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The secret to business success is knowing what you’re really selling, says <a href="https://blendjet.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BlendJet </a>founder Ryan Pamplin.

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Creating the first portable blender wasn't exactly a career goal for Ryan Pamplin, but when a devastating brain injury in 2016 left him unable to read, use a computer, or even look at a screen for almost a year, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur found himself with a whole new passion and path to pursue."You do your best work when you do something you're passionate about," explains Pamplin, who formerly owned a creative agency that crafted video for Fortune 500 brands, as well as co-founding the first software for measuring video ads online.&nbsp;"I faced a health problem, so I built a solution to that problem," he says, reflecting on a recovery period spent tirelessly whipping up protein shakes and smoothies.

By the time he teamed up with his old tech colleague, John Zheng (a social media marketer who has worked with everyone from Disney to Uber) and his (now) wife, Kathryn O'Malley (who would lead the customer experience team), Pamplin's goal was clear.&nbsp;"I was like, 'we're going to solve the problem that convenience food is not healthy and healthy food is not convenient, to help people live longer and healthier lives'."Pamplin, who launched the ‘original portable blender’<a href="https://blendjet.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> BlendJet</a> in June 2018 with 7,000 units (funded by him and his team and designed in California) didn't just solve the problem, he created the number-one selling brand of blender online. By the end of 2021, one BlendJet was being sold every three seconds through its website and international retailers (20,000 of which are in the US alone.) Around one in seven of those sales are made with Afterpay.<h2>Identify what you’re really selling</h2>The "irritating experience" of making daily smoothies ("I was making too much; it was too loud; I hated having to go to the kitchen; and I hated cleaning it") may have alerted Pamplin to a gap in the market, but understanding exactly what he was selling, allowed him to think bigger.

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"I don't really sell blenders, I sell convenience."

"I don't really sell blenders, I sell convenience," explains Pamplin. "Our customers [of which there are now five million around the world] are, on average, using the BlendJet one or more times a day, versus a traditional blender which is less than three times a month. So, my competition is not other blender companies, it’s fast food."<h2>See the potential for the product</h2>A massive 42 percent of people who purchased a BlendJet in 2020 came back to purchase something else from the brand in 2021. This is unusual for a hardware company. So how did they do it?&nbsp;"We added accessories [such as ready-to-blend smoothies], special editions, premium versions [BlendJet 2 launched in October 2020] and things that improve the vanity and extend the usefulness of the product,” explains Pamplin, pointing to the XL Jar which turns the BlendJet into a full-size blender. "Through that, we've been able to continually increase our year-by-year average order value."

The company is also strategic with sales and rarely discounts. "During the holidays, the more you buy, the more you save, which encourages bulk purchases," he says. "Lots of people buy additional colours and patterns then come back and buy them as gifts."It helps that BlendJet doesn't sell on Amazon. "The way a lot of customers come back is through email: that’s 20 percent of our overall revenue so it would be insane to give that up," he explains. "A big part of our strategy is to own that customer relationship and of course our retail partners (which include Target, BestBuy and Walmart) love that we don't sell on Amazon."&nbsp;<h2>Invest in advertising</h2>BlendJet's advertising and social media strategy has been so effective that retail partners approach them with requests to stock the brand rather than the other way around. The company spends seven figures a month on video and imagery ads on Facebook and Instagram and TikTok ("the most important platform to be investing in in 2022") and a similar amount on advertising on TV.&nbsp;

"Our relationship with customers does not stop on our Thank You page [either]; that's actually the beginning," explains Pamplin. "If you buy a BlendJet, you get free content to inspire you to make nutritious things. That is a huge part of why we have such an engaged community who share recipes on Facebook."<h2>Hire the best people – and approach hiring creatively</h2>Pamplin values passionate staff. After interviewing a candidate, he'll send them a BlendJet to try. "If they don't absolutely love it and don't get it, they can't work with us," he says. "People can become experienced but generally they don't ‘become’ passionate."

"People can become experienced but generally they don't ‘become’ passionate."

