Etsy Seller Interview with Renata of ResumeBureau

How ResumeBureau 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?

Hi! I’m Renata Knopp, owner of Resume Bureau. We create and sell professional and modern resume templates. We also offer custom resume design services for candidates, resume writers, career coaches, and executive search companies.

I opened the shop in December 2020, and since then we have sold thousands of templates and helped candidates feel more confident with their job search while saving them a lot of time and frustration. After two years, it still makes my day when I hear back from a customer saying they got the job or received a compliment on their resume! Running an Etsy shop requires a lot of dedication and can be frustrating sometimes, but this is what makes it so fulfilling!

The decision to work with resumes came naturally when I started thinking about starting a business. I knew I wanted to work in design, and in the past few years I had created several resumes for myself, my husband, and our friends. Designing resumes was something I really enjoyed doing, and it was also a way of helping others, which gave me great satisfaction. Besides, I had worked in the executive search industry in the past and had first-hand experience with what recruiters were looking for in a resume.

Working with resume templates allowed me to start a business with very little investment and gives me the freedom to work from anywhere. Another advantage of working with templates is that they are digital downloads, so I don’t need to worry about shipping and can have more flexibility. These factors were also very important in my decision to choose resumes.

Most of our templates are compatible with Word, but we have been including Pages versions as well to meet the demands of our clients. More recently, we have also added some Canva templates to our 

I design all the templates myself from my home office. The ideas for the templates started from doing market research and getting feedback from friends, and now they are inspired by demand and popular requests. I also answer all of my clients’ messages and strive to provide the highest quality of customer service. As a very demanding customer myself, I always aim to offer the level of service I would expect and, whenever possible, to exceed my customers’ expectations.

Favorite items

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

Rachel Carson's, Ernest Rutherford's, and Doris Anderson's resumes are among my favorites.They are the designs I am most proud of creating and are also some of the shop’s best sellers. These are the templates I use when a friend needs a resume. They are very professional but have a modern look that helps candidates stand out!

We also offer ATS resumes, which are very in demand nowadays. My favorites are Jocelyn Burnell, Mary Cartwright, and Mary Anderson. ATS-optimized resumes have a more classic design, but they can still look very modern, and they are designed to be more easily read by ATS systems.

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?

My first sale came on the first day, but it came from a family member, so I'm not sure if that counts 😊 Aside from that, I started getting sales the first week I was open. Most of our sales come from Google, so our main focus is SEO. In addition, providing outstanding service is a great way to get return customers and spread the word. We have lots of customers that find us through family and friends’ recommendations.

Managing ResumeBureau 

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?

I have been managing the shop as a solopreneur for the past 2 years. I do all the design, marketing, and customer service, as well as the accounting part. However, as the business is growing, I am planning to hire one person to help with customer service and marketing so I can focus more on creating new products and providing resume design services.

Since our products are all digital, we don’t need to worry about shipping. The templates are automatically sent via email by Etsy, and customers can also download the files from the Etsy website shortly after payment is completed. I mostly use the Etsy Shop Manager and the Etsy App to manage my shop. The design tools I use to create my templates are Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and Canva, and I resort to Photoshop to create my listing images.

The future of ResumeBureau 

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

My goal is to attract more customers to my standalone website and continue growing the Etsy shop as the main channel.

Advice for new sellers

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

My advice is to do a lot of research before you open the shop to learn more about the market, study a lot about SEO, work on your keywords, and take great photos of your listings. The photos and the keywords are the most important factors to attract customers, so take your time.

Also, I have come to terms with the fact that SEO is a lot about trial and error; there is no recipe. You have to try a few things and see what works. It can be a little frustrating, but with time, you’ll have a better idea of what works for your shop.

Another thing I wish I had known sooner is not to doubt the quality of your products if they don't sell.There are so many factors involved in the success of a listing. Get your listing critiqued if you are unsure, but if you know you have a great product, just keep working on the SEO and the photos and don’t give up.

And most importantly, be patient. In my experience, it took a year to get more consistent sales and in the second year I started seeing a lot of growth. So, being the owner of a relatively new shop, this advice is also for myself: keep up with the hard work and you’ll see results!