How Teyxo 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, Alura! It’s so wonderful to be here and share my story. I am Lara, co-founder of TEYXO urban fashion, your custom-made brand with edgy and playful clothing for women who want something different and who want to break free. We have a wide variety of styles, from asymmetric dresses, tunics, and coats to denim jackets, pants, vests, and leather accessories. We love to mix outstanding designs with vivid colors and cuts, using high-quality fabrics sourced from the best suppliers in Italy and Turkey. We are based in Romania, where our workshop is, and we customize everything for our customers.
We believe that our bodies are so uniquely unique that they cannot fit into standard sizes. That’s why we create everything from scratch for you, reminiscent of haute-couture. At TEYXO, you will find affordable high fashion. We have no age, no size, and when all the labels are removed, there is only YOU, the true you, and this is what our brand represents.We are selling more than great fashion; we are selling empowerment, and in time, I have also built a hub to inspire and empower women all over the world, sharing uplifting stories and inspirational messages. But, let me take you back to the beginnings of the brand.
I have majored both in performing arts and journalism, but after some film projects and a couple of jobs, I felt that I was not achieving my full potential. I realized back in 2013 that online businesses were thriving, and I stumbled upon Etsy one day. At that time, my mom had her own Romanian fashion brand, focusing on a more elegant and classical line of clothing. I told her one night, ‘Why don’t we do something together? because I saw a lot of potential in that demographic.She was so taken with the idea that we immediately started working together. This is how TEYXO was born: a mother-daughter business created with the desire to bring something new to the market.
The first two years were quite hard because it was a side hustle for both of us. We were not investing a lot of time in the brand. I still had my projects and she had her own business, so it felt like we wouldn’t succeed as we planned. I also kept hearing, "Who will want to buy anything from you?", "You can’t compete with the big brands, with the fast fashion industry." These things made me prove the contrary. I am a very stubborn girl, and usually when you tell me that I can’t do something, everything inside me screams the opposite, and a force inside helps me to prove the contrary. So, in 2015, I started to focus on the brand. There weren’t too many tutorials at that time, very few blog posts, some discussions on forums, but not many sellers knew or shared what to do, so we had to try everything. I was working more than 18 hours every day, trying to hack the algorithm and find out what people wanted.
The best feedback came from the early customers, because I realized that these edgy styles that we designed were not only for the youth, as I personally had in mind. There were so many women all over the world who needed new fashion, who were so tired of the classical lines designed for women over 40. We started to have customers with an age range from 30 up to 80! I was blown away. A whole new world opened up then, as I saw even greater potential in our work. By the end of 2015, we already had over 2,000 sales on Etsy, and 2016 came as a revelation. It was then when we partnered with a big marketplace in Asia that brought us thousands of customers, but with this came one of the most important things: confidence. We gained confidence in our designs, work, products, and brand, and I realized the power of branding and the message that comes with it.
Then, I created a lifestyle magazine and a YouTube channel and formed a very powerful bond with my customers and community. In the beginning, I was also frustrated with not having Vogue-worthy pictures, and one day, one customer told me, "Oh, how I love to look at your photos! They are so real and make you look alive and healthy, not like the usual models from fashion magazines.’ Wow! That gave me another boost of confidence. After some time, everyone told me that I needed white backgrounds, and I told them "No way! I want colors, street art, the sky, lights and more!’ I realized that this was again one of the best decisions ever made because it made my photos and listings stand out from the crowd. In millions of search results, especially for fashion, my thumbnails stand out, and this helped me get more clicks and visits.
We now have more than 20,000 customers all over the world, in more than 90 countries, and it is so exciting to see an idea grow and expand to so many people. It’s so fulfilling and beautiful in so many ways. "Let’s brighten up the world," as our motto says!
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
All the denim styles : These are, by far, our best collections. We started to create denim styles more frequently in 2018 and in 2019 we created one of the best ones called "Empower." It came with a campaign called "Your Body is Right" and a number of blog posts, stories, interviews, and videos that created such a buzz that at some point we didn’t even have to advertise the products. They were selling it as a halo effect.
We also started working with several boutique owners across the USA, mostly from New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and they were selling these pieces immediately, as soon as they arrived in their store. We couldn’t believe how fast they reordered. In the 1-2 days since the products were shipped, they ordered even more. This again proved that the denim styles were and still are very popular, so we designed more.
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?
I believe the first sale came quite fast, within a couple of days. We also had quite a good number of sales in the first year that came organically, as we were not doing any marketing campaigns. But, let’s not forget that it was 2014 and there were about 1 million sellers at that point, and now there are almost 5 million sellers, so the competition is tougher and you have to raise the bar to stand out.
