Drop Shipping made simple – Not so fast
| February 24, 2014 | Posted by Igor under e-Commerce |
One of my favorite retail selling models is drop shipping products. If you are lucky enough to find a reliable manufacturer that will drop-ship your product and not sell to retailers, value this relationship, as it is truly one-of-a-kind. So, what exactly does it take to work with drop-ship suppliers? Once you find a supplier, and assuming that they will work with you, you will be able to snag their product and list them on your website. Not all manufacturers are equipped to handle API/EDI integrations. At best, most will send you a PDF, or if you’re fortunate, an Excel…
Elance is Dead – LinkedIn is Next – Is India to Blame?
| January 8, 2014 | Posted by Igor under Project Management |
At one time, I was a huge proponent of using third-party services for the outsourcing of small projects. There is nothing more tedious to me than having to do data entry, keyword research, formatting, reporting, etc. Elance was my go-to choice for freelancers, until recently it became cluttered with useless new accounts that just spam your job postings. Anytime I posted a job on Elance, I would get 50 responses and each one required a lengthy process of looking at freelancers feedback, past projects, etc. Finding the right freelancer can be more time-consuming then completing the project itself. Time after…
Selling on Marketplaces hurdles revealed
| January 2, 2014 | Posted by Igor under e-Commerce |
Everyone is selling something, why aren’t you? Certainly, there are obstacles that I had to overcome; learning things the hard way is never fun, but very necessary in order to become a successful seller in the marketplace. Here are a few tips I’d like to pass on to you so that you can be a successful marketplace seller and still keep your sanity: Product Publishing If you only have a few products to sell, let’s say fewer than 100, then product publishing is something that you can tackle in no time. Once you have your catalog set up, you just…
Mt. Mckinley (Denali) Training Program
| May 17, 2012 | Posted by Igor under Climbing |
Unfortunately, due to some financial difficulties, I had to cancel the climb. I was devastated when I had to make that decision, but it is what it is. All that training and hard work with no return – doesn’t feel good. Yea I look and feel great, but aside from that, its a big disappointment. I figured since I put so much effort into making this trip happen, I would share my workout program. I am a strong believer of strict regiments. My father raised me this way, and it sort of stuck around. Prior to starting, I’ve researched on…
Managing E-Commerce Profits/Losses (P&L)
| May 17, 2012 | Posted by Igor under e-Commerce, Project Management |
One of the reasons that I love E-Commerce is the direct impact of changes made today on sales figures for tomorrow. Being well organized and structured are key criteria to help gain a tight grip on your P&L. There are a few reports that I create that give me a great outlook on what the business is doing. The following are samples of three spreadsheets that I use to summarize the business. I try to keep these high-level as I often use them for annual budget forecasts and during sales and marketing meetings. These are just summaries. The actual reports…
Inheriting others mess and how to fix it
| May 16, 2012 | Posted by Igor under Project Management |
I’ve been quite busy beginning of this year and didn’t get a chance to write much. In fact, I’ve been so busy putting in 80 hour weeks that I felt that I’ve lost touch with the outside world. I’ve taken on a new challenge as Head of E-Commerce for a major retailer. I was directly responsible for the e-commerce division P&L. The position didn’t last long as it was consolidated and moved to Europe, but in the 2 months that I was there a lot of work and effort was put into a big project of redesigning the site, rebuilding…
Who drives your e-Commerce business?
| May 11, 2012 | Posted by Igor under e-Commerce, Project Management |
Coming from an investment bank industry, where I worked for the IT department managing bank data-centers, I know firsthand the role of IT. In the banking industry the rules are simple. Those who make the money, drive the decisions. If the business needs a technology, it is a matter of how can IT implement it. IT is a support/admin unit of any company. Simply put, if the business doesn’t make money, IT doesn’t exist. IT is there to support the business and do everything possible to help the business generate revenue and help the company grow! If you’re Amazon/Zappos type…
The power of the SOW (statement of work)
| March 13, 2012 | Posted by Igor under Project Management |
Ever wonder what is the most important things you can do to improve your project being successful? The Statement of Work (SOW) .. It’s the key to any project. It doesn’t matter what the project entails; it always has a scope of work. Having a detailed and thorough SOW especially in eCommerce determines the success of the project. The eCommerce industry is still fairly new and not understood by many companies, specifically by the C-level management. An eCommerce business is not just a page with pictures and “add-to-cart” button. As in any retail store, you need an architect to design…
Affordable multi-channel tools for startups
| January 20, 2012 | Posted by Igor under e-Commerce |
The biggest challenge for me when running an e-commerce business is finding the right tools for the job. Especially when it comes time for managing data feeds. For drop-shipper type of businesses this is probably the most tedious task. There are a lot of processes involved such as: inventory management, tracking import/export, product distribution and order management. If you sell on several marketplaces like Amazon, Sears, Buy.com and Newegg, in addition to these channels you have product distribution to Google Shopping and the like. This requires sending constant product feed to update the inventory. Next is importing the orders into…
SEO Plan for launching SEO project or hiring an expert
| December 20, 2011 | Posted by Igor under SEO/PPC |
The industry is moving fast and as a President or a CEO you don’t have time to manage everything. Therefore you’ll be faced with either hiring someone or outsourcing to a 3rd party. SEO is one of the most popular topics in online marketing today. The challenge is how to hire a SEO expert. Better yet, how do you know what to expect if you’re not a SEO expert yourself? I put together a SEO project plan that covers on-page and off-page optimization efforts. The first step is to analyze the site. You need to have a thorough analysis of…
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