Celebrating National Small Business Week with Jedi Robes
As we round out our National Small Business Week spotlight – and prepare for May the Fourth! –, we turn our attention to how one small business is ensuring the force is with Jedi lovers across the globe.
Wayne Bower, a former media professional, has built a successful global company selling franchise costumes from beloved stories such as Star Wars and Harry Potter. Based in the UK, his company Jedi Robe LTD now receives 75 percent of business from overseas customers. The company has grown to offer support lines in multiple languages and supports US operations from its offices and distribution center in Atlanta.
We sat down with Bower to understand what inspired him to start the business, what challenges he’s faced and overcome, and advice he has for other aspiring business owners.
Q: What inspired you to start your business and how did you come up with the idea for it?
A: I purchased a Star Wars Jedi Robe for a fancy costume party in 2008 and had such a fabulous time dressed as a Jedi. I realized there were probably more people of similar age who would enjoy the experience and the idea for
Jedi-Robe.com evolved from there. I packaged up a single box of goods, got to selling on
eBay and have since expanded to successful global business with more than 14 staff.
How did you grow your business to reach global customers?
Geographical boundaries never crossed my mind - from the very beginning, that one box of goods was available to the world. Overseas customers are treated the same as domestic customers except that they may need a bit of extra assurance when buying across borders: it is important to invest in establishing trust.
Establishing confidence and providing peace of mind are important for cross-border e-commerce. Providing telephone help lines, translated emails and offering
PayPal have helped to boost sales. Jedi-Robe saw a further boost when we decided to offer customers multi-currency payments using PayPal.
People are increasingly happy to buy from another country, but they just require a little bit of reassurance. For example, they would much rather pay in their own currency. Our sales increased by 15 percent once we started offering multi-currency payment options.
How did you tackle the challenges of cross-border trader?
When you start out, you rarely have any money, so I adopted a strategy of picking a country and allocating just £1 per day for search engine optimization. When I earned my money back, I would increase the investment and pick another country. This process continued until we reached most of the globe.
It is also important to invest in sustaining trust in global markets. One way to do that is to offer PayPal. Another is to translate your website respectfully; not using a crude computer program but taking the time to have it done professionally by a native speaker. Cross-border trade is all about trust and confidence. PayPal offers buyers peace of mind and security. We have not experienced a customer in any country who does not know PayPal.
Now that you are a successful business owner, what advice do you have for other entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses?
In e-commerce, two things are key. First, you have to give the customer every possible detail that you can to help with their buying decision. Once you’ve done that, you need to conclude the sale as quickly and securely as possible.
The day we converted to
PayPal Pro, our transaction completion rate went from 75 percent up to 98 percent. PayPal Pro offers an instant secure platform and the shortest distance from shopping cart to conclusion.
Yasmin Hosseinzadeh, Global Content, Platform Strategy & Corporate Communications, PayPal