Now, I mainly attract new customers using Etsy ads and SEO. I also rely a lot on my social media profiles, YouTube channel, blog, and my Udemy and Skillshare courses. I used to advertise a lot on Facebook and Instagram in the past, but now I feel it’s best to work more on Etsy and use its tools and algorithm. And definitely use Pinterest, as that works brilliantly with Etsy stores, as it is a visual search engine and people usually use it for shopping ideas and recommendations.
Managing Teyxo
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?
It’s mainly my mom and myself. We take care of customer service, answering all the messages and any issues that may arise. We do our best to provide wonderful customer service, as I have learnt that a professional approach and a brilliant answer may turn a 1-star review into a 5-star review, just because you know how to handle the problem and how to treat your customer. Even if they are not satisfied with the actual item, most of them appreciate the professionalism of your business and brand. We also upload all the new items. I take care of photography, listing descriptions, and SEO for titles and tags. I also add Etsy updates and rewrite or write any content.
We also have an amazing assistant who helps us print new orders and organize them for the production team and marks them as completed every day the courier comes to pick up all the packages. We have a lot of templates ready with messages to be sent every time we have a new order and for the ones that are fulfilled.
We all use Google Drive, where we have shared folders with everything that we need. We also use e-mail, calendars, and group inboxes for important information or urgent orders.
I use this software on my MacBook Pro for photo editing, as I find it much easier, faster, and more professional than other apps. I also use PS Express on my phone for quick edits.
Final Cut Pro: I use this for video editing, not only for the YouTube channel but for the videos for the About section and sometimes for the Listing Videos. I also use InShot on my phone for very quick edits when I do not have too much time or when I am traveling.
Canva: I am a big fan of Canva and I create all my graphics there, from banners to social media posts, stories for Instagram and almost every little thing that I do that requires a bit of graphics or layered text. I have the PRO version and I absolutely love it!
MailChimp: A lot of my customers are returning customers, and sometimes more than 50% of my monthly revenue comes from them, so I create email campaigns at least twice every month. I do not spam and create entertaining newsletters in which I share new videos or blog posts, new ideas, projects, uplifting messages, and not only new products. Of course, special VIP coupon codes are included every time.
We offer free express shipping worldwide via DHL. We have worked with them for over 4 years now and we are satisfied with their service, especially since every day the courier comes to pick up all our packages from our workshop. We managed to have a great contract with them when we reached a couple of hundred packages sent every month, so they offered us very low fees all over the world, especially to the US, where most of our packages are delivered.
The future of Teyxo
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
I would love to further grow my community and hub for empowerment. We also have an official website and a lifestyle magazine linked to it, and I would love to bring more uplifting stories to my customers and not only. I’m also keen on growing my YouTube channel. I focused a lot on the Etsy courses on Udemy last time, and I have also coached many Etsy sellers, but now I’d love to focus more on TEYXO’s growth as a brand, while creating more and more edgy, playful, and daring designs for everyone. I found a fantastic community on Etsy and we will keep on growing our Etsy shop while connecting with amazing customers from all over the world.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Many new sellers ask me ‘What should I sell?’ and I reply, "Well, what are you good at? What is your passion, your drive?’ You should never buy products that seem to sell well just because they are trending or commercial, because this will never turn into a great business or brand. You have to find what you truly love to do. Maybe you are fantastic at business and you partner up with someone with a different skill or talent. People often buy into ‘why’ you are doing it and not ‘what’, so it’s essential to find your ‘why’.
Then, don’t get stuck into professional photography, logos, or other things. I didn’t even have a logo for such a long time, just a piece of writing that I created with some online app and guess what? My best selling item-since the very beginning-had the worst photos ever, but that didn’t matter, and I haven’t even changed the photos because it kept on selling. Customers sometimes prefer to see raw images than super-edited ones, because they see exactly the look of the product and when they receive it they say ‘Wow! It looks even better in real life!’ and they will leave you a fantastic review, that’s for sure!
Focus on your brand, your story, and your message. Keep in mind that you are not only selling a product, but a feeling, a dream, or a solution to a problem. Focus on the quality of your product as well, and when you have these in place, then start improving everything else.
When it comes to Etsy and winning the algorithm, you should know this simple secret: activity. You have to be as active as possible on the platform, and that means: creating new listings, renewing your old ones, creating sales and campaigns very often. Don’t leave a sale for too long. Keep it for 2-3 days and then start a new sale right away. Having as many listings as possible is also one of the keys to success!
Focus on SEO and always add all 13 tags, avoiding very popular tags like "gift for her". Combine more specific tags with the ones that have good search results and always use long-tail keywords. Furthermore, have faith and patience. Success doesn’t happen overnight and it needs focus, hard work, and dedication, but if you love what you do, you will do it with passion and you will do it for the world. You will definitely bring new things into this wonderful world, so dream big and never give up!
