Today we’d like to introduce you to Meg Young.
Hi Meg, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
After 13 years of working in beauty PR, I decided to shift gears. I was running my own PR business and had a one year old, two year old (12 months apart) and was working around the clock. I had lost the passion for the work I was doing and decided if I was going to spend that much time away from my girls, I wanted to do something that excited me.
Like many businesses, the idea of Cailini Coastal came to me through my own personal quest as a design loving consumer. Until our current home (which we moved into just this past summer), I had been a renter my entire adult life. As a renter, I wasn’t able to wallpaper, paint, or make updates to outdated spaces. Purchasing expensive furniture was not only out of my budget but impractical because I moved so often and there was no guarantee it would “work” in the next home. For all of those reasons, I relied on accents – like decorative pillows, lighting and chic accessories – to really transform my homes. I’ve always had this distinct coastal style and most of the pieces I purchased I discovered at boutiques, antique stores or flea markets on the east and west coasts. I love shopping these types of places because the pieces I find feel special and unique rather than items you’d find at more mainstream stores. After having kids, online shopping became almost exclusively the way I shopped, and I realized there wasn’t anything available online that offered what I was looking for – unique, quality coastal accents. There were quite a few places online to shop coastal furniture and select décor, but they were all a bit too mainstream for me and there wasn’t anywhere that focused on just the accents. That’s how the idea for Cailini Coastal came.
After a year and a half of countless conversations and research, I made the decision to pause my PR business and focus 2020 on launching Cailini Coastal – the online destination I personally wished existed.
Between the months of January and April 2020, I was sourcing and purchasing inventory that filled up my garage. Cailini Coastal launched in April 2020 from my garage in Manhattan Beach (where we lived at the time) mid-quarantine with my two toddlers at home. I was so concerned about launching a new business during such an uncertain and dark time, but I had all the inventory so I cautiously decided to move forward as planned. From the very beginning Cailini Coastal was a hit. We had over 100 orders in our first week of business and I hired my first full-time employee five weeks later!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Year one was very smooth in terms of customer acquisition and sales. Our growth was so fast that it became a challenge to keep up with the inventory demands. The first six months, we were sold out of best-selling items constantly. We couldn’t not only keep items in stock, but we struggled to GET them back. With the implications of covid on international trade, many of our vendors and manufacturers are experiencing unprecedented delays in lead times. Some up to 6 months. Imagine being sold out of a best-seller and not able to restock it in six months. I have an amazing woman who does our sales planning and forecasting and we now account for those longer lead times when buying. The challenge there is just that we have to place large POs.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Cailini Coastal (meaning “coastal girls” in Irish and named for my two young daughters who are growing upright by the coast. We’re of Irish heritage) is an online destination for coastal home decor. We offer a highly curated assortment of unique and high-quality products sourced from around the world.
Like many businesses, the idea of Cailini Coastal came to me through my own personal quest as a design loving consumer. Until our current home (which we moved into just this past summer), I had been a renter my entire adult life. As a renter, I wasn’t able to wallpaper, paint, or make updates to outdated spaces. Purchasing expensive furniture was not only out of my budget but impractical because I moved so often and there was no guarantee it would “work” in the next home. For all of those reasons, I relied on accents – like decorative pillows, lighting and chic accessories – to really transform my homes. I’ve always had this distinct coastal style and most of the pieces I purchased I discovered at boutiques, antique stores or flea markets on the east and west coasts. I love shopping these types of places because the pieces I find feel special and unique rather than items you’d find at more mainstream stores. After having kids, online shopping became almost exclusively the way I shopped, and I realized there wasn’t anything available online that offered what I was looking for – unique, quality coastal accents. There were quite a few places online to shop coastal furniture and select décor, but they were all a bit too mainstream for me and there wasn’t anywhere that focused on just the accents. That’s how the idea for Cailini Coastal came. After a year and a half of countless conversations and research, I made the decision to pause my PR business and focus 2020 on launching Cailini Coastal – the online destination I personally wished existed.
I’m most proud of how we have been able to execute my goal of giving back into the business. We donated more than $20K in year one of business to our national non-profit partner, Family Promise.
Giving back is something that has always been very important to me personally. When I decided to start this business, I knew I wanted to use it to help others in a direct way. Children and families experiencing homelessness is a cause that always has always been close to my heart and with a business that sells home luxuries, I thought it was the perfect cause to give back to. In the United States today, one child out of six lives in poverty, which is a staggering stat. Families with children make up 35% of the people in this country who experience homelessness.
I chose to partner with Family Promise – a highly regarded national organization that has existed for decades. They work with their families to achieve sustainable independence so that their families are truly set up for success. I connected with Family Promise in February and told them I would be donating a portion of my profits and would use my platform to help bring awareness to their work. A few weeks later, COVID changed our world and families needed their support more than ever. When we launched, we committed to donating 100% of our profits for the first six months of business to Family Promise to help families most impacted by COVID-19. We donated over $20K in our first year of business to national and our local chapter here in Los Angeles to help support programs like remote learning centers for homeschooled kiddos and furnishings for families who are moving into a new home.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Personally: I’m a classically trained singer. I studied musical theater and opera in college and had dreams of being on broadway until my first PR internship which completely changed my focus.
Professionally: Some of my friends don’t even realize how much work having a start-up is. I drop my daughters off at school and pick them up every day. At 6 pm the day ends and it’s family time. While I only get about 7 hours of work in during the day, I wake up every morning at 5 or 530 am to work before they’re up and stay up as late as my eyes can stay open (which unfortunately isn’t very late!). Having a new business requires a ton of work and if you’re parent, you need to be creative with where you find the time to do it all!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.cailinicoastal.com
- Instagram: @cailinicoastal
- Facebook: cailinicoastal
Image Credits:
Molly Rose Photography
