How to Write a Welcome Speech November 19, 2019 bizadmin I was browsing the internet when I came across a useful website on speech examples for any kind of event. It has examples of Speech Writing for many kinds of events like a motivational speech, farewell speech, best man speech, wedding speech, welcome speech, graduation speech and much more. Here, you can check out how to write a welcome speech by clicking on the link given and read to find out more information for future use if you bookmark it. I was drawn back to the day the second sister got married in 2015 and she gave a long speech on her wedding day in church, all impromptu and towards the end, the congregation clapped and was definitely entertained. I am so proud of her, having gotten her Ph.D. this year recently in English Literature and found her soul mate as well with a doctorate too. There are also examples of Welcome Speech for the Children Day Celebrations from the website above. Here, I have taken excerpts from the site as below: Children’s’ Day Celebration holds an excellent spot in our souls basically because we as whole love children. Isn’t that right? They are the future; the light carrier of our nation and they ought to just not be ignored. Since the day is around the bend, welcome speeches for Children’s Day Celebration have been readied, which are far-reaching and straightforward. Also, there’s the best man speech for the groom and this is the opportunity to playfully joke and wish the groom well for a start to a new life as a married couple. The best man will no longer enjoy the groom’s undivided attention and time since it will now be devoted to his newly betrothed bride and start a family. It is with these memorable occasions, that speeches need to be carefully crafted and written well to impress the crowd. After all, the speech is only presented once in a lifetime and you want to make a good impact and impress the crowd of friends, relatives, and families. I have taken to opportunity to state here verbatim a sample of the Children’s Day Welcome Speech as below for your reference. Example #2 of Children Day Welcome Speech Great Morning Respected Principal, Teachers, and My Dear Loving Students! Today is an extremely favorable occasion of Children’s Day, which is praised among us all. As we as a whole concur you children are the splendid daylight of the general public, the seed of a plant that will support our nation’s future. Children’s’ day is celebrated everywhere throughout the world to love and love the guiltlessness of children like you, to make you feel extraordinary for your job on the planet and demonstrate to you the positive side of being a tyke. In India Children’s Day is celebrated on fourteenth November which is likewise viewed as the birth commemoration of incredible Indian opportunity warrior and our first Prime Minister of India, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru. His birthday is celebrated as children’s day everywhere throughout the nation because of his immense love and love for children. He was a change producer, in the opportunity battle as well as in social change. Our first Prime Minister was a man of high thoughts and put stock in correspondence between both males and females. He strived towards making this nation equivalent in all terms, which incorporates balance in connection to riches, training, and so forth. He accepted that the quality of a nation is its children and children who help in building up our country through their new thoughts and imaginative techniques. This day causes us to recognize the estimation of all of you in our lives and how we have to take legal consideration of you, which incorporates love as well as warding off you from social shades of malice of society which have pulverized the texture of the state. I wish that all of you ought to never lose the blamelessness of your children and ought to never get affected by this cruel world. Children’ day is to guarantee that we must give you a cheerful environment at both home and school. We as a whole comprehend that the episodes that are occurring around us today, nobody is protected and we as a whole need to guarantee you of that valuable wellbeing. Children are as clear rule objectives to quickly develop wrongdoing as you can be taken care of effectively. This sort of wrongdoing must be limited by instructing all individuals from our general public. We as a whole can make this day considerably increasingly extraordinary by giving garments and books to offspring of your age who are not ready to bear the cost of instruction and essential human services. We as a whole should all in all begin this activity and get joy those individuals’ lives that don’t have such sort of offices that God has given to us. Presently I would need all of you to appreciate different exercises that we have gotten ready for you on this awesome event. Enjoy an exciting day! We are much obliged to you! I hope you like what you have read and check out the link above for more welcome speeches for all occasions. Examples were given and I admit that the website is well developed and easy to navigate.
