Julia Kurtz is a stay at home mom living in Seattle, Washington. She is the owner of an online shoe boutique for gently used baby shoes called KyleighsCloset.com.
Julia says her best tip for entrepreneurship is to marry an engineer. She has 3 beautiful girls Sierra 11, Brielle 6 and Kyleigh 4.
“I started selling Sierra’s baby clothes on ebay in 2000 & I started the website 3 years ago. I was addicted to baby shoes but done having babies, what’s a girl to do?” Julia remarked. “It was my wonderful hubby who suggested putting them in a website & I started with just 79 pair.”
With over 700 shoes in her inventory Julia now uses Microsoft Office Live to manager her business because it is user friendly and it is free.
“My soft soles like Robeez, Jack and Lily, Bobux are great for babies because they can’t kick them off. Pediatricians recommend them because it’s like being bare foot but baby’s feet are protected,” Julia shares. “I love the brands that I sell, they are very high quality soft flexible shoes but they are expensive. It’s hard to pay over $30 for a pair of shoes that your child will quickly outgrow. They grow out of them so quickly that they are often in excellent condition.”
Julia offers 6 Tips for women contemplating starting an online business that revolves around sales on ebay.
1. Invest in a scale!
2. Go to ebay & buy poly envelopes in bulk (100-200) bags, I have them in 3 sizes now but you may not need different sizes. They will cost you less than 10 cents each & save you a fortune in shipping fees. They weigh next to nothing & are strong & waterproof.
3. If the item weighs 13 ounces or less always ship first class, it’s cheap & it’s fast!
4. Print your own shipping~it saves you a trip to the post office & the rates are lower. Shipping confirmation is only 19 cents instead of 70 cents at the post office. Delivery confirmation is so worth it! You can see where your package is & you can give the tracking # to your customer so they know where the package is. It will also save you in a paypal dispute!
5. Wrap the item in tissue paper & include a business card, it’s nicer to open & inexpensive. Tissue paper can be purchased at the dollar store, 40 sheets for a buck for white & 30 sheets for color. Business cards are free through Vistaprint.com all you pay is shipping.
6. Communication is so important, even if you don’t have the answer at that moment, reply to their email & tell them your working on it. Feeling blown off is the worst!
Kyleigh’s Closet offers the best brands at the best prices with the same day shipping.
To shop in Kyleigh’s Closet visit www.KyleighsCloset.com
