We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kimberly Adams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kimberly below.

Kimberly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

One of the best ways I show appreciation is through handwritten thank-you notes and small surprise freebies. When someone chooses to support a small business instead of a big corporation, it truly means a lot to me, and I want them to feel that. A handwritten note adds a human touch and turns a simple delivery into a thoughtful experience. Customers often tell me it made them smile or that they felt valued, which is exactly the feeling I hope to give them

Kimberly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hello! My name is Kim, and I’m a 20-year-old crochet artist and small business owner. I was homeschooled and graduated high school in 2023, and since then I’ve been dedicated to growing my handmade crochet business. I specialize in designing and creating plushies and original crochet patterns, with a focus on building a supportive and creative crochet community.

Recently, I’ve begun branching into K-pop–inspired designs, balancing both my original work and fan-inspired creations. What makes my brand special is the care I put into every piece — each item is handmade with attention to quality, creativity, and heart.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When I first started posting on social media, I shared my items in a very static and straightforward way. Looking back, it wasn’t very engaging, and I think that hurt my reach in the beginning.

Over time, I shifted toward creating more interactive content that involved my customers and the crochet community. One of my most successful ideas has been hosting community challenges — people really love being part of something bigger than just watching. My first challenge was a follower blanket, where I crocheted five stitches for every new follower. After completing that project, I started a new challenge where I make crochet granny squares for charity: one stitch per new follower and one stitch per comment.

Through this, I learned that showing the meaning behind your products is just as important as showing the product itself. You have to ask yourself, “Why would someone want to buy what I’m making?” and then create content that reflects that purpose. My biggest advice to anyone starting out is to focus on connection over perfection. Build community, be creative, and give people a reason to care about what you create.

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

I currently sell on Etsy and WhatNot. I’ve considered opening my own website, but at this stage the demand for my products isn’t quite there yet, and using established platforms helps me reach customers more easily.

Etsy has been a great opportunity for finding new customers because it already has built-in traffic, so there’s less pressure to drive all the promotion myself. A lot of people complain about Etsy’s fees, but I believe that if you want a profitable business, you need to factor those fees into your pricing. Once you do that, the fees don’t negatively affect you. Having strong photos and good SEO for your listings is also very important on Etsy.

As for Whatnot, I’ve only recently started selling there. For those unfamiliar with it, Whatnot is a livestream selling platform, which makes it a fun and interactive way to showcase products to a live audience. It allows customers to see items in real time and creates a stronger connection than a traditional listing alone.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jadamscollection.etsy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jadamscollection/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jadamscollection
• Twitter: https://x.com/JAdamsCollectn
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKRxwzaC3vYLx8VSLdEfHXA
• Other: https://linktr.ee/jadamscollection