Building million-dollar e-commerce businesses from a $29 monthly subscription

Boxers & Briefs Podcast #27: From side hustle to business empire: Growth and strategy with Iyia Liu

What if your side hustle could become a multi-million-dollar empire? For Iyia Liu, it began with nothing more than a $29 monthly Shopify subscription and a simple goal to earn an extra $300 per week for rent money.

At just 21, Iyia launched her first business while juggling retail jobs and hospitality work. What started as a modest shapewear venture evolved into multiple seven-figure businesses, celebrity partnerships, and eventually, a mission to teach others how to replicate her success.

Starting with $29

Iyia’s entrepreneurial journey began with a refreshingly honest assessment of risk versus reward. “I kind of thought like if I just set up this $29 a month website and set up free social media accounts, what am I really going to lose?” she reflects. “I might order like 10, 20 pieces of shapewear and if I don’t sell it, okay I’ve lost 20 pieces of shapewear.”

This low-stakes approach removed the psychological barriers that stop many potential entrepreneurs. Rather than waiting for the perfect moment or substantial capital, Iyia focused on what she could afford to lose rather than what she might gain.

Her initial goal was modest but specific: sell 10 products a week at $30 profit each to generate $300 for rent. This achievable target made the venture feel manageable rather than overwhelming.

Creating influence before it had a name

What sets Iyia’s early success apart was her intuitive understanding of social proof marketing before it became mainstream. After seeing someone wearing shapewear on Instagram and purchasing it herself, she realised the power of authentic endorsements.

“This is before influencer marketing existed,” Iyia explains. “I was just sending product out to people on Instagram and this is before influencer marketing existed like this is I was just sending product out to people online to share.”

Starting with gifting products to social media users, she gradually scaled up her approach, paying increasingly larger amounts for endorsements. From $100 to $1,000 to $10,000, her investment in social proof grew alongside her business revenue.

Celebrity endorsements and calculated risks

The pinnacle of Iyia’s influencer marketing strategy came through an unexpected route. After attempting to contact Kris Jenner directly without success, a celebrity talent agent reached out instead. They had noticed her substantial spending on influencer partnerships and offered access to their roster of celebrities.

“I remember on that list there was like Chloe Kardashian, like a huge bunch of celebrities. You could take your pick,” Iyia recalls. “I kind of just thought Kylie, she was like at the top but also like she fitted the brand.”

The investment was substantial – approximately $300,000 for a single Instagram and Facebook post. While the direct return on investment wasn’t immediate, the brand awareness and credibility boost proved invaluable for long-term growth.

Replicating success across multiple ventures

Iyia has successfully applied the same fundamental approach across multiple businesses, including shapewear, supplements, gift boxes, and hair care. The core strategy remains consistent: identify a product, create strong branding, leverage social proof through influencer partnerships, and scale systematically.

“I have used it on multiple of my businesses and it’s still working,” she confirms. “All the successful e-commerce brands, I’d say, they all use that same strategy.”

Her hair care business, launched during 2020, demonstrates the strategy’s continued effectiveness. Even without a particularly unique product, the same social media approach generated significant traction and sales.

Expensive mistakes and resilient recovery

Success hasn’t come without costly lessons. Iyia openly shares expensive setbacks that would derail many entrepreneurs. A $90,000 shipment went missing during transit for her hair care business. Platform glitches led to double shipments costing $40,000. Her gift box business oversold by such margins that they couldn’t fulfil orders, resulting in negative media coverage.

 “Over nine years I feel like with multiple businesses I had mistakes in all of them,” she acknowledges. “I just don’t think it’s possible to avoid mistakes. Sometimes things just happen.”

The key difference lies in her response to these setbacks. Early in her career, small problems would significantly affect her. Over time, she developed resilience: “You just learn like okay, problem, solve, find a solution, move on.”

Seven-figure exit at 23

At 23, Iyia sold her shapewear and supplement businesses for a seven-figure sum. In New Zealand, with no capital gains tax on business sales, this represented substantial wealth for someone so young. However, the achievement came with unexpected challenges.

“I was working so much, but I felt quite unfulfilled,” she recalls. “I’m so busy that I don’t have time to hang out with my friends. I don’t have time to see anyone else. I felt very lonely.”

This realisation led to a crucial insight about work-life balance and the importance of maintaining relationships alongside business success.

Essential priorities for business owners

From her experience across multiple ventures, Iyia identifies three critical priorities for business owners:

First, complete commitment. “How can you beat all the other people trying to run businesses? It’s putting in that time, that love, that effort to really grow it.”

Second, working on the business rather than in it. As soon as a role can be systematised and delegated, business owners should replace themselves to focus on growth activities.

Third, self-care and balance. “A lot of business owners put so much into their business that they do neglect themselves a little bit and then they’ll get to a tipping point where they do feel burnt out.”

Shifting from operator to educator

Today, Iyia has pivoted from running e-commerce businesses to teaching others through her Make It Happen program. With around 700 students, she offers online courses, live training sessions, and community support for aspiring entrepreneurs.

 “I’ve done my time in all these e-commerce businesses. It’s been hard work, super fun, fulfilling, but also I feel like I can just do something more passive now,” she explains.

The program attracts both complete beginners and existing business owners looking to implement more effective marketing strategies.

Branding extends far beyond logos

One of Iyia’s most valuable insights concerns the comprehensive nature of branding. “Some people think branding is just the logo. It’s not. It extends to every part of your business.”

Whether a business is serious and formal or fun and colourful, every element from fonts to colours must align with the intended customer experience. The brand becomes how customers feel about the business, not just how it looks.

Starting today, not tomorrow

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Iyia’s advice eliminates analysis paralysis: “Just do it. Right now is the cheapest time to start a business compared to traditionally.”

Without the overhead of physical leases and with accessible platforms like social media and Shopify, the barriers to entry have never been lower. “If you’re scared to fail, what are you really losing? Maybe $29 a month for a year and some time.”

Her original modest goal of earning $300 weekly rent money escalated far beyond expectations. This demonstrates the power of starting with achievable targets rather than overwhelming ambitions.

A blueprint for modern entrepreneurship

Iyia’s journey from university student to multi-million dollar business owner offers a practical blueprint for modern entrepreneurship. Success doesn’t require revolutionary products or massive initial investment. Instead, it demands a willingness to start small, test quickly, learn from failures, and scale systematically.

Her story proves that with the right mindset, basic tools, and consistent execution, extraordinary results are possible. The combination of low-risk testing, social proof marketing, and systematic scaling creates opportunities that didn’t exist for previous generations of entrepreneurs.

Most importantly, her evolution from business operator to educator shows how success can be redefined. Financial achievement is just one measure – fulfilment, balance, and the ability to help others succeed matter equally.

This article and podcast is proudly brought to you by Gilligan Sheppard, the problem solvers in business who believe in thinking differently.