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“Consumers want to feel a part of the brands they buy from, and in the current climate of living and socializing virtually, community has never been more important,” Daswani said. To cater to new ambassadors looking for a low-risk way to make money as quickly as possible, Stella & Dot is promoting a six-month financing option with no interest. The broad community of sellers, only 10% of which are full time, support each other in online communities, and the company offers courses via its “ Self-Made University” on everything from time management to TikTok. In fact, they drive more sales with product reviews and personal recommendations to their social circles. For one, its ambassadors, she said, don’t need to be skilled salespeople. “It used to be that people thought of this as something for a 1950s housewife,” Herrin said, “but now you’ll find professionals at all levels realizing that having another income stream is a smart way to operate.” Community and caring amid the coronavirusĪccording to Herrin, Stella & Dot owes much of its success to the power of community. Ambassadors receive a 40% commission on each purchase, as well as incentives related to sales goals and referrals, paid out weekly. Unlike those companies, many of which saddle sellers with more merchandise than they can realistically sell, Stella & Dot requires just a small investment for ambassadors to start taking orders, she says.Īfter an ambassador’s initial $199 buy-in, the company then handles all inventory, fulfillment and returns directly with the end customer. Part of the challenge for Stella & Dot has been disabusing people of the notion that it’s a multi-level marketing company. , if you had both a great product and great technology, could you help people earn more in less time?” And a new approach to social selling was born.
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“When I looked around at the world, I found what I thought to be pretty dated approaches to work-from-home businesses. “Stella & Dot came to me out of my desire to reinvent flexible work for women,” Herrin explained. How to Drive Traffic to Your E-Commerce Store Jessica Herrin, founder and CEO, Stella & Dot. “Beyond physical points, such as in-store spaces, pop-ups and trunk shows, social-selling tools will emerge as a powerful way for brands to virtually bring communities together to buy.” Never has digital been more important than it is now, Saisangeeth Daswani, head of advisory, fashion, beauty and APAC at trends intelligence firm Stylus, told CO. Though the move was inspired by the consumer trends Herrin observed around online and mobile shopping, it has also put the business in a much better position to weather the coronavirus pandemic. Previously focused on in-home events, Stella & Dot disrupted its own business model last year, with a strategic pivot into digital-enabled selling and the merging of its three distinct sub-properties: its namesake accessories brand, jewelry brand Keep and skincare brand Ever. Now, she’s the founder and CEO of Stella & Dot, a family of e-commerce brands and over 30,000 ambassadors that aims to redefine social selling for a new generation. Herrin became obsessed with the idea of creating another, better way for women to earn money on their own terms, without sacrificing too much. “It takes so much time and money and obligations, you can end up with a business that runs you rather that you running it.” “I found that when I was asked for advice, I would think to myself: ‘Whatever you do, don't do what I did,’” Herrin told CO. After completing a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford University, she dropped out of business school to co-found her own e-commerce start up, .Īs a young female founder, Herrin found herself fielding questions from other women looking to start their own businesses. Stella & Dot founder Jessica Herrin is, in many ways, an entrepreneur in the traditional sense. Stella & Dot disrupted its own business model last year, with a strategic pivot from mostly home-selling into digital-enabled selling and the merging of its three sub-properties.
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