Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Devan Moll. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Devan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?
As hard as it is to ask for help or support, I’ve found that friends and family will support my business without me needing to ask. It’s not only about someone making a purchase or giving money to help grow the business. It’s really the little things that help out the most such as sharing social media posts, leaving reviews, or mentioning your product to the people in their lives. You never know who will end up hearing about your product and be a potential customer!
Devan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Devan and I am a bartender and small business owner in Southern California. I’ve been bartending for around 10 years and I love it. I am a creative spirit so I enjoy having a job where I can experiment with new flavors and ingredients to make tasty and beautiful drinks. My company is Diablo Dev’s and I sell my own spicy Bloody Mary mix. As a seasoned mixologist, I’ve had my fair share of Bloody Mary’s over the years. One thing I noticed was the lack of bold flavors and consistency. One establishment provided me the opportunity to create the mix for the busy brunch weekends. They had a classic (but delicious) Bloody Mary batch recipe but as time went on, my creative juices got flowing and I started to experiment with the recipe, adding and subtracting different herbs and spices. As a result, the customers tastebuds were tantalized! After receiving many comments such as, “You should sell it!”, “I’d buy this in the store!”, “Best Bloody Mary I’ve ever had!” I knew Diablo Dev’s was a hit!
Diablo Dev’s Bloody Mary Mix is the result of many years of craft cocktail bartending in restaurants and bars in Southern California. I was able to use my knowledge and experience to create a mouth-watering, flavorful Bloody Mary mix available to many more tastebuds nationwide. This bloody good mix is spicy and bold with a smooth, peppery finish.
I also have a graphic design background so the logo, branding materiel, label, website…everything has been designed myself!
My proudest accomplishment is that I won a 2nd place Scovie Award in the hot and spicy category. It feels amazing to be able to have award winning on my website and social media posts. I just entered another spicy competition so fingers crossed for a 1st place victory!
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
I sell primarily on my website, www.diablodevs.com but I also have an Etsy shop. I prefer to get sales on my website due to selling and listing fees with sites like Etsy but the exposure from those websites is key. Some customers might not have found my product without them!
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
On my website, I have a page for users to contact me or subscribe to keep up with news or specials. Usually about once a month or for every major holiday I send out an email blast with a promo code to all of my subscribers and followers on social media. Buy 2, get one free, free shipping or 15-20% off coupon codes for example. For football season, I sent out football shaped pint glasses with the purchase of 2 or more bottles! And for Easter, I put one of our mini 4oz bottles inside of a large Easter egg as a freebee with purchase. I love getting creative with the holidays and I am just so thankful for the people who support my small business!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.diablodevs.com
- Instagram: @diablodevs
- Facebook: Diablo Dev’s