Carly and Lydia - The Shopping Channel Reimagined

Carly Brush and Lydia Kao are representing WHATNOT, which is a community marketplace all wrapped up in an app.

They are both so excited to be building the Quilting and Sewing category of WHATNOT, and it is growing at a tremendous rate. It has been designed to serve small business owners, with simplicity and convenience and, really, it's a virtual store front for small businesses and individuals. You'll hear some really creative ways that crafters are getting involved.

Carly and Lydia weren't able to join at the same time, so this conversation is in two parts, and you'll get to hear both of their stories and perspectives. They have lots of examples of ways crafters are using the platform to not only buy and sell, but to support charitable goals, and to promote community.

Check out the app for yourself - listen in on some live presentations....see what other crafters are doing...and see if this might be a good fit for you and your particular niche.

FOR A $15 CREDIT on your first purchase, head to whatnot.info/stitchedbysusan

Instagram - WHATNOT main profile
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Want to try free motion quilting but don't know where to start? Here's 3 simple steps to get going.

Transcript

Susan: 0:45

Welcome to Measure Twice. Cut Once the podcast about life and business lessons. From a quilter's point of view, I grew up making quilts alongside my mom in the very traditional methods, cutting with scissors and cardboard templates, sewing without the benefit of squaring up. And then of course, hand quilting. Fast forward a few years. In these days, I can be found behind my long arm, Stella, either quilting or teaching the art of quilting entirely. Freehand. Quilting has become my livelihood and it is still my joy. So measure twice, cut once will bring you stories from my experiences, lessons learned, and crafting journeys from other makers as well. Today I'll be chatting with Carly Brush and Lydia Kao, and they're both representing the e-commerce platform, Whatnot. This episode is sponsored by whatnot. Whatnot is a community marketplace where you can buy, sell. Go live and geek out with collectors and other like-minded people. For quilters and crafters, it's the perfect venue to offer the things you create or curate. The process is simple. You apply and get approved. You add items for sale. You go live and talk about them. You close the sale.

1:57

Without leaving the comforts of home, you can chat in real time with interested customers and connect with shoppers all over the world for buyers. It's an incredible resource for the things that interest you, the unusual, the out of print, perhaps even the exact fabric you need just a little bit of to finish that one quilt. For a$15 credit toward your first purchase use the link in the show notes to join or go to whatnot.info forward slash stitched by susan that's whatnot.info forward slash stitched by susan and now onto pins and needles with a quick tip for all you sharp quilters out there.

Susan: 2:35

Despite my very best intentions, it seems like my stash of fabrics always is growing and not decreasing, so I have to really take an honest look every so often at the fabrics that I have and determine whether, in fact, I do want to keep them and keep creating with them, or whether it's time to pass them on. For me, this tends to be approximately annual. And so it's often in the springtime when I'm motivated to be going through things and fresh starts and all of that. I try to evaluate fabrics and think, do I not love this anymore? In which case, absolutely let it go. Or maybe I have loved it and maybe I've already used it in one or two or three quilts, and I'm ready to let someone else deal with the last half yard or yard of it, and again, move on to some fresh new fabrics. So I encourage you, look at your fabrics, really honestly. Decide what you are. In fact, still in love with, still want to use, still excited about and what you're not and could maybe pass on to someone else. I'll be joined today by Carly Brush and Lydia Kao. They are representing whatnot, which is a community marketplace all wrapped up in an app. They're both so excited to be building the quilting and sewing category of whatnot, and it's growing at a tremendous rate. It's been designed to serve small business owners with. And convenience, and really it's a virtual storefront for small businesses and individuals. You'll hear some really creative ways that crafters are getting involved. Carly and Lydia weren't able to join at the same time, so this conversation will be in two parts and you'll get to hear both of their stories and perspectives. So let's meet Carly now. Welcome, Carly, to the podcast!

Carly: 4:19

Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be here.

Susan: 4:21

I'm pretty excited about this. Just giving our listeners a really brief introduction. You're here representing whatnot. Why don't you give them a little definition of that and what it is that you do within that organization?

Carly: 4:34

of course. So Whatnot is the largest social e-commerce platform in the United States. Uh, we're only three years old, but we're the fastest growing marketplace in the United States for the past three years. Uh, we connect buyers and sellers through livestream shopping, uh, across many categories. Um, our newest of which is quilting and sewing, um, which we featured you, um, last week. Um, and it's been, uh, really exciting getting to know this community.

Susan: 5:00

Yes, yes indeed. So, because this won't be aired for some weeks, um, the episode that I was featured in was in February of 2023, so I didn't realize actually that that category was brand new. Maybe give us a smattering of some of the categories that you offer. I know they, they are very, very broad.

Carly: 5:19

Yeah, we started in collectibles, uh, actually, so Funko pops Pokemon cards. Uh, we've since branched into fashion, uh, sneakers are a big category for us. And then arts and hand made goods is a category that is a few months old, uh, you know, depending on when this airs. Um, but quilting and sewing is our first category that we're going really, really deep in, in arts and handmade because whatnot, our whole strategy has been about enthusiasts um, and as I'm sure you know, quilters are an extremely enthusiastic bunch.

