Elizabeth: Hello again to the Small Biz Ahead. I’m Elizabeth Larkin. Gene Marks is my guest today. Today, we will be discussing setting up an eCommerce website. Gene, do you sell stuff on your website?
Gene: No, I don’t. However, I wrote it recently and have been working with clients who do. You have many options when selling your stuff online. As I have become more Elizabeth, the more I know about it, the more I realize that you will need to find a market to devote your time to.
Elizabeth: Exactly.
Gene: Selling stuff from your website is a great way to make a living, but it almost seems like Amazon, eBay and Alibaba are the dominant marketplaces. Because everything is set up for you, I see a lot of my clients using one of these big marketplaces. There is a lot more to it.
Elizabeth: After we have heard from our sponsor, we’ll be discussing this topic.
QUESTION – Setting up an eCommerce website for a Yoga Studio
Elizabeth: This is Cindy. Although she doesn’t give us her hometown, she does own a yoga studio. Here’s her question. Cindy writes, “Blah, blah, blah, passive income, blah, blah, blah.” I like this already.
How do I set up an ecommerce website to sell yoga videos? I would like to sell yoga videos and increase my income. Could you please give me a quick guide for beginners to this kind of thing?
Gene: Yes. Gene: Yes, I can. Oh man, there’s so much I could show you.
Elizabeth: I’ve got a lot too.
Gene: OK, Cindy, I’ll tell you a few things. You want to get moving. These videos should be your business. First, I bet you have these videos and products in your yoga studio. Now you want to make these products available online. Here’s what to do. Sign up for Shopify now!
Elizabeth: This is exactly what I meant to say.
Gene: Big Commerce, another one. Magento is also a platform. By the way, I’m not trying to be unfair to the many other platforms out there that do similar things. These applications, and I specifically mention Shopify because I have many clients who use it. It’s a great company. They combine… It’s an entirely new wave of eCommerce apps that they merge in-store with the web. You can set up one system and have your own point-of-sale system with Shopify. You are buying and selling over-the-counter, you make payments, you keep your inventory, and you ring up the sales. Boom, your shop is also your website if I’m the owner.
A template is what people use to help them choose the right product. It’s your job to create it. It is easy to set it up with Shopify. Both payment methods are the same. It is able to drive the same inventory as yours and integrate with your accounting system. You can’t have more than nine videos if you don’t sell one video in your store. When someone goes online to your site, there are only nine videos. Do you get what I mean? It’s an integrated system, and I believe it’s a great tool to use.
Elizabeth: This is great because Gene and me look at the podcast questions separately, but we don’t discuss them. My notes indicated that Shopify was currently $29 per month. This is a very basic program. Shopify can do it all. It’s amazing because I’ll see a blog I’ve been reading, and not realize that it’s Shopify. It does. You get a website as well as a blog. Shopping is only one part. Shopify allows you to do everything, including printing shipping labels, tracking orders, discount codes, and even a website. Shopify can host your entire yoga studio website. This is only a small part of the entire website.
Gene: Correct.
Elizabeth: Shopify Lite is also available. It’s very affordable. It costs about $5 per month, I believe. You can sell through Facebook, and credit cards are accepted.
Gene: Shopify is integrated with Facebook. They also offer an Amazon.com integration so that your inventory and sales information will be automatically transferred to your Amazon.com storefront. Cindy, it is something I strongly recommend that you do. They sell through many channels. They sell through their website, sell in their store, have distributors who sell stuff for them, then sell on Amazon. They also sell on eBay. You want the largest possible audience.
Shopify Elizabeth was mentioned, but Magento is also very popular. Magento is also free.
Elizabeth: That will be added to the show notes.
Gene: Magento is an open-source application. Although you will need to be more technically skilled, you can still create amazing sites if that’s what you want.
My last tip, Cindy, is that the most successful online business owners are those who have someone to do it for them. They have a part-timer. You sound like you are a yoga practitioner and run your own business. If that is the case, you will need to budget for someone to manage your Shopify, Magento or Big Commerce, Amazon, eBay, or any other platform.
Elizabeth: This is great advice. Shopify is the only one that I have used. I can only say that Shopify makes it easy for business owners who don’t specialize in this area. It might seem like you can do it all yourself. You can do it in a few hours per week. But, if you want to excel at it, you need someone who is a specialist in the subject.
I would say that passive income is best when you create your own market. Email marketing is also a must. Mail Chimp is a must-have tool for email marketing. What are you using?
Gene: Constant Contact.
Elizabeth: Constant contact
Gene: JangoMail and AWeber offer great email marketing services.
Elizabeth: It is important to build your email list. If you want to sell online, you must have relationships with people online. Here are some articles that we will link to. Gene wrote one about how email is used inefficiently by your company.
Gene: Email. Yes, that’s right.
Elizabeth: He spoke about the company’s mistakes and what they did differently to make it work. Cindy, that’s great! I wish you success.
Gene: I think that Elizabeth got the answer right. Good job. That was a great assignment.
Elizabeth: We are high fiving.
Gene: We usually make up things along the way but with this one, we actually knew what were talking about.
Elizabeth: We will be back with our Word of Brilliance.
WORD of BRILLIANCE Calm App
Elizabeth: It’s back with the Word of Brilliance. I will be doing the Word of Brilliance this week. Gene is getting a break.
Gene: Let’s get it going.
Elizabeth: As we have discussed before, Small Biz Ahead has just produced, and I edited a number of eBooks, which you can download. There are many topics covered, but I will have Gene guess the one that has been our most popular. One on data breach, one on business credit cards and one on customer satisfaction. The other is on productivity and getting things done. Which one have you thought has received the most downloads?
