Reviving A Cosmetology Center Through An Ecommerce Business: Amy’s Story
Sometimes, it’s life’s most challenging circumstances that nudge us towards the path we’re destined for. This was the case for Amy, who found herself in the midst of a financial predicament with her cosmetology center in Costa Rica. It was during this challenging period that an ecommerce business emerged as a beacon of hope and became instrumental in turning around her venture.
Hello! Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi there, I’m Amy, currently living and running my business in Costa Rica.
Can you share some insights into your journey so far? What’s your profession?
Well, two years back, I established a cosmetology center in Alajuela. Business was flourishing, and there was an influx of clients. We began expanding and hiring more staff. But, as fate would have it, the pandemic happened, causing a major setback to my plans.
The lockdown and subsequent restrictions took a toll on the business. Visitor count declined drastically, leaving me with overheads such as rent and salaries. We found ourselves on the losing end.
It reached a point where I had to take a loan to pay off my employees and the rent. It was at this juncture that I decided to explore alternative avenues for a survival business model. This led to the opening of a new chapter in my life.
How did you navigate your business through these challenging times?
Honestly, it wasn’t easy. The problem was that I didn’t want to abandon my cosmetology center — it was my passion, and I genuinely love what I do. I believe that the center has the potential to bloom again one day.
However, at the moment, I am not in a position to expand it or even make it self-sufficient. By that, I mean running it in a stable manner that covers the expenses, even if it doesn’t yield any profit. So, I decided to press pause and switch my focus to a more reliable source of supplementary income.
This brought me to ecommerce. The world of online shopping has always fascinated me. I’ve considered starting an online store on several occasions, recognizing the advantages it offers to an owner.
Why did you choose to start an ecommerce business with AliDropship?
Well, the reasons were clear-cut. I weighed all the possible options to launch an ecommerce venture available in the market. AliDropship’s proposal appeared the most appealing.
Firstly, you need to establish your objectives for this ecommerce business, including its goals and targets. My intention was to cater to the US market. This audience boasts significant potential and purchasing power, helping me narrow down my options.
So, why AliDropship?
Firstly, AliDropship provides an access to top-selling products from a warehouse located in California, assuring speedy shipping. Secondly, they offer only trending products. Lastly, their marketing package is a significant draw.
With AliDropship, you get access to tried and tested marketing materials that ensure maximum returns from your ad campaigns with minimal effort.
Moreover, they’re quite supportive. They showcase examples of the stores they’ve built for their clients, which I find very helpful. It’s important for me to have a clear picture of what I’m signing up for.
Let’s not forget the pricing factor. While most companies levy continuous fees throughout your ecommerce business journey, AliDropship doesn’t impose any extra charges. When you purchase a store from them, you become its sole owner, which was a major factor for me.
What type of store did you launch? What’s your niche?
Given my previous experience with a highly specialized business, I decided to launch a general store for my ecommerce venture.
This approach simplified the process of product selection. Moreover, I found that all the products available through the Sellvia’s warehouse are in high demand. It was just a matter of picking items from their catalog.
How many products do you offer in your store?
My store boasts a broad range of products. Initially, I opted for the most affordable store package, which included only 50 products. It might seem modest, but believe me, it’s quite sufficient for a smooth start. A smaller product range makes it easier to manage the store, develop product pages, and track their performance.
Generally, there are a few products, known as flagship products, that generate most of the revenue. Your marketing efforts primarily revolve around these. The rest of the items serve as cross-sell products, purchased in conjunction with the primary ones.
That said, promoting every product in your store isn’t practical. Despite this, I aspired to expand my store to cater to a wider customer base. So, I decided to incorporate more items.
How did you manage to increase the number of products in your store? Is it a niche store or a general one?
Hmm, that’s an interesting question. My store falls more into the general category. The goal was to cater to a broad spectrum of customer needs. I believe a wider product range attracts a larger target audience, which in turn, boosts revenues and conversion rates.
Regarding the expansion of the product range, I took a gradual approach. Initially, the 50 products were more than sufficient for experimentation and launching ad campaigns. But as I progressed, I realized the need for an extended product range for acceleration.
Thus, I began the search for suitable products to add to my store. Thankfully, AliDropship made this process a breeze due to the Sellvia’s catalog. All their catalog items are high-demand products, eliminating the worry of adding non-performing items. You simply select those that complement your store, or those you fancy.
After some weeks, I invested in an upgrade package to add more products to my store. Consequently, the product range now exceeds 500 items, which is just right for me at this stage.
This number allows me to cater to the most popular market niches while maintaining an organized store. All products are neatly categorized, each with well-structured product pages and attractive descriptions.
What’s your advertising strategy? How do you promote your store?
I primarily rely on Facebook advertising campaigns and social media promotion for my store. This is a fairly common strategy for online stores.
