Ifidori by Ifinishit - Handbound and personalized notebooks & planners

Ifidori by Ifinishit - this sounds special, and indeed it is. Tatjana from Ifidori by Ifinishit has turned her passion into her profession and has been selling her creations for almost a year now with her own branchbob shop. As an experienced small businesswoman, she talks in an interview about her experiences with Etsy, Amazon Handmade and DaWanda. You'll also see in our interview how she became an online seller and why she finally decided to work with branchbob!


1. Tatjana, tell us a little bit about yourself, your shop and how it all began.

My name is Tatjana, I come from beautiful Thuringia, I am mum of twins and I have always been interested in creative things like painting, handicrafts and DIY. In the parental leave, I dedicated myself to creative things and started to make notepads. So I slipped into the world of planning and found more and more pleasure doing this. Friends and family liked some of my creations and I have been asked many times, if I would offer some of my creations for sale.
My husband gave me encouraged me a lot and gave me the incentive that I should try to be independent, because there was no huge risk. People might not like, but that's all.
That's how it all started...and as you can see I am still here and very happy to have taken this bumpy road :)


2. What exactly do you sell in your shop and what's special about your products?

I sell notepads made of leather, imitation leather, fabric and snappap. Many of them are based on the Midori principle, meaning that can create and exchange the inside of your notebook cover as the notebooks and folders are held by elastic bands.
I also do special sizes and special requests. But you can also find many unique items and accessories like calendar inlays in my shop.


3. What is behind ifidori by ifinishit and how did you come up with the name?

Ifidori is the name of my notebook brand.
Ifinishit = i-finish-it, was born from a spontaneous inspiration and is the origin of my second passion. Photography, video editing & designing textures/colours for Gimp and Photoshop. Since many people already knew me under this name on Facebook and every website operator knows that a lot of work is involved in maintaining a website (especially when you build everything by yourself - website, blog, shop...), I have combined both names.


4. How did you hear about branchbob and why did you choose branchbob?

I found Branchbob because I had to look for an alternative to DaWanda and some time before I had already played with the idea of having an own business besides the handmade platforms. But many pages were too complicated and often too expensive for me, when you are still at the beginning. I finally found your page in a blog post about
online stores for small businesses and new starters. I signed up and started to muddle through. Then I realized to my enthusiasm that the setup was totally easy to handle, my questions were answered as quickly as possible and the presentation of the site totally fulfilled my ideas of a shop.


5. Where have you sold before and how did you like it there?

I sold with DaWanda, Ebay & Etsy. I liked DaWanda, but on a platform like Etsy it's hard to be found; there are just too many sellers. I also tried Amazon Handmade, but I was already desperate when I registered. It's not relevant for small businesses like mine, you get completely lost in the ranking.


6. What advantages (and disadvantages) do you see in having your own online shop as opposed to online marketplaces?

At the beginning it is hard to be found. Google for example often shows only the large ones. On online marketplaces the possibilities are higher at the beginning that you sell something.
Nevertheless an own online shop has more advantages in the long run. Because if customers place their trust in you and they are satisfied with the total package, they will always come back.


7. Was the move to branchbob harder or easier than you thought and how long did it take?

No, the move was not difficult. If you have already placed your articles on an online store, you will find your way around your platform very well. My move was very fast as I only added some of my main products at the beginning and then I have expanded the assortment step by step.


8. What was the feeling when the first sale arrived in your branchbob shop?

Yippee! It was worth the effort. I was finally found.


9. What can your customers look forward to in the future? How do you plan to gain more customers?

My planning is not over yet, but I would like to expand my range so that customers can put together their planners and notepads even more individually. And I wish I could integrate my second passion into the shop at some point, for example by offering .zip , .pdf or .png files. How do I win more customers ? I hope I can do this through the satisfaction of my customers, who recommend me and create contact with my followers on my social networks.


10. Would you recommend the branchbob shop to other shop owners?

I can really recommend it to everybody. For newcomers, because there is only commission if you sell something and also for those who have been in business for a longer time, because this site has everything to present your products advantageously.


11. Where can we learn more about your business?

You can find my shop on ifinishit.branchbob.com

More information on:
Facebook
Instagram
Weebly
Blogspot


12. Any final words?

Thanks for the interview and your interest about my shop. I wish you good luck for 2019, because your platform is a wonderful alternative for small businesses like me.


Thank you for your time, we wish you all the best with your shop!



You want your success story to be published as well? Contact us via support@branchbob.com



Lisa Weber