Select Candles is a multi-tier ecommerce application designed for the retail sale of candle products.

It is built on the client-server model, where the CGI accepts HTTP GET/PUT/POST requests, delegates resources, and returns a response. On the server, Perl and SQL are used to process the request, and generate content for the response. On the client, Javascript, xml, css, and html are used to prepare request data for transport, send the request, accept the response, and format the presentation. The work flow is normal, stateless, web-client/server interaction for shopping cart related operations; where each request spawns a new page load for the response. Asynchronous server calls (AJAX) are used to implement convenience, and security into customer service operations, and the order submission process.

Select Candles Topography Overview

• Keyword search listings from the product database can be filtered by product category.
• Keyword search listings and category listings can be filtered by up to five different product attributes.
• Ad-hoc queries of UPS and USPS web services for real time delivery service rates to a valid zip code.
• Delivery tracking for valid Order numbers or valid Tracking numbers that have been previously issued to S.C. customers.
• Automatic population of order form selection object with lowest priced option for Flat rate service, 3-5 day, 2-3 day, and next day delivery services based on zip code, and weight.
• Automatic Standardization of order form delivery address.
• Seamless pre-processing of order submissions includes 64 bit secret key encryption of all order data, asynchronously sent to the server, via secure HTTP, for validation, hashing and signing. Server returns a hash signature on success, or no signature on failed validations. The process is indistinguishable from client side validation to most users.

Select Candles has the potential for $15,000 a month in sales. Using conservative and soft math, $1,300 a month can clear as profit. I think monthly costs can be kept below the numbers I'm using but, I'm being conservative. The hard part will be targeting affectively the niche market for the products Select Candles will offer. Even so, $1300.00 a month for part time work is worth doing to me.

From the beginning, Select Candles was intended to be an experiment designed to find out two things:

1. What does it take for a single developer to create, and operate a professionally managed online business having a maximum sales of about 1000 units per month?
2. Can the processes, data, and interfaces of such a business be sufficiently abstracted, and encapsulated in a reusable toolkit of generic process descriptions, and virtual software methods, that will enable rapid deployment of ecommerce solutions for almost any category of tangible products?

Select Candles is under development. It has not made a single online sale to date. The development phase of this project is probably around 70% complete. I'm committed to a hard push toward completion this year, so here is the roadmap for 2012:

• Redesign and implement returns and damage processes.
• Redesign and implement inventory control processes to accommodate new, and updated processes in receiving and handling of physical inventory.
• Minor makeover/upgrade to components in the shopping cart.
• Convert legacy apps and utilities to C++ GUIs (reduce direct dependence on Excel).
• Use a standard merchant account to process direct credit card payments and retain PayPal as a convenience for customers who prefer it.
• Upgrade order processing to accommodate the new payment service.
• Upgrade my custom interactive checkout components to jQuery.
• Add package dims, in addition to weight and destination zip, while selecting lowest option for each shipping service (important for accurate flat rate box selection).
• Test and Fix.
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• Secure some overflow storage space, shelving, tables, labeling.
• Re-assemble my ravished product Photo Studio.
• Order packing/shipping supplies.
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• Marketing Plan.
• Business Plan.
• Secure some initial Operating Funds.
• Build up inventory for the trial.
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• Obtain Security and Identity Validation.
• Obtain BBB accreditation.
• Begin a rolling deployment to production starting in the late summer of 2012; leading to a live trial run during the holiday season.