We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful April Tan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with April below.
April, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
My journey in making and selling my handicrafts started in 2007, with just a few sales every year and only to known friends. At the closing of 2019, I started to make micro-crochet accessories and jewelry. For the first time, the peculiar idea of setting up a small business to sell my crafts popped into my mind.
During a dinner gathering with some friends at home that same year, I showed one of my guests – a successful businesswoman – some of the accessories I had made. She told me, in a very serious tone, to consider selling my crafts as a business owner. After replying to her that I wasn’t too sure if I was ready for something like that, she encouraged me not to shelf the idea too quickly and gave me the push that I had needed for so long to set up my small business.
In the following days, I pondered carefully over the idea and was immediately faced with challenges like where I would get my supplies from, how much I should price my products, how I would sell them, etc. The Internet then became my best friend as I did most of my research and sourcing online. I read up a lot on starting businesses – especially a small one – while also working on improving my skills for the various crafts that I learnt along the way.
I began selling my products online via Shopify, gradually building up my product line. 2022 was truly a turning point for me as I participated in two pop-up market events that year! These events were the first times I had face-to-face sales with the general public, and I was very heartened after hearing my customers tell me how much they love my crafts and encourage me to continue making them.
The journey from idea to execution is one full of struggles, doubts and fears. However, the encouragement that I received from friends and strangers was more than enough to warm my heart and help me spur on with this passion of mine.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a stay-at-home mother with five children, all of which I homeschooled; and as such, had very little time for personal interests or hobbies, with the exception of squeezing out a few minutes late at night to read. One thing I really enjoyed doing with my children when they were young was to take them to the local National Library. During those visits, I discovered ribbon craft books (hence my business name – April’s Ribbonry). Too satisfied with the ribbon flowers I had made through these books, I turned them into brooches and gave them as gifts to my friends, many of which encouraged me to sell them.
When the children were more grown and I had more time for myself, I ventured into ribbon embroidery, bag-making, felt crafts, micro-macrame, and micro-crochet. During my children’s school holidays, I would take a few orders from friends to supplement my household income, as my husband was the sole breadwinner for the family at the time. Even then, I was only able to take on small orders due to other family commitments.
The whole journey of venturing into this craft business started with a curiosity in a new-found craft, which gradually turned into a hobby. With time, this hobby then developed into a passion. Now, I have turned this passion into a small local business! I am currently selling online via Shopify (aprils-ribbonry.myshopify.com) or Instagram
(@aprils_ribbonry). There, you can find micro-crochet or micro-macrame accessories/jewelry, felt flower bouquets and handcrafted home decorations, as well as micro amigurumi. I am also planning to add on handmade bags in the near future!
A unique feature of my business is the ability to customize an order. For example, last year a bride-to-be kindly requested for me to design some hair pins for her to wear on her wedding day. She gave me some specific requirements and left the rest to my creativity. I worked hard on delivering what she had asked for and the end result was a happy customer and a happier bride. On another occasion, a customer told me that she would like a micro amigurumi of ‘My Melody’, but such a product was not listed on my online store at the time. I accepted her challenge, and after two attempts, I was finally satisfied with the finished product. When I presented the amigurumi to her, she was delighted! Since then, I’ve been more and more open to new challenges.
I am very passionate about my craft – creating beautiful and unique handicrafts. I love it when my customers challenge me to make something that they don’t already see me selling. Of course, I can’t fulfill all challenges; but I believe in attempting it whenever I can.
As a self-taught crafter, my greatest joy is to see how much others appreciated my crafts and urge me to not lose the passion for it. If, like me, you are trying to turn a hobby into a business, you will inevitably face uncertainties and challenges, but don’t be disheartened. Take one step at a time and focus on giving your best. Most importantly, enjoy the learning experiences!
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
As a stay-at-home mother, I have no personal income. As such, my husband was the one who generously invested his money into buying the materials necessary. After each sale, I would use the money earned to buy more supplies to fund the next project. This was my method of funding my business for a period of time. Some months I would experience a high volume of sales, while other months none at all.
When I took part in my first pop-up market event, however, I did require more capital. I pulled together some savings and acquired financial help from my husband to pay for the
booth rental. Thankfully, all costs were recovered just within the first day of the event! Thereafter, I had ready funds for the second pop-up event that I would take part in.
As I am the sole crafter of my business, such a sell-to-fund-the-next-project style of business suits me better.
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
Presently, I am using Shopify as my eCommerce platform. I had tried Etsy before but was unsuccessful with it. Wanting to give eCommerce another try, I then turned to Shopify, as they had a 90-day free trial, so why not? My son helped me greatly in the setting up of my online store, meticulously handling the product photography and writing some of my products’ descriptions.
Using an eCommerce platform has also helped me to sell internationally. Shopify in particular has a feature that allows you to convert your prices to other currencies of your choice. Features such as fraud analysis, which helps to detect fraudulent orders and advise on whether I should fulfill an order or not, have also spared me from potentially horrendous encounters.
Apart from Shopify, I have also taken to Instagram as a marketing platform. Not only does it not require a cut from my earnings, it also gives me the opportunity to be more personable with my customers.
Ultimately, my decision to sell through an eCommerce platform was primarily to take advantage of all the built-in features, such as a POS System and search engine functions. In other words, the only thing I had to do was upload my product photos, write the accompanying descriptions, and price the products accordingly.
Contact Info: