How TheNaturalSpa got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

The Natural Spa’s Etsy shop was opened in 2016 to sell the handmade soaps that I was making. I had been making handmade products like this for a while and had just left my previous long-term job, so I decided to make the leap and open a business. In the beginning, it was just me (Zoe) making everything by hand in a shed at my parents' house. Now we are a team of women who are still hand making everything in our warehouse.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

Our soap samplers and gift sets are all my favorite products. I love how they look, and it is always extra special when someone chooses one of our products as a gift!

Samplers and Gift Sets Collection

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

We had our first sale within the first two weeks, but it took us about a year to have consistent orders every day. Once we hit 1,000 sales, that's when the momentum really started.

Managing TheNaturalSpa

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

We host our main website on Shopify, so we use an app called CedCommerce to automatically transfer them to Shopify, which then downloads to our order processing software. This then means that whoever is on retail (we sell wholesale and retail, and we rotate who ships what), all they have to do is when a packing list prints: > pack order; > one click to get up to 500 shipping labels; > one click to ship all orders. Ideal for us because we sell a lot of the same products.

The future of TheNaturalSpa

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

We want to continue to grow our shop with lots more sales and keep up our customer service level.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

Photos are key; once we get professional photos (it seems expensive at first, but just do it! ), our sales exploded, our Instagram was better, and it then became a viable advertising tool.

Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Approx £4,000 on Etsy.Other revenue from Amazon, Shopify, Wholesale etc 

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: 60% 

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 7%

Alura Team
Alura Team

Alura is your all-in-one platform for selling on Etsy. With more $500.000+ gross sales over four years selling on Etsy, Alura is built by experienced sellers for sellers. Start with a free account and explore all the features you need to start, run, and grow your Etsy shop.