In a world dominated by “big box” chain stores, starting a small business can be intimidating. With small businesses arising every day all around the world, one of the toughest struggles when starting a new business is getting it off of the ground.
At first glance, Bob Jones seems like an unlikely place to look for business owners. However, this is not true.
Senior Alicia Eidsaune started her own cookie business just last year called Alicia’s Cookies.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but when your product actually sells, you get to know people and form a bond with them. You can feel that you’re making people happy. That’s what it’s all about. But some struggles of it? Some weeks you don’t sell anything. You only have so many people that need your product, so once all of those people are reached, who do you sell to? Small business is always about expansion and improvement. You always have to come up with new ideas or products or you will lose business,” Alicia said.
One way to expand and improve business as an entreprenuer is through social media. Social media is a huge factor in growing a business. According to SocialMediaToday, eight out of ten small businesses use social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
I personally know the challenges of creating a small business. Just last year, I created a small clothing business called Embrace Supply Co. With the help of graphic designer Stephen Noble, I was able to design and sell shirts that I was happy to approve. How did I sell them? I used personal connections and Facebook to get some exposure to them.
Now, I am ready to expand. Over the last year, I have been able to sell my product to people I barely even know.
Selling shirts has been really cool and exciting, but I want Embrace to be more than just another clothing company. I would like to turn it into an outlet for artists.
In the next few weeks I plan to record and post various videos of local musicians performing and releasing their art, but as fellow business woman Alicia Eidsaune said above, the hard part is getting people interested and growing a bigger audience, a challenge for all small business owners.
Shop: embracesupplyco.bigcartel.com
Facebook: facebook.com/embracesupplyco
Instagram: @EmbraceSupplyCo
Tumblr: embracesupplyco.tumblr.com
