The Business
Katrina Cline has been tattooing for over a decade. She specializes in black and gray art and has recently been exploring realism through pet and animal portraits. After years of working under other studio owners, Cline decided she wanted to open up her own business. “I need to be in full control of my life and I need to be making what I’m worth,” she says.
In 2021, Cline took the leap and opened Scythe and Sickle, an open concept, custom tattoo studio, in the Hamilton Road neighborhood of London, Ontario where she grew up. Cline says the neighborhood is not without its problems but it has been a rewarding experience to get back to her roots. “I know how to navigate the social issues there and […] I think a lot of people that I grew up with see that I’m doing it and doing it in my neighborhood and it means something.”
The Challenge
At her core, Cline is an artist and she has spent most of her life perfecting her craft. Running a company on her own became a whole new world filled with steep learning curves and daunting challenges. “I didn’t go to school for business and I don’t have a business background. I definitely struggle with the digital world and online stuff,” she says. As a result, Cline has mostly steered clear from incorporating anything digital into her business model, running an entirely cash-only studio with a limited online presence.
Without a proper point-of-sale system, Cline says she felt exposed to transaction risks. If clients didn’t bring cash along to their appointments, the studio would accept electronic money transfers (EMTs), but Cline always worried that they could cancel transactions after they left. Despite feeling outside of her comfort zone Cline knew tackling digital transformation for Scythe and Sickle could help her safeguard and expand her business, all the while enhancing the customer experience.
The Solution
With these goals in mind, Cline was excited when a member of the Hamilton Road Business Improvement Area (BIA) introduced her to Digital Main Street’s Digital Transformation Grant (DTG) Program. The DTG initiative provides brick-and-mortar small businesses with a digital assessment, online training, and a $2,500 grant to implement their Digital Transformation Plan.
With the grant funds in hand, Cline focused on two key areas. The first was improving her studio’s social media presence. She hired a social media consultant to help her develop a strategy to improve Scythe and Sickle’s Instagram content. She also outsourced some key growth strategies that are simple but time consuming to a virtual assistant on Fiverr. This freed up time for Cline to focus on where she adds the most value. “I have to be tattooing and generating nice tattoo photos and reels […] as long as I’m doing that, the growth will happen.”.
The second area of focus was an improved customer checkout experience, which she accomplished by investing in a Square point-of-sale system. This would give her clients more payment options and ensure that her business remains safeguarded from fraud and theft from cancelled e-transfers.
Key Deliverables
- Applied for and received a Digital Main Street DTG in March 2023
- Selected, purchased, and set-up Square point-of-sale system and additional accessories including receipt printer
- Hired social media consultant to learn how to leverage social platforms to market Scythe and Sickle online
- Hired social media assistant on Fiverr to help with proactive engagement and other growth strategies
The Impact
Cline says that her efforts to learn more about digital transformation and the DTG funds she received have made a big difference for her business and she has noticed a number of positive changes since completing the program:
- Improved customer experience. Cline says the feedback from her customers has been overwhelmingly positive. They’re happy to have a few different payment options available when they come into the studio.
- Enhanced online presence. With Cline spending more time in the areas where she has the most impact, like tattooing and content creation, the brand’s overall Instagram presence has improved greatly.
- Business growth. Cline recently hired an apprentice and is on the hunt for one new artist to add to her studio’s roster. With additional help, Cline has more time to focus on business development.
Next Steps
After celebrating her business’s two-year anniversary, Cline says she’s very happy with the success Scythe and Sickle has had so far, but she is eager to continue pushing forward. “There are just so many things that I learned [in the DTG program] that I could be doing to help my business, I just haven’t gotten there yet.” Now, equipped with new knowledge and a multitude of ideas, Cline knows “the door is there for me once I get there.”
French Version – https://obiaa.com/digital-main-street-phase-4-french/scythe-and-sickle-tattoo-fait-peau-neuve-grace-au-virage-numerique/
