Shady Rays: Customer Loyalty Built Through Returns

For the last installment of our first season of Get Ship Done, host J.B. Hager sits down with ecommerce revolutionary Stephan Aarstol to get to the heart of how he identifies niche markets, ships out oversized products, and what his businesses have done to stand out in a monopolized industry. 

Becoming someone’s favorite sunglasses brand is difficult. But Shady Rays remains a gold standard for many of its customers. Through competitive marketing efforts, a philanthropic mission, and an ultimate focus on providing the best service and product to their customers, Chris and Dan have found success in ecommerce — shipping upward of 10,000 orders in a day. They've even been listed as one of the fastest growing eyewear brands in the U.S. according to the 2020 INC. 5,000 list. In addition to offering free shipping, returns, and exchanges, Shady Rays' true claim to fame is being “The Sunglasses Company that replaces all lost & broken sunglasses." Learn about Chris and Dan's ecommerce journey over the last decade and how they used this successful marketing strategy to establish their brand as a preeminent business model for customer loyalty.

In this episode of Get Ship Done, learn how dream team and husband and wife duo, Alissa and Shon Bayer, grew a single-location spa in Austin, TX into a celebrity-endorsed, nationwide luxury clean beauty brand. They discuss their humble, grassroots beginnings and share their experience with accepting investor funds as they continue to expand their physical footprint outside of Texas and continue to grow their wildly popular product line. From a QVC debut to the strategies behind offering subscription services, tune in as Alissa and Shon share more about their ecommerce journey and reveal the secrets behind successfully working with a romantic partner and managing a growing business with style. 

In honor of Pride Month, we sit down with Rachel Smith of Pride Socks to talk about how she turned a side-hustle into a purpose-driven ecommerce success story. What started as a way to supplement her teaching salary has led to transforming the beloved tube sock into a  movement that promotes the message of love, pride, respect, and inclusion for everyone. Listen as J.B. and Rachel explore the humble beginnings of her business. We’ll discover how she handled the challenges of scaling from a spare bedroom into a dedicated warehouse space, the growth of her Custom for a Cause collaborative sock collection that dedicates proceeds to select non profits, and how her inherent ability to be a voice for others has catapulted the business into a brand worn by music icon Brandi Carlile, Olympic skateboarder Sky Brown, the UCLA softball team, and more! Disclaimer: This episode covers the topic of suicide and mental health

What started as a Facebook group in 2012 to help provide visibility of Indigenous People during the Idle No More protests, has since grown into a purpose-driven apparel brand that recently found its way into REI stores across the country. Urban Native Era founder, Joey Montoya, always knew his brand would strike a chord with a wide audience. But it wasn’t until the new wave of social justice movements in 2020 that they experienced an overnight surge of orders and opportunities. He sits down with J.B. Hager to discuss the challenges of scaling the business quickly,  the strategy behind using humor as a powerful tool to drive awareness, and advice on how entrepreneurs can stay fueled with passion and avoid burnout.Now, a thriving business, you can find Urban Native Era messaging all over, spreading the shared message "You're on Native Land." Montoya reminds us that a common purpose can drive social action and catch on quickly with a little social media magic. Listen to "Urban Native Era: Success Sewn From a Social Movement" to learn how he transformed their presence on social media into an ecommerce success story.

What started as a wholesale business, delivering American-grown flowers to event planners and Whole Foods up and down the east coast, unexpectedly took a turn at the start of the pandemic. For the first episode of Get Ship Done, J.B. Hager chats with Stephanie Duncan, co-founder of Harmony Harvest. Along with her sister and mother, she was able to adapt her small family-owned Virginia flower farm into a blossoming direct-to-consumer business—from dirt to door.  It can be a messy, hands-on job, but it's a true labor of love. Stephanie uncovers everything from how to ship out perishable items, recommendations on how to test fulfillment, the importance of self-care as entrepreneurs, and how a little authenticity on social media goes a long way. She also reveals how a sustainable business idea turned into a leap into the world of product manufacturing.  Discover how they were able to shift their business to ecommerce in the face of adversity and how they quickly adapted to overnight success. Learn more here: shipstation.com/blog/get-ship-done-harmony-harvest

On April 5, ShipStation launches a new podcast, Get Ship Done, hosted by J.B. Hager. This show spotlights entrepreneurs in ecommerce — both big and small — to uncover their unique journey to building a successful online brand. Tune in to learn more about their successes, struggles, and useful tips on how to Get Ship Done. Brands featured this season include celebrity-endorsed clean beauty brand, Milk + Honey, Shark Tank-funded brand Tower Paddle Boards, Pride Socks, and more!