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Then I asked myself a question, “If I could make the same amount of money
with Fright-Rags as I could at a new job, which would I rather do?” After a few
moments on thought, I said out loud, “Fright-Rags.” The answer seemed so
simple and obvious, but actually hearing the words coming out of my mouth
verbalized something I had been feeling for awhile but had never fully realized
or expressed until that moment.
The fact is, I would not have been happy at another job. Sure, it might be fine for
a few months, but it wouldn’t last. My passion was Fright-Rags. That’s where I
knew my heart was and anything else paled in comparison. From that moment
on, I decided that all my energy and focus would be on getting Fright-Rags to a
point where I could do it full time. However, it took 3 years until I was able walk
into my boss’ office and announce my resignation. But during that time I never
shifted my focus away from that one goal. I faced the brutal reality that I may
never get to that point, but never lost hope that I would. And I owe it mainly to
having that moment of clarity while I was stuck in traffic.
My Inspirations
In terms of business, many of my inspirations have come from learning what it
takes to keep going when you think it’s time to give up. They also come from
people and companies that have gone the opposite direction of what everyone
else was doing, and did so with the determination to succeed. These are, but
not limited to:
James Stockdale (look up the Stockdale Paradox and prepare to be amazed),
Howard Stern (love him or hate him, he did what no one else has ever done in
radio - against all odds), Seth Godin (marketing guru extraordinaire), Dogfish
Head Brewing Company (an example of a company that isn’t trying to please
everyone), Tony Hsieh (CEO of Zappos and gold standard when it comes to customer
service).
Customer Service Obsession
I’m not sure if you’d call it a strategy, but one of our core values has to do with
our obsession with customer service. For us, it’s not about just selling horror
shirts. While that is obviously a large part of what we do, we are more focused
on creating an experience for our customers. After all, we are horror fans too,
so we are very community driven in how we engage and interact with our customers.
We also view each and every interaction with a customer (happy or an-
THREAD’S NOT DEAD • Jeff Finley
gry) as a way to learn more about them and ourselves. In keeping with customer
service, we are also very focused on getting orders out as quickly as possible,
answering questions immediately, and keeping the customer informed at every
step of the process once their order is placed. I think we tend to stand out by
doing these things because other people may not be doing them.
Self Promotion Ideas
In the early days of Fright-Rags, I always put extra stuff (stickers, pins, etc)
into orders. We’ve kept this up but have also expanded it to include specialized
trading cards, candy, and sometimes other items like DVD’s. But my primary
means of promotion has come from our newsletter list, and it’s been that
way for quite a few years now. I look at the people on our newsletter list as
an extended group of friends, and I want to talk to them about how we’re doing,
what we’re doing, and what we can do better. It’s not about just sending
out sales letters, it’s so much more than that. I want to engage our customers
and spark conversations with them. After all, they are just as passionate about
horror as we are.
Case Studies & Interviews 105
A screenshot
of Fright-Rags.
com