The concept of this was born during Covid as Marilyn Pham Tasdighi’s and her then-finance were challenged with canceling their original plans of a destination wedding. Completely crushed, she needed something to bring back all the excitement as they planned for a smaller-scale wedding. Her very own jacket started off as just a little pick-me-up for herself and, once she put it on, she got the wedding feels again
Marilyn Pham Tasdighi created Gemini Fusion with the intention in mind to restore the wedding excitement in brides through personalized denim jackets that can be worn in the meantime & be rocked on the big day. The name was inspired by her zodiac sign, Gemini. Geminis can be gentle and curious yet impulsive. The designs have a touch of elegance whether it be in the font or rhinestones but also have the impulsive trends, being fringe or the denim jacket style, incorporated.
How has Gemini Fusion evolved during the pandemic? What did you do about this?
Gemini Fusion was actually born during the pandemic as I was challenged with being furloughed & having to cancel my original wedding plans. It all started out of desperation & seeing how we have all the tools are our fingertips to do ANYTHING. I had a lot of time so I watched videos on TikTok & did tons of research online on what I can do to make some money. It all started with one Etsy listing. It quickly became an obsession & my mind started running with all these new idea designs. I strived to have one best seller, then two, then three! I couldn’t stop my mind from running with all new ideas.
How did you start with Gemini Fusion? And what investment was needed?
The beauty about Etsy is that you don’t really need an investment to start. It only cost $0.20 to put a listing up & that’s exactly what I did. I wanted to test the market to see how I would place amongst the other sellers selling similar bride jackets. When I felt comfortable & had funds, then that’s when I felt comfortable purchasing more inventory. I started off really slow so I wouldn’t be caught with excess inventory- bought 1 of each style, then 5 as I saw sales growing, then 10, etc.
Can you share 3 Etsy tips? And What were your mistakes on Etsy?
My 3 Etsy tips:
1. Analyze your competitors but DO NOT COPY their descriptions. I see this all the time & I have been copied from by competitors. It is crucial to find your own style.
2. Utilize the analytics tools Etsy provides to assess your trends to see how you can do better and better every day.
3. The second you launch your Etsy shop, it’s a BUSINESS. Make sure your brand is cohesive & upload the shop bio, banner, shop icon, professional product photos, etc. It helps look more legit.
Mistakes:
I still have trouble with this to this day- keeping accurate inventory so there isn’t misinformation provided to customers. The worst thing is selling an item & then realizing you actually don’t have it in stock!
What else should we know about you? What sets Gemini Fusion apart from the competition?
I am a covid bride myself. I feel for the brides who are still dealing with planning their weddings 1+ years later. Planning a wedding is already a huge task and having to postpone/replan is so heart wrenching. When you have to replan your wedding, you want to make every detail even more intentional. Our business solely focuses on bride jackets. We continually develop ideas on how to make these jackets one of a kind and extremely meaningful for brides. These will be keepsakes forever!
What has been the biggest challenge/ hurdle you have faced so far?
I have been in business for 1 year and 3 months. The biggest challenged I’ve faced so far is obtaining proper inventory & maintaining inventory levels that are just right. We order our jackets overseas and our factory closes for a full month every February. With our first year in business, I was afraid of not having inventory for my customers so I just purchased an absorbant amount of inventory to “feel safe.” Don’t ever do that! Look at your data trends and order off of that. Almost 7 months later, I still find have boxes of jackets in specific sizes that I haven’t touched!
How do you keep yourself updated? What are some of the websites or magazines or apps that you subscribe to or read regularly?
To keep myself updated on the business side of things, I ALWAYS listen to podcasts. There are so many little helpful nuggets that I get from other business owners. As for latest trends, Instagram & wedding websites are very telling of what new wedding trends are emerging.
Do you have any special advice for other ‘Bridal diva’s’ out there?
Make sure you give yourself lots of time to get everything you need! Don’t add stress to your planning by rush ordering everything. And also, at the end of the day, if things don’t go your way, the wedding day is about you & your husband <3.
How did you get your first clients and how did you grow this bigger? Any tips to share?
I thank my first customers for trusting me to make their bride jackets. I started off with literally 0 sales and someone still had faith in me! Go above and beyond in customer service when you’re starting out. I hand wrote all my thank you cards & made them very personal. Get to know your customers! It’ makes a huge difference and I found a lot of them coming back to order jackets for their besties.
What is your ultimate dream for the business?
My ultimate dream is to have a brick and mortar shop. My vision is to make it a thing to have brides take their bridal party to my shop to design jackets for the entire bride tribe!
What are you future goals?
Right now I work a full time corporate job and do my business on the side. My goal is to run my business full time so that I have the freedom to create my own schedule and be home to raise my son.
Would you say you have to have specific potential needs in order to start as an entrepreneur? If so, what are the specific potential needs?
In order to be an entrepreneur, you need to have the right mindset. You need to be open to learning, failing, and wearing all hats. It sets you up for success and once you’re ready to scale, you’ll understand and know all facets of the business.
Find out more on:
– Etsy: www.geminifusion.etsy.com– Website: www.geminifusion.co– IG: https://instagram.com/gemini.fusion
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