Editing The Pen Addict 252/transcript (section)

== Online Orders ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' So that's when the online store got up, got running. So how did you, when you pressed go, how did you get those first orders? You know, did you have any kind of plan? Did you have, you know, just a wish and a prayer on, you know, hey, come buy a pencil from me or, or did you have any, any plan as far as, you know, getting, getting the site out there and things like that?

'''Caroline Weaver:''' Yeah. Well, I guess this is probably the worst part of this story is that I had no plan. I didn't know what on earth I was doing. Um, I also didn't want to put any money into advertising or anything like that. I didn't know how all this stuff about like, um, SEO and like how to like make your website visible. I, and the, and I was also afraid. I was afraid to tell anybody that I was doing this because I, again, thought that they would like think I was crazy. Cause it's one thing like telling people an idea and then it's another thing telling them about a thing that's like an actual real thing. I thought maybe that I, cause I'm giving them an actual thing to be critical of. I was just afraid. Um, so I didn't really tell anyone. I like told my mom and my friends and let it go for like a week. And I had a few orders from like random people who just found it, who I think were searching very specific things that are hard to find. And so that helps. And then, um, yeah. And then I think it wasn't an, it was when the, when the erasable podcast caught wind of it, that, um, it really like became a thing and I started getting a ton of orders.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Got the, got the big push from, uh, from the podcast and funny, funny thing that internet, how word travels, right?

'''Caroline Weaver:''' Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. Oh, totally.

'''Caroline Weaver:''' Totally. From then on, I was just busy all the time.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. That's what I was going to say. Like, how soon did you know that? Okay. I think I have something here. I'm not quite sure yet, but I think I've got something.

'''Caroline Weaver:''' Um, I think it was pretty soon. It was like within like a month or two that I thought like, okay, like maybe this is a real thing now. Um, I still wasn't sure. I still wasn't like making enough money doing it to feel like totally secure signing a lease and opening a real store. But, um, I also didn't have, I mean, I didn't have much to lose because I was so young and I didn't have any like real responsibilities. So I thought it's okay if I like something goes south and I bankrupt myself and I'm left here with no pencil shot because at least I would have tried. So I think that was very much my attitude. Yeah. Um, that I'm just going to like try to be very careful, try to be as responsible as I can be and try to like put as much heart into it as I could. And if it didn't work out, then it didn't work out. So I just, yeah, from, from that on, I just kind of like decided like, okay, I'm in this now. I better just keep going.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So one of the things you're known for to this day is how great of a, I don't know if curator is the right term, but you always, you, you definitely pay attention to the trends. You know, what's popular. You know, how to, you know, suss out quality over junk. And what were the very first things that you brought to the market? Like when the shop opened the first time, what were like a handful of the things that you were putting your reputation on the line at right from the gate?

'''Caroline Weaver:''' Yeah. Well, I, I mean, I, I already had favorite brands. There were a couple of brands that I knew weren't being sold in the U S, um, that I really wanted to bring in. Um, like V Arco was one of them there in Portugal and they make really, really beautiful, really just like perfectly nostalgic things. Um, and a lot of really innovative things. And I thought that was an important thing to include. Um, the other, I guess the other brand that I wanted to bring in that I thought was really important to have was, um, Natraj or Apsara. They're like both part of Hindu stand pencils and they're in India and they manufacture 8 million pencils a day. It's a humongous company. And if you're in like Southeast Asia, chances are like 99% of the pencils you're using come from this one humongous pencil conglomerate. And they weren't selling pencils in the U S either. And their pencils are very, very good. And their pencils are very cheap. And they have some really interesting ones. Like these one, one of our best sellers is a pencil that is just a normal HP pencil made out of Indian poplar and the paint finish it's marbled. And each pencil is individually marbled. So they're all different. And this pencil is 50 cents. It's really cheap. Um, anyway, yeah, this brand was really important to me because the one thing that I wanted to make sure I got across was that I wasn't trying to like, I wasn't trying to elevate the pencil and make it this like precious object. It was important to me that I have like nice pencils, like the nicest ones that money can buy. And also like great examples of unknown pencils that are really inexpensive, have interesting stories, are, um, very like highly functional. Um, and so that, I think that was an important brand to me because that kind of provided a bit of contrast. Um, and I think that also like helped me establish like my shop as like truly like a pencil lover's paradise. And that, I mean, from the perspective that they're like, there is some like something for everyone and there is sort of a little bit of everything.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So what did, um, I guess in the beginning, did, did you have that thought in the back of your head when you're reaching out to these companies on in the big picture, how I want CW pencils to be seen as, you know, this type of store? That mean, did you, did you set off on this path that you were just talking about right from the beginning?

