Katherine Heigl has had many memorable roles, from her Emmy Award–winning portrayal of Izzie Stevens on Grey’s Anatomy to cult favorite leading ladies within the cinematic romcoms Knocked Up and 27 Dresses.
Now, Katherine is taking over a brand new role as founding father of Recent Lane Road Mercantile, a project that merges her lifelong passion for animal advocacy and conscious consumerism.
While browsing social media, Katherine saw an ad for making a business on Shopify and decided to construct a web-based store. “I used to be on my iPad on a couch in my lounge,” Katherine says. “I took a full Saturday to do it.”
Greater than a 12 months later, Katherine has curated products from greater than 50 artisans that produce the whole lot from homegoods to skincare items. Proceeds from sales support other small businesses, in addition to the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, an animal advocacy organization began by Katherine and her mother, Nancy Heigl.
In the most recent episode of Shopify Masters, Katherine shares how, with Recent Lane Road Mercantile, she has built the shopping experience of her dreams.
Testing and evolving the business
Beyond acting, Katherine enjoys expressing her creativity through visual arts—and her art was the seed for her entrepreneurial journey.
Katherine was already creating paintings, drawings, and digital art when the thought for a business struck. “I believed, wouldn’t it’s great if I could sell a few of these designs on a t-shirt or a hat and help raise funds for the inspiration,” she says.
Katherine then experimented with Shopify and print-on-demand apps to create a store that allowed her to sell her designs printed on merch. Regardless that this version of the business was easy to construct, it wasn’t the business she desired to keep running.
Realizing she was spending more time maintaining with creating designs, Katherine pivoted to a business that may grow to be Recent Lane Road Mercantile. “I switched to being a supplier for other vendors because I like to curate … all the gorgeous things online that I’d like to have in my home,” she says.
Working with partners that align with brand values
The principal reason Katherine took the road to entrepreneurship is to support the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, which Katherine has run and funded together with her mom since 2008. To complement donations, Katherine intended to make use of 100% of the proceeds from her recent business. “It’s type of like consumerism that cares, consumerism with purpose,” she says.
This pillar of purpose translates to Katherine’s curation strategy for Recent Lane Road Mercantile. “I desired to work with vendors who also were giving back in a roundabout way, either socially or environmentally conscious,” she says.
Curating products—and moments
Once Katherine had her list of artisans and business owners she desired to work with, she took a unique approach to curation. As an alternative of just choosing products she liked, she was constructing special moments for her customers. “I desired to take that idea [of moments] with my very own spin on it and create a web-based shopping experience,” she says.
Whether it’s creating a comfortable reading moment by the hearth or a reflective journaling session, Recent Lane Road Mercantile is working with artisans to sell a life-style while inspiring conscious and thoughtful consumerism.
In her second act, Katherine has used her influence as a Hollywood powerhouse to do good. Her inspiring journey to a brand new, unknown profession demonstrates that entrepreneurship truly is an area for everybody.
To listen to more on Katherine’s business trip, take a look at the total interview on Shopify Masters.
