Name of your website?Bolivia Boutique
Your name?
Evan Meyer
Your Location (city, etc)
La Paz
Please Describe your website
We sell high quality and unique handicrafts including products that abide by and others that are fair trade certified including alpaca clothing, wood bowls, ceramics, llama leather handbags and accessories and hand embroidered bags.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
Bolivia is a gem in the rough. There are so many wonderful products produced here. However, ofter in Bolivia you only here what can't be done and not about all of the great things that this country has to offer. After working in development in Bolivia for seven and a half years I wanted to provide support to Bolivia in a concrete way by helping artisans to market their products directly to consumers abroad. I also wanted to provide a site that offers high quality and unique handicrafts that otherwise would be difficult to find.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
I launched Bolivia Boutique in October, 2009. It is a site dedicated to direct marketing of handicrafts from Bolivia to the rest of the world.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I picked Bolivia Boutique because I wanted to represent a store that sells select and high quality products. I think that our name represents that.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
First of all we have a very close relationships with the artisan groups and small businesses that work with us. We are just starting out, but we went around and met and worked individually with the different providers on our site. They are there because they have something wonderful and unique to offer. Part of that offer is the fact that while some of our providers are fair trade certified (artesania sorata and awayu (coproca), all of our providers work under fair trade principles. This means that we along with our providers are really seeking to generate benefits for the artisans. We want to promote social justice along with Bolivian Handicrafts.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Our eventual goal is to support and strengthen the Bolivian Handicraft sector that produces through fair trade principles. We want to demonstrate that the best way for Bolivia to produce and export is through socially equitable and just means. We believe that by increasing exports from such producers we can demonstrate this as a viable development model for the Bolivian handicrafts industry.
We also know that it is going to be a challenge to get there. Most Bolivian fair trade associations export on a small-scale. If benefits are going to be created for everyone in this sector, most importantly artisans, then exports and production is going to have to be stepped up. We are not talking about China, but we are talking about making Bolivia handicrafts household items amongst socially conscious consumers around the world.
At the same time we want to help Bolivian artisans continue to produce and improve their products in a way that allows them to improve their quality of life as well as maintain dignified employment. The challenge is to increase production without reducing their quality of life (i.e. not spending 14 hour work days to produce the products consumers buy).
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
We're just starting out. We have great products and message but the hardest part is to reach the consumer. We're still learning about SEO and internet marketing. We're here for a marathon not a sprint. We're going to learn little by little.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
We would hire some webdesigners to help include some elements that aren't currently present, including linking to social networks, creating sharp audiovisual presentations and giving more of a voice to our consumers who buy our products.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Good question. We mention that same point above in terms of the challenges that we would like to face. We could do it, but it would take a lot of work with the artisans to get there. The holidays season for artisans in Bolivia is crunch time. This is when the money is made. Perhaps for this year we would taper down our goals and use the capital that we earned to buy stock up for next year to meet the demand.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Internet marketing is our biggest cost. Some of our products are very niche and we are still trying to find the customers that are drawn to them. For example, our embroidered handbags are fantastic, but for some reason we haven't found a mass of customers who really appreciate the product what it is. http://www.boliviaboutique.com/hand-embroidered-bags--wallets-and-accessories.html
We are also learning to work with the artisan groups and help them gauge their actual production capacity. In some instances we have made orders and paid in advance and are still waiting for the product. We know that we will get it, but let's just say that ideally we would have it in our hands by now.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Our biggest challenge has been designing a site and creating information in a presentable fashion that helps connect our customers with our producers. For example, we have set up an audiovisual presentation on one of our producers Kunturi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz_yL3JB4vs&feature=channel_page But since then we have a backlog of putting together our presentations.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
It's hard to say we're just starting out. We would like to invest more time and energy on social networking. So far pay for click advertising has not been so successful.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
We built the site with the mentality if you build it they will come. This is a very competitive industry and it's going to be awhile before we have a notable presence in it. But as we mentioned beforehand this is a long distance game not a spring.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
We have the site up for a month and the idea is to keep it running from here on end. We're thinking about success and that does not involve thinking about shutting it down if things don't go our way in the short run.
How can clients get in touch with you?
We're pretty good about getting back to our clients. We can be reached by writing us at info@boliviaboutique.com or by calling us at 202 657 4056
What is your website address?
Bolivia Boutique