Susan: 5:50

Yes, we are I kind of see that, you know, when you rattle off your phrase, you know, whatnot is the fastest growing e-commerce platform, maybe break that down a little more for some of us who don't typically shop in that sort of format. Like, what does that look like in practical terms? How would we do that?

Carly: 6:09

Yeah. So, you know, I'll admit, when I first joined whatnot, I was a little nervous about the concept of live streaming. But it's, you know, it's about as scary as the conversation we're having right now, which is, video conversation. It's not scary at all. Um, so it's, it's really more like being in person. And I think during the pandemic, you know, A lot of crafters had been meeting in person. A lot of commerce and crafting happens in person, um, or on static marketplaces. And we bring the magic and excitement of being in person. Now, obviously it's remote, um, it's for more like a Zoom, if you're familiar with that, or a Facebook Live. Um, but we combine that with commerce and so we have built in shopping tools so that you can connect with your consumers or your fans or your students, in real time, with, you know, commerce tools, uh, like auction and, purchasing quilts.

Susan: 6:59

Yes. It was a real education, honestly, for me joining because coming into it, I was one of those who didn't really know what it was all about. When I think of, you know, shopping online, I guess I still think of the shopping channels on tv, and it's a little bit like that. In that, you're in front of a camera and you get to talk about whatever item it is that you're offering, but as you said, it's so much less intimidating. You know, there's just humans on the other end of the screen and it's a pretty casual conversation. So since I was featured as a quilter, and I'll come back to that again in a moment, but since that time, I've taken the time to get onto whatnot a few times and tune into other people's live sessions to kind of get, uh, you know, a flavor for what's being offered and. how people are doing this on camera. And like you said, it's just super casual. You just get on and you talk about the thing that you're enthusiastic about. So you mentioned, sneakers are a big one. I would not have known that, but it really makes sense because, you know, teenagers that I know are all into that. Right? So that remains one of your best categories.

Carly: 8:06

It's definitely, uh, one of the, one of the more popular ones. Um, and it's hard to tell because, you know, everyone has a personalized feed. And so when I follow sneakers, because, you know, I, I like to buy sneakers for my children mostly. Um, but you know, on my feed all over the front page is, is the sneakers. So, uh, it's definitely a popular category. Um, but you know, we're really excited about the growth we've seen in the arts and handmade as well, especially over the last month and even, you know, the last few, few.

Susan: 8:32

So that's interesting to note then whatever your interests are, much like other social platforms, right? Whatever your interests are and what you follow and watch and look into and, and look for, that's what you're going to get fed. So for we quilters, you know, if we're interested in acquiring fabric or notions or vintage sewing supplies, right? Mm-hmm. whatnot is going to feed us more of the things that we look.

Carly: 8:58

Exactly, and we're always working on refining our algorithm so that recommendation engine should be getting better and better over time as well.

Susan: 9:06

Fantastic. So referring just a little bit to my experience, again, I was new to this and a little bit unsure of what to expect, but I tried to dive in. Um, we'll be talking with Lydia a little later in the podcast and she was very gracious and coached me a great deal. But what it entailed for me was things like uploading photographs of some of the things I was offering. So in my case, that was fabric yardage. I have some bolts. What I call quilt backings, multiple yards of things. So it involved taking photographs, giving a little description of that and attaching a price and a weight to it for the purposes of shipping. So then from the purchaser's point of view, they can see that price that I'm offering. Um, shipping is charged to them sort of on the spot and that whole online transaction I found to be absolutely seamless. So do you have any, um, reassurances that you want to give either buyers or sellers regarding that? Like what are some of your security features and what is some of the ease that you've built into that process?

Carly: 10:08

Yeah. I think, like you said, and I don't know how much time you've spent on other platforms, you know, trying to engage in commerce. I've spent a lot of time kind of on, on Facebook and Instagram and people are trying to dach their supplies there, and it's been, it's chaotic, you know? I mean, you upload a million pictures, people are commenting. Um, you have to invoice everyone. We don't like, you don't have to do any of. You click buy and you have bought it because you already uploaded your credit card information. It's one of the easiest, uh, places to buy anything. Um, because it's also, it's also quick and built in shipping is calculated automatically. Um, you don't have to enter your credit card or your address every time you do it once. Um, and then you're good to go as a buyer. Um, and as a seller, you, we do encourage everyone to take photos of everything that they're offering, but if you wanna, you know, Upload, you know, a thousand items that without a photo, you can do that too. Um, and you could get through, you know, a thousand items in an hour to really get things, you know, if you wanted to move items quickly. It's a really great place for that as well.

Susan: 11:08

Okay. And I could certainly see that with certain types of products. Right. You know, in my case it was fabric, so I not only photographed it, but I photographed each kind of swatch with a ruler beside it to give an idea of scale. Yeah. You know, if you were talking sneakers, for example, because we referred to that, you would just give the size and it wouldn't be as critical to show it in a, in a picture in terms of sizing. Um, I also offered on my show, um, and I say show that's a little too fancy of a word, just the period of time that I was live, the offered a little live stream. That's right. The stream. I offered a couple of finished quilts, and that's something I don't honestly typically sell because there's not an easy way to do that. A quilt is large. It's hard to sort of show the details of it and how big it is and what it feels like and. I typically don't, I just give my quilts away, but I thought, hey, for the purposes of trying, so I offered four of them and, and I sold one and that was amazing. So I took the time during my live stream. That was one of my focuses then was to talk about quilting, kind of as an industry and, and what are the points of interest in a quilt? What are the things that you look for? What makes a quality quilt? Those sorts of things. So it was semi educational, but that's just my flavor. Some of the ones that I've watched, are very much geared toward collectors. So then it's, what are the things that are desirable or that are rare? So there's all these different angles you can come at. Whatever your shtick is, that's what you can bring to it.

