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#workout clothing shopify themes
buildify · 5 years
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5 of the Best Shopify Themes for Workout Clothing & Athleisure Wear
If your company combines fashion and fitness, then you have to check out these Shopify themes for selling yoga clothes and exercise gear. These Shopify themes are made for selling athleisure wear and workout clothing, and they come with great features like Instagram integration, SEO...
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shyamlata · 4 years
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* shopify theme = custom created : this can be my goal, when i build very big brand : i need custom theme
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* huge store = lot of items
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^^ different models/mockups for different target ethinicity = black whites
using Riskified : which reduces customer fraud
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footer has : many extra elements and sign up to newsletter is shown twice
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^^^ there could be a introvert discount or some other type of discount game which engages people
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header has : swiping announcements 
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^^^ main page has popping pics with buttons
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^^ military discount : similar to this can be corona doctor discount 
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riichardwilson · 4 years
Text
5 Ways to Pivot Your Business During a Crisis
April 17, 2020 10 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” —Charles Darwin.
In a matter of weeks, everything changed. Uncertainty is the only thing that is certain. Most businesses have been greatly disrupted and negatively impacted. Companies, CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, employees and business owners are facing a time of great uncertainty and what lies ahead is unclear.  
Related: A Disrupter’s Guide to Getting Back to Center During Times of Uncertainty
Entrepreneurs know that some of the best businesses come out of the worst times — because sometimes in our darkest moments, new ideas and innovations provide beacons of light. All we need is the glow of a great idea. What new companies, products, movements will be born out of our new reality? As an entrepreneur and CEO who has weathered the dot-com bubble burst, September 11th, and the market crash in 2008, I know firsthand the potential devastation facing businesses today. The economic impact of what we are now experiencing is unprecedented but there are still opportunities to come out stronger than ever before. 
I’ve personally had to pivot many times, and while it can be scary, it can also be a time of growth. Now is the time to experiment, create and innovate. Of course, that’s easier said than done. It’s tough to pivot your business during times of immense change. Before pivoting, I recommend first to stabilize your business to the best of your ability. It is important to tighten your belt, evaluate your costs and ensure you take the necessary actions to weather the crisis. 
There are likely changes you wanted to make in your business but haven’t and now is a time to act. Evaluate your talent, review your contracts, decide what is truly necessary to run your business. Make sure you spend your cash wisely. Look closely at your financials to see how you reduce your losses. It’s time to streamline so you can move forward without the weight of unnecessary cost burden.
Related: How to Adapt Your Messaging to the Sudden Change in the Marketplace
A business that was weak during a good economy is greatly exposed in a bad economy. If your business is not working now, and was not working well 6 months ago, it may be time to re-examine its long term viability. Winston Churchill once said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Use this crisis to get out of businesses that aren’t working and haven’t been for some time. Invest your time and energy on what is working vs what is not working. Now is the time to be brutally honest with yourself!
It is also a good time to take advantage of the financial resources available. Many of the companies in my portfolio have applied for the federal government’s paycheck protection program. If you haven’t already, it is important to educate yourself on the many forms of aid, resources, and support made available. 
Once you have stabilized your business it’s time to focus on the future. Here are 5 ways to pivot your business to not only survive, but also to thrive:
1. Embrace the digital way 
If you’re primarily run out of a brick-and-mortar store, it’s time to find the digital version of whatever work you were doing. Can you deliver your product or service electronically? Restaurants have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, and many have transitioned to online delivery and curbside to-go orders. Panera Bread has taken things a step further, by making it possible for customers to order groceries online along with their usual sandwiches and salads.
If you own a boutique, now is a great time to launch an ecommerce store with a 90-day Shopify trial. If you’re a fitness instructor, you can hold your regular workout classes virtually with Zoom. If you are an interior design company, pivot to virtual consultations, you can also create content with links to buy products. Real Estate agents have embraced a virtual presence, from doing 3D tours, Facebook Live and virtual walkthroughs, to even featuring homes on TikTok. My local liquor store is offering home delivery and doing cocktail making courses and wine tasting sessions via Zoom. With everyone stuck at home, the demand for online content is higher than ever.  
Ask yourself: what you can provide online?  
2. Leverage your existing assets and resources
Leverage your current assets and resources and align them with your customers’ current needs. What could you change in order to fulfill those needs? 
Businesses of all sizes are already making successful pivots in order to fill different customer needs and continue to operate.Cosmetics manufacturers such as LVMH, which owns lUXury perfume and makeup brands, have switched to making hand sanitizer, leveraging their expertise and production capabilities. Large clothing manufacturers such as Gap, Nike, Zara, and Brooks Brothers, are using their factories to make masks, gowns and scrubs. 
Amid the steep ride-sharing demand decline, Uber launched an On-Demand Work Platform, going from ride sharing to labor sharing. Through Uber’s Work Hub, Uber drivers can connect with other Uber platforms, including Uber Eats, Uber Freight and Uber Works, or a growing number of companies using Uber’s system including McDonald’s, PepsiCo, UPS, FedEx, and Walgreens. This pivot allows Uber to leverage its largest assets, technology and vetted workforce and supports drivers in finding access to alternative work.  
Related: How To Manage Your Mental Stress
Ask yourself:  What do people need most right now?  How can your company fill that need with your existing resources? If your business is unable to operate, is there a way to pivot to digital or a business that is deemed essential?
3. Deepen loyalty with existing customers
We’re all in this together. Be real, authentic and transparent about your efforts to serve your customers as best as you can – and let them know how they can support you in return. Loyal customers are champions for your company and brand ambassadors. Continue to maintain a strong relationship with your clients whether directly, individually, in newsletters, and or/via social media. Show them you care. Trust matters (more than ever)! 
With people spending more and more time online, it’s a great time to share relevant and engaging content related to your business. One local interior designer has been sharing photo montages – including a handwashing themed series with a collection of beautiful bathroom images.  A local salon is sharing a series of photos of stylists each holding up a sign featuring a different word, collectively telling customers that “we miss them, and we’ll see them soon.” 
Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park that is a favorite for hosting kids’ birthday parties, has 160 locations that are temporarily closed now. To help give back to families who still want to celebrate while staying at home, Sky Zone is offering free virtual birthday parties for kids for up to 10 guests, supporting parents and keeping employees working. Sky Zone is making a meaningful and memorable impact on children, parents and the community, deepening their customer relationships.
Figure out the best way to engage with your current customers and do so in creative ways.  
Ask yourself: How can I best engage and communicate with my customers now? What can I do to encourage my current customers to support my business? What are other companies doing to engage customers that I could also be doing or could help my business?
4. Explore the benefits of collaboration
There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”  The objective of collaboration can be new ideas, exploring synergies, and creating new business partnerships, where 1+1 = 5.  Partnerships can help give you access to new customers, new products or new markets. What partners can you work with that also have resources you can leverage? Is there a partner you think could help sell your product or service to their customer base? What could you offer them in exchange? Is there an opportunity to bundle your products together? True partnerships and successful collaborations are win-win. 
Related: 3 Simple Steps to Start Your Side Hustle
It’s also important to collaborate with other businesses for support and ideas. Being a local or small business can feel especially isolating, but there is power in numbers and more ideas. Make an effort to connect, whether it’s a neighboring business, a local chamber of commerce, industry trade group, or even a Facebook or LinkedIn group.  
Collaboration doesn’t have to be on a grand scale to be effective. For example, once their storefronts closed due to COVID-19, local ice cream parlor NORMAL Ice Cream partnered with Diabolical Records to offer a home-delivered package deal of 3 pints of ice cream and $30 worth of vintage records for $50. They announced the partnership on their social media pages and sold out within hours! 
Many companies have forged innovative partnerships during this time. 
Ask yourself:  Who could I collaborate with?  What businesses do I have synergies with or common customer profiles?  What current partnerships would be mutually beneficial to my business? 
5. Try and fail (and try again!)
There has never been a better time to try (and fail!). Now is the time to experiment. Quickly launch new ideas with minimal investment. Focus on results. Learn and improve with each iteration. Not everything you try out will work. And that’s okay. Expect to fail. Move on. It may take multiple attempts to figure out what works for you. Be brave. Have courage. Persistence pays off in the end.
