Why Shopify is the #1 e-commerce platform for small businesses with Sarah Jansel

In today's episode, we have special guest Sarah Jansel sharing the inside scoop on all things Shopify.

If you have your own website on Shopify, are currently on another platform but might be interested to learn more about the benefits of Shopify, or if you don't have your own website but are starting to think next steps for your business, you'll learn the benefits and steps to take to use Shopify to grow your business!

Sarah Jansel (nicknamed The Shopify Queen) is a speaker, podcaster, and CEO of Jansel & Co where she and her team build. brand, and grow awesome websites - on Shopify and Kajabi.

Sarah began her entrepreneur journey by launching a fashion boutique in 2018. She has 25 years experience working in business, operations and human resources. While working in corporate, Sarah held leadership roles for companies including TD, PwC, Scotiabank, and was the VP People * Operations at CARFAX Canada. Sarah holds diplomas in HR Management, Management Consulting, and her Masters of Business in Executive Management.

Sarah is also certified as a Prosci Change Management Professional and a Klaviyo, Shopify, Kajabi and Omnisend Partner.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL​ LEARN:

• Why Shopify is the #1 e-commerce platform for small businesses out there
• The different type of functionality and capabilities that Shopify has that sets it apart from the rest
• 3 steps you need to take before building a Shopify store
• How to get started with Shopify and who you can turn to if you need support

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODE

Follow Sarah on Instagram @sarahjansel

Listen to Sarah's podcast, I Created That

Learn more from Sarah atwww.janselandco.com

LEARN MORE FROM MONICA LITTLE

Website: www.monicalittlecoaching.com

Instagram: @monicalittlecoaching

Watch the FREE Etsy training to get started today: How to Get Your Products Seen on Etsy!

Transcript

Monica Little: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the Product Biz Podcast. My name is Monica Little, and I'm your host, and I'm so excited to introduce you today to Sarah Gensel. On today's episode, we're gonna be talking all about Shopify. So you maybe already have your own website on Shopify, or maybe you are on a different platform like Squarespace or Wix, or maybe you don't have your own website just yet, and you're starting to think through where you should go, what platform you should use to get that website up and running.

So no matter where you are on your current website journey with your small business today, you're gonna learn the benefits and steps to take to see if Shopify is the right platform for you, and if yes, how you can leverage it and what the benefits are of this platform. I personally used Squarespace for my small business, which you'll hear me talk about.

So this is gonna be an awesome episode since I'm not super well versed in Shopify, but it really is the best place to put your website and your products on nowadays. So a little bit about Sarah. Sarah Jsel. Nicknamed the Shopify [00:01:00] Queen as the speaker podcaster, and c e o of Jan Co, where she and her team build brand, and grow awesome websites on Shopify and also on Kajabi.

Sarah began her entrepreneur journey by launching a fashion boutique in 2018. She has 25 years experience working in business operations and human resources. She worked in, in different corporate offices, including being the VP of people and operations at Carfax Canada. She holds diplomas in HR management, management consulting, and her Masters of Business and Executive management.

She is, Very, very impressive with her resume, as you can already tell, but she's just an incredible wealth of knowledge on Shopify. So what we're gonna talk about today is why Shopify is the number one e-commerce platform for small businesses out there. The different types of functionality and capabilities that Shopify has that sets it apart from the rest.

Three steps you need to take before building a Shopify store. And also how to get started with Shopify and who you can turn to if you [00:02:00] need support. So without further ado, let's introduce and bring on Sarah to the Product Biz podcast. Are you ready to go behind the scenes and learn what it really takes to create consistent sales each and every month with your handmade small business?

Join me, Monica, little Self-taught multiple six figure small business owner and your product business coach. As I give you the insight and inspiration on how to better run your business and increase your sales in ways that you may not have even been aware of, so that your business can truly become what you knew it could be back when you first started.

Learn how to let go of perfection, overcome the fear of failure that is holding you back, and finally start taking action so that you walk away feeling like you've cracked the code on how to run a successful small business. You are listening to the Product Biz Podcast. Well, hello Sarah, and welcome to the [00:03:00] product based podcast.