Carly: 12:39

Yeah, definitely. And I think what's really cool in our cool thing and sewing category even is that everyone has such a variety of. Of inventory. Um, you have people selling vintage, uh, you have people selling new off the bolt, like you are, you have people selling finished quilts. Uh, we have a woman who sells, uh, vintage kimono silks. Um, and that's, you know, extremely rare and unusual. You wouldn't necessarily find that, you know, just anywhere. Um, and that's, you know, I, I love, what I love about whatnot is not just the live element. If you can actually see. What you're buying in real time and ask questions about it and have the person show it from a different angle, you know, which is why the pictures are slightly less important because the video element is so important, is so prevalent. Um, but also just that discovery of it being really fun to find things, um, and not know what you're gonna find when you turn on a

Susan: 13:27

stream. Yes, so true. And you know that that video. Is really important. I feel like in the ones that I've been joining in the last few days, you know, you get on them and there's, there's conversation. There's like a, a li a real time feed going on of people chatting and asking questions and even greeting other people in the group. Cuz you're likely to find the same people right, with the same interests in the groups that you're in. So it really is a kind of happy hour a little.

Carly: 13:57

Yeah. And I think that's what makes it so special is that it's not commerce. It's not just commerce and it's not just community. It's the combination of commerce and community that I think is just so much better than, you know, each one individually. It's the sum of the part is actually greater than, um, I agree. The combination.

Susan: 14:15

I agree. Agree. So, you know, we've kind of talked. what this might look like for individuals, right? How the process works, but thinking of it also from a business standpoint. Um, how, how could one use this to grow their visibility or their reach in their business? I mean, some of it seems obvious, but, but would you just touch on some of those points? Like how could you apply this to your small business in order to, to.

Carly: 14:42

Yeah, of course. So I think one of the great things about us is that because we're building the community, people keep coming back. If you buy something in month one, our, our retention is extremely high for people that become a part of the community. And so if you participate as a seller, uh, you will be discovered, not just by. the people who already follow you on Instagram or are in your neighborhood and come into your physical store, you're gonna discover new customers, uh, from around the country and, you know, eventually around the world. Um, and that's really unique. Um, Now to participate, it's really easy. You just go online and sign up and you know, like you said, upload your items and press play. Um, and of course, you know, you wanna try to find the right times to go live, um, and, you know, connect with people in the community. But once you kind of get into that community, it's a great way to grow your business. And we at what not are thinking and investing frankly, in the demand side as well. So we are doing marketing on your behalf, essentially. Um, that, and you don't, you don't have to pay for.

Susan: 15:43

Yes. And you certainly, you know, did that for me in my live appearance. And you know, as I mentioned, Lydia too was just, was coached me so much. But in truth it was a very, um, self-explanatory process. Once you open the app, it says, you know, sign up here and add your banking information there. There's a ton of instructional videos even so you touched on earlier something that I found quite remarkable, which was the fact that you've got the. Process built in. So I experienced it from a seller's point of view, right? So I did my livestream, you know, sold my yardage of fabric and my one quilt, and after my livestream ended, I literally could open that one event and view. All the transactions that happened, everything was sort of batched. So, you know, make, create labels for sending out the postage, uh, all the prices that were charged to the people, but I didn't have to do any of that. And you touched on that, and I think it's so, so important to know that if you have felt overwhelmed trying to sell on other platforms, right, because the backend is very unwieldy, you know, and it's up to you to follow through in a timely fashion. All of that thinking process on my part was taken out of it and was done by whatnot. So I found it super easy to like the very next day, I printed all those labels. I boxed up all my things, I dropped them all in the mail, and it was done, and all that backend work is done for me. I love that. That's awesome. That's exactly what we like to. Oh, good. So, you know, I have not yet been a seller, but I would imagine because you have that, that standard and, and that's what you're going for, that the experience is similar for a seller. You said, you know, as, or sorry, as a buyer, you mentioned that as a buyer you press, you know, buy and it's done. Um, maybe touch on, and my, my mind's kind of running here and running back through the experience that I had and the different questions I even had about it. One of the things I did not feature, Holding an auction so you can enter items that are for sale and you can choose whether you want to put a, buy it now, price on it, or whether you want to auction it. Give us an idea of what an auctioned item looks like.

