Imagine going from selling on Poshmark to building an almost $1 Million business. What would it take? Would it be easy? What difficulties would you encounter?
Natalya Bondole, owner of LOOMLAN, joined me on the How to Sell Online podcast. She’s talking about how she built her online store and the journey that took her from thinking she’d have a brick-and-mortar business to selling on Poshmark to creating a fantastic business that she’s excited about.
From Ukraine to the US.
Natalya Bondole had a lot of odds stacked against her. The first was the fact that she wasn’t born in the United States, and she didn’t speak English. When she came to the United States, she took a job cleaning offices at night, despite having earned a college degree in Ukraine.
There, she met a woman who saw something special in Natalya and not only encouraged her to learn English, but also helped to pay her US college tuition. She earned her degree, then went to work in the corporate business world, focusing on human resources.
After more than a decade, however, Natalya decided to leave her corporate job. She and her husband, who is from Africa and an active-duty member of the U.S. military, were the parents of three children by that time. Like a lot of mothers, she found herself figuring out how to balance work and life.
That’s when she had her “aha” business moment. At least…the first of them.
To sign or not to sign…a $10 million contract?
Natalya decided to create a place for active, excited kids—like two of her own—to stay busy, entertained and happy. She envisioned a large open space that would accommodate children of different abilities and needs to come together in one place and did all of the leg work necessary, which included talking with countless banks and looking for the right space. She ordered all of the equipment for her new business, which all arrived at her doorstep…and eventually found its way into the garage, living room, and hallways. It drove her crazy, but her kids loved it.
She thought, however, that her home wouldn’t be an equipment warehouse very long. She’d just found a beautiful, 9,000 square foot space with windows from floor to ceiling. It would be ideal—and she was just about to sign a lease on the space. Just days before she inked the deal, however, COVID hit her community and everything shut down.
From business setback to a big-time comeback.
As she sat looking at boxes of equipment, Natalya Bondole was heartbroken. But in a way, she was also relieved—the contract she was just about to sign was a 10-year, $10 million rental agreement. The pandemic would have made it difficult, if not impossible, to meet her end of the bargain.
Natalya wasn’t able to send back the massive pieces she’d ordered for her business—but she had invested a huge amount in the pieces. She started to post items on Facebook, Etsy, Poshmark, and other platforms, and found herself loving the process of selling, and was excited to see that she was able to make a profit on some of the pieces.
She found the $0-100K System, signed up, and began immersing herself in the information. Natalya explored options about what to sell, and used the Secret Trend Generator to evaluate ideas. And she used the step-by-step information to set up her Shopify store.
She was DEDICATED!
Something Natalya did that was a little bit different was purchasing items from an auction—including a beautiful ring. And while a lot of us have been selling on Poshmark to make $15, $20, or even $75, she posted her ring on Poshmark and pulled in a whopping $2,000 profit!
New business, now just steps away from $1 million in sales!
As you’ll hear on the podcast, Natalya found a passion she wanted to explore. With some storytelling, a lot of hard work, and a willingness to learn as she went, she identified a product that she felt would be perfect for her business.
I’m not going to dive into all the details here—you’ll definitely want to listen to them yourself—but Natalya didn’t give up or give in when she ran into challenges in her business, which she named LOOMLAN. She’s been able to find the right vendors who sell high-quality pieces, she dealt with her products being stuck off the coast of California, and she’s found a way to stand out against some big competition.
LOOMLAN products are priced at a point that reduces the likelihood of frequent repeat customers. That means she’s also had to create a marketing strategy that accommodates connecting with new customers—all of whom are based on the avatar she’s created.
All of this hard work results in a very successful business. One, in fact, that has sold nearly $1 million in products since it launched. Yep—you read that right!!!
Listen…and then listen again. It’s definitely worth it.
Natalya’s story from moving to the US from Ukraine, going back to college, being an Army wife, and having multiple careers is amazing. You’re absolutely going to want to listen to what she has to say—including about how she’s paying it forward. In the meantime, here are some of my big takeaways from this episode:
Top 10 Takeaways
- Make enough money to bless other peoples’ lives.
- If it’s not working, it might be the re-direct you need.
- Allow yourself to sit in your thoughts and then go to work.
- Believe it’s possible.
- Get started! You can change over time.
- Create relationships with your vendors.
- Focus on marketing.
- Learning is evolutionary.
- Know your avatar!
- Don’t fall into FOMO. Do things your way.
Additional Resources
About Natalya:
Natalya Bondole immigrated from Ukraine to the United States in 1998. She attended college in Maine, where she met her husband, an active-duty military member in the US Army. The couple has three children.
Natalya worked in corporate HR for 15 years before choosing to stay at home with her children. It was there she first came up with the idea to create a play space that would accommodate children of all ages and interests within a safe, single, and entertaining space. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, given what happened next) the COVID pandemic hit.
Disappointed but not defeated, Natalya sold equipment she’d purchased from China. She recognized her affinity for selling and pivoted to create an ecommerce business selling beautifully crafted furniture. As of spring 2023, Natalya’s new business, LOOMLAN, had sold nearly $1 million in products.
Shop with Natalya:
- On her website: Loomlan.com (limited time offer of $250 off a $1250 purchase with code YESYOUCAN)
- On Facebook: @loomlan
- On Instagram: @loomlan
Connect with Alison:
- On Facebook: @alisonjprince
- On Instagram: @alisonjprince
- Learn about the 0-$100K System and how you can launch and grow your own online business here.
- Join the Print Sprint here.
