A mother-and-son duo found success as e-commerce entrepreneurs with their bow tie business, but opted to hang it up to save their personal relationship.
Andrea Henderson and her then-teenaged son Roland first noticed a new fashion trend among men and boys, the bowtie. As they witnessed the dress accessory popularize, the two decided to strike gold themselves and launch an online business all about bowties.
In her op-ed to Business Inside does not name the business. But the two dived into the realm of Amazon’s privatemarket. They used the e-commerce platform as their main distributing hub, learning about
how to SEO optimization to draw customers to their products. Alongside a fashion-forward approach to the traditional men’s formal accessory, the duo’s marketing strategy through Amazon worked to their benefit.The mother-and-son played to their strengths, with the parent holding down operations as her child matriculated through school at a private HBCU. Roland, fulfilling his own dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, oversaw the creative elements, ensuring their bowtie assortments fit their wide-ranging customer base to drive growth.
Customers, however, were beyond their initial market of young college-aged men and professionals. Despite some unusual requests, they played to customers’ needs to maximize profits.
The money went toward sustaining Roland’s education at the historically Black institution, with additional revenue going back to the business. However, something else was growing between the bigger checks, a familial divide between its owners.
Their ideas for the future of the company brought hidden issues to the surface. While Roland had couture dreams for the company, Henderson preferred to scale outward instead of upward through a potential deal with Walmart.
After the constant disagreements that led to no resolution, Henderson came to her own realization about the real issue at hand. Each person had their own goals for the business and their role in it, and it was in direct contrast with the other.
As the strain grew deeper, alongside conversations for one to leave the company, the family decided to re-align their priorities back to one another. At the height of their business successful, they decided to shut down their bow tie brand.
The lesson, according to Henderson, is not one of loss. In fact, she considers the shut down her best business move yet, especially as she keeps Roland in her life. To both mother and son, launching a successful business deserves praise. However, their willingness to step away when it no longer served their personal relationship remains more important.
Now, she hopes others can learn from her story as they begin new ventures with family, emphasizing how success should never overshadow one’s love.
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