Autonomy is equally as important. "I look for someone who I can give a goal to and they can figure out the action required, versus someone who needs to be spoon fed," he says.&nbsp;<h2>Make your product accessible</h2>&nbsp;What really sets BlendJet apart from so many other businesses is that it appeals to anyone. "Really, anyone with a mouth," nods Pamplin. "So, making it accessible to as many people as possible is critical."

Which is where Afterpay comes in. "If we can offer you a financing option that gives you the ability to eat better and maybe skip a couple of Starbucks runs, that's an exciting thing."In fact, as many as 15 percent of BlendJet customers use Afterpay, "which indicates they wouldn't have made a purchase if we didn't offer the option," says Pamplin, who found, via a study, that more customers preferred Afterpay compared to all other providers combined. "How could you not offer the solution your customers straight up tell you is the one they want?"

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US success stories - blendjet

Chaz Olajide on how her stylish pet accessories website turns over six figures in sales.

When Chaz Olajide brought Winston her small, feisty, scrappy Schnauzer home in 2013, she was struck by two things: the scarcity of fun, contemporary dog accessories, and the stunning lack of diversity in the pet industry, from veterinarians through to the imagery used by pet brands.&nbsp;“I’m talking [about a lack of diversity everywhere:] bloggers, even stock photos of people with dogs,” she remembers.And so Olajide set about creating<a href="https://sirdogwood.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: transparent;"> </a><a href="https://sirdogwood.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: transparent;">Sir Dogwood</a>, a welcoming, pet-focused space “for people who look like me,” she says, “for voices that sound like mine, and to move the needle so the industry looks different.”

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Olajide spent a year researching the concept, while working as a communications manager at one of Chicago’s contemporary art museums, before launching Sir Dogwood in 2016.Today the six-figure brand ships more than 1,300 orders of dog accessories, from cardigans and collars to shirts, scarves – even sunglasses – to pet owners around the world annually.

<h2>Bringing brands on board</h2>While it might have been the gaping lack of diversity and a mission to amplify the work and voices of women and BIPOC-led brands that drove her to start Sir Dogwood, Olajide’s pitch when initially approaching brands she wanted to stock didn’t include a discussion about diversity.“What worked for me was to focus my pitch on my vision and aesthetic for my shop as well as convincing brands to agree to smaller minimum quantity orders where possible since I was just starting out,” she says.

It was an approach that resonated with smaller brands, as she explains: “For the most, part smaller brands seemed to get it; larger brands were not as keen to work together because I wasn't interested in the old-school retail model of having a brick and mortar [space]”.&nbsp;<h2>Curating a unique aesthetic</h2>Sir Dogwood stands out from other pet brands, both by being a BIPOC-led brand and because of its contemporary range of products. “I want to align our look with what you might see in women’s wear and children’s wear – and stay away from paw prints. People aren’t used to seeing that level of quality for dogs,” Olajide says.And she is constantly researching new brands. “I gravitate towards those that not only put out high quality products with a clean, modern aesthetic, but [those that] feature unique designs or styles I haven't seen anywhere else”.&nbsp;

<h2>The importance of original imagery&nbsp;</h2>Once Olajide has taken on a new brand, she makes sure the accessories are presented in the best way possible by photographing them on cute pets.While her first dog Winston is no longer here, Beatrix, who joined her family in 2019, features heavily.

"Photography is a visual tool with which we can underscore our aesthetic."

“Photography is hugely important for the brand; it serves as a visual tool with which we can underscore our aesthetic,” says Olajide, adding that original photography also helps on social media.“Most of the images of Beatrix on our socials were taken by me; a handful are taken by a professional photographer we use once or twice a year for branding shoots.”<h2>Partnering with pet brands</h2>With limited advertising budgets in the early days, Olajide had to be creative to get the word out about Sir Dogwood.That’s where partnerships came in. “One of our main social media strategies is taking advantage of partnerships as much as possible, really identifying like-minded brands and leveraging each other’s audiences. Giveaways are low cost, and we see increased followers and a return on investment immediately,” she says.&nbsp;Last September, for example, Sir Dogwood joined forces with three other brands – nutritional dog food brand<a href="https://sundaysfordogs.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </a><a href="https://sundaysfordogs.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Sundays For Dogs</a>, and treat brands<a href="https://www.cocojune.co/dog-treats/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </a><a href="https://www.cocojune.co/dog-treats/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">CocoJune</a> and<a href="https://littlestpetbakery.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </a><a href="https://littlestpetbakery.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Littlest Pet Bakery</a> – to offer a giveaway. That day, Sir Dogwood and saw its highest levels of social engagement for the month.

