Highlighting Small Businesses: Carroting Co.
- frontpageinitiative
- Aug 14, 2021
- 3 min read
1) Tell us about your small business!
Hi! My name’s Anita and I own Carroting Co (@carrot.co), a small sticker shop that specializes in custom stickers! You can find stickers with calligraphy, stickers with mini-drawings, and so much more! The cute minimalistic designs are perfect for on-the-go sticker fun and boosting your day with a simple addition in design! I started in August 2020 and can be found on Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/CarrotingCo).
2) How did you come up with your small business idea?
Honestly, I have to thank my best friend for giving me the idea for my store. Calligraphy and lettering has been my passion since I was 12 and my best friend could tell how much I loved it! One day during the pandemic, she told me “Anita you should start a sticker store to display your calligraphy”. Although she later told me she was kidding about this business idea, I took her suggestion seriously and decided to look into it. I was very bored during the pandemic and didn’t mind tackling a new task, so I searched for suppliers and manufacturers to eventually start my store. So Carroting Co would definitely not exist if it wasn’t for my best friend, thank you Zara, love you!
3) What are some struggles that you face during the COVID-19 pandemic? How have you overcome those?
During the pandemic one problem my store has faced is definitely delayed shipping times. Normally through standard postal, it would take 4 days to send to a parcel nationally, however with COVID the shipping delays have been terrible. This has been a problem with my customers because many of them order for birthdays or graduations and want their gift to come in time! I always try to contact the customer to see if they have a time frame, so that I can time manage and create the product in time to meet their deadline. I also don’t procrastinate my orders because I know how important these products can be for my customer!
4) As a student, do you find it difficult to balance school and business-owning?
100%. It is super hard. Especially as someone who is a large participant in different extracurriculars and clubs at school, it’s very difficult to manage my store, my grades, and my other passions. For me, my store is also my hobby, so I always try to have fun and work through orders happily!
5) Tell us about your products!
I sell all types of stickers! As I previously mentioned I specialize in custom stickers: I draw people’s portraits, write their names in calligraphy, write Chinese character names, and also print other people’s designs all on stickers! I have matte, glossy, and waterproof stickers that are perfect on laptops, journals, water bottles- literally anything! Every single product is created with my love and all I want is for my customers to be happy!!
6) What advice can you give to future small business owners?
For any student wanting to start a small business, I would tell them to focus less on the money and profits, and more on the experience you gain. Of course it is incredible to make lots of money, but as students we need to realise that a successful business takes time to build. In the meantime, focus on the experience and happiness your business can bring to you!
In the beginning, I envisioned all the things I could buy with extra money and always had a money oriented mindset for my store. When I looked at how much I was earning, it wasn’t as much as I had expected which disappointed me. I realized that by focusing on money, I wasn’t having fun or enjoying the process, which was the main reason I started a store to begin with. So I decided to set that mentality aside, and continue doing the drawing and calligraphy I loved. Now, I look at my store and I truly do enjoy what I am doing, which makes my business all the more worthwhile!
Published June 3, 2021
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