Looking for a way to help their parents figure out how to stay afloat during the pandemic, two born and raised Skagwegians have developed an e-commerce website for Alaskan businesses. And though they started small, the momentum is gaining.
People in Skagway might know the co-founder and CEO of Vojij.com, Oliva Klupar from Olivia’s Bistro that was named after her on Broadway street.
She started Voyij.com, spelled v-o-y-i-j.com, in 2014 as a way to sell tours in Skagway. But five years later it underwent a transformation to become an e-commerce website. Kind of like an Amazon.com for Alaskan businesses that continues to sell tours and help people choose travel destinations, while also now selling products to would-be travelers that are stuck at home.
According to Klupar, the website has spread from Southeast Alaska to the rest of the state.
“We’re now working with businesses in Anchorage and we have a business on our site in North Pole, all the way down to Seward on the Kenai Peninsula,” said Klupar.
She and her brother Greg noticed that during the global pandemic shutdown businesses in Southeast Alaska were shuttered because of the complete lack of tourism, and they set out to find a way to help those stores move the products that are collecting dust on their shelves.
“So we started that with my parents. And then we said, wow if my parents are having this challenge, I’m sure other businesses are having this challenge,” said Klupar.
Greg Klupar went to school for computer science and built the online platform. Each business has its own secure login and they can upload photos of their products, from there the Klupars help market those products. Once a sale is made, the business is notified and voyij.com processes the payment. It’s free to join Voyij, the website makes its revenue by taking a percentage of each sale, rather than charging a hosting fee.
“It’s been such a terrible two years. And I think that there’s a huge opportunity to drive real revenue to local communities. And it’s going to be online for this year, just because there is not a substantial amount of travel,” said Klupar.
This year the Skagway-based company has signed partnership deals with both Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines. They have become the official online retail site for the Iditarod, and continue a partnership with Buy Alaska which is run through the Small Business Development Center of Alaska.
With the recent marketing blasts by Royal Caribbean, sales have seen a sharp increase.
“You just put it up and you start selling I mean, this one email that we sent on Monday, six new businesses had their first sale ever on Voyij, just from the one email, and I want there to be a lot of firsts this year,” said Klupar.
The online platform is designed to allow small businesses to control as much or as little of their site as they want.
“We do a full training, it takes about 30 minutes to an hour to get them up and selling right away from our site. From there, they can go ahead and add their own products if they want in their own time. Or if they need extra help, we are more than happy to step in,” said Klupar.
For now, the company sits at about 150 Alaskan businesses on their roster, and they plan to stay focused on Alaska businesses. Cruise ships are scheduled to make their return to Alaskan waters in 2022. The Klupar siblings are hoping to see businesses in Alaska stay afloat for now, and thrive once tourism returns.