There are many famous pivots. YouTube was once a video dating site. Twitter was once a podcasting network named Odeo. Play-doh was once a wall cleaner that pivoted to a beloved children’s toy.
Even the most successful and famous companies have had numerous failures – some of which you may not even remember  –  Google’s social media Orkut, Coca Cola launching Coke Max, and  Amazon’s Fire phone. Inventor Sir James Dyson created 5,126 vacuum designs until he finally invented a bagless vacuum that worked.
Ask yourself:  If I do a small test of a new idea and it fails, what is the worst that can happen and what knowledge can I gain from trying?  How can exploring a new partnership or collaboration benefit me?
Embrace the pivot
If your business has been greatly impacted by the current crisis, you’re not alone. It’s important to remember that great companies can be built in hard times. I started my first company after the dot-com bubble burst which eventually grew to over $100M in annual revenue. Many of the successful companies you see today — WhatsApp, Uber, Credit Karma, Pinterest, Slack, Venmo, and Square were all founded during the 2008 Recession. Embrace the pivot!  Don’t focus on what you can’t control…think about what you CAN. 
Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co
Delray Beach SEO
source http://www.scpie.org/5-ways-to-pivot-your-business-during-a-crisis/ source https://scpie.tumblr.com/post/615679148334186496
0 notes
douglassmiith · 4 years
Text
5 Ways to Pivot Your Business During a Crisis
April 17, 2020 10 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” —Charles Darwin.
In a matter of weeks, everything changed. Uncertainty is the only thing that is certain. Most businesses have been greatly disrupted and negatively impacted. Companies, CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, employees and business owners are facing a time of great uncertainty and what lies ahead is unclear.  
Related: A Disrupter’s Guide to Getting Back to Center During Times of Uncertainty
Entrepreneurs know that some of the best businesses come out of the worst times — because sometimes in our darkest moments, new ideas and innovations provide beacons of light. All we need is the glow of a great idea. What new companies, products, movements will be born out of our new reality? As an entrepreneur and CEO who has weathered the dot-com bubble burst, September 11th, and the market crash in 2008, I know firsthand the potential devastation facing businesses today. The economic impact of what we are now experiencing is unprecedented but there are still opportunities to come out stronger than ever before. 
I’ve personally had to pivot many times, and while it can be scary, it can also be a time of growth. Now is the time to experiment, create and innovate. Of course, that’s easier said than done. It’s tough to pivot your business during times of immense change. Before pivoting, I recommend first to stabilize your business to the best of your ability. It is important to tighten your belt, evaluate your costs and ensure you take the necessary actions to weather the crisis. 
There are likely changes you wanted to make in your business but haven’t and now is a time to act. Evaluate your talent, review your contracts, decide what is truly necessary to run your business. Make sure you spend your cash wisely. Look closely at your financials to see how you reduce your losses. It’s time to streamline so you can move forward without the weight of unnecessary cost burden.
Related: How to Adapt Your Messaging to the Sudden Change in the Marketplace
A business that was weak during a good economy is greatly exposed in a bad economy. If your business is not working now, and was not working well 6 months ago, it may be time to re-examine its long term viability. Winston Churchill once said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Use this crisis to get out of businesses that aren’t working and haven’t been for some time. Invest your time and energy on what is working vs what is not working. Now is the time to be brutally honest with yourself!
It is also a good time to take advantage of the financial resources available. Many of the companies in my portfolio have applied for the federal government’s paycheck protection program. If you haven’t already, it is important to educate yourself on the many forms of aid, resources, and support made available. 
Once you have stabilized your business it’s time to focus on the future. Here are 5 ways to pivot your business to not only survive, but also to thrive:
1. Embrace the digital way 
If you’re primarily run out of a brick-and-mortar store, it’s time to find the digital version of whatever work you were doing. Can you deliver your product or service electronically? Restaurants have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, and many have transitioned to online delivery and curbside to-go orders. Panera Bread has taken things a step further, by making it possible for customers to order groceries online along with their usual sandwiches and salads.
If you own a boutique, now is a great time to launch an ecommerce store with a 90-day Shopify trial. If you’re a fitness instructor, you can hold your regular workout classes virtually with Zoom. If you are an interior design company, pivot to virtual consultations, you can also create content with links to buy products. Real Estate agents have embraced a virtual presence, from doing 3D tours, Facebook Live and virtual walkthroughs, to even featuring homes on TikTok. My local liquor store is offering home delivery and doing cocktail making courses and wine tasting sessions via Zoom. With everyone stuck at home, the demand for online content is higher than ever.  
Ask yourself: what you can provide online?  
2. Leverage your existing assets and resources
Leverage your current assets and resources and align them with your customers’ current needs. What could you change in order to fulfill those needs? 
Businesses of all sizes are already making successful pivots in order to fill different customer needs and continue to operate.Cosmetics manufacturers such as LVMH, which owns lUXury perfume and makeup brands, have switched to making hand sanitizer, leveraging their expertise and production capabilities. Large clothing manufacturers such as Gap, Nike, Zara, and Brooks Brothers, are using their factories to make masks, gowns and scrubs. 
Amid the steep ride-sharing demand decline, Uber launched an On-Demand Work Platform, going from ride sharing to labor sharing. Through Uber’s Work Hub, Uber drivers can connect with other Uber platforms, including Uber Eats, Uber Freight and Uber Works, or a growing number of companies using Uber’s system including McDonald’s, PepsiCo, UPS, FedEx, and Walgreens. This pivot allows Uber to leverage its largest assets, technology and vetted workforce and supports drivers in finding access to alternative work.  
Related: How To Manage Your Mental Stress
Ask yourself:  What do people need most right now?  How can your company fill that need with your existing resources? If your business is unable to operate, is there a way to pivot to digital or a business that is deemed essential?
3. Deepen loyalty with existing customers
We’re all in this together. Be real, authentic and transparent about your efforts to serve your customers as best as you can – and let them know how they can support you in return. Loyal customers are champions for your company and brand ambassadors. Continue to maintain a strong relationship with your clients whether directly, individually, in newsletters, and or/via social media. Show them you care. Trust matters (more than ever)! 
With people spending more and more time online, it’s a great time to share relevant and engaging content related to your business. One local interior designer has been sharing photo montages – including a handwashing themed series with a collection of beautiful bathroom images.  A local salon is sharing a series of photos of stylists each holding up a sign featuring a different word, collectively telling customers that “we miss them, and we’ll see them soon.” 
Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park that is a favorite for hosting kids’ birthday parties, has 160 locations that are temporarily closed now. To help give back to families who still want to celebrate while staying at home, Sky Zone is offering free virtual birthday parties for kids for up to 10 guests, supporting parents and keeping employees working. Sky Zone is making a meaningful and memorable impact on children, parents and the community, deepening their customer relationships.
Figure out the best way to engage with your current customers and do so in creative ways.  
Ask yourself: How can I best engage and communicate with my customers now? What can I do to encourage my current customers to support my business? What are other companies doing to engage customers that I could also be doing or could help my business?
4. Explore the benefits of collaboration
There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”  The objective of collaboration can be new ideas, exploring synergies, and creating new business partnerships, where 1+1 = 5.  Partnerships can help give you access to new customers, new products or new markets. What partners can you work with that also have resources you can leverage? Is there a partner you think could help sell your product or service to their customer base? What could you offer them in exchange? Is there an opportunity to bundle your products together? True partnerships and successful collaborations are win-win. 
Related: 3 Simple Steps to Start Your Side Hustle
It’s also important to collaborate with other businesses for support and ideas. Being a local or small business can feel especially isolating, but there is power in numbers and more ideas. Make an effort to connect, whether it’s a neighboring business, a local chamber of commerce, industry trade group, or even a Facebook or LinkedIn group.  
Collaboration doesn’t have to be on a grand scale to be effective. For example, once their storefronts closed due to COVID-19, local ice cream parlor NORMAL Ice Cream partnered with Diabolical Records to offer a home-delivered package deal of 3 pints of ice cream and $30 worth of vintage records for $50. They announced the partnership on their social media pages and sold out within hours! 
