In the first episode of Hi, I’m an Amazon seller, we asked sellers to tell us what makes them smile, share their advice for new sellers, and talk about what their customers mean to them. This is your opportunity to learn about small businesses, directly from the people who built them:

• Arsha Jones, CEO and Co-Founder of Capital City. Capital City is a specialty foods manufacturer best known for their Mambo sauce. They sell a bottled version of the sweet, sticky, and tangy chicken wing condiment which was created in the Washington, D.C area. Shop the Capital City Store on Amazon.
• Zachary T. Lewis, Executive Director, Integrity Bottles. Initially created as unique gifts for military members retirements or change of command ceremonies, Integrity bottles sells engraved drinkware to help commemorate special occasions. Shop the Integrity Bottles Store on Amazon.
• Natasha McCrary, Owner, 1818 Farms. 1818 Farms creates handmade and hand packaged bath and beauty products that work, while honoring their Mooresville, Alabama roots. Shop the 1818 Farms Store on Amazon.

Video Transcript:

00:09 – [Jones] The advice I would offer new sellers on Amazon would be to read as much as you can. Amazon has a huge library of content that’s available for new sellers that want to get started.

00:27 – [Lewis] I think the biggest thing is to treat every listing like its own business. You can create the trajectory of a business within its own listing. Rank that product, promote that product.

00:42 – [McCrary] Another thing that I recommend to everyone is please invest in great photography. Your customers have one first impression, and the first impression is going to be that photo they see.

00:56 – [Jones] Check out the forums, see what other issues that other sellers are having. Join communities and really get an understanding how all of this works.

01:09 – [Lewis] Just like our employees, if we don’t have customers, there’s no business.

01:13 – [Jones] Since the day we started Capital City, my customers have been the highest priority for me because they are the life blood of Capital City.

01:23 – [McCrary] Every product that we develop and we bring to our customers I’m always thinking, how can this make their life better?

01:29 – [Lewis] When our customers receive one of our products, we want them to be in awe. We want them to say, oh my gosh, this is the coolest thing ever.

01:37 – [Jones] I Tell my employees all the time, when the customers are not happy, I’m not happy. You know, because at the end of the day, I really love this product. And I want people to receive it in perfect form, no issues, on time without any problems.

01:58 – [McCrary] Hmm. I would say only because my husband loves the movie so much, “The Titanic.” And he’s in here with me. So we like, we just watched it again. He gets pulled into that movie every time. So yeah, we just watched it a few weekends ago.

02:14 – [Lewis] Waking up and being able to have the opportunity to take my kids to school and pick them up. I’m able to literally spend more time with my kids than I have ever in my life.

02:26 – [Jones] That makes me smile every day. It’s just seeing my kids really enjoy themselves. I have a partnership with the Washington Wizards, and so they often give me tickets and things to the game. And most recently they gave me court side seats to see the Atlanta Hawks play.

02:42 – [Jones] And so, like, for them to walk onto the court, like right next to the players, one of the players like fell on my son. We had a ball, and it’s just seeing the joy in their faces, seeing them laugh and smile. This kind of, just reminds me kind of what I did all of this for.