Daniel Vu Takes his Ceramics Brand to New Heights Selling In-Person with Shopify POS (2022)

“For most of my daily life, I’ve been applying white bowls,” suggests Daniel Vu, founder of Daniel Vu Ceramics. “They ended up appealing at very first, but now they definitely aren’t. I required to go into anything that was a minimal more special and delivers out that experience of taking in foodstuff.”

This need for meal-boosting tableware impressed Daniel to launch his eponymous tableware-concentrated ceramics enterprise with Shopify in May possibly of 2021. He commenced the small business by advertising bowls, serving dishes, and blates (a shape in between a bowl and a plate) in earthy, organic and natural hues like terracotta, olive environmentally friendly, and charcoal. Daniel has because expanded his catalog to consist of eye-catching textured vases. “It’s all handmade, one particular by a person,” he claims.

An artisan at coronary heart, Daniel shortly realized that attaining prospects and constructing a model is difficult. He realized he wanted to go further than online, into the actual environment where by his clients could connect with him and with his pieces. He begun attending craft fairs and, with this adjust in approach, he unlocked yet another stage of advancement. 

Daniel chose Tap to Shell out on Apple iphone, a new way to acknowledge in-man or woman contactless payments on Shopify POS to promote at craft fairs and functions. Due to the fact then, has relished: 

• Quickly accepting debit and credit rating playing cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets with just his Iphone, no separate card reader required
• Event sales now accounting for 70% of profits
• A surge in on the net targeted traffic and product sales immediately after attending nearby functions
• Taking care of his overall small business from Shopify’s back again office 

The challenge: Attaining shoppers and expanding the business enterprise online

As a solopreneur, Daniel is both of those an artisan and organization supervisor. Mainly because Daniel put in considerably of his childhood encouraging his dad and mom with their image studio, he was prepared for the really hard do the job that arrived with starting off his individual company. 

“I was functioning through my childhood,” he claims. “That form of formulated my way of thinking to staying a workhorse. So getting on a small small business role was some thing that arrived far more obviously to me due to the fact of that. I was not surprised when I was hit with the workload that’s necessary to maintain this small business.”

Nevertheless, what Daniel didn’t anticipate was how tough and high priced it would be to receive buyers and develop the business enterprise by on the net sales—especially mainly because he creates exceptional dwelling items that promote better when consumers can see and touch them in man or woman. “It’s very tough to offer ceramics on the internet except men and women by now know and believe in your manufacturer,” he points out. “For more compact brand names like mine, customers want to see the ceramics for them selves right before they experience comfy acquiring.”

To expand my buyer base, I made a decision to market at craft fairs in my place. Which is when I understood I wanted a way to reliably acknowledge payments in-man or woman all day.

The answer: Offering at craft fairs with only an Iphone

Daniel understood that it’s nearly extremely hard to build a following without by now owning an recognized viewers. That is why he sells his do the job at functions, especially craft fairs. Pop-up activities offer a in close proximity to-instant increase in income and manufacturer consciousness. 

“Go to displays so you can get to know your viewers,” Daniel advises. “You can spend all day building products and solutions, but if you just can’t promote them, you will just have stock which is heading nowhere.” Daniel says that craft displays let him see if there is a demand for his products and solutions. “If you just cannot provide your products and solutions in person, you are likely to have a really hard time offering them on the net,” Daniel claims.  Marketing at situations can help Daniel comprehend demand for his items, which enables him to deliver the suitable merchandise: ones that will promote. 

​​Shopify and Faucet to Pay on Apple iphone make accepting in-human being payments effortless for Daniel. His product or service catalog carries more than from his Shopify website to the Shopify POS app and he’s prepared to begin advertising in minutes. All he has to do is obtain the Shopify POS application to his Iphone, established up Tap to Fork out on Apple iphone, and he’s ready to very easily accept contactless payments and make product sales without the need of needing a card reader. Faucet to Pay out on Apple iphone also makes use of his iPhone’s designed-in stability characteristics, which are designed to keep his business and his customers’ data private and protected. 

