Tips on starting your own online shop (feat. Coco & Belle)

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since my last blog post. March has been a busy month for me as it was Coco and Belle's anniversary month! I also joined my first bazaar last weekend, making my April quite busy too.

I thought about sharing my story about Coco and Belle to hopefully inspire others who are planning to start a business of their own.

First of all, before anything else, why "Coco and Belle"?

I have a dog named Belle (Maltese) and Coco was supposed to be the name of a dog I was planning to get at that time. I got a "Chico" (French bulldog) instead but "Chico & Belle" wouldn't sound so good for a shoe store, would it? Haha.

Then next question is, why shoes and not clothes or accessories?

I just happened to order from a store some pairs of shoes that I wanted. I posted the designs online on who would want to join in on my order to save on shipping. Turns out, I was able to take a lot of "orders" (and quite a lot more after that)! Which made me realize that there is a market for this and an opportunity to earn since there are not much shoe stores out there. And I guess the rest was history... :)

Here are some things that I learned along the way:

1. Don't mind the naysayers. You're the one who's winning & earning anyway.

You can't avoid these kinds of people but you can surely learn how to deal with them. I've had a lot of people coming to me, asking me "Di ba CPA man ka? Ngano ka nag online shop?" (Aren't you a CPA? Why are you starting an online shop?). It caught me off guard because I never thought online shops were just meant for certain people. You might feel embarrassed at first, for selling and posting your items and having people like and follow your business page.

But just keep this in mind: no matter how small the profit is, it's still profit. It's still money that you can use to pay for your expenses.

No one would just hand out to you 100-500php. That small amount of money is still hard to come by these days.

2. Start and work with what you have.

One usual problem in starting out a business is capital. "I don't have the money yet to start up my business." Well, just start with what you have. Try to have pre-orders first (that's how I started). Once you start earning from those orders, build your capital from there. You can also set aside a little every month from your salary (that's what I did). Also, you don't need to buy all those fancy items for your photos and set-up, and spend too much on packaging, etc. Build your brand loyalty first through quality items and service.

Take it from me. Until now, I still "model" my own shoes. And if you ask my sister on how I take the photos, I used to just take photos with my phone near our dormitory window just so I can get enough sunlight to make my photos more attractive. I didn't have a DSLR camera then, neither did I have all these fur covers and artsy frames. I spent more time trying to improve the product and service because that's what I can control and what I can do for free.

3. Always do good and honest business.

This has always been my motto with Coco and Belle: Honesty goes a long way. Genuine and sincere relationships with your customers will be valued in the long run.

Some designs we got from customers.

Don't go into business for profit's sake, while completely disregarding your customers' feedback. Inform your customers openly on any issue regarding their orders. Be open with their feedback on how to improve your product. There will be those who would criticize your items or compare you with others, but might as well use that to be better next time.

4. Learn from others who have been in business longer than you have.

Talk to other online sellers that you know and learn from their best practices. You will have to establish some policies and procedures that work for you. Lay out your rules as regards shipping and courier options, payment cut-off, payment methods, pricing, returns and exchange, etc.

Before embarking on new ideas for your shop, ask around on how the experience is/was for other online shops. Such as: Should you place your items on Shopee? Should I offer COD? Is it the right time to rent at a physical store?

You can also adapt practices based on your own experiences from ordering online. Such as how they take/reserve orders, send invoices, how they follow up on payments, etc.

5. Be an original.

As much as honesty will take you a long way, so will your authenticity. Build your own brand. Establish what your brand stands for and what it means to buy from your shop. Yes, you can take inspiration from others but learn to draw the line and don't be a copycat. Worse, don't get tempted into grabbing photos without permission. That's a big no-no.

Secure a good and collaborative supplier. Be resourceful, creative and innovative. Don't limit yourself to what is in front of you.

I've always believed that anything done with love and dedication will always grow deeper and will prosper more beautifully. A brand that is original and well-thought of will definitely have a better chance of staying in business for plenty more years.

Photos from last week's bazaar.

Most important tip: START!

Stop overthinking and just give it a try.

There's plenty more to learn and I'm more than willing to share them with you!

Feel free to message me!

Love,

Lora