Small Business Spotlight: Allie Falcon

Earlier this year I attended the Bodacious Babes of The West Conference in Ft. Worth, TX. This conference was nothing short of amazing + inspiring getting the opportunity to meet other business women in the Western world. While in Ft. Worth, I had the pleasure of meeting the one and only, Allie Falcon. If you follow her on social media (read: insta), I can assure you, she is just as fun + funky in real life as she appears to be on the 'gram. Not only is she beautiful but she also has brains; Allie was a keynote speaker at the conference and had a lot of insight + information to share with the attendees. I hope you enjoy this week's Chief of The Teepee, Mrs. Allie Falcon.

Tell us who you are, where you’re from and a fun fact or two. Hey girl hey, my name is Allie Falcon! I am a graphic designer, leather artisan, fashion blogger and resident plant killer. My hubs and I live in the great state of Texas, near a little town called Mertzon. He runs a little ranch operation out there and I “work” (usually in yoga pants) 7 days a week in my office out of our casa!

As for fun facts, hmmm, I don’t know how fun my facts are, but I play guitar and dabble on the piano after a few beers. :)

Oh! Even though I make my living on being creative, I’ve never taken art class. Not in high school and not in college. So for those of you out there that think, “Oh I can’t do that!” or “I’m just not creative like them!” Check yoself before you wreck yoself, because it can be done! To be honest I have to work really hard at being creative and there are tons of things that I didn’t learn in high school or college that I Google every single day to learn. If you have the will to learn and are willing to put in the sweat and tears, anyone can do what I do.

“TALKING ABOUT ENCHILADAS WASN’T MY JAM, BUT I LEARNED ENOUGH TO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE TO GET STARTED.” — ALLIE FALCON

Where did the inspiration behind your business come from? How did it begin? Honestly, I always had it in my head that I’d like to have my own business one day. I wasn’t sure what kind of biz, but I knew I needed to learn from the big boys before I braved the storm of entrepreneurship. So I did a lot of work with ad agencies, PR agencies and eventually took on the role of Marketing Coordinator with a national Mexican food chain. Talking about enchiladas wasn’t my jam, but I learned enough to have the confidence to get started. So I would work my office job all day and then go home and hustle for graphic design clients and build logos and websites all night. Each paycheck I got would go towards a piece of equipment I needed for my business, like a nice camera, a good laptop, software, etc. When my husband got a job offer on this ranch, it was the kick in the ass I needed to get Allie Falcon Communications going full time.

Thanks to a few trusting clients I still have and love, I got my graphic design stuff rolling. In the evenings I would fart around with leather. Honestly, I didn’t have any idea what I was doing, but I figured it out a long the way. We barely had a cent to our name in the beginning and I cried way more than any grown ass woman should, but with a lot of encouragement and support from my family and God, I rode out the wave and all of a sudden things started progressing. Now that my business is so much more than communications work, I rebranded to just AllieFalcon.com because I figured I want to make it big one day and that’s what the big dogs do bahaha!

My inspiration in everything I create comes from our western lifestyle, but my drive comes from never wanting to work in an office again and hopefully inspiring someone that is currently wearing my shoes from 3 years ago, that they can do it too.

What is the best part about being the BOSS? There are the obvious things, like not wearing a bra or pants most days, haha, but I also love being able to travel and work. I don’t know about y’all, but when I worked in an office, asking for a day off damn near gave me a stomach ulcer. If I’m in a creative rut or I find myself being unproductive, I love that I can just take a little road trip to bring me back to life and no one is talking smack back at the office that I took a day off lol. A lot of my graphic design work and leather designs are often inspired by patterns I saw painted on a wall somewhere or from an etched vase in a junk store.

What drives you to pursue your passion each day? I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s important to me that I prove to myself and anyone that doubts me, that this isn’t just a “cute little fluff job” or an “arts and crafts project.” It’s a real life business that turns a profit. Because when I bought my first car the other day, the dealer asked what I did for a living and when I responded “designer,” he laughed and said, “No, what do you REALLY do?” So it’s people like that, that keep the fire lit underneath me. Plus, I get to wear a lot of different hats in my job and so the fun of it all really drives me.

What advice would you give to an entrepreneur just starting their journey?

Never say, “I can’t.” If you want to learn a certain trade, you damn sure can. The internet is a powerful thing and half the things I’ve learned how to do in the last three years are all thanks to YouTube videos. Hell, I had one month of fashion blogging experience before I starting writing for Cowgirl Magazine! You've got to take risks or you'll never know what you're capable of.
Don't be obsessed with overnight success. It happens for some but not many, so just keep at whatever makes you get out of the bed in the morning and eventually success WILL follow.
Network, network, network. If you admire someone or their work. Reach out to them! Tell them! If you have a question, ASK IT! Be careful though, ask for advice, not handouts, and when you do, make sure they know how much you appreciate it. Please know, there will be mean girls along the way. I still deal with them today, but I’ve also reached out to women I admired in the beginning and we are great friends to this day. Don’t be scared of them rejecting you. If they do or they are mean to you, then you do not need them in any way, shape or form. Move on to the next. The nice men and women I’ve networked with over the years are accountable for every bit of success I’ve achieved.
When you do achieve success, don't get too big for your britches. It's easy to get caught up in Instagram followers and Insta-fame, but we are all just itty bitty fish in a big pond in the scheme of things. Remember we all start at the bottom and remember the hardships you faced when you were there. Be nice to the beginners, because there's enough success for all of us!

“I’D SAY MY SUPERPOWER IS BEING POSITIVE.” — ALLIE FALCON

What are your hidden superpowers? Like I mentioned earlier, I’m remarkably talented at killing my plants in record timing. It’s not a power I’m proud of though lol. For real though, as cheesy as it sounds, I’d say my superpower is being positive. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to fail and quit, but I’ve talked myself out of it and now I try to do that for my peers on their low days. Cause Lord knows we all have them...and often.

What is your favorite quote? “If you find yourself asking yourself, ‘Am I REALLY a writer? Am I REALLY an artist?’ Chances are you ARE. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self confident. The REAL one is scared to death.” – Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

What is bliss to you? Working on my laptop from my front porch, beer in hand, while my honey ropes the dummy and cooks on the grill. Stopping for just a moment to take in all the pretty scenery around me and realizing that I’m so lucky to be able to do what I love from such a beautiful place. Don’t get me wrong, those peaceful days don’t happen often, but when they do - ahhhh it really is just the best feeling.

If you could meet anyone for champagne, who would it be and where would you meet? It’s a toss up between Iris Apfel & Will Ferrell lol. If it was Iris, I’d hope we’d meet in her closet...because duhhhhhh. If it was my main man Will, I’d hope it would meet on the set of his next hilarious movie. Or maybe he’d be into meeting me and Iris in her closet and we could dress him up and send him on his way.

What do you like to do in your "free" time? Well since every hobby I’ve ever had has turned into part of my job, I don’t have hobbies anymore lol. I’d probably say traveling and trying out new foods at dives and shopping at junk stores! I love to visit a new place and ask everyone that will stop long enough to talk to me where their favorite local joints are.

Make sure to check out Allie's shop for a dose of leather work! Shop update, today, July 28, 2017 at 5pm central!