We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maria Hocson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

Thank you for having me here, Sarah.

As for my own brand, I manage my own social media account. I am a new business shop owner and this is my way to know my audience and to effectively reach my target community. I personally enjoy interacting with my followers who became clients and now can call “friends”. It is an effective medium for me to communicate with them regarding any shop announcements, design drops and collection launches. Additionally, I get to chat with them first-hand which I truly love. We never miss a day exchanging photos, videos, memes or chatting about anything.

Manage social media or hire a professional? I’d say it really depends on your preference. What works for me might not work for everyone else. Say if the brand is big enough and the owner needs to focus more of his/her energy and time on bigger business decisions, then perhaps hiring a professional is the best action. However, as for someone like me who just started in this big world of small shop owners, managing my social media is effective for me. Like I said, it’s my avenue to reach my audience, to know and understand their wants and needs, and to solidify the community we’ve built and building through my brand.

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

Of course! My name is Maria, and I am the owner and maker of all the items at Shop Summer 87! I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines but now call Katy, Texas my home. I live with my husband and 2 boys.

I previously worked in the HR Recruitment field of various global financial industries for 10 years where I focused on hiring technology and finance-related roles both in Singapore and Manila, Philippines. I as well spearheaded our Campus Recruitment bringing in new talents in our organization and provided the necessary training through the Internship and Management Associate Programs.

About 4 years ago, I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism and Graves Disease. Graves Disease is an autoimmune system disorder that overproduces thyroid hormones resulting in Hyperthyroidism. It was a few months after having my youngest and I thought it was just postpartum blues. But after a series of check-up and lab tests, it was confirmed that I have this thyroid disease. It was hard to accept that at 31 years old (then), I have maintenance meds, food to avoid and symptoms to manage for forever. That and that my physical look has changed specifically my eyes due to Graves. I’d say I was at the lowest point of my life that I didn’t even want to see myself in the mirror nor in any photos. It was tough for me to attend social gatherings since I know people will wonder or ask me.

Then towards the Q4 of 2019 when we moved to Texas and left everything in Manila. Exciting and the biggest family move yet but the stress of the move started to take its toll on me. Fast forward to 2020 when the entire world was placed on halt. The pandemic weakened my mental health, so I started working out, read personal development books, took charge of my time, my nutrition, and my overall health. Basically, taking control of what I can control. I realized then that no one can help improve my life other than myself. That’s when I started to shower myself with love and kindness and started to focus my energy on myself and slowly pick myself back up.

In the second half of 2021, just when the world is easing its way to opening again, my youngest and I caught the C-Virus. It was another ordeal that I must battle. Aside from taking care of my child and myself, I was battling for my sanity. I was blaming myself on why we got sick, questioning my decision to put our kid in preschool, feeling all the guilt in life and having placed myself back in my dark place. That’s when one of my high school best friends opened my world to BTS – yes, the biggest boyband in the world. She was clueless what I was going through but she kept me company through our daily chats. She sent me video clips, photos, translations, and memes of the 7 members that got me curious to know more about them. One video got me all laughing and somehow put a light in my dark hole then – it’s Jimin’s Lachimolala Run BTS episode. That’s truly a classic for me! As I and my kid were recovering and in isolation from the rest of the family, I opened myself to know more about the 7 men. It wasn’t an instant reaction as I honestly had my prejudices then, but I thought, nothing’s going to lose if I’ll give it a try. So, I read and watched videos and interviews and read articles about them. I’ve grown to love them in just about 14 days while in isolation and their message truly captivated me. Their songs speak about so much of what we all are going through, they champion self-love, diversity, and uniqueness. Each of them is different from one another but they are one as a team, and all are truly relatable. I must say they saved me from going deeper into the dark hole I created for myself. I started my C-virus isolation, not able to identify who’s who from the 7 of them and came out of the isolation as an official ARMY. I’m happy and hopeful. It could be the biggest plot twist of my life but there’s zero regrets, there’s no turning back. They brought joy and light when I needed it the most and reignited something within me that led me to opening my own shop.

My husband and some friends know that It’s been a longtime dream of mine to have my own shop. But what really gave me that ultimate nudge and inspired me to finally start my shop is BTS. Their music, their message, and their mindset towards life pushed me to completely muster the courage to open this small shop. They’ve been a great source of inspiration to reignite my passion for arts and creating.

