LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- TikTok is no longer just for teens and mindless scrolling. Now it's for businesses too, and many are seeing millions of views and lots of success.
It doesn't take much for Dan Oliver to turn his Louisville kitchen into a video studio where he welcomes millions of viewers into his home via the video sharing app. It's the secret ingredient for his special Dan O's seasoning.
"I started to do TikTok TikTok TikTok and now it's over 1.3 million followers," said Oliver.
He started Dan O's back in 2015 with a little chicken dish that sparked a big idea.
"He took one bite and he's like this is the best chicken I've had in my life. Why aren't you selling it? And the lightbulb goes off and I'm like Dan O's!" he said.
Over the next six years he saw the company gradually grow, selling the all natural, low sodium recipe at farmer's markets, state fairs, trade shows and flea markets.
"2018 doubled. 2019 I doubled. So last year, 2020, I planned on doubling again," said Oliver. "And then COVID hit."
That could have been the end for Dan O's but instead he shifted from on the road to online, with social media.
"I made one video on TikTok that was a crab cake video that was controversial with everybody in Maryland because I did it wrong and they're like where's the Old Bay," said Oliver.
That one video sealed the deal.
"I got a lot of negative comments and feedback. I go and I look at the website and I'm like wow sales are way up," he said.
TikTok gave him the platform to get his product to the next level. Now he has a 4,000 square foot warehouse Dan O's moved into in January, allowing him to ship spices all over the country and landing on grocery store shelves.
"I never gave up because I knew it would take off. I just didn't know how it was going to happen," he said.
The pandemic proved profitable for Chase Stetson too, aka "That Lawn Dude" on TikTok.
"Obviously COVID came around so I had a lot of free time on my hands. I figured why not make some TikToks," said Stetson.
It didn't take long for the Louisville landscaper to see success.
"My second video, and I had maybe 100 followers at the time, had 300,000 views. So any video can go viral," he said.
Stetson tries to post a video a day, speeding things up or making time lapses.
"I do a lot of bush trimming videos where the bush is really overgrown. Striping yards is very appealing to the audience because it's like different striped colors back and forth. People just love that. The type of videos I produce are oddly satisfying. It's that category. So people just like to watch those," he said.
It's gaining him clients in Louisville, but also sparking online business.
"I've gotten big enough now that lawn care companies reach out to me and I'm promoting those and then having a link where people can click that and I get a kickback from that," said Stetson.
He calls himself a lawn-fluencer. Reaching customers and growing his business one like at a time.
Find ThatLawnDude and DanOsSeasoning on TikTok.
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