19 Ways to Use Offers, Coupons, Discounts, and Deals to Generate More Sales November 17, 2019 bizadmin Offers, coupons, discounts, and deals. There will come a time when most online merchants will be faced with the decision of whether to offer discounts, when to offer discounts, and how much the discounts should be worth. Offering discounts for your online store can be a powerful weapon in your conversion arsenal to drive customer loyalty. But, used haphazardly, you can do significant damage to your brand or, worse, become unprofitable. In this post, we’ll review some of the pros and cons of offering deals for your online store, look at some of the most popular ways you can use discounts to drive customer loyalty and conversions and, of course, how to most effectively use them. 💡 Note: For the purpose of this blog post and keeping things simple, we’ll refer to coupons, discounts, and deals as “offers.” The pros and cons of online store offers Who are offers, coupons, and discounts right for? Types of offers, coupons, and discounts How to use offers to drive sales and customer loyalty Make the most of your offers, coupons, and discounts The pros and cons of online store offers Before we jump into different ways you can effectively use offers to increase customer loyalty and acquisition, let’s first look at some of the pros and cons: Pros of online store offers Easy and quick to implement natively in Shopify or using apps Easy to track with Shopify’s Discounts Report Increased customer loyalty Increased customer acquisition Increased conversions Quickly move stock Meet sales goals Cons of online store offers Decreased margins and profitability Possible brand damage Decreased conversions outside of sale periods if you train visitors to wait for offers Tendency to drive non-loyal (price-driven) shoppers The tendency to reduce average order size Attract customers outside your target market Free Reading List: Conversion Optimization for Beginners Turn more website visitors into customers by getting a crash course in conversion optimization. Access our free, curated list of high-impact articles below. Who are offers, coupons, and discounts right for? As mentioned previously, online store offers can be an effective tool for not only customer acquisition but also for customer loyalty. However, it’s important to consider your overall brand strategy before you begin offering discounts. If you want to position yourself as a higher-end brand or if you have slimmer margins, you may want to consider sticking to customer loyalty offers as opposed to weekly sales. On the other hand, if you have healthy margins, deep discounting and daily or weekly sales might be better for hitting your goals. Ultimately, you need to consider if offers and which type(s) of offers are right for your brand. Building an online business will generally involve a lot of experimentation to understand what works best. The best approach is to choose a goal for every campaign and offer, start small, and measure the results. Types of offers, coupons, and discounts There are several types of discounts and offers you have at your disposal. Let’s take a look at some of the most common: Percentage-based discount Dollar value discount Free shipping Free gift Each of these can be offered in Shopify using two different types of discounts: Automatic discounts Discount codes Percentage-based discount 📊 One popular way to offer discounts is through percentage-based discounts. This can include smaller incentive percentages like 5% or 10% off, larger discounts to really drive sales like 20% and 25%, or significant percentages like 50%+ to liquidate merchandise that’s old or isn’t moving. You can also easily apply these discounts to multiple collections, products, and locations in Shopify, or offer them based on a specific purchase, like “Buy two sneakers, get 50% off any sweater.” Dollar value discount 💰 Dollar value-based offers can be positioned as a credit. This makes people feel like they’re wasting money if they don’t use it. Pair one of these with a minimum purchase amount to increase its impact, like “Spend $200, get $20 off.”. An easy trick to keep in mind when deciding between a percentage or fixed amount discount for a specific product is the “rule of 100”. If your item is less than $100.00, use a percentage discount; if higher, use a fixed amount discount. This is a psychological trigger that will result in the highest perceived value for your customers. Free shipping 🚚 Shipping costs are one major reason for shopping cart abandonment. Offering free shipping is a great way to mitigate this and increase conversions. Use free shipping in conjunction with a minimum purchase requirement to increase your average order value, which you can set up as a shipping setting in Shopify. You can even combine your free shipping offer with other seasonal promotions, like a 20% discount code for email subscribers, to increase the value of your offer. Free gift 🎁 A free gift with a purchase can be a great way to provide additional value to customers. If used strategically, it can also be used to increase average order size and/or to get rid of the product that isn’t moving. You can set a minimum purchase requirement or a volume requirement using a Buy X, Get Y discount in Shopify to offer a free gift for orders over $200, or once someone buys 5 