I'm so excited to have you as a guest today. Yeah, 

Sarah Jansel: thanks for having me on. I'm happy to be 

Monica Little: here. Oh my gosh, this is gonna be such a fun conversation about all things Shopify. So before we jump in into Shopify, I would love for you to just introduce you to the person listening. So tell us more about what you do, how you became a Shopify expert, all that fun 

Sarah Jansel: stuff.

Yeah, for sure. Oh my gosh. It's like, where to start? So I, I actually started my career in corporate, so you know, I worked 20 years in business HR operations, and my last role was actually at a, a VP of a tech company, uh, which is popular in the us. We have a lot of US listeners at Carfax there. So, but I worked in the Canadian division and I love that that career lit me up for years.

But there came a point when I just knew that there was something that just wasn't quite lighting me up the way that it used to. To, and I was really just trying to look for something a bit more creative. And so I ended up, uh, while I was working my VP role actually, uh, deciding on a vacation on, you know, what I told my husband [00:04:00] we're, I'm just gonna start a fashion business.

Like I, I'm gonna do it online. I had talked about. Different opportunities throughout the years. And so I kind of, you know, pun drew a line in the sand for real and said I was gonna get home and do that. And so that's what I did. And I ran a fashion business for about three and a half years and it was still in my VP job.

Uh, and really, uh, towards the end there, 20 20th of March, I had hired a coach to help me scale that business. And we all remember what happened in March of 2020. And during that time, you know, I was really excited. Excited, I was seeing a lot of success. Uh, I was really pumped up about it. And when I finally ended up meeting it with the coach, probably I'd say like a month and a half later, uh, our conversation started to veer off in a bit of a different direction, which was, Hey Sarah, like, I know we're here to kind of talk about some of the things that you're doing and how to kind of scale that and where you're gonna go.

But I actually have a few clients who really need your skills and expertise, like you've been working and helping people figure out how to build businesses, but now you even have a bigger [00:05:00] skill, which is getting it online on Shopify. She's like, would you be willing to take a few clients on? So I did. And, uh, Two clients later and two months later, I resigned.

I loved it so much. Just the idea of being able to help people see the thing that I was really trying to see. So how to build really a business, you know, and have a life and a business that you love. And so I totally jumped full tilt into that, dive full in myself in my own business. And here we are, uh, a few years later with Jans and Co, where we help clients build brand and grow awesome websites, primarily on Shopify, but also on Kajabi.

Monica Little: Oh my gosh, I love it. And we have such similar backgrounds too, which is so fun. Like corporate and then also a product-based business. Yeah, mine was skincare. Yours. Yours was fashion. And then that kind of morphed more into coaching and you help people with Shopify and Kajabi, and I'm over here helping people with Etsy.

So I love hearing your background and just seeing how. We go through these different paths and we learn different things, and then we kind of stumble into the next thing and how it [00:06:00] transforms. So I absolutely love that. I'm gonna assume your fashion website was Shopify, so you really used that leverage that used it to grow and then started to help other people in Shopify.

Is that 

Sarah Jansel: right? Yes, that's right. I went out and researched every platform under the. Son and was brand new to all of that. And it was honestly on a whim that I was like, I feel like Shopify just has all the bells and whistles and the things that I needed to run my biz. And then I just fell in love with the platform.

So it was again, just totally by they say, right? Like you take one step and it leads you to something. So. Yeah. 

Monica Little: Oh my gosh. I love it. Well, this is gonna be a great conversation because with my style business, I use Squarespace. Okay. So I've heard great things about Shopify, but I started on Squarespace and just stayed on Squarespace.

So I know how awesome it is in terms of the functionality and the different apps. And the connectivity and all that amazing things. But before we get into some of those specifics, I wanna just level set and ask you what is Shopify and why is it the best platform out there? So for someone who was on Squarespace, like [00:07:00] pitch me why Shopify is the place I should have been and how I messed up multiple years ago.