Carly: 17:57

It's really very similar. It's, you know, kind of the item itself could be, you know, the same items. And I think really the question is, do you wanna kind. Take your chances, uh, you know, with, you know, not necessarily knowing about, you know, what, what price you're gonna get. Um, generally, you know, you'd start an auction. An auction lower than what you might set it at for buy it now. But a lot of times it ends up going for more than what you think you thought you might sell it for. Because people get really excited in the heat of the moment and it becomes, you know, like, not a fight. A very friendly fight, a friendly competition. a very friendly competition. Uh, cuz you know people, you know, people like to win. Yes. Um, and also, you know, I think it's nice to also, because you're seeing other people bidding you, you see that the item actually is desirable, um, because you know, five other people are actively going for it and you're like, oh, well maybe I actually. I actually really want this. Um, and it kind of, it, it makes it, I think just like a really exciting, uh, way to shop. Um, now, you know, not every item is by is auctioned versus by it. Now we like to have a com, a combination. Um, but it really creates kind of an exciting, exciting element to the, to

Susan: 19:01

the show. So all the fun of attending an auction without the cold wind. I grew up kind of in, you know, farming country where auctions were fairly common, and I can remember standing out, on a Saturday afternoon in frigid, biting cold listening to the auctioneer. So this is all of the fun without any of this discomfort.

Carly: 19:21

Yeah. And anyone can be an auctioneer. And the auction is built into the platform, so you don't need to be a yelling. Uh, Like, like an old style auctioneer would be

Susan: 19:31

Too true. But I tell you what, if you are a person that loves chatting, right? If you are a person that can talk about your item and talk it up and tell all its selling points, like that is the platform for you for sure. Okay. One more question. Yes. Then about the process. Another thing that I did do was have a giveaway and I was astonished too at how easy that is cuz likewise, I've done that on other platforms and my backend involves, collecting all the people that have entered and randomizing the draw. And that's a bit of a process and usually requires other apps to bring in. Whereas in whatnot, it was super easy. It was as easy as choosing"giveaway" for a specific item and then picking a time and just push this button, push that button. It did the randomizing, like is that, do a lot of people do that? Is that a feature that you found lots of people enjoy? Yes. I sure like that one. Yeah,

Carly: 20:28

we, we ver we always encourage everyone to do it. Um, it's a great way. So what you probably didn't realize is that when people click to enter the giveaway, they automatically follow you. And so it's a great way for sellers to build their community of people who follow them. Um, and then also, you know, what we've seen in some, in some of the. Very popular shows. It's the way to give back to the community and say, you know, I really thank you for supporting me as a seller. I wanna give back to, to the buyers, um, and people. One, one seller, uh, actually in the quilting and sewing category has been buying things from other sellers and then using them as her giveaways. So, because she wants to both support other sellers and then also give back to the community of.

Susan: 21:07

That's awesome. So she's really great paying forward then. Great. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

Carly: 21:12

Yeah. And that's really common because of the community element. People really, you know, make friends, um, and actually, you know, become friends, you know, even outside of whatnot from, from participating in, in the platform.

Susan: 21:23

Yes, yes. I could see that. I could see that. I just, you know, my mind again is just racing, seeing all these kind of possibilities for whatever your, you know, niche, your corner of the quilting and sewing industry is. There's a place for you in this, and you have something to offer, and there's people out there who want what you've got. So it's a great place to show it off.

Carly: 21:46

Definitely. I couldn't have said it better.

Susan: 21:49

Perfect. I wonder, Carly, if you have some stories of, you know, you did mention this category is kind of young and up and coming, but do you have some good success stories to tell people that have had unexpected, um, you know, followers, results, sales growth, whatever the thing is?

Carly: 22:07

That's a great question. Let me think for one minute. I, you know, I think one of the things that's been really interesting is we had a lot of, we, we reached out about a month ago to sellers in our other categories and said, Hey, you know, we launched quilting and sewing. You know, if you happen to be a quilter or a sewist, you know, come on over and, and sell. Um, and just the, like, the outpouring of enthusiasm was. So unexpected, um, people who, you know, are thrifts or you know, are up cyclers and they're like, you know, I, I didn't realize there were people like me on, on whatnot who are interested in this. Um, you know, I came in for, you know, vintage decor or something else, but like, here's actually my people. Um, and it's been. That's been really great to see. Um, I've gotten a lot of emails from seller saying, you know, I wasn't so sure I didn't, you know, know if quilting and sewing, you know, within whatnot was gonna be successful, but I had an awesome show and I can't wait to do it again. Um, or, oh, that's awesome. You know, more items to sell.

Susan: 23:11

I think for myself, I found that to be true. You know, it was unexpectedly easier to do than I thought it would be. Right. So then that is encouraging going forward, that first time, it took me some time to take my photographs and get them uploaded. But the more I did, you know, six or eight or 10 into it, I was getting a lot faster. Right. And it comes easier every time, so. Yep. That's good.

Carly: 23:32

My personal favorite thing that we've done is I, uh, I had one of our sellers make a what-not logo, quilt. Um, and she did it with, uh, applique and paper piecing and it's beautiful. Um, so just like she actually live streamed the making of the quilts and people were, you know, asking her questions and she was teaching things. Um, and, you know, kind of. Not just about commerce, but also about, you know, that educational

Susan: 23:55

component. Mm-hmm. I love that. So who gets to hang that quilt in their office?

Carly: 24:02

I think it might be hanging right behind me. Uh, soon. It's in the mail. Oh, Now we're gonna, we're gonna use it for booth decor at, uh, upcoming quilt

Susan: 24:10

shows. Awesome. Oh, I never even thought about that. So are you going to be vending at quilt shows? or what's that gonna look like?

Carly: 24:19

We hope to be, uh, it's part of our longer term plan, uh, this year.