The idea for making handmade and custom items came when everything I found in stores seemed generic, too loud, and “seasonal” for me. I wanted something that I can proudly display, wear, or use that felt “me”. I design and create items that evoke all things self-love and Bangtan (BTS). I design items that convey their music and make it relatable to all. Products that can be appreciated and utilized on a daily basis throughout the year, items that are neutral and minimalist in nature, and something an ARMY and non-ARMYs can find joy in.

I admit that I was doubting myself as most of the BTS fanmade merch is different from my design approach. But I am glad and proud that I have found my own ARMY through Instagram. Their endless support pushes me and keeps me going. Without my followers turned clients turned friends, I wouldn’t be here speaking with all of you now.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I am fairly new in this small shop world – I just started March 2022. I honestly was scared and excited to begin this new journey, and like other business owners, I have big plans for my small shop too. But I acknowledge the fact that we all must begin somewhere and for me, that is to begin my social media presence. I decided to go with Instagram as that’s the platform I am most familiar and comfortable to use. Having only a few family members and friends as my followers at the start was all I had. But my goal is to grow beyond my immediate connections. Having limited followers did not stop me from posting and sharing consistently on Instagram. I showed up for myself and for my people. I must emphasize that “consistent posting” here did not mean posting daily. I just made sure I have a post in a week – be it a story, reel, or an actual IG post. Posts that talk about my products, my brand, some glimpse of my life, shop’s behind-the-scenes like creating an item, what makes my products unique, and I also ensure I provide entertainment and problem-solving posts.

Aside from the consistent presence, I made sure I interact with my followers- new or old ones. I sent them DMs to thank them for liking, commenting, and/or sharing any of my posts. I utilized Instagram’s tools like the poll and question buttons to socialize with my people. Those methods allowed me to start a conversation and to know my audience too.

I know there’s a lot of “rules” being circulated online on how to grow social media presence but what worked for me is by staying consistent, having fun, socializing, and being myself in my space. After all, I don’t want it to just be too focused on selling my products. I’m growing my community and reach too, and most importantly, building new friendships. My customers are investing in my shop and I’m investing my time and energy on them too. Perhaps my background in recruitment, and my love for connecting with people helped me build my own community on Instagram. What advice could I give to those starting to build their social media presence? Scratch the rules, be transparent, the numbers of followers/likes/views/comments/etc. won’t define your success. Success for me is subjective – it is intangible, more of a feeling and a state of being. So, be consistent, have fun, be true to yourself and invest in your people.

As for me, so long I’ve filled my cup, met my goals, felt fulfilled, earned new friendships, and have brought joy to my customers through my products, then I can classify myself and my brand as successful.

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

While having my own website was the initial plan when I began my business planning, I eventually decided to use Etsy. Mainly because I know that Etsy is home to small shops which specialize in handmade items. Aside from that, Etsy is like a marketplace with a huge presence globally for years which can positively help me and my growing business. Setting up the Etsy shop is straightforward too which is beneficial for someone who is starting. Short set-up time for new shop owners and that is a win! Additionally, Etsy will take care of any website glitches or issues and have a great community of artists and makers whom one can tap on for questions or whenever you need help. As for the cons, I know all of us know about the crazy Etsy fees by now, it is something a new shop owner should take into consideration but should not be a showstopper. While Etsy has a big presence across the globe, that means there’s big competition as well – there are millions of active Etsy sellers. Since Etsy isn’t our own website, our branding is limited to their website restrictions. But this is something you can address through your social media account/s and packaging.

Overall, I am happy with Etsy. They provide the tools needed for new shop owners which will take a great chunk of time for someone who decides to start with their own site. I believe Etsy is a great tool to learn the twists and turns of running an online shop and a great starting and training platform for anyone deciding to expand and go beyond Etsy.

Of course, I’m looking forward to building my own website where I can have more freedom with its contents and branding. I’m not looking at closing my Etsy shop too, but we all know that putting all your eggs in one basket is always risky. So, it’s always beneficial if we can spread out our source of income. That way, we’ll always have that plan B.

There are various factors to consider when deciding what’s best for your business. Whichever route you choose requires hard work to draw in customers, visibility, and make enough sales to be profitable. As for me, I’ll have my Etsy shop for now until I’m ready and equipped to build my own website. Again, what works for me is not a one-size-fits-all formula. As a business owner, you take ownership of what you believe will be effective for you and your brand.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: ShopSummer87
• Other: Etsy: www.ShopSummer87.etsy.com