Name of your website?Adirondack Pet Urns
Your name?
Patricia Dorr
Your Location (city, etc)
Crown Point NY 12928
Please give us a short summary of your website?
We create handpainted pet portrait cremation urns, memorial plaques, keepsake chests and canvas portraits of your pet from their photo.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
Our dog and best buddy "Chewbacca" passed away and we couldn't find an urn we thought was appropriate for him. (He would have been very upset if I put his ashes in a flowered tin!) so we decided to make our own. My husband Frank is a woodworker and I liked to paint animals so we combined our passions to create these memorials.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
Our first web site was launched in 1998 as Vermont Pet Urns. We moved to the Adirondack Mountains in NY State and changed the name. Same web site-different name.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
We used the area we are in and the product we sell.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
Our wood products are done by hand, not mass produced. Each portrait is your pet not a generic breed. We offer personal service and we are available at all hours for consultation.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
To let as many pet lovers know we are here for them at a difficult time.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
You have to be committed to putting time into what you love to do. Our web site has a memorial section where each pets portrait is placed. The site needs to be updated regularly because our customers are looking for that picture.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would like to advertise more in the larger pet magazines to let more people know about our services.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yes, I am not afraid to grow and hire on new people.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
We have had to build a larger workshop to manufacture the wood products but it was well worth it!
What has been your biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge is to let people know we exist. Our word of mouth and repeat business is excellent, it's getting the word out to pet lovers that don't know our service is available.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Believe it or not, once someone receives one of our painted urns they are the best promotion for our web site. They tell everyone they know and it snowballs from there.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It is actually easier then I thought. There are so many tools to help now, unlike 10 years ago when you had to know HTML code!
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?
We have run the site for ten years and plan to as long as we can see!
What is your website address?
Adirondack Pet Urns
