Business Opportunities Weblog

May 20, 2008 by Angela Shupe | 0 Comments

Personalized items from towels to jewelry make for great gifts, or even something for yourself. Linda Sellers is a mompreneur who makes her business selling monogrammed and personalized items she finds from a variety of different dealers, bringing them all into a one stop shopping spot online.

Using trade shows and by searching online Linda is able to find some of the best products possible to offer to her own customers. Big or small, her vendors all offer something unique in their own way.

What is ‘Monogrammed Gifts and More by Linney Shvede‘?

Monogramed Gifts and More by Linney Shvede is an online boutique offering personalized products for everyone and every occasion.

How many different products do you offer from your website?

We have hundreds of different products to choose from for each age group and for every holiday and special event. We carry around a dozen different vendors, some big name and some small artisans and work at home moms like myself.

What is the most popular item sold?

I sell more monogrammed handbags than anything else. I think a lot of moms out there like to pamper themselves a little and a new handbag with the season is a great way to do that.

What inspired you to start your business?

I have always love to shop and they always say find something you are good at and find a way to get paid for it. Opening an online boutique seemed like the logical thing to do!

How long have you been open?

I opened in October 2007.

What shopping cart/store system do you use?

My site is hosted by Merchant Moms, which has a great support system and utilized the Mals shopping cart system.

What steps were needed to get started?

I got a Sales and Use tax ID number in my state, found a website designer, signed up with Paypal Pro to process my credit cards and began researching companies that would dropship the kind of products that I wanted to carry. That way I don’t carry inventory. When I receive an order, I place it with the vendor who ships it directly to my customer. I am basically a middle man, much like Amazon.com.

Have you learned anything since you launched that you wish you’d known before?

I wish I had understood Search Engine Optimization better when i initially set up my products and categories. It would have saved me from backtracking and redoing a lot of my work. I get picked up by google searches a lot more now than I did in the beginning and that has led to sales! I thought success would happen much faster. I had to talk to a lot of other business owners to get tips here and there to find out what worked and what didn’t and in the end it seems to be trial and error.

What have you been able to take from experience in life as a mother and apply to running your business?

I know from being a mother that there are not enough hours in a day, so I think prioritizing is key. I also have learned a lot about patience because my 3 are now teenagers and patience has been key! I don’t think there is a day that goes by when they don’t try mine! That certainly helps with the customer service aspect.

Do you have any special tricks or tips that you’d like to share on how you are able to manage your time as a mother and business owner?

Make family time a priority. Having an internet business makes it so easy to work non-stop because the computer is always there. I also have taken advantage of technology and have a usb modem so that I can work on my laptop on the go when I am waiting for kids in the parking lot…anything to utilize downtime efficiently

What advice do you have for other moms who would like to start their own online store?

Don’t try to do it all on your own…utilize the experts whether it be books at the library or paid specialists. All the experts are different and have different techniques, so talk to other business owners. Most of us are willing to talk and share a our experiences. Study the competition! There are a lot of online stores in every category out there. Find your niche and see what you can do to make you stand out in the crowd.

In Interviews | 0 Comments
Tags: Custom, Women, Work at Home