Hi, it's Den! A few days ago, someone messaged me (btw, she's only 19 years old) and asked, 'how can I start selling online', ' do I need to bring out a lot of money', 'what if I don't have enough budget', etc.. In this post, I will be sharing simple tips and experiences in selling different personalized items.
A little background about me, I started selling online last 2015. My first product was selling personalized notebooks.
Don't be afraid to start
Fear would be your worst enemy if you let it conquer your emotions. Life is really unexpected, and sometimes you don't need a plan to start. YOU JUST HAVE TO START. Emphasis on START.
I'm afraid, but I want to start selling online. If this what you're feeling, you'll just need to push yourself a little. Don't overthink that maybe no one will like it, my design is not that good, etc. All I want to say is, YOUR WORK IS GOOD, POST IT! You need to love your work and what you are doing so that people would see the emotions reflected in your work.
I'm a bit shy about posting my product/s. Having these emotions are normal. How we handle these emotions is also one thing. I told her that it will be our own little secret that she'll be starting her shop. (I hope this will push her to open her shop)
Start Small (P400.00 capital)
Do you need a large capital? I don't have a budget to start my store. Here's a little secret. (I think I just have a few callig followers that would read this so this secret is just - for your eyes only. Say Hi! in the comment section please) When I started selling online, I just started with 20 on-hand notebooks. How much each notebook? I bought them for P20.00 each, so my capital was only P400.00.
Trivia: I just started calligraphy May, 2015. After 5 months of practice, I started selling my works.
I sold the notebooks for P100.00 each and had this additional P25.00 if they want a longer quote. People started messaging me for orders and I think I've sold a total of 100+ notebooks. A little math: I would have 75 pesos income per notebook. So from my P400 capital (20 notebooks), my total income is P1500.
Post your work
Looking through some old posts on Facebook and I found it. Ooops I have increased my pricing to P125 and P150.
How did I start? Where did I post my products? What I did was I posted on the "UST Freshies group" - I'm 2nd year UST - Architecture student at that time, that I'm selling 'Personalised Notebooks'. Students from different colleges messaged me that they want "this quote", "this Bible verse", or "this message" to be written, then I just complied. I gave them the dates / free time where we could meet up in UST. BTW, I have more orders from other colleges than my own.
What about in today's scenario? (Pandemic and everything is online)
You have a lot of options. The online world is so amazing! You could try (1) creating your own IG store account, (2) Shopee account - my fave!, (3) post on your Facebook profile, (4) post on different groups, and (5) message your friends/family members/acquaintances if they want to buy your product.
Visit my Shopee Account - dennise.ysabelle (shop name - Calligraphy by Den)
Stand Out
What is unique about your product? Why will people buy what you are selling? The edge of all my items is that it is personalized. Everything I sell is handwritten and designed by me.
You could discover your edge simply by being you! What do you enjoy doing? You can tell me - I love painting, doodling, singing, designing, etc. You could apply what you love doing to different products.
I'm following an artist, her IG is @artsoftheyan (follow her!), and I see her posts all the time. She started by painting nature-inspired artworks, then sold some of them online, and then right now she started to hand-paint wooden coasters. It amazed me because I saw her posts evolve to what she is right now, an artist-entrepreneur.
I messaged Dianne, "What gave you the idea to start painting on coasters?" and her answer was similar to what I have experienced. She told me that one of her past clients wanted her to paint on coasters, and she did not reject the idea. What she did was, she looked for a coaster supplier, did her research on how to paint on them, and said "yes" to the client.
The products you first thought of wouldn't be what you'd be selling in 5 to 10 years. Life is changing and what people are using now would also evolve. So don't be scared of starting your own online shop or sell a few things you make.
I recently launched my Shop Instagram (@shop.calligraphybyden), please visit.
So if you're still having doubts, message me on Instagram @calligraphybyden. I'll hear you out and chika chika na din (let's chat about life).
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