Sarah Jansel: Yeah. Why is Squarespace? No, for sure. Oh my gosh. And I will say we, we do convert quite a few clients to school. From Squarespace to Shopify. Yeah. And Squarespace is a great platform. Like there's nothing wrong with it. Um, but there are some perks and some things that you're missing I think, that are really helpful for somebody who really wants to dive into that product business and, uh, have a more integrated experience.

I would call it. So I always say Shopify is kinda, and the reasons I chose it was it's an all-in-one platform. So similar to Square, you know, you've got your customers, your inventory, your website. Like there's a lot of things that are really built in that. Uh, sometimes when I'm talking to clients, they actually think these are separate components, and I'm like, no, these things are literally built into the tool, which is really great.

So it makes it simple. You've got a blogging feature, you know, there's all kinds of really cool. Cool things. Um, but the one thing that was kind of missing, I think, on some of these other platforms, and Shopify used to not be so great on design. They have made [00:08:00] a ton of enhancements. So people often used to gravitate three, four years ago to square because it had better templates, better features.

But now Shopify's really done world of difference there. So the design feature is definitely there. That's a, a little myth that sometimes people hear. Um, but when we think about Shopify, they use a lot of language about. Sales channels. And so what that really is, is the places that I can sell and the places that I can sell from Shopify.

So if I've added my products and I have everything that's there, all I have to do is click a button. If I've installed a channel and instantly my products are available for sale, there. And a lot of platforms, you kind of have to cobble things together and use zaps and a bunch of things, but like selling on Facebook, selling on Instagram, selling on Pinterest, right?

Like some of the connections with different software, uh, the fully integrated email tools and the flows, the, some of the Shopify features have really started to build in. So I really feel like it's a great tool because it starts to take all of the things that you need to [00:09:00] do, whether it's on day one. Or day 100, when you're looking to scale, it makes it easy.

So you don't have to leave, right? Like you can just keep building on what you. 

Monica Little: Oh my gosh. I love that because couple things that you said that totally resonate to me is I originally went with Squarespace because I heard from people that it was easier to do design on Squarespace. Yeah. So I'm like, cool.

I wanna do the one that's gonna be easier to customize. And I love hearing you say, well now Shopify has really caught up and actually has great designs. Perfect. Yeah. Second thing that you said that I wanna also touch on, which I think is so valuable, is how you talked about all of these amazing components that Shopify has, but your day one on Shopify versus your day at 100 on Shopify are gonna be totally different.

Cause I know sometimes hearing all of these amazing options can also maybe be a little overwhelming. Like, okay, now I gotta not only make a website, but connect here and do email there, and do this and do that. But I love what you said of you literally just take it one step at a time and you start to get every single.

Piece of the website in a good place, and then maybe you go into email and then [00:10:00] maybe you go into connecting on Pinterest. So do you have like a flow or just guidance on if someone's starting on Shopify, what do you focus on first? What's your main bet and then what's like the second best thing to focus on?

And the third, obviously it may depend on the business, but do you have any general guidance of what to really focus on when you first get signed up on Shopify? 

Sarah Jansel: Yeah, definitely. There's kind of two different things I'm thinking about, and the first one is it's somebody who's just like brand new and it's like, I just, like, where do I even start?

And so I know you and I have some similarities in our approach, so this should hopefully be something familiar if you've been listening to this podcast. Uh, but really there's three things and we have a. Free guide as well, um, that you can find on the Jans and co.com homepage. But it's three things every awesome website needs, and it really focuses on understanding who your ideal client is.

So really diving deep into some of the questions that you need to be able to answer yourself or answer for yourself so that you can start to market using your sales materials, your emails, all the things, but you kind of have to have a [00:11:00] starting point. Um, you know what you need in terms of. Branding because when you go to a website you do need a logo and people often think a logo is your brand, but there are other things like colors and fonts and stuff, um, that you need to be thinking about.

But there's some questions to help you answer. Really, brand is like personality. So like what is the brand personality you're trying to. Portray. And then the third thing is all around positioning. So what is the product that you have, what problem is it solving? And then some really key things that you need to answer in order to make it clear to someone when you have a website.

