I'm a lucky guy. For 25 years I made TV shows -- American Gladiators, ABC Family Channel, Playboy TV etc, But, I've always been on a quest to simplify my life and carry less.
I wanted to buy an iPhone wallet case, but couldn't find one I liked. So I created one in my California garage. I liked it and my friends liked it, so I quit my job and launched jimmyCASE full time.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
First sales came through friends, family and social network through Shopify. Google Shopping, Adwords and social promotion, especially Instagram helped.
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?
I use the following Apps: Yotpo, Google Shopping, Justuno and Shippingeasy. All have been great. Exposure for my Shopify site has helped attract other outlets for my product -- districtwest.com, scoutmob.com tapiture.com, fancy.com countryoutfitters.com and others adding all the time.
What are your top recommendations for new ecommerce entrepreneurs?
I suggest new users design a product or create art that will stand out (be different) on Google Shopping. Google Shopping is a great base for building traffic. One needs to build traffic beyond this source, but it is a great start.
Placing your products with other online distribution sites is a great way to expose your product to new users and build SEO. The more sales and traffic I get on other sites, the more traffic I see coming back from those sites to my Shopify site.
Also spend lots of time on Google Analytics and call their customer support. They are very helpful, especially the Adwords people.