Susan: 24:23

Okay. Okay. So, yeah. Oh, there's a captive audience there, let me tell you. That's awesome. Yeah.

Carly: 24:31

We, we aim to be the, quilt show online,

Susan: 24:35

and I think you're well on your way. And, and I guess I did have in, in among my questions, um, And you've kind of answered it, but maybe you have a fuller answer to give me, what has made you so invested in this quilting category when you do have so many others to offer. And it would seem to me, you know, from the outside looking in that, collectibles or, sports cards or things like that might be more in demand. What has gotten you so invested in this quilting and sewing category?

Carly: 25:04

Yeah, I think, you know, one of the things that we always say is it's, it's, AND not OR. Um, and so I think we can really successfully serve the sports cards and the collectible communities and also build a community around quilting and sewing. And because we have that personalization in the app, when you come in, we show you what you want and we build the community that you are interested in. And I think the reason quilting and sewing is one that we're extremely excited about is. It really has a lot of the same elements that we've seen make other categories successful. I mean, you don't think about fabric as being a collectible, but it is definitely something that people collect, um, and are extremely enthusiastic about. And I think, you know, just it's a little different because, you know, you're enthusiastic about a craft versus about, you know, a collectible. Um, but it actually is really, uh, the par, it's, there are a lot of parallels there.

Susan: 25:58

Certainly. Well, Carly, before we go, I wonder if you've got a small nugget of wisdom that you wanna share with our listeners, and it can have to do with the platform of whatnot and the, and the commerce of buying and selling, or it can be about life or entrepreneurship or anything you like.

Carly: 26:16

Yeah, I think for me, you know, I've, I, I've always been of the mind that work should be fun. Um, and I think that is really why I joined or whatnot, you know, in my interview process, you know, I was excited about the company. The company's doing really well. It's growing really quickly. It's an interesting space. But, you know, at the end of the day, it sounded like fun. And it's been really fun. And I think that the same goes for our sellers. If, if this is fun for you and you know, it should be because it's you're doing, building a business around something that you love, um, then whatnot is the place for you. Um, and if, if it's not fun, then, you know, maybe it's not for you. But I, I really think that this is a great place where you can have both have fun and also build a business.

Susan: 26:57

Work should be fun words to live by. Thanks so much for joining me, Carly. It's been a pleasure. Thank

Carly: 27:04

you so much. It was great to see you.

Susan: 27:11

Well, hey Lydia, and welcome to the podcast.

Lydia: 27:15

Thank you so much for having me. Very excited to be on. Um, I know you talked to my colleague Carly before, so happy to also be part of the process,

Susan: 27:24

So tell us, Lydia, what is your position in whatnot? What are you responsible for?

Lydia: 27:29

great question. Um, so I help kickstart kind of emerging initiatives on the app. Um, so I've worked broadly across many categories, um, including, you know, crystals and gems, um, dolls, plush. die cast car is kind of a whole bunch of things. Um, but super excited to be helping Carly really kickstart, uh, arts and handmade. It's a huge priority for the company. We really wanna be, you know, the place where people can be both selling, buying, and also interacting and, and having that community aspect. Um, so I am currently helping out with that.

Susan: 28:06

Awesome. Well, I'm glad that you touched on the different categories. Enlisted a few cuz this is the thing that I didn't grasp when I first was introduced to whatnot, and maybe my listeners don't know yet either how broad it really is. So whatever your interests are, I mean, most of the people listening probably are quilters, but they may have many other interests too. And there is something for everyone.

Lydia: 28:33

Yeah, absolutely. I'm also helping to look at knitting and crochet, which is kind of similar to quilting and sewing in the space, but also very different clientele. Um, so, so yeah, absolutely. We're building out arts and handmade even further. Uh, we have art artists, printers, we have potters. Um, so lots of different types of, of genres in there.

Susan: 28:54

for sure. So I did ask Carly, and I'm gonna ask you this one too, because it's so interesting to hear your take on it. You know, the, the quilting and sewing is a newer, um, segment of whatnot. What is, what is causing you to be so invested in that? Is it just because you see the potential of growth in that category? Why is, why is that so important to you over some of the others that you might be investing your.

Lydia: 29:18

Yeah, great question. I think our reasoning for why going after and trying to, to kind of bring in a lot of quilters and sowers is that we see it such a strong community. We see that the people that do quilt and do so, they are doing that for a lifetime. So it's not, um, a type of fad or trend that might die out. It's really a community that has been so strong and has been built over many, many years. Um, and the whole idea here is to really bond. Users, um, are users with their favorite hobbies and interests. And so I think that the reason, um, quilting and sewing is so exciting to us is there is such a strong community there. There are people that have been, you know, collecting fabrics over the last 20, 30, 40 years. Um, so we're really excited to give them the platform to actually show their interests, expand their interests, and trade and buy.

Susan: 30:10

I think you're absolutely right about that. Like the community mindedness. That community feeling already exists. You're just tapping into it and you're giving them the opportunity to see how you can add to their ability to experience community. Um, you mentioned just a moment ago, you know, people have been curating, that's what we call it. It's not hoarding. They've been curating fabrics for 20, 30, 40 years. And the truth of it is a lot of us do that. We accumulate fabric more quickly than we use it. And there comes a time when we want to share or we wanna get on to new fabrics or new projects, and we call this D dashing. I just think this is the optimal place to be doing that because you can literally get on a livestream and you can show what it is you have. You can handle it and feel it and touch it. And I do think this is so remarkable. All other platforms that I've looked at, you know, a picture on a screen doesn't say very much.