So that's like if you're brand, brand new. Um, in terms of being able to start on Shopify, I mean, for me, I feel like definitely use the guide, uh, in terms of cadence of things that you do. I mean, one of the conversations I have a lot is, well, when should I start talking about this? Like immediately. Just because your website isn't ready doesn't mean that you should wait.

In fact, I'm like, do you have an Instagram handle yet? Is that where you need to show up? Is it Facebook? Like where is it? Cause I know it's client depending, but I'm like, go out and grab that [00:12:00] and start talking about the fact that this is coming. So I feel like. Now or never get started. Don't feel like everything has to be done.

But you wanna start building a community so that when that website actually is ready, even though we don't have anything right now, you wanna be able to drive people somewhere. Some people will say an email would be handy there as well. Um, or we can also set up the website so the coming soon so you can like get on the list.

It's, the idea here is really that we're just trying to find really simple, easy ways that anyone can do to start building. Eyeballs that can look at your products when they're ready to go. And then in terms of the website, we often, almost always, I would say, almost always sell the website and some email automations to go with it.

And the reason is, is like it's great if you have the website and people are landing on there. Maybe they're happening organically cuz you've been building an audience. Maybe, you know, you're showing up on a podcast somewhere, whatever it is. But what happens when that person actually leaves? What is the, [00:13:00] the way or the reason they're gonna have to actually come back?

So that's where we set up a series of email automations, like abandoned carts or get you on the list in a welcome series. So we're reminding people in the inbox. Oh yeah, that's right. I remember Monica and her amazing skincare product. I need to go back there. Right. So it's these things that we often suggest and then you can kind of grow from there.

Monica Little: Oh my gosh. So many good insights. I've been like writing down as you've been speaking cuz this is such good, such good information. So I love how you said like number one, before you even think about your website, like that branding, those three components that you said, like who is your client? What is your branding?

What problem do you solve? How are you being positioned? Mm-hmm. Those things have to be spot on cuz I, I know we were just chatting about this on your podcast, but, and you said something like a lot of people think like, oh, if you build it, people will come, but. That actually has to be more than that. You have to have that community and once they land on your website, it has to be selling your products for you.

Right. It's not just putting some random information on there. Like there's actual strategy behind [00:14:00] what you have on your website. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. So I love how you said that. Yeah. Cool. And um, another thing that you said that I wanted to also elaborate on too was like the community piece. Cause I think that is so important to actually get people to that website.

And I love how you said, talk about your website even before it's ready, like hype it up. Talk about these amazing advancements that you're making, that you're shifting to Shopify, that you're. Go on a different route that you're investing in your business because people love to hear that on social media.

Yeah. They love to see people investing and up leveling and all that fun stuff. So I love hearing about Shopify, um, especially thinking of like the Squarespace where I came from, because. I always tell people, if your end goal is this business, like for the long run, Shopify is gonna be the place that you wanna be.

Because I always had an end goal of starting on Squarespace and shifting to Shopify. But now hearing you talk, it's like just start with Shopify and take it one step at a time, because if that's your end goal anyways, start where you wanna be instead of doing this little like backwards dance. And I kind of did.

So it's been good to [00:15:00] hear. Hear you mention those things. Now, one thing I do wanna ask you, you talked about use of the guide that Shopify has, so if someone is maybe a little bit newer to Shopify and wants to just get a feel for it, I'm guessing that as soon as you sign up you have some insights and it must be pretty good that you mentioned it on how to get started and things like that.

Right. Yeah, 

Sarah Jansel: absolutely. I would say yeah, you can get a free trial with Shopify and it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, like right from the get go. So, you know, I know we can talk about like blog features and like all the things I kind of highlighted, but it's just, I feel it's important for people to understand the capability, but we don't have to necessarily get under the hood on that.

Cause some clients actually come and they're like, yeah, I really wanna drive traffic. From my blog, like I'm not on Facebook, or I'm not here and I have this audience and I've been talking about this thing I use, so I'm gonna sell that now. And I'm like, that's an amazing strategy, right? So maybe you wanna leverage that and just have a small piece of the store that's there versus someone who is like, no, I'm gonna build a whole brand.

