We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jason Kane a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jason, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I got the idea for my clear bag business shortly after attending a local concert. As I was on the way to the event I was reading the FAQs for the show. In the section for what is allowed into the venue, they were enforcing a strict clear bag policy for attendees. However there was one exception, “Due to clear hydration packs not being readily available, standard hydration packs are the only exception the the clear bag policy.” I didn’t think anything of it at the time but a few days later it hit me. There was a need for a clear hydration pack but not a steady supply on the market. With that in mind I thought there was potential of this working out. I did some market research and felt that this was something worth taking a gamble on.

Jason, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

ClearedM is a brand of clear bags. We specialize in clear hydration packs and have just introduced stylish fanny packs that are also clear bag compliant. We cater to an audience that attends concerts, music festivals, and other events where clear bags are required for entry. Founded in Phoenix Arizona it is important to give concert and festival goers an option to stay hydrated while remaining compliant with event policy. With the success of our clear hydration pack, we felt it was appropriate to introduce more clear bags to our product line. While clear bags have become the new norm, there is no well known brand that represents the space. Everyone knows Jansport backpacks and Michael Kors hand bags, but can you name the brand that made your clear bag? With ClearedM, we want to become a reputable brand of clear bags that are stylish and fashionable while staying clear bag compliant.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is an ever evolving landscape and one that I am still trying to figure out. For any business starting out the first thing you need to establish is trust. Establishing trust on social media means putting your brand or product or face out there, and doing so consistently. Tell your backstory, show how your product works, introduce the team. All these things can help you establish trust. We established trust by introducing our team members and ambassadors to our audience. The people who they would constantly see on the page. We also partnered with local companies and stores to sell our product. Partnering with reputable and well known brands is a great way to show that other people trust you. The second piece to the puzzle social proof. Social proof is the principle that humans are heavily influenced by the actions of others. So if someone sees other people wearing your brand, they will be more inclined to as well. The biggest social proof on social media is your follower count. People will be more likely to trust and follow your brand if they see you as legitimate and having lots of followers. We were able to start growing our following by hosting giveaways and contests. This generated a lot of excitement around our brand and helped spread awareness on social media.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

As an e-commerce business I utilize both Shopify and Amazon. Shopify hosts my company website and is where I am able to really connect with the customer. Shopify allows you great customization as well as the chance to create email lists to really stay in front of your customer base. You can manage everything from promos to marketing campaigns to the checkout experience. The pros being the customization and not sharing revenue with any third parties. The one con is that it can take a lot of time and effort to create and maintain your website. Along with the tasks of making sure it is optimized for both internet search and site speed. Amazon is the worlds largest e-commerce platform and should be a must for any business. The amount of traffic that you can get through Amazon can be unmatched compared to your own website. Plus if you utilize their Fulfillment process, they take care of all the shipping, returns, and customer service for you. The downside is of course the fees for selling through their site as well as their fulfillment service so it’s something to take into consideration when projecting profit and margins.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ClearedM.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/realclearedm