From “Click” to “Click & Mortar"

Over the past few months I have held four workshops on the “click & mortar” business model for people involved in Main Street programs across the state of Delaware. (I will be doing several more of these workshops in the fall.) I also gave a presentation on eCommerce at the recent Governor’s Entreprenurs Conference. In all of these I have stressed how one might use eCommerce to develop and test an idea for a business before launching a much more expensive “brick & mortar” business. Therefore I was delighted when MSNBC broadcast a short program describing a successful example of this.

John & Lara Tusher of Seattle, Washington launched a website in 1999 to market work of designers who specialized in “Organic Modernism”. When they started their website John was still teaching and they worked from their home. They were not sure they could succeed with this type of business, and they wanted to test their abilities before giving up their job security or investing in a traditional retail business.

After successfully developing a supplier base, finding customers and building up an income stream through their website, John quit his job and the Tushers soon opened a “brick and mortar” business in downtown Seattle. John describes the running an eCommerce business and an actual retail store as a “winning combination” and “a wonderful synergy”. Watch the video to learn more about this couple’s experience in the world of “click & mortar”. And be sure to visit their website at http://www.velocityartanddesign.com/.

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