Full product breakdown by Melvin Adame of House of Confetti in the YouTube video (timestamps included)
“It’s cookie cutter. But at the same time, I can mess with this cookie and make it be more custom.”
Melvin Adame (House of Confetti)
House of Confetti: a full product breakdown
House of Confetti: “The all-in-one WaaS solution for your event planning business.”
In the vibrant event planning sector of California, House of Confetti stands out, thanks to its innovative use of WordPress to offer a specialized digital platform for party planners. Melvin Adame, the brain behind this operation, shares his journey from running a photo booth business to creating a tech product that addresses the unique needs of event rental companies.
YouTube Timestamps
00:00 – House of Confetti and Page Planners
01:46 – Melvin Adame’s Background
03:51 – WordPress Challenges and Solutions
05:13 – House of Confetti Customer Journey
07:43 – Customer Onboarding and Support
09:43 – Marketing and Customer Success
10:26 – Melvin’s Role and Team
12:34 – WooCommerce Integration Issue
14:22 – Checkout Process and Upsell Strategy
18:47 – Website Status and Features
19:48 – Customer Interaction and Compliance
21:38 – Plugin Integration and Accessibility
22:01 – Groundhog CRM Integration
23:42 – Plans and Upselling
25:49 – Wildcloud Platform Benefits
27:32 – Scalability and Customer Management
31:14 – Future Plans and Add-Ons
Challenges in scaling a digital platform for party planners
Melvin faced challenges in managing multiple sales channels, syncing them with CRM, and maintaining a growing portfolio of websites. His vision was to offer an all-in-one WaaS solution for event planning businesses that could rival Shopify in cost but excel in features.
Challenges of WordPress:
On top of his business challenges and vision, Melvin also points out key challenges with WordPress:
- User Unfriendliness: Melvin points out that WordPress is not inherently user-friendly for those without a technical background. He notes, “The biggest issue with WordPress is it’s not user friendly. You definitely have to have a little more understanding of how a UI kind of works.”
- Plugin Compatibility: He discusses the difficulty of making plugins work together smoothly, highlighting that not all plugins are well-coded for fast load times or compatibility with each other.
Melvin’s Solutions:
Using his significant skills and resourcefulness, Melvin was able to create a truly impressive product using the following solutions and business processes:
- Enhancing User Experience with Plugins: Melvin has addressed the user-friendliness issue by employing specific plugins that improve the admin and user experience on WordPress. He mentions using UIPress to improve the WordPress admin interface and Elementor as a page builder to simplify website design and customization for users without deep technical knowledge.
- Curated Plugin Selection: To solve the problem of plugin compatibility and performance, Melvin has taken a hands-on approach to carefully select and integrate plugins that work well together. This ensures a more seamless and efficient experience for users. He specifically focuses on plugins that enhance functionality while maintaining or improving site performance.
- Automated Email Course for Onboarding: Recognizing the steep learning curve associated with WordPress and its ecosystem, Melvin has created an automated email course that guides new users through the process of setting up their website step-by-step over 30 days. This approach helps mitigate the overwhelming aspect of learning WordPress by breaking down the process into manageable chunks.
- Live Chat Support with AI Integration: To further support his customers, Melvin uses a live chat system integrated with an AI that can direct users to helpful information based on their inquiries. This system leverages the knowledge base to provide real-time assistance, reducing the barrier to entry for non-technical users.
- Customization and Technical Support: Melvin also offers customization and technical support to his customers, tailoring the WordPress experience to meet their specific needs. This personalized approach helps overcome the limitations of WordPress by ensuring that customers have access to the features and functionality that are most relevant to their business.
Solutions with wildcloud:
This is where wildcloud stepped in, offering the WaaS features that integrate all these elements seamlessly.
Wildcloud became the cornerstone of Melvin’s success, providing the tools he needed to automate site provisioning and integrate manual sales with his CRM under a unified platform. His choice of plugins like WooCommerce for e-commerce, Groundhogg for CRM, and various affiliate plugins became vital in crafting a service tailored for event planners.
Key Features of Wildcloud Utilized by Melvin:
- Version Control and Site Provisioning: Melvin highlights the ability to create and manage different versions of his digital platform as a game changer. This feature allows for easy updates and scalability, significantly reducing the time and effort required to maintain multiple client sites.