Offering in human being also advantages his on-line store. Ahead of each individual craft good, Daniel’s web-site gets a spike in targeted visitors, mainly because events like these ordinarily url to vendors’ websites. “People look through what retailers will be there and click on on the kinds they’re intrigued in,” Daniel suggests. “So in that sense, gatherings convey much more visibility to my web-site, and my web-site is like a portfolio where by folks can see what I promote and choose whether or not or not they want to take a look at my kiosk at the occasion.”

I like the convenience of acquiring every thing I will need to promote in-man or woman on my Apple iphone. I don’t have to strain about card audience disconnecting and can just aim on the man or woman in entrance of me.

The final results: Far more in-human being revenue, improved manufacturer consciousness, and fast responses

Now, Daniel sells at craft fairs every other month, and in-particular person advertising represents 70% of his profits. Many thanks to Shopify POS and Faucet to Shell out on Iphone, the checkout working experience is speedy and intuitive for prospects and Daniel.

“I like the strategy of not possessing to use the card reader,” he claims. “It will make accepting contactless payments come to feel much more seamless, and I can just mail their receipt by textual content or e-mail. My buyers are seriously satisfied with the checkout method.”

Daniel also appreciates how clear-cut Shopify POS is to use—whether it’s the built-in payment capabilities from Faucet to Shell out on Apple iphone or the skill to customize his home display screen with shortcuts to get matters carried out quicker. “I need to have fewer friction in my everyday living,” Daniel states. “Anything that usually takes fewer clicks is improved for me and my product sales. One particular further simply click is just one a lot more prospect to eliminate a customer.”

Daniel also benefits from running his online keep and in-individual offering from Shopify’s unified back office. He can seamlessly take care of inventory, shoppers, and payments all from a person place—in-particular person and on line gross sales continue to be synced and Faucet to Pay out on Apple iphone and online checkouts are all consolidated in a person money look at. “I’m jogging hardcore on the Shopify ecosystem,” he suggests. “If I was working with unique POS application, it would not link immediately to my Shopify admin, which is where every thing is. It tends to make my lifestyle seriously simple recognizing wherever my cash is heading and exactly where my stock is at.”

Promoting at occasions has also helped Daniel raise recognition for his products and get prompt feed-back to increase his product or service line. As the person who both equally creates all of the merchandise and operates the organization, this comments assists him deliver the suitable inventory in time for his up coming craft truthful.

Anytime other business owners ask, I generally propose Shopify POS. It’s straightforward to get begun, reliable, and I can settle for payments straight from my Iphone with no any added components. 

What is next for Daniel Vu Ceramics? 

When in-particular person situations offer a spike in product sales and on the net shop classes, Daniel would like to grow the on the internet revenue of his business enterprise into a far more predictable revenue stream. This will assist him safe sufficient resources to devote in production devices, a bigger studio, and staff members, which will support him scale his organization on and offline. 

Marketing in human being with Shopify POS and Tap to Shell out on Iphone has put Daniel on a route of expansion. “Eventually, I would really like to have a showroom,” Daniel claims. But it will take a lot of dollars to open up a showroom and employ persons. “To do that, I need to have to get on the internet revenue to the position where it is more predictable and can finance that advancement.”

To generate an audience that he hopes will flip into consumers, Daniel would like to keep on making his manufacturer on TikTok. Considering the fact that he began growing an audience on the system, he’s viewed his brand’s access increase to new heights, with 36,000 followers and his livestreams building upwards of 200,000 sights.  

Equally, Daniel intends to mature repeat consumers with Shopify’s shopper profiles. Every new shopper he will get via signups on his online shop at an function is included to his mailing checklist. With a see of their acquire historical past, he intends to develop remarketing campaigns to boost repeat purchases online. 

As a solopreneur, I require much less friction in my daily life. With Shopify, I adore that I have all the resources I require to control online and in-human being product sales in just one location.