Today is the fourth class of your current eight class set. We will start with our casual conversation. Next I will ask for your feedback regarding the startup Q & A project.

Here is a first case:

Hello, I'm Jamila, I own a small business here in Korea. Established in 2020, still fairly new. I design unique Korea and pop culture inspired souvenir goods. I sell online and sometimes offline at pop up markets. My shop and links can be viewed here at www.anxietyandkimbap.com

 Lately, a lot of big companies that are tech based in Korea, sell collectible goods, so there’s a market for it. At the current moment, my brand and business are not connected to an app or AI. 

 My first question is how can I explain to the local market how small businesses can scale through a design firm?

 Is it financially possible to scale up with a design/souvenir business model without being tech based? 

 Thank you for reading. 

Answers to follow up questions

Hi John, sure. I've answered the following questions down below.

Hopefully this helps! :)

1. What is your customer demographic?

Men & Women, ages 20 ~ 40, Interest in accessories, Korea (language

learners, K-pop & drama fans, study abroad students, past & current

expats), and stationery.

2. How many sales are you making outside of Korea?

To date? Around 250 but that doesn’t include two crowdfunding projects

I’ve done that had international backers.

I’ve had customers from the US, Canada, Germany, the UK, Russia,

Denmark, France and Australia.

Last year and even now, I had to cancel and halt shipping from certain

countries because of Covid-19. I have potential customers in other

countries such as New Zealand, Japan, Switzerland, Singapore, Italy,

Lithuania, and the Netherlands. I receive messages monthly on when

shipping will resume.

3. To date what has been the best sales channel for you?

Etsy, and that’s only because it was the only one I've used since

starting my business. I recently launched a Naver Smartstore and

Shopify for Korea buyers on 8/22 of this year. So, they are new. The

Shopify is doing pretty well, it receives orders weekly since opening

and the Smartstore has only received one order. I need to learn how to

market it better.

I also sell well offline. My last market was in June at Common Ground

for 2 days. I made around 700,000 won, selling pins and stickers.

With advertising, it’s only me with a limited budget and word of mouth

from past customers and shared posts.