherhood with her business, as well as how she markets it – mostly online.

1. Tell us about yourself, a bit of background.
   I’m Mariette, a wife, mom and interior designer. I have been working in the interior design industry for over 12 Years, mostly in the corporate design side. I started Little Interiors 5 years ago as a side business, not really knowing what direction to take it in and it was 2 years ago that it became clear what I needed to do with the brand. Little Interiors is an interior design company and a blog about all things décor and design related but mostly regarding the kids and baby industry. In 2015 I started developing a product range called LittleME, the range is designed and made in South Africa by me.
2. What were you doing before you started this business?
   I’ve always been in the interior design and property industry. I focused more on corporate design work, I also did some marketing for an estate agency during that time.
3. Is your business full time or part time and why?
   I am working towards making it a full time business, and I’m very close to finally doing it.
4. How do you juggle the responsibilities of being a mom with your work?
   It is really hard. Some days I sit with kids on top of me and next to me, and some days I just leave my work and play with my kids. I do a lot of work late night into the morning hours because I get so much more done.
5. Do you have a business plan? If so, can you share a bit about your strategy to make it successful? I must be honest, I did not start out with a business plan, but now that I know exactly, where I want to go I am working on my business plan. I am trying unconventional ways of marketing my products and services, other than the standard media that can be costly.
6. How do you get clients/ market yourself?
   95% of my marketing is done online via my blog or social media channels. I also do some local markets and I have also started working with some brand enthusiast that is really working well.
7. What’s your biggest challenge right now?
   Time management! My husband works abroad so I am limited to the time that I can focus (separately) on my business 100% and my kids 100%.
8. Did you need a lot of money to start off? And how long was it before you made a profit?   I did not start with a big budget. My basic start-up cost was to have a logo designed and a website registered. My monthly running costs are very low, but to provide for the necessary expansion I am planning I will need to invest quite a bit now.
9. What makes your business unique from other brands?
   I love to be original, and I’m not keen on just copying other designs. I draw inspiration from what is out there to create original designs that works with the South African market.

9. Share with us your social media links and website.
   littleinteriors.co.za
   Facebook: @littleinteriorsin3d
   Twitter: @little_interior
   Instagram: @little.interiors

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