We recently connected with Linda Blume and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Linda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?
I believe I’ve gotten my very first order back when I started KorBeautyPopShop in September of 2020! It was a very hard time for me and my first true sale was from a good friend. After constant marketing, content creation, and exploring several social media platforms, I finally got my first order from a customer who I didn’t know. This happened after 20 days and I couldn’t have been more proud of myself that someone who didn’t know me took notice of my small shop and liked it enough to purchase something.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I come from a family who know nothing of business and are relatively not super well off in life. Before I started KorBeautyPopShop I had no one to look up too that were close to me so I was scared to make my dream of starting a business a reality. After saving up enough money and planning out what I want my business to be about I finally opened my website. My business is named KorBeautyPopShop and it’s a shop that creates k-pop and anime inspired cosmetics, jewelry, photo cards, and more! I also help others learn Korean through my shop as well.
I’m most proud of the creativity and quality I put into what I do. I ensure that everything has the best quality for my customers and I represent my products in fun and unique ways which draws people in. I want potential customers to know that no matter what your interests are you are valued and worthy of liking the things you do. I create a space for fans to have cute products based on what they love and even if someone is not a fan of k-pop or anime they can still buy products that are cute and aesthetically pleasing!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
There is no doubt that running a business is hard! You will face many trials and tribulations and you run pretty much everything. You’re a boss, a content creator, customer service, photographer, creative thinker, marketer, and so much more. I’ve struggled with keeping up with everything by myself and also trying to manage my life. I’ve recently got engaged, married, move across the sea to Hawaii, moved to a new home, and I’m currently in college.
This has caused my brand to lose a lot of recognition and support I once had. This has made my income not only insufficient and not enough to pay bills but it also forced me to look at other ways to earn the money I’m not making. But even with these hardships and struggles I still adore my business and do everything I can to bring it back into the limelight.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Around when Covid hit I was not able to find work in order to support myself and my family who was also struggling at the time. On top of that I had to watch over my brother and sister for months while daycare was closed down. Due to the impact Covid has had on me and my home I was eligible for unemployment which I then used to help out my family and start up a business to bring in extra income! I thought of it as a financial blessing and a way for me to finally start up something I had been planning out for a while. If it wasn’t for that funding I would’ve had to wait until after the lockdown in order to start my shop.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.KorBeautyPopShop.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/korbeautypopshop/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCcUosubTmg6xrI7b_C9H09Q
- Other: TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMegxCVex/