From 0 to €350,000: Julia Grossjohann's edelundschnell.com Revolutionizes Dog Accessories as a Side Business
Volume #8 of "Happy Bootstrapping" Newsletter - E-Commerce on the side
In this recent episode 116 of Happy Bootstrapping, Julia Grossjohann shares her story of edelundschnell.com, an E-commerce side-hustle generating 350k/year on the side.
Julia founded edelundschnell.com ("Edel und Schnell" translates to "Noble and Fast" in English) six years ago out of pure necessity: her whippet puppy was cold in winter, and she couldn't find a suitable jacket. What began as a niche product has evolved into an impressive e-commerce business with annual revenue of €350,000 – all while maintaining her full-time job as a manager at a US software company.
The Founding Story: A Freezing Puppy Becomes a Business Model
The initial spark for edelundschnell.com was as simple as it was compelling: "I had gotten a puppy at that time, a whippet puppy. Whippets are medium-sized sighthounds, and it was winter when I got him and he was cold," explains Julia. The search for a suitable dog jacket proved frustrating: products on Amazon were poor quality, imports from the Czech Republic had complicated return processes, or there were long waiting times for handmade pieces.
Julia had previously worked in Berlin's startup scene and wanted to start her own business.
"I saw all these, as I always say, 20-year-old business administration kids who got money from their dads, burned through it massively, and were my managers. That created this urge in me to say, I think I can do this too, and I think I can do it better than them."
What began with a seamstress in a basement quickly grew. Today, edelundschnell.com offers clothing and accessories for various dog breeds – from harnesses and coats to dog beds in different sizes.
From Niche Product to Scalable Business Model
In terms of numbers, the company has recorded impressive growth:
2023: €300,000 revenue
2024: Forecast €350,000 revenue
Record month November: €50,000
Particularly remarkable: Julia now invests only about 30 minutes daily in her business.
"My focus at the moment is really that I maybe spend half an hour a day. It's really more like when my employee says, I have something here that needs solving, then I step in. And the other thing is marketing."
A key step to increasing profitability was the decision to relocate production from Germany to China: "I charge €100 for a dog coat, and if I'm no longer paying €45 for production and manufacturing, but only €10, then the company should turn profitable quickly." This change promises to significantly improve margins.
Marketing and Technology: AI as a Game-Changer
Julia's marketing strategy has evolved significantly. She intensively uses AI tools:
"I use ChatGPT extensively for writing ads to generate text, and I also use Canva a lot for creatives. This has become super easy with all the AI developments." For marketing campaigns, she asks ChatGPT for strategies and systematically tests them.
In addition to Facebook advertising, she recently implemented TikTok marketing and sees great potential there. Particularly successful are:
User-generated content through collaborations with dog influencers
Photo contests and giveaways that simultaneously generate authentic image material
Targeted discount campaigns for inventory management
Technologically, edelundschnell.com uses Shopify as its main store, Etsy as an additional sales channel, and JTL as an inventory management system. Logistics are outsourced to a fulfillment service provider in Brandenburg, Germany.
Challenges in Bootstrapping
Julia's biggest challenge so far was a catastrophic system migration: When connecting the JTL inventory management system to Shopify, product data was lost, images were incorrectly assigned, and variants were mixed up. "I opened the shop the next day and I could have really cried. Everything was gone."
Revenue collapsed dramatically – from €28,000 to just €9,000 in the same month of the following year. The Etsy shop particularly suffered: "Etsy doesn't forgive at all. It took half a year until we were somewhat back on track."
Another challenge is pre-financing goods from China. With a three-month lead time for production and shipping, Julia needs to find a way to finance orders, although the GmbH (limited liability company) is only two years old and therefore has little chance with conventional lenders.
Learnings and Tips for Other Bootstrappers
Julia's most important learnings from six years of bootstrapping:
Security before expansion: "It's great that we're making a lot of revenue, but it's difficult to pay the bills sometimes. My focus this year is really 100 percent on profitability and products that are good."
Plan system changes thoroughly: Always create backups and think through worst-case scenarios before changing critical infrastructure.
Focus on automation: With good systems and reliable partners, you can run a six-figure business even as a side hustle.
Don't neglect marketing: "I always had marketing running, but it was always a bit of a stepchild." However, focusing consistently on it brought the biggest growth spurt.
Despite all challenges, Julia remains calm and plans for the long term: "The plan for me is more to say, I hope I can get this thing big enough in two or three years that I can sell it."
Happy Bootstrapping is a German podcast where I interview bootstrapped founders, indie hackers, and solopreneurs about their startup journeys. Over the years, I've connected with many successful entrepreneurs who have built e-commerce shops, SaaS platforms, mobile apps, content businesses, or hybrid models.
Furthermore I am a bootstrapper myself and growing my DevOps-as-a-Sercice and Web Operations Company “We Manage”.