- Direct Login and Site Management: He values the convenience of seeing all customer websites in one place and logging in directly through the wildcloud backend. This eliminates the need to remember multiple passwords or website names, streamlining site management and support.
- Plugin Management: Melvin discusses the scalability offered by wildcloud, particularly in terms of adding new plugins across multiple sites. This allows for efficient updates and customization of client sites, ensuring that each client has access to the necessary features and functionalities.
- Customization and Technical Support: The personalized support and guidance provided by wildcloud, including in-depth technical assistance and strategic advice, are crucial for Melvin. This white-glove service ensures that he can effectively address specific technical concerns and optimize his platform for better performance and user experience.
Offering a comprehensive solution
wildcloud, offers Melvin a comprehensive solution. Our services enabled Melvin to build a webshop that automatically provisions prebuilt sites and integrate his sales with manual transactions, all managed under a unified CRM platform (watch the Automated Selling webinar). Moreover, wildcloud enables Melvin to build, host, and maintain all his sites from a single source.
This integration was pivotal, allowing Melvin to oversee both aspects of his business cohesively, leading to streamlined operations and improved customer management. He’s is now able to innovate and manage his growing business as a one-man team.
At the heart of Page Planners’ success is its robust digital infrastructure. Melvin’s platform boasted over 150 plugins, focusing primarily on WooCommerce, Rankmath, Groundhogg, and Affiliate plugins. These tools are vital for a party planner’s need to sell, manage contacts, and generate new clients through referrals.
Melvin Adame’s business model for House of Confetti, as detailed in the interview, revolves around offering a Website as a Service (WaaS) platform specifically designed for event planning businesses. His model is structured around providing customers with the tools and functionalities they need to create, manage, and scale their event planning websites efficiently on wildcloud. Melvin has implemented a tiered package system to cater to the diverse needs of his clients, offering different levels of features, support, and customization options.
Tiered Packages Offered by House of Confetti:
- Sparkler Plan:
- Description: This is the entry-level package designed for new or small event planning businesses looking to establish a basic online presence.
- Features: It includes a front-end website with integrated CRM capabilities, allowing businesses to manage customer relationships effectively. The focus is on providing essential tools for website creation and client management.
- Target Audience: Ideal for startups or individuals who are just beginning their journey in the event planning industry and need a simple, effective online platform.
- Champagne Plan:
- Description: A mid-tier package that builds upon the Sparkler Plan by adding e-commerce functionalities through WooCommerce integration.
- Features: In addition to the CRM and website-building tools, this plan enables clients to sell products and services directly from their website, facilitating online transactions and expanding their business capabilities.
- Target Audience: Suited for established event planning businesses looking to expand their services online, including ticket sales, rentals, or merchandise related to event planning.
- Firework Plan:
- Description: The premium package offering the most comprehensive set of features and personalized support.
- Features: Includes everything in the Champagne Plan, plus access to all available plugins, weekly meetings for ongoing support and customization requests, and more features like CRM, POS, and an affiliate system, all tailored to the specific needs of larger or more complex event planning operations.
- Target Audience: Designed for large event planning companies or those seeking to maximize their online presence and functionality, requiring custom solutions and direct support to manage their growing business needs.
Additional Services and Features:
- Automated Email Course: Melvin offers an automated email course to guide new customers through the process of setting up their website, aiming for a fully functional site within 30 days.
- Compliance and Accessibility: Built-in compliance with GDPR and other privacy laws, along with accessibility features, ensuring that websites cater to a broad audience and adhere to legal standards.
- Customization and Upselling: The weekly meetings in the Firework Plan serve as opportunities for further customization and upselling, where Melvin can offer additional services or plugin integrations tailored to the client’s specific needs.
Melvin Adame’s business model for House of Confetti on wildcloud is centered around flexibility, scalability, and compliance, offering a range of packages that cater to different stages of business growth in the event planning industry. This tiered approach allows clients to choose a package that best suits their current needs while providing the option to scale up as their business grows.
Melvin’s unique contribution: Easy compliance
Melvin Adame addresses GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and broader compliance issues as critical aspects of his product offering on wildcloud. He recognizes the importance of ensuring that websites are compliant with privacy laws and regulations, which is particularly relevant for his clientele in the event planning industry. Here’s how he incorporates GDPR and compliance into his WaaS solution:
- Automated Compliance Integration: Melvin mentions the inclusion of compliance-related plugins from the outset of a client’s website setup. This proactive approach ensures that all websites built on House of Confetti via wildcloud are compliant with relevant laws, including GDPR for European clients, and specific state laws in the U.S., such as those in California and Colorado.
