The second business he started was EasyE-junkie that caters to merchants who use E-Junkie. It specializes in creating 3rd-party integrations, as well as doing all other E-Junkie related work. It provides one-on-one training to clients if they request it. And the third one is Wellness Audio, that makes audio products which enhance health and wellness for relaxation and meditation.
Running three businesses at one time is a great achievement and when each of them is performing so well. Andrew is a perfect example of 'been-there-done-that' E-commerce merchant who has made it big through small businesses. Online selling has absolutely revolutionized the way trading is done; making it easier and more accessible.
We have Andrew with us to share his experience in online selling and tell us more about his businesses. Catch his exclusive interview with us below:
Andrew, let's start with a brief introduction of yours. Tell us something about yourself.
Let’s see… I run three online businesses, am a husband, stay-at-home father, and am obsessed with E-commerce. Did I mention that I hardly ever sleep??
When I’m not working on any one of a number of work projects that are always going, I love spending time with my wife and family and playing with my kids. In any spare time that I manage to have to myself, I enjoy hiking, watching college football, discovering new live music, meditating, and frankly just doing nothing.
You're doing a fantastic job as a small business owner, Andrew. How did you decide about entering the E-commerce world?
Well, my first online business was Pediasleep.com. Pediasleep was started by my wife and I when our daughter was 6 months old. She was a horrible sleeper, and would only nap during the day when I was holding her. I discovered very quickly that daytime television was incredibly boring, and also discovered that my daughter would sleep better when listening to the sound of our clothes drier, or other “white noise” sounds. So, instead of sitting around watching reruns on TV, I learned how to code really rough HTML, made some recordings of white noise, and put them up for sale as MP3 downloads, with the help of E-Junkie, on a really basic website. At the time, I expected it might buy a pizza or two each month – you know, be a little “mad money” – but discovered that there was a surprising niche in the baby sleep market.
How has been your experience while selling online? How would you compare it with offline business?
I have had a very positive experience selling online. In the process, I have learned about two misconceptions about selling online, which I think are very common – and I have even had myself.
The first misconception is that it’s too difficult to break-into online sales and E-commerce. I had this misconception myself, until I tried it with Pediasleep. And even then, my goals were really low. What I’ve learned – especially with E-Junkie’s simplicity – is that if you have a good idea, and a product that is in demand, it doesn’t have to be incredibly difficult to start an online business. E-Junkie makes it easy to set-up a shopping cart, and it isn’t too difficult to make a decent looking website these days, so getting started with an online business is very “doable” for most people.
Okay… so that’s the first misconception and probably the most positive thing that I’ve learned from selling online. If you have an idea or a goal, go for it – you can make it happen!
The second misconception, which I’ve also been guilty of having from time to time, is that it’s easy to be successful online without much work. Now, this probably seems like it is exactly the opposite of the first misconception I just mentioned, but it’s not. The first misconception is that it’s too difficult to break-into E-commerce, and the reality is that it’s not difficult to get started at all. However… it takes work, focus, and dedication to really be successful at it. I think sometimes there is a tendency to believe that all you have to do is put up a website with some products, and you’ll get instant sales. When in reality, although it’s fairly easy to put up a website with products for sale, it takes work to promote and market your businesses, and online success does not come automatically.
That being said, compared to offline businesses, with E-commerce I think it is much easier to get started, test ideas, and undertake the critical job of continuously improving things. And that fact makes it very attractive for people who are entrepreneurial, and willing to put in the hard work to be successful.
I read about all three of your businesses and I must say, they hooked me for a good amount of time. How did you come up with these wonderful concepts and how do you manage all of your ventures?
Well, Pediasleep was a “necessity is the mother of invention” type of business. I had a daughter who wouldn’t sleep, so I needed to figure out how to help her sleep better before I wasted away of sleep deprivation myself.
EasyE-Junkie.com developed out of my initial experiences learning all about how to use and tweak E-Junkie, and the expertise that I gained as a merchant. You see, while Pediasleep was growing, I had lots and lots of questions about E-Junkie – how to set shipping, how to make downloads work a certain way, etc… I’m sure I made Robin nuts with all my emails in those early days. Well, through these initial emails, Robin and I became online friends, so when I started EasyE-Junkie.com, Robin was kind enough to recommend my services to merchants who needed help with their E-Junkie setup. Since then, EasyE-Junkie.com has grown into a web development business that specializes in E-Junkie training, and programming custom integrations between E-Junkie and other third-party services. We now have a staff of several programmers and designers on board, and I primarily do project management.
