We recently connected with Victoria Livingston and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Victoria thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When the pandemic hit the US in the spring of 2020, I had just thrown a birthday party for my then one year-old daughter. I remember watching the news and reading articles about how bad it was getting; then the stay-at-home mandate was enforced shortly after the world had gone into full-on panic mode.

This is when the idea of the Hogwarts Rejects was born.

During the stay-at-home mandate, I’d like to think that most adults — through boredom or just sheer curiosity — went back to their childhood roots. This included watching Harry Potter on repeat, finding a new hobby like sewing or cooking, or — in my case — picking up a novel again after several years of not reading. It was during this time that we, as adults, began to heal our inner child. As an American, the best way to do that is to capitalize off of your passions. When the 2020 holiday season approached, I decided to take a leap of faith and start my own small “fandom” shop on Etsy. Originally, I had named my shop The Hogwarts Rejects, for those who were still waiting for their acceptance letter all these years later. Obviously, I couldn’t keep the Hogwarts Rejects as my business name because of copyright and licensing, but I COULD keep the idea…

Liv Co (the first three letters of my last name) became my new business name, and I jumped into the task of creating my own website, as well as expanding my fandom base to include not only Harry Potter, but Star Wars, Marvel, Lord of the Rings and Disney with more on the way! When 2021 arrived, I tried something new and joined a virtual book club on Instagram via my business profile. I met so many wonderful and lovely women, and most of them had their own small shops as well! This venture created new lifelong friendships. We encouraged and supported one another, which was something I had been lacking in my adult life.

Recently, in the year of 2022, my shop has been more focused on the niche bookish community on Instagram and TikTok. This community has become my own found family trope in real life, and I hope to continue growing with them as my shop continues to flourish over time.

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 studied graphic design in college. I have a background in the fashion industry as well, because I used to work as a Creative Director for a small boutique based out of Atlanta for a few years after graduating. This allowed me to learn the ins and outs of what it takes to run a small business, as well as pick up a few new tricks in fashion merchandising.

I was never “popular” as a child, especially at school. I was a theater kid, I read a lot of books, my hair was always frizzy and wild, I never agreed with the status-quo and I constantly challenged others to think outside of the box. All of those details provided the haters with the material to bully me. I was never black enough, never white enough, never someone who they could put in a box. I think that’s what both bothered them and fueled my desire to become the most successful version of myself that I could be.

Now, as an almost twenty-nine year old mother, I could care less what others think. My only regret is not giving a bleep sooner.

My shop consists of fandom apparel which isn’t entirely unique, as a lot of small business owners (especially on Etsy) own fandom-based shops. MY selling point are my wall collage kits, which have been well received by college students. There are only two other small shops (that I’ve been able to find) that sell wall collage kits, and only one out of those two shops sell FANDOM wall kits. I wanted to provide an eye for detail and creativity in a way that others might be able to understand by offering up a unique style of wall art! I now have over 20 fandom inspired wall kits for customers to choose from, with more on the way!

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

When I first started Liv Co, I suffered (and still do, on occasion) from what we in the business like to call “imposter syndrome”. This nagging, mooching tapeworm of a feeling eats away at your will to continue because your inner thoughts tell you that you are not good enough. Obviously, in order to kick those thoughts to the curb, you have to move forward.

On one stormy night in November of this year, that’s exactly what I did.

I was struck by inspiration to create a collection that was a mashup of a book series I’ve been obsessed with, and a few songs from a music artist (that shall not be named here). This collection ended up being my most successful collection and all because of a video that went viral on TikTok…

One of my very satisfied customers had posted a simple clip of her showing off the front and back of the crewneck sweatshirt she had just received from my shop. The view count was rising higher and higher, and eventually those same people who were liking and commenting on her video, came to my TikTok and was redirected to my website or Instagram, where they either bought product(s), followed me or both! Overnight, without me even knowing how or why, I racked up over 100 orders! I then flocked to my socials to find out why, and sure enough, there was a video I was tagged in that had been received very well by BookTok (the niche community of book lovers on TikTok).

The rest, as they say, is history. But for me, it’s only been about two weeks…

How did you build your audience on social media?

I started out on Instagram with absolutely ZERO followers.

I didn’t have a TikTok yet (that would come much later), and I was having problems with getting my shop approved on Facebook so I could have a shop page connected to my Instagram.

The best advice I can give to small business owners just starting out on social media is to pick a specific niche of the internet that you think could be a great target audience for your products/services. Hashtags are also a HUGE factor in getting your content seen, and is a very specific art in and of itself! But finding that market, and making friends in your industry are the most important step to take in growing your audience organically. Be sure to engage with your followers (reply to their comments/DMs, like their content, view their stories). This just shows them that you actually CARE and are in fact, a real person and not just a brand.

In a world of fake news and endless lies, be a brand that is transparent and authentic. Your fans will appreciate you for that.

Contact Info:

• Website: hellolivco.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/hellolivco
• Other: tiktok.com/@hellolivco

Image Credits
Victoria Livingston