No matter what age you are, the unknown of starting something new is a daunting task. But change can also be exciting, exhilarating, and an ultimately rewarding experience.
Sarah Baldwin, CEO of Bella Luna Toys, found herself at a crossroads in 2009. After working as a teacher for over 20 years, she began to search for a new direction in life.
As a teacher in the Waldorf school system, Sarah knew better than anyone the advantages the toys her student played with offered.
She saw firsthand the way that they sparked the imaginative minds of young children, while simultaneously promoting creativity and sharing between students.
Sarah knew the value of the Waldorf toys, and realized bringing them to a wider, more diverse audience could turn her passion into income for the next stage of her life.
After coming across Bella Luna Toys for sale in a Waldorf newspaper, she was immediately intrigued. But like most retiring teachers, Sarah wasn’t exactly familiar with how to run an eCommerce business.
With the original website being developed in 2001, the technology behind the Bella Luna Toys website hadn’t exactly kept up with the times.
“The first thing I discovered was I couldn’t even change the price or product name,” Sarah jokingly explains.
After switching over to Shopify, a much simpler, easier to use platform, she started to get the hang of this whole eCommerce thing.
It was only when Sarah attended an Internet Retailers Conference in Chicago that she came across Yotpo.
“I was researching different solutions for collecting reviews. After reading all the amazing reviews on Shopify about Yotpo, I scheduled a demo and was very impressed with how easy it was to integrate,” she says.
Once Sarah installed Yotpo on her website, she saw immediate, substantial results.
“Being able to have reviews right on the front page of the website, along with the Instagram photo carousel, gives customers a lot more purchasing confidence. It shows that our products are high quality and enjoyed by real kids across America.”
“The customer support has been great. They are constantly around for any and all questions that might arise with my business, and that type of service is rare to come by these days,” Sarah mentioned.
Sarah took her passion for Waldorf school toys and turned it into a fully-fledged successful eCommerce business. With the help of Yotpo, she was able to reach a wider audience and make her dream a reality.
