101. How a 19-Year-Old Generated $1M in Just 11 Months
Dec 11, 2023
A 19-year-old entrepreneur shares how she built a successful e-commerce business in just 11 months, starting with a personalized gift for her mom. Topics include social media strategy, ups and downs of entrepreneurship, challenges of leading older employees, and maintaining energy and motivation.
38:23
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Birthday Hoodie Sparked The Business
Keida embroidered a portrait of her and her mom on a hoodie as a 50th birthday gift and her mom cried.
Her mom immediately suggested turning it into a business, which launched Soulmate Customs.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Overwhelmed By Orders, Parents Pushed Scaling
Early viral demand produced about 4,000 orders in weeks while Keida had a $300 machine at home.
Her parents insisted they scale fast—rent space, buy machines, and hire staff—instead of pausing orders.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Win With Relentless Consistency
Be relentless with content consistency; Keida posts five to eight videos daily.
Turn posting into a habit to sustain growth and audience engagement.
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In its first 11 months, Soulmate Customs made more than $1 million in revenue and built a following of over 150 million on social media–and teenage founder Keida Dervishi is just getting started. We’ll hear how she started and grew her eCommerce business in this interview.
The entrepreneurial spirit runs in Keida’s family–but, ironically, she didn’t set out to start an embroidery business with her idea for Soulmate Customs. She was on a different quest: to make the perfect birthday gift for her mom. She had a photo embroidered on a sweatshirt, and it was such a hit she realized there was a potential market for these custom gifts. Soon after, she launched the store on Shopify and the orders started pouring in.
Social media has been huge in driving Soulmate Customs’ growth. In this episode, Keida shares her unique social media strategy and what kind of content gets the most engagement. She’ll also talk through the ups and downs she’s experienced on her entrepreneurial journey so far, and the lessons she learned from her parents that helped her start a thriving business at such a young age.
Ready to be your own boss without starting from scratch? Grab our FREE Franchise Guide and unlock the secrets of proven business models that have already created thousands of success stories.
For more insights to start, build, or grow a business, check out the resources on UpFlip.com or head to the UpFlip YouTube channel to see more interviews with business owners and experts.
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