items. Automatic discounts ✅ Automatic discounts apply to every eligible cart, and customers see them on the cart page before they start the checkout process. It’s a great way to run a storewide promotion on a product, category, or on all of your products without making your customers enter a discount code. Skipping the code can help encourage orders, and speed up checkouts too. In September 2019, U.S. customers who started checking out on Shopify with a discount already applied were 1.8 times more likely to place an order than without a discount, and they checked out 25 seconds faster with an automatic discount compared to a discount code. Plus, when there’s already a discount applied to their cart, there’s no need for customers to leave checkout to hunt for a discount code—or email you because they couldn’t find the code you sent. All this adds up to smoother experience for your customers and potentially higher conversion rates for you. Discount codes ⌨️ Discount codes are codes that your customers enter during the checkout process to redeem a specific offer. They’re a tried-and-true way to offer discounts to the right people, whether that’s everyone on your email list or a specific segment like new subscribers or repeat customers. Using discount codes can also help you track the success of your marketing efforts. If you’re running multiple campaigns, creating a separate discount code for each can make it easier to see the relative impact on sales. How to use offers to drive new sales and repeat purchases There are a hundred and one ways you can use sales, offers, discounts, and deals to drive customer loyalty, acquisition, and conversions. Weekly/monthly discounts Prelaunch offers Holiday and seasonal deals Abandoned cart offers Email/newsletter subscription offer Incentives for liking, following, and sharing on social media Referral promos First-time shopper offer Minimum purchase discount Exclusive social offers Customer loyalty offers Exit intent offer Retargeted promotions Influencer offers Customer loyalty program membership incentives Offers for purchasing online Coupons for purchasing in-person Event attendance offers Customer milestone discounts Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options below, along with an example for each. 1. Weekly/monthly discounts These are traditional sales used to drive conversions. Often, these sales are used at the end of a month or quarter to increase revenues to meet business goals. Example: The online photo department at Walgreens has weekly sales and coupon codes, as well as ongoing promo codes at the bottom of the page. 2. Prelaunch offers If you’re still in the prelaunch stage of your business or maybe even launching a new product, you can use prelaunch offers to drive traffic and pique interest, turning new customers into loyal customers. Example: The Jewelry Wardrobe is using this approach with success. They’re offering free $25 gift cards in exchange for customers’ email addresses and time to fill out a brief survey. They kicked this initiative off by manually reaching out to potential respondents on LinkedIn. 3. Holiday and seasonal deals Black Friday Cyber Monday and the holiday season are the big ones, but the whole year is sprinkled with national and commemorative holidays that provide an opportunity to share relevant discounts and offers with customers. Example: Blu Skin Care regularly makes use of holidays to promote offers to their visitors and past customers. They promote these in different ways: email, social media, markets, and on their website. 4. Abandoned cart offers With close to 70% of all people abandoning their carts, abandoned cart email offers can be a powerful tactic to bring those people back. Shopify natively has abandoned checkout recovery functionality built-in if you’re on the Shopify plan or higher. For everyone else, or if you want more customization and analytics, check out Klaviyo. Example: Brandless, an online grocery brand that shuns all branded products, sends out abandoned cart emails along with a $1 shipping offer after cart abandonment. This reminds and incentivizes first-time visitors to come back and complete their purchase. 5. Email/newsletter subscription offer Building an email list is extremely important for online retailers. By providing an offer in exchange for visitors’ email addresses, you increase the chance of a conversion. You also get their email, providing you with the opportunity to build a relationship, foster customer loyalty, and market to them in the future. Example: Online retailer Overstock.com offers a coupon for 15% off your purchase for signing up their newsletter. 6. Incentives for liking, following, and sharing on social media One of the hardest parts of running a new online store is getting the word out. Giving visitors and customers an incentive to share your store with their social circles can be an effective way to create inexpensive word-of-mouth referrals. Example: Truxx offers customers $5 off their next purchase in exchange for visitors sharing about the brand and experience on Facebook. 