<h2>The power of PR</h2>During the 2020 Black Lives Matter civil-rights movement, the brand started being included in lists of black-owned businesses that ran in NewYorkMagazine.com, Buzzfeed.com and Elle.com. This not only delivered “social proof” (or proof that others love Sir Dogwood and its products) but new audiences too. [In fact] we see an immediate increase in traffic to the site directly from each piece of online press we receive.”&nbsp;Since 2019, sales have doubled each year, and Olajide is proud of the support the business offers pet welfare charities including Chicago-based<a href="https://www.onetail.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"> </a><a href="https://www.onetail.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">One Tail at a Time</a>, which is not only working to make pet ownership more accessible but also addressing the lack of diversity in veterinary care.<h2>The importance of accessibility&nbsp;</h2>For a brand focused on diversity, accessibility was an important consideration for Olajide. She partnered with Afterpay in 2018, saying that it was clear that payments being over time was a “huge trend”.

"Afterpay removes the barriers between browsing and purchasing."

“I wanted to make sure I was accommodating those shoppers [who wanted to spread payments]. People love flexibility and I wanted to give them that in how they wanted to pay. It removes the barriers between browsing and purchasing.”&nbsp;&nbsp;While Sir Dogwood has grown to be a success, Olajide, who now lives between Chicago and Amsterdam, says the biggest personal challenge has been overcoming ‘imposter syndrome’. “It affects me personally, rather than the business,” she says. “It’s a mind shift, [for me], to begin to [recognise] all that I’ve achieved.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

Chaz Olajide on how her pet accessories brand turns over six figures in sales.

Chaz Olajide of Sir Dogwood on how her pet accessories brand turns over six figures in sales with Afterpay.

Sir Dogwood's Chaz Olajide on how diversity is good business in the pet industry

How diversity (and cute pets) are good business for Sir Dogwood

Ashley Reynold’s business is all about planning, but the stationery designer’s success is thanks to perpetual pivots and innovation - including introducing Afterpay&nbsp;

As a stationery designer who sells luxury diaries and planners, Ashley Reynolds appreciates the importance of forward planning better than most.However, she owes much of her business’ success to her ability to remain open-minded and adapt quickly.Reynolds, who previously worked in finance, launched her e-commerce brand<a href="https://clothandpaper.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Cloth &amp; Paper</a> in 2015, and initially assumed that the best way to break into the paper goods market was to sell a mix of her own products, as well as those from well-established stationery brands.But it quickly became apparent that customers were only interested in Reynold’s planners. “Our potential customers really didn’t want to see brands that they could get elsewhere already. They wanted something new, fresh and exciting. We scrapped the whole offering other brands [thing] and went to offering all of our own products exclusively.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

“Our potential customers wanted something new, fresh and exciting.”

That was Reynolds’ first lesson in adapting and pivoting.

The next one followed soon afterwards.

Having decided to focus on selling her own products, Reynolds found herself with an excess of products from other brands that she needed to unload quickly. “To get rid of all that product that we had bought, we did our first subscription box,” she says, explaining that the subscription boxes were an excellent way to sell excess stock at a discounted rate - and create an ongoing revenue stream. “Our subscription box sold out in the first two days.”

Subscription boxes now represent 50 per cent of Cloth &amp; Paper’s sales.

Reynolds originally launched the business soon after she moved from Richmond, Virginia, to Raleigh, North Carolina in 2015. Unable to find a daily planner that fit her sleek, androgynous style, she decided to create one of her own.

