Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in hand crafts but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Daria Tkacheva, owner of Elma Vada Studio, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a small online gift shop on the Etsy Platform - ElmaVadaStudio. We sell nice engraved gifts for any occasion. This shop means a lot to me; I enjoy the process of preparing gifts for my customers. I believe a gift is a perfect thing to make someone happy. It is a warm reminder about love, friendship, appreciation, and gratitude.
Our customers are those people who really want to impress someone with a very special individual customized gift; they are bridesmaids and grooms preparing for their perfect day, loving children sending their love and care to their parents, and happy parents who celebrate the graduation of their children, big companies who appreciate handmade gifts, etc.
Tell us about yourself
This shop is very important for my family and me. ElMa VaDa means my grandma's, mom's, and my names: Elena, Maria, Valentine, and Daria. I lost all of them years ago. But I believe they are still with me; they are my angels. I'd like to share with you not only my handmade engraved products but my life story. When I was a little girl, I loved presents so much! Sometimes it was a surprise from my Mom and Dad, and sometimes I was waiting for a gift for a long time! They showed me their love. When I grew up, I started giving gifts too! Christmas, Birthdays, Graduations, Father's day, Mother's day - so many occasions for sharing the love! I remember this feeling when my Mom smiled, opening my handcrafted box with the cookies I baked. I was such a happy girl! It was true daughter's love!
When I met Alex in 2017, it was true love at first sight, like in a fairy tale. He gave me amazing flowers, and I gave him handcrafted postcards with pictures of our journey together. Our goals, dreams, and wishes were the same. We did everything together: travel, laugh, dine... We both lost our jobs due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020. I lost my job as a travel advisor, and Alex lost his job as an event planner. During many boring days in lockdown, we got an idea to start something together. We both loved to see people's smiles and good vibes. Both of us loved working together.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Each sale in my shop is an accomplishment for me. For eight months, we had the Star Seller badge, which motivates me to keep my shop at a high level and reach new goals.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
We face different issues during our work, as it's an online business we have to use delivery services and unfortunately we can't control them and sometimes we have to handle the problems which arose by their fault.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Starting a new business is always a risk and unexpected expense, and besides, it needs a lot of patience. But if you decide to start your own startup, be ready that at the beginning you will have to work very hard and it will not always be as expected, be ready not to earn money for the first months. Be patient and keep working hard; then, you will get the result.
Always spend money on the promotion of your product or services; these are important expenses as it helps to attract more customers. Now there are a lot of ways of promotion - free or chargeable; you can choose the one you are able to handle. And the last thing I would recommend you to do - is to talk to your clients and make sure they feel comfortable buying an item or paying for a service. Provide all necessary information and keep them informed about every step of their order.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ElmaVadaStudio
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elma.vada/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elma.vada/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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