I've decided to dip my toes into running a small business. So last week, I set up shop on Etsy under the 'brand' Hooby Groovy. Check out my store here. I have also set up a Facebook page for it, like it here.
So far, I'm focusing on iPhone and iPad cases. In the future, I'd like to try my hands on bags and other accessories. And then see where my interests move onto next.
My time has been taken up by 2 things associated with my store, namely creating stuff and marketing it. So I will blog a bit about both.
In terms of creating things, I think I'm steadily increasing my sewing skills so that's pretty cool. I'm learning heaps about how to work with different types of fabric and how to mix them up so that they won't crease or pull or do weird things. But easiest is to work with the same types of fabrics so I like that the best obviously. I think most of my time is taken up by cutting fabric, more so than sewing them together! Sometimes I wish I just had a mold thing that would do all the cutting for me.
Marketing has been a whole different boat though. Etsy has tons of sellers and tons of items. So its hard for buyers to find my store and items. So I've been spending time on the Etsy forums socialising with other sellers for 2 reasons: to get tips and also to get them visiting my shop. I've also set up that Facebook page so that everytime I list a new item, I can update that page and hopefully my 'fans' will visit.
Other things I will be trying soon is being more active on other forums where my potential customers hang out. And possibly look into other places to list my items, not just Etsy.
I've also been learning more about product photography. What do you think of my efforts?
All in all, I'm taking this all in as experience and not setting my expectations too high. If I can learn heaps about running a business and I have fun in the process, I'm happy. Though lots of sales and money coming in would be ace too. ;)
Well here's what I have on sale so far:
Posts
2 comments:
Hey Eeleng, these are amazing! I love them! I just dropped by your shop. Why doesn't it have the Young at Heart iPhone case yet? Your iPad cases look so good they make me want to have iPad just so I can get the case! I'll definitely keep an eye on your progress. Good luck with the new business!
Thanks mee! The Young at Heart series just sold out and I've been so busy to put them back haha. I was really quite clueless when I started and now its like a crash course in business, manufacturing and time management! But its been a really fun experience so far though very tiring!
Post a Comment