Name of your website?Royal Image Collars
Your name?
Starlyn Smelker
Your Location (city, etc)
Carrollton
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Royal Image Collars, unique, functional, strong and stunning on all breeds of dogs. We welcome our customers to our online design studio. We believe they will find this a fun and refreshing experience that will allow each customer to purchase a pre-designed collar or to become �The Custom Designer� of a unique handcrafted elegant creation that will give their precious canine companions the "Regal Aire" they deserve. These creations will be admired by many long into the future.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
After founding my brand name of Royal Image Collars in Michigan, in 1997, my product is now backed with 12 years of industry experience.
While involved in Greyhound Rescue and Adoption since 1995, we found that the Martingale style collars, used on the Greyhounds, were essential for their protection and has become for many breeds, the collar of choice. When fitted properly, these collars keep a dog's narrow skull, such as the Greyhound�s, from slipping out of the collar in panic. Rescued Racing Greyhounds of today, should they get loose, are not familiar with the dangers of the world around them because they have been raised in seclusion. Because of their fright in new and strange surroundings they avoid coming easily to strangers to be caught. Due to this innocence we must protect them from getting loose. This same need for protection of our dogs has made the martingale style collar so popular today for use on all breeds.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is my first website. Even though I have been a manufacturer and vendor of these collars for many years, I decided it was time to launch my official website by January of 2006 to make my products and services more widely available to a wider range of customers via the internet.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
Having been involved in Greyhound Rescue and realizing that this ancient breed had been owned exclusively and prized for centuries by nobility, their statis was often recognized by adornment of elegant and functional collars. Still, in today's modern times, owners and afficionatos wish to "dress" their Greyhounds and sitehounds in collars reminicent of their noble ancestries. Throughout the ages, these noble canines were recognized in ancient records in part by wearing these collars. Hence, the title of my business and website became "Royal Image Collars."
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
My website was one of the very first on the North American Continent to offer this style of beaded collar to customers. Several other websites have since been lanched that offer varying styles of beaded collars. My initial goal for my business and website was to include the customer in the design making decisions of the products they were purchasing. Often, customers have a strong preference to use specific colors and styles on their dogs. My site allows this "interaction" to the customer by allowing them to become the "Custom Designer," if they wish, of the collars they purchase for their canine companions. They can pick and choose the colors and the components for their finished collars. Also, these collars are built to perfectly fit the measurements of the specific dog that each collar is created for.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I enjoy working with many new and existing friends and customers in the creation of these collars and related products. I wish to continue offering this experience and service as long as possible.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
This investment and experience has become something more to me than can be measured in dollars and cents. The relationships I have made with so many people, animal rescue organizations and events with which I participated and have been involved with through my products, has given me the opportunity to see the good that my talents can do. My business is a self-supporting mission to help when and where I can. As long as the investment continues to help pay for itself, I see this as an opportunity to continute with my goal of contributing, in some way, to the best in animal stewardship.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
You know, I would like to improve some things in the image of my website. But, one of my major goals is to keep my website relatible and simple for the customer to use. My website already has so many choices for the customer to use that I don't really wish to overwhelm the experience with a super "Glitzy" design and selection process. I still wish to stick to my guns of the K.I.S.S. belief. Keep It Simple, Star! So, even though I may use a small portion of this 'hypothetical' unlimited development budget for slightly improving my website, I would probably delagate a goodly portion of the rest of the budget to more worthwhile projects such as advertising and hiring more employees to assist in increased sales, production and enhanced customer experiences.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
If my product range were created a little differently I would love to see this happen. I think that any entrepreneur would like to see his or her business venture grow to the extent of this new growth quandry and solution need! However, for my opportunity to have a closer personal relationship with my customers needs, I don't mind holding it to a fixed revenue that is within reason. My product line, at the moment, does not lend itself to this type of expanential growth. This growth quantry for my business has to have a balance factor that keeps my customers satisfied in comparison to a great profit aspect. Because my product is personally made for each customer, individual quality can never be sacrificed or lost to quantity.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
I can't say that I have had devistatingly unexpected costs or headaches because my product manufacturing process and needs have been pretty well thought out and developed over the years. Other than computer equipment and maintenance costs, the most unexpected costs may have been the super high advertising and vendor costs pertinent to getting my product out to be noticed by prospective customers. Sometimes those pre-paid expenses can seem to come at you from everywhere. Advertising generates sales. Sometimes those can be pretty staggering amounts up front before sales come in.
What has been your biggest challenge?
The preparation for my website deveopment was my biggest challenge. Creating all of the documentation, photographs, page layout, reasonably priced web-development people and resources together to get the completed site up and running.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Finding the resources with which to link my site for product related advertising. Links on dog related e-groups, blogs, and related product listing sites, such as yours. All are great sources for my site promotion. I would love to find a listing of all free animal related advertising sites so that I can be included on every one that would be available to me on the internet.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I really would like to generate more sales that I am receiving now. I was hoping for the opportunity to be a little more overwhelmed with sales than I have received.
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?
As I mentioned before, I have been in business since 1997 and my site has been up and running since January 2006. I am receiving sales traffic now from my vendor associations alone. However, I would love to entertain a greater volumn of sales from my website than I am currently receiving. I will most likely keep my website for a long time because I do receive return sales from previous customers to my website from either my website or from events that I had vendored at previously.
Replace this with a question of your own
How are you going to promote my website as a 'unique' product source to your customers? What is your advertisement success percentages for other businesses that have listed with you?
What is your website address?
Royal Image Collars