Lydia: 31:08

Totally. Yeah. I think the, the d dashing piece has been so fun to learn about because my mom's a quilter. Um, you know, I'm just currently learning how to sew, but I was able to go to the Manhattan Modern Quilting Guild meeting. This past month and there was a whole table of people de dashing their fabric. And there was like Pokemon fabric. There was flower, floral fabric. There was, you know, browns and greens and blues. And it was just amazing because people could grab those scraps and they might only need a certain, like small piece for their quilt, but it was really a community where you could collaborate and you could share, um, and help each other finish their final

Susan: 31:46

product. Absolutely. I've known people who are, well, let's back up a little bit. Fabric lines are released, kind of like clothing lines, you know, new ones come out every so many months and they are printed and then there's no more printing of them. So they're, they are, you know, sort of out of stock or out of print. Fabrics or maybe a better likeness would be books. And so you get people who are wanting to finish a project and they're short just a little bit of one of those fabrics and you can't buy them at stores. That is one of the things that platforms like whatnot, are so good at, is bringing together the person who's looking for it, with a person who's got it for sale.

Lydia: 32:27

Right. And it's remarkable to make those kind of finds. Yeah, I've talked with, um, some of our top buyers in the quilting and sewing space and sort of asked, you know, uh, we love how we love to see you purchase, what are you buying and, and why? Um, and majority of them are saying, these are rare fabrics that, you know, I live in Iowa or in Ohio and I can't find these types of fabrics that my local quil. Stores or fabric stores, and this is so exciting. And then I think the other piece that I love about whatnot is just what people do with what they purchase. So, you know, we had a toy drive this last December where all of the items that were purchased were went to children in need. Um, similarly, I talked to a top buyer. and all of the fabric she purchases. She goes and she sews dresses for an orphanage in Tanzania and is able to actually send those pieces over. So I think what's great about, you know, whatnot versus you think of these big tech giants and you think, oh, you know, like Amazon or these other companies are taking out small businesses. We are trying to do the opposite. We're trying to propel small businesses and get people to. you know, be able to make a living without having to have the expense of a brick and mortar store necessarily. And then on the buyer side, giving them the opportunity to purchase items, hopefully at deals where then they can use, um, you know, this fabric or these yarns or, or whatever it is to make their own creations. So it really excites me. I love working here. Um, I, I think that the mission really aligns with what I wanna do personally, is just like, help more people. Um, Actually be able to grow businesses in America and hopefully abroad soon. We actually launched in the uk, um, a couple months ago and are hoping to expand, um, more internationally.

Susan: 34:11

That all sounds very exciting. I love the word you used, propel. I think that captures it. Exactly, because there is an opportunity there, even if you, you know, as the buyer or the seller, but particularly as the seller, if you don't have the know-how to get out there and sell your stuff or list it or deal with postage or invoicing, right. Whatnot, does all those things for you. It's a great welcoming platform and it, it is really, is easy to use. It's very step by step. There's tons of instructional videos, which I went through. You know, it doesn't come easily to me necessarily. To use technology. So I was a great Guinea pig when I did my livestream and you coached me through quite a few things and I got to see firsthand how really straightforward it is. Um, Carly commented a little bit too, but I'm gonna ask you as well, what are some of the things you've done on purpose to make that process streamlined and easy, particularly from the point of view of sellers.

Lydia: 35:09

of course. Yeah. So we have a, an entire team, um, you know, that focuses on the operations of the company at trying to make our platform very accessible. Um, so there's a couple things we do from the start to really try to help, um, sellers come on and, and use our platform to the full benefit. Um, just speaking to like the last piece a little bit more is, The other part of starting a business is that it's really scary. So the more resources we can provide and the easier we can make it, the more that me as a seller will feel confident and comfortable trying out the platform, testing out, feeling comfortable, even failing at times to be able to build a successful business. Um, so from the start, we have a group onboarding session. This is done by a live, whatnot employee. Trained in all aspects of the platform. Um, so one of my colleagues or myself generally do an onboarding of individuals who are interested in a specific category. Um, we'll give them a run through of here's how to, uh, first sign onto the app. Here is how to upload an individual item to be sold. Here's how to go live. Recommendations on going live, have an interesting show, you know, do giveaways to gain followers, that kind of stuff. And then we also usually leave time for q and a at the end. Um, additionally we have a whole what not Creator Academy, which Susan, I showed you where it. breaks out all these individual videos on, you know, how to run a giveaway, how to set up an item for auction, how to print out your labels after, uh, you're done with your show. Those types of smaller videos. We also have a seller help center, which is like a Zendesk almost. Any question you ask, you can put in the search bar. Let's say you wanna know what the taxes are or how to get your, you know, forms at the end of the. you can Google that and it shows right up. And then lastly, if you find that, you know, within our creator academy, within our seller help center, you still have questions that are unanswered. We have an entire dedicated seller support team and buyer support team. So as a seller you can say, oh, you know, I'm not sure how to use this feature, or Can someone help me with, um, getting an insured label? Something like that. And we have someone that responds, you know, within a couple. Giving you personal one-to-one care. Uh, so that's really exciting. We're so focused on making the sellers have a good experience. Um, so we have a whole team dedicated to specifically support sellers. We also have a team that is dedicated to support buyers. So we have a whole buyer website. We have buyer support. Um, and the goal here is to really make it as easy as possible to use the platform and, um, to, to continue to foster this environment of community

