Hiking YouTuber Joyee Walker started her business during the pandemic, opening a brick-and-mortar store for hiking, camping and diving supplies.
He started from scratch, studied the knowledge of hiking equipment, and stepped into the retail industry like a blank sheet of paper.
His hiking shop used to have so many customers that the shop was overcrowded, and he was very happy. He moved from a small shop to a large shop more aggressively.
After two years of entrepreneurial experience, his biggest experience is that "the most important thing is to die, you must endure it".
Joyee opened a shop in September of the previous year, and moved from a small shop to a large shop in September last year.
(Photo by Yan Minghui)
In the past two years, Hong Kong hiking YouTubers have sprung up like mushrooms, some focus on introducing routes, some go in the direction of parent-child fun, and some are like variety shows. However, the production was greatly reduced, and time and energy were put on opening a mountain supply store.
Joyee had the idea of opening a shop in April 2020. He rented an industrial building of more than 200 square feet in Kwun Tong and opened it in September of the same year after simple layout.
Joyee's old shop is more than 200 square feet, and there is not much space after placing goods.
(provided by respondents)
"In the first few years as a JoyeeWalker, I never thought about opening a shop. It was purely because the road film was boring, so I might as well try the unpacking film. If no one was sponsored, I walked into a shop and bought a pair of shoes to do the unpacking film. After that, the head of the shop took the initiative to find me, and asked me if I was interested in doing it again. It turned out that the effect was good, and there was a response, so I had an idea, why don't I do it myself!"
Joyee used to shoot hiking routes and run the YouTube channel JoyeeWalker.
(File photo/Photo by Zhang Haowei)
"I started working as a JoyeeWalker five or six years ago, and I try to change every year. In addition to wanting to make breakthroughs and progress, to a certain extent, I am poor and can't make money. I have written apps, published books, and made movies, but it is difficult to make a living. If you want to do something more realistic, let’s open a shop. The initial investment was not too much, the old shop is very small, Kwun Tong is not as expensive as Mong Kok, and it is a few blocks away from the subway station. Shoes are the mainstay, and there are not many brands.”
The epidemic is severe, citizens do not want to go shopping, the retail industry is frozen, and online stores are popular, but Joyee insists on putting physical stores first.
He said: "I always feel that hiking shoes must be tried, but the online store can't do it, and the online store has less communication with customers, which goes against my concept of opening a shop. I think opening an outdoor goods store, selling hiking and camping Or diving equipment, I have to let a customer know exactly what he is buying and give him a lot of information.”
Joyee said the old shop was crowded with nearly 20 customers at peak times.
(provided by respondents)
Relying on the popularity of YouTuber, Joyee started a business well in the early days, "The first one or two months was (there were more customers than expected), after that it didn't matter much, because the business always depends on word of mouth, after half a year, most of them were introduced by friends. My customers may appreciate my characteristics.” With the careful service and detailed introduction, Joyee’s hiking supplies store quickly established a reputation, and with the help of the mountain people and KOLs he met as a YouTuber, more and more customers became more and more popular. The more he remembers the peak in early 2021.
Joyee introduced that the scenery on the door is Jigongling, one of his favorite mountains, and the white puppy is his pet dog, Xiaobai.
(Photo by Yan Minghui)
"The old shop was the most exaggerated. Before the new year, on the 28th and 29th of the new year, because it was unlucky to buy shoes in the first month, I tried to gather nearly 20 people, and it has reached the maximum capacity of the shop. It is so exaggerated that I can do it all day. I can't even drink a single drink of water. I don't know why the customers are good, they will find shoes for themselves, and even help other customers find shoes. When closing the shop, there are shoes and shoe boxes around, which is extremely messy. I see many people supporting themselves, and they Well, I didn’t hire a full-time employee back then, and I was the only one who had to serve customers, help them try shoes, and collect money. In fact, I couldn’t do it alone, but they were very considerate, and I was very happy when I worked hard.”
Joyee moved to a new shop, now over 700 square feet.
(Photo by Yan Minghui)
+2
There are too many customers, but there is not enough space to place goods. Joyee still has ambitions to add camping equipment. The old shop is obviously not enough to use. The guests also joked with him: "When will the big shop be moved?" Moved to another unit in another Kwun Tong industrial building in September, with an area three times larger than 700 square feet.
He admits that it is very risky to move a big shop within a year of opening, and his family and friends have doubts, and the rent that exceeds the budget, coupled with the hiring of full-time staff, makes Joyee feel great pressure.
Joyee was interviewed a few years ago to share his experience as a hiking YouTuber.
(Photo by Zhang Haowei/File photo)
【Hiking.
Hong Kong Mountain People] When the interest in hiking becomes the bitterness behind JoyeeWalker's work [Hike.
Hong Kong Mountain Man] Joyee Walker made more than 60 hiking films a year from scratch
He laughed at himself that moving shop was more effective in losing weight than hiking. During that time, he was depressed and lost 30 pounds, which made his family worried, and his regular customers hardly recognized him.
Joyee said, "I moved the shop in September last year, and I started to lose weight in August last year. I saw my weight continue to drop, and I lost half a year. I ordered takeout and ate two bites. I couldn't eat even if I wanted to. , and then continue working.”