Gene: Which one of these is your favorite?
Elizabeth: Yes.
Gene: Productivity.
Elizabeth: Exactly.
Gene: I felt a sensation, had a feeling.
Elizabeth: We publish articles about stress, sleep, and how to get more done. Gene, this is because small business owners are often available 24 hours per day.
Gene: Correct.
Elizabeth: They are always at work.
Gene: Correct.
Elizabeth: There is increasing evidence that getting a good nights sleep is the best way to increase productivity. Calm App is my new obsession. It’s an app I already have on my phone.
It has three parts. One section is for meditation and one is for helping people breathe. There is now a section called “sleep stories”. This is what happens when you click on a story and you are given a book to read as you fall asleep.
Gene: There is no way.
Elizabeth: It’s the most peaceful thing I have ever heard. One about a waterfall has been one I’ve been listening to. The background sounds are so peaceful and tranquil. This week’s one is about Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Gene: What are these sounds that you are listening to?
Elizabeth: This is someone reading a book on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. But the Calm App has added the sound of a train in the background. In two minutes, I’m out. It’s amazing.
Gene: That’s what I did. I was reading Stephen King books. It didn’t work. I was awake all night worrying.
Elizabeth: There was a clown hiding under your bed. You should check that out. It will be in the show notes. Calm App is the name of it. This app is ideal for small business owners who just want to fall asleep instantly. It could be used on a plane, too. You could probably use it there. It would probably work there. I’ll add that to the show notes. You should definitely go and check out the Trans-Siberian Railroad one. It’s so relaxing.
Best Shopify Themes for Yoga Studio
Shopify stores can be a great way for you to sell your products online. Shopify is now being used to sell services. Shopify simplifies the business process by automating sales and allowing customers to make quick, easy purchases. Shopify is a popular choice because 93% of customers are happy with it and would recommend it.
Shopify for Yoga Studio is a great platform to start your business. Here are some things you should consider. The Shopify theme is essential for yoga shops. If you are serious about your business, it is better to choose a premium Shopify theme for yoga stores. These themes have advanced features that aren’t available in the free themes.
Pilates, Yoga Shopify Theme
Kriya is a Shopify theme for yoga studios that feels good. It can be used to promote your products and provide information about the retreats, workshops, and asanas. The theme can be used on any device and is 100% responsive. Your website design can be completely customized to suit your needs and offer a pleasant experience for your visitors.
Features:
- Drag and Drop Home Page Blocks
- Ajax cart
- Pop-Up Quick view
- Pop-Up Newsletter
- Product Owl Carousel
- Currency Switcher and many other features
Ashi Shopify Theme
Shopify’s Ashi theme is perfect for your yoga studio or related websites. You can create a stunning yoga website in minutes with the wide range of themes available. Website visitors will enjoy seamless interaction with the UX. The website loads quickly with Ashi theme. It is also optimized for search engine ranking.
Features:
- Mega Menu: Five styles
- Multi-currency Support
- Deal Countdown Timer
- Zoom on Product Image
- Wishlist Module
- Social media integration and many other things
Fitness & Yoga Shopify Theme
Shilpa, a flexible and adaptable yoga Shopify theme, is easy to design and execute. The intuitive drag-and-drop page builder makes it easy to create your own home page. You can also use this page builder to quickly design the rest of the pages, such as the About us, Shop, and Blog pages, without having to know a single line code.
Features:
- Drag & Drop Shopify Builder
- Advanced Mega Menu
- Quick Shop & Cloud Zoom
- Ajax Features
- Tracking your order
- 800+ Google Web Fonts, and many more
Health Meditation Theme Shopify for Yoga Studio
Gyoga is a Shopify theme that showcases all your products and services via images, HD videos or infographics. For effective copywriting and pricing, you can design page layouts. This theme will allow you to showcase your most popular, new arrivals and featured products effectively. The yoga Shopify theme allows you to communicate with your visitors via social media.
Features:
- Style options for the header and footer
- Amazing Slider built in
- SEO Optimized
- Functionalities of Ajax
- HTML5 & CSS3 & Sass CSS
- Social networking
Yoga Clothing & Fitness Shopify Theme
This theme is the best for selling yoga pants or other accessories on Shopify. The fully responsive Shopify theme for yoga studio is retina-ready and can be used on all devices. With the six homepage styles and unlimited mega menu layouts, you can quickly create a unique website that is attractive and appealing.
Features:
- Flexible Built-in Mega Menu
- Advanced Layered Navigation
- Unlimited Google Fonts
- Responsive and Retina Ready
- Drawer shopping cart in header
- Ajax Add To Cart & Wishlist
Wellness, Shopify for Yoga Studio
Shopify theme for yoga studio. It is beautifully designed and features a clean layout, clear navigation options, and widgets that convey passion and openness. The yoga shopify theme is full of unique features, including tabs and animation. Ajax cart functionality and quick view make it easier to checkout, which leads to more conversions.
Features:
- Drag and Drop sections
- Product Owl Carousel
- Five types of Mega Menu
- Grid and List Mode
- Customer Reviews
- Newsletter, Social sharing, etc.
Shopify Health Shop Theme
Accu was initially created as an Acupuncture Shopify Theme. It can easily be customized for the Yoga and Meditation Shopify Websites. You can choose from five different mega menu styles and drag and drop your home page blocks. This Shopify theme is simple and elegant. Your website will be more interactive with the pop-up newsletter and deal countdown timesrs.
Features:
- Drag and Drop sections
- Great for SEO
- Checkout with branding
- Ajax filters and cart, & wishlist
- Compare Products
- Slider Featured Products
