NAPEW 2009 e-Commerce Woman of the Year Mandy Lane and TopMassageTables.com

TopMassageTables.com is an e-tailer of massage products that dates back to 2002 and is somewhat unusual in the Chicago tech scene for a few reasons.  First, their offices recently moved from the North Side to the South Side in something of a reverse commute compared to most office expansions.  Secondly, whereas most post-dotBomb start-ups in Chicago are heavily invested in open sources technologies, TopMassageTables.com is a Microsoft shop.  Finally, you don’t see nearly as many women on the programming side of the tech table, compared to the boys. TopMassageTable.com’s president and founder, Mandy Lane is a bona fide ASP.net coder.  She also was recently named The National Association of Professional and Executive Women’s 2009 E-Commerce Woman of the Year.

Chicago Tech News: What was your background before starting TopMassageTables.com?

Mandy Lane: During the late nineties and early 2000, my company was a Web programming consultancy with clients like Nicor Energy, Field Museum of Natural History and Earnst & Young.  After 9-11, literally all of our projects got pulled. We had a nice portfolio of projects under contract and by the second week of January 2002 all of those clients had called to cancel the projects. Our project portfolio plummeted 95 percent. Most companies could not have survived that kind of a downturn.

At first I wanted to get a “good, secure, corporate” job, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it because working for myself had proven to be so fruitful and fulfilling.  Instead, I started nine ecommerce sites selling lots of different products from tools to purses and accessories to massage tables.  All of the sites were based on access to quality, affordable products and personal interest. My business plan at that point was this: something has to work.  And it did!  Two of the ecommerce sites really took off. They were EasyHumidity.com and TopMassageTables.com.  It became quickly obvious I needed to pick one to focus on.  The obvious choice due to the profitability success of the site and personal “fit” was TopMassageTables.com.  Massage speaks to my spirit. I absolutely love the massage industry, and I love that my business supports massage therapists whose lives are devoted reducing pain, stress and anxiety.

CTN: What platform is your site built on and what software/programming languages do you use?

ML: We are a Microsoft shop. I’m an Internet programmer from the early nineties, pre-commercial Internet days. Back then it looked like Gopher might be the future of the Internet, and then in a blink of an eye Gofer was dumped, the World Wide Web went commercial and the Web exploded across the world in leaps and bounds.  It was so exciting.  I remember trying the initial beta release of Internet Explorer. I was one of the geeks eagerly anticipating the upcoming initial beta release of Microsoft ASP, and I remember when Microsoft SQL transitioned from a joke to an enterprise-worthy database.  It is amazing how much has changed in the last 15 years.

CTN: Do you mostly sell commercial brands or do you have your own line?

ML: We sell Oakworks, Earthlite and Fellston brands of massage tables.  Oakworks and Earthlite are the top brands in the industry. They both carry professional massage tables that can be customized however you need it, but these brands are expensive. We also have our own massage table line called Fellston, which we started to address the need for an affordable, professional quality massage table.  Our sales profile is pretty evenly distributed between the three brands.

CTN: At what point does it become feasible for an e-commerce site to go private label with their goods?

ML: First you need to build a strong customer base.  TopMassageTables.com has always had excellent customer service and carried high quality products from reliable manufacturers. Listening to our customers who demanded something that was affordable and professional quality, TopMassageTables.com was inspired to start the Fellston brand of massage equipment for the professional massage therapists who need affordable equipment that they can really rely on.

CTN: From a Website perspective, what are the differences between selling the same products to consumers, institutions & government agencies?

ML: The key to success lies in consumers, because at the end of the day, all types of clients are going to buy using their consumer sensibility.  It is the marketing process that varies.  We reach out to the professional massage therapist with a well coordinated marketing plan that includes Web and print advertising, search engine placement, direct marketing, email newsletters and convention participation.  The sales process for institutions and government entities is primarily direct marketing, referrals and sales calls.

CTN: Do you see branching out into a brick and mortar store, in addition to the Website?

ML: I only get one request to come visit a showroom about every other month, and those requests come from all over the country.  I just don’t think I would get the foot traffic to support the real-estate and staffing overhead of a brick and mortar store.

CTN: What is the “Equipment for Health” program?

ML: We are so proud of Equipment for Health. This is TopMassageTable.com’s way of giving back to the community.  Our charitable program benefits non-profits and schools by donating free massage equipment to those in need. It started after Katrina when we helped victims by sending brand new equipment to replace equipment that was ruined in the hurricane. We have also donated massage chairs to a disaster relief organization in New York. We have donated massage tables to high school football teams for use as sideline treatment tables, and just this week we committed an electric lift table to a disabled veteran’s health organization.

The program is set up for one thing only – to truly help people in need of relaxation and therapeutic massage. As in any charitable program that donates free “stuff” to folks in need, it can be pretty competitive because there is a lot more demand for products than there are products available. We have an application process where the organization can tell us about their mission and specific needs.  We try our best to match up the equipment available with an organization that will put it to great use in their community.  Because of the need, we only consider applications from non-profit organizations, and schools. Any organization interested in applying for the program, or interested in supporting one of these organizations with a donation, may email us at support@TopMassageTables.com.