Capsaicinoia is a combination of the words Capsaicin (the active ingredient in a chilli) and paranoia (a lay term often associated with craziness or insanity). Hence Capsaicinoia - crazy for chilli!
So far we have bought the domain name, capsaicinoia.com and also from Namesco http://www.names.co.uk/ we have purchased their excellent value ecommerce package. Honestly, for me as complete novice to web-design and commerce it seems to be very easy to use and great value for money. For just over £8 per month or a total of just over £100 for the year you get a ready made but customisable on-line shop and everything else you need to run your business including customer management, product management and marketing tools. It has taken me only a few days to get half way towards launching my web-site and opening m shop.
So the web-site is capsaicinoia.com and the business email is jackie@capsaicinoia.com and we hope to start trading by the end of April at the latest.
Product wise it has been really exciting! We realised that the Spring Fair at the NEC might be worth a visit so wen popped along on Sunday and have identified some great products that we could use the get the business up and running with a bang! http://www.springfair.com/ We came home and worked out a list of products that met the criteria for inclusion in our shop and we could purchase within our start-up budget and we are going back to place some of our first orders! Yippee!!
The plan is to get the whole thing ready and fit for purpose before we launch the web-site and start trading. We aim to start small and perfect the process before thinking about expanding the product range and implementing the full marketing plan. We have lots of research and bits and pieces to sort out before we are ready to go including;
- choosing and engaging the right accountant
- product and possibly public liability insurance
- notifying HMRC and understanding tax and VAT implications
- registration as a sole trader or not
- delivery and postage processes and options
- packaging processes and options
- finish the business plan
- finalise the logo and business stationary (with help from Matthew Bottomley)
- competitor research
- privacy and data protection
- consider joining relevant trade organisations
Initial ideas for marketing include;
- attending all the UK Chill Festivals this summer and handing out fliers and business cards
- getting ourselves on the various UK chilli information web-sites such as the chile foundry http://www.chilefoundry.co.uk/ and the ring of fire http://www.ringoffire.net/
- getting the whole Search Engine Optimisation thing right!
So watch this space. I know we are really excited about this little venture and even if is never turns out to be a big money earner we will have learnt a lot of new transferable skills and and had a lot of fun along the way.
I have to give credit to my sister Vicky and son Matt. I had a dream about this shop a few years ago and they both said to try it on-line before investing in a physical shop and all that that involves. I was reluctant partly because I did not think I had the necessary IT skills but also as a concept I was unsure about it. Matt at just 25 is always great source of creative and imaginative advice and Vicky has proved the potential of an on-line shop having run her own wonderful and successful little business for a couple of years now called Good Gracious - surprise your home. Check it out and surprise yourself!
http://www.goodgracious.co.uk/
http://www.goodgracious.co.uk/
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