The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), and the Department of E-Commerce are sponsoring two eMondays this year one next Monday, the other on November 26.On both days, online shoppers will see special savings and deep discounts from Bermuda online retailers or ‘e-tailers’.In the lead up to next week’s eMonday, The Royal Gazette each week has featured a different Bermuda e-tailer that will be participating.This week’s e-tailer is DNA Creative Shoppe.E-tailer of the week: DNA Creative ShoppeWebsite: www.dnashoppe.bizProducts/services sold: Art supplies, branching into craft supplies and packaged vegan items.Why an e-business?We started as an e-business to test the waters and also due to the cost effectiveness of not having a physical location. We are, however, now in the process of opening up a physical store due to the demand of customers to want to be able to see and touch things.What did you do to get started?This wasn’t a planned business and it started by chance. After a couple of months of it doing well, we realised we needed to take it seriously but couldn’t afford a traditional brick & mortar store. We decided what we wanted to have on our website and how we wanted it to function and I spent all of my free time building it and adding the inventory to it over the course of about six weeks.How do you promote your e-business?We have a few banner ads on other sites and we use social media. Our biggest advertisement thus far has been word of mouth, which has worked very well for us. We are fortunate that Bermuda isn’t that big. You must market but there are still, surprisingly, not that many e-tailers on the island so we’re still not fighting for their attention.What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting an e-business?It’s a good way to get started. If you plan on having a lot of inventory (as we have), keep in mind it takes time to get that information up on the website. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and simple to use. Realise that nobody is going to be beating down your website doors either. You must promote. Lastly, in Bermuda, e-businesses still haven’t caught on as much as they have elsewhere in the world. This is why we are opening a store now. People still want to see and touch things before they buy them. We know that the website will still be utilised but, it will probably now be more informational than functional as we believe most people will come into the store to complete a purchase but, by having our catalogue and contact information online, customers can check or call before coming in to make sure we have what they are looking for in stock or if we even carry it. We do special orders though so at least either way they contact us, it allows us to give them more information if they haven’t looked through the site and read that information yet. There is at least now an option. Buy online or in the store.An e-business is no different from any other though. Technically, you are taking less of a risk but financially it’s all the same. Be smart and do your research. There are many ideas that may seem good but until you either do it really slowly (as we did with limited items) or know for a fact there is truly a demand for something. Do not sink tons of money into it. The website can be taken down a lot easier than leaving a store but you’re still stuck with money tied up in inventory that never sold. Don’t get us wrong, we believe right now is the ideal time for the entrepreneur to get out there and that an e-business is the best way to start a business and work through any growing pains. There are many speciality markets on the island that are growing and require their needs to be filled. I hope more people do take a chance, start small, go with an e-business and grow from there.What do you do to develop/retain customer loyalty?It’s quite a simple formula. We listen. And we provide good customer service and fair pricing. When the store opens, we will have a loyalty dollars programme and are forming a few programmes to help some out in the community. At the end of the day, if you ignore or blow off the customer, they will just go overseas to make their purchases. Bermudian businesses are no longer just competing with each other, they are competing with the world wide market.To see the list of e-tailers participating in eMonday on July 23, go to www.eMonday.bm.