We recently chatted with Joselin Croce, a local business owner and entrepreneur who launched her jewelry business earlier this year. Despite launching her business during a global pandemic, Joselin’s jewelry store has taken off and is growing fast.
We sat down with her to learn more about her business journey and goals for the future.
Wish: To start, tell us a little bit about yourself and your business.
Joselin: My name is Joselin and I’m from Wilmington, North Carolina. I recently started my jewelry business on Facebook Marketplace. It’s a new business that I just started in January, so I don’t have a business name yet, but I’m working on that for the future! Right now I sell from my personal Facebook account.
Congratulations on launching your business! Why did you decide to start your own jewelry business?
I actually got the idea when my family business started participating as a Wish Local store, where people can come pickup their orders from Wish. My family owns a tile and construction store and when we first opened, it was really expensive to do marketing. So we joined Wish Local because it was a great way to let customers know that we’re here and there’s a new store in town.
After that I realized that Wish was sending me stock of popular products that people can buy locally, so I got the idea to start trying to sell the same type of items. I started ordering products from Wish and tried selling them on Facebook Marketplace to see if I could make any profit.
I tried it out, and I got a wonderful surprise that everything sold out in like 3 hours or so - it was incredible! So that’s when I decided to start working on my business and bringing in more products from Wish Wholesale.
Wow, that’s amazing. So what types of products have worked well for your business?
I sell mainly jewelry, but I’m testing some other products as well. With each product I always do a test - first, to check the quality of the product and second to test the response of the sales in the market to that product. So right now one of my best-selling products is a bohemian elephant bracelet. Another best-seller is a halo ring, and also an ankle bracelet.
What’s your criteria for selecting the products you’re going to stock for your business?
Well first I have to like the product! Haha. Something attractive and at the same time elegant, and anything for young people. I don’t focus on super colorful jewelry because people seem to prefer gold and silver that they can match with their outfit.
Who is your ideal customer?
My target customers are college kids or younger people who like wearing accessories for the beach or going out. They know how to shop on Facebook Marketplace and are comfortable making orders online, which is super important. And actually now that you bring it up, I sell rings that look like engagement rings, and I’ve had a lot of men buying that ring - I would say 30% of the sales from that ring are to men!
Tell me a little bit about your business growth. You started in January, how is your business doing now and what are your goals?
So far March has been my best month, my orders and my customers are increasing every month, and I’m making about a 50-60% profit margin on my items from Wish Wholesale. Right now I’m investing my profits back into my business because I’m ordering a lot of inventory. I plan three months ahead so I invest a lot up front but I know I’m going to make that back plus more in profit.
Wow, that’s impressive. How have you been able to grow your business so quickly?
In the beginning I was ordering from the Wish customer app, but I started getting so many orders and it was so hard to keep track of everything.
On the Wish customer app they don’t allow you to buy a bunch of things, it’s just like 5 items or 10 items at once. And I had too many orders to keep track of, and know where they’re all coming from and when they’ll arrive at my store. So that’s when I started searching for a way to buy a bunch of products at once instead of little orders everywhere. That’s when I found Wish Wholesale and that was it.
When I placed my first order on Wish Wholesale, I received all of the products in January. It was a relief because before I was stressed out if I made too many sales. I was worried I might not have the products to fulfill them all. Now that I can buy more items, I have like 900 items at my store - so I’m kind of relaxed receiving a whole bunch of orders from Facebook Marketplace because I know I can fulfill them. This allows me to grow my business faster.
What are your future goals and plans for your business?
I’m investing more into products and packaging, I just bought a machine that prints the packaging and I’m making it very professional. Right now I’m only selling on Facebook Marketplace and I have so many orders that my boyfriend said I’m probably going to have to hire someone to help me soon! I got over 100 orders in one day so it was kind of crazy, especially when it’s just one person right now. So we’ll see but I think my business is going to continue to grow.
Do you have any advice or tips for someone else who is considering starting a business or buying from Wish Wholesale?
It’s definitely a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to make a full-time business with this and get really great prices. You don’t have to worry about buying from random websites that you don’t know if you can trust and you’re going to have the personalized assistance for your business, which is amazing. You can also have a profit right away.
The assistance you get from your team is wonderful. If you don’t find the product you’re looking for on the Wholesale site, you can just forward the link from the Wish customer app, and they can make a custom quote for you or get you a special discount.
Before Wish Wholesale I actually didn’t know where to buy jewelry in large amounts and at these prices without being worried. Wish Wholesale has been great, it’s been a very positive experience for me.
We’re so glad to hear it’s been a positive experience! Thank you so much for chatting with us today and sharing your business journey with us.
Interested in learning more about how you can purchase bulk jewelry at the best wholesale prices, too? Head on over to Wish Wholesale and shop now or contact us for personalized assistance.