Harley Finkelstein, President at Shopify, took to LinkedIn to share suggestions on how to scale a business. Finkelstein wrote that though launching a business is tough, scaling that business is no different. If an entrepreneur wants to scale business during difficult times, founders should remember 3 things — become antifragile, build a community where customers are based and be hyper-focused on challenges faced by your customers. Finkelstein elaborated all the three points in his post.
According to Finkelstein, the hardest step is starting a business, following which you would require to scale that business. “If you want to scale your business during challenging times, here are 3 things every founder should be doing,” he said in his LinkedIn post.
1. Avoid Vulnerability
His first suggestion for entrepreneurs is to be antifragile, which means say no to vulnerability. “As your business evolves, so should the problem you’re solving: Often the problem you initially set out to solve is not the one you end up solving in the end.”
Finkelstein gave an example of how Tobi Lutke started Shopify. “Tobi started selling snowboards online and realized there wasn’t a good software solution for building small businesses online. So he built the software and started selling it,” he said.
The Shopify President suggested that it isn’t wise to marry your initial idea. He added: “Be willing to pivot as your problem evolves and adapts, even if that means abandoning your original idea altogether. You could build the next Shopify”.
2. Always on Your Toes
Finkelstein’s second tip of entrepreneurs is to be hyper-focused. “Be hyper-focused on the challenges your customers are facing & adapt your product accordingly: A common misconception as you scale is you should expand and do many more things when instead, you should remain hyper-focused on solving your customer’s biggest problems.”
To explain this point, Finkelstein used an example of coronavirus pandemic, which completely scrapped the roadmap for Shopify, like many other companies around the globe. However, Shopify remained on its toes and made the most of the pandemic.
“We started rapidly building the tools millions of businesses needed to survive and come online overnight [like a basic store, curbside pick-up, etc.]. Remain hyper-focused on the challenges your customers face today and build accordingly,” he explained.
3. Community Building
In the third suggestion, Finkelstein asked merchants to join and build community for their customers. Describing the same in detail, he wrote, “Social media is the new search engine; 34% of consumers use social media to learn about products, services, and brands. Founders today need to think beyond online vs offline presence – modern retail means being everywhere your customers spend time and selling there.”
“In one year, calling this omnichannel retailing will be akin to calling a TV a colour TV – it’s a given. Sell wherever they are and build a community there. This will be invaluable as, now more than ever, consumers want to connect with a brand that is beyond just a product – they connect with brands that have a robust community that comes with it,” Finkelstein added.
Implementation
Even though the three tips mentioned above looks like a lot of work, all of them are easy to implement as Finkelstein did it himself. He became an entrepreneur by launching a tea brand, Firebelly Tea, in November 2021. Sharing on LinkedIn, the Shopify President wrote that he was elated to become an entrepreneur again. In a long post, the Shopify President wrote how it all started six years ago and took shape during the coronavirus pandemic.
“For a year, we product tested, designed tea accessories and packaging, built our site and our brand. Finally, in November 2021 we launched Firebelly Tea on Shopify. We are nine months in, and it’s been one hell of a ride so far. But I can tell you one thing – we are just getting started. If you want to see what we’ve built, check out what’s brewing,” he said in his post.
Finkelstein is quite active on social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn. He often shares insights related to business and e-commerce on his LinkedIn post. The Shopify President also use the micro-blogging site to give shout out to entrepreneurs.