"I was thinking a lot, and I didn't have the mood to eat, so I lost a lot of weight. At that time, I was nervous, and I felt that the burden was much heavier. It was very practical, and the cost was much higher. In the past, the monthly rent might be around 7,000, but now the labor The rent increase is about 40,000 yuan, but just thinking about this number, you are already shocked and nervous, you can’t do it yourself!”
After becoming the boss and moving a big shop, Joyee has to face more and more troubles.
(Photo by Yan Minghui)
Seeing the mountain of hiking shoes in the store, Joyee talked about the experience of hitting the nails in the past two years, "When I was in the old shop, I didn't expect so many customers, and the arrival of hiking shoes was slower than I thought. You need half a year to a year. I ordered the goods before, but there may be an epidemic, the logistics is not good, and there is a huge demand in the market. Many times there are no shoes for sale, and I have tried for a month without selling shoes to customers.”
"That month was really miserable. There were obviously customers who came to buy shoes, but I couldn't sell them. I arrived at the new store, and after the old store had customers but no shoes, I had a lot of stock in stock. Turnover is a little more difficult. In this area, there are the most bumps, and I am not very mature in controlling purchases. This shop is always relatively new, so I have to learn it slowly.”
Joyee said that he has not yet grasped the amount of goods, and the business in summer is hemp, and he has accumulated a lot of hiking shoes.
(Photo by Yan Minghui)
Joyee's entrepreneurship coincides with the epidemic. He admits that the epidemic has a positive impact on his business. Because of the closure of customs in various places, citizens cannot travel abroad. Under the craze for hiking and camping, citizens are eager for related equipment.
However, Joyee's business was hit by the fifth wave of the epidemic earlier this year.
He said, "At the beginning of this year, it was almost like a closed city, Kwun Tong was like a dead city, and no one walked. It was still winter, so it was supposed to be the peak season for hiking, so there was no business at all, so there were no customers coming over all day. Why is there so much storage now? Shoes? It's something to do with that time period."
During the visit, a batch of hiking shoes just arrived, and Joyee ordered it.
(Photo by Yan Minghui)
There are seasons for hiking and camping, the summer is weak, the autumn and winter are prosperous, and there are ups and downs in business.
Joyee figured out this truth in recent months, and seems to have relieved his stagnation, his appetite has improved, and he has not lost weight.
He lamented that the responsibility and pressure of the owner of the hiking shop made him grow a lot.
He said, "The first two or three years as a YouTuber used to be relatively smooth. At that time, there were not many people shooting mountain films in the market, and they were all overjoyed. I didn't expect it to be so popular, and many people watched and supported it. I didn't worry too much about money before. , as long as you don’t starve to death, you can continue to do it, which is relatively free.”
When Joyee moved shop last year, she lost her appetite and lost a lot of weight.
(Photo by Yan Minghui)
"Although my concept of opening a shop is based on my own ideas, I have to take care of my peers. If you watch hiking videos, if you have watched other people, you can watch my videos again, but if you buy hiking shoes, you will not be in another place. After buying one store, come to my store. I want to understand the practices of other colleagues, and also take into account more money. It is not enough to support yourself. You need to support the store and employees, and the flow of funds. question."
Joyee said opening a shop was a much bigger challenge than filming.
(File photo/Photo by Zhang Haowei)
"The setback encountered in opening a shop is much greater than that of a YouTuber. It is very realistic. It is a financial problem. At most, the setback of being a YouTuber is that no one is watching. The next article can be better. You can look at the bank. As you can see in the monthly statement, the setbacks are much greater and I have grown even more.”
"This summer, business is not as good as I imagined, and there are many setbacks. Now I tell myself, even if you are in a bad mood, you have to eat, and you have to be positive. I asked myself to think about the summer of last year, and it was the same, as long as It's not a big problem until autumn and winter, why do you feel bad and get yourself to stop eating? The biggest growth is "the most important thing is not to die, be a normal person, and the rain will pass."
From this summer, Joyee expanded its business to introduce diving equipment.
(Photo by Yan Minghui)
Although Joyee often emphasizes to slow down and strengthen the foundation, he always does not want to miss opportunities and new attempts.
He has learned diving and has two good friends with diving instructors, so he recently added diving equipment to the store, "Anyway, camping and hiking are in the off-season in summer. "At present, hiking equipment still accounts for 70 to 80% of the store's turnover, while camping supplies account for 10% or 20%. Diving equipment is a newly opened business, and the proportion is still very small.
Sometimes when she is busy, Joyee will take her dog Xiaobai to go hiking.
(provided by respondents)
This autumn and winter, Joyee wanted to hand over more shop work to his employees, so he returned to his old business and revealed, "I will start shooting a series of camping cooking. Hong Kong people should pay attention to their enjoyment in camping, among which food is very important, so I invited a Friends who are good at cooking help me, and I will release films one after another in autumn and winter. I will take time to shoot a little more hiking films, because hiking films and unpacking films are one of the core values of this shop. I want to do more."
In the past two years, Joyee has sacrificed a lot of hiking time in order to open a shop and start a business, which makes him more cherish the time when he is busy.
He said, "I first made hiking films because I liked hiking, and I like to go up the mountain in a daze. After making films for five or six years, I was a little tired and started to 'slip my teeth'. On the contrary, I have less hiking now, and I cherish every moment more. Another chance to hike."
Since the opening of the shop, Joyee has cut down on filming in the past two years.
(File photo/Photo by Zhang Haowei)
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