I wanted to start a new blog series in which we dedicate one month to showcasing one amazing online seller who owns a small business that is growing; someone who started with nothing and has built from the ground up, also someone that is inspirational to other online small businesses so our readers can see the struggles and triumphs that fellow eCommerce sellers go through... in addition to learning about them as people.  So, with that being said, here is our very first installment of our Rising Stars Series with one of my personal favorites, Andrea Webb, owner of Midwest Thredz on Poshmark.  Enjoy ~ 

Tori (Owner, BigBrandWholesale.com): How long have you been selling on Poshmark?

Andrea (Owner, Midwest Thredz on Poshmark) I have been selling since January 2020

What do you primarily sell? 

Women's Clothing and Accessories, such as shoes.  But I also get in great stuff like candles holders and more!

How many items do you have in your closet?

I have 750 active listings with a goal of getting to 1,000 and then maintaining that number.

How long did it take you to get that many items in your closet?

It took me 7 months. To get to that number I spent at least 3 to 4 hours every day for 3 months photographing and listing and then cross-listing to other platforms.

How many Poshmark followers do you have?

71,000 followers

How many sales would you guess you have on an average week?

My average sales per week are 20 to 25 items.

You are a Stay at Home Mom, which is tough! How many hours a day would you say you list / photo / ship per day? How do you find time for life?

I spend at least 3 hours on my business every day, most days much more and every day is always different, some days I dedicate to photographing, others are for listing/relisting, and then a day dedicated to cross-listing. Then every day there is an hour or more dedicated to pulling inventory, packaging, and shipping. My best way to try and balance work and life, when working from home, is to dedicate time to family and to be completely “unplugged” during that time and every couple of weeks I dedicate a day over the weekend for a fun family outing/activity.

What advice would you have for new Poshmark sellers who just created their account?

My biggest piece of advice for any new Poshmark seller is to be patient! It all comes with time. You will be so concerned with gaining followers and community sharing when you need to worry about listing new items and sharing your items. Also, the photos of your items are VERY important! Make sure they are well lit and clear. You do not need to buy an expensive lighting kit either. Natural lighting is great and if you don’t have a good place for that, white led light bulbs work great! I think a plain white background is best for photos but everyone has their own opinion on that. At the end of the day, you need to do what works best for you and your business. Be consistent and sales will come.

The majority of online sellers feel that they cannot share their sources or any personal information; including sales, companies they're following, cost, purchases, etc. But you are paving the way for an entirely new breed of resellers who work together to achieve success; you are a big advocate of promoting fellow sellers and even the companies you buy through! As a trend-setter, do you think networking openly has helped you or hurt your sales.... and why?

I think it has helped me. I have gained so many friends in the reselling community because of how open I am. I want to be successful but I also want to help others be successful. When I share where I source for inventory, I don't give it a second thought, and here's why- I can’t buy everything nor do I want to, not everyone is looking to buy the same things as me, and if they are I will point them in the right direction. I will tell them the mistakes I made in hopes that they don’t make the same. Helping others is not going to hurt your business.

What's your Instagram?

Midwest_Thredz

Andrea, let's now do some fun questions so our readers can get to know you as a person.  What's your favorite color?

Lavender 

Favorite food?

Chimichangas

I friggin' love Chimichangas too!!!  I know your time is mega limited, but when you have time to spare, what are your hobbies?

I love hiking and reading!

FINAL WORDS:

I sincerely enjoyed chatting with Andrea. She is someone you absolutely should follow on Instagram because she is really into sharing everything with followers including her sales, suppliers and even motivational content - which I, personally, am a huge fan of!  There's so much negativity on the internet that it is hella refreshing to see posts that make you smile and want to achieve greatness today.

Since I have been blessed with over 15 years of incredible business, one of my goals of this series is to help small, growing businesses by giving them free promotion but I also know that Andrea has been working hard to get a thermal printer, however I mentioned to her on Instagram that her Chromebook likely doesn't have a enough ports to operate it, so, as a THANK YOU for being our first guest on our Rising Stars Series, BigBrandWholesale.com has purchased a computer system, complete with Windows 10 Pro, for her:

It is supposed to arrive between October 7th - 15th at Andreas home. 

Thank you Andrea for being a total inspiration to new sellers.  Keep on hustling and striving for greatness and it WILL come!  The way to make one million dollars is to figure out how to make $1 then repeat. 

I hope you enjoyed this interview.  New interview coming in November!