7. Referral promos People are much more likely to purchase from you if referred by a friend or family member. Use this to your advantage and leverage offers to encourage referrals. You can choose to give a deal to the person referring, the person being referred, or both. Example: Meal-delivery brands like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh are well known for their referral marketing. Every so often, customers are gifted promo codes to share with friends and family, who can then redeem their first box for free or at a steeply discounted price. For every friend who redeems, the referrer often gets a free or discounted box, too. 8. First-time shopper offer Providing a first-timers offer could be just the nudge a first-time visitor needs to be converted to a paying customer. Example: Clearly provides all new visitors with a 50% discount on prescription glasses, 15% on contact lenses and free shipping. And DODOcase, an online manufacturer of iPad cases, offers 10% off your first purchase. 9. Minimum purchase discount An offer based on the total value of a shopping cart is an effective upselling tactic to encourage customers to spend more, increasing your average order size. A strategic way to incorporate this into your online store is to calculate your average order value for the previous few months and offer a discount or free shipping on all orders 10% to 20% over your average order value. You can also offer minimum purchase discounts for specific collections and products. If there’s a particular collection you want customers to focus on, try adding a minimum purchase discount to incentivize your audience. Example: Popular online retailer Nasty Gal offers free shipping on all orders over $100. 10. Exclusive social offers Exclusive offers on your social networks can be a great way to build customer loyalty with those who follow you. Plus, this tactic provides a reason for new people to follow and subscribe to your social channels, which will allow you to market to them in the future as well. Example: Online natural skincare retailer Maple Holistics has shared offers specific to social media. In the example below, they offered Twitter followers a code for 15% off all Amazon orders. 11. Customer loyalty offers Rewarding customer loyalty can build an even stronger bond while also only providing discounts to customers who already spend money with you. You can easily make discount codes exclusive to specific groups of customers with Shopify. It can be as simple as sending your best customers a personal email with a discount or credit, using an automated email marketing app like Klaviyo to send email offers when someone makes a certain number of purchases, or implementing a customer loyalty program like LoyaltyLion. Example: One of the major customer loyalty tools behind the success of outdoor shop REI is its co-op membership program. Members receive 10% back on all full-price purchases in the form of a dividend, plus receive access to exclusive sales. REI also frequently rewards members for purchases, such as this free $20 gift card with a qualifying $100+ purchase. 12. Exit-intent offer Sometimes all it takes to convert a visitor to a customer is a last-second offer before they leave. An exit-intent offer will pop up just as your visitor is about to leave your site or close the tab, presenting them with a final offer to purchase. Example: Auto Accessories Garage displays an offer for their exit intent pop-up. They offer a percentage-based discount if you enter your email address into the form. If users abandon the shopping cart after that, the brand sends an abandoned cart email with an even bigger discount to further persuade shoppers to convert. 13. Retargeted promotions Retargeted offers are effective because they’re only shown to people who have been on your site before. That means that they already know who you are. The ads serve as a reminder to come back, and the offer serves as a nudge to purchase. Example: Again, we have DODOcase as an example. They effectively use offers several times throughout the buying cycle to convert visitors into customers. In this case, DODOcase targets visitors to their site on Facebook and Google Ads with retargeted ads that provide 20% off if they come back to purchase. 14. Influencer offers (bloggers, celebrities, etc.) Partnering with influential people that have large audiences is a great way to increase exposure to your brand. And by providing an exclusive offer to the influencer’s network, you’re more likely to convert their fans to your customers. Example: BarkBox is a monthly subscription service for dogs and their humans. They frequently collaborate with furry influencers to build brand awareness and drive sales. To encourage people to convert after seeing the posts on social media, BarkBox provides influencers with a unique offer code to share with their specific audience. This unique code also allows BarkBox to monitor and track redemption so they know which influencers were most effective for future campaigns. 15. Customer loyalty program membership incentives Rewarding customers for joining your customer loyalty program is an ideal time to share a bonus incentive. This not only rewards customers for engaging with your brand, but it also gives them more motivation to sign up for the program in the first place. If you don’t already have a customer loyalty program in place, it might be time to reconsider. According to a report by Forrester, customers who belong to loyalty programs spend $42.33 more over the course of three months. Example: Big Lots offers $5 off your next purchase when you join their Big Rewards customer loyalty program. Customers can redeem the reward online or in-store. 