A few months ago, we started a Supplied Family Facebook group to create a space for awesome boss ladies to share their experiences running their own boutiques. We’ve loved watching everyone support each other’s businesses, ask questions, and learn new things from one another! (If you haven’t joined yet… what are you waiting for? Join the Supplied Family!)
We’ve also noticed that a lot of fabulous boutique owners tend to have a lot of the same questions about starting a new boutique, finding new customers, and taking their online boutique to the next level. We thought we’d compile a short list of frequently asked questions each month and point you to resources with even more answers!
What platform should I use to design my boutique website?
If you’re in the beginning stages of creating your online boutique, you’ve probably noticed you have a TON of options when it comes to what platform you use for your website. Many boutique owners use and love Shopify since it’s easy to use and designed specifically for e-commerce. You can always use Upwork or Fiverr to hire a freelancer to design your website if you don’t have the time or the patience, but after playing around with the platform for a while you should be able to figure out most things yourself!
For more advice on how to start your boutique using Shopify, click here.
To read about other platforms you can use to design your boutique website, click here.
Any advice on selling live online?
Selling live online can be a bit intimidating, but practice makes perfect! If you’re scared to go live, create a private group just for yourself to go live in. That way, you can test your equipment, figure out the best lighting, decide exactly what you want to say, and get used to seeing yourself in the camera. Once you work up the courage to actually go live, just be yourself! After the first couple of times going live, it gets easier and you get used to it. (Also, pro-tip: the longer, the better! It’ll give your audience time to tune in, and Facebook gives longer videos a larger reach in your newsfeed.)
For more advice on how to make the perfect Facebook Live video for selling online, click here.
What payment methods should I accept?
Most website platforms such as Shopify and Wix make it easy to accept credit card payments through them or third-party payment providers, such as Stripe, Square, and PayPal. These payment methods usually involve a small transaction fee of 2-3%. Some boutique owners take Venmo, CashApp, or cash instead to avoid those transaction fees, but that added friction can cause more cart abandonment – which is way worse than incurring that small fee! Make sure the payment methods you offer are convenient for the customer and secure.
For more advice on what payment methods to accept, click here.
Have any other questions you’d like to start getting answers to? Join the Supplied Family Facebook group and ask your Qs there!