Many companies have forged innovative partnerships during this time. 
Ask yourself:  Who could I collaborate with?  What businesses do I have synergies with or common customer profiles?  What current partnerships would be mutually beneficial to my business? 
5. Try and fail (and try again!)
There has never been a better time to try (and fail!). Now is the time to experiment. Quickly launch new ideas with minimal investment. Focus on results. Learn and improve with each iteration. Not everything you try out will work. And that’s okay. Expect to fail. Move on. It may take multiple attempts to figure out what works for you. Be brave. Have courage. Persistence pays off in the end.
There are many famous pivots. YouTube was once a video dating site. Twitter was once a podcasting network named Odeo. Play-doh was once a wall cleaner that pivoted to a beloved children’s toy.
Even the most successful and famous companies have had numerous failures – some of which you may not even remember  –  Google’s social media Orkut, Coca Cola launching Coke Max, and  Amazon’s Fire phone. Inventor Sir James Dyson created 5,126 vacuum designs until he finally invented a bagless vacuum that worked.
Ask yourself:  If I do a small test of a new idea and it fails, what is the worst that can happen and what knowledge can I gain from trying?  How can exploring a new partnership or collaboration benefit me?
Embrace the pivot
If your business has been greatly impacted by the current crisis, you’re not alone. It’s important to remember that great companies can be built in hard times. I started my first company after the dot-com bubble burst which eventually grew to over $100M in annual revenue. Many of the successful companies you see today — WhatsApp, Uber, Credit Karma, Pinterest, Slack, Venmo, and Square were all founded during the 2008 Recession. Embrace the pivot!  Don’t focus on what you can’t control…think about what you CAN. 
 Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co
Delray Beach SEO
Via http://www.scpie.org/5-ways-to-pivot-your-business-during-a-crisis/
source https://scpie.weebly.com/blog/5-ways-to-pivot-your-business-during-a-crisis
0 notes
laurelkrugerr · 4 years
Text
5 Ways to Pivot Your Business During a Crisis
April 17, 2020 10 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” —Charles Darwin.
In a matter of weeks, everything changed. Uncertainty is the only thing that is certain. Most businesses have been greatly disrupted and negatively impacted. Companies, CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, employees and business owners are facing a time of great uncertainty and what lies ahead is unclear.  
Related: A Disrupter’s Guide to Getting Back to Center During Times of Uncertainty
Entrepreneurs know that some of the best businesses come out of the worst times — because sometimes in our darkest moments, new ideas and innovations provide beacons of light. All we need is the glow of a great idea. What new companies, products, movements will be born out of our new reality? As an entrepreneur and CEO who has weathered the dot-com bubble burst, September 11th, and the market crash in 2008, I know firsthand the potential devastation facing businesses today. The economic impact of what we are now experiencing is unprecedented but there are still opportunities to come out stronger than ever before. 
I’ve personally had to pivot many times, and while it can be scary, it can also be a time of growth. Now is the time to experiment, create and innovate. Of course, that’s easier said than done. It’s tough to pivot your business during times of immense change. Before pivoting, I recommend first to stabilize your business to the best of your ability. It is important to tighten your belt, evaluate your costs and ensure you take the necessary actions to weather the crisis. 
There are likely changes you wanted to make in your business but haven’t and now is a time to act. Evaluate your talent, review your contracts, decide what is truly necessary to run your business. Make sure you spend your cash wisely. Look closely at your financials to see how you reduce your losses. It’s time to streamline so you can move forward without the weight of unnecessary cost burden.
Related: How to Adapt Your Messaging to the Sudden Change in the Marketplace
A business that was weak during a good economy is greatly exposed in a bad economy. If your business is not working now, and was not working well 6 months ago, it may be time to re-examine its long term viability. Winston Churchill once said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Use this crisis to get out of businesses that aren’t working and haven’t been for some time. Invest your time and energy on what is working vs what is not working. Now is the time to be brutally honest with yourself!
It is also a good time to take advantage of the financial resources available. Many of the companies in my portfolio have applied for the federal government’s paycheck protection program. If you haven’t already, it is important to educate yourself on the many forms of aid, resources, and support made available. 
Once you have stabilized your business it’s time to focus on the future. Here are 5 ways to pivot your business to not only survive, but also to thrive:
1. Embrace the digital way 
If you’re primarily run out of a brick-and-mortar store, it’s time to find the digital version of whatever work you were doing. Can you deliver your product or service electronically? Restaurants have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, and many have transitioned to online delivery and curbside to-go orders. Panera Bread has taken things a step further, by making it possible for customers to order groceries online along with their usual sandwiches and salads.
If you own a boutique, now is a great time to launch an ecommerce store with a 90-day Shopify trial. If you’re a fitness instructor, you can hold your regular workout classes virtually with Zoom. If you are an interior design company, pivot to virtual consultations, you can also create content with links to buy products. Real Estate agents have embraced a virtual presence, from doing 3D tours, Facebook Live and virtual walkthroughs, to even featuring homes on TikTok. My local liquor store is offering home delivery and doing cocktail making courses and wine tasting sessions via Zoom. With everyone stuck at home, the demand for online content is higher than ever.  
Ask yourself: what you can provide online?  
2. Leverage your existing assets and resources
Leverage your current assets and resources and align them with your customers’ current needs. What could you change in order to fulfill those needs? 
Businesses of all sizes are already making successful pivots in order to fill different customer needs and continue to operate.Cosmetics manufacturers such as LVMH, which owns lUXury perfume and makeup brands, have switched to making hand sanitizer, leveraging their expertise and production capabilities. Large clothing manufacturers such as Gap, Nike, Zara, and Brooks Brothers, are using their factories to make masks, gowns and scrubs. 
Amid the steep ride-sharing demand decline, Uber launched an On-Demand Work Platform, going from ride sharing to labor sharing. Through Uber’s Work Hub, Uber drivers can connect with other Uber platforms, including Uber Eats, Uber Freight and Uber Works, or a growing number of companies using Uber’s system including McDonald’s, PepsiCo, UPS, FedEx, and Walgreens. This pivot allows Uber to leverage its largest assets, technology and vetted workforce and supports drivers in finding access to alternative work.  
Related: How To Manage Your Mental Stress
Ask yourself:  What do people need most right now?  How can your company fill that need with your existing resources? If your business is unable to operate, is there a way to pivot to digital or a business that is deemed essential?
3. Deepen loyalty with existing customers
We’re all in this together. Be real, authentic and transparent about your efforts to serve your customers as best as you can – and let them know how they can support you in return. Loyal customers are champions for your company and brand ambassadors. Continue to maintain a strong relationship with your clients whether directly, individually, in newsletters, and or/via social media. Show them you care. Trust matters (more than ever)! 
With people spending more and more time online, it’s a great time to share relevant and engaging content related to your business. One local interior designer has been sharing photo montages – including a handwashing themed series with a collection of beautiful bathroom images.  A local salon is sharing a series of photos of stylists each holding up a sign featuring a different word, collectively telling customers that “we miss them, and we’ll see them soon.” 
Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park that is a favorite for hosting kids’ birthday parties, has 160 locations that are temporarily closed now. To help give back to families who still want to celebrate while staying at home, Sky Zone is offering free virtual birthday parties for kids for up to 10 guests, supporting parents and keeping employees working. Sky Zone is making a meaningful and memorable impact on children, parents and the community, deepening their customer relationships.
Figure out the best way to engage with your current customers and do so in creative ways.  
Ask yourself: How can I best engage and communicate with my customers now? What can I do to encourage my current customers to support my business? What are other companies doing to engage customers that I could also be doing or could help my business?
4. Explore the benefits of collaboration
There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”  The objective of collaboration can be new ideas, exploring synergies, and creating new business partnerships, where 1+1 = 5.  Partnerships can help give you access to new customers, new products or new markets. What partners can you work with that also have resources you can leverage? Is there a partner you think could help sell your product or service to their customer base? What could you offer them in exchange? Is there an opportunity to bundle your products together? True partnerships and successful collaborations are win-win. 