16. Offers for purchasing online If you want to drive online sales, consider incentivizing online purchases. Whether you want to use your ecommerce site to supplement your brick-and-mortar sales or create a customer base outside of Amazon, you can drive online conversions by offering something in return. Example: Dick’s Sporting Goods incentivizes the buy-online-pick-up-in-store with a special offer for customers on their homepage. Their goal is to get customers to convert online and come to the store to pick up their purchases. This allows the brand to create an in-person experience for the online shopper, as well as a way to cross-promote other products while the customers are in-store. 17. Coupons for purchasing in-person Just as you can drive online sales with offers, you can also drive in-person sales. This can be at your brick-and-mortar location if you have one, or at in-person events, such as festivals, fairs, expos, trade shows, etc. Example: Bed Bath & Beyond is known for sending out coupons with discounts for in-store purchases. They often accept these coupons even after the expiration date. 18. Event attendance offers If you host events, in-person or virtually, you can reward attendees with discounts or free gifts. These discounts can be given during the event or after the event. This helps to continue to nurture the relationship with engaged customers and drive more customer loyalty. Plus, it’ll likely encourage attendance for your next event. Example: We’ll look at a retail example for inspiration here: prAna’s Boulder retail location hosts free yoga classes in their store almost daily. After class, students are invited to shop upstairs and enjoy a 25% discount on their in-store purchases. If they want to drive online sales, prAna could just as easily provide yoga students with a promo code to redeem the offer during their next online purchase. 19. Customer milestone discounts If you have a customer loyalty program, customer milestones are especially important. These milestones could be personal to the customer, such as a birthday or anniversary. Other milestones can celebrate the relationship you’ve built with one another. Those would include the anniversary of the customer’s first purchase or date they joined your customer loyalty program, spending a certain amount of money, making a certain number of purchases, or various engagements with your brand. Example: Again, Big Lots rewards customers on their birthdays with extra discounts and free gifts. They let customers know before they join the customer loyalty program about these perks, which gives users an extra nudge towards joining. Make the most of your offers, coupons, and discounts Offers and discounts aren’t right for every online business. If you start with a clear goal in mind, a firm understanding of the brand, and a willingness to experiment, you can most effectively use offers to meet your objectives, build customer loyalty, and increase revenues. Tell us in the comments which offers have worked best for your online store when it comes to driving sales and customer loyalty 🏷️ Further reading: Ecommerce Marketing Essentials: 17 Actionable Tactics to Drive More Sales How to Get Your First Sale in 30 Days The Beginner’s Guide to Setting Up an Affiliate Program Illustration by Eugenia Mello. About the author Corey Ferreira Corey Ferreira is a passionate entrepreneur, coconut water lover, and content creator at Shopify.
The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier, and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness November 15, 2019 bizadmin Author(s): Kelli Harding M.D. M.P.H Release Date: August 27, 2019 Publisher/Imprint: Atria Books Pages: 256 Buy on Amazon Note: I was reading and surfing around when I came across this marvelous book on Groundbreaking Science of Kindness, of the Rabbit Effect. Below is the review by Lloyd Sederer: “beautifully identifies kindness as an endlessly renewable resource—the light we all can shine on the lives of others and in so doing bathe in its grace ourselves.” We all would be fortunate to have Kelli Harding, MD, MPH as our doctor. That’s because she comprehends the power of the interplay of body, mind, and social circumstances: the behaviors we engage in; the environments we inhabit; the kindness or cruelty that characterize our relationships; the adequacy or inadequacy of our income; our housing stability and the security of our next meal; education—learning to be more exact; and purpose in work and meaning in life—the factors that principally determine the degree to which we will enjoy good health or disproportionately suffer from the ailments that beset the human race. If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. But it’s not rocket science; instead, it’s the science of wellbeing, and what that requires of us. Dr. Harding terms many of the drivers of health and disease “the hidden factors.” Not because they