Introduce your business and tell us your story: How did you decide on what to sell, and how did you source your products?
We felt there were no products having the necessary ingredient type, quantity, or quality to perform the way they should. We thought products were made by large companies and only for profit without having pets' best interests in mind. We tried many products that just didn't work as advertised or could work better. So we came up with our own formulas, found a local manufacturer that had been in business for 30 years that we trusted. We sent our formulas through their on staff veterinarians and nutritionists. After being well scrutinized we were in business.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
Our first sales came from family and friends. Many of our customers have been referred by family and friends. After that, adoption events, weekend dog fun events, pet expos and we found our true demographic with Agility Dogs. People who run Agility Dogs know nutrition, are friendly with other competitors because they compete by the clock and are willing to discuss what products work best for their dogs with their friends. Our website, EnduraPet.com has the versatility to be a fall back to when we go out on the road and also generates its own customers organically. We have our loyal sustaining customers bringing family and friends but also new customers looking for better products through searching the internet. We see growth on a daily basis.
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?
Most of the tools I use to judge growth and make decisions are already in Shopify. Seeing viewer and sales today, yesterday, 30 and 90 days gives me a window of how the website is performing. I really don't need anything else since we are growing organically. Having Shopify linked to my bookkeeping is a seamless and thoughtless process. It lets me concentrate on more important parts of the business. I do the shipping, inventory, sales, bookkeeping and advertising. Basically, I do it all. It is made possible with the simple organization of the Shopify process.
What are your top recommendations for new store owners?
One of our best features has been the addition of packs. Our three and four packs drop the individual price of an item down slightly but we save on shipping costs by making more revenue per shipment. Customer service has to be #1 but the most important thing is product quality. Quality with branding, packaging, shipping and most important the product itself.