In this interview, Susan of Back To Nature Goat Milk Soap and Boston Post Dairy tells us about her business and daily routine as an Etsy shop owner.
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Tell us a little about your shop and who you are.
I’m Susan Blouin, and my Etsy store name is Back To Nature Goat Milk Soap
. I own Boston Post Dairy LLC with my sisters.
Boston Post Dairy is our farm which includes Back To Nature Goat Milk Soap.
We also have a storefront where we sell the products that we make (cheese, maple products, and bath and body products) and we also sell other Vermont-made products.
In my Etsy shop, I sell Bath and Body products (goat milk soaps, goat milk lotions, solid body lotion, salt scrubs, goat milk shaving soaps, bath soaks, lip balms, and essential oil roll-ons.)
How long have you been selling on Etsy?
Since March 2008
What’s the hardest part about selling online?
Staying focused on one project, I tend to want to do everything and was pulled in a lot of different directions in the beginning.
I am a people pleaser, so wanted to try to make everyone happy.
Now I do what I like, and I don’t tend to take custom order since my regular products keep me very busy.
What’s your daily routine like?
When I get to the store in the morning, I open the shop, check emails, and weigh out and start my oils melting to make a batch of soap.
While they are melting, I work on billing, receiving and inventory for our business (we also make and sell goat and cow’s milk cheeses, and specialty maple products.)
We usually have someone to run the cash register, but if we are shorthanded, then I help with customers during the day.
While customers are browsing, I usually work on the orders from Etsy and our website that need to go out.
There are two of us that ship orders, we have two separate Etsy shops, one for our maple specialty products and one for the bath & body products.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to start selling online?
It’s like everything else in life, you must work at it to keep everything up-to-date and current.
Business in general is fluid and needs to keep changing, improving, and growing.
You will get lots of feedback, online and in person. Listen and discern what may or may not work for you.
Constantly strive for great customer service, but you shouldn’t take everything personally. Some reviews are just not worth your time worrying over.
But if it’s something that can improve your business, you should try to learn and grow from it.
Find Susan online at:
Instagram: @bostonpostdairy
Facebook: Facebook/bpdstore
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