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Name: Debra Ventimiglia Business: Heirloom Pottery Web address: www.heirloompottery.com Website design: Steve Reynolds of West Virginia Online products: Handmade pottery of stoneware and English porcelain clay. Specialty items include lighted fairy houses, wizards and angels, as well as in-season holiday crafts. Years on the Web: 1 Sales on the Web: “Steady. Christmas and the holiday seasons are good.” Cause marketing: Ventimiglia donates $25 to the Rett Syndrome Research Fund for each 15- to 17-inch angel figurine she sells. The cost of each angel is $135, including shipping and handling. “My best friend’s daughter, McKenna, has Rett Syndrome. Rett Syndrome primarily affects young girls. They’re fine until they are about 18 months old, then they start losing their ability to speak, eat and walk. Mentally, they’re fine.” Ventimiglia made the first angel to assist Rett Syndrome victims for a charity auction in the spring of 2002. “It just seemed natural to take it from there and put them online. I’m really enjoying it, and it’s for a great cause. I’ll keep doing it until we find a cure. Every little bit helps.” Best Web sale: “I’m very happy to just make two or three sales a day. Every single sale is a fun sale. Selling the angels is the most rewarding. Designing special orders is always the most fun. It’s really rewarding knowing I’ve made someone happy, and I get to donate to the Rett Foundation, so I feel like I’m doing something to make a difference.” Advantage to Web retailing: “My husband is disabled so, for me, it helps because it eliminates me being away from the house. Web retailing gives me the ability to do what I love to do at home and still be a part of society.” Biggest challenge: “Marketing. You just can’t throw it out on the Web and ignore it. You have to stroke it like a new puppy.” Site promotion: Ventimiglia rotates her marketing resources, using Pay Per Click online, as well as small newspapers and direct mail. Web retailing tip: “Be patient. It takes time. Keep working on your plan and stick to it. Anything worth doing is worth the time. Be confident.” Future of Web retailing: “It’s definitely the wave of the future. We’re standing on the doorstep, and I’m right on the edge ready to walk through that door.” |
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