Like I'm gonna have a [00:16:00] whole website there and there's things I wanna sell and maybe I have an Etsy store, but like, you know, now I've got. Some things over here that I wanna have if I'm gonna drive them. And that's cool too. So I, I feel like oftentimes it's as big or as little as you want, um, and not to try to overcomplicate it at first, it's like stick with where you wanna begin and know, I don't know, a single entrepreneur or myself included, who wasn't always trying to do something to improve or kind of up level or, okay, now I've done this for a few months and I'm getting some feedback.

I'm gonna change this. Like, allow yourself. Some space to be able to do that. 

Monica Little: Perfect. Oh, I love it so much. So tell me a little bit more about how you specifically work with people on Shopify, because from my perspective, yes. Love what you said. I've take it one step at a time, and there's gonna be obviously trial and error to get it up.

I know when I did my Squarespace website, I literally spent a month, I'm not kidding, a month, like all day, every day working on it. Mm-hmm. Every single component. And I was like, wow, I thought this would be a lot easier. And I find myself. Relatively skilled in that type of stuff. So I can [00:17:00] imagine maybe someone who's not as technical that could obviously be extended to a much longer timeframe.

And now how I really coach people and and work with people is like when there are experts on certain things like building your website, leverage them because then you can spend that time actually like optimizing other platforms or learning how to sell on Instagram or. You know, working on other skills that are necessary to grow a business.

So tell me a little bit more about how you work with people specifically on Shopify, how you work with them, what it looks like, what that process is. Cause I'm just curious on all the amazing that you work that you 

Sarah Jansel: do with small business owners. Yeah. Oh my gosh. And you hit the nail on the head because I will say like you, I mean obviously was fairly technical or considered myself that and.

Thank God for YouTube University, because otherwise, right. You know, as simple as it is, I would say I, I'd never built a website before, so like I understood what I wanted, I knew what I wanted to do about my product, but I was also focused on like a million other things, like procuring the stuff that I needed to sell and thinking about how I wanted to position that and taking photos and like, you know, all this [00:18:00] stuff.

And so I feel like for me it was a, it was a long drawn out. Process as well. So, you know, if, if that isn't something that you're gonna enjoy, definitely consider consulting someone, getting a quote, talking to them about it. Um, the way we do things is a little different because, uh, we are very invested in, uh, making sure that our clients have a good leg up and they are ready to start.

And so some of the things I was talking about with our. Freebie are actually things that we do on an initial consult. So, um, we'll talk to clients about what it is that they're looking for, um, and we do immediately, if they're on board for the service, we do an immediate call and we dive into a lot of questions around this and we pull out a lot of what I like to call the gold nuggets that we're gonna use on the website.

So if you haven't thought that far ahead, we will help you do that because this is a service. We are gonna help you bring some of those. Things out, and we're really just trying to be that other set of eyes that maybe isn't as close to the products. I know as business owners we often get super close where it's like, oh, okay, so you're trying to do this, have you thought about [00:19:00] that?

Right. So we can make some sort of on the fly recommendations and then really we just need to gather some assets from the client. And I know you tend to work with the more established clients, so some things we need are like, you know, bio. Um, you know, obviously some information about the product, um, their brand, uh, like logo, colors, things like that.

There's not a whole lot more that we need. Once we've had that intake call to kind of get things started, and we're looking at about a four to six week process, I would say end to end because we'll take all of that and do a full design, and then we'll meet with the client and say, okay, what is your input?

We want this to be a collaborative process. This is how we kind of. See that going, but does this kind of line up with what you're doing? And then we'll talk through that and tweak it and then we'll go back after that meeting, finalize the designs and everything and then come back one more time and make sure, okay.

Have we missed anything? Because as quick as six weeks go, a lot can actually happen with your business since six weeks, so we just make sure that that's good to go and then we'll train you at the end. This is something a lot of. People do not do is we [00:20:00] want you to know enough to be dangerous. We wanna empower the business owner so they don't feel like, oh my God, I'm in a panic at like 11 o'clock when I get an order.