Related: 3 Simple Steps to Start Your Side Hustle
It’s also important to collaborate with other businesses for support and ideas. Being a local or small business can feel especially isolating, but there is power in numbers and more ideas. Make an effort to connect, whether it’s a neighboring business, a local chamber of commerce, industry trade group, or even a Facebook or LinkedIn group.  
Collaboration doesn’t have to be on a grand scale to be effective. For example, once their storefronts closed due to COVID-19, local ice cream parlor NORMAL Ice Cream partnered with Diabolical Records to offer a home-delivered package deal of 3 pints of ice cream and $30 worth of vintage records for $50. They announced the partnership on their social media pages and sold out within hours! 
Many companies have forged innovative partnerships during this time. 
Ask yourself:  Who could I collaborate with?  What businesses do I have synergies with or common customer profiles?  What current partnerships would be mutually beneficial to my business? 
5. Try and fail (and try again!)
There has never been a better time to try (and fail!). Now is the time to experiment. Quickly launch new ideas with minimal investment. Focus on results. Learn and improve with each iteration. Not everything you try out will work. And that’s okay. Expect to fail. Move on. It may take multiple attempts to figure out what works for you. Be brave. Have courage. Persistence pays off in the end.
There are many famous pivots. YouTube was once a video dating site. Twitter was once a podcasting network named Odeo. Play-doh was once a wall cleaner that pivoted to a beloved children’s toy.
Even the most successful and famous companies have had numerous failures – some of which you may not even remember  –  Google’s social media Orkut, Coca Cola launching Coke Max, and  Amazon’s Fire phone. Inventor Sir James Dyson created 5,126 vacuum designs until he finally invented a bagless vacuum that worked.
Ask yourself:  If I do a small test of a new idea and it fails, what is the worst that can happen and what knowledge can I gain from trying?  How can exploring a new partnership or collaboration benefit me?
Embrace the pivot
If your business has been greatly impacted by the current crisis, you’re not alone. It’s important to remember that great companies can be built in hard times. I started my first company after the dot-com bubble burst which eventually grew to over $100M in annual revenue. Many of the successful companies you see today — WhatsApp, Uber, Credit Karma, Pinterest, Slack, Venmo, and Square were all founded during the 2008 Recession. Embrace the pivot!  Don’t focus on what you can’t control…think about what you CAN. 
 Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co
Delray Beach SEO
source http://www.scpie.org/5-ways-to-pivot-your-business-during-a-crisis/ source https://scpie1.blogspot.com/2020/04/5-ways-to-pivot-your-business-during.html
0 notes
scpie · 4 years
Text
5 Ways to Pivot Your Business During a Crisis
April 17, 2020 10 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” —Charles Darwin.
In a matter of weeks, everything changed. Uncertainty is the only thing that is certain. Most businesses have been greatly disrupted and negatively impacted. Companies, CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, employees and business owners are facing a time of great uncertainty and what lies ahead is unclear.  
Related: A Disrupter’s Guide to Getting Back to Center During Times of Uncertainty
Entrepreneurs know that some of the best businesses come out of the worst times — because sometimes in our darkest moments, new ideas and innovations provide beacons of light. All we need is the glow of a great idea. What new companies, products, movements will be born out of our new reality? As an entrepreneur and CEO who has weathered the dot-com bubble burst, September 11th, and the market crash in 2008, I know firsthand the potential devastation facing businesses today. The economic impact of what we are now experiencing is unprecedented but there are still opportunities to come out stronger than ever before. 
I’ve personally had to pivot many times, and while it can be scary, it can also be a time of growth. Now is the time to experiment, create and innovate. Of course, that’s easier said than done. It’s tough to pivot your business during times of immense change. Before pivoting, I recommend first to stabilize your business to the best of your ability. It is important to tighten your belt, evaluate your costs and ensure you take the necessary actions to weather the crisis. 
There are likely changes you wanted to make in your business but haven’t and now is a time to act. Evaluate your talent, review your contracts, decide what is truly necessary to run your business. Make sure you spend your cash wisely. Look closely at your financials to see how you reduce your losses. It’s time to streamline so you can move forward without the weight of unnecessary cost burden.
Related: How to Adapt Your Messaging to the Sudden Change in the Marketplace
A business that was weak during a good economy is greatly exposed in a bad economy. If your business is not working now, and was not working well 6 months ago, it may be time to re-examine its long term viability. Winston Churchill once said: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Use this crisis to get out of businesses that aren’t working and haven’t been for some time. Invest your time and energy on what is working vs what is not working. Now is the time to be brutally honest with yourself!
It is also a good time to take advantage of the financial resources available. Many of the companies in my portfolio have applied for the federal government’s paycheck protection program. If you haven’t already, it is important to educate yourself on the many forms of aid, resources, and support made available. 
Once you have stabilized your business it’s time to focus on the future. Here are 5 ways to pivot your business to not only survive, but also to thrive:
1. Embrace the digital way 
If you’re primarily run out of a brick-and-mortar store, it’s time to find the digital version of whatever work you were doing. Can you deliver your product or service electronically? Restaurants have been hit especially hard by the pandemic, and many have transitioned to online delivery and curbside to-go orders. Panera Bread has taken things a step further, by making it possible for customers to order groceries online along with their usual sandwiches and salads.
If you own a boutique, now is a great time to launch an ecommerce store with a 90-day Shopify trial. If you’re a fitness instructor, you can hold your regular workout classes virtually with Zoom. If you are an interior design company, pivot to virtual consultations, you can also create content with links to buy products. Real Estate agents have embraced a virtual presence, from doing 3D tours, Facebook Live and virtual walkthroughs, to even featuring homes on TikTok. My local liquor store is offering home delivery and doing cocktail making courses and wine tasting sessions via Zoom. With everyone stuck at home, the demand for online content is higher than ever.  
Ask yourself: what you can provide online?  
2. Leverage your existing assets and resources
Leverage your current assets and resources and align them with your customers’ current needs. What could you change in order to fulfill those needs? 
Businesses of all sizes are already making successful pivots in order to fill different customer needs and continue to operate.Cosmetics manufacturers such as LVMH, which owns lUXury perfume and makeup brands, have switched to making hand sanitizer, leveraging their expertise and production capabilities. Large clothing manufacturers such as Gap, Nike, Zara, and Brooks Brothers, are using their factories to make masks, gowns and scrubs. 
Amid the steep ride-sharing demand decline, Uber launched an On-Demand Work Platform, going from ride sharing to labor sharing. Through Uber’s Work Hub, Uber drivers can connect with other Uber platforms, including Uber Eats, Uber Freight and Uber Works, or a growing number of companies using Uber’s system including McDonald’s, PepsiCo, UPS, FedEx, and Walgreens. This pivot allows Uber to leverage its largest assets, technology and vetted workforce and supports drivers in finding access to alternative work.  
Related: How To Manage Your Mental Stress
Ask yourself:  What do people need most right now?  How can your company fill that need with your existing resources? If your business is unable to operate, is there a way to pivot to digital or a business that is deemed essential?
3. Deepen loyalty with existing customers
We’re all in this together. Be real, authentic and transparent about your efforts to serve your customers as best as you can – and let them know how they can support you in return. Loyal customers are champions for your company and brand ambassadors. Continue to maintain a strong relationship with your clients whether directly, individually, in newsletters, and or/via social media. Show them you care. Trust matters (more than ever)! 
With people spending more and more time online, it’s a great time to share relevant and engaging content related to your business. One local interior designer has been sharing photo montages – including a handwashing themed series with a collection of beautiful bathroom images.  A local salon is sharing a series of photos of stylists each holding up a sign featuring a different word, collectively telling customers that “we miss them, and we’ll see them soon.” 
Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park that is a favorite for hosting kids’ birthday parties, has 160 locations that are temporarily closed now. To help give back to families who still want to celebrate while staying at home, Sky Zone is offering free virtual birthday parties for kids for up to 10 guests, supporting parents and keeping employees working. Sky Zone is making a meaningful and memorable impact on children, parents and the community, deepening their customer relationships.
Figure out the best way to engage with your current customers and do so in creative ways.  
Ask yourself: How can I best engage and communicate with my customers now? What can I do to encourage my current customers to support my business? What are other companies doing to engage customers that I could also be doing or could help my business?
