Small Business Success Story: Talk to Your Customers

In support of the Small Business Breakthorugh movement during the month of May, we're sharing the stories and advice of small business owners who have grown their businesses on OpenSky.

Natasha McRee and Morgan Kimble of custom frame company Wexel discuss their journey as small business owners and share their tips for success. 

What makes your business stand out from your competition? 
Wexel Art Displays wall frames are so different from anything on the marketplace because we have turned framing on its head. Instead of sandwiching art or photos between two panels, we use magnets to hold the image behind a single panel of acrylic. The consumers love the ingenuity of the design since they never have to take anything apart when they want to change out their art. They simply move the magnets and switch out what is behind the acrylic.

What have you found works well to attract and retain customers?
One of my favorite things to do is answer our customer service line. It is the main number that consumers call to ask questions before they place an order. I love it because it makes me feel like I am on the front lines, deep in the trenches of our business. I love talking to our potential customers – hearing what questions they have and what their thoughts are on our product line. Often times, they approach our product from a completely fresh perspective.

How have you marketed your business online? How has using social media played a role in the promotion of your business?
We were recently featured on this super cool interactive website, OpenSky. A celebrity designer had spotted our acrylic wall frames at a trade show. He was excited [to see] how he could display an ever-changing collection of his kids' masterpieces without taking anything off the wall. He corresponded with thousands of consumers who shared their enthusiasm and curiosity about our line [on social media]. What a great opportunity to chat with this new fan base. What made Open Sky such a great retailer for us was that many of their consumers shared [our] product [with] their Facebook friends. The audience extension via social media was powerful.

What has been your toughest challenge?
Our toughest challenge has been forecasting inventory. We recently exhibited at a tradeshow that practically wiped out our inventory. It is tricky purchasing as we don’t want our inventory to collect too much dust in the warehouse and tying up our line of credit, but we hate telling consumers that their favorite product will be in stock in four weeks! Of course, we would much rather have too many orders than not enough orders.

What was something unexpected that you didn’t plan for, good or bad?
When we designed our first frames, we never intended to build a business. I was a frustrated consumer that couldn’t find a good way to display the weekly collection of artwork that my two boys create. After we installed what would become our earliest prototypes, I would have never dreamed that every time folks came to the house, they would want to know where to purchase this product. After seven months of fielding inquiries of where to buy, Morgan’s employer was closing due to the recession. I would have never dreamed that we would build a business based on a hallway conversation where I said “acrylic” and she said “magnets.”