How To Manage A Blogshop 101
" Hi Bash, may I know how do you start a business?"
Ok so this is one of those questions people ask that really intrigue me. Well of course I wouldn't mind sharing with a friend, or even an aquaintance in this case. But when your customer asks you how do you do it, it just gets a little bit ironic don't you think? 😂 Believe me, xy and I were staring at each other in confusion when we saw that message. You can't put that in your cart, girl.
But since I put some thought into it and realized there's really no secret formula so... here you go girls, some lessons for you. Just don't be disappointed when you realize these are things Year 1 business students can tell you. Ha ha ha
Ok so this is one of those questions people ask that really intrigue me. Well of course I wouldn't mind sharing with a friend, or even an aquaintance in this case. But when your customer asks you how do you do it, it just gets a little bit ironic don't you think? 😂 Believe me, xy and I were staring at each other in confusion when we saw that message. You can't put that in your cart, girl.
But since I put some thought into it and realized there's really no secret formula so... here you go girls, some lessons for you. Just don't be disappointed when you realize these are things Year 1 business students can tell you. Ha ha ha
1. Quality
I'm really really thankful that in the 2 years since our opening, Bash never really received any major complaints. This is because xy and I always always always ask ourselves " will you be happy if you receive this?" before launching something online. Because you are operating online, customers rely solely on you for the quality of clothes. Which means "trust" becomes a major factor on whether people buy from you. Of course we have had issues like clothes that looked perfect when you hang them on a rack but we couldn't even force our head into it. Or when the clothes are stained and zips don't work well. But because we know how much of a bummer it would be to receive something you waited a lifetime (3-5 business days) for, we would NEVER send those pieces out. Yes, I still have off-season floral tank tops that cannot even fit a size 0 sitting in my storage. All your hard earn capital gone just like that. Of course it irks me, but like our tag line says, we don't sell clothes we won't wear. (I should totally have this copyrighted)
I'm really really thankful that in the 2 years since our opening, Bash never really received any major complaints. This is because xy and I always always always ask ourselves " will you be happy if you receive this?" before launching something online. Because you are operating online, customers rely solely on you for the quality of clothes. Which means "trust" becomes a major factor on whether people buy from you. Of course we have had issues like clothes that looked perfect when you hang them on a rack but we couldn't even force our head into it. Or when the clothes are stained and zips don't work well. But because we know how much of a bummer it would be to receive something you waited a lifetime (3-5 business days) for, we would NEVER send those pieces out. Yes, I still have off-season floral tank tops that cannot even fit a size 0 sitting in my storage. All your hard earn capital gone just like that. Of course it irks me, but like our tag line says, we don't sell clothes we won't wear. (I should totally have this copyrighted)
2. Branding
Branding sets you apart from the millions of blog shops out there. Believe me, in times where 13 year old girls are opening their online store selling preorder crop tops, you definitely need to be something to stand out.
Think of a catchy name, a unique selling point or whatever it is that makes people remember you. Like Bash Shit Ever, everybody goes " Omg this is the Bash Shit Ever man!" some point in their life. Well the downside is, you can't tell your parents your website URL without having to curse. 🌚
So don't name your brand after yourself unless you are in any way famous enough to influence people. Don't name it with the first adjective you see from the dictionary too. If not it just sounds like you are a rookie and your shop is unreliable. I.e. : Cecilia Clothing or Simple Clothing. Be as creative as you can and even try to think of catchy taglines before settling on a name.
Name = Brand = Customers = Sales = Money
Branding sets you apart from the millions of blog shops out there. Believe me, in times where 13 year old girls are opening their online store selling preorder crop tops, you definitely need to be something to stand out.
Think of a catchy name, a unique selling point or whatever it is that makes people remember you. Like Bash Shit Ever, everybody goes " Omg this is the Bash Shit Ever man!" some point in their life. Well the downside is, you can't tell your parents your website URL without having to curse. 🌚
So don't name your brand after yourself unless you are in any way famous enough to influence people. Don't name it with the first adjective you see from the dictionary too. If not it just sounds like you are a rookie and your shop is unreliable. I.e. : Cecilia Clothing or Simple Clothing. Be as creative as you can and even try to think of catchy taglines before settling on a name.
Name = Brand = Customers = Sales = Money
3. Passion
Many of you would think that we are doing it only for the money. But I must tell you, money won't get you to 2 years. There will be times when your other priorities prevail and you must take a break, and it will be up to YOU to pick it up again with passion. Money isn't going to motivate you enough to wait 2 hours in the post office; money isn't enough to drag your tired ass at 2am to pack parcels for the next-day delivery you promised. Money simply isn't enough.
Many of you would think that we are doing it only for the money. But I must tell you, money won't get you to 2 years. There will be times when your other priorities prevail and you must take a break, and it will be up to YOU to pick it up again with passion. Money isn't going to motivate you enough to wait 2 hours in the post office; money isn't enough to drag your tired ass at 2am to pack parcels for the next-day delivery you promised. Money simply isn't enough.
9 of these moments above means a lot to us because they are milestones of Bash that keep pushing us further and further to bring you clothes that you like at a price you love. Behind our 10k followers, it's just 2 girls who love dressing up but yet cheapskate at heart. It started off in Sunway's IT Lab with Sam sitting next to us and little did we know we would make it to 10k. ( 11k soon actually 😛 )
I remember there was once we were being interviewed about Bash for assignment purpose and the interviewer asked me what's my best advice for those who want to start an online store.... and I blatantly said " Don't". Of course I was kidding, who am I to stop you from pursuing a goal!? But of course, if you are in it for the fun of it, I suggest you not because you may be left with some out-season floral tank tops afterwards if you decided to pull out halfway. All the best girls, ❤️
I remember there was once we were being interviewed about Bash for assignment purpose and the interviewer asked me what's my best advice for those who want to start an online store.... and I blatantly said " Don't". Of course I was kidding, who am I to stop you from pursuing a goal!? But of course, if you are in it for the fun of it, I suggest you not because you may be left with some out-season floral tank tops afterwards if you decided to pull out halfway. All the best girls, ❤️
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