4. Explore the benefits of collaboration
There’s an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”  The objective of collaboration can be new ideas, exploring synergies, and creating new business partnerships, where 1+1 = 5.  Partnerships can help give you access to new customers, new products or new markets. What partners can you work with that also have resources you can leverage? Is there a partner you think could help sell your product or service to their customer base? What could you offer them in exchange? Is there an opportunity to bundle your products together? True partnerships and successful collaborations are win-win. 
Related: 3 Simple Steps to Start Your Side Hustle
It’s also important to collaborate with other businesses for support and ideas. Being a local or small business can feel especially isolating, but there is power in numbers and more ideas. Make an effort to connect, whether it’s a neighboring business, a local chamber of commerce, industry trade group, or even a Facebook or LinkedIn group.  
Collaboration doesn’t have to be on a grand scale to be effective. For example, once their storefronts closed due to COVID-19, local ice cream parlor NORMAL Ice Cream partnered with Diabolical Records to offer a home-delivered package deal of 3 pints of ice cream and $30 worth of vintage records for $50. They announced the partnership on their social media pages and sold out within hours! 
Many companies have forged innovative partnerships during this time. 
Ask yourself:  Who could I collaborate with?  What businesses do I have synergies with or common customer profiles?  What current partnerships would be mutually beneficial to my business? 
5. Try and fail (and try again!)
There has never been a better time to try (and fail!). Now is the time to experiment. Quickly launch new ideas with minimal investment. Focus on results. Learn and improve with each iteration. Not everything you try out will work. And that’s okay. Expect to fail. Move on. It may take multiple attempts to figure out what works for you. Be brave. Have courage. Persistence pays off in the end.
There are many famous pivots. YouTube was once a video dating site. Twitter was once a podcasting network named Odeo. Play-doh was once a wall cleaner that pivoted to a beloved children’s toy.
Even the most successful and famous companies have had numerous failures – some of which you may not even remember  –  Google’s social media Orkut, Coca Cola launching Coke Max, and  Amazon’s Fire phone. Inventor Sir James Dyson created 5,126 vacuum designs until he finally invented a bagless vacuum that worked.
Ask yourself:  If I do a small test of a new idea and it fails, what is the worst that can happen and what knowledge can I gain from trying?  How can exploring a new partnership or collaboration benefit me?
Embrace the pivot
If your business has been greatly impacted by the current crisis, you’re not alone. It’s important to remember that great companies can be built in hard times. I started my first company after the dot-com bubble burst which eventually grew to over $100M in annual revenue. Many of the successful companies you see today — WhatsApp, Uber, Credit Karma, Pinterest, Slack, Venmo, and Square were all founded during the 2008 Recession. Embrace the pivot!  Don’t focus on what you can’t control…think about what you CAN. 
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source http://www.scpie.org/5-ways-to-pivot-your-business-during-a-crisis/
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Dropshipping with Shopify Definitive Guide
https://120profit.com/?p=1520&utm_source=SocialAutoPoster&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Tumblr If you’re an entrepreneur who wants to enter the ecommerce space but doesn’t have the resources to manage manufacturing, supply chains, and fulfilment, then drop shipping could be a great option for you. As a drop shipper, you’re free from inventory management headaches. When your store sells an item, the order is sent to a third party (i.e., your supplier), who then ships it directly to the shopper. You don’t have to touch the product and you only pay for what you sell. Starting a dropshipping website is surprisingly simple. Thanks to solutions like Shopify (read our full Shopify review) (which this guide will heavily focus on); it only takes a day or two to create a website, source products, and sell them to the world. Don’t believe me? Keep reading. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the step by step process of starting a Shopify dropshipping website. You’ll learn all about finding a niche, sourcing products for your market, and opening a virtual storefront. You’ll also see examples of dropshippers that are doing it right and you’ll glimpse the tools that they’re using to run their businesses. Let’s dive in. Why choose Shopify for your dropshipping business? While there are several ecommerce solutions out there that can power your dropshipping business, Shopify continues to be one of the most popular platforms for merchants. That’s because Shopify is: Dropshipper-friendly – One of the best things about Shopify is the platform is friendly with solutions that are specifically made for dropshipping. One example is Oberlo (read our full Oberlo review), a dropshipping app that works exclusively with Shopify. Packed with great features – Shopify offers a host of features that let you create an ecommerce business (not just a website). In addition to its online store builder, which enables you to design and set up your site, Shopify also has features to handle your sales, marketing, and payments. Easy to use – Shopify is one of the most user-friendly solutions out there. It may be packed with features and functionalities, but it doesn’t get overwhelming. The company does an excellent job with guiding merchants on how to use its software. Now that you have a better idea of the benefits of dropshipping with Shopify, let’s talk about how you can build your dropshipping business using the platform. Find your niche The first step to building a dropshipping business is figuring out what you’re selling and who your target customers are. In other words, you need to find your niche. There’s no shortage of advice on how to do this. Some people recommend turning to your passion and interests to figure out the right product to sell, while others say it’s best to look specifically for profitable and trendy niches to ensure that you actually make money. My advice? Do both. Choose a niche that you’re genuinely interested in, but make sure that’s there is demand — and profit to be made — in that market. That’s exactly what I did when I set up my dropshipping business. I did some research into merchandise demand, popularity, and profitability, but I focused my efforts on the areas that I was truly interested in. For example, as someone who works out and does yoga, I decided to start my research in the health and fitness space to see what kinds of items I could sell. Below are the steps I took to find products and validate demand: 1. Do keyword research Start off by making a list of product keywords in your potential markets. For example, since I was focused on the health and fitness market, I brainstormed relevant keywords that people would search for. Such keywords included terms like “athleisure,” “gym clothes,” leggings,” “workout clothes,” “yoga pants,” etc. I entered these terms into Google’s Keyword Planner to get a better idea of how much search volume they’re getting, and I discovered that “leggings” and “yoga pants” are getting the most searches. Do the something similar when you’re determining your niche. Kick things off by identifying possible markets (ideally using your own expertise and interests) then brainstorm keywords for those markets. Take the most popular keywords, and dig deeper to get more insights into their performance overtime. That brings us to the next step… 2. Determine product trends Getting keyword data is great, but you also need to combine that with trend data to figure out if an item is gaining popularity or if it’s on its way out. So, I turned to Google Trends and entered both keywords to figure out their search popularity over the last several years. In both cases, the search trends seem to be going overtime, with leggings being particularly popular as of recent years. This gave me more confidence in the idea of dropshipping leggings. Keep this step in mind when you’re looking for dropshipping ideas. Enter your keywords into Google trends to determine whether a product is trending up or down. If it’s the latter, then you may want to go back to the drawing board. If it’s the former, though, then you can move onto the next step, which is to determine profitability. 3. Figure out if your niche is profitable Product popularity is certainly a good sign, but at the end of the day, you still want to make money. Before you launch your dropshipping business, run the numbers to gauge the profitability of an item. Between the cost of doing business, shipping fees, marketing, not to mention the cut of your suppliers, running a profitable dropshipping business requires wide and healthy margins (i.e., 40% to 70% if not higher). This means you want to look for low-cost products that you can sell at a premium. At this stage, I did some research on the wholesale prices of leggings by running some searches on supplier websites like Oberlo and AliExpress. Based on what I saw, the prices for leggings range from around $4 to $11. Now, I’m someone who purchases leggins several times a year, so I know that many brands sell them at much higher prices. Lululemon’s price range, for example, is from $98 to $148, while lower-end stores such as Target sold leggings at prices ranging from $10 to $21. For my store, I decided that I could sell leggings for $25 or more, which depending on the cost would give me a gross profit of anywhere from $12.50 to $25. This knowledge further validated my idea and solidified my decision to sell leggings on my Shopify store. Try to follow a similar process when you’re validating your idea and determining profitability. Do your research on the costs and retail prices of your products. From there, calculate your profits using a tool like Shopify’s Gross Profit Margin Calculator. So, you already have a product or niche in mind and you’re ready to start building your Shopify store. To help you do this, here’s a detailed review of the steps you should take to get your dropshipping website up and running. Step 1: Create a Shopify account First things first, register an account with Shopify. Head to their website, and click “Get Started” to begin the process. When