Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathasya Tadjudin.
Nathasya, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It started when I switched my major from Pre-Med to Business during freshman year of college. Unfortunately, I realized that I didn’t have it in me to continue down the pre-medical track and started to feel burned out. Though I was going back and forth, I decided on business since I just started a small freelancing photography business and it seemed “safe”.
It was not until the summer of sophomore year when I had an idea to start an e-commerce. As I was scrolling through Instagram, I saw an ad from Shopify and did some research. An online business was never really a part of my career plan, but I eventually gave it a go. Shopify basically walked me through on how to create a site, but additionally, I used Google to research marketing tactics to target a specific niche and how to set up social media ads.
At first, I was selling organic beauty and personal care items, but as much as I was promoting the environmentally friendly aspect of it, I made zero sales. Running this e-commerce was harder than I thought, and I had to change the business plan. Then, I decided to sell apparel, utilized social media and influencers and it’s been growing ever since!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The journey has not been easy, but it’s all part of the process. I’ve always thought it would be neat to design shirts, but I had zero experience. The problem was that I had so many visions of what I wanted but just couldn’t translate that digitally. I turned to YouTube for help and learned the ins and outs of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop (which I still don’t 100% know how to use but I make it work).
With impostor syndrome and anxiety, I had major doubts and even thought of not even launching the site. What if no one likes my designs? What if I don’t make any sales at all? Am I even capable of running this business? But I soon came to the realization that I won’t know the answers to those questions if I didn’t try. As cliché as it sounds, believe in yourself and just do it. Also, don’t be afraid to look to free resources for knowledge!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Love Simply story. Tell us more about the business.
Love Simply specializes in uplifting apparel that caters to One Direction fans. The store has created a tight-knit community and spread kindness through our products. I wanted to create a business that served another purpose to serve others, so I decided to give ten percent of profits to Mental Health America each month and a few other highly-rated charities that have created funds to support communities around the world affected by COVID-19.
I chose Mental Health America because they dedicate their time and resources to address the needs of those living with mental illness and to promote the overall mental health of Americans. It’s so important for me to be able to let others know that they are not alone and that we should be able to break the stigma by discussing hard topics and be open with each other.
It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
A few of my favorite apps: Instagram, Pinterest, Over, Later, and TikTok. These are apps that means a lot to me and my business! Over is a graphic design maker and it’s so easy to use. You can make your feed look awesome in no time. Later is a lifesaver for small businesses because you get to schedule all Instagram posts all on your laptop and it posts automatically for you! Talk about convenience. Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok can be both used as marketing tools and inspiration.
A few books that I highly suggest are “Girl, Stop Apologizing” by Rachel Hollins and “The Power of Kindness” by Pierro Ferrucci. And not sure how to excel in something? Google it. YouTube it. You can learn anything as long as you put your mind into it. The world is your oyster!
Contact Info:
- Website: shoplovesimply.com
- Email: info@shoplovesimply.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/shoplovesimply
Image Credit:
Mockups by PlaceIt
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