Opening my own store has been the greatest and most tiring thing I've ever done! I've talked about the 14-18 hour days, all of which I'm humped over in front of the computer, my iPad and my phone. Working online means constant staring at screens. But I also feed my shopping demons by getting to buy cool things almost everyday!
I have reviewed a few products through my blog in the past. Today I want to review my online shop TITZ. Now it may seem unethical to review my own store so I want to do it a little differently. I, like most businesses, order wholesale from factories. This is a journey through finding the perfect items and review of the people and places I deal with daily in order to bring the coolest things to my store.
The first thing I ever bought for my shop was pasties. I had gone to a Sexpo and met many vendors there. One sold very cool and well made pasties. I figured with Festival season happening soon, I'd have the market to sell them. I had never bought wholesale before and wasn't the most prepared. I learned very quickly that while some wholesalers will sell you a few items at a time for a slightly higher price, most want you to buy in bulk.
After ordering over 300 pairs of pasties, I was ready to start. I could only hope that I would have enough nipples that wanted covering. I quickly made my first sell but my follow up act took longer to cultivate. I had a few potential customers but those sells usually involved a midnight plea and a 7am flight. My teleportation skills being what they are, I couldn't make those sells happen. I knew I had to branch out.
I had only been selling pasties for a week when I was asked to participate in a festival fund raiser. Dragon Burn, China's very own version of Burning Man. I quickly agreed. My first pop up shop and I had 297 pasties and nothing more. I needed inventory but what would I sell? After talking to many factories and being rejected or ignored by half of them, I found a few to work with. Of course this was a great time to practice my mandarin skills because out of the 10 factories I was working with, 2 spoke English. I had a week to order bulk and get things arranged. I ended up having half of the things delivered to the venue the day of. One company, the worst company ever, sent my order on the day I needed it so it arrived the day after the event. I was a lingerie shop without lingerie. Not only did it arrive too late but the quality was so poor, I use the products for craft projects. The factory didn't even complete my order. They only sent half and it was completely unusable.
Despite the huge and minor setbacks, my first pop up market was hugely successful for my shop. Since then I have participated in Flea market but quickly learned that my brand new goods don't fair as well against a 10 rmb secondhand table. I'm learning as I go. After opening in April, I am at a crossroads. It's only been a few months but business in Shanghai is like wildfire, it moves pretty quickly. I'm having to choose between working with factories and people who helped me start and doing what's best for my company. More than once a week, I have to talk to companies that I've been working with about my orders. I am met with forgetfulness about my orders that paid but not sent, that are paid but out of stock. Business is hard and spending all of my free time on it is tough but I wouldn't give up my business for anything.
I have started using my business to help NGOs and charities. My heart is constantly breaking for all the bad in the world. I know throwing money at the issues isn't enough but I feel that if I create a t-shirt or other item that helps raise awareness and also donate money, it will help. If I can't physically be in the trenches, I can still support. Doing nothing is the only way we ensure our failure. My shop is owned by a black queer woman, I represent 3 underfed, underfunded communities, so I have dedicated my store and my story to them.
I have purchased the domain name sleepingtopless.com but the process of getting my own website has been long and arduous. In Shanghai many people have their own small businesses but they also work a day job and because of this their passion gets put to the side. I would really prefer to work with people with similar dreams to mine so I have employed several of these entrepreneurs. Unfortunately I aftero purchasing the domain name in May, it wasn't until June that I actually found a good hosting company and now July, I am working with two different web designers on my website design. Hopefully it will come to fruition soon. Until then here is the link to my online store, feel free to add me on WeChat or Facebook to make a purchase: http://weidian.com/?userid=951605525&string=noopenidfound&code=0310Vsod17AkWo0mpand1Itxod10VsoW&state=H5WXshare
(My dream website layout)