There’s no way to get around it, as 100% entrepreneur, De Voir Lewis said, “(In eCommerce) if you’re not learning, you’re not growing.” That is especially true when it comes to the tech side of running an eCommerce business.
What a treat! Braised and Blanched, The Drinking Glass, eCommerce business owner, Le Voir Lewis joins Reinventing you and Writing Too to explore his tech experiences in his online merchant store venture.
Get comfortable with a pint or margarita, as we resume the interview with the business owner and bachelor from the Irish Channel district of New Orleans, De Voir Lewis.
He’s got more to share about the dynamic details of his online merchant adventure as a virtual store owner on the Shopify platform.
Q: (Question)
L: (Mr. Lewis)
M: (Me)
Sweet Return
M: I appreciate you so much spending some time with me?
L: Sure, this is an all-access exclusive interview into me, and I’m ready.
Q: What are your future plans (this is when technology entered the interview)?
L: There’s been small ads I’ve done through Pinterest and Facebook and social media. And they have helped. I’ve noticed a trend when I stop the ads. That’s when the activity stops on the website. So obviously there’s a strong correlation. And so of course, it’s about setting up budgets and every month I need to set up a small marketing budget. That’s the key when it comes to operations.
(Digital) advertising etc. has to be budgeted in order to know where your cash flow is going.
M: Absolutely.
Q: How do you keep your overhead low?
L: It hasn’t been low. But in the first two months, I have started scaling back. For everyone who wants to be a business owner…you are going to spend money. Sometimes you’re going to spend more money than you planned.
But every strategy in a business is to be able to scale back. (Esp.) when you need to see where every penny is going. Once you scale back you’ll have a better idea of what you’re actually making. And your chances of being in the black versus being in the red are greater.
M: Definitely. I see that (entrepreneur) reflective nature as you were looking at the Facebook ads or the Pinterest ads. You began to see that yes, they were worth it. So, then you went forward with it is that what you are talking about?
L: Well, not only that, but also other things about having a business through Shopify. You are going to get any and everyone throwing apps at you. Everyone knows this when you start looking at things on your phone what ads pop up? Things that you looked up on your phone.
M: Absolutely.
L: So, in the initial stages of setting up this business my phone got wind of what I was doing. So, every ad that was on Instagram and Facebook was something geared toward the business. (They were saying) Get this app it’s gonna funnel a higher conversion rate
You start looking at that and it’s all enticing, but the reality is it’s like a real estate agent. You’re not going to get all these sales your first month or your first three months. You’re going to have to build your portfolio. You’re going to have to build a fan-base or consumer-base.
Same with Amazon, they had to go through it. It’s going to be the same with Braised and Blanched, and it’s going to be the same for The Drinking Glass. I’m going to have to build a base.
Q: Do you have a written out, measurable business mission statement?
L: I do. I think any business starts off with a business plan. It’s something that’s tangible that allows you to actually think and assist you with making those goals. The business plan allowed me to have my small goals. It allows you to focus on demographics, loan opportunities, and projected sales…
It gives you a chance to look at all of those factors into your business. Also, business plans are one of the preferred documentation at banks. And loan officers want to look at (them). They want to see if you’re serious about your business.
And they also want to see and know if you have the experience. That also makes a big difference as to if you are going to be successful or not. A lot of people don’t want to take a chance on someone who has no experience. It’s like a real estate agent being a barber.
What does a real estate agent know about cutting hair? Why do they need a loan for a barbershop? Those are questions that are asked when you are going to seek financial support from a bank or from a credit union.
Do you have experience to back up and make your business successful? Or are you going to go into default?
L: I am thankful for the 9 to 5. I won’t know how successful I am until I hand in my two weeks at my full time job. That’s when it’s declared that my businesses are successful. And they can run on their own with hired people. And this is what I’m going to do for a living. I’m 100% a small business owner. I’m 100% an entrepreneur who works for himself. That’s the true measure and the true indicator that the business is successful.
