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

Yoyo, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Funny story. I joked about naming my first child Poppy when I got married years ago. Until when I first started my small business, the name Poppi with an “I” came to my mind immediately because I want my art to spread joy and fun just like how Poppi sounds.

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

It was fun in my late 20s. Before pandemic hits, if I wasn’t studying or working, I could stay in my bed until afternoon. You guessed it right, this habit got worse when my freelance work takes a long break during pandemic. I was disappointed and emotionally punished at myself. Part of me wanted to escape because soon later this void would swallow me. I need a new direction for my career.

Until one day I saw a video of an artist making jewelry out of polymer clay. That moment I knew that I wanted to try it because polymer clay was something I played with when I was a child. Also, the material is affordable and easy to learn.

After a month or two of practicing, I finally launched my brand Poppi Clay on Etsy to sell uniquely designed handmade jewelry. I hope each pair of earrings can make people feel as beautiful and confident as they were created. My goal for the brand is to deliver high quality slow made jewelry that can last.

After having over thousands of sales from both online and in person, I was blown away by the kindness of my customers.
Of course, running a small business isn’t always smooth, but keeping things/struggle real has been a huge part of this community. I’m still amazed by the generosity from my customers. I’m incredibly grateful and proud that many of my customers have become my friends!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons that I had to unlearn was trying to make things that could please everyone. First of all it’s nearly impossible to do so. Second of all, pleasing everyone will probably lead my brand to loose the uniqueness of how people first recognize it.

Most of retail stores have their own season to bloom, but I was very stubborn and trying to chase the numbers. My unhealthy mindset push myself to start making what’s “trendy”, instead of what’s “Poppi”. I immediately saw a decrease reach of customers.

Now I rather to my time to collect and process inspirations for my next designs than pushing products out. I’ve been told many times that good designs are worth waiting.

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

Poppi didn’t had an immediate growth on social media (Instagram) after 6 months of creating an account. It was the time the instagram reels just started. I nearly produced work progress videos 3-4 times a week. It truly helped Poppi to gain attentions from new audiences which included customers and other small business owners.

For anyone who just started a small business, if you know who you target audiences are, set a calendar to produce content could be more effective and less overwhelming. Don’t hesitate to hire professionals to help when it’s necessary. It doesn’t mean you necessarily need to go over budget. Try Upwork and other online services to find the right help.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PoppiClay?ref=profile_header
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/poppi.clay?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064216982419&mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: N/a

Image Credits
Portrait photo by Gavin Liang