doing this, it’s best to have a store name in mind, because that’s one of the first things required to set up an account. In my case, I decided to keep it simple and chose “The Leggings Central” for my store name. From there, Shopify will ask a bit more information such as whether you’re already selling a product and what your physical address is. Once you’ve entered your details, you’ll be taken to your store’s backend. The URL for your Shopify backend follows this format: YOUR-STORE-NAME.myshopify.com/admin. Shopify will send you an email with your store URL, so be sure to bookmark that page for easy access. Step 2: Add products Once you’ve set up your account, you’ll be taken to your Shopify dashboard. There are a number of things you can do at this point — you can choose to design your store, set up your domain, or add products, among other things. My advice? Begin by adding products to your store. I recommend you start with this task for a number of reasons: It gets you into the process of store creation. When you’re dropshipping with Shopify, adding products can take minutes — literally. As you’ll find out below, setting up your items on Shopify can be done with a few mouse clicks, and the simplicity of the whole experience eases you into the process of creating your store and builds your momentum. It will make the design stage simpler (and more fun). It’s far easier to build a site around existing products versus starting from scratch. When it’s time to pick themes and templates, you won’t have to imagine what your store would look like with products in it, because you already took the time to add items to your shop.   Add products from Oberlo [or your dropshpping solution] Thanks to Shopify’s acquisition of Oberlo*, adding products that you want to dropship is incredibly easy. Here’s how: 1. From your dashboard, click “Products” on the left-hand side. 2. Select “More actions” then click “Find more products to sell.” 3. You’ll then see Oberlo’s interface, where you can search for products and suppliers. Enter your products into the search bar. (In my case, I entered “leggings.”) 4. Go through the results, then select the items you want to add. You can do this by clicking the “Select product” button. 5. Then on the product page, you’ll see the supply and shipping cost, along with a pricing field in which you need to enter your retail price. Click “Add product” when you’re done, and Oberlo will add the item to your Shopify store. 6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 as needed. *Oberlo is the default dropshipping app on Shopify, but you can always select a different solution through the Shopify marketplace. Edit product details When you’re done adding products from Oberlo, navigate back to the products backend of your Shopify store. You should now see all the items you’ve added from Oberlo. One thing you can do at this stage is to go through each product and edit its item details. Some product titles (such as the example below) and descriptions are stuffed with keywords, and you need to modify these details for your shop. For best results, add some personality and copywriting flair to make the items more appealing. You should also take this opportunity to add product tags. Tags can be used to label products so you can categorize them. For instance, if you’re selling apparel then your tags could include “summer,” “fall,” “tops,” “dresses,” etc. For my leggings store, I decided to use tags like “plain,” “printed,” “solid colors,” and “mesh.” There are a couple of ways to add product tags. First is to do it individually for each product  (see above). You could also add tags in bulk on your product list. Just select the items you want to tag, click the “Actions” dropdown, then click “Add tags.” Set up your collections Think of collections as product groups that allow your customers to find items according to their type, category, and more. Here are few examples of the types of collections you can create: Products on sale Product type (dresses, shirts, outerwear, etc.) Customer type (men, women, kids) Product color For my store, I decided to keep things simple and have three main Collections: “Plain and Solid Colors,” “Printed Leggins,” and “Mesh.” To add a collection, click on “Products” on your left-hand navigation and then click “Collections.” From there, click the “Create Collection” button, and you’ll arrive on a page on which you can enter the Collection name and add a description. Collections can either be manual or automatic. Manual collections include only “only the products that you choose individually. Because of this, the collection always contains the same products unless you specifically add or remove products.” This collection type takes more effort to maintain, and it works best if you have a small, curated catalog. Automated collections, use “selection conditions to automatically include matching products.” You can, for example, set up a collection so that it automatically includes products that have the “sale” tag. Or you can set it up in such a way that all products from a particular supplier ends up in that collection. There’s no right or wrong way to create a collection, as this depends on your product types and store. In the case of my leggings store, I set things up so that products with the tags “prints,” “mesh,” and “plain” automatically had their respective collections. Step 3: Set up and design your store Once you’ve set up all your products, you can move on to designing your store. To get started, click “Online Store” on the left-hand sidebar of your Shopify backend. Depending on your budget, you can choose to opt for one of  Shopify’s free themes or explore their marketplace. Once you’ve selected a theme, go back to your Shopify backend and click “Customize.” Customize the look and feel of your site You’ll be taken to your theme designer, where you can edit the look and feel of your online store. To customize the elements of your site, click through the options on the left-hand toolbar of your theme builder and go from there. The specifics of this stage will vary depending on your theme of choice. If your theme has a header (which it likely has) then you can upload a logo and customize its size and positioning on your site. If your theme has a slideshow, then you’ll need to add images for each slide. Speaking of which, images play a big role in the design of your site. And like most things on the Shopify platform, adding images to your store is super easy. You can either upload them from your computer or select pictures from Burst, Shopify’s free stock photo tool. You can do everything — from searching for images to previewing how they appear on your site — right from your theme editor, so no need to navigate out of the page. You can also customize more general theme settings, including the layout of your site, colors, typography, favicon, social media, and checkout page. Play around with different options and see what works best for you. Once you’re happy with the look and feel of your website, click Save. Add pages The next thing you need to do is to create pages for your site. These could include your: About page Contact page Shipping & Returns FAQ To create a page, click the “Pages” link on the left-hand menu of your Shopify backend, then click “Add Page.” From there, enter the title of the page you want to create along, with the copy to go with it. If you’re well-versed in SEO, you have the option to change the meta title, description, URL and handle, so you can specify exactly what you want search engines to see. Once you’re happy with the page, hit Save. Repeat this process for every page that you want to create. Set up your navigation Once your pages and collections are set up, you can move on to your navigation settings. At this stage, you’re going to specify which pages or collections would appear on your main menus. Have a think about how you want people to navigate your website. What categories and information do you want them to find? For example, for my leggings store, I wanted people to easily find the different collections I had (i.e., plain colored leggings, printed leggings, and mesh). I also wanted customers to easily find my about page. With that in mind, I decided to place my “About” page and collections on the main menu of my website. I also decided that links to my site’s return policy and FAQs should be in the footer. Follow a similar process for your store. Take time to figure out which pages or links should appear on your menu, and which ones to place on your footer. Once you have this mapped out, follow these steps to set up your site navigation. 1. Click “Navigation” on the left-hand menu of your backend. 2. Select the menu to which you want to add an item (i.e., link, page, collection, etc.) 3. On the menu page, Click “Add menu item.” 4. Enter a name for your item, then in the “Link” field, select the relevant item from the list of pages, collections, or products that you’ve already set up. (Note: this is the reason why you should set up all your products, collections, and pages prior to editing your navigation.) So, if you want to add your About page to your menu, select “Pages,” then click your About page. Or, if you want to add a particular category or collection, click “Collections” then select the collection that you want to add. Repeat this process as needed. Edit your site’s general preferences Now let’s talk about preferences. This is the section of your Shopify backend in which you can edit your site’s title and meta description. This is also where you can add your Google Analytics code as well as Facebook pixel. You can find it by clicking the “Preferences” link on your left-hand menu. Step 4: Add a domain Got your store all set up? Great. At this point, you should consider adding a domain name. Without a proper domain set up, your store’s default URL is https://YOUR-STORE-NAME.myshopify.com/. And while it’s technically possible to run your store without a custom URL, having your own domain name will help your store appear much more professional and appealing. Fortunately, adding a domain is easy with Shopify. You can find your domain settings under “Online Store” on the left-hand menu of your Shopify backend. Once you’re on that page, you’re given three options on how to handle things: 1. Connect a third party domain to Shopify If you already have an existing domain (i.e., through a provider like Bluehost, Hostgator, GoDaddy, etc.) you can connect it with Shopify so the system points your domain name to your Shopify store. This process will vary depending on your domain provider, so check with your vendor or visit Shopify’s help page on the topic. 