Pure-Ecommerce Introduces a Series of Sucess Stories

Pure Pajamas – Case Study

About Pure Pajamas and Owner Melinda Felton
Pure Pajamas is an online boutique offering designer sleepwear, loungewear, and yogawear. The business was launched in 2007 by stay-at-home mom Melina Felton, who earned her initial investment back within her first six months of operation. Today, Felton owns a second online sleepwear site and PurePajamas is a highly successful online boutique, valued at more than three times what she paid for it just two years ago.

The Making of a Mompreneur: A Stay-at-Home Mom’s Entry into Online Retail

In 2007, Melinda Felton decided to take the plunge and go after her dream of running her own business. Her husband was an entrepreneur, and she knew from his experience that she too had the skill set to run a business and contribute to her family’s income. When her youngest child entered kindergarten, she found herself with extra time on her hands and seeking new challenges. In January 2007, with no previous retail or online experience, Felton purchased and launched PurePajamas.

Challenges

Lack of Previous Experience
As Felton quickly realized, the barrier of entry into the online world is easy – anyone can buy or launch a web business. However, the actual ins and outs of running an internet business and ensuring its success can be difficult – and Felton needed guidance. “In the beginning, I didn’t even know what the initials SEO stood for,” she said.

Her number one piece of advice to burgeoning entrepreneurs is to find a mentor or hire a professional consultant. “One thing I’m so grateful I had to foresight to do was purchase a ready-to-go website that also came with 40 hours of consulting from Pure eCommerce,” says Felton. “Forty hours may seem like a lot, but let me tell you I used them all, down to the last minute. The learning process was a long one, and having an experienced eCommerce expert to guide me throughout the launch and growth of my business was just invaluable.”

Improving SEO Rankings
One of Felton’s first orders of business was to work on improving her Search Engine Optimization ratings, which were very low in the early days of launching. In fact, she set a goal to get her site to appear on the first page of the major search engines for her key search terms. “I tweaked my site to include keywords everywhere, and also added keyword rich text. I applied for one way links to my site and put my site in the Yahoo Directory and Google Base.”

Felton’s hard work paid off – within the first few months, her site appeared on the first page of the major search engines for her key search terms. She also started a blog with targeted news that her niche customers base would be interested in.

Balancing a Growing Business with a Growing Family
Felton remembers clearly the moment she received her first sale, only two weeks after she purchased the site. It was a life-changing moment for her, as her business was now “official” and she suddenly had a responsibility and obligation to not just her family, but her customers as well. “Without a doubt, the biggest challenge for me has been time management, especially since both my business and family have continued to grow.” In order to make it work, Felton came up with a self-imposed routine that she rigidly enforced. “I made hours as if I had an office job. When it was time for work to be over, that was it. I closed my laptop and my family time began.” She also engaged her family’s assistance during busy seasons, and hired her teenagers to help fulfill orders during the holiday crunch time. “We work together as a team and they get the benefit of learning how to run a successful business.”

Up until this point, Felton says she’s been able to manage all her duties through multi-tasking and her sheer passion for her business, but she will most likely need to hire someone in the near future in order to meet growing demands.

Finding Success in a Down Market
One of the reasons Melinda feels she’s been able to succeed is because her business is so niche. “We have good margins on our inventory and a great selection of merchandise within a defined target market.”

In fact, Felton’s success inspired her to recently purchase a second turnkey web business from Pure eCommerce called NursingPJs.com. The site is aimed at pregnant and lactating moms, and provides items such as nursing bras, nursing pajamas, and nursing pillows. Felton bought the site just six months ago, during the height of the down economy. However, she says sales are strong because she provides these specialty items that news moms need, but are getting harder to find as more and more brick and mortar stores have gone out of business. In fact, Felton believes there has never been a better time to enter the eCommerce industry, since about 150,000 brick and mortar stores are expected to shut down in 2009, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. This reality means consumers will increasingly turn to internet shopping to find what they need.

Plus, unlike traditional boutiques, her upfront investment was truly minimal. “A huge advantage with both of the businesses I purchased through Pure eCommerce is that I don’t have to buy and carry inventory up front, since most items are drop-shipped directly from the manufacturer. Therefore, I was able to make a modest investment initially that will pay off in big ways,” says Felton.

Feltons’s Tips for Burgeoning “Mompreneurs”:


Find a mentor – “Having a personal, experienced consultant is what I credit my profitability to.” For online businesses, Felton used and recommends Pure eCommerce.

Consider your Passions - Choose an area of trade that you have a persona attraction to. The more passion you feel for the product you’re selling, the harder you will drive your business.

Educate yourself - Learn as much as you can about every minute detail. Knowledge is power and is critical to running an online business.

Evaluate and “Revaluate” Constantly - Every day I spend at least 15 minutes doing some type of optimization for PurePajamas.com. I am always evaluating what I can be doing better. I look to see what my competitors are doing, and I always seek out ways to improve upon my customer service.

