Who doesn’t love something new? Like a new car, a new boat, a new flavor of Ben & Jerry’s, spinners for your Cadillac or a new feature to your (hopefully) favorite blog!
In case you want to get even more email you’re probably never going to read, you can now subscribe to my blog to get your almost-daily fix of me. Just pop your email address in over on the right and magically you’ll get a copy of my writings when they’re published.
Then for those of you who find my email address a little too hard to spell, even though it’s my name, a little box on the right now allows you to send me a quick question, a complaint about my choice of vodka or a love letter. The best questions get picked to be answered at the end of blog posts.
I can tell by the look on your face that none of that was very exciting, well maybe this is – “10 Questions.” A new weekly feature where I’ll pose less than a dozen questions to an eCommerce store owner to help you gain some insight into how they’re running their business and maybe take away a tip here and there to run yours better.
I would be burned in effigy if I didn’t pick my favorite eCommerce store owner to kick off the feature. She’s my favorite not because she send me cases of Cadbury Mini Eggs at Easter and Cherry Slices throughout the year, but because she opened her online store after betting with her brothers that people would order candy online.
Needless to say, her brothers lost the best and she never lets them forget it. Ever.
Pam Macharola, Owner/Partner, eCommerce Director at Blair Candy Company opened BlairCandy.com in 2000, but the company itself has been around for over 70 years and is run by the 3rd generation of of the Dandrea family out of their distribution center in Altoona, PA.
Blair Candy Company not only sells candy online; but is a full-service wholesale and retail business that in addition to candy, sells tobacco products and accessories, paper products, party supplies, bar and restaurant supplies as well as bingo and game of chance supplies.
Just this month, they moved into a new distribution center where they have plenty of room for future growth in both their online and offline business. Speaking like a true candy person, when asked about the company’s new digs, Pam smiled and said, “Sweet!”
10 Questions with Pam Macharola of BlairCandy.com
What made you want to start an online store?
The challenge to see if I could do it, and if our products would sell to a much larger audience than we already reached with our bricks-and-mortar business. I actually had a bet with my brothers. They did not believe anyone would buy our products online, or that I could learn how to manage it all way back then with little start up info available.
Tell me about the products you sell… what makes them unique, who do they appeal to, why did you choose that specific product?
My family has been selling/distributing candy for over 73 years. I didn’t think they were unique at first, but after many years, I learned that not all candies were so readily available to people, like it is here in my area. Our items appeal to pretty much everyone.
What has been the most challenging part of owning an eCommerce store?
Several things. The constant changes the search engines put into play. New competition popping up daily. The hours! Oh, the hours! This is definitely not a 9 to 5 job. You have to consider the different time zones and deal with the fact that your store is open 24/7/365.
What has been the most rewarding part of owning an eCommerce store?
Watching the sales grow, the traffic increase year after year, and being recognized and respected by my peers. Oh.. plus I won that bet I made with my brothers back in 1999. Almost 13 years later and I still can say “told ya so!”
Do you consider Google a friend or foe? Why?
Both. They are the leading search engine and have been a friend. A good one. But a foe many times by forgetting small business and the challenge they face. Not every business can react as quickly as Google wants them to when they roll out a change or new feature.
How has social media changed the way you do business?
It has made us really pay attention to customer service. Being family owned, we’ve always provided good service to our customers, but now with everything so out there and so open…socially expected… we had to become more involved, more open and available to our customers.
What part of running your business takes up the most time during the day and why?
Customer Service. With all the hype on social media we spend a great deal of time communicating, sharing and teaching via all the different social media avenues available.
If you had the opportunity to ask Matt Cutts (the search guru from Google) one question, what would it be and why?
I’d love to meet Matt. I think I’d just sit down, look over at him and say “Seriously Matt, WTF?” I wouldn’t even have to ask a question, I think he’d know exactly what I meant and how to answer it.
What are your favorite websites to go to for eCommerce tips and advice?
Seacrhengineland.com, Mashable.com, Y Store Forum ( for Yahoo Platform Owners) and Facebook.
Where do you see you and your business five years from now?
I hope on page one, position four on Google for every product we carry. All joking aside. I would like to see us still moving forward, growing at the steady pace we have been for the past 12 years online.
If you want to be featured in “10 Questions,” drop me an email at scott@scottsanfilippo.com.
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Now on to questions that I’ve been asked in today’s edition of the mail bag:
From Twitter: How come all your blog posts now have two titles? Dr Strangelove stuck in your head?
Surprisingly, I’ve never seen Dr. Strangelove. However, to answer you question, I started using the two titles with my October 30, 2009 post. The inspiration for the dual titles came from an episode of the Phil Harris & Alice Faye Show where the show’s announcer introduced that night’s show with the “real” title, followed by “or” and a title that drew laughs from the audience.
From email: I have a blog for my eCommerce store, but it’s over on Blogger and doesn’t have its own domain name. Is this bad?
Well, I’m not sure it’s bad enough to lock you under the kitchen sink for a few hours, but it’s not good. You spend a lot of money and time building your brand, why would you not have a URL that reflects your brand for your blog? If you can’t host a blog on the same domain as your store, such as https://www.yourcompany.com/blog or https://blog.yourcompany.com, buy a domain like yourcompanynameBLOG.com and point that to your Blogger blog.
From email: I’ve been using a free program that came with my computer to crop product photos for my store, but I’m told I should be using Photoshop. Is it worth spending the money on Photoshop for this?
If all you’re doing is cropping photos that manufacturers give you, you don’t need a program like Photoshop. But, if you need to do more complex editing with your photos or if you even want to dabble in a little graphic design, Photoshop is a good investment. It’s a little complex for the first time user, but there are plenty of tutorials online that teach you how to use it. You may even be able to take a Photoshop class at your local community college. Personally, I’d feel like a fat, naked man in the middle of Times Square without Photoshop.
From email: You mentioned a few Old Forge pizza joints yesterday, but have you ever had Cebula’s in Dupont?
I only had it once. I was working at WARD radio at the time and a listener brought me up a pie on a Saturday night. I remember it being a burnt, sloppy mess, but it tasted good. Convince me to try it again and I may put it on the list the next time I’m in NEPA.