2. Transfer a domain to Shopify You can also transfer a domain to Shopify, in which case you will be able to manage, pay for, and renew your domain directly from the Shopify backend. Do note that Shopify and your domain provider may have guidelines on how to do this, so check with both platforms to ensure that you’re able to transfer your domain. 3. Purchase a new domain Don’t have a domain yet? You can buy one through Shopify. Custom domain prices start at $11 USD per year. Step 5: Set up payments Next up is payments. You can find your site’s payment settings by clicking “Settings” on the left-hand menu, then clicking “Payment Providers.” It looks like Shopify Payments and PayPal are enabled by default, but if you wanted to use other payment providers or accept other modes of payment (e.g., Amazon Pay, Bitcoin, Dwolla, Affirm etc.), you can set everything up on this page. Also note that while Shopify Payments is enabled, Shopify will only be able to transfer funds to your bank account after you’ve completed your account set up and provided additional details. As for PayPal, the company will email you after you’ve made your first sale with instructions on how to set up a PayPal Merchant account. Step 6: Explore Shopify dropshipping apps If you made it this far, then congratulations! You now have a nearly working website for your Shopify dropshipping business! Now, your site is a bit bare bones at the moment, so it’s highly recommended that you add some bells and whistles via the Shopify app store. For the purposes of this guide, I’ll be focusing on the dropshipping apps that you can look into. Here are some recommendations. Oberlo I’ve mentioned Oberlo several times in this guide and for good reason: as a Shopify-owned dropshipping app, Oberlo’s integration with the platform is as easy and seamless as can be. When you navigate to your “Products” menu and click “Find more products to sell,” Shopify automatically takes you to the Oberlo app. Key features: Easy import of dropship products straight to your Shopify store Order fulfillment is handled directly by Oberlo, so you never have to touch or manage inventory Get automatic updates of order quantities and pricing directly from suppliers Product customization features so you can modify product names, descriptions, and images Automated pricing features for setting up price rules and managing prices in bulk Shipment tracking so you can keep tabs on all orders Multiple user support so you can bring in a team to help you run your store Find existing products that you’re currently selling on Oberlo Pricing : Free for those who have 500 or fewer products and get up to 50 orders per month; $29.99 per month for up to 10,000 products and 500 monthly orders; $79.90 per month for up to 30,000 orders and unlimited orders per month. Printful – Printing & Warehousing Printful is a dropshipping solution specifically made for businesses that operate on a print-on-demand model. If you’re selling original designs and artwork printed on merchandise like apparel, mugs, and posters, then Printful is the solution for you. Key features: No upfront monthly fees, and no inventory costs Automatic and seamless integration with Shopify, so all orders are sent directly to Printful for fulfilment Whitelabel service, and access to designers and photographers Easily create mockups with Printful’s mockup generator and mockup photos Product photography services, in which they take pro-grade photos that you can upload to your store Printful-owned warehouse and fulfilment facility so you can expect consistency with order quality and fulfilment Pricing : Varies, depending on the product. MODALYST – Dropship Name Brands Modalyst is a Shopify dropshipping app that specializes in name brands. They have one of the largest selection of branded products, though you’ll also find niche and lesser-known suppliers in their marketplaces. Key features: Four main marketplaces, which include: Name Brands (Superga, Calvin Klein, Diesel, DSquared, Puma, Lacoste, Cavalli, Moschino, Dolce & Gabanna, etc.); Independent Brands (600+ niche vendors); Trendy, Affordable Products (merchandise that focuses on teens and young female customers); Low-Cost Goods (inexpensive drones, gear, apparel, homeware, etc.) Centralized supplier and product management you can stay on top of orders from one system Quickly add products from the Modalyst marketplace onto your store Item name and description editing and customization Continuous updates of merchandise pricing and inventory Certain suppliers offer free shipping   Pricing: Free Spocket Spocket is great for dropshippers who want to source from global suppliers. This app allows you to purchase products from countries in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Spocket also boasts of having discounted merchandise, allowing you to sell at 30% to 60% margins. Key features: Over a million vetted products from global suppliers Items are shipped to customers in about 5-7 days, and local orders are shipped in 2-5 days One-click order fulfillment Spocket gives you access to discounted products so you can keep your margins at 30% or higher Your invoices can be customized with your logo and branding Real-time updates of stock levels Pricing: Free Spreadr App Spreadr allows you to showcase Amazon products on your Shopify store and earn commission for every completed order. Just add products from Amazon by using Spreadr’s import features, which pull items from Amazon to your Shopify store. Your customers can then click the link from your store, then complete the purchase from Amazon, which then fulfills the order Key features: Simple product import. All you need to do is paste the Amazon product URL onto your Spreadr dashboard, and the app will pull the product using Amazon’s API Amazon products are displayed on your site in such as way that the items follow your store’s look and feel You can edit and tailor the item name and description for your site   Product images are stored on your Shopify website, so you can edit and resize as necessary Bulk import features so you can add items by the thousands Automatic inventory and pricing updates so you don’t end up selling something that’s no longer available Pricing: $5 USD per month Collective Fab If you’re interested in dropshipping fashion and beauty items, then Collective Fab could be a great option for you. A dropshipper located in Southern California, Collective Fab specializes in fashionable, edgy, and stylish young women’s fashion and beauty products that you can sell without any upfront investment. Key features: Catalog of more than 3,500 products with new items added daily to help you keep up with fashion trends Orders are shipped from Collective Fab’s facility in California directly to your customers with your own company details In-app live chat support from which you can send questions or concerns Quantity updates are sent every 4 hours so you can keep your stock levels updated Single and bulk product import features through CSV Pricing: $29 USD per month Aliexpress Dropshipping Prefer to dropship from AliExpress? Consider Aliexpress Dropshipping, a Shopify app that allows you to import products from Aliexpress so you can add them to your store. Order fulfillment can be done with a single click and notifying customers is quick and easy. The app also comes with an auto-updating system so your pricing and stock levels are always up to date. Key features: Search and import functionalities so you can find products within the app’s interface, and then import hundreds of items to your store Order fulfillment is a semi-automated process, which entails clicking the “Order Product” button within the app. Aliexpress Dropshipping will do the rest. Updates to prices are made daily The app has a Chrome extension so you can import items while browsing AliExpress Pricing: $5 per month for up to 5,000 imports from AliExpress; $10 a month for up to 10,000 items imported from AliExpress, Alibaba, and other marketplaces; $20 per month for upto $20,000 imports from AliExpress, eBay, Amazon, Alibaba, and more. Looking for other dropshipping apps for Shopify? The apps above are some of the top-rated product sourcing apps from Shopify. There are many other applications in Shopify’s marketplace, so check them out if looking for additional dropshipping solutions. Step 7: Select a paid plan for your Shopify dropshipping store Shopify’s 14-day free trial allows you to explore most of the platforms features, and lets you do things like add products, design a store, install Shopify apps, and more. However, you won’t be able to sell products or services until you choose a paid monthly plan. If you’re ready to open your site to the world and actually earn revenue, just click the “Select a Plan” button at the bottom of your dashboard and pick the plan that works best for you. Enter your credit card details on the next page and you’re good to go! Whether you’re just thinking about dropshipping or you already have a business up and running, it’s always inspiring to see what successful dropshippers are doing. Here’s a look at some Shopify dropshipping success stories to motivate your initiatives. Printstant Replays is an online store that runs on Shopify and Printful, and it sells “classic sports plays on t-shirts and posters.” Printful caught up with shop owner Hunter Mize and interviewed him about his business. According to him, Printstant Replays was born out of his interest in sports history. He built the business to help fans relive great sporting moments through prints and shirts. Hunter said that he had always enjoyed using Shopify and found the interface and fulfillment process easy to use. He learned about Printful through a colleague, though at that time, the Printful app for Shopify app wasn’t available. So, he waited for the Shopify app to come out and connected it as soon as it launched “The game-changer with Printful is this – I pay no expenses UNTIL I am paid for a product,” he shared. I was buying 10-15 posters, or 60-75 shirts at a time, then hoping to make up those costs over a long period of time. Now with Printful, I get paid $xx, then I pay $x for my product. I never am at a loss.” Eliot Grey is a men’s boutique that features “the very best in classic accessories for The Man Of Distinction.” The store sells shoes, socks, ties, cufflinks, underwear, and more. Ran Moore, the owner of Eliot Grey, shared his story with Oberlo, saying that he started the site in 2017, after suffering from a heart attack. He needed to find a way to earn money while working from home, and he started his ecommerce that same year by selling various men’s