On January 24, 2013, my father passed very suddenly at 62. I was neither prepared, nor ready to live life without him. How was it possible my three small children would grow up never really knowing him. I became disinterested in life, and I certainly wasn't interested in building a business. My husband was patient, I cried, a lot. I struggled to find a way to be happy again.
The search was on. I found myself looking for stories that made me happy, places that made me happy. Then I remembered a story that changed our course. Every summer my Dad would call to tell me he couldn't wait for their friends to come to Chappaquiddick again that year to have a lobster dinner (he lived on Martha's Vineyard for close to twenty years, and yet almost never treated himself to that) he would say, I wait all summer for this, it make me so happy!" Chappy Happy™ was born.
Fast forward and here we are, working to start a lifestyle brand focused on that special feeling you get when you see water, walk the beach, ski, climb a mountain, enjoy dinner with friends and family, belly laughs with your children, whatever that moment is, for you. A brand to help people live in the moment, but mostly, enjoy life right where you are.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
We ended up earning our first sale through some hard work connecting with people on social media, telling our story to anyone that would listen and eventually had someone bless us with our first real sale.
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 know for sure that Shopify can do anything that we need it to. We built our theme and have since been exploring all of the apps and options that can help us succeed! It really is amazing how complete Shopify is, we're not just saying that either, it has saved us so much time and frustration.
What are your top recommendations for new ecommerce entrepreneurs?
We would recommend just focusing on what you love. You're going to spend hours and hours slaving over your business, make sure it is something you believe in and connect with. We do and it truly does make all the late nights well worth it.