Susan: 37:48

I think you've done a great job of that. I've been a seller so far. I have not yet been a buyer, although there will come a day. But as a seller, I found it to be, extremely easy. Once I had my, my profile, if you will set up, and my items loaded. The process of doing the livestream and then particularly the process of the follow up, was so easy, and I appreciated that because that is sometimes the part that you dread. You think, oh gosh, I've gotta do all the invoicing and I've gotta check on the shipping, and how do I know what the rates are and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And so much of that you have built right into the app and it is just done seamlessly for you. I found it incredibly easy to work with.

Lydia: 38:28

Oh, I'm so glad, cuz I know it was your first time, uh, last week and so I'm really glad that it went well. And you sold the most beautiful quilt, um, the tequila sunrise, I believe it was.

Susan: 38:39

Yes. Yes, it was

Lydia: 38:40

gorgeous. Oh, it's such a gorgeous piece.

Susan: 38:43

It was very fun. I wondered if you have a couple of success stories. Carly gave me one or two as well of people who have kind of been pleasantly surprised whether a buyer or a seller, but I guess I'm kind of thinking of sellers, people who have, gotten into this exploring what could this do for my business? And maybe they've unexpectedly found a real niche or found that they like being on camera. You know? What are some success stories you have.

Lydia: 39:09

Yeah, I mean, there is such a wealth of these stories that it's hard for me to pick, you know, one or two. I, I had one seller that I worked with who actually, um, she's autistic and she has a lot of trouble kind of communicating with people. She says, you know, I'm a little antisocial. I'm not sure how this is gonna work. And she tried it out and there was something about even, you know, she feels that she's very shy and introverted being in front of a camera and seeing such positive comments. Come in during her live stream of, you know, oh, I love your product, or, this is so great. It really had her open up. And she said she was able to connect with her users much more than she actually can in real life, because she had the security of, you know, I'm alone in my room and I'm on camera and I can turn it off whenever. But I have these people cheering me on and actually liking my products. I loved that. Um,

Susan: 40:00

that is really interesting. I can kind of see that. Yeah. There's that little bit of distance that the camera gives you. Yeah. Good for her. Good for her. For braving that.

Lydia: 40:10

A lot of these stories almost make me emotional. I just think it's, it's pretty amazing. I have an another seller, she's partially blind, um, and she told me she's, I, I can't drive. And so, you know, her husband works during the day and she felt kind of depressed a lot. Like, I can't, you know, Actually enjoy my day. I can't go meet my friends. And she met this community on whatnot and she had, you know, all of these new connections of people across the country that they would join her streams every week and bid on her items. And she actually celebrated her birthday on whatnot a couple weeks ago and she said, oh, it's the best because now I don't have to leave the home to actually hang out with my friends. Like I have this group of people. that are great and she's, I think, doing an in-person meetup with them, um, in the next month. So those are sort of the emotional stories that I love. I think on the business side of how this can propel a business. I have, you know, multitudes of sellers that came on thinking it was a side gig and they saw the potential of whatnot and they quit their job and now they're saying, I work my own hours. So much more fun. I get to sell things I'm passionate about and that I'm an expert in versus working a nine to five that you might care nothing about. Um, and that they're actually able to spend more time with family because they can sell right from home. So rather than, you know, spending that 30 minutes or an hour commuting each day, they're going live each day from the comfort of their own home, dropping their packages off at U S P and, and get to, you know, make dinner at night. So there's, there's plenty of sellers that have done that as.

Susan: 41:41

It is certainly offers the ultimate in customization, you know, in terms of your schedule because you absolutely get to decide when it is that you do your live streams or your giveaways or whatever, and you know it, part of it's your own convenience and part of it also is knowing your ideal customer and when they're shopping and you can accommodate that so, so,

Lydia: 42:04

Yep, absolutely. So we, we've had sellers. I mean, starting a business can always be difficult. So we've had sellers that said, oh, I started, you know, selling at 7:00 PM changed it to 3:00 PM Um, and additionally we've had sellers that said, I invested$10,000 in my business. Like, and the goal here was that I was gonna get the best product, or I was gonna do the most giveaways to bring on loyal, a loyal. Similar to any brick and mortar store and actually be able to grow their business from there. So I think this gives people the opportunity to really take risks with the comfort and security of knowing that, you know, we are a platform that isn't predatory, that doesn't, you know, skim off the top when they list items or we don't charge for people to go live. So we're really giving them more, um, accessibility to actually make their business what they want it to.

Susan: 42:49

Absolutely. So what would you say are some of the things, you've touched on some of them, but what are some of the things that a small business can gain? You've mentioned followers, um, you've mentioned sales, you've mentioned, uh, freedom of schedule, but what might it do for them in terms of, you know, visibility or making them have worldwide access?

