The Glass Votive Candle Shop

www.theglassvotivecandleshop.com.au

1. Tell us about your business

Australian online seller of wedding reception and party decorations.

2. When and why did you start your business?

2004 when I moved to Thailand and saw what was possible.

3. On a personal level, what have you achieved with your business?

A nice stream of income, working from home or any of my 4 offices worldwide. Also a wonderful business that I'll be passing on to all my children.

4. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in growing your business?

Time constraints. I never borrowed a single penny or cent so we always had to wait for cash flow to allow the new purchase of stock and for this I worked full time in a day job running wedding venues. Not much time left for the business but late nights and early mornings saw me through.

5. What activities have been successful in promoting your business?

E-commerce sites like ebay and Amazon and after that, good quality seo for my websites and even good quality brochures to send with every order.

6. What activities were less successful for marketing your business?

Expo's and trade shows. Waste of money for my line of products which are aimed at the single end, one time customer (brides).

7. Name your favourite thing about your business

Switching the computer on in the morning and watching all the orders go ching, ching, ching, ching..... in my emails. We have outlets in the UK too so it's a 24 hour operation. I spring out of bed every morning for that reason.

8. Who or what other businesses or business people inspire you?

Entrepreneurs in general but I'm not one. I'm just a worker building my business not an entrepreneur who just builds businesses.

9. What are your plans for the future of your business?

Looking for the next step in the upscaling of what we have already. I keep thinking I've run out of ideas and the suddenly get another one. Also adding more quality products but that's an obvious if difficult one because I set the bar pretty high.

10. Share your best business tip with our readers.

Cruising around in a limo in Bangkok with a couple of clients who I was helping find partner factories to work with. I'd set up all the appointments beforehand and we had a series of meetings that day. I was later to be paid a brokerage fee for all future orders. That was a few years ago and pretty cool with a nice dinner by the river at the The Oriental. Most of my business trips just feel like work but that one is the one I think about a lot.

Visit us at: www.theglassvotivecandleshop.com.au