How Katrina Honors Her Sister’s Memory Through Her Clothing Line

In 2017, tragedy struck Katrina Lloyd when her sister was murdered by her boyfriend. Katrina launched a clothing line in 2023 to honor her sister’s memory. Today, Falsetto The Label donates 20% of its sales to domestic violence charities, creating something positive out of a devastating tragedy.
In this interview, Katrina shares how she came up with the idea of starting a brand to honor her sister and how she’s growing the business to maximize its impact.
👇 Key Takeaways
- “When people understand and connect with a brand’s story, they are more likely to purchase.”
- Falsetto is a family-run business, as Katrina’s husband and daughters are all involved
- Networking, word of mouth, and social media have been key to growing the business
Overview
Business Name: Falsetto The Label
Website URL: https://falsettothelabel.com
Founder: Katrina Lloyd
Business Location: United States (Massachusetts)
Year Started: 2023
Number of Employees/Contractors/Freelancers: 1
Tell us about yourself and your business.
I grew up in a small town in Delaware with two sisters and one brother where I loved to create. From drawings to making up songs and sewing clothes. My heart sang when I created something new. After high school, I pursued further education and attained my Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and Masters Degree in Strategic Communication. After college, I began my career in the federal government in the procurement profession.
Although I pursued a federal government career, my sense of creativity never left. In June 2023, I founded Falsetto The Label, a clothing and accessories line for predominantly women and girls with some unisex clothing items. Falsetto The Label sells custom-designed t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, kimonos, and accessories. No design is alike and as unique as its customers.
Falsetto focuses on philanthropic efforts by donating 20% of sales to domestic violence charities. Falsetto The Label also incorporates other small business brands with a mission to give back to those in need to expand its philanthropic efforts. The mission is “you shop, we give back to those in need.” It’s always better to give than to receive.
How does your business make money?
My business makes money through selling clothing and accessories. For clothing, I sell t-shirts, sweatshirts, and hoodies with custom designs along with custom kimonos. My clothing is mostly for women and girls. However, I also recently incorporated some unisex designs as well to reach a broader audience.
Beyond clothing, I also sell accessories including handbags. This is just the beginning as I plan to expand my brand to incorporate more small businesses with a mission to give back to those in need. Launching soon will be jewelry and hair accessories!
I sell my products through my Shopify store and market through word of mouth, networking events, pop-up shops, social media, media publications, and speaking events. As a small business owner, exposure is important to reach my target audience. However, what’s even more important is giving back to those in need. I can’t reiterate this enough.
What was your inspiration for starting the business?
My sister, Sherrie Campbell was the inspiration behind my business, Falsetto The Label. My life took a major turn in 2017 when I lost my sister to domestic violence. She was murdered by her boyfriend. I never experienced such a loss in my family and it took time to heal from such a great loss. I attended therapy and I’ll never forget what my therapist told me, “If you don’t speak about your sister, you dishonor her soul.” This struck me to my core and has stuck with me ever since. My healing from her loss morphed into thinking of ways to honor her memory. This is what sparked a great idea.
Sherrie and I always sang together while growing up. We would sing duets together around the house, put our own spin on songs, and truly jam. In addition to music, I never stopped my joy of creating.
Merging our two passions, music and clothing, birthed Falsetto The Label. Falsetto is a music register outside of the music artists’ normal range, producing a uniquely beautiful sound. Falsetto The Label empowers women and girls to reach their full potential in life. This empowering mission produced the slogan for Falsetto The Label, “Hit Your High Note.”
How and when did you launch the business?
I launched my business on June 11, 2023. There is meaning behind this start date. I have strong faith in God, and one day, I traveled to Fort Worth, TX, for work. I was constantly praying to God for direction on when to launch Falsetto The Label. When I arrived at my hotel room, my room number was “611.” This stunned me immediately. So, I launched Falsetto The Label on June 11, 2023.
I used Shopify as the host for my website. I’m an avid researcher, and through my research, I learned that Shopify is a great platform for both small and large businesses due to its variety of features, app integration, analytics, and the list goes on! I shared the launch of my brand through Facebook and Instagram and gained a lot of support from family and both old and new friends. It was a really great start, and I remember feeling so grateful for my tribe of supporters.
Tell us about your team.
I am the sole full-time member of my team. However, I have support from both my husband and twin daughters. I am the Founder/CEO responsible for the overall management and operations of Falsetto The Label, from the website management, marketing, outreach, financial tracking, and other administrative functions. My husband helps with my photography and brand strategy. My daughters serve as my models and share their creative ideas for clothing designs.
Besides God, my family means the most to me and it’s incredible how much they support me. I do a lot, from going to networking events and speaking engagements to increasing the visibility of my brand and learning from others. I’m in a sponge state currently as there is so much to learn. The sky is the limit with God on my side and my avid research methods.
How are you funded?
I am self-funded, which requires a high level of tracking of how I spend my funds to ensure they are balanced and beneficial to my brand. The funding goes to the overall costs for my business, from my Shopify website to clothing materials, a registered agent, advertisements, networking events, and other ad hoc costs.
I definitely overspent in the beginning, expecting a recurring influx of sales. Persuaded by the success of other brands, I assumed I would embark on a similar path. Sometimes, in life, you learn the most from hard lessons. Welp, lesson learned.
