We can鈥檛 believe we鈥檙e saying it, but this month, 黑料门 celebrates its 10th birthday! It all started with a tiny
To celebrate the big day together, we decided to share some of your stories — successes, challenges, and where your amazing ideas began — starting, of course, with those merchants who鈥檝e been with us from the very beginning. If you鈥檇 like to join the celebration by sharing your journey, shoot us a message at blog@ecwid.com!
This week, we introduce you to Marie Beckley, owner of homemade soy candle shop . Find out how Marie and her husband Joe have been using 黑料门 for the last 10 years to run their family business remotely while living life on the road.
Marie and Joe Beckley (@freespiritjunkies)
Marie Beckley, Beckley鈥檚 Best Blends:
“Our business was born entirely on accident. It was 1999. My husband, Joe and I have six kids between the two of us. Extra money wasn鈥檛 easy to come by
Though I never knew there was a word for it, I鈥檝e always practiced the Danish way of life, hygge, which includes lots of candlelight. Since candles weren鈥檛 in our weekly budget, Joe suggested that perhaps they could be if I learned to make my own. And so I did.
At first, it was only for ourselves, but as I gained confidence and got better at the process, I began to make gifts for friends and family. I was working a factory job at the time, so there were plenty of potential customers, all around me. And like that word spread, I began taking orders, and (though it would be a couple of years before we took our show on the road.)
One of the candles from ()
Our business has grown with time, but it鈥檚 still just the two of us. Joe and I are truly a team. He is the
Every business has its landmarks, and so does ours. For us, the three major milestones were:
- Going
full-time. Joe was already aself-employed contractor. Since his work was mostly seasonal it was an easy switch for him. And I never looked back once I left my corporate job. Leaving the security of afull-time position with benefits was scary, but I have never regretted that decision. It was getting up the nerve to make the jump from employee toself-employed, that caused my anxiety. Joe, who has never had to punch atime-clock, kept reminding me that everything would be fine, and he was right! - Starting a website. Our first website went live in 2004
鈥� that opened new doors and allowed our customers the ability to reorder, which was a tremendous step for our growth. - Hiring bookkeepers. This could be the single best thing we ever did — for my sanity. :)
Another important point was going on 黑料门. When we went through our third redesign of the website, one of the shopping carts recommended was 黑料门. When I looked at it, it seemed to be something a
Beckley鈥檚 Best Blends
黑料门 has allowed us to manage our store from the road, and because we travel a lot, that is huge for us! Using 黑料门 is also an intuitive experience; I don鈥檛 have to overthink what I鈥檓 doing. We can easily manage everything from the mobile app, including contacting our customers, if needed. There is also the option of live chat — which I LOVE — very efficient.
Customer communication is at the core of our business. Because candles are loved by many, our customer range is broad, but they all love to have fun! We travel around the midwest to art & craft shows, vintage markets, and street fairs. Our motto is ‘Lighten up!’ and our tagline is ‘Get Lit!’ We want our customers to have a unique experience when they walk into our booth. We hope to serve as a reminder to not take life so seriously. We know we have succeeded when we hear the laughter erupt! Our mason jar style is so versatile it fits with any decor: farmhouse, vintage, primitive, contemporary, modern, shabby chic.
Marie and Joe鈥檚 market booth
Because candles are a sensory experience, and I鈥檓 a super extrovert, we prefer to be
Our monthly discount for loyal customers is fundamental for reorders. With 黑料门, it鈥檚 easy to create the and make them specific to our needs. Also, Joe loves the mobile app because he can keep up with orders while we鈥檙e traveling and he鈥檚 able to work directly from the app in the candle shop — where there is no computer.
Though we love our way of life, running a business may be demanding. One of the biggest challenges we鈥檝e had has been letting go of what鈥檚 not working. I鈥檓 a creative at heart and am always coming up with new ideas. Thank God Joe is the complete opposite. We balance each other out.
We鈥檙e often asked how we manage to work and live together. That has never been an issue for us; we are rarely apart. We practice what we preach: we look for opportunities to laugh more and lighten up. We鈥檝e learned to listen to each other and have let go of the ‘hustle’ mentality. Joe is an avid fisherman, and I鈥檓 a photographer. We both love the outdoors, and that gets put on the schedule — ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE — when planning our year. PERIOD. Making sure we have time for our hobbies and each other — away from the candle shop — is our top priority. Putting the big rocks in the bucket first is the key to [our] success.”