Facebook advertising is currently one of the quickest and most dependable ways to attain results, popularize your store, and build a customer base. If you have experience with PPE campaigns, you can quickly get the hang of it. All you need is to allocate a budget for testing different ad creatives. However, without prior experience, you might encounter some challenges.
This was the situation I found myself in. When I began promoting my store, I realized crafting an engaging ad text was quite challenging. Despite my best efforts, my ad creatives weren’t appealing to customers effectively.
Then, I stumbled upon Sellvia’s marketing materials, accompanying each of their products. After several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to utilize these materials. And guess what? They worked wonders!
How’s the store performing currently?
Before implementing marketing materials into my advertising campaigns, the store’s performance was so-so. My personally crafted ads weren’t hitting the mark, leading to monetary losses and very few orders.
However, once I started employing ready-made ad copies, the situation took a complete turnaround.
At the time I began to use proven ad materials, my store had about 500 products. After a fortnight of active promotion on Facebook, the results were astounding. The store managed to generate $4,364.72 within just 12 days.
Remarkably, the store not only broke even within a few weeks but started making profits as well! It’s time to increase the advertising budget and see the revenue skyrocket.
What do you believe is the secret to such success?
Well, that’s quite a multifaceted question. I could chalk it up to good luck, but I believe there’s always a reason behind everything. As the old saying goes, ‘no pain, no gain.’
As an entrepreneur, whether running a physical store or an online venture, you need to be adaptable and unafraid of experimentation. I initially created my own ad campaigns, which didn’t pan out as expected.
Having tested so-called proven advertising materials, I can confidently say they deliver results, without a doubt.
Also, I believe my product range strategy paid off. I’ve observed that not just my flagship products are selling. Customers browse the site and purchase items from various categories. It’s precisely what I aimed for — that each customer finds something they need. And it seems to be working!
What advice would you give to ecommerce business beginners?
Stay smart, adaptable, and creative. In ecommerce, the trial-and-error approach is indispensable. Remember that many ecommerce services and software companies offer myriad solutions that can significantly ease business management while boosting your earnings and reducing expenses.
My choice was AliDropship, and I haven’t looked back since.
Collaborating with AliDropship has proven highly beneficial. They provide an all-encompassing solution, starting with a dependable supplier of high-quality products. Moreover, their California-based warehouse facilitates rapid shipping, with quick delivery, minimal processing time, and no errors.
Given my target audience is in the United States, speedy delivery is a must. US customers typically expect deliveries within 2-7 days, and most wouldn’t consider a product with a month-long delivery time. Now my store can confidently offer quick delivery, giving me a competitive edge.
Will you continue collaborating with AliDropship? What about your survival business?
Yes! Given their pricing for software and services, I believe it’s a mutually advantageous arrangement.
I want to express my gratitude to the AliDropship team for enabling me to start a lucrative online business with ease. I’m also contemplating reviving my currently on hold cosmetology center.
Amy’s journey underscores the wisdom in the adage: ‘you need to lose to know how to win.’
Embracing ecommerce turned out to be the right move for Amy, as her online store is thriving. Now, she’s looking to restart her cosmetology center, which was paused due to the pandemic. This illustrates how a supplemental income source can essentially rescue an offline business.
Sounds inspiring, doesn’t it? Would you like to learn how you can start out with no fuss at all?
Start a business with AliDropship
What is AliDropship?
AliDropship is a cutting-edge ecommerce platform designed to assist entrepreneurs in launching and growing their online businesses effortlessly. It’s tailored to remove many of the usual hurdles faced in ecommerce, making it a top choice for those looking to start a business without heavy investments.
- Hassle-free: Share your business preferences and vision with us, and our team will craft a top-tier, ready-to-launch online store tailored to start generating sales from day one.
- $100 store upgrade voucher: Enhance your store with a $100 voucher. Whether you want exclusive products or to utilize some of our automation tools, it’s yours to spend as you see fit.
- Extensive product selection: Choose from wide range of high-quality products across various categories. Select the ideal items for your store and see your sales take off.
- Fast shipping: Slow delivery is a common challenge in ecommerce. AliDropship tackles this with fast shipping from our fulfillment centers, ensuring your customers receive their purchases promptly – keeping them happy and more likely to return.
- User-friendly platform: Everything you need to manage orders, add products, and interact with customers is available on one straightforward platform. We’ve eliminated complicated jargon and unnecessary complexities to make your experience as smooth as possible.
- Automated order fulfillment: AliDropship’s automated system takes care of inventory management and shipping whenever a customer places an order, allowing you to focus more on growing your business and less on logistical stress.
- No upfront costs: Start your online store with AliDropship without any initial financial burden. There’s no need to invest in stock, warehouse space, or shipping materials upfront.
- 24/7 dedicated customer support: Our customer support team is available around the clock to help you with any issues or questions you might have about running your online business. With AliDropship, you’re supported every step of the way.
Are you keen on becoming a successful business owner? Join forces with AliDropship to overcome any obstacles you may encounter, and start a business you’ll always be proud of!
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