'''Caroline Weaver:''' Yeah. I, I realized from the beginning, especially because I'm in New York city and, um, there are a lot of really niche businesses here and there's a really big difference between, um, a specialty shop that sells something. And you can tell that all the people who work there are experts that like, there's a lot of care put into like every object that's sold and, um, that the people who work there are just like genuinely interested in sharing these things. And then there's, and then there's a type of specialty store where somebody sees that something is popular. They do a lot of research, find all the things and they open a shop just like strictly to capitalize on something that's popular. And I think there are more of those than there are like really like truly honest specialty shops left. Um, as well, at least like in the like physical form. So, um, and it was, yeah, I, I mean, I knew first of all that I was not going to open this store like in a trendy neighborhood in Brooklyn because then of course people are going to stereotype it and make it out to be like this, like quote unquote, like hipster thing. And that's not what I wanted. That's not what it is. Um, yeah, I've been like, yeah, I guess like fighting for my credibility since the start

'''Brad Dowdy:''' of this. Well, there's no doubt you, you have it in spades. That's for sure. So how, what, what are these, um, what are these companies like, uh, uh, Viarco and Nana Raj think when you, you first emailed them said, Hey, I'm opening up a big pencil store in the U S will you sell things to me?

'''Caroline Weaver:''' Um, they were really confused. Most of them. Well, some, there were some who were like, Oh, that's awesome. Like here, here's our line sheet, like order whatever you want. But, um, and then there were others who I had to like bother for a really long time. Like Hindustan was one of them, especially cause they're such a big company. They sell in like humongous volume. Um, and of course the numbers that I was looking for, they just kind of laughed at me, but they really didn't get it. But it took me like eight, well, it took me like a good eight months to like really convince them that my business was legitimate. Um, but yeah, there, there was a lot of confusion, but when you're, when like, I mean, these companies are in there to, um, are in there to, are in here to make money. So like they, yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. One thing I wanted to drop in there and I don't know that there's a good point to bring it in and I don't know the right way to word the question, but was there any concern about the price point of a pencil? Because that's, it's a, it's a feature from a consumer's perspective, but from a business person's perspective, you, you know, like some of the pencils are 50 cents. Like, do you concern yourself with those things? Like in the beginning, I know now it's kind of maybe a different type of setup, but you know, like your margins may be the same as everyone else's margins, but they're on a $1 item. Did, was that any kind of concern in the beginning?

'''Caroline Weaver:''' Oh yeah, absolutely. Every, every which way I like tried to figure the numbers, um, that was always the main problem was that the things I was selling were just too inexpensive because I mean, we have things in our store that are 25 cents. I don't know, really know of anywhere else where you can even buy something for 25 cents anymore. But, um, that's why from the beginning I knew it was important to bring in some more expensive things like sharpeners that cost a couple hundred dollars or, um, yeah, accessories, notebooks, um, that sort of thing, or that I was just going to have to sell very high volume.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Right.

'''Caroline Weaver:''' Um, and eventually that became the case, but, um, yeah, I, I don't know. I think, and I think that's the thing too, is that a lot of people come in because they're not intimidated because things are not expensive and, um, they can come in and pick out like 20 pencils. And depending on what you pick, like your bill still might be less than $10. And that's, I think that's really appealing to a lot of our customers. And I think like, yeah, we'd rarely have anyone come in and just buy like one pencil. Right.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And I think that that's definitely the beauty of it. Right. I mean, you can find an amazing writing instrument for so cheap. You just gotta, you know, be, go to CW pencils or be at least, you know, a little bit aware of, of what you're purchasing and, um, things like that. And you'll all of a sudden have this whole different writing experience, which is what makes pencils and pens so wonderful. So let's, let's get to like the physical store itself. So you, how long did it take? I guess you said you found the shop a little bit, probably ahead of schedule and knew you just had to have it. So what was that timeframe? Was it in the, within the first year of your online store that you had the shop or a little bit after that?