As I mentioned in a previous post, I created a few personalized Christmas items for friends in December and, on a whim, opened a store.
I knew customizing orders would take a lot of time and I’d have less time for creating new items. That didn’t sound like fun and made me reluctant to open up the shop. Once the orders started coming in, however, I realized how much I enjoyed meeting new customers and doing the work. In fact, the most challenging circumstances resulted in the most satisfying moments, such as the last order I received on Christmas Eve…
The first thing I made in SL was a large fireplace. Even before I was halfway finished, I was addicted to creating in SL. It went well, and Plan A was based on that creation: make more home decor items and furniture, then open a store. RL intervened, and an extremely busy autumn forced me to put my plans on hold.
At the beginning of December, I took a few hours to make personalized Christmas stockings for close friends. I was happy with the results and I decided to open a store to offer these and a few other Christmas items.
A Surprising Start
My expectations for sales were low — many other stores had started offering Christmas items several weeks earlier and I had no experience selling. But during the first week, sales increased every day and the store rose to #1 in most in-world searches for “Christmas stockings,” “tree skirts,” and other related terms. Only one week after the opening, Kghia Gherardi reviewed my merchandise in the Prim Perfect blog and had some nice things to say. Sales continued to rise exponentially through the holiday season.
Too Successful to Turn Back
Customers constantly asked what I’d sell after Christmas. When I said I planned to open a furniture store, they usually responded by complimenting me on the quality and telling me I should continue to offer personalized things. That scene finally repeated itself so many times that I had to consider continuing with Plan B. I had had so much fun meeting people — there’s so much more contact with customers of personalized items than with typical merchandise — and I didn’t want it to stop. (I’ll write more about why this was so much fun in a future post.)
So . . . long live Plan B! Version 2.0 will consist of personalized cards, house flags, and other items, as well as some non-personalized greeting cards and gift items. I’m determined that the quality and service will be at least as good as it was for the Christmas items. And I’m determined to have as much fun, too.
