We recently connected with Jeffrey Altamirano and have shared our conversation below.
Jeffrey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?
My first client was through the Etsy website. I was still a rookie when it came to leather crafting but I took a chance and opened my Etsy shop. Not expecting anything to happen right away but with in the first month I got my first customer order. I was so excited knowing someone wanted to buy from me.
To this day I am always great full when I get an order. Just knowing people actually want my products is a great feeling.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jeffrey Altamirano. I’m a Navy Veteran. Owner of Anchorsaweighleather. My business started by chance. I was a medical technologist working at a local hospital. 2 back surgeries, with the last surgery not going well. I ended up having to resign from my position becoming disabled. My wife said I needed to get a hobby. She bought me my first leather kit from Hobby Lobby. I fell in love with leather crafting. Soon after that Anchorsaweighleather was born. I love creating leather goods that customers want and at a reasonable price.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Social media really helped build my reputation as a leather Artisan and the quality of my products that customers order. Everyday I would post at least once a day. Always showing my potential customers what goes on in my shop and pictures of my leather work.
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
I currently sell my products on Etsy. It’s a great platform to get started. Very easy to set up your shop. I’ve been using Etsy for over 5 years. It’s been good to me but there are some drawbacks. Etsy has increased there pricing which takes away from my earnings.
Other than that Etsy is a great platform to get started.
Contact Info:
- Website: Anchorsaweighleather.com
- Instagram: @anchorsaweighleather
- Facebook: Anchorsaweighleather