- Ease of Compliance for Customers: By automating the compliance setup, Melvin aims to relieve his clients of the burden of understanding and implementing complex legal requirements themselves. This feature is particularly advantageous for small business owners and event planners who may not have the resources or expertise to navigate the complexities of privacy laws.
- Highlighting Compliance as a Selling Point: Melvin views the built-in compliance features as a significant selling point for his platform. By ensuring that his clients’ websites are compliant by default, he adds value to his offering, differentiating House of Confetti from competitors who may not prioritize legal compliance as part of their service.
- Accessibility and Inclusivity: Beyond GDPR, Melvin also emphasizes the importance of accessibility, mentioning the integration of accessibility plugins that cater to users with disabilities. This attention to inclusivity and legal compliance further illustrates his commitment to providing a comprehensive and user-friendly platform.
In summary, Melvin Adame has incorporated GDPR compliance and broader legal adherence as foundational elements of his product on wildcloud. This approach not only enhances the value proposition of House of Confetti but also positions it as a responsible and forward-thinking choice for event planners looking to establish a compliant online presence.
The choice for wildcloud was driven by Melvin’s need for scalable, manageable website operations. The wildcloud platform not only met these needs but exceeded expectations, as evidenced by Melvin’s quick success in selling 10 sites through wildcloud. This success has encouraged him to plan for an expanded rollout and migration of his existing portfolio.
Melvin highlights the platform’s ability to serve as a solid foundation for all his customers’ websites while still enabling him to tailor each site to meet specific needs or preferences. This flexibility is crucial for his business, allowing him to offer a wide range of services and features across different tiers of his WaaS offering, from basic setups in the Sparkler Plan to more advanced integrations and customizations in the Champagne and Firework Plans.
Melvin uses Version Control to centralize his features across all his customers:
“Scalability wise, if I get too many customers currently, if I add in a new plugin, I’ll just go to the previous existing tenants and quickly do the settings that I put on the new plugin to their site in case they’re actually going to use that feature.”
Melvin Adame
Building on wildcloud: a step-by-step guide
- Understanding the Infrastructure: Melvin built House of Confetti on wildcloud, leveraging its ability to manage and scale websites efficiently. He meticulously chose over 150 plugins, focusing on enhancing site functionality and user experience.
- Choosing the Right Plugins: Key plugins include:
- Elementor: For building user-friendly website pages.
- Groundhogg: For CRM and marketing automation.
- WooCommerce: To manage e-commerce functionalities.
- UIPress: To improve WordPress admin interface usability.
- MonsterInsights & Rank Math: For analytics and SEO.
- Creating a Customer Journey: Melvin detailed the process from signing up on House of Confetti to launching a website. This involves a step-by-step guide over 30 days, aiming for a fully operational website by the end of the course.
- Integrating AI for Customer Support: Utilizing TalkTo for live chat support, integrated with a knowledge base, helps direct customers to relevant solutions through AI.
- Onboarding and Support: Melvin emphasizes the balance between self-service and guided support, ensuring that customers can navigate the sophisticated tools used in the platform.
- Marketing and Customer Success: Diving deep into plugin research and customer success strategies, Melvin has curated a platform that not only meets the needs of event planners but also provides a seamless onboarding and continuous learning experience through automated courses and live support.
wildcloud provides SSO for all tenants:
“Another feature I think that just makes things great is being able to see all my websites, all my customers’ websites, and being able to directly log in through the back end of the platform. It leaves me the headache of remembering a password, or fair enough, remembering what’s the name of the website and then being on the search bar really thinking what’s the name again?”
Melvin Adame
wildcloud as a long-term strategic platform
Throughout this conversation, our account manager provided in-depth technical guidance to Melvin, addressing specific concerns about container configurations, pricing models, and marketing optimization strategies as part of our white-glove onboarding service. This level of detailed support exemplifies wildcloud commitment to not just providing a service but being a strategic platform in our clients’ growth.
Melvin’s experience with wildcloud demonstrates the platform’s ability to provide tailored, detailed solutions that directly contribute to operational efficiency, cost reduction, and business scalability.