This is an interview not to be missed.

Kate is truly an online business pioneer, launching her shopping website adorebeauty.com.au in April 2000.

As the owner of Australia’s most successful hair and beauty shopping website, Kate’s experience and advice to others thinking of starting up an online business is inspiring and insightful.

Enjoy and learn!

P.S. Pay careful attention to Kate’s statements about attracting customers, not driving traffic.

What was your personal motivation behind starting Adore Beauty?

I’ve always been fascinated by cosmetics and beauty products, since high school when I lived in Launceston, Tasmania.

I always hated it that most of the products in the glossy magazines weren’t available where I lived; so when online shopping first came about, I figured it would be a great way of enabling my fellow beauty junkies to get their hands on the best products.

When did Adore Beauty launch?

April 2000. We were in development for about 12 months before that.

What’s the number one piece of advice you could give other women thinking of starting an online business?

Just remember that the basic principles of an online business are the same as any other type of business.

For example, retail = selling your product to a target market for more than what it cost you – regardless of whether you plan to do this in a store or online.

Go and buy yourself a copy of The E-Myth by Michael Gerber – a must-read for anyone in small business.

What was the toughest part about getting your website online?

The hardest part was convincing the brands to allow us to sell their products. Cosmetics is a very image-focused industry and everyone was a bit frightened of the internet back then (and unfortunately many companies still are!).

Do you have any advice about how to get visitors to your website?

We focus on attracting customers rather than driving traffic. I don’t care about visitors just for numbers’ sake.

You can spend as much as you like on driving 10,000 visitors to your site, but if none of them buy anything it’s a waste of time and money; conversely if you attract just five customers who all buy something, you are much better off!

I believe the best way to attract customers in the long run is:

• To have a product that people want;
• A site that is attractive, informative and easy to use;
• And customer service that people want to tell their friends about.

What are the three most important factors to running a successful online business?

1. Persistence. In the immortal words of Rachel Hunter, “it won’t happen overnight but it will happen” – but only if you stick at it.
2. Good customer service – because the internet makes it really easy for them to tell everyone about their experience, good or bad.
3. Having a good web developer – because the bad ones will make your life very difficult.

What is the wildest success story you can imagine for Adore Beauty’s future?

I’ve actually already surpassed any imaginings I had when I started about Adore Beauty’s success!  So I plan to continue along this path, further expanding our stable of brands, and continuing to cement our position as the #1 online beauty destination in Australia.

Visit Adore Beauty.

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Filed under: Inspiration, Interviews, Tips