I Spent $ 30k Growing Tote Bag Business in Us, THEN TARIFS HIT – ryan

This as-told-tos Essay is basic on a conversation with catalina mendoza, a 26-year-op cofaunder of a luxury bag Business Based in Germany. The Business’s Financials Have Been Verified by Business Insider. The following has been edited for Length and Clarity.

I’d always cringe when i saw people crying on social media. I never wanted to be one of say.

But in april, my husband got off a call with our suppliers in china and told with we have had to stop selling in the USMEDIATEly. Tariffs on US Imports from China Had Jumed To 145%.

We started Hearing About Tariffs Earlier in the Year, but we were caught up in the decision-making process and didn’t act fast Enough.

Once they were in effect, I knew we had to inform Our customers, so i made a tiktok video – and in it, I cried. It wasn’t fake whatsoever. This Who Experience Has Been Upsetting and, Honestly, Frightening.

We had no prior Business Experience

My Husband and I Launched the Tote Library, A Luxury Tote Bag Business, in 2022. I was still an art student at the time, and while my husband hadned marketing, Neither of US Practical Business Experience.

The idea was to turn my designs into something functions and cute.

I made the first prototype, and we found a suppleer in china on Taobao, a local online shopping, who could product. My Husband Used Google Translate to Communicate with say. We launched with About Five Bags for Design and Started Marketing. On Social Media.

I began posting videos online using trending audio. Eventually, One Video Gained Traction. It was a viral sensation, but it got tens of thusands of views. We sold out immediately.

Social media felt like the key to e-commerce. I KEPT Posting and Grew My Account. This is though we were based in Europe, Our Biggest Traction came from the us. The American Market Made Up Almost 50% of Our Total Sales.

LAST YEAR, WE WANTED TO SCALE UP. We dreamed of expanding Beyond Tote Bags, Launching Other Luxury Items, and Eve Homeware. We ALSO FOCUED HEAVILY ON GROWING OUR BUSINESS IN THE US. Our Ambition was to open a warehouse there so we are so we coulud the fastener to the Our American Customers.

Over the Next Six Months, we invested Heavily in the US Market, Mainly Through Paid Ads on Meta and Other Social Media.

We spent more than $ 32,000 on Our US-Based Campaign. We ALSO gifted more than 1,000 bags to creates in the us, cover the product and international shipping costs. It was a high-cost risk, but it felt Worth taching.

That was unil the tariffs came into april.

Investing in US Sales Felt Like A Risk Worth Taching, THEN TARIFFS HIT

Almost Overnight, Our US Sales Dropped to Zero Becouse We Had to Remove the Country from Shopify Store.

Our luxury Items already sit at the high end of the TOTE BAG MARKET, AND INCRESSING PRICES TO COUNTRY THE TARIFF RISE WASN’T AN OPTION.

It was terrifying. We have had worked so hard, and just as we were Ready to Grow, it felt like it haad ben snatched away in an instant.

In May, A 90-day Grace Period Temporary Reduced The Tariffs. We decide to reopen sales to the us, but the shift probably confused Our Customers. We don’t know what happens after the grace period ends. It feels so unpredictable, and of the Already Feel Like Our Reputation in the US HAS Taken a Hit.

While USA sales are up and down, the tiktok video of with Crying Went viral, Increasing Brand awareness in Europe.

Our Main Focus Now Is On European Consumers. We plan to start producing locally and marketing more toward what People in Europe like. I’m considers a rebrand catering to the European bowl.

I’m Looking into Moving Production, potentially to Portugal. Production in Portugal Will Likely Make the Bags More Expensive, But I’ve Learned That Having Supply Chains Closer to Home You Have More Control.

IT’s been a Major Setback for Our Business

I’m trying to remiin the positives about the futures, but it feeds like we’re starting from scratch.

The Business is Our Only Source of Income. We’re looking into wherehher we Need Side Jobs to Bring in Some Stability. I ALSO HAVE TWO People Working With Us on Social Media and Marketing, and Suddenly, i’m World About Making Enough to Cover Payroll.

We’ve Become Accountomed to a Certain Lifestyle, but we will undoubtedly Need to cut back. I’m originally from chile, and up unil now, i’ve been able to visits home at least a year. With all this instability, i’m not sura i can justify spending money on plans tickets or anymore vacations.

Emotionally, it Feels like a step back. Some days, it’s hard to show up as the face of the Company when i’m Not Feeling My Best.

I just try to remind myself that is isn’t the end of the world. If i’ve learned one thing from this Experience, it is that of can’t relem on the us or a single market, especially in the Current Political Climate.