500 is ten times our expected sales for our first year in business (well, we haven’t reached our first year yet!). I am not sure if it was pure luck, hard work, our abilities or a mix of everything. But, whatever it is, I am super thankful.
I have always wanted to have our own business. However, it was not that easy. I was into photography, so I tried to sell my photos at some stock websites. Getty has a lot of my photos but sales there is not consistent. I tried to apply to others but I wasn’t accepted. So I thought, okay, I will not push it. Then I tried paper quilling. I made some successful ones, but failed on a lot. It takes a lot of patience to make a nice one – and I don’t have patience! So, no paper quilling for me! Then I discovered Etsy. I made an account and tried to sell photos and art there. I thought it was that easy! Months have passed and I had no sale. It was really discouraging. So I stopped. I stopped everything. I did not want to try again because I thought I will fail AGAIN!
Then, we bought our house. My husband did a lot of DIY for our very first home. He fixed our backyard and landscaped it on his own! He even fixed and painted our whole roof! From then on, he made a lot things made from wood (salvaged and used pallet wood). I am so proud of what he created so I always post them on Facebook. Then, last December, we thought of giving reclaimed wood clocks to our friends as gifts. And that was the start of Woodyoubuy.
I was not too optimistic that we will have a lot of sales (based from previous experiences). And there were also remarks from people that said that we will not sell because of whatever reasons they could think of. Of course I was a bit hurt with those comments but I did not change anything. I ignored the negative feedbacks and just concentrated on designing and creating products for our business. And now, we are here! Super humbled and thankful to everyone who supported us and followed us on our journey!
P.S We are currently working hard to finish all your orders for Christmas and for our last market this year at Finders Keepers! I hope to see you all there!