Etsy Seller Interview with Bridget and Dave of YUMYUM4DOGS

How YUMYUM4DOGS 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?

YumYum4Dogs was formed in May 2021 during the COVID pandemic. Realizing that at any moment the economy could fail, my family wanted stability. YumYum4Dogs was created by a family of dog lovers. We adore our pups and wanted an all-natural but beautiful treat for our pups and every puppy to enjoy! We decided there was tons of dog treat company competition, but that we would stand out using letters, current trends, and classic designs. YumYum4Dogs ingredients are all natural and handcrafted in small batches with love by our family to be enjoyed by yours. All our ingredients are sourced in the USA and bought locally to support small businesses such as our own.

Favorite items

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

YumYum4Dogs has an array of products, treats, and recipes. It’s difficult to pick just one that’s our favorite. If we had to pick one, it would be our CL POLKA DOT HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOG TREAT GIFT BOX. This is currently our best-selling item. I think it sells great because it’s completely customizable with the pup's age and name, and also because there’s nothing else like it available. It’s completely unique to YumYum4Dogs. We even applied for and obtained a copyright in 2023 to protect this design.

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?

Our first sale was within 24 hours of going live. I rely a lot on social media. Social media is the best tool I can suggest, but we also use Etsy marketing. Gaining repeat customers is obviously important, so offering a promotion to reorder is included on every order sheet we send out.

Managing YUMYUM4DOGS

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?

When it comes to managing our Etsy shop, its just myself. My husband and children help in every other aspect of the business, but anything that has to do with the shop listings, management, and upkeep

My 17-year-old handles all my social media activities because, let’s face it, he’s more savvy in that area. My 14-year-old son is my packager and handles inventory management for all our shipping and supplies.

My 11 and 10 year olds help bake, cut out treats, brainstorm new ideas, draw mock-ups, dip treats, and help in packaging our gift boxes.

My husband is my right hand, doing everything and anything asked of him, even when it’s super crazy and I'm all over the place. He calls me a tornado because I jump from task to task.

I don’t use many apps to control our shop. Etsy really has everything you would need to handle inventory, shipping management, and finances. The only other tool I really use is Quick Books for tax purposes.

The future of YUMYUM4DOGS 

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

YumYum4Dogs always wants to grow and expand. Our goal is to finish our website and go live by the end of 2023. We also just branched out into wholesale, and most of our leads came through Etsy. We really can’t wait for our commercial kitchen and shop to be completed. We are having a 20x40-foot pole building built with two departments: production and fulfillment. We can’t wait for it to be completed! Our garage is busting at the seams, lol.

Advice for new sellers

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

For all new sellers, I’d strongly suggest starting a social media page to start some buzz. YumYum4DOGS is debuted seasonal in publications (unsolicited), which increases volume in every aspect. Seasonal items drive sales, so constantly updating listings and keeping things fresh is important. We tweak our products that aren’t selling well; our best seller was not doing well, so I added a balloon and age candle, and now it’s our best-selling item. Titles are important as well. A funny, cute, catchy title grabs people’s attention. Pictures are extremely important. Focus on making our listing look amazing but also usable in everyday life.

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

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: On average, $6000 per month. During a holiday season like Easter, we did almost 15k.

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: Our profit margin is about 90%

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 6.7%