Desires by Mikolay was originally a brick and mortar jewelry store that I opened at the age of 24. While I experienced growth, I also saw that the retail world was suffering due to online stores.
Rather then have that impact my bottom line, I decided to launch the online division of Desires by Mikolay and saw immediate growth and exposure. Now we are not only surviving, but thriving!
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
Immediately sales came in from organic SEO. I also saw a large number of traffic come from our social media channels, which is so user friendly with the Shopify platform.
Tell us about the back-end of your business. What tools and apps do you use to run your store? How do you handle shipping and fulfillment?
The back end of our business works great, especially for someone who is self-admittedly not familiar with code. The great thing about Shopify is if your website does not have a certain functionality, you can most likely find an app for it! Makes improving or modifying your ecommerce store a breeze!
What are your top recommendations for new ecommerce entrepreneurs?
I would recommend that you pick a theme that you can easily modify and feel comfortable with the company that developed the theme (do you like their customer service, are they responsive?).
Do your research: How do you want your website to function? Spend some time on the Shopify forums, read and absorb so you can plan before starting your online store. It will save you time in the long run.