We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kyle Salzer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kyle, thanks for joining us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?
Typically the most I ask from friends and family is nothing more than word of mouth and/or social media support. Cigars- and especially cigar accessories have such a niche target customer base. That spares me having to ask for support in terms of purchases. That in term should be turn spares any ego deflation in asking for direct support. The recommendations of my peers to a target customer holds way more value than a possible one time purchase anyway. I would much rather a relationship be built with a customer that has needs that I can fulfill by doing business.
Even if I ask for support on social media, I make sure not to smother with these requests and ask sparingly. The relationships I have with those who are close to me are valuable.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
LA Aficionados Cigar Collective is an online retail space of a curated collection of cigar accessories and other things related to cigar culture. Outside of pure retail is the unique community aspect which cigars offer.
A passion for tobacco got me into this industry. For each hour (give or take) in which I get to enjoy a premium cigar, I am forced to put aside some time for my mental well being and focus on the cigar. The flavors notes and aromas being experienced, the origin of the leaf used, where the cigar was produced, the blender who carefully chose the tobaccos to meld together like a recipe- these are all aspects in which I could focus.
Having a career in the oil industry, I wanted to build a business which I could possibly transition to a different industry over time. Accessories fit that bill due to simplicity of being pure retail I do plan on expansion into offering premium cigars in due time.
Our generation seems to gravitate towards the experts in any given industry for curation purposes- and we aren’t afraid to pay for that service. There are many tobacconists doing so with premium cigars. However, across the industry, very little are curating accessories. At many brick and mortar cigar shops, accessories are seen as a liability, or something they HAVE to carry. The purpose of LA Aficionados is to provide a central place for enthusiasts to trust in the curation of high end accessories.
What I am most proud of concerning LA Aficionados Cigar Collective is the friendships and relationships that are formed and grow in the La Aficionados community. Connecting cigar people to other cigar people is a beautiful thing. We look after each other. Being a conduit of that connection and having a front row seat in watching those relationships grow bring a purpose that I haven’t always felt in other professional affairs.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
In the cigar world of accessories, there are essentially 3 types of manufacturers. There are the mass produced and affordable options, high end European options, and grassroots small business options based in America.
The store is a cross section of all three types. However the emphasis on promotion will always be the latter pair. I try to focus on the creatives and artisans. France and Italy produce some extremely high end and innovative products in the market. Small woodworking outfits in the US make beauitful pieces. I think this attention to quality of products and introducing some of the smaller guys to the industry has given us a reputation of being able to offer variety coupled with quality. Trust is simply an organic byproduct of that.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media is the foundation of my business. Putting out informative content has been a big part of building that trust between the consumer and I. Offering that content altruistically plays a part. Being passionate about the topic at hand concerning content translates to the receiver.
Outside of that, building relationships with other folks in the industry in social media and collaborating with them has doubled exposure each and every time. I have had to come to terms with the fact that I am a terrible photographer. And guess what? That’s ok. Outsourcing the help of photographers has helped me provide quality content.
Contact Info:
- Website: LACigarCollective.com
- Instagram: Laaficionados
- Facebook: LA Aficionados Cigar Collective