[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message]Niche : Personalized Design
Shop link : https://www.etsy.com/es/shop/LilyColor
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lilycolorart/[/vc_message][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Tell us something about yourself. What is your niche? How did you get your idea or concept for the business?
Hello, my name is Lola and I live in Valencia, a city in the southeast of Spain known for the City of Arts and Sciences, for its gastronomy, its traditions, its festivals and for its fruit and vegetable garden. Since I was little, I always liked painting and drawing and everything related to plastic crafts. The products in my store are aimed at an audience that likes them, although it is true that the majority of customers are women from 25 years to 100!! The idea for my business arose from the union of my love for drawing and illustration with a digital medium. For me, at that time it was a fast and easy way to get my designs to everyone.
What are your responsibilities as a business owner?
At first, the management of the store may seem somewhat complicated, but little by little the different tools that Etsy offers in its store administrator facilitate all the tasks; You have to renew the products when they are going to run out to keep a certain variety up to date, we can manage the prices to vary them in offers or at different times of the year. Something that obsesses me a bit in terms of store management orders, that is why I always try to have the products in order, that the photographs are placed with a certain harmony, that the products look good and are harmoniously arranged by colors and collections of papers or clipart are arranged next to each other. Self-dissemination on social networks also falls within the management, which is something that Etsy facilitates from within, although it can be done independently. The greatest responsibility is to try to be very aware of messages from clients who sometimes have questions or want to consult something and this is very important to me that they have confidence and know that I can answer any questions and I am someone “real”. And of course, it is also vitally important to observe what is worn in patterns and patterns and see what is a trend and what customers want.
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What are your best selling products, what type of materials are used in your creations, how do you design your products, what makes your products stand out?
My best-selling products are those with a retro touch and floral designs, both patterns, and clipart. Due to the nature of the products and that they are downloadable, the materials are imagination and Photoshop or Procreate, although a few weeks ago I started to introduce watercolors that I first paint and then scan to provide a more handmade and personal touch. To design them first I make a small mood board of what I want, once I center the idea I start to paint elements that later I assemble in different ways to assemble the patterns, once I have the ones I like the most I compress them in a file to upload them to my store. To all this process we must add the creation of covers or covers so that the customer can clearly see the quality of the product and the different designs that I offer in each package. I think my products have a special color and a different artistic touch.
What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur? What’s the hardest about it?
What I like the most about being an entrepreneur is independence and trying to be autonomous doing something that I love the most, but above all, I am fascinated by the idea that people from all over the world use my designs to make beautiful things houses, in their businesses, for their relatives or for themselves. I would love for all of them to show me what they do with my designs !!!
Who do you sell to (and how do you get customers)? What marketing tools or strategies you use to boost your sales? Are you satisfied with the results?
I mainly sell to people who use Etsy, although lately I am trying to get clients from social networks and I also get some direct audience. I don’t really have any marketing strategy currently.
Do you believe there is a winning formula for becoming a successful entrepreneur? What is yours?
I think the only strategy there is to give customers what they need at that moment, solve their problems.
What was the toughest moment you have experienced in your business practice? How did you succeed to get over it and move forward?
Well, my worst moment really is the present time, because when I started my business little by little the sales were rising, but at that moment was when I decided to start the four-year career of Graphic Design and I had to neglect the business a little because to lack of time. This resulted in a decrease in sales and audience and that is the problem that I am currently trying to solve, to trace and re-float up my Etsy shop.
What inspires you when you’re creating? How do you get ideas for new products? What are some methods or tools you use to get creative?
When I am creating everything inspires me, a movie, a book, a fashion show, but above all things Nature inspires me, I think there are millions of resources in it, it is an infinite source of inspiration. I use a notepad to jot down “express” ideas or quick concepts that come to mind, after that I try to generate mood boards with photographs, textures, and color palettes. Sometimes I just express or paint something more spontaneous.
Do you ship your product internationally? How do you handle postage pricing? What is the average time it takes from the order to the delivery? Do you use free shipping? If so, why? How do you package your products?
Because the products that I sell are digital, they can be distributed around the world, but they do not have any shipping costs, and each buyer can enjoy their purchase immediately since they are immediate downloads. I try to design some boxes or covers for the products so that they resemble real boxes so that it looks like a real packaging of a set of papers in a store.
What would you say are the key elements for starting and running a successful online business?
The key elements to start and run a successful online business no one knows what they are, if that were the case all businesses would be successful, but I suppose it is important to be able to solve people’s problems, give the customer what they want and need.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs who are starting out?
My advice would be not to get demoralized, to be constant and creative.
How do you personally define business success? Is it money? Freedom? Influence? Creative expression and innovation? Something else?
For me, business success would consist of dedicating your time to a job that makes you happy, and in addition to making others happy with what your company produces and of course, … being able to make a living from what you do.
Describe your day-to-day operation. How do you manage your time?
I usually try to put in quite a few hours, something like an eight-hour workday, although I have started doing this recently because, as I said before, I have recently finished my studies. It is also true that this time is the idea that I have set for myself and that many times it cannot be met due to having to attend to other obligations. I almost always invest time in creating new prints, this is a mistake that I am trying to correct since sometimes what you sell is as important as how you sell it and I am aware that I should spend more time promoting my store by doing something. marketing and promotion.
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How do you plan on growing your business? What is the biggest impact on your profitability?
I plan to grow my business by creating more designs, more products and with more variants, color palettes, etc ….. also adding something new such as whole illustrations larger than the clipart, I have even thought of offering the products physically to send them, but that’s just an idea on my mind.
What are some things you did to set your shop for success on Etsy? What is one lesson you learned the hard way?
I really believe that I have not done everything for my store to be successful, I think I have to do some more things, but I would like to offer free gifts to buyers to build loyalty. The lesson I learned the hard way is that you have to be extremely careful so that all the files are uploaded correctly and nothing fails, because sometimes you can have a fault and not correctly offer the product that is reflected in the ad, this is a big mistake, because the client does not get what he wants and it is a bit upsetting for him to have to send me a message explaining what happened, this ever happened and I solved it quickly, it is not a big problem, but we want happy customers to make an easy purchase.
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