EBizInsider

We did a business plan, but we’ve already blown it away. Success has come so quickly that we’ve grown much
faster than we thought.

—Dave Jones, FunDogFred.com

Fundogfred.com was inspired by a desire to be in e-commerce, a “total” love of dogs and an interest in design. Dave Jones was fascinated by the possibilities and promise of doing business online. “I had no idea about e-commerce,” laughs Dave. “I just knew I wanted to do something online. So I did lots of research first.” Jean Jones had design experience and a desire to meet new people. “I knew how I wanted fundogfred.com to look,” she says. “The site is fun and so are the people who call. Dog lovers are nice people.” Predictably, the couple has two dogs of their own. “They’re great testers,” says Jean. “The only problem is; they want to keep every toy they like.”

Fundogfred.com is where you come for the latest in dog fashion with designer dog clothes, trendy small dog carriers, designer dog collars, designer dog leashes and hip dog accessories. In addition they offer gourmet dog treats and specialty dog grooming products, fun dog bowls and dog feeders. Fundogfred.com is over 1,000 products, many of which are rapidly filling their basement. “We bought a wide range when we first started,” Jean recalls. “Now we’re narrowing our product lines and going deeper. We never expected this. We’re much busier than I ever thought we’d be at this point.”

Jean enlisted the help of a graphic designer and built fundogfred.com herself. But the couple had already decided on Solid Cactus to bring their vision to life. “I’d read about Solid Cactus,” said Dave. “I knew about their history. I knew that before they ever went into website design, that they’d started theferretstore.com and several pet-related e-commerce sites. For us it meant they not only knew about design and e-commerce, they knew about pets and pet stores. We figured we’d be in good hands.”

Jean sent her design to Solid Cactus. “We knew how we wanted the site to look,” says Jean. “We sent it to them and they nailed it! I liked the fact that it was a team effort from Solid Cactus. We had different people handling different aspects of our site.” It was a basic package but the results have been immediate. “As you can imagine, dog products are very competitive,” says Dave. “It’s difficult getting customers to find you when you’re starting out. Solid Cactus took over our Pay-Per-Click and made us instantly visible. We went from 3,000 page views in February to 60,000 last month. That’s a big jump in a short time.”

With growth come changes and Dave is already thinking ahead. After all, when you ‘blow away’ your business plan, it can mean lots of extra work. “We’re adding Cactus On Demand,” says Dave. “We’re getting busier and we know we want help with our back-end order management.” Jean has changes in mind, as well. “We’re adding Testimonials, as well as Customer Reviews and Blogs,” she says. “A satisfied customer is always the best advertising and I like interacting with our customers. I like dog people. I think blogs are a good way to let people get to know us a little better.”

This is a first venture into e-commerce for Dave and Jean Jones, so far so good. “I love what I’m doing,” says Jean. “I love the interaction with the customers and helping them; I love my vendors. I spent a long time identifying great products and companies before we ever opened our business and I stand behind them. Most of all, of course, I love dogs and dog products and that makes everything easier.” She’s also happy with Solid Cactus. “When we were designing the site I called them all the time,” she laughs. “They were always very helpful and very patient. That’s important when you’re starting out.”

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