My most recent business is WellnessAudio.com which is a joint-venture that I recently started with a friend who is a professional audio engineer and composer. In addition to being an absolute wizard with anything audio and musical related, my business partner is also an expert in wellness and meditation, having meditated and studied ancient Hinduism and Buddhism for years in the Himalayas. He is also well versed in NLP, Hypnosis and Neurobiology. Wellness Audio is our effort to integrate traditional meditation and contemporary wellness practices with some very high-tech audio technologies, with the goal of providing people with a safe, easy, and fast way to attain wellness, and develop a better mind-body connection.
What kind of reception has 'Pediasleep' received so far?
In our 5 years that we’ve been in business, we’ve helped over 100,000 families sleep better, and we get emails each week from parents thanking us for making the white noise products that we do. Having been in that hopeless position ourselves of having a baby that simply will not sleep, it’s a pretty cool feeling to know that our products – which continue to help our own children sleep – have been so helpful to other families out there.
Tell us a little more about "Wellness Audio". Does it cater to a particular set of audience?
Wellness Audio literally has audio products for everyone. We don’t really have a particular audience, except to say that our typical customer is interested in becoming healthier, and enhancing their life.
We have products to help anyone quickly relax without needing to rely on drugs or alcohol. We have products to help people boost their mind power, so they can be more creative or more focused. There are products to help people sleep better, help people quickly get the benefits of meditation, without needing to invest the time to really become a meditation expert.
Chances are, Wellness Audio has an audio product to meet just about any need out there, or we have that product planned for development in the future.
What are your dreams/vision for your businesses?
Right now, we are actually pushing hard to grow and develop all three businesses. Without getting into too many details, Pediasleep will have a new look sometime in the near future, Wellness Audio will also be getting a new look and we are improving all of the audio products based on customer feedback, and EasyE-Junkie has plans to roll-out a new and innovative application that will allow E-Junkie merchants of all shapes and sizes to easier use and have better control over some of our integrations and cart/button tweaks. People can stay connected with our businesses and get updates about these exciting developments by following us on Twitter or "Liking" us on Facebook.
What would you like to advise those offilne business owners who are planning to set up online?
Have a really good plan, do your homework with keyword research, and take the plunge! E-Junkie makes it easy to get started.
If you go back to the time when you started, what is that one thing you'd change about your online businesses?
I wish I would have learned sooner that you can only do so much by yourself. With Pediasleep, I tried to do everything myself and it was a TON of work. With Wellness Audio, I’m learning from my partnership that it can be very useful to have a partner you trust and work well with, so you can spread around the work and “divide and conquer.”
Share with us your fondest memory through these years.
One of my fondest memories was when Pediasleep got our very first email expressing how much our sounds had helped a Mom and her baby. I still remember the exact words in that email because they so powerfully captured what it is that we are trying to do for people. The Mom wrote that our sounds had helped her baby sleep, when previously nothing else would do the trick: “Thanks to Pediasleep and the sleep you are helping us get, we are starting to get our lives back, and I’m getting back to feeling human again. You’ve helped us all enjoy this time in our new baby’s life, where previously everything seemed like a constant struggle.” That was such a great email to get, because it reinforced that we were doing something good to help people, in addition to simply running a business and making money.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Free time? What’s that???
Seriously, it can be hard to come by free time when you work for yourself and run online businesses. However, I’ve managed to learn that it’s important to take free time when you can get it. When I have free time, I like to be outside as much as possible and enjoy hiking, playing with my kids and family, and anything else that gets my mind on something other than work and away from my computer. I’ve learned that when your work centers around a computer as much as mine does, it’s important to be intentional about going “offline” whenever possible to give your mind some needed downtime.
A final message for our readers..?
If you have dreams of starting, or growing, an online business, don’t wait any longer. Take the plunge and get started today!
Andrew, thank you for talking to us and sharing your business journey. It was incredible to learn how you started and where you stand today. You're truly an inspiration for others. E-junkie wishes you the best in life!
To learn about Andrew's businesses, you can visit the following links:
EasyE-junkie.com
WellnessAudio.com
Pediasleep.com
You can also follow the businesses on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan:
EasyE-junkie:
twitter.com/easyejunkie
facebook.com/pages/Easy-E-Junkie/203392676343137
Pediasleep:
twitter.com/pediasleep
facebook.com/pediasleep
WellnessAudio:
twitter.com/wellnessaudio
facebook.com/wellnessaudio
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