Be prepared to sacrifice “me” time - especially in the beginning as you get your business off the ground.

For more information go to http://www.pure-ecommerce.com

Newest Sites for Sale

Pure-Ecommerce.com is excited to introduce our newest sites for sale. Though we haven't completed the sites yet, they are on there way. Check them out online at http://www.pure-ecommerce.com or visit the sites directly.

SophisticatedBabyGear.com

DoggyWise.com

Pros and Cons of Buying an Exisiting Online Business Versus a Startup

Many perspective clients that come to Pure Ecommerce.com are thinking of buying an exisiting business and aren't really sold on the idea on buying a business that has not run before. In this posting we explore the pros and cons of purchasing a website business versus a turn key website that has not run yet.

Pros of buying a web business that has run before:

-Proven sales
-Consistent sales coming in
-Reputation in place

Cons of buying a web business that has run before:

-Could be buying past legal issues
-Have to handle returns from past customers
-Any past customer service issues could come back to haunt you
-Clean up any past issues including potential legal and customer service related problems
-Negative reputation that has to be turned around

Pros of buying a turn key website:

-You are starting from the ground up and have no past customer service issues to deal with
-No perspective past legal issues to deal with
-You will create your own reputation and wont have to fix anyones past falling outs
-You create the business you always wanted
-You step into a ready to go business without having to worry about past issues and if the information provided by seller is correct and true.

Cons of buying a turn key website:
-No proven sales
-No consistent sales coming in

Improving your Search Engine Optimization

What you do today will be a direct result of where you are in the search engines months from now. Search Engine Optimization must be part of the daily running of your ecommerce business. Each day you should have time set aside to work on SEO. If you don't work on your Search Engine Optimization on a daily, weekly and monthly basis your already behind so set a goal to do something each day to improve your rankings online.

Big Week at Pure-Ecommerce.com

This week is a big week for Pure-Ecommerce.com I will be interviewed on Monday for a pod cast radio show. I will post details Monday morning so you can listen! I will also be speaking at a local college as the Featured Entrepreneur. This is quite an honor for both myself and for Pure-Ecommerce.com. I will post the video afterwards so check back!

New Site for Sale-OrganicClothesforBaby.com

Check out our adorable new site http://www.organicclothesforbaby.com/.

This stylish site features all dropped shipped baby clothing. This fun web business paired with a first rate domain name will go quick. Check it out today!

Local Cancer Survivor Competes in Triathlon

Local Cancer Survivor Competes in Triathlon To Benefit Hospital that Treated Him04-15-2009 Cary, NC – Ten years ago and shortly upon returning from his honeymoon, Jeff Varner was given horrific news – he had Stage Three colon cancer and the prognosis was grim. Jeff was just 30 years old and his new wife, Jennifer, was only 25. Jeff underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatments at St. Anthony’s hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida and slowly but surely he beat the odds. To celebrate his ten year remission mark and in honor of the hospital that healed him, Jeff is competing in the St. Anthony’s Triathlon on April 26th. “We will forever be grateful to the surgeons, nurses, and entire staff of St. Anthony’s Hospital. They not only treated my disease, but provided me and my wife with the emotional support we so desperately needed during a difficult time,” says Jeff. “As business owners, Jennifer and I realize we are in a unique position to give back to St. Anthony’s, so we decided to raise money for this incredible hospital.” Jeff is a partner in his wife’s business, Pure eCommerce (www.pure-ecommerce.com), the first and only company to specialize in complete turn-key e-commerce solutions. In honor of the top-notch care they received at St. Anthony’s, they are hosting an online auction to raise money for the hospital. To this end, Pure eCommerce is offering up BoutiqueBabyShowerFavors.com to the highest bidder. Bidding starts at only $500.00 and all proceeds will go directly to the hospital. The site retails for $4,500. Pure eCommerce specializes in helping burgeoning entrepreneurs create successful online businesses. Jeff and Jennifer describe the concept as a “business in a box.” The turnkey sites available at Pure eCommerce cater to women – busy moms looking for extra income and other women interested in tapping into their entrepreneurial spirit. Pure eCommerce saves clients time and money by concepting the business, securing the domain name, creating the website and logos, and researching as well as securing inventory. All businesses come with 40 hours of consulting services, which means the experts at Pure eCommerce mentor and guide their clients every step of the way. In addition, the company offers custom turnkey business creation. For more information on Pure eCommerce and the charity auction to benefit St. Anthony’s hospital, please visit www.pure-ecommerce.com. About Pure eCommercePure eCommerce is the first and only company to specialize in complete turn-key e-commerce solutions. Pure eCommerce also provides professional ecommerce consulting, search engine optimization services and custom turnkey business creation. Founder Jennifer Gault-Varner is currently writing an e-Book, titled “The WAHMs Online Business Guide.”