Harness the Power of the Web as a Small Business Owner
Millennial blogger and business owner Stevie Henderson harnessed the power of the web to start a booming online business. Her online store, Shop Stevie, has garnered thousands of devoted followers in mere months. We spoke to Stevie, who said the journey toward small business success was made smoother with help from her husband, Trevor, as well as a great web hosting and customer service team she found in Bluehost.
Before Stevie started her business venture, she was a manager and a retail buyer for a popular clothing boutique in Provo, Utah. She said although it was a great experience and she learned a lot, she didn’t like that there was a cap on her pay. She also said that because she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom one day, she desired work she could do from home. Stevie was inspired by a former college roommate who now blogs for a living to start a blog of her own. Because she was tagged as the model in many of the boutique’s Instagram posts, many followers of the boutique had been following Stevie’s personal Instagram account for quite a while. She announced the launch of the blog on her Instagram account, and many of her Instagram followers began following her blog as well. Shortly after her blogging efforts began, a turning point sparked the idea to create her own online store. After posting a picture of a backpack from the boutique she worked at on her blog one morning, she went to work and was greeted by calls from interested customers.
“I got so many calls like, ‘I want to buy the backpack that Stevie just posted’ and, ‘You know that girl Stevie… I want to buy the backpack she had on.’ It was fun and we sold out in a few hours,” she said. “My husband and I thought, why not cut out the middleman in some of these posts and have people buy directly from us? I love being a buyer so an online store was the perfect fit!”
She took her experience at the boutique and harnessed the power of the web to launch her blog in January 2015, and Shop Stevie in April 2015. Initially, she described the experience as scary because she had to quit her job at the boutique as soon as she started her own venture and didn’t know if she would be successful. Fortunately, her business flourished and her fears vanished. “It has really taken off! We’ve been very blessed,” she said.
While she had experience as a buyer and manager, Stevie told us she had no clue when it came to hosting websites and backend programming. Her web developer recommended Bluehost, so she went with his suggestion. Stevie said she has been pleased with the customer service and quickly learned how important a good hosting service is. “The customer service is the best! They are so nice and friendly and explain things to me in ways I understand,” she said. “I feel confident with Bluehost hosting my site and never feel like someone is trying to upsell me and take advantage of me. I trust them completely!”
Stevie’s advice to others thinking about starting their own small business ventures was to invest in a top-notch hosting service and web developer. “That basically is your business!” she said. “I would also say an online business is the way to go these days. It allows you to reach as far as you want geographically, which is huge! With a storefront, you are so limited.”
If you’re interested in taking your small business idea online like Stevie, Bluehost would be happy to help. At Bluehost, we offer hosting with genuine support. Our experts are here 24/7 to offer real solutions and support. Give us a call at +1 888 401-4678 to speak with a website specialist for a free consultation. With over 2 million websites powered by Bluehost online, you’re bigger than you think.
