Our current success story began modestly while two sisters travelled the globe. Using the finest quality European oils and indigenous flowers, Barefoot Venus began its evolution to produce some of the finest quality bath and body products available. We were big on luxury and short on budget so we started to make our own indulgence items while the “Goddesses were on the Go”.
After we returned home we kept on circling back to our vision; to produce an all-natural, flirtatiously feminine and luxurious spa like offering for women around the globe to dream, imagine and inspire. Fifteen years later and Barefoot Venus is still ‘glowing on’.
How did you earn your first sales? Which channels are now generating the most traffic and sales for you?
What started as a kiosk in a city centre mall has now grown to a flourishing online store and carried by over 550 retailers across Canada.
Barefoot Venus corporate ethos puts people over profits as it would be easy to take the path of least resistance and load our products with cheap and harmful fillers to maximize profits, but it’s not becoming of a Goddess is it? Following our principles and the business vision has translated into company growth and profits that followed.
Tell us about the back-end of your business. What tools and apps do you use to run your store? How do you handle shipping and fulfillment?
We really evolved from a bricks and mortar store to a wholesaler with a website for B2C transactions. Social Interface has helped us garner authentic reviews from our clients. Part of our USP is our proprietary scents so the more people read reviews from others, the better they are able to find their bliss in our products. Product Upsell has been helpful in obtaining a higher cart total to ensure customers reach free shipping status. Win/win for both of us.
Fulfillment is handled in house by our fabulous staff that tends to our wholesale and website orders.
What are your top recommendations for new ecommerce entrepreneurs?
Shopify is a perfect platform to start small and grow. We naively thought if we built it, they would come. However, had we had established brand fans before we threw open the doors the pressures to remain profitable as a stand alone business wouldn't have seemed so daunting. We’ve witnessed many entrepreneurs build a flashy website for ten of thousands of dollars. With Shopify, you can build your business app by app to ensure you grow as your customer base does. The interface is very intuitive as well, when you first start out business owners are able to make website changes on their own rather than having to pay big dollars to outsource.
For us, social proof is a concept we embrace. Utilizing ways to embrace social media means you can connect directly with end users and collaborate with brand fans to endorse your product to their friends.