Today we’d like to introduce you to Alida Saucedo.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alida. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started Alida Bit Of Sunshine in 2019. It started just as me upthrifting some clothes and evolved into me sewing a few scrunchies. Then while at my part-time job, a customer had made a comment saying how cute my scrunchie is. I said thank you and explained that I made it. She told me I should start selling them and it really just snowballed from there! I asked for opinions and got an immense amount of support from family and friends which really encouraged me to start some social media pages and an Etsy. I started off with an idea and a $20 donation and only grew from there. Since then, I’ve made 100+ sales, sold in 12 states, and sell a variety of items including custom embroidered products.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The journey for my small business has been anything but easy. When COVID hit and made my access to materials very scarce but I made the most of it by doing a lot of research and making farther drives to get the items I needed to make my products. I made a complete turn around for my business when I started selling affordable face masks. I sold over 100 masks in the span of two weeks. I was insanely appreciative for my success but also very worried because I had never had so many sales at once. I burnt myself out a bit from this and took a small break to refocus on my business’ mission and the overall approach I had towards how to package and stock my products. Now I’m much more confident which definitely reflects in my store and I would like to think it’s the main reason for my success.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Alida Bit Of Sunshine – what should we know?
Alida Bit Of Sunshine is a store filled with a variety of hand made sewn goods. I’ve sold hair accessories, tote bags, reusable straw holders, and even custom items like a matching pet scrunchie set. Yes, a tiny scrunchie for a customer’s cat to match! I always like to try to create new things and some are a success and others aren’t as appealing to customers as I assumed but each one is a learning step to make my small business even better. I’me extremely proud of my business and the ethics behind it. I strive to have my products not only be cute but help the world as well. About 80% of my packaging is recyclable and/or made from post-consumer recycled goods including my business cards and poly mailers. I also have a program for my face masks where if someone has donated to a COVID relief group and provides proof they will receive a free face mask from my store. I’m proud of all the ways I’ve been able to help the world by doing what I love.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The success of my business is definitely due to my insanely supportive friends. During this process, I have learned that sometimes the friends you hardly talk to are going to be more supportive than the ones you see daily. My friends have gone above and beyond for me when it comes to my small business whether it was making a purchase, being a repeat customer, sharing on social media, or even responding to my excessive amount of snaps asking for feedback (my friends Danielle, Melissa, and Linzie know this one all too well). Sometimes that honest feedback and suggestions mean the world to me versus a simple unhelpful “nice”. I would also have to thank my boyfriend a ton for my success. He helped me create my unique shop name, stayed up with me late on frustrating nights where it was just me and my sewing machine, and always saying the things I needed to hear. I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am today if it weren’t for him.
Pricing:
- All products are always under $30
Contact Info:
- Website: alidabitofsunshine.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/alidabitofsunshine
- Facebook: facebook.com/alidabitofsunshine
- Twitter: twitter.com/alidabitofss
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