fashion products online. He continued to explore products and said he came across a leather coat that perfectly captures the look of his shop. So, he added it to his store, invested the time to write a great product description, and then shared the product on a men’s Facebook Group. “Next thing I know, I’m sitting at home and a notification popped up. I checked it and practically leaped from my chair in shock. I had made my first sale! It took me two weeks after opening to make my first sale,” he told Oberlo. YellowTwig is a store that offers products designed to make people’s lives easier. According to Ashwini Ramanisankar, her first sale (that didn’t come from her family) came through from someone that she met a farmer’s market. She said that she was already spending money on Facebook and AdWords, and was getting some traffic (but not sales). “Getting out there and promoting it in person gave me credibility and helps people trust that it’s not a fake site,” she told Oberlo. “I also got a lot of feedback that made me go back and fix my navigation, so that helped the site work better. There’s really nothing like having a face to face conversation!” Creative Action Network is “a community of artists and advocates making art with purpose.” They implement crowdsourced campaigns around particular causes and invite people to contribute with their own designs. The Creative Action Network then develops those designs into physical goods (like apparel and homeware), then sells the products online and in retailers from all over the US. Creative Action Network uses Shopify and Printful to run their dropshipping business. Aaron Perry-Zucker, the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of the organization, told The Abundant Artist that they started out by printing posters on demand using printers in their studio. According to him, the process was tedious and hard to scale, and so they decided to try Printful. Doing so allowed them to outsource and automate the order fulfillment side of their operations so they can scale. That decision paid dividends. Aaron said that their “numbers shot up ten-fold across the board.” He also commended Printful’s customer support saying, “They’re a small team, which means you can always talk to someone and get a personalized solution versus working with a big, faceless company. They’re also a startup so they get what entrepreneurs and other start-up companies are going through.” Starting a dropshipping business and running one successfully are completely different things. You can start and build a dropshipping website on Shopify in a few hours — literally. But consistently driving traffic and sales requires showing up every day for weeks (even months or longer) and doing the work. Yes, dropshipping is relative hands-off because you won’t have to manage physical inventory, but certain tasks still require involvement from yourself or your team. Such tasks include: Managing relationships with suppliers and dropship vendors If you’re using solutions such as Oberlo and Modalyst, then you likely won’t have to deal with suppliers personally, since you can add products to your Shopify through the apps themselves. In some cases though, direct communication with your vendors is necessary. For instance, if you want your custom logo to be on the products that you’re selling, then you’ll need to facilitate that with your manufacturers. Or, if you’re not keen on using the default supplier stock image and want your vendor to take customized photos, then you’ll need to closely work with them to obtain the images you want. Solutions such as Printful, for example, offer ecommerce photography services in which they print and photograph your products in their facility. Figure out if vendor communication is required in your business, and be sure to stay on top of things by responding promptly and keeping communication channels open. Dealing with returns Product returns come with the territory of running an ecommerce business. Specific return policies may vary depending on the supplier and your dropshipping vendor. On Oberlo, for example, suppliers “generally do not accept returns” and refunds are issued in cases such as incorrect or damaged items, poor quality merchandise, missing orders, and expired delivery estimates. Meanwhile, at Modalyst, retailers are required to provide a 14-day return policy, in which case you would need to message the supplier. As for who pays for the returned item, Modalyst says that “In cases where the customer simply wants to return a product without any legitimate issues with the product itself, you or your customer would be responsible for the return shipping fees. However, if the item you received was damaged or not matching the description on Modalyst, it is fair to request that the Supplier pay for the shipping fees.” To figure out the best way to deal with returns, check with your dropshipping vendors and suppliers, then craft your return policy accordingly. Shopify has a free return policy generator that you can start with. Just enter your company and website information and Shopify will generate a return policy for you.   Providing customer support While the dropshipping business model allows you to outsource inventory management and fulfillment, you still need to deal with customer service yourself. Be prepared to answer product questions, and make sure you’re ready to deal with order issues (e.g., damaged products, delayed shipments, unsatisfied shoppers, etc.). You should, at the very least, have an email address that shoppers can use for their inquiries.  Having a FAQ section, as well as channels like live chat and phone support can also help. And if you have a presence on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, be sure to stay on top of comments and respond to direct messages promptly. Marketing One of the advantages of dropshipping is that it takes stock control off your plate, so you can focus on marketing your business. In this section, we’re going to briefly discuss the most common marketing tactics in ecommerce: Facebook advertising – No matter what you’re selling, there’s a good chance that your customers are on Facebook (or any of its properties). Facebook now has over 2 billion active users and there 1 billion monthly active users on Instagram. That’s a ton of people, so if you have the budget to do so, you can use Facebook’s advertiser solutions to get in front of your audience. This is a very rich subject, so I’m not going to detail the ins and outs of Facebook and Instagram in this post. But if you’re looking to go down this route, a good place to start is Facebook’s advertising page for retail and ecommerce. Google AdWords – As the go-to search engine for most consumers, Google’s advertising solutions enable you to reach people who are actively searching for your products. You can place ads on search engine results pages by bidding on relevant keywords and creating ads to match the intent of the searcher. You could also set up a Google Shopping Campaign, which involves creating shopping ads that “show users a photo of your product, plus a title, price, store name, and more.” For more info on how to run a successful Google AdWords campaign, check out their Merchant Center. If you already have a Shopify store, consider heading to the Shopify marketplace for solutions specifically made for Google advertisers.   SEO – Another way to get in front of users who are actively searching for your merchandise? Search engine optimization. Just like with advertising, SEO is a rich and broad topic, and it’ll take more than a single post to do it justice. But to give you a quick overview, optimizing your site for search requires entering the right header tags and creating content (product titles, descriptions, pages, blog posts) to make it easy to search engines (and users) to understand what your page is about. Do note that this strategy can take time, and it usually takes several months of work to effectively rank in search engines. If you’re not an SEO pro, you’re better off hiring an ecommerce SEO consultant who can strategize and do the heavy lifting for you. Influencer marketing – As mentioned in this in-depth guide on influencer marketing, influencers can be a big boon for ecommerce merchants. Working with individuals who have amassed numerous (and engaged) followers can put your products and brands in front of new audiences. To be successful though, you need to identify the right social networks and influencers. From there, work on cultivating relationship with influencers through outreach, free samples, paid campaigns, and other tactics. Learn more by reading the post, Influencer Marketing for Ecommerce: Beginners Guide to Finding, Vetting, and Working with Social Media Influencers. Email marketing – Not everyone who lands on your site will make a purchase, which is why it’s important to capture visitor information. In doing so, you can reach out to them with news, updates, promotions. Shopify makes email marketing a breeze. Most themes come with built-in features that can help you set up email campaigns with ease. There are also several Shopify apps for email marketing, so be sure to explore the marketplace to find the right solution for your shop. Content marketing – When implemented correctly, content marketing can do wonders for your ecommerce business. It can help differentiate your brand, position your company as an authority in your space, and boost your SEO rankings. Just like with search engine optimization, content marketing takes time. Depending on factors like content quality and quantity as well as the competition in your market, it usually takes months before you see results with this strategy. If you want to implement content marketing, start by creating high-value resources that educate, inform, and entertain your target market. Figure out the topics, questions, and concerns that they have and come up with relevant articles, tools, and other content pieces to address those needs. Final words Starting a dropshipping business with Shopify is surprisingly easy, and requires very little upfront investment. Take a day or two to find a product and then create a site using Shopify’s easy-to-use platform. From there, experiment with different marketing methods and see which tactics successfully drive traffic and sales. When all these steps are implemented correctly, you’ll be able to run a profitable dropshipping business in a matter of weeks or months. Good luck! 120profit.com - https://120profit.com/?p=1520&utm_source=SocialAutoPoster&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Tumblr
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