Featuring The Eclectic Mall

Home Business Feature of The Week:
The Eclectic Mall by Kathy Adams

1. Kathy, tell us a little about why you decided to start your own business?
   
   I worked in the insurance field for many years. In 2007 I became unable to work outside the home anymore due to chronic back problems. After several failed attempts at finding a legitimate work from home JOB, I decided to try my hand at a business.
   
   
2. What encouraged you to build what appears to be a full online shopping mall?
   
   I thought I would have more success if I offered a variety of products and several choices for each product. I have tried to offer something for everyone, which is why my site will always be a work in progress.
   
   
3. What challenges have you experienced as a result of starting your own business?
   
   I am fairly new to this, so trying to find ways to market my business has been a lot of work. Also, I don’t know a lot about SEO so that has been a real challenge.
   
   
4. How have you met or how do you plan to meet those challenges head on?
   
   I have been doing a lot of reading and asking advice from people who have done this and have been successful. I’ve joined several networking sites also.
   
   
5. How are you currently marketing your business?
   
   I market on the networking sites to which I belong. I also have begun to use Twitter. Finances are tight right now, so I look for ways to market for free.
   
   
6. What appears to be your most effective marketing challenge (bringing in the sales)?
   
   At this time, I would have to say contacting friends and family. They are also helping get the word out about my online mall.
   
   
7. What are your business goals?
   
   I would love for this to be a business that brings in enough money to help with our bills. I am not looking to get rich.
   
   
8. Hey nothing wrong with being rich but how often do you run specials and how do you determine what deals to offer?
   
   All of the stores on my site are affiliate stores, so I am unable to offer specials on my own. However, the majority of the stores do offer specials. I frequently get emails from them telling me of the deals they have going on and I add banners to the home page of my site advertising them.
   
   
   
9. Any advice for others looking to start/build an online store?
   
   Do your research and have a lot of patience!!!
   
   
10. How can my readers get in touch with you and where can they view your selection of products?
    
    I can be reached at kathykandlesko (at) aol (dot) com. My products can be viewed at http://www.the-eclectic-mall.webnode.com
    
    

About Kathy Adams: Kathy is a wife, mother of two young adults and a lover of animals. Until two years ago, she was employed at Blue Cross/Blue Shield as an Operations Analyst. Chronic back problems forced her into early retirement. She applied for social security disability, but knowing there would be a very long wait, she decided to find some way to make money from home. After several failed attempts, Kathy decided to start her own home based business. The Eclectic Mall began as a small online mall, but grew very quickly as family and friends requested certain items be added. Kathy thought it would be best to offer several different stores in each category to ensure a great variety of products and prices.