Introduce your business and tell us your story: How did you decide on what to sell, and how did you source your products?
We chose our product out of a passion for D-I-Y home improvement. We recognized an opportunity to use high-technology to create customized premium wall coverings for residential and commercial use. By incorporating technology in innovative ways, we were able to create a line of highly custom wall coverings that are repositionable. When we decided to start the business, we wanted it to be exclusively e-commerce with a website that was easy to setup and maintain and, most importantly, we wanted it to be customer friendly. We designed and created all of the patterns, colors and sizes used in our product line. We had to source one product and easily found a provider via the internet with a distribution channel to deliver on demand, which eliminated the need to inventory materials.
你赚你的第一个销售如何?哪个频道are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
We earned our first sales by word of mouth, customer referrals and social media. We are 100% eCommerce. Our Shopify site represents two-thirds of our sales and our (10) re-sellers represent one-third.
Tell us about the back-end of your business. What tools and apps do you use to run your store? How do you handle shipping and fulfillment?
We use Shopify and ShippingEasy. We also use Olark for on-line chat on our website. Olark provides a unique opportunity to communicate online with our customers on every page of our website. Shopify has made running our business a breeze in the areas of marketing, online payments, shopping carts and it is integrated with ShippingEasy, which has streamlines our shipping operations by providing a multitude of options for cost savings.
What are your top recommendations for new store owners?
Research and use the tools supplied by Shopify. They provide valuable resources for new store owners, which allows you to spend more time growing your business.