Figure Insights
Q: Ballpark figure on (eCommerce business) startup costs?
L: It depends what I want to do with the business. Do I want to have an app designed for my business? Do I want a rewards program for spending? That’s another opportunity. That’s another app you can add to your store. Do I want to add a chatbot to my store? Do I want to add pop-ups to my store?
Because you are looking at a product (and) that behavior is being studied while you are on my website. Therefore, there’s a little box that opens up and says have you seen this product? And it’s based off the behavior that you minutes ago showed when you looked at this (same) product.
M: Targeting.
L: Right targeting app. So, those four apps in itself cost about $400. But those are not the only apps. So, there are other apps you can add to your store. When you are asking what you’re spending, it depends on your goal. It depends on what you are wanting to put forth the effort.
M: Ok.
L: But what I say is start small and work your way up. There should be no reason why. I have a rewards program for Braised and Blanched. The reason why I have a rewards program is because I come from businesses that have a rewards program. That was my background.
M: Oh, I see.
L: I came from a company that had one. And just by having that rewards program improved how successful they were. It probably improved and increased their loyalty and retention by 60%.
Q: Another consideration I stumbled upon was the forgotten cart option. (That’s a conversion rate of 90% in some cases) Do you have something in place like that (in your store)?
L: Mmhm. I have an abandoned cart program or app. And the abandoned cart app is very successful. Because what happens is it sends an email out. And you can have it to where it sends a text or email immediately. Or you can wait a day. Wait two days…wait five days. It depends on the frequency.
I say, why wait? I have it set up to where it’s immediately (delivered).
There’s a chance there will be a missed opportunity. Because a lot of those abandoned carts (have) a person signed up while being on your website as a subscriber. Or are they just acting as a guest?
So, now you have a 50/50 chance. 50% chance that the person is going to sign up for a subscription. 50% chance that they won’t. These 50% that won’t sign up (and) they won’t ever get a notification of an abandoned cart.
Now this other 50% that have signed up. Then, now you have to start looking at other percentages. Now, there’s a chance that once they do receive the email. Are they checking their email frequently?
If they’re not then that’s probably that percentage that will not get that indication or will never read an indication that they have an abandoned cart.
So there are so many factors you have to tie in when mimicking these scenarios. But again, you do the best you can. Try to be up-to-date when it comes to those apps and that technology. But then again, you don’t want to fall victim to spending so much money your first few months as a business owner.
Then, that’s another sad story for a lot of business owners. That they are rushing for the success. Just let the success come to you. It will come. It’s gonna be there.. It’s gonna be slow, but it’s going to be there.
Q: Do you have an email list?
I do have a list of customer subscribers. I sent the last one (email) out last week. It was actually a Mother’s Day Sale that I’m promoting. But then there’s also going to be future opportunities. And some try to build up as much a subscription or subscribers list as possible. (That’s) because once this advertisement comes out, I don’t want people to be mad. (Esp.) when it comes out because they didn’t subscribe.
I will not do the same for Braised and Blanched because I want to keep those stores totally different, totally separate. In fact, I want it so separate and different, I don’t want people to think, is Braised and Blanched affiliated with the Drinking Glass?
Well, yes, it is. But because of how different I want the two to be I don’t ever want people to confuse the two.
To answer the question of subscribers. I understand people are very private when it comes to phone numbers, emails. You have to be especially when it comes to businesses selling third-party information.
Braised and Blanched & the Drinking Glass do not sell customer information. Coming from a background where I understand that customer information is private, that customer information is there. I don’t have any reports or anything that is tangible in a file cabinet or anything. Everything is kept digitally and it’s encrypted. So, at any moment any customers have any doubt I do follow privacy policies. And customer policies on both (the CCPA and the GRDP).
One of the things you have to do as a business owner, esp. if you are selling online, you have to be very compliant or there are heavy fines. I definitely want to be sure that I am compliant.
M: Gotcha.
Goal Setting in 2022
Q: We talked about how financial gain is not the reason behind either business, but do you have goals set up?
