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How Katie Stopped Flying by the Seat of Her Pants—and Scaled a High-Touch Business

From solo maker to multi-six-figure shop owner: the shifts that changed everything.

For years, Katie Boteler did everything herself—sewing, packing, fulfilling orders, and managing customer service for her personalized kids’ clothing brand, Miss Monogram Kids.

She reached $100K in sales through sheer determination and long hours, but eventually realized she was stuck. Not because of a lack of ideas—but because she ran out of hours in a day.

To scale, she didn’t just need new systems—she needed a new role. Here’s how she stopped flying by the seat of her pants and built a business that could grow without burning her out.

The Outsourcing Move That Didn’t Work Out

Katie’s first major shift was outsourcing embroidery to a US-based company. She hoped it would free up her time so she could focus on growing the business. In theory, it was a smart move. But in practice, it came with hidden costs.

While she gained physical help, she lost margin and flexibility. She still had to coordinate production, send over files, and fix miscommunications. And financially, it didn’t add up—she was paying out most of her profit just to get the work done.

After nine months, she brought everything back in-house. It wasn’t ideal, but it helped her see clearly: if she wanted to grow, she couldn’t keep looking for a “fix.” She needed a team.

Hiring Help Didn’t Magically Fix Her Time Problem

When Katie hired her first employee to help with packaging, it gave her time to breathe—and to market. Sales started to pick up. But just as quickly, she found herself back at the machines 40 hours a week, trying to keep up with the new volume.

She hadn’t solved the root problem. What she really needed wasn’t just a helping hand—it was a shift in her mindset. The goal wasn’t to get back to baseline. It was to build a team and a business that didn’t depend on her being in every role.

The Subscription That Changed the Game

Katie had been offering her monthly bloomer box subscription for a while, but it never took off—until she got strategic. She created a dedicated pop-up, built a flow, and promoted the box every single week through email and social.

Then, during a Mastermind retreat, she looked at her conversion data and realized something: people were signing up. She didn’t need a better offer—she just needed more people to see it.

That clarity gave her confidence to go all in. She shifted her ad spend to focus on driving traffic to the box landing page—and within months, her subscriber count grew from 70 to over 400. The recurring revenue gave her predictability and stability, and it became the foundation for the next stage of her growth.

She Built an “Employee Fund” Using Profit First Principles

One of Katie’s biggest bottlenecks early on was fear: she didn’t think she could afford to hire. But once she started setting aside 15% of her revenue specifically for team expenses, everything changed.

She used the Profit First accounting model to separate her income into buckets—for expenses, for her salary, and for hiring. When her hiring fund grew beyond what was needed for her current team, that became her signal: it was time to hire again.

She also reviewed her own pay quarterly, based on her last 12 months of revenue, and gave herself a raise when the business could support it. No more guessing. No more hoping it would all work out.

“When my business is doing better, I feel like I should be doing better too.”

She Let Go of Being the Maker

Katie’s biggest breakthrough was letting go of the belief that she had to do everything herself. She even hired someone to design her subscription boxes—a task she’d held onto tightly for years.

It wasn’t easy, but it was freeing. Delegating didn’t just give her more time—it made the product better.

“I don’t need to be the maker of the things. I need to be the maker of the business.”

Now, Katie spends her time leading her team, optimizing systems, and growing her subscriber base. She’s built a business that doesn’t depend on her being at the sewing machine to survive.

Her Advice to Store Owners Hitting a Wall

Katie’s journey is a reminder that success doesn’t always feel like success. For a while, every win created more work. What helped her move forward was realizing she couldn’t do it all—and she didn’t have to.

“You can’t do it all by yourself… you’re putting up a wall and you are preventing your own growth.”

Growth required her to let go, trust others, and start leading instead of just doing. And once she did, everything changed.

RELATED LINKS:

Check out Katie’s business:  Miss Monogram Kids

Get the Profit First Book

The Path To A Full-Time Paycheck From Your Business

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/the-path-to-a-full-time-pay-check-from-your-business-episode-220/

How Erica supersized her profit and wiped out her stress

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/how-erica-supersized-her-profit-and-wiped-out-her-stress-episode-223/

3 Things You Can Do To Be More Profitable Today

https://thesocialsalesgirls.com/3-things-you-can-do-to-be-more-profitable-today-episode-219/

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