Turning Handmade Wallets into a Million Dollar Business

Ryan Popoff founded a leather goods company after learning leather working as a creative outlet. Bootstrapped and run solo in 2013, Ryan is now leading a team of 12 full-time craftspeople in a 1,400 sq. ft. workshop in British Columbia.

Popov Leather makes handmade leather goods like wallets, belts, watch straps, notebook covers, and more. They're made to order, reasonably priced, and have turned thousands of customers into devoted fans.

In this episode, you'll learn:

How to use Etsy to validate ideas Practical tips for effective photography A straightforward influencer strategy and how to know when to hire

Popov Leather is the quintessential rural small town success story. A hobby turns into a micro business following spousal encouragement which then turns into a thriving fast-growth business. Six years after its first sale, Popov Leather today YOR revenue growth as more than 90% of their production is shipped to satisfied international customers.

Show Links Popov Leather @popovleather Never miss an episode Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts Join Kurt's newsletter Help the show Ask a question in The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Facebook Group Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings & reviews help, and I read each one. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts What's Kurt up to? See our recent work at Ethercycle Take a ride with Kurt on YouTube Apply to work with Kurt to grow your store. Sponsors Try Bold Product Upsell free for 90 days Save 20% on Turbo, a blazing fast Shopify theme Improve your shop’s search engine ranking with Venntov SEO Meta Manager Outsource your Shopify customer service with Simplr