L: I have very small goals. Again, it’s not about money. It’s more… this week can I get a hundred online sessions? Next week… can I get a thousand sessions? My conversion rate is very low. I won’t disclose my rate from social media and ads, but I do have goals. Of course, my goals have to be parallel to my finances as well.
So, I can’t do anything outlandish just so I can reach a goal. Again. It’s about being sensible, organized, calculated, and if I don’t reach that goal either that day or that week that’s fine. But I have it on record. Ok, this is what I did. And when it comes to sales? Of course, next year I’m going to compare my sales from last year to next year. And project accordingly.
M: Excellent.
Leadership Apps
Q: When you were talking about staying ten steps ahead, that was reminding me of the 4 Hour work week. That part when the author Tim Ferriss talks about how it sometimes takes many, many months before he makes a move? Can you tell us about some of the business type of books possibly that inspired you? (Those) that helped give you these tools you have to make the business that you’ve made?
L: To be honest with you, there has been very little leadership books that I’ve read. There’s an app, Headway, (which) allows you a seven-day free subscription and then, afterwards it’s $8 or $9 a month. It’s about leadership and about building your self-esteem. About winning…how to be an effective leader. All those books that you’ve mentioned. In all those that have come out like the 4-Hour Work Week is featured.
How to Make Friends and Influence People? That book is also in that set of collections of books that are in Headway. So, there are apps for that.
Q: There’s a lot of talk today about how common people cannot afford education, even online education, can you comment on the tech side of education as an entrepreneur?
L: The mindset is a little bit different.
M: True.
L: There are a lot of people who are probably going to cringe when I say this. But college prepares people for real-world issues sometimes. College is about training you. Are you teachable? There use to be a saying back in the day, you go to college you get a good job. That’s not necessarily the case anymore.
M: Absolutely.
L: You have a lot of people who don’t have the paper to back it. But they have the experience, and they have the knowledge set to back it. It’s not to throw away from a college education. But it’s to say that we live in a different world right now… where college use to be the norm. And it was guaranteed that you were going to make it big if you went to college.
But that’s not the case anymore. I know college students who have graduated and they’re not doing anything of what their degree they majored in.
M: Right.
L: I know of a gentleman who was in the Navy and graduated from college with a dual major, and he’s not doing anything right now. You would think with that cookie-cutter military went to a four-year degree got not only a Bachelor’s but a Master’s degree. And not doing anything. So it again supports that college is a little bit different from what it was when our parents were going and older people went to college.
It was guaranteed you had a job then. But now, it’s not the case. Because there is so much competition.
M: I see a lot of things from Linked In of people that come from nothing, yet they learn these people skills the harder way.
L: Yeah. It’s very important to learn those skills. It’s very important to actually learn in general. I mean if you’re not learning, you’re not growing.
Contact Information
M: This has been great. Is there any way we can get in touch with you if we have more questions or want to come find you (online)?
L: Absolutely. I have a customer service email for Braised and Blanched and that is customer.service@braisedandblanched.com. And it’s the same for The Drinking Glass. It’s customer.service@thedrinkingglass.co.
Use sales@braisedandblanched.com for corporate sales or those big quantities sales. Quantity over 50. For things such as custom-made t-shirts for a group. They can send their inquiries to the sales email address. And my rep will respond as quick as possible and get the information out to them.
So, let’s keep my rep busy! While he is working.
Wrap Up
What does it take to run a successful eCommerce business in 2022? Le Voir Lewis has shared his advice he’s discovered over decades. Let’s look at his journey in six tech takeaways.
- Budget for electronic marketing, but don’t be afraid to scale back on what isn’t working.
- Shopify business apps can be tempting, start with a small amount of them.
- Business might be slow but use this momentum to build a fan/customer base.
- Leadership apps like Headway are useful but no need to use them long term.
- Don’t forget to look into high conversion abandoned cart apps
- College is one of many places you can pick up business relationship skills.
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Until next time, be your top-shelf you.