Name of your website?

Stylish Office Chairs

Your name?

Curt Benkendorf

Your Location (city, etc)

Evanston

We offer leather office chairs and discount office chairs far below retail price. We're allowed to do this because we don't have to pay for overhead that you pay for at your local Staples: advertising, electricity, large number of employees, that sort of thing. So we pass our savings onto you.

What inspired you to launch your own website?

I saw strong demand in leather office chairs that currently wasn't being adequately met. While I was building my site, I noticed that most people selling competing products hardly told anything about the chairs! They would list the dimensions, and that was about it. So I resolved to give as much information as I could for each chair, having pictures for 95% of the available colors and a unique description of each of our 100 chairs.

When did you launch your first website, and what was it?

I launched my first website around 1997. I was 11 or so, and made a site dedicated to the James Bond movies. The content was good, but the layout was horrible: every link was a huge image, so the page took a really long time to load.

How did you decide on a name for your website?

I thought about the advantages of the chairs I was selling, and I noticed that they were, for the most part, very elegant. There were a few low-end chairs for sure, but most retail for $300-$800. Looking at them it was plain to see they were stylish, so I felt that was a good descriptor.

What makes it different from other, similar offerings?

As I mentioned above, every chair has more information than just the bare essentials. Especially with big ticket items, having enough information is key. That's why I also get back to customers within 24 hours, because I know that if I answer their questions thoroughly and quickly, it will add to their shopping experience and build good will, something I wish more companies would do. I also offer the only "iron-clad" guarantee I've seen. If a customer wants to return a chair, I take it back and eat the re-stocking fee. I value the goodwill of the customer over some 20% fee, you know? I also extend the manufacturer's warranty on non-leather parts from 5 years to lifetime, because again, the customer is always right :).

What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)

I'm planning on keeping it for income. Once a site gets rolling it brings in good revenue without a lot of work, so that's what I'm going for.

How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?

As in any startup, the balance is a little uneven in the beginning. To do a start-up, you have to put in the work, THEN you get success. For example, Sean Fanning had to spend untold hours programming Napster before anyone could use it. So I would say in the short run my return on investment (ROI) is poor, but what matters is the long-run, for which I see a high ROI.

If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?

I just spent a lot of time working on my website, so it's how I want it now, for now :).

If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?

That's the beauty of an e-commerce site, it's very easy to scale up. Hiring a local college kid to field customer support can handle many many customers. My supplier is a large established business, been in business for over 20 years, so I don't have any fears of running them into shortage.

What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?

The major one was setting up the business. What a headache. Incorporating, registering, determining tax liability, it's a necessary pain.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Reaching my success point. When you're hot, everyone wants you. When you're new, no one knows about you. So the tricky part is finding success in a crowded field, and breaking through that Page Rank barrier to people are dying to link with you and boost your popularity. My immediate goal is to get to "3".

What method has been most successful for promoting your website?

Well honestly I've just started out so it's a little early to tell. But trading links seems to be working better than PPC. Google wants to bankrupt me with their suggested bids :).

How has running your website differed from your expectations?

How hasn't it? lol. I knew I could build a website, so I thought it'd be easy money. On the contrary, lots of thought and planning had to go into selecting the products, creating the website, and now promoting it. Way more than I ever thought I'd need to do.

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?

I've been running it for a few months now, and I plan to do so for the next year at least. I have a advisory team behind me, guiding me, helping me, so I don't anticipate NOT becoming profitable at this time :).

What do you do in your spare time?

I drum in a band, a local rock band here in Chicago called 3AM Fever / Mandala. We're in the midst of re-defining our imagine, which also includes picking a new band name.

What is your website address?

Stylish Office Chairs

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