Business Spotlight: Weddings by Dezign

It started when Sommer Thompson asked her future mother-in-law Kathy Schwin for help planning her wedding. There was only one problem Thompson lived in Ketchum, Okla., and Schwin lived in Aurora.

The tech-savvy Schwin decided the best way to bridge the distance was to shop for wedding and bridal products online. The experience left a lasting impression on Schwin, and before long she began thinking about launching her own online store. Then she saw an offer on the popular Web site Yahoo!

"Yahoo! had a deal that allowed you to create your own online store," said Schwin. "You paid $50 a month and could post up to 50 items to sell. They called it a 10-Day Test Drive, so I decided to give it a try."

Schwin named her online wedding and bridal accessory store Weddings by Dezign and paid $70 to register the domain name, which became the store's Web address at www.weddingsbydezign.com. She also found a vendor that would ship directly to her online customers and obtained a toll-free number for the business.

Next, Schwin focused on setting up an online payment method. She paid a $300 application fee to a national bank, which agreed to process all of the online store's secure credit card transactions. Another $45 was spent on a Missouri sales tax license.

Schwin then used her computer skills to create an online store. Several Web pages and a mere $465 later, she was in business.

"I began to make sales almost immediately," she said. "The site launched in December 1998, and I received three orders that month. The next month there were 21 orders and the month after that there were 100."

Schwin found other vendors willing to ship merchandise directly to the store's online customers. She also began advertising in bridal magazines and hired a company to put Weddings by Dezign in every search engine on the Internet, which helped direct Web surfers to the online store.

Before long, Weddings by Dezign began to take on a life of its own. Maintaining and updating the Web site, however, was becoming more difficult for Schwin, who works full-time at Jack Henry and Associates in Monett.

Mike Schwin, her husband and business partner, helped as much as he could. However, he also was facing a time crunch because he was busy running his own company, Schwin Custom Construction, which is located in Aurora.

Finding balance at home was becoming difficult as well. Weddings by Dezign was no longer a 50-item online store that carried merchandise from one vendor. Weddings by Dezign had transformed into an online store offering more than 2,500 items from more than 25 vendors.

"We decided to switch gears in 2000 and start bringing in the merchandise when the orders were placed and shipping from our location," said Kathy Schwin. "Our basement served as a warehouse. To do that we had to hire our next employee who would take care of receiving the products and shipping it to our customers.'

The Schwins' online venture had evolved into full-scale business. The time had come to make a decision: They could shut down their online store, they could sell it, or they could persevere and make some changes that would bring more balance to their lives while still allowing their business to grow. After a little soul searching, they decided to persevere.

Today, the Schwins have four employees who manage the daily operations of the business, update and maintain the Web site, handle accounts payable, ship merchandise and take orders via the business' toll-free phone number.

"We're blessed to have employees who care about the business as much as we do," said Kathy Schwin. "They really run the show."

The Schwins also decided it was time to reclaim their home. In January 2002, they built an 800-square-foot warehouse next to their home in Aurora.

In December 2002, the Schwins expanded again by opening a retail store in the Plaza Towers Center in Springfield that's operated by their son-in-law and daughter, Brandon and Lindsey Essary. The 1,500-square-foot store contains more than 2,000 items, including a wide range of wedding and bridal decorations, thank you gifts for members of the wedding party, wedding planners and memory books, keepsakes and candles.

According to the Schwins, the store's location in the Plaza Towers Center next to the Bridal Boutique has allowed them to attract many customers. The Schwins, who work in the store on Thursday evenings and Saturdays, also promote Weddings by Dezign through radio and print media.

The Schwins are preparing to showcase their merchandise at several wedding shows, which will be held in Springfield throughout the month of January. They're also thinking about franchising Weddings by Dezign, which would allow them to expand into other markets.

In the meantime, the Schwins are continuing to pull double duty, working at their respective jobs and their store. However, they said they wouldn't have it any other way.

"We really enjoy working at the store, and we both look forward to coming in here," said Kathy Schwin.