Introduce your business and tell us your story: How did you decide on what to sell, and how did you source your products?
Well our story of Twill comes from a place of uncertainty. My brother was hospitalized due to a mental health condition, which prompted me to start this business in 2013. We saw the need for quality textiles in places of discomfort. We started out by having our grandmother sew and knit blankets just to give away. We searched high and low to find a United States-based manufacturer that understood our business. We searched for a year to find the right source.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
We sell blankets. You think of winter and cold weather right? Well we decided to bootstrap it at an event in the middle of the summer for our first sale. 100 degrees on a beach in Lake George, NY. We sold out. Facebook is driving the most traffic to our site. That is on purpose too. We are a social cause, therefore it only made sense to be plugged into our customers via the largest social network.
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?
Mailchimp for Shopify is the best integration yet. We absolutely love how they connect so smoothly to each other and understand customer behavior, automation, and e-commerce tracking. We just started with this tool and are thrilled! Our manufacturer handles all our dropshipping. It is a well oiled machine. We work out of a small office and have no room or capability to fulfill online orders. We figured why not go right to the source.
What are your top recommendations for new store owners?
I thought I had a HUGE issue with product variants, but. I called Shopify and they solved my biggest nightmare in 5 minutes. Get on board now entrepreneur.