Name of your website?American Spirit Candle Co. LLC
Your name?
Patti Koester
Your Location (city, etc)
Wadsworth
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Handmade candles, reed diffusers, scented stuffed animals, refill oils and reeds. Best scented products on the market. We are about giving our customers the best we can give them at the fairest price possible. Nothing fancy, but long burning, and scented to the maximum all the way through.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
We felt having a website site was the only way a small business could reach customers around the world with their products.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
About 4 yrs. ago. It was the same site, but it has recently been updated and redone so that the customer can get around in it more easily.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
My husband and I started this business when he retired. We did not make enough money on Social Security to pay the bills. I was already selling candles, but when he retired we started manufacturing them as well. It was the American spirit that started this country, and ONLY in American can two retired people start a business and make it successful. Therefore the name; American Spirit.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
Many candle companies cut back on the scent (it is the most expensive thing in the candle)or only scent heavy on the top 1/4 of the candle, or only scent half the candle. We pride ourselves in scenting the wax to the maximum it will hold ALL THE WAY THROUGH. Our candles smell just as good at the bottom as they do when first lit. And they burn evenly all the way down. No hole in the middle, no waste.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
It is our hope that this business will allow us to leave an inheritance to our children, and grandchildren. And be an example that you are NEVER too old to start again. And never too old to be a success in the business world.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
At this point, I would say 50/50.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
We would build a new building to be able to warehouse more inventory, and we would manufacture in the rear and have a storefront as well
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Absolutely, we would do what we had to do, and hire as many as we needed to hire to get the job done. If we had to work 24/7 we would do it. We would get all the kids, and grandkids involved and we WOULD do it.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Keeping our prices the same or lower to our customers when everyone else is raising our product costs. Working harder for less money, but it is really important to us to keep our customers first and not raise their prices.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Learning to be an administrator, even though I am really just a sales person
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Google Ad Words
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
When we started the website I hardly knew how to turn on the computer. I thought it would be easy, but you have to put a lot of thought and time, and many decisions into putting it together. And it is in constant flux with every new idea.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
It has been about 4 yrs, and hopefully we will keep it for a long time.
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Where do I go to learn more about how to attract people to my website?
What is your website address?
American Spirit Candle Co. LLC
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