I don't know what to do. No, we will show you exactly what you need to do. Oh 

my 

Monica Little: gosh, I love that. Yeah, because I have heard from some people where they work with someone on Shopify and then they're like, oh my gosh, now I don't know what to do. I've gotten this great website and I'm, I'm afraid to touch anything or go into anything cuz I don't wanna mess anything up.

So yeah, I absolutely love that. Oh my gosh. So cool. Yeah. And tip sheets. So I think that 

Sarah Jansel: tip 

Monica Little: sheets I'm at, yes. All those things are so important. And I just wanna reiterate too, of just utilizing people who ha are experts on certain topics because we can spend, I mean, your team will do it in for four to six weeks.

So if it's someone who's not an expert trying to do it on their own and is. Gonna put all that time and energy. I mean, I would say two to three to four times that amount of time for themselves to get it right. So I love that you offer the service because the website is so important for small business owners and having a website that actually is designed [00:21:00] beautifully.

Because when people go to your website, I mean, that's what they're looking for. They obviously know you a little bit, maybe a blog post, maybe seo, maybe Instagram. But then that website's got. Sell for you, right? It's gotta have the branding, the design, the words and everything. So seeing how you help others do that is such a critical part of running a small business.

Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. I love it. I love it. Okay, so another question I have for you. Do you have any other key marketing tactics that all brands should consider? Any other like marketing tips and tricks that you wanna share with the listeners? 

Sarah Jansel: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Okay. So first and foremost, if you do not have email marketing, today is the day to do that.

Whether you have a website or not, you can still sign up. You can. Still have a link in bio. I know a lot of people are like, really? Like, does anybody check email? I'm like, do you check email? They're like, oh yeah. I'm like, yeah, me too. Like email has not gone. And there are a lot of statistics out there that show that is far surpassing s m s, although s M S has a very good place for things.

So we could probably go down a rabbit hole on that as well, your quick hits and things like that. [00:22:00] But e email marketing is gonna be where it's at to start engaging people early and start getting them familiar with your brand and then eventually marketing and then. Remarketing to them. So I would say that's just an easy one that you can do.

You can sign up for an email list today and start growing that no matter where you're kind of at with your brand. Um, so I think that's huge. Another one I think we've touched on it already, is just considering where it is that the people who are buying are showing. Up and, or maybe you want to test some areas that you're unsure of.

Maybe I do have customers that are here, whether it's at sea, whether it's Pinterest, whether it's, you know, Facebook, wherever it is. And think about some of the things that you can do there to start driving that traffic. And if you are on Shopify, there are sales channels. So you can have a shop, you can start building a community, you can start testing that out.

So that's been a huge one. I know when I ran my fashion business, um, there were some incredible stats that I've posted in the past, but it's like in a given month, like. 80% of my sales were coming from Instagram. [00:23:00] Wow. So that's huge because people would see the products and I was able to tag the products because I had Shopify connected.

They were able to check out really simply. They didn't have to leave, they didn't have to think about it. They could buy from my stories. Like it's those things where we just make showing up in the place where the customer is. So easy to get on the list or to buy the product that are really gonna go the extra mile because there are a lot of gimmicks.

Like I could talk about loyalty programs and like all kinds of things, and they definitely have a place hands down. But what I really think at the end of the day is that we are busy and we just want things to be seamless. We just want it to be easy to buy that thing. We don't wanna have to overthink it.

So anything you can do. To simplify that process is really gonna help you. 

Monica Little: That is such a good tip. Like to truly think where are your customers hanging out and how can you get in front of them and how can you make it as simple as possible? That is gold. Like that is such good information and that's probably one of the key components that people really need to figure out is what is your audience doing?

Where are they hanging [00:24:00] out? What platform and how. How can you connect them? What type do they want? Like that really quick, something quick to click and just purchase. Do they need more information? Do they need to be educated? So I think that is such an awesome, awesome tip. 

Sarah Jansel: Oh, I was gonna say, I would just add on to this, and I'd be interested to know if you did this with your brand.

