Embracing the Journey
Hey there, lovely stationery enthusiasts!
As you may already know, I recently embarked on a thrilling journey by launching my own mini stationery store, FoxCloudsDesign. 🌈✨ Being an avid stationery lover, the idea of curating my own collection and sharing my passion with the world filled me with an indescribable sense of excitement and anticipation.
From the very beginning, I poured my heart and soul into this venture. I spent countless hours meticulously selecting the perfect products, collaborating with suppliers, setting up the website, and researching the most economical shipping options. Each step brought me closer to turning my dream into reality. I know it sounds like a cliche but I felt like this is what I had to do.
However, the path of running a small business is not without its challenges. One of the hurdles I encountered was my small following on Instagram (I have 11 subscribers to @foxcloudsdesign) and barely any visits to the store. It is not the first blog/platform that I have launched but I did hope for better results. I believe in business transparency so I will continue sharing my numbers here to capture the progress. I am considering launching a TikTok account (under the same username @foxcloudsdesign) to bring in more stationery lovers to my store.
Balancing work and personal life with the responsibilities of managing my store proved to be more demanding than I initially anticipated. Finding the time and energy to update my website and social media regularly became a struggle. But let me tell you, even during those moments of feeling overwhelmed, I never lost sight of my passion and commitment to this project. I am just moving at a much slower pace than I anticipated. 🐌
Some of the recent technical challenges that I faced was MaiChimp and Squarespace integration. I do not have much experience using MailChimp but I did successfully connect it to my blog previously. Not sure what the issue is but it can not sync with this store. Unlike Squarespace email service, MailChimp is free. Since I am already paying a lot for the hosting, I am hesitant to spend additional $$ on a mailing list. But we shall see.
So, I'm keeping on, one step at a time. I remind myself that every little progress counts, and even the tiniest victory is a step closer to achieving my dream. 💕
With love and gratitude,
Nika
Founder, FoxCloudsDesign