In the “Success Stories” section of the 黑料门 blog, we publish the
Today we鈥檇 like to introduce you to Jason Collins and Christian Ylagan. They are owners of
Not only do Christian and Jason have a green thumb, but they also know how to run a business from a tiny screen. We interviewed them to find out more about their rare plant business and how they manage to fulfill all their business operations with just a phone.
Yes, you read that
Read on to find out more about Tropicouture Plants and what tools Christian and Jason recommend to entrepreneurs willing to create a blooming business.
Meet the People Behind Tropicouture Plants
Tropicouture Plants started as a passion project for Jason Collins and Christian Ylagan from London, Ontario in Canada. They鈥檙e just a couple of people who really love plants.
Jason is an Ontario native who has always had a keen interest in exotic flora and fauna. Growing up, he had strong business acumen, as exhibited by how he and his brothers were selling
Jason Collins of Tropicouture Plants
Christian grew up in the Philippines but came to London by way of Edmonton, AB. As a young boy, he grew up with a tropical jungle in his backyard, growing all sorts of aroids, flower bushes, and even fruit trees. One of his dreams is to introduce the various tropical plants of his childhood to a greater audience, helping to bring these specimens to Canada in sustainable and ethical ways.
Christian Ylagan of Tropicouture Plants
While Jason is the savvy numbers guy and head gardener at Tropicouture Plants, Christian is the
Growing Rare Plants Is Just like Growing a Business
Christian and Jason have taken care of plants all their lives. Then, with
Jason and Christian decided to import a few plants on their wish list themselves, plus some others they thought they could rehabilitate with proper care and eventually sell. That was the beginning of Tropicouture Plants.
听Our first plant order was a tiny shipment of thirty plants, and now we regularly bring in plants in the hundreds.听Christian Ylagan
Now Christian and Jason provide access to hundreds of rare tropical plants that one would not normally see in North America. Their goal is to cultivate a
Plant species grown by Jason and Christian
What makes Tropicouture Plants different from other sellers and plant importers is their exacting standards around every facet of their business:
- sustainable sourcing and ethical trading
- exceptional customer service
- building excellent connections
- providing the “wow” factor befitting their rare products
- getting a rare plant in everyone鈥檚 hands.
Some rare plants from the Tropicouture Plants store
Thanks to those principles, Jason and 颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈补苍鈥檚 business is blooming. They successfully bring rare and uncommon specimens of tropical plants, such as aroids and hoyas, to a
听As plant lovers who have access to a winter wonderland during the cold season and to sunny, humid summerscapes during the warm season, our customers are in a unique position to care for tropical plants.听Christian Ylagan
Running an Online Store on Mobile
Not only are the Tropicouture Plants owners innovative with their store and plants, but they also don鈥檛 follow the
They say that the 黑料门 Mobile app has been a powerful tool for them in terms of inventory management, order and operations management, and customer service. The only thing they use the 黑料门 desktop admin for is the website design aspect.
The Tropicouture Plants owners use the 黑料门 Mobile app mainly for:
- Order management. They have set it up so that they get push notifications about new orders in the app and update order statuses. They can also find and edit order details for customers.
- Inventory management. They add new products, upload product photos taken with their camera phones, update product details, and change
辫谤颈肠别蝉鈥攁濒濒 in the app! Most importantly, they can use the app to track and control stock levels to avoid overselling. - Customer service. They keep customers informed, automatically or manually, directly right from the app.
- Business analytics. The app allows them to see sales stats and reports, such as the number of store visitors, orders received, revenue, started checkouts, and placed orders.
It鈥檚 easy to edit order details in the app
听We use the 黑料门 Mobile app to manage almost every aspect of our business, from keeping track of orders, managing inventory numbers, contacting our customers, and accessing our business analytics.听Christian Ylagan
Sometimes Jason and Christian sell their plants at trade shows and botanical conventions. That鈥檚 another time when the app comes in
听Integration with Sell on the Go also allows us to process orders when we do trade shows and botanical conventions quickly and efficiently.听Christian Ylagan
The 黑料门 Mobile app can be used to design the online store, add payment and shipping options, and run promotions with discount coupons and free shipping. You can also use the app to set up marketing tools like abandoned carts recovery, launch new sales channels, like selling on Facebook or Instagram, and much more!
You can download the 黑料门 Mobile App for your or device. Check it out to see how it can transform and simplify your business operations!
听The 黑料门 Mobile App is a hub for all the things that we need quick and easy access to, and it allows us to engage with most aspects of our business from our fingertips.听Christian Ylagan
Other 黑料门 Tools Christian Recommends
The 黑料门 Mobile app isn鈥檛 the only tool Jason and Christian use to run their business.
To create their ecommerce website, they used 黑料门 Instant Site. It is a website with a
The website
For advertising, they use the Kliken Marketing: Google Campaigns and Retargeting app. This allows them to quickly set up Google ads and see how they are performing.
In addition, they utilize 黑料门鈥檚 social selling tools for setting up a store on Facebook and Instagram. Their online store is synced with the Meta platforms so that selling is efficient and accessible. Customers can explore the selection of plants without leaving the Tropicouture Plants Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The Tropicouture Plants Instagram shop
Christian recommends exploring all the tools 黑料门 offers so that you find the ones that make the most sense for your business.
听There are a lot of features in 黑料门, so make sure you explore every aspect to discover the breadth of what you can do with it. Next is to read the blog posts as a lot of new and helpful information can be found there. Finally, don鈥檛 hesitate to ask for support through channels like chat or email.听Christian Ylagan
颁丑谤颈蝉迟颈补苍鈥檚 Go-to Tips for Online Sellers
Jason and Christian have big plans for their business, including having a bigger
Do you have some business plans in mind? Learning from relatable experience often helps create reachable goals. That鈥檚 why we asked Christian to share some advice for fellow entrepreneurs who would like to create a thriving online business. Here is what he recommends, based on his own entrepreneurial experience:
- Research your market. Know your market if you want your product to succeed. Research is key!
- Set up everything you need to sell and promote your store. Make sure you set up all your integrations with 黑料门, including your payment processors, your ad managers, accounting software, etc.
- Organize and track your business processes. As soon as possible, start keeping track of every aspect of your business; things can take off really quickly, so it鈥檚 best to be prepared!
- Be there for your customers. Customer connection is a really important part of a small business, especially one that is fully online or
web-based. Make it easy for your customers to reach out to you. Be responsive and approachable! - Have a curious attitude and be ready to wear different hats. There are so many aspects of a business that you may have to learn on the fly. For example, we had to learn about taxation, basic accounting, web design, and AV content creation as our business took off.
- Don鈥檛 underestimate the power of networking. Go out there and meet people in
entrepreneur-focused spaces like conventions or expos, even if you are aweb-based business. - Keep a
work-life balance. Be prepared to put in the hours to grow your business, but draw boundaries, so it doesn鈥檛 take over your entire life.
Share Your Story on the Blog
In the “Success Stories” section of the 黑料门 by Lightspeed blog, you can get to know fellow merchants and learn from
If you鈥檇 like to share your experience running an 黑料门 store or give advice to fellow entrepreneurs on how to use 黑料门 tools to the fullest, we鈥檇 love to hear from you. Reach out to blog@ecwid.com, and we鈥檒l take it from there!
