Tips for Creating an Online Store

Recently I was very lucky on getting an interview with Matt Lerner, President and CEO of Chili Peppers Collectibles, LLC.

He currently has 2 stores: USA Coin Shop and Proof Sets Direct (and is actually working on his third store).

1) Why did you start an online business?

Starting an online business made sense for me in many ways although its advantages have changed as time has progressed. The coin industry is dominated by primarily by older men. I was 10 years old when I first started selling coins and often times I was ignored by potential customers because I was so young. In 1999, when I was 13, I started selling coins on eBay, primarily the state quarters. On eBay people didn’t judge you by your age, but instead by reputation as a seller, a HUGE advantage for me. Today I am 21, my age can still make people uncertain about my qualifications, although as they say, the proof is in the pudding, I now have had over 12,000 transactions on eBay with a 99.1% positive feedback rating.

While that aspect of selling online has been instrumental to my success online, I find one of the biggest advantages of an online business is the flexibility. One of my true passions besides coins is traveling and my online business allows me to do just that. Unlike a 9-5 job, when operating an online business it doesn’t matter where you are, what time it is, or even how you’re dressed. I usually get my best work done at 3:00AM when I’m sitting around in my boxers. Over the summer, I took a road trip of America and operated my business from the back of my car. All you need a computer and an Internet connection and you’re in business.

2) What were your first 3 steps in creating a new business?

1.) Find your passion. You can do anything and sell anything you want, but at the end of the day if you’re not 100% passionate about what you’re doing, you should rethink things. Being passionate makes going to work something to look forward to rather than a burden.

2.) Become an expert. One of the most compelling selling propositions you can offer to your customers is your knowledge or expertise. It will make them more willing to pay a premium for your product, keep them coming back and allow you to improve you overall business.

3.) Fail and overcome. Starting a business isn’t as simple as it may seem. Once you have your passion and you’ve become an expert, it’s time to try it all out. Most of the time you’ll fail at first but it’s important to stick with it. Sometimes the best learning experiences occur after failures. Those who are willing to change their mindset or business practices through learning from their past experiences, will be the ones who will succeed.

3) Based on your experience what is your most effective way of promoting your online store?

I was extremely lucky to have a large customer base of customers who I had sold coins to while selling on eBay which helped me launch the site. However as I grow the business there are a number of things I try to keep in mind. One of the most important things I can suggest to anyone who is trying to promote their site is to really think about exactly who your customer is. Most of us don’t have the money to be able to afford to market to everyone. And lets face it, even if we could market to everyone, unless you are selling a way to live for eternity, everyone is not going to be interested in what you are selling. There is no use wasting money to reach people who won’t be interested. So focus on answer these questions: What do they like to do? Where to they go for information on the Internet? Are there any networks they belong to that you might be able to tap into? What is sorts of messages will they be most receptive to? Then think of ways to utilize that information to reach your target customer.

For me, most of my new customers come from Google Adwords. For those of you who don’t know what this is, when you use www.Google.com and type in a word or phrase, say a gold coin you’ll notice there are links at the top and to the right of the search results. These are paid search terms. People pay anywhere from $0.20 to $10 per CLICK for these ads. Many of the items I’m selling are great for gifts, so using this technique as extremely beneficial for the holiday season.

4) What are your favorite websites?

Other than USA Coin Shop? Haha. eBay.com is one of my first stops when I log onto my computer. I also enjoy Woot.com and ProductDose.com.

5) What is your 2008 goal for USA Coin Shop?

I’d like to transition the majority of my inventory off of eBay and onto USA Coin Shop so I won’t have to pay eBay’s outrageous fees and I’ll be able to pass along those savings to my customers. I would ideally like to be one of the top 5 online coin retailers on the Internet.

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Thanks Matt for the Interview! If any of you ever get the chance to meet Matt, you will instantly be pumped to start a business. He is a die hard entrepreneur.