Q) Hello @therasastore, for starters, tell us about your journey of fabrication for your store and what was the motivation behind it all?

Rachana: To begin with, I got to know a few Thrifting stores who were doing really good at that time and I started purchasing the kinds of stuff from them. To my amusement, things were quite good in quality and unique. Later on, I decided to start a page but wasn’t sure because success doesn’t come in handy. Also, I didn’t want to start a store just Thrifting things and thanks to Instagram restrictions adding to the pot. I decided to write blogs about big stores to get noticed and repost from them and I was also learning digital marketing on Internshala, it was like hitting a bird with two stones at a time. This is how I hit the 1K mark by writing blogs in a precise manner and making big store descry.

Q) This already feels motivating to us, but @therasastore, enlighten us with your journey after gaining 1K followers to 39.5 K followers.

Rachana: Subsequently, I had a very big giveaway, which I think was a crazy move. I decided to use my thrifted kinds of stuff as a giveaway and interestingly, I had jumped from 1K to 2K soon after the giveaway and it was quite an investment. After that, a lot of pages started trusting me, so I started shoutout-for-shoutouts and dedicated hours for doing this. This made me gain 100-200 followers per day, also I had written blogs for big stores that were willing to give me shoutouts. I became a completely psychotic person I guess. After hitting a certain amount of followers on Instagram, things become quite easy. 

Q) What is the motivation behind continuing your store despite all the burdens in personal life and balancing your job?

Rachana: Honestly, the struggle was really huge and reaching 1K was such a success for me. All of a sudden I lost my page too, but by god’s grace I got it back. The small community that I have to build for myself is what keeps me going despite all the odds. 

Q)  Your journey is slightly different from every thrift store owner, so you would have faced challenges naturally, tell us about it.

Rachana: I, personally faced a lot of hindrances. Initially, after hitting 4-5 K followers, I realised that there were a lot of unethical activities happening to thrift stores and for some reason, I decided to call out these stores. As I was naïve in this community, I was disillusioned to help people but in reality, I over-stepped.  This is when karma hit me back as I started selling first copy items and made it a point to mention that too for the customers. One thrift store accused me of not being an authentic store and framed messages which weren’t me and people started accusing me. This is when had hit me hard that it is none of my business what other stores sell. I started Rasa Approve as a joke and it hit the spot but then a realisation came to me that no one needs to be validated from me. I faced worse anxiety and even my account got blocked, but thankfully I could retain it back but it came with a lesson to me. I suggest every thrift store owner think right through before making a judgement. 

Q)  Many thrift owners and small business owners would like to know how to restore their pages after facing any issue?

Rachana: Yeah, so basically there is a Facebook form that you need to fill out after losing your account. Also, I would emphasise turning your two-factor authentication on because if you don’t have it on, there is no coming back. 

Q) There are many young enthusiasts and people in their early 30s who want to start their buds, what is your recommendation for them to be a good label?

Rachana: My only tip for any store owner will be consistency, have authenticity on the page before the page.  People follow you for your aesthetics, so provide them with aesthetic content. Initially, while marketing, try thinking out of the Pandora on how to do something different. Ask your family and friends to support you. Obviously, there are influencer collaborators too which would help many or might not for many. For instance, I grew really fast, but I wasn’t selling but people with fewer followers were generating sales, so it is more about the quantity rather than the quality. 

Thank you so much, Rachana for enlightening us with such good to do’s. To summarize your suggestions- consistency and authenticity is the key to growth. Oyela is definitely a one-stop for all your problems which provides you with good aesthetics and a platform to be consistent on.