Introduce your business and tell us your story: How did you decide on what to sell, and how did you source your products?
Prior to launching TheNaturalSleepCo, I started a company called Zarbee's which sells natural cough products for children. We got our products into 60,000 retailers across the country. While at Zarbee's I saw a huge need in natural sleep products so we launched a line at retail. The products sold well and when I exited Zarbee's, I knew what my next business would be: TheNaturalSleepCo. We monitor our manufacturing tightly, offer a 100% Happy Guarantee on all our products, and take pride in knowing we are offering a safe, natural remedy to a lot of parents whose children need help sleeping.
We manufacture all of our products in the United States. My background includes product development for my previous start up which we grew to $30m in sales. I have a personal relationship with my manufacturing partners so I can ensure quality and product integrity. Especially in the consumables industry, we take our manufacturing seriously. We are trying to disrupt the sleep market and the response has been overwhelming.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
We use a lot of social media but our first sale came about from using our Shopify site and we made a few posts on Facebook and our email list. I was surprised that the first sale wasn't from my own mom. Then they started rolling in. We get orders daily and I love the ease and reporting the Shopify App offers me as an entrepreneur. I can quickly see how the business is doing that day, week, month, etc. I've turned a few brands over to Shopify. Right now, Facebook, Instagram, private blogs, and my email list are the best drivers. Because our products contain melatonin which is safe but in some countries it is a prescription, it can't be advertised on Facebook any longer. We are working with top bloggers and influencers at the moment.
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?
Recurring Revenue, stamps.com, ShipStation, Abandon Aid, Yotpo, Facebook Store, MailChimp, SEO Plugin, Tidio. By far and away, Recurring Revenue and Abandon Aid are the most amazing apps I've ever used. The app store makes it so easy to add and remove apps. Right now fulfillment is handled in house but we plan on expanding soon. We have some options to have it done and are just making plans to do it. We hope to get to the 50-100 orders per day. We got there for a bit but then Facebook changed some things on us.
What are your top recommendations for new store owners?
Just do it! Create a store. It is so easy and I have been amazed at what our store looks like and what can be done so fast. To think that we just launched in May and we already have done about $40k in sales is very encouraging and we will continue to grow.