Introduce your business and tell us your story: How did you decide on what to sell, and how did you source your products?
Mountain Standard is a brand based out of a product design and strategy firm. We have been learning from our clients for over 15 years and decided to start our own brand in October of 2014. All of the products are designed and developed in house and then sewn overseas at factories we have been working with for years.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
Our first sales were earned by contacting a list of people we knew and telling them about a new brand. We also landed a few blog post. Our traffic and sales mostly come from directly or via search engines.
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 Edit Order to keep up really great customer service. Product Reviews shows our customers reviews from past buyers. Shopify POS allows us to sell our product at events with ease. Email Automation allows us to capture emails from new customers as well as provide them with a discount for giving us their email. We ship through a fulfillment house called Newgistics.
What are your top recommendations for new store owners?
My recommendation to new store owners would be to capture as many email addresses as you can prior to launching your store. Another thing I would tell them is to establish a presence on social media that connects with a similar look on your site. This way, customers who are coming from social can recognize the brand and imagery right when they enter the site.