Welcome to Let’s Talk Business, where Square business owners share their stories, the biggest lessons they’ve learned, and their plans for the future.
Today we’re talking to Dina Rosenberg (@DinaLRosenberg), co-owner of Amityville Apothecary, New York’s largest metaphysical store, located in Amityville, Long Island since 2018. It’s a converted house that sells crystals, jewelry, books, tarot cards, and much more, in addition to giving readings and teaching classes. A big contributor to the success of the business in the last few years has been a significant social media presence, including weekly live sales on Instagram and a podcast. Dina shares how and why they shifted to social selling, the impact it’s had on the business, and which strategies they use to keep up the growth.
Watch the 38-minute video interview and read some highlights from our conversation.
How did you first start selling your products through social media?
"A lot of it was by necessity. We were open for a year and a couple of months before COVID-19 hit in March of 2020, and we were shut. I mentioned to my dad that we can go live on Instagram, and since it doesn’t cost anything, he suggested we do it every day. So my business partner and I made a commitment to go live every single day at 8:30 p.m. We didn’t even start selling, we just went live every single day. We just talked about astrology and meditation techniques, and pulled tarot cards. The more we did this consistently, the more people were watching every single night. Our little shop all of a sudden started having people watching from all over the country and world. That’s when we thought of doing a live sale. I would just start showing and selling what I had, and now we still do it every single Friday night at 8:30 p.m. Today the live sales probably represent about 30% of our gross sales, which is a big chunk, with customers all over the country."
What are the biggest things you have learned about live selling?
"First of all, you have to incentivize people to come to live sales. We offer 15% off because we’re selling new inventory that hasn’t been entered into our inventory system. So it’s a discount of our time, not having to put so many individual small items into inventory, which is very labor intensive with photos and weighing. The second incentive is a first look at everything, getting to shop out of the boxes before stuff is hitting the shelves. Live selling is also a good way of testing inventory. If a product looks like it was a big hit and sells out, then we’ll try and get more for the store."
What other social media strategies have you learned?
"Allowing people to see the real you, the real business, behind the curtain of your process. Not being afraid to fail and trying new content. Put something out there, and if it isn’t doing well, do something else. A lot of business owners are afraid to put themselves out there on social media and don’t know how to get started. Look to see what other businesses like yours are doing on social media to get inspired. Just start playing with it. It really isn’t that serious. A reel or a TikTok isn’t going to make or break your business, but it can potentially expose you to new customers — even if it’s one new customer."
Why has live selling has worked so well for your business?
"I noticed that maybe because of the state of the economy, people aren’t as apt to walk into a store and spend some money. But if they’re scrolling on Instagram or TikTok and they see something that they like, they could just double tap and buy that thing. So a lot of our attention has really gone to meeting the consumers where they are. I think that’s critically important. If people aren’t coming into your store and spending money, it is your job as a business owner to figure out how to reach those people."
Does learning and trying new things all the time take a toll on you?
"I really have fun in my business, and I think what keeps me going is the learning and trying new things. If it was the same day in and day out, I’d probably be bored and on to the next thing. So having to try and figure things out keeps me activated. It’s definitely tiring. I‘m not gonna lie. I really just remind myself again that we’re not curing diseases here and it’s meant to be fun, that tomorrow is another day. Just take it one day at a time. That’s all you can do."
Watch: Let’s Talk Business with Dina Rosenberg
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Aylon Pesso is the Square Small-Business Evangelist, helping sellers run their businesses better. Based in the U.S., he is a former small-business owner, consultant, and Square seller.
This article is only for informational purposes. The information provided in this article solely reflects the speakers’ views and are not endorsed by Square. This article is limited in scope and is only intended as a high-level overview of the topics mentioned.