Look at that picture...an inviting, some what calming work space. That couldn't have been farther from the truth when it came to me creating this website, let me tell you.
I'm no technophobe but there was something completely unnerving about creating my ecommerce space. I have a few friends and family members that have expertise in this domain or I'm sure I could have paid someone to create something for me but it was the encouragement of my sister-in-law, Bethany and best friend, Sophie that helped me go about making the website myself. And I'm eternally grateful for that push as it showed me that I can overcome my fear of the unknown and I'm so proud of what I created - Hawthorne-Candles.com
I'll take you through the steps I made but I am a complete beginner so I would recommend doing your research as there will be more thorough advice out there.
I spent a far bit of time looking at different website providers to figure out which was the best fit for me. As my website was also going to be my ecommerce platform, it was a no brainer when Shopify popped up on my list. What sold it for me was the easy to use shop front that didn't require coding expertise, and the range of guides, marketing tools and online support available. Also in hindsight, a lot of brands that I shop from use the Shopify platform and I didn't even realize as they have been able to make it their own with their brand.
Once you've done the set up, decided if want package you want to go for, its then time to create. This is when Youtube is your friend - there are hundreds of step-by-step guides to help you through every stage of building your website and trust me, they were a godsend so please check them out if you are looking to build a Shopify website.
Again with most things I've noticed with my business, it was a case of trial and error and playing around with different styles, fonts, images to get the look that I wanted. While, at times, it was incredibly frustrating, and I shamefully admit there were a few crisis of confidence/temper tantrum moments, when it finally came to pushing the button and releasing my website into the world, the sense of pride and satisfaction I got far outweighed the stress I went through to build my website. And the joy of Shopify is you can continue to tinker around with things in the background and add new bits to it so you can evolve your brand and business as you see fit.
When it comes to Social Media, I would consider myself very competent with the likes of Facebook, Instagram and particularly TikTok but obviously I'd never delved into the business side of these platforms but it was rather easy in the end.
Facebook and Instagram Business accounts can be combined into the Meta Business Suite so once they are created, you can link them together. Creating content in one place for both sites makes life a lot easier and posts can be scheduled so you can prepare a whole months of content if you wanted through the Meta Business Suite. TikTok is managed seperately but I'm probably the most active on TikTok as I have my personal page (JennyLogic) which I post daily tarot readings to so I knew how to navigate my way around that. All of these platforms offer Ads and Post Boosting which you can buy but providing you have good SEO on your page and use relevant hashtags and keywords in your captions, you will be good.
There are other options to explore such as Twitter and Pinterest but I started with the basics to get my business out there.
I hope the information I've given over these "Turning Ideas into Reality" blog posts has been useful and/or interesting. What I will end on is if you are seriously considering setting up your own business, take that leap of faith as you never know what it could lead to. My motivation was to be my own boss and to create (hopefully!) financial stability for myself but its turned into something so much more. As mentioned previously, I have battled with my mental health for a long time and my business has provided a positive outlet for me to focus my mind and channel my energy into and little-by-little its growing my confidence and I feel empowered that I am the master of my own destiny.
Love Jen x