Cause I don't think we've talked about this, but a lot of times, and I know I felt this way, I got into selling online. It was like online store, everything's gonna be online. And very quickly as I was launching my store, I suddenly got asked to do pop-up shops or there was markets. That came up or I was asked to speak at an event or like do a jo.

You know, like different things were coming my way. And that is going to happen if you're new, if you're established, like it just happens. And those in-person experiences, my God, did they ever do wonders for my brand? So a lot of times when we think about a marketing tactic, we think a lot about what can I do online, but.

Challenge yourself to extend and think past the online world because there's something to be said about that instant credibility or the things that you [00:25:00] can say that you're not saying online really quickly with people, especially if it's larger audiences they can touch, see, feel your product, and just, I feel like that's something that we often overlook as being something that could be a huge strategy.

Mm. 

Monica Little: I love that. Yeah, I did do, personally, I did quite a bit of markets with plant-based beauty when it was up and running. Um, but I found it was super interesting. I found that it was very much hit or miss for me Mm. With the different markets that I would do, but, This is also, I think, where it came down to me literally signing up for every single market that I came across and not being proactive of where are my customers shopping?

Which ones are they actually going to? Which one actually makes sense? So they were totally hit or miss, but when you did find a good one, I mean, that would be like the weekend to always be at that place whenever they had a market, because people would totally align with the products. What I love that you said, which I think kind of segues in, which is a big thing that I've been sharing with my people lately is like the networking side of things.

So I think you can do in-person [00:26:00] events in terms of actually selling your products, but also in-person events in terms of just networking with others and like getting your name out there and meeting people and seeing. Who knows whom that may help you with your own business or who owns a shop, or who knows someone who owns a shop or who knows someone who's looking for a product just like yours.

So I think in person in general can be done in so many different ways. But I love, I love that, that it's not just online. It's not just like hiding behind the computer all the time. Yeah, and just putting the work in. It's also putting yourself out there and doing some of those uncomfortable things too.

Yeah, definitely. Awesome. I love it. Anything else that you wanna share about Shopify before we wrap up today? Anything that we missed or any like top tips for someone who's thinking about it or currently on 

Sarah Jansel: it? Anything at all? Yeah, I mean, I think if you're thinking about it, you're already halfway there is what I would say.

Yes. So if you're thinking about it, you're feeling the nudge, then you should probably listen to that intuition. Um, you know, also, I think it's good to do your homework a little bit so, you know, think about, you know, [00:27:00] again, the things that you're looking to accomplish and make sure that the platform you're looking to use is gonna actually line up with that.

If you're looking to sell a product and you wanna. Span that brand, but it's a no-brainer that Shopify is really the place to go. I don't work for Shopify. I am a partner. Um, and I'm just saying this cuz I love the platform so much. We've seen so many clients with so many successes there. So yeah, I mean, don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions.

Um, you know, I'm sure there'll be some show links here for me as well. Um, you know, you can find me on Instagram at Sarah Jsel, but like, ask your questions because I know getting into this, there were so many things that I didn't think of or didn't know or didn't anticipate. So like Monica said, you're gonna learn so.

So much just from connecting with others and figuring out what the best step forward is. 

Monica Little: Yes, I love it. Okay, awesome. So share with us. I know you just said your Instagram, but if you wanna share that again, you're a podcast, you're a freebie, share that information with us. I'll make sure to add in the show notes, but I would love to hear 

Sarah Jansel: from you too.

Yeah, so it's at Sarah Jsel. That's Sarah with an H on Instagram or at Jsel and co. Uh, we've got [00:28:00] both a lot or both there, uh, as well, right@jselandco.com. That's a and d jsel and co.com. You can find right on my homepage that freebie. Uh, there's a ton of information about our services. The podcast is on there.

I've got the, I created that. Monica is going to be a guest talking about all things Etsy on there as well, which we're really excited about because Etsy and Shopify are a good team. So, yeah, uh, reach out. Don't be shy, and love to hear from you. 

Monica Little: Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Sarah for joining us today, and thank you so much for listening to the Product Biz Podcast.