Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kerry Cooke. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kerry, thanks for joining us today. Almost every entrepreneur we know has considered donating a portion of their sales to an organization or cause – how did you make the decision of whether to donate? We’d love to hear the backstory if you’re open to sharing the details.

Many years ago, my daughter was called upon to give testimony in a traumatic court case. The on-duty service dog sat with her before and after she went on the stand. This simple act helped her overcome the terrifying hurdles ahead of her, and she was able to stand up and speak her truth.

We believe that every court in America should have this option to help trauma victims, young and old, speak up for themselves. That is why we are proud to support Pet Partners, the leading therapy animal organization in the United States.

Pet Partners is dedicated to promoting the positive effects of the human-animal bond and how it can transform lives. They provide animal-assisted interactions to various clients, including veterans with PTSD, seniors living with Alzheimer’s, patients in recovery, victims in court, and children with disabilities.

Kerry, 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?

A couple years ago, my daughter and I were walking our dogs, and I realized what a process it was to bring all the gear (leash, water bowl, water) along for the ride. It was cumbersome! I thought, “There has to be a simpler way to do this!” I searched online for a product that would meet our needs, and when I didn’t find one, I decided to create it myself. Spleash is a handle that attaches to any standard leash and holds 12oz of water.

I brought this idea to my daughter and the two of us worked together to bring it to fruition. Since then, we have focused on creating a dependable, honest, and most importantly, useful, product. We believe we’ve succeeded in doing so and will endeavor to ensure it remains so.

For more than 20 years I’ve dreamed of being an entrepreneur, and I’ve had ideas for inventions or services that could be helpful to others, but I never ran with one of them until Spleash. This was the beginning of a new era in my life and I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity to grow. Spleash is the realization of a longtime dream, and I’m thrilled that I get to share the entrepreneurial experience with my daughter!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Our journey to build a social media presence was one of patience and persistence. Starting from absolute zero, we had to build our brand and our page at the same time. This meant consistent, clear, and informative posting daily. Keeping up a schedule is very important when you are trying to distinguish your presence on any social platform. It is also integral to keep your content diverse yet relevant to your brand. A ratio of 70% outside content and 30% original content can help to keep things fresh and targeted to your audience.

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

When it comes to e-commerce there are many different routes you can take, sometimes too many, and it can feel a bit paralyzing at first. But the key is to just jump straight in and get your hands dirty, so to speak. Of course you should still do your research and pick the platform that works best for your company, but you can only do so much thoughtful consideration before you’ve wound up paralyzed again. For us this meant getting started with Squarespace. A great option for small businesses looking to test the waters and see if e-commerce is for them. Eventually we moved on to Shopify and Amazon, expanding our capabilities and our audience.

Shopify is an excellent option for the more experienced entrepreneur. It comes with all the best website building and monitoring tools. The downside here is that it can be a bit harder to learn the interface than other platforms but it has a great set of resource pages designed to help you through all of that.

Amazon is another option that requires more commitment on the business end. This is because listing on Amazon requires a lot of back end paperwork that can be a bit overwhelming to navigate. Once you are listed it offers a wide audience as well as their own fulfillment center, taking a lot of the shipping stress off of your shoulders.

In the end, choosing an e-commerce platform is a lot like trying on shoes. You’ll find some that look perfect but just don’t fit right, and others that don’t necessarily look like what you’re searching for but that fit perfectly. It’s just a matter of trying them on and finding the right fit.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.spleash.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spleash_your_leash/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TailChasersLLC/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tail-chasers-llc
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TailChasersLLC
• Youtube: YouTube.com/@Spleash
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@spleash_your_leash

Image Credits
Jussi Oksanen