Six years later, Cloth &amp; Paper employs 45 staff, and was recently ranked in Inc.com’s 5000 fastest-growing companies. “Looking at this trajectory, we’re projected to continue to grow at about 200 per cent this year,” says Reynolds, who adds that crucial to Cloth &amp; Paper’s success is the involvement of her husband Ryan, who joined the team officially as COO in 2017.

<h2>Harnessing social media</h2>

Perpetual pivoting is one secret to Cloth &amp; Paper’s success. Another is Reynold’s ability to harness a vibrant online community.

Soon after she moved states and launched her business, Reynolds joined a Facebook group of like-minded paper lovers. There, she not only found new friends but also, eventually, an engaged customer base.&nbsp;

“I stumbled across some Facebook groups that involved people who enjoy planning on paper and I started sharing some of my plans from my planner in those groups. People started asking [if they could] purchase my planner,” she recalls. “These people are what really helped support me and get Cloth &amp; Paper off the ground.”&nbsp;

<h2>Weathering the pandemic</h2>

Selling planners at a time when all plans went out the window presented a unique challenge. Cloth &amp; Paper not only survived – it thrived.&nbsp;

“We have had people that have subscribed to us and stayed subscribed to us since 2015, and that’s because of this friendship that we’ve built online. I feel like through the pandemic that kind of aided our growth – it was this friendship of people wanting to see you succeed, even through tough times,” Reynolds explains. This community now includes nearly 100,000 Instagram followers.

<h2>Listening to customers&nbsp;</h2>

Reynolds has always made herself available to her customers, something she believes distinguishes Cloth &amp; Paper from other businesses. Each Friday afternoon the company holds a Happy Hour where new products are released, and Reynolds is available online to talk through the new additions. “I communicate with our customers a lot, [and many] call me by my first name. They’ll call our customer service and say, ‘Hey, tell Ashley this’ or ‘Tell Ashley that’… I hate calling that a ‘marketing strategy’ because we’re just out here nurturing relationships that we’ve cultivated,” she says. “I feel like that’s really a big piece of what’s continued to push us forward.”

“I hate calling communicating with our customers a ‘marketing strategy’ because we’re just out here nurturing relationships that we’ve cultivated.”

Cloth &amp; Paper’s involvement with Afterpay also came from customers, Reynolds says, with many requesting it as a way to finance gifts or other purchases. “We release new products every week and people say: ‘Hey, I want to support you and I want to purchase from you every week but is there anything else we can do as far as payment options so that I can continue to support you [on a regular basis]?’”

This connection to customers and their needs and satisfaction is critical to Cloth &amp; Paper. “Keeping [track] of your customer's issues [is essential to driving] innovation – if you aren't [constantly innovating], you aren't truly solving your customers issues,” Reynolds explains. “Our desire to make our customer's lives better through innovation is what has contributed to our quick growth, and this is at the core of our business.”&nbsp;

Cloth &amp; Paper is known for planners, inserts and pens but Reynolds is looking to also carry a homeware line. “We want to expand into more of a lifestyle brand, so we’re offering more products outside of paper that will still be branded Cloth &amp; Paper,” she says.

<h2>Ashley Reynolds’ top tips for growing a successful business&nbsp;</h2>

Don’t follow the crowd. “I think a lot of small business owners feel like they need to closely follow the strategy of other small businesses in order to be successful. You’re most successful when you’re doing something different and unique because it allows your brand to be the outlier.”

Determine your office culture and hire accordingly. “We have a culture where everyone likes everyone – we’re just very picky about the people that we bring on to the business. We want positive, forward thinking, enthusiastic people, people that have really bought into this industry and the customers as much as we have.”&nbsp;

Listen to your customers – and respond. “A lot of the time customers tell you what they want. They tell you what you need to do in order to continue that relationship or continue to build new relationships. We do a good job of just listening to the customers and I think that is why we’re still around and our business has continued to grow.”

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Ashley Reynold’s business is all about planning, but the stationery designer’s success is thanks to perpetual pivots and innovation - including introducing Afterpay 