Baby Travel Shop e-COMMERCE... THE WAY TO GO

e-COMMERCE... THE WAY TO GO

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

e-COMMERCE... THE WAY TO GO

The setting is Georgian elegance, high above Dublin's leafy Merrion Square and redolent of a slower, more contemplative age. However, what goes on in these offices is truly about now and the future.

From here, a young mother weaves her web in cyberspace and many, at home and abroad are paying increasing attention.

She is Aisling O'Donoghue and her company is Baby Travel Shop, where anyone with Internet access can come shopping for everything they need when planning a journey with babies or young children. Aisling's business is built on personal experience and IT knowledge. She has worked in a travel agency and has plenty of on-line marketing experience as a result of having been on-line product manager with eBookers. Her knowledge and background have certainly equipped her to take advantage of the experience that has resulted in her new venture.

In September, Aisling and her then 3 month old son, Fionn, flew to Australia. It was a long, difficult journey with an infant; a trip that could have been greatly eased with the right accessories for baby. During her stay down under and later when she started serious research on her return of Dublin last February, she quickly realised that there was no one source from which baby and kids travel needs could be purchased, anywhere. Naturally, she thought of an e-commerce solution.

Many faced with such a beckoning niche would be tempted to rush in before someone else made the discovery. She did not. Rather she spent the next four months empowering herself through research and training. She equipped herself with product knowledge by attending trade shows in Britain and did the Start Your Own Business Course at the Terenure Enterprise Centre. More detailed research of website designers with successful track-records in e-commerce solutions led her to commission Equinox.ie located in Dublin's Digital Hub. At the same time, she became a client of Dublin City Enterprise Board where she dealt with Eibhlin Curley, Assistant CEO. Through DCEB, Aisling received help in writing her business plan and, ultimately, received a Commercial Web Site Development Grant.

Launch and beyond
With nothing left to chance, Aisling O'Donoghue, launched her business and web site, www.babytravelshop.ie, in May having first ensured that anyone who enters the words baby travel in Google will see her site as the first offering, a privilege that costs €600 a month. But it paid off. Site visitors are averaging 15,000 a month with a notable boost when ever she gets publicity. To date, she has been featured in The Irish Independent, The Sunday Business Post and The Irish Independent Healthcare Supplement. There is a lesson here for all e-commerce practitioners: publicity in hard copy is invaluable in generating hits. She is now also receiving orders from Britain, Finland and the United States.

From a standing start and just months in business, Aisling is confidently forecasting a turnover of €250,000 in her first full year of operation. Her confidence means that her SSIA savings will now be invested in the business and she has already attracted another investor. The professionalism of her approach to her new business has impressed her bankers, AIB, who advanced credit facilities on the strength of her business plan. This is a most important point for would be entrepreneurs to understand: a good business plan is an essential tool in leveraging finance.

Development
Aisling O'Donoghue, is now looking forward to expanding the reach of her web site. Bringing her travel agency experience into play, she is planning to bring together a portal for tour operators and Irish hotel companies offering links through their own sites that will sell an tenancy on her own site. Already holiday companies in Britain and France and Ireland have indicated that they want to become involved. These include RollerCoaster.ie, a parenting web site that attracts 80,000 unique visitors a monthly. No wonder she is running a competition with them.

If the attraction of e-commerce was not already obvious, consider Aisling O'Donoghue's views. "E-commerce is the way to go: its fantastic. Its 24, 7, 12, 365, working for you all the time. The orders just come in. Being on-line, you don't have the costs and problems of staff and premises. And, if you have to make changes, you can do so in real time."

The web site www.babytravelshop.ie is a veritable cornucopia of everything a baby or young child and its mother might need on a journey. From the best skin care and sun blocks to velcroed sunglasses to pop-up-cots to insect nets, its all there. So to is a free travel checklist with prompts for 'on-the-plane', 'in-your-suitcase', 'on-the-move' and 'medical kit' information gathering. One page gives you the important questions to ask your airline before you fly. There is a sun care guide and links to other useful web sites, including that of Dublin City Enterprise Board. Thanks, Aisling. Of course, we too nurture babies; businesses that is!
http://www.babytravelshop.com/