What I failed to realize was that success takes time. I’m a fast learner, so I slowed down my spending and made more thoughtful choices about how I budget, manage, and use my funds.
How did you acquire your first customers?
I acquired my first customers through word of mouth and by sharing through social media. I shared my plans to launch my business with family and friends. They were there through the brainstorming stage for the name of the brand, types of clothing design, mission, and other inner workings to launch the brand. I believe this created their initial buy-in and desire for them to support my brand. When people understand and connect with a brand’s story, they are more likely to purchase.
Once I finally launched Falsetto The Label, I received several sales on the first day. It was almost as if my family and friends knew when I would hit the “Publish” button on my Shopify store. It was absolutely remarkable and such a huge milestone for my business.
All of the hard work, several samples ordered to acquire the best materials, clothing designs, packaging, pack-ins such as thank you cards and additional research took a lot of time and effort to get right. Perseverance ultimately allowed me to acquire my first customers. I could have given up, but I’m glad I didn’t.
Tell us about your primary drivers for growth. What worked for you in the beginning? What’s working now?
My primary drivers for growth are consistency and research, both now and at the beginning of my business journey. The product industry has ebbs and flows of sales throughout a given year. Sales peak during the holiday seasons and summer months. Staying consistent with content creation, website management, marketing, and networking is very important to ensure my brand’s visibility and customer loyalty.
The other months can be slower outside of the holiday season and summer months. Research is important in finding new ways to attract customers. Providing a special discount or a free gift is a great lead magnet, and it has worked for my business.
Although the two primary drivers for my business are growth and consistency, there are many facets to them that allow me the flexibility to find new ways of doing things. I have to remain consistent in providing quality products for my customers. Through that, I enjoy coming up with fresh and new ideas to allow them to come back for more. For research, technology and customer purchase behavior are constantly changing. I remain tuned into theses areas to make sure I can make smart decisions in my business market.
What marketing strategies have been most effective for you so far?
The most effective marketing strategies have been networking/word of mouth and social media. These methods have generated sales for my business.
I attend a wide variety of networking events and have made some great connections along the way. Those connections have become my customers as well. Those customers have shared my brand with others who have also become customers.
Social media has helped me advertise my business and reach new customers. I like to focus on sharing my brand story. In my experience, people want to understand the company they are buying from before making a purchase. Being open about my “why” has really helped people to understand my brand and desire to support me.
How do you see your business evolving in the next 5 years?
In the next 5 years, I see my business evolving by incorporating 10 small businesses into Falsetto The Label with unique products that have a mission to give back to those in need. My business will be a self-oiled machine in 5 years, having worked out all the kinks while making a big impact in the world.
I envision Falsetto The Label as a household name that prioritizes and popularizes giving back. Falsetto will have an established team of professionals supporting and passionate about the success of the brand. I want folks who love what they do and don’t view it as a job, it should be, coming to work to live your passion. Falsetto The Label will support a large and diverse set of charitable organizations. The focus of Falsetto The Label will remain as “you shop, we give back to those in need.”
What is your favorite quote?
My favorite quote is actually from a Bible verse. It’s 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” This verse inspires me so much because it’s so easy to get caught up in this world and desire things for yourself. The humility that it takes to put giving first can change your mindset and what level of importance you assign to things in this world.
How do you stay motivated during tough times?
My motivation is my late sister, Sherrie, during tough times. I think of her often and whenever I feel overwhelmed or discouraged, I think of who I started Falsetto The Label for in the first place. It’s because of her that I come up with inspirational messages to put on clothing. It’s because of her that I continue my research to grow my brand even when I’m tired after a long day. It’s because of her that I put myself out there to strangers at networking events and speaking engagements to share my story.
Sherrie is the reason why Falsetto The Label exists. Sherrie is my motivation and God and my family are always there to support me through this journey.
Can you share a surprising fact about your startup journey that most people don’t know?
A surprising fact about my startup journey is that I actually had the idea of the brand in 2018, shortly after my sister passed away. I began putting wheels into motion with the brand during that time, but it wasn’t resonating with the initial business name and clothing designs. So, I stopped.
In 2021, out of the blue, my cousin contacted me to share a dream that God told her to tell me not to give up on my business modeled after Sherrie. This struck me to my core. It was then that I began working hard on the brand, came up with a new name for the business, and built and launched Falsetto The Label in 2023.
What is the most rewarding aspect of being a founder/entrepreneur?
Creating for a good cause is the most rewarding aspect of being an entrepreneur. To bring clothing to life with unique and empowering designs is exhilarating. Throughout the days, ideas just come to mind. This is why I always have either a notebook or my phone handy to jot down the ideas before I forget them.
Designing comes easy for me and I really enjoy creating. Being able to do what I am passionate about while also giving back to those in need is the best of both worlds. It’s not just entrepreneurship for me, it’s also philanthropy.
What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
Just start and write your own story. It may not be perfect but it’s better to start than not to try at all. Don’t let that bright idea dissolve. The world is full of great ideas, and some are never shared due to fear, self-doubt, and other factors swirling around in people’s heads.
Dismiss those thoughts that you can’t because I am here to tell you that you can. Start the business, write the book, become an inspirational speaker or a coach, and create something new. You and only you have a unique gift. Just start and have no regrets.