Every item in the Enbath store has been personally curated by the owner, Darren Reynolds, making sure it meets the mark of quality, performance and price—in that order. Reynolds says he knows something about small business that he’s leveraged to make millions: cost matters, but it’s not as important as time. Time to research, time to buy, time to ship, time to install and time to do it all over if the product fails to meet expectations.
As a former CEO himself, managing people and properties, Reynolds said small businesses owners are specific people. They’re usually running to get everything done, he said, they’re careful about money and need good quality, but, ultimately, they “need to make a good decision quickly and move on.” There’s no time for mistakes.
Reynolds’ office looks like a commercial bathroom graveyard. His desk is surrounded by soap dispensers, towel rolls and hand dryers—some still in boxes. “Everything here on the walls and on the shelf,” he said, “I either sell or I wouldn’t sell, because it didn’t meet my expectations.” With a laugh, he joked there’s even a toilet seat cover dispenser mounted to a piece of wood in his garage, because he needed to see “how it performed.”
Reynolds does it, not because he necessarily wants to, but because every product in his store must meet his standards of quality and performance. “It’s what my Amazon customers expect,” he said. The Enbath brand has developed a following of Amazon customers who keep coming back for all their commercial bathroom needs because of Enbath’s reputation. While Reynolds’ products might cost more than some, they hold up to the abuse that happens in commercial environments. Once he gets a business owner to buy his products, he said they stay a customer for life.
It’s similar to how Reynolds sees his relationship with Amazon—they have his business for life. Reynolds said he chooses to sell with Amazon because they help him reach other small business owners better than any other store in the world and “it’s growing tremendously.” Before, people might not think to search Amazon for a hand dryer, now, he said they do.
“Amazon is an enabler to American small businesses,” he said. From small business sellers to small business buyers, to all things in between, “Amazon is helping businesses grow.”
“If you’re used to selling a hundred units of something a month regionally, you could quickly take that to 2,000 units a month by just partnering with Amazon,” said Reynolds. “Because, if you have value for your customers regionally, you probably have value for your customers in the U.S.—and then, you’ll start looking at going into Canada. That’s Amazon.”
“Amazon’s infrastructure provides the ability for a person with a passion to move forward and really make a difference and grow wealth. If you’re not afraid of hard work (with Amazon), you can build a solid business model and build a multimillion-dollar business,” said Reynolds.
Enbath uses Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to help them ship their products across the U.S. through Amazon’s network of warehouses. Shipping with FBA costs 70% less per unit than comparable premium options offered by other U.S. fulfillment services, giving Reynolds time and money to put back into his business.
Enbath has three employees, and everyone works to support their Amazon store. While it may be his most successful brand selling in the Amazon store, Enbath is not Reynolds’ first—and it probably won’t be his last. He’s in the process of teaching his daughter how to sell with Amazon and hopes to one day give his business to his children.
“A wise man leaves an inheritance for his children, and I think the best inheritance is to leave a business or an asset that makes money,” said Reynolds.