Haven happened !!!
Listened to that little voice in my head that kept (on replay) telling me to just go for it - start that on-line Home Decor shop! The amount of research that goes into starting on ECommerce business was far more than I anticipated - and wasn't without its own set of challenges - but well worth it in the long run.
I thought I would share some of the biggest challenges I faced during the start up/research phase!
By far the biggest hurdle was (and still is) finding the right wholesale suppliers that I wanted to work with and source my products from. Given that I really didn't have any starting off point - I relied heavily on everyones favorite friend - Google.....I learned pretty quickly that there are a ton of wholesale Home Decor companies that offer - for lack of a better word "junk" products. Once I sorted through and weeded those wholesalers out - it became a bit less challenging to find wholesalers that I felt had quality products to offer.
Another hurdle was becoming approved as a retailer to the few favorites I found. It's a process for sure...Before you can even submit an application with them - you have a few steps to take on the back end. a) You must apply for a Resale number with the State and b) you must secure a EIN (Employer Identification Number) which registers your business with the good old IRS. Once those steps were in place (simple steps by the way) I then found that many wholesalers preferred to sell only to retailers with an actual store front vs. retailers such as myself that are strictly E-Commerce (On line only)...so I kicked them to the curb (well - really they kicked me)
Steps 2 & 3 from above now conquered - I was on my way to the fun stuff - building a website.... I use the term fun loosely...given that I had never done this before. Long story short - the overall process was tedious but rewarding at the same time :)
Coming up with a name for my business was another process entirely. Let's face it - that task is NOT easy.....but my mind kept coming back to one word...Haven - which by definition means "a place of safety or refuge" - which, to me translates to Home...
The final phase of this journey was selecting the exact products I wanted to have in the shop. This took hours upon hours - as I wanted to be sure to offer quality pieces while keeping true to the concept of my blog - decorating on a budget. I remain on the hunt daily - literally - finding new pieces to add to the shop - finding new wholesalers I can work with to source my products and making sure I offer the best possible customer service to my visitors & customers...
So to anyone out there dreaming of possibly starting any sort of new adventure, to you I say - follow your heart & just run with it....take many deep breaths along the way but remember it will be worth it in the long run :)
To all of you that have ordered through Haven - I thank you so much & hope that you were happy with your selections and feel you want to remain a customer :)
Also a reminder that if you are looking for a special gift & find what you are looking for on at Haven - I can ship direct for you and enclose a personalized note! Gift giving made simple for you :)
Until next post I leave you with a few of my favorites Haven has to offer :)