Name of your website?Ten Digit Creations Candles and Bath
Your name?
Ken
Your Location (city, etc)
Douglasville
Please give us a short summary of your website?
At Ten Digit Creations, we strive to provide you with the best products at the best prices, with superior customer service. We handcraft Candles, Melts, Lipbalm, Soap, and much more.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
We started out making jewelry, so we could spend time together and get away from TV every night. I helped with the jewelry, while Amber researched candles. The jewelry faded out and she continued the candle quest. She perfected them and told me I was going to make soap. How dare I refuse! So, I researched and learned, tested, and gave away soap. With compliments and suggestions to sell our soap and candles, we started the website. We've slowly added products as we've profected them, with more to come.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
January 2008 and it was on Etsy.com
How did you decide on a name for your website?
We create everything with our hands, so we came up with Ten Digit Creations.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
We think it's the most appealing site. The ease of use is very straight forward.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I work full time and help when I'm home. Amber handles the business full time. Our hopes are that it continues to grow into something we can continue to do into our retirement.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
Our investment of time spent with each other is invaluable! We started slowly, investing a little at a time. So, our success is balanced very well.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I don't think we would change anything, except maybe having more stock on hand. Now, we make most products to order and would like to have more of the shelf items in stock. We will always make the short shelf life products to order.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yes, we are members of the "adapt and overcome" club. We can adapt to whatever is needed to make things work. We have a wonderful, large family who would be willing to pitch in until we restructured.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
The rising cost of wax and carrier oils. We've been able to keep our prices the same, but the fluctuating cost has been frustrating. Marketing has been the biggest headache. No one really knows the secrets of effective internet marketing. There is so much information about SEO and such, that it gets very confusing!
What has been your biggest challenge?
Deciding which scents to use. We started with over 200 and have since reduced it to about 75. We just had too many to choose from. We thought if we had trouble choosing, maybe the customer did too.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
This has been a challenge. I've found that word of mouth is key. Referring sites have been very successful too. Word of mouth has been best. Someone tries our products, then tells friends and family.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
Early on, I thought if you built it, they would come. Nope, this was for "Field of Dreams" only. It has taken time to build a customer base and have the word spread about our products. I really thought it would be easier than it has been.
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?
We've had our own site for 8 months. As it stands right now, we plan to keep it indefinately. We expect it to take a couple of years to really take off.
What do you enjoy most about your company?
The time spent with each other! We didn't expect to actually make a little extra cash with the adventure. We just wanted something to do together. We have completely given up TV, since October 2007.
What is your website address?
Ten Digit Creations Candles and Bath
