My Journey To Set Up Shop

Do you have a passion? Want to share that passion with others? And have you considered how to do that and make it worth all your effort? Well that’s where I was at a few years back….this is my journey to set up shop. I will share the steps I took and though they reflect my particular niche, they easily apply to anyone stepping into this realm.

My passion is tea….specifically afternoon tea and all the things that are about tea. I love to help women experience the respite that comes with afternoon tea and make it something they can enjoy ongoingly. So I decided that I would start an afternoon tea blog.

Starting My Blog

I didn’t have any idea how to go about this and didn’t have a clue what I was getting into. So like many of my fellow bloggers, I took the first step of researching how to begin a blog. I also knew that my goal was to be somewhat budget friendly. I was hesitant to invest heavily in this whole approach if there was not some sort of income.

I initially tried to set up my blog on my own but quickly realized it was way beyond my “wheel house” and needed expert advice. In my search, I came across Pete and Heather Reese, founders and owners of “Its A Lovely Life”

They offered a free 5 day email course and I was hooked. I have since then invested in 2 additional classes and they have been critical to my blogging journey. Through this process, I purchased a website and engaged a business relationship with Blue Host. This helped to supplement my technical needs and gave me access to a huge support resource, both in community and through the business partnerships. These courses walked me through all the steps I would need to setup my blog – domain purchase, name and logo development, income strategies and much more. And for the first 2 years, I blogged about my love of teas and all things tea, recipes and how-to’s.

Next Steps….My Online Shop

As most of us starting this journey, we want to have some kind of income stream. So I examined what other options I might have……..affiliate relationships, YouTube teaching, writing etc. This is a slow process and I was wanting to see some tangible results. I began to investigate establishing an online store for vintage china and tea accessories. I researched the market, determined inventory, product lines and integrating into my current website, Teas The Season. For some reason, with my own skill and assistance from some technical support I was not able to place my shop on my blog website. Many bloggers do this – so don’t let my approach be a deterrent. I made the decision to purchase a separate domain and developed The Steeping Teapot, my online store. A partner to Teas The Season, The Steeping Teapot takes the vision of Teas The Season and puts the product in my readers’ hands.

Another huge learning curve, I setup The Steeping Teapot using Woocommerce. Using the free version again, I setup product categories, prices, shipping, and other pieces critical to having an online business. I launched the online version of my business in November 2020. The growth has been slow as expected but I launched!

My In-Person Opportunities

The next step in this adventure has been the opportunity to have an in-person presence. This has taken the shape in two main ways – product shows and the latest, an actual in-person shop.

Product Shows

I was able to participate in a Christmas Gala in 2020. The gala had close to one thousand attendees and allowed me to sell all the products I had online as well as share information from my blog. It was a lot of work and honestly, can’t say that I would want to do that all the time but it was a huge success.

The majority of these attendees were women, which is my target audience and so I was blessed not only by the movement of product, but also by realizing the passion I have to help women use tea as a point of enjoyment. Was it fun? Well, yes. Accompanied by my daughter-in-law, the event was a coordinated effort but a huge amount of work and a great payout on several fronts. Will I do it again? Already signed up for a smaller version this spring so I guess that is yes.

My In-Person Shop

So the last step in this evolution has been the decision to setup an in-person shop in a local boutique. The owner of this boutique has a passion for women in small business and operates a high-end mercantile, a sister operation to her French Country boutique, The Grey Heron. The TGH Mercantile is home to local artisans with a passion for their niche. Each owner displays their unique products for sale within this community of artists and artisans.

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The Steeping Teapot now has a presence giving my patrons their real teatime experience. A believer in providence, I have been blessed to open the shop in January 2021 and its been an exciting journey for sure. I have “hung out my shingle” allowing The Steeping Teapot to have an in-person storefront!

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Lessons Along The Way

There are so many other pieces of information and lessons learned that I would like to impart, but here are the main key points that I would share with anyone wanting to start this journey, things to do and things to consider:

1. Plan, plan, plan…
   • Write out your vision, goals, and then steps to achieve.
   • Keep your vision and goals visible
   • Include things like time, budget, anything you can think of.
   • Be ready to do this on an ongoing basis.
2. Find your niche…..
   • Know your passion and explore the niche
   • Ask for input and help
   • Sometimes a little harder than you think…you may know your passion, but finding the groups might be harder.
3. Find support…..
   • So important. And I must admit, I didn’t use the support early enough.
   • Find your experts….find a mentor if you are able to.
   • Use your online community. A great resource for feedback and encouragement.
4. Understand the investment….financial, time, emotional
5. Give yourself grace
   • Don’t expect perfection
   • Be willing to hear feedback and change as needed.
   • Have expectations but don’t be unrealistic.
   • Know that this will take time
6. Be brave to try new things, be a risk taker within reason…..
7. Evaluate your success along the way but also your challenges….and changes…and failures.
8. And have fun along the journey!

Through the milestones and the implementations, this has been my journey to set up shop. I am still learning….there is so much to learn. I am still changing and adjusting….I think that will be always. And I am enjoying the ride. So if you are on this road, I hope that you are encouraged. If you have already been here – I hope you know that you have helped to pave the way for those of us following the path.