I have a confession. When Whitney Wisdom Beading went live on Etsy on May 14th, 2020 I didn’t even have shipping materials ready. I had no idea if anyone was going to buy anything and if the jewelry I had been making for my personal entertainment was good enough to sell. Like any sagittarius would, I just went for it.
A month prior, I had never heard the word “furloughed” and now I was it. I thought Whitney Wisdom Beading would provide a small, but fun, alternate source of income while my “real job” was up-in-the-air. I had picked out the smallest envelopes I could buy in bulk to decrease environmental waste and shipping costs; I just hadn’t made the move to purchase until my first few orders came through. I didn’t want to waste my time or money!
The first day I opened, May 14th, 2020, I had only four styles of bracelets in stock and sold out of almost everything! It was so exciting getting the alert a sale was made – seeing who the customer was and what they purchased. I am proud to say, a year later I’ve stocked the shop with up to 40 styles at a time and still get just as giddy when I get that order notification.
Early Success: The reason I think I experienced success early on: no physical stores were open in America. We were still in the transition from our social “regular” lives to doing everything on the small screen – including shopping. I had a captive audience! In May of 2020, the only thing to look forward to was that package in the mail. My friends and family are always amazing supporters and were excited to support a newer dream of mine – owning my own business. Without the pandemic, Whitney Wisdom Beading would have probably never come to be.
Childhood Designer: I didn’t just learn how to make jewelry, it’s actually an older hobby I had as a kid but, between sports and studying, beading and I lost touch. Since the pandemic stripped me of my career and my social life, I now had time to get back into the craft. Growing up I made most of my jewelry on Sundays. My dad and brother would watch football literally all day long and I only cared about the Eagles but still wanted to be part of the group; so I stayed on the couch with them and a variety of bead trays in front of me. I primarily made short chain necklaces (It’s funny if I try them on now they’re choker sized.) with a pendant or a large bead in the middle and matching seed beads along each side. I was absolutely obsessed with symmetry. Everyone was! It was 2006.
Other times, I would crank out wire rings with a few beads along the front. I kept a lot of the pieces for myself but I would also give a lot to my mom complete with a homemade tag that read “Whitney Original.” I’ve always had a business mindset. Who are we without branding? The reason I was more focused on necklaces and not bracelets was because it was tough for me to tie them off. I’ve never liked bracelets with a clasp because I can’t put them on by myself, so one thing I knew for sure: Whitney Wisdom bracelets would be on stretchy, easy-to-slide-on, elastic.
Photoshoots: By Memorial Day Weekend I was just about completely sold out. So I went to town creating and uploading more bracelets – making basically whatever I wanted. The most challenging part in getting my Etsy page started was learning how to take professional product shots. I have to convince people my jewelry is worth their money based almost solely on photos. Of course, I’d already had this blog for almost a full year and had learned so much about photography from it; however, shooting an inanimate object and giving it a personality and a brand presented new challenges.
At first I tried shooting each piece on a piece of copy paper to have that standard white background. That could not have looked worse! I then decided to treat my product shoots as I would my blog, and went outside. I use a variety of backgrounds that are interesting, yet neutral, to spotlight the product. The boards in the background of my photos have become foundational to our string “better than boardwalk” anklet and bracelet lines.
Beyond Bracelets: I knew from the start I wanted to expand beyond bracelets and into other types of jewelry…eventually. That's why I named the shop Whitney Wisdom Beading and not Whitney Wisdom Bracelets. I never want to limit myself. The next surge of shoppers came when I launched custom beaded anklets and custom shell anklets in June 2020. The idea for the anklets literally came from a Facebook comment from my aunt. I always try to create what customers want, and oftentimes you guys have the best suggestions! My aunt lives on a river so I was hell-bent on making the anklets from durable, waterproof cord. (We’ve all lost cheap anklets in the water. Just gone forever. I want mine to last from season to season.) Keep in mind, all stores were still closed. It took me several orders to find exactly what I was looking for string wise and I ultimately had to delay the anklet launch. As an online brand, I value quality over all else.
Shopping Events: The string bracelets came later in September, as I was aware most shoppers only wore anklets in the warmer months yet, bracelets year round. I added the beaded rings around the same time. Also in September, I did my first ever vendor fair. I wanted to have an item or two at the fair that had never been seen before and was not yet for sale on my website. This gave the customers at the vendor fair exclusivity while I was using my first and only in person shopping event for market research. Adding the rings ended up being the best call for this event due to the low price point. If a customer wanted a custom birthstone ring, I could make it quickly while they were standing there. No one else at the fair offered custom work.
Also, in the summer and fall of 2020 I sold in a hair salon in Delaware. This was the original reason I made business cards and I’m so glad I did! The hair salon wasn’t necessarily the right avenue to sell through so, for year two I am looking to get an assortment of my pieces into local boutiques. Places people already go to shop. Follow Whitney Wisdom Beading on Instagram or Facebook to see if I make it happen!
Numbers: Of course running an Etsy business is only partially about creating the product. I’ve taken copious courses on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Coming up with keywords is just as important as product designs and photos. The keywords help Etsy shoppers from all across the world find me. It’s really cool shipping to places I’ve never been. There’s never enough time to dig into the numbers but, if Whitney Wisdom Beading ever became a full-time gig I would definitely increase my time in this area. For those who also like to check out what others are buying, here are my top 10 best-selling items from year one - counting down to #1, of course.
Future Plans: I’ve been trying to figure out some sort of customer loyalty rewards program. Referrals are also huge and I’m always so curious how people find my webpage. A big year two goal: to get more of these answers. To stay relevant I want to give back to my customers and continue to create one-of-a-kind jewelry. I’d love to have a team and potentially bring someone on to do social media. WWB is currently on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest and it’s really tough to make full usage of these channels with my schedule. I want to do more vendor fairs and I think coastal locations are a great fit for my brand. I love interacting with my customers and learning more about them and what influences their purchase decisions.
Like I said without those first few customers in May of 2020 I would have never even bought shipping materials. I thank you guys so much! Please enjoy our best sale to date - 25% off the shop now through midnight on Monday, 5/17. This is the first time anklets have been included in a sale so stock up!
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