Merchant Spotlight: Okwyejezie Ifeoma Yvonne ✨
For the second episode of our series, we are chatting with Yvonne and she will be sharing her experience as an entrepreneur. Come along with us.
Hello Yvonne, it’s good to have you here. Let’s meet you and tell us about your business
Hello, I’m Okwyejezie Ifeoma Yvonne. I sell affordable, quality sneakers on Twitter (@_e_vonn) and (@_solematesng) on Instagram.
How long have you been running your business?
I have been selling sneakers since January 2019 but I brought them to Twitter in August 2020. That’s basically when I started taking it serious
Describe a major highlight of your business.
Umm, the major highlight is definitely when I made my first delivery outside Nigeria and the customer loved it. Had other financial highlights but this one made me feel fulfilled sort of.
What do you enjoy most about being an entrepreneur?
The unpredictability. The highs and lows. It toughens me up. When you put in the effort you’d definitely see the fruit of your labor. Also, I have a lot of free time to do other stuff.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced or still face since you started?
Pheww, When I started I faced Nigerians😭 Because of fraud and “what I ordered and what I received” Nigerians have trust issues. So getting Nigerians to trust you, especially for us that insist on payment before delivery it’s tough.
Also because my customers are 95% men it’s tough to deal with them. I have faced harassment and abuse because of the business. Some will tell you to deliver yourself and buy condoms on your way, some will just straight up ask for sex before they buy. So yup they can be a lot to handle.
How do you deal with these challenges?
Advertised my brand with testimonies. Took classes on customer service and satisfaction and mastered them. So the testimonies came on their own. I didn’t even need to ask customers to post about me, they just did and it became a thing.
How did you hear about Catlog and why did you decide to sign up?
Silas was a customer and he talked to me about it. I was sold immediately. I always wanted something like that because customers ask for it all the time and sending link after link can be stressful. So immediately He told me about it, I loved the idea.
How has Catlog helped your business?
I’m now more organized. It doesn’t make my chats with customers look like a lot. If they want to see my catalog. Just one link and everything is set in 3 sentences.
What is your favorite feature?
Definitely the “availability” toggle and the Views.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely are you to recommend Catlog to a seller?
9
Are there business owners that you look up to?
Dammy B on Twitter
One piece of advice to business owners and aspiring ones
Consistency over intensity
This is such a piece of important advice, a lot of people tend to focus more on intensity when it’s really about consistency. Showing up once a week every week is better than showing up 5 times daily and ending up with a burnout that doesn’t allow you to show up for weeks or even months.
Good sneakers always make your dressing pop, and you can never have too many of them, if you want something affordable yet of top-notch quality, visit Solemates store https://www.catlog.shop/solematesng and give yourself a treat. She delivers nationwide and outside Nigeria.
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