Jacqueline Tran came to as a two year old, a Vietnamese refugee who survived a trip on a small riverboat to freedom. Now she’s the 28-year-old owner of Perfume Bay , one of a group of websites that could reach $10 million in revenues this year. The entrepreneur has become one of the biggest e-retailers in cyberspace, by staying small and providing consumers multiple access points on the web to their deep inventory. “That means we have a wide selection,” said Tran. “That’s our strength.” But it was the Internet that gave her access to simultaneous markets. Tran was studying social economics and business management at UC Irvine at the time of the big boom in 1999, when business plans written on placemats and napkins was sometimes all it took to convince venture capitalists to pour millions into a startup. Tran was working at the cosmetics store of her parents, Quang Tran and Kim Ha. They had started out after arriving in by selling cosmetics at Southern California flea markets and swap meets. Slowly they moved up the retail ladder to a full-fledged store in downtown Los Angeles . At the business’ height, there were two stores in the fold. The whole family was involved. When stories of Internet success became common, Tran began thinking about selling her parent’s wares on the web. “I just thought it would be a good idea for an on-line business,” Tran said. “My parents had all the products to sell. I thought it would help build more business.” “It took them awhile to accept this concept,” Tran said. “It wasn’t until the first Christmas, we just sat there and said, this is a real business opportunity. It was no longer something to do in my free time.” Tran studied the Amazon.com model — a company she is business partners with today. Unlike others who sought venture capital, Tran convinced her parents to give her a $50,000 loan. “Just to get it going,” said Tran, who sought out a web designer and programmer. But the biggest obstacle was the marketing convention at the time. E-retailers were just trying to figure out the best way to sell ads and attract users. Tran advertised exclusively on the web with the so-called “key word” ads convention, where advertisers purchase key words in a search engine, and then buy impressions on the web with search companies like AltaVista.com or dogpile.com. She also did banner advertising on the top of websites. “When I look back I don’t think it worked as well as advertising I do today,” Tran said. “I wouldn’t buy key words any longer.” Today she uses the “pay-per-click” model. Whereas the previous model made an advertiser buy a large number of impressions, Tran’s current method is more cost-effective. She pays only for the users who actually click on the advertising. “It’s better results,” said Tran, who now spends a half million on advertising for her main website PerfumeBay.com, one of six that she owns. “We put out a different image,” she said. “But we carry the same products on them.” Multiple access points give her a big advantage over competitors. All the sites lead to the same place, the deep inventory that Tran stores in a Huntington Beach warehouse next to her parents, who left retailing cosmetics for wholesaling. Tran’s Perfume Bay is now one of here parents’ biggest clients. Tran offers some discounting depending on the product, but emphasized the key to success has been the customer service on the web and phone. The sites give people automated responses on shipping. And there are phone operators standing by to assist. 24 hours a day. “Brick and mortar sites have their good points,” Tran said. “But people like shopping on the Internet because it’s simple and convenient.” Tran added that she has extra security for her sites to make people less fearful of fraud. In some cases, the Internet has a built-in 8 percent edge, because there’s no sales tax. Tran even offers free shipping on orders over $100. Not hard to do with the high-end fragrances, in addition to the skin care and cosmetics products she carries. Tran calls it a “good, fun business,” that she manages to keep “family-style.” Her only brother, Quoc, is also in the business, and the company has a total of 10 employees. So while it has grown, she’s managed to keep the operations small. “I hope to expand to more retail,” she said when talking about future growth. “I’m thinking of opening a brick and mortar store.” But it won’t be the bread and butter. That will stay the net. “The beauty of the Internet,” Tran said, “ is that everybody has so many different tastes. We are very broad. I would say we have clientele of all races and nationalities. We get them all.” “There’s always room to improve,” Tran said. “With more shoppers we have to offer the ultimate experience and that means there’s always improvement.” The company brought in $6 million in 2004. $10 million by the end of 2005? “I hope so,” she said. “By the end of the year.” by AsianWeek.com http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=49387f30a3514079e9909fd352a47818