Shopify has seen a boom with many people diving into eCommerce to offset the restrictions of the recent pandemic. 

In this edition of Going Global with The Magnitude Group, Simo talks to Julian Bartram, Community Manager for Shopify and a small business owner himself. Julian is responsible for helping small business owners maximise their Shopify experience, which he often does so via workshops and webinars. With his experience in the job, he has developed an empathy for business owners that he leverages into a desire to help.

A key to success that he illustrates well is "ridiculously aggressive customer service." It's all about the customer experience. That, coupled with a great offer, ensures that you're moving units and making bank!

Finally, both Simo and Julian emphasize the importance of having a sound plan from the get-go. At the very least, one should be able to answer the "why" of the business. Much of this plan should involve careful and comprehensive market research to understand your audience. 

There's a lot to learn from Julian, and this podcast pulls out some intriguing numbers that many business owners would benefit from knowing. 

You can connect with Julian on LinkedIn

Key talking points:
00:59 – Julian Bartram, Community Manager for Shopify and small business owner, tells us his story.
05:32 – Julian and his wife carved out their success in a very, very specific niche. Here’s how they do it.
09:45 – These two things will make you stand out immediately with your customer base.
13:38 – In the long game, it’s all about the passion - not just about a winning product.
15:24 – Julian talks about how they got into more products to sell.
17:44 – By being open to possibilities, Julian uncovers a new industry worth jumping into.
18:19 – Being innovative and trying things out works to your advantage in your business.
20:06 – Do a little bit less but when you’ve got things pinned down, start looking for that pivot.
22:29 – You should be in your business for as long as you’re alive.
22:50 – Not every idea is a million-dollar idea, but you can make something out of what you’re passionate about.
25:07 – A warning against get-rich-quick schemes and how it pressures you to succeed immediately.
30:02 – Ecommerce platforms helped recovery during the COVID-19 lockdown.
31:04 – You have to be more unique with so many competitors out there. You need to also look after your customers.
34:02 – Snap My Snaps Facebook Group and the value of community groups.
36:52 – What Julian does as a Community Manager at Shopify.
38:23 – What most people get wrong when it comes to eCommerce is they don’t have a solid plan in place, and they also don’t work out their “why”.
40:06 – Some people think that launching a website is the end plan, it isn’t. You need to have a plan.
41:06 – Do a lot of market research. Especially into what succeeds abroad that might not be affordable locally.
47:13 – While working in the business, you should never forget to work on the business.
49:59 – How effective a Shopify/Glass Elephant event was in the raw numbers.
56:04 – Plan but start before it’s perfect, get feedback, and use that to inform the direction that you’re going.
57:22 – Fear of failure is a muscle that you need to strengthen real quickly.
1:03:47 – Julian’s biggest win on a simple webinar netted them 3.9M views.
1:07:44 – What are the elements to global success? Simo and Julian have the answers.
1:09:33 – Make sure you’re consistently collecting email addresses and then provide them with lifetime value.
1:13:52 – Even before you start a store, especially if you don’t have a big budget, create the community, build the following.