Ozark Rock Exchange deals in crystals, gemstones

by Kris Ann Hegle

SBJ Contributing Writer

Stephanie Pflumm's neighbors can't believe she sells rocks for a living. The rocks Pflumm sells, however, can't be compared to those found in her neighbors' fields and yards in Douglas County.

The stones Pflumm sells through her Web site, Ozark Rock Exchange, www.ozark rockexchange.com, have long been the subject of legend and folklore.

According to Pflumm, many people continue to seek out amethyst, quartz, malachite, emerald, garnet, tourmaline, rose quartz, tiger's eye, tur-quoise and other gems and crystals to enhance various aspects of their lives, such as love, abundance, protection, health and happiness.

Pflumm's interest in gemstones and crystals dates back to her childhood, when her grandmother gave her a rosary of rose quartz beads. Over the years, Pflumm has continued to collect gemstones and crystals, and in 1999 her interest led her to open Ozark Rock Exchange, also known as ORE.

At the time, Pflumm seemed like an unlikely entrepreneur. She had spent 27 years working in the broadcasting industry, and she was serving as sales manager at KTTS. At first, she tried to run her online store while continuing to work at KTTS. In 2000, however, she decided to leave her job and concentrate on ORE full time.

"I knew even if I failed, I had to try," she said. "I don't think I could have lived with myself if I had never tried."

And try she did. When Pflumm first founded her online business, she was one of thousands of new entrepreneurs who believed they could make a living selling products or services via the Internet.

Within months, however, many of these dot-coms failed. Pflumm knew she would need more than a good idea or product to make her online business successful, so she drew on her experience in broadcasting and sales, and developed a marketing plan that combined traditional advertising methods with online promotion.

She placed ads in publications such as Rolling Stone and submitted information about ORE to Internet search engines such as Yahoo! and Google so Inter-net users could find her Web site easily. She also joined several free Internet announcement groups.

Rather than go the "do-it-yourself" route, Pflumm hired a professional to design her Web site and set up its online security system, which helped ensure that her customers' credit card numbers or other confidential information wouldn't fall into the hands of a nefarious hacker.

She also began publishing a biweekly newsletter, called ORE Features, which contained information and research she had done on various gemstones and crystals. The newsletter, which began in 1999, was a hit, and today ORE Features has more than 2,000 subscribers.

Starting a newsletter not only provided Pflumm with an effective advertising and information vehicle, it also provided her with some vital data on who was interested in gemstones and crystals.

In 2000, Pflumm combined the information in her confidential customer database with information in her private news-letter database and analyzed it to determine which areas of the United States contained a high concentration of gemstone and crystal enthusiasts.

Then she bought a van and converted it into a mobile store for many of the gems, crystals and other products sold on ORE's Web site. That summer, Pflumm took her van, which she dubbed the Mobile ORE Store, to trade shows around the country as well as cities where there were a high concentration of customers.

Not surprisingly, the ORE Store helped increase business dramatically. Pflumm also be-gan holding "rock parties" in customers' homes, which al-lowed her to showcase and sell gemstones and crystals featured on her Web site.

"Most business owners start out with a brick-and-mortar store, and then they launch a Web site," said Pflumm. "I've done the opposite. It's actually worked out quite well for me because my customer base is so scattered."

In 2001, Pflumm compiled all the information contained in her newsletters, which were published between October 1999 and September 2000, and developed and published her own e-book entitled "Stone Power: Gemstones and Crystals, Vol-ume 1." According to Pflumm, the book has met with great success, and she plans to publish Volume 2 this year.

"Researching and writing about gems and crystals is easily the most fulfilling work I do these days," said Pflumm. "Opening this business has changed my life. I'm not only doing something I truly enjoy, I believe what I'm doing helps others."

Currently, Pflumm is working to build up her "Stone Power Circle." Each month, members of the Stone Power Circle get information and receive a discount on a particular gemstone or crystal.

Pflumm also is in the process of widening the selection of gemstones and crystals sold through ORE, and one day, she hopes to be the proprietor of the largest online gemstone and crystal store on the Internet.