We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Crane recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jennifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

Before I started Delphine, my entire career had been spent in e-commerce merchandising and marketing. I saw many strategies come and go, whether pricing, promotions, or product selections. One of the biggest decisions I made concerning my own strategies, is that I don’t offer percentage discounts. My products are small batch, handmade, very personal to me and I believe they are priced correctly. I’ve seen companies have to top their previous year’s discount on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, again and again, and that can feel like a race to the bottom. As a customer, you wonder if you are getting the best deal or if you should wait for the next coupon. I prefer to offer incentives in other ways, ones that can surprise and delight. A free soap, for example, with the purchase of two candles. The customer gets to try something new and I get to show them what I can offer. This type of strategy doesn’t work for everyone, of course, but it feels authentic to me and I know I’m valuing my offerings in the marketplace.

Jennifer, 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?

Like many creative entrepreneurs, my business started as a hobby and became a side hustle. When I was laid off from my corporate job last year, I decided I might as well take the leap and go full-time. I’m very proud of the brand and relationships I’ve built so far. Delphine’s brand tagline is, “Cozy. Clean. Classic.” I hope people feel that when they have my products in their homes. My favorite part of this work is building relationships with other entrepreneurs, working with wholesale accounts, and chatting with customers in person at markets and events.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I was telling someone about the things I make and sell and they said, “Well that’s not work, that’s fun.” What a concept! It’s difficult for some of us to believe that what we do for a living can also be enjoyable. I’m still working on unlearning this but that conversation was a great start.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I use Shopify as my e-commerce platform and I’m a huge fan. It’s simple to get going and their customer service is great. There may be less expensive platforms out there, but for now I’m very happy sticking with them.

Contact Info:

• Website: shopdelphine.com
• Instagram: @shopdelphine
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/shopdelphine