Name of your website?Cute Collectables - Bows & More
Your name?
Renee Romero
Your Location (city, etc)
Roswell, New Mexico 88203
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Hand crafted hair accessories. I hand fold and assemble all bows on my site. I offer quality, inexpensive hairbows. From basic or boutique to custom requests available.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
People started asking me if I would consider selling my hair bows. I started by making bows for my daughter's cheer team. This migrated to dance bows to making matching hair items for her outfits.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
1st website was launched about 3 years ago. I started doing cartoon graphics and basic website design help.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
The Cute Collectables is the name of my original graphic site and I simply added a sub-domain for my hair bows.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
Not sure how different since there are a lot of hair bow sites popping up but I do my bows simply because I really enjoy crafting and want to share what I create.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I don't mind using this to promote my crafts but I don't plan on depending on this for my sole income. It is a hobby for me and a way to earn back what I spent on ribbon and hair parts.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
So far it has broken even. I have sold enough to pay for my materials so far.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would probably expand to help other crafters. I would love to sell ribbon and hair parts for others to use.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Probably not. I work full time as a Project Manager in the environment department and I really enjoy my work.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
I love to buy ribbon and I have to watch how much I buy. I can buy it but what am I going to do with it if I don't create bows and then sell them. Plus my daughter wants to keep all the bows I make. I now have to make two...one for her and one to sell.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Finding enough time to create. I have three children, three dogs, a husband and a full time job.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Belonging to different Yahoo groups, word of mouth to other mom's in school and dance class.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It requires a lot of time to keep things updated and uploaded. I can have 10 bows ready but I still have to snap a pic and post and add detail to the item, etc.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
The hair bow site has been up for two months. I think as long as I can. No plans to cancel any time soon.
What is your website address?
Cute Collectables - Bows & More
