I started Little Shop Joy in 2018 originally as a dropshipping business. I dropshipped dog collars and then started dropshipping bandanas from Etsy before finally learning how to sew and create my own. I created everything for Little Shop Joy from designing my logo and business cards to creating my website and own patterns for my Scrunchie Bandana and Dog Bow Ties.
I started Little Shop Joy with NO money (well, minus the cost of supplies needed to sew) – here’s how I did it.
Choose your brand name, colors and design your logo -I choose a name that I really liked – Little Shop Joy- and headed over the Canva to create my logo for FREE. I browsed through the ones that they already had created and chose one from there. I added in my details.
Decide where you will sell your products – I heard a LOT of good reviews about Shopify being easy and beginner friendly so I used them to created my website. It was super easy and my website looked amazing! They have a 14 day free trial so I would wait until you have your inventory pictures, item descriptions, shipping policy, return policy. I would only sign up for Shopify when you have all of the above so you can take full advantage of the free trial. You can take all 14 days to create your website – it’s totally up to you.
How to run your business – You have to decide how you will run your business. Will you accept returns? Do you plan on offering free shipping or free shipping with a minimum order? Do you plan on shipping worldwide? Offering local meet ups? When will you ship? Will you ship daily or on certain days? How can your customers get in contact with you?
Decide on what you are going to sell – I choose dog products – initially, it was collars that were created by this company in China, and then I started creating my own dog bandanas and bow ties. I created a Scrunchie Bandana Pattern and Dog Bow Tie Pattern. I eventually expanded my products to include dog mom accessories like scarfs, headbands and tees.
Sew, Sew, Sew – Once you have your name decided and logo designed, it’s time to sew! When I first launched, I started with 10 bandanas and 5 bandanas and added a couple new products a week to my website. If you need patterns, you can grab my Scrunchie Bandana Pattern and Dog Bow Tie Pattern to help you get started quicker. These patterns are the exact patterns that I have been using for Little Shop Joy. I know you will love them as much as my customers do!
Email Accounts and Social Media – I set up an free email account for Little Shop Joy. You can get a free email address from Yahoo or Gmail. I started an Instagram account and a Facebook just for Little Shop Joy. The email address is how my customers will contact me regarding their order and the social media account is what drove all of the traffic to my business.
Packaging and Shipping – I grabbed Polymailers from Amazon and shipping labels before realizing that they were much cheaper on Upaknship. I also used wrapping tissue to wrap each product. I got those from Dollar Tree or Walmart. I also used thank you stickers that I had from the past. I used Shopify to ship my items for the low. It is definitely cheaper to ship on Shopify than going to the post office.
This is exactly how I started Little Shop Joy without paying for help to set up anything. I literally designed and branded it myself to help me save all the coins I needed to invest in supplies like fabric, thread, and elastic.
I hope this helps! Remember tho, there’s more than one way to do something. This is just the way that I got it done. You can do it your way and it’s gonna be just as amazing, okay? You got this, babe!
xoxo,
Jackie
P.S.
This is not any kind of legal advice – I’m not an lawyer or attorney or nothing like that. Just someone who started a dog bandana business from home and is sharing with others how I did it 🙂
