Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alex J Nakamura . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alex J, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

‘Sumiye’ is a Japanese female name that means ‘Bright Mind, Smart Girl’. The name also signifies ‘Pure, Longevity, Beautiful, Blessed’. The inspiration came from my mixed Japanese – Colombian background. I was born in Japan and was raised in Colombia by a Japanese mother and a Colombian father. The name embraces all the amazing women that have made Sumiye Co what it is.

Sumiye Co is dedicated to the power of the female spirit and women in all walks of life. From female artisans around the world to creatives and entrepreneurial women as well as Mother Nature and women who understand the importance of embracing nature and protecting our planet.

Alex J, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Sumiye Co was born & has grown organically. It started with me falling in love with a UK brand of bamboo toothbrushes & oral care products named Truthbrush that was founded & is run by women. I was not only inspired by the beautiful designs of their products but also by their mission to be sustainable and ethical. From there I started searching for more women owned brands with similar missions and I was blown away & inspired by the world that opened up before me of incredible female entrepreneurs creating amazing products and running businesses in unconventional ways.

I started Sumiye Co with 100 SKUs and 12 brands for the first 6 months and one year later we have an inventory of 2.5K SKUs of ethically made products from women owned independent brands. Most of our female partners work with artisans around the world providing them not only with fair wages for their work but also with educational programs to enrich their community and family lives. They also offer the best and most flexible working conditions possible. We recently partnered with OMSutra which focuses on generating a positive socio-economic and environmental impact in India. They run The Karuna Project which empowers female survivors of human trafficking by training them on traditional crafts and techniques and providing them with a job and livable wages so they can stand on their own and skills that help them heal from the trauma of their past experiences.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I started with an Etsy shop which I still run to this day. I, like many other creative and crafty people, turned to this platform during the pandemic to sell my own creations. I quickly realized this wasn’t a sustainable way for me to bring in the type of income I needed to pay for my lifestyle. I could not possibly produce the number of items necessary for me to make a livelihood. There are a lot of wonderful creators on Etsy that have made it work but I just didn’t have the time, patience or money to create that type of business. I ran across a great number of brands which were very inspirational and in line with my beliefs of how a business should be run so I decided to build a website and sell these products online. I had experience with Squarespace so that was my first go to. It was perfect for what I needed at the moment but they were originally a platform mainly for artists to show their portfolio and just recently started developing their e-commerce capabilities. I was managing 100 skus comfortably with Squarespace but I wanted to bring in more brands and products before the holidays of 2022 and I knew I couldn’t do so comfortably or efficiently on that platform so I switched to Shopify. I still run my blog from squarespace though, I like their design tools better.

I do not sell on Amazon as a rule. Most of my vendors prefer it that way. I’m not interested in that platform for Sumiye Co but I’m not 100% against it . I know it’s a tricky place for small brands but can also offer great exposure for manufacturers of their own products. You need to pick & choose your battles. I’m not going to claim I don’t use Amazon in my personal life.

As far as comparing selling on Etsy and running your own website there are different costs that come with selling each one so you need to adjust for that. From my experience Etsy is very much algorithm based so I rely on that more than their advertising services. You have to educate yourself very well on their fees otherwise you could be in trouble. If you do your homework it can be a wonderful platform. I have to admit the clientele on Etsy is so much more personable and real. I have had some wonderful interactions there. Not to say the same hasn’t happened with customers that have come through my website but when I reached the 1k + product mark it backfired in the way customers perceived my company. I feel like customers became less personable, I started having not so great interactions, people started attempting to run scams with deliveries & what not. It’s always a learning experience, you adjust and learn how to handle these situations with the least amount of friction and hopefully get on people’s human side.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’ve learned so many great lessons through the process of running my own company. The biggest lesson is that you need to be quick about unlearning a lot of beliefs & habits that no longer serve you. You start operating at a different frequency especially if you’re alone. You need to be extra careful about where you put your energy because it is limited & the road ahead is long. I’ve learned to watch & protect my energy not only on a professional level but on a personal & emotional level as well. Everything has an impact & I hate to admit that seeing the financial impact of a bad interaction is the main reason why I avoid situations I would’ve kept engaging in in the past. I guess seeing the financial cost is more tangible. Same reason why I stopped speeding… not because of the potential dangers of it but because I was spending a fortune on speeding tickets! I’m not proud of admitting this.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sumiye-co.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumiye.co/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sumiye.co
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sumiye-co-boutique/
• Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ethicalshop/