Lydia: 43:10

Yeah, absolutely. So I can think of the example of, we have a, um, quilting and fabric store that I believe is based out of Ohio, and she gets, you know, 20 to 30 clients a day, let's say in her quilting store. Being able to diversify the way she sells by selling on whatnot gives her an entirely new clientele that wouldn't be able to drive to her location in store. And they may not find her Facebook or Instagram page naturally and know to shop online. So I think that whatnot for there are people that, their sole businesses and whatnot, there are also plenty of people who diversify their business. By adding whatnot as a stream of revenue. Um, and so there are, you know, hundreds of thousands of people on our platform that are purchasing every day that live globally. Mm-hmm. And the way that this works is, is sellers can actually reach a broader community easily by selling on whatnot. Um, similar to Instagram or, or Facebook. People can set up their profiles, they can gain followers, and the followers are not, One when they go live. Um, and then two, when they also list items. So if you're a company or a business that is doing limited drops, you can actually post and people can say, oh my gosh, you know, the fabric is already, I'm so excited to buy it and see it right then and there. Um, so I think it's visibility is really increased when you join whatnot. Mm-hmm. and also the community aspect. on Instagram. You know, you've post and people might comment in, but you don't usually connect with them as much as a platform like whatnot where you're streaming live and there's a real face behind it and people comment in and and can ask questions and you can answer in real time. I think that's pretty unique to the platform as well.

Susan: 44:54

I think so too. Real time is a key, right? So, you know, we're all about interaction on all the platforms and the more interaction, the better and the better the platform rewards you, but whatnot is the first one I've seen that has that sort of instant, um, communication. I chimed into one, I can't remember now if it was this morning or last night. I think it was last night. And I tuned into a live stream. And you know, as soon as I got there, someone recognized me from elsewhere, on the worldwide web. And they were like, oh, hey, there's Stitched by Susan. And so we got chatting between the two of us, like, where else do you get that? Just, you know, and I'm just in the evening sitting with my coffee in hand and my feet up and having a chance to chat with someone else who has the same interest that I do. It was so fun.

Lydia: 45:36

Absolutely. I love that

Susan: 45:39

So before we go, I always ask my guests, do you have some nugget that you wanna share? A little gem of wisdom, and it can have to do with building a business or your app, but it can also be just about life in general. Something that you would like to leave with us.

Lydia: 45:56

Wow, that's a great question. I feel like I have learned so much from other sellers and, and people in my life that I, I don't even know if I'm equipped to give advice, but I would say, um, on the creation side, being part of the arts and handmade community, the most amazing thing I've seen is what people can really create. So I, I think a lot of your audience are creators, and I think my one piece of advice, or one nugget to them would be to keep creating and to keep sharing what they create because I think it makes the world a little bit better. Um, and, and I love to see just what. Beautiful pieces come out of people's own creativity. Um, so I'm really grateful to have met you through, through working at whatnot and to be able to see all of these other artisans work. Um, it's it's been really special.

Susan: 46:43

It's pretty rewarding, isn't it? Yes. Well, thanks absolutely a bunch, Lydia, for joining me. I appreciate it. And certainly thank you too for all your personal help as I was dabbling in your app and learning my way around too. I sure appreciated.

Lydia: 46:56

Oh, well Susan, you were a joy to work with. I hope you come onto whatnot again soon. Um, but I had such a pleasure getting to know you and your husband, and I thought you did an amazing, amazing show. So also for anyone that, um, you know, is checking out whatnot as a result of this, They can look up your own personal page and watch your entire show from last week.

Susan: 47:16

Absolutely they can. But certainly I will put in the notes, um, an invitation to join thenot app and an offer for some shopping credit. Is there a place that people like what not.com, is there anywhere else that they ought to be going to find out more about the app?

Lydia: 47:32

So, um, on the seller side you can look at what knot.com/seller. That gives a lot of details on what our sellers do. Um, and then of course, if you're interested in applying, you should just reach out to Susan. She can refer you, um, or you can apply directly on the website as a buyer. Definitely check out the website. You get$15 of free credit from Susan, which is enough to buy a pretty penny of things. Yes. It's, um, so, so just recommend kind of playing around with the app and also giving feedback. So if there's things you like, things you don't like, we'll be looking at the comments to understand how we can better serve this community.

Susan: 48:07

I think I have found that to be really unique in talking with you and Carly and just working with your team on the app. You are so incredibly responsive and I like that and appreciate it very much.

Lydia: 48:20

I'm so glad, Susan. Well have a wonderful rest of your week and of course if there's anything I can do for you, just give me a ring.

Susan: 48:27

All right. Thanks so much for joining me, Lydia, and we'll talk to you again soon.

Lydia: 48:31

Okay. Talk to you soon.

Susan: 48:33

Thanks so much my friend for tuning in. I hope you've enjoyed this peak into the world of online commerce, and I hope you'll give it a try for yourself. You can check it out at whatnot.info/stitched by Susan. That invitation includes a$15 credit toward your first purchase, so take advantage of that as you get acquainted with the. If you have friends who you think would enjoy this podcast, would you take a moment and share it with them? You can share this particular episode or all episodes and easy choices of where to listen. That can all be found at podcast dot stitched by susan.com. I'm Susan Smith, and until next time, mayor Sorrows be patched and your joys be quilted.