What do you do when you can’t find glitter hairspray and glitter eyeshadow for your daughter who’s dancing on stage with a dance school? Set up a business to supply it of course, which is exactly what mum Kareen Buttle decided to do. Six years later and Glitterstore, which started as a hobby business operating out of a cupboard, has moved into their own premises and are shipping 9,000 items a month all over the world.
Kareen hunted for stock and found a new supplier just launching in the UK and jumped in as one of their first retailers. Aiming to buy and sell online for a bit of extra money, within six months the business had grown so fast that Glitterstore became Kareen’s full time income.
Grown from a modest turnover of a few thousand a month, today the is fast approaching a £½ million turnover and shows no sign of slowing down. Selling on multiple marketplaces as well as their own websites (including foreign language sites), Kareen has turned Glitterstore into a fantastic business.
Kareen’s 8 top tips to grow your business:
1) Keep your eye on overheads
The obvious selling channel fee’s / paypal or card payment fee’s / VAT but don’t forget smaller things like the cost of the packaging, the postage you pay to get items delivered to you and of course your time!
2) Don’t compete on price
A good listing will overtake a cheaper price especially on eBay depending on your market cheaper prices can make it look like your selling fakes!
3) Make customer service a priority
Post quickly and answer messages promptly (Kareen posts all items ordered by 3pm the same day)
4) Take good photos…
and copyright protect them!
5) Don’t just put on listings and then think you can sit back and forget about them
Tweek your listings every so often to keep them fresh.
6) Get a good order management system that suits your business model
Kareen says “Personally we use Linnworks – That works for us!”
7) Get out onto other channels not just eBay
Get your name known!!
8) Spread the word
Look for new products within your market, keep your customers up to date though social media & email marketing
13 Responses
None of that is about product of course, its all about Karen; always amazes me how in an over crowded market some people just have that edge – a little sprinkle of magic (or business acumen!) that makes the ordinary an outstanding success. Well done that girl!
Well done! She has my shelves – so I’m doing something right.
“5) Don’t just put on listings and then think you can sit back and forget about them
Tweek your listings every so often to keep them fresh.”
Can somebody explain in further detail?
What do you mean by tweaking?
Everytime I amend the price of lots of old listings, my sales on eBay nosedive. Or even ending them relisting at a new price = nosedive.
Well done Kareen.
Not only Kareen is good business woman, she is a pleasure to work with and all around great person.
never chase turnover, chase profit
Amazing how many people chase turnover for whatever reason.
Why do these articles always quote turnover. I dont want to hear Turnover…Turnover is what makes our government money…I want to hear about the bottom line…..A monkey can create a business that creates turnover