Editor’s Note: This story first appeared on our Seller Community page. 

Whether ooey gooey, cloud-like, buttery or thick ‘n glossy, Jaimie and her daughter love creating slime from scratch along with its colorful mix-ins. Both she and her teen are neurodivergent, meaning their brains function differently than others. They discovered slime — a sticky substance that’s become a cultural phenomenon — during the pandemic as a way to busy their hands and calm their minds.

After realizing there was an unmet demand for custom slimes online, Jaimie launched her business on eBay, bringing her homemade formulations to the world. Since then she’s found a whole community of slime-lovers on social media who line up to shop when she drops her new creations.

Get to know Jaimie in her own words and visit her shop floofyslimes:

 

Discovering slime play as therapy

During the pandemic when we were shut in at home and looking for things to do, my daughter and I had a lot of fun playing with slime. Slime was all the rage in 2020, so we’d look up recipes on TikTok, make all kinds of concoctions and play with them at our big dining room table.

It was a relaxing way to pass the time together. It was messy, but we didn’t mind. Slime is very therapeutic, which is why it’s often used as a tool in therapy. It provides calming stimulation for people with anxiety and it helps children that have ADHD, learning disabilities or autism to communicate better with others. 

 

Launching a successful slime business

As the pandemic went on, we created more and more slimes – from “glow-in-the-dark galactic” to “funfetti birthday cake.” When her birthday came around, she asked for a “Slime DIY Clay Kit” with an air-dry clay piece you can smoosh into the slime. I searched online and couldn’t find it. That’s when I realized there was a real opportunity to make and sell homemade, customizable slimes. 

eBay was the first place I thought of to set up shop. I already owned a shop on eBay that was quite successful called POP-BLOX, selling trending toys for kids, so I was familiar with the platform. I bought some polymer clay and learned how to make my own characters, charms and add-ins. From there I started making and selling my slimes and things just kind of took off.

 

Building a community on social to drive sales

I’ve found an incredible community through eBay, and I use both X and TikTok to connect with them and launch our new slimes.

On TikTok there’s this instant connection and relatability between neurodivergent people who need slime in their lives because it relaxes us and gives us something to do with our hands. I love to take requests on TikTok and ask our followers to vote and decide what slime we’ll drop next.

My shop really took off after I started posting on X. I remember one time when I launched a slime in an X post, a creator asked her followers to “like” my post, promising she would buy it once the number hit 1,000. The post got 1,000 likes and she ended up buying it, bringing a lot of attention to my shop.

 

Running a business from home

eBay has changed my life by allowing me to be home with my daughter. I get to spend time with her, and she gets to see how a business is run and be my creative advisor. 

It’s amazing to sell a product that my daughter and I both enjoy, can make together and connect through. I call her my “idea coordinator” because she advises me on colors and scents and tells me when something smells good or looks good. She also helps me come up with themes and characters to add in.

Her tips for sellers

My biggest tip for sellers who are just getting started is to check out the eBay community. I lived and died by the community discussions when I launched my first eBay business because I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought it was so cool that I could post a question and other sellers would respond immediately, not expecting anything in return.

My second tip is to sell internationally. As soon as I started, my sales doubled. I love that I can ship my items across the globe and be 100% confident.

Finally, consider using promoted listings. I use them because it brings my products to the top of search. People buy my slimes because it’s the first thing they see when they’re looking for something.

 

Making a living doing what she loves

When I was a kid, people would always say “get an education, find your passion and do what you love.” But at that age, I didn’t know what I loved and I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up. At the same time I saw all of these adults working in careers and jobs that they hated or weren’t enjoying.

I’m happy my daughter has a positive role model in me. She’s seen me evolve as a person and use my creative ideas to run a business we’re both excited about. And she’s seen the financial reward from my hard work. I’ve done it all on my own (with my daughter’s creative advice), and I’m literally making a living doing what I love. 

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