Name of your website?The Yarn Market Place
Your name?
Lori Henderson
Your Location (city, etc)
Bradenton
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Our goal is to provide quality yarns and related supplies at affordable prices. Our inventory is currently expanding, but right now we carry Peaches & Creme, America's Best, and Honeysuckle Yarns.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I have always been a huge fan of knitting and crochet, and this website originally started as a project for me and my daughter to work on together. My daughter crochets and knits, and is trying to teach herself to tat.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is our first website! Wish us luck!
How did you decide on a name for your website?
Our name was the result of an early-morning brainstorming session.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
We are a small team devoted to our crafts and our customers. Because we actually use the products we sell on a regular basis, we are able to assist our customers with selections for their own products.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Hopefully this website will generate enough profit that we will be able to give the money back to the community in the form of charitable donations and assistance to local non-profit organizations. Right now, there is no plan for the business to be sold. We would like to keep it in the family for as long as possible.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
This is a start-up company right now.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
There are some changes that we would like to make to our current product listing system, but these should not require an unlimited budget - simply unlimited ingenuity and extensive time investment.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Absolutely.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Our site has launched fairly smoothly, and we hope that the good luck continues.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Since this is such a small operation right now, the biggest challenge has been in getting prominent suppliers to take notice. We feel confident that this will not be a problem for long.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
So far, word of mouth and Facebook advertising.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
Our original expectation was that the process would be much easier and would go a lot faster than it has. The work will certainly be worthwhile, but starting a web business isn't as easy as pointing and clicking, as some would say.
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?
Our site has been live for over a week now. As long as people continue to visit and buy from us we are happy to maintain the site and sell our yarns to them. Everyone should have access to affordable craft supplies and knowledgeable customer service teams.
What is your definition of success?
Being successful is delivering quality products for affordable prices and maintaining excellent customer service. Being successful means making customers happy, and being able to help other people.
What is your website address?
The Yarn Market Place