are undiscoverable but because we tend not to recognize them, nor give them their due. Yet, as she so kindly and clearly writes, her aim is to reveal these factors both to her patients and to her readers because therein lie the ways we can pursue and achieve greater wellbeing, and not passively accede to illness and despair. The Rabbit Effect is not the usual self-help, list of to-dos. After a medical residency at New York’s Mount Sinai hospital and a psychiatric residency at Columbia, Dr. Harding must have known she needed to know more. There was still too much mysterious and elusive about our lives. Too many “inconsistencies,” not enough explanatory power in (even the vastness of) today’s biomedical enterprise. She wondered what the “hidden factors” in health and illness are and which are ubiquitous but effectively generally lost to the ministrations of conventional medical care. Dr. Harding stayed on at Columbia to take a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Fellowship, with a particular focus on unexplained symptoms. She trained, as well, in the psychiatric sub-specialty of psychosomatic medicine—where mind and body blend into the whole that more fully defines us. Her epiphany came, as the book title portrays, from the rabbits. Arthur Barsky, MD, her fellowship mentor (and a former colleague of mine at Massachusetts General Hospital), pointed her to some rabbit studies. Certain white rabbits, like humans, are prone to develop heart disease if they are fed a high-fat diet (like fried foods and red meat). The rabbit research she then discovered, thanks to her mentor, revealed the relationship between high cholesterol and heart disease. Curiously, one group of rabbits exposed to the same cholesterol loads had 60% fewer fatty deposits than the others. Many great discoveries occur when an investigator, instead of dismissing an aberrant finding, chases after its meaning. Those who disdain “touchy-feely” explanations will meet their nemesis in this group of white rabbits. Why were they spared the cardiac artery fatty deposits that interfere with blood flow and increase the risk of heart disease and myocardial infarction? Turns out this particular colony of rabbits was cared for by a wonderfully nurturing graduate student. Could kindness explain their having been better safeguarded from disease? The research group then replicated the study, not by happenstance as it had occurred, but by design. Their findings appeared in Science. Unhealthy life experiences, their work implied, could be mitigated by affection and nurturance. Dr. Harding’s professional course was now struck. The “hidden factors” were staring us in the face if only we designed to look. This takes us full circle to her book, The Rabbit Effect: Live Longer, Happier and Healthier with the Groundbreaking Science of Kindness. The book has two principal sections, namely The Hidden Factors and Essentials of Health. Healthy relationships (trustworthy and enduring attachments) and social ties through our friends and community lead off her discussion of the factors hidden in plain sight. Work defines us, as well, especially if we have the good fortune to find meaning and contribution to what we do. As does discover and pursuing our purpose; she quotes the Buddha who said, “Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.” Drawing on the work of Nobel Laureate, Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, Dr. Harding, our caring guide, highlights how the length of our telomeres (where longer is far better), the protective caps on every DNA strand in our bodies, are shortened by a life of stress. The natural or stress-induced shortening of telomeres is spared by purpose (and a healthy lifestyle) which mitigates the effects of stress. The result is longer, healthier lives. All of these hidden factors, well explained by Dr. Harding, are topped off (in the last chapter in this section) by a life in which fairness prevails (so often denied to those living in poverty or racial/ethnic discrimination) and compassion rules. The best evidence for compassion, ironically, derives from those children who are traumatized by its opposites, namely neglect, physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, parental incarceration or active substance abuse, to name a few. These are now famously understood, yet poorly prevented and treated; they are called Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Each chapter on the hidden factors ends with what our physician guide calls “Expand Your Toolbox.” She offers clear and feasible ways by which any of us can strengthen our attachments and social ties, alter our experiences of work, or practice fairness and compassion. Her toolboxes are not prescriptive or preachy; they offer the kind of do-able and wise solutions that make for a better life. The final section of this book is about the Essentials of Health. Here Dr. Harding digs into her training and experience as a psychosomatic and public health doctor (that’s the MPH she lists after her MD). She illustrates the deep connections between stress—and the inflammatory response it evokes—and our physical and mental health. Attention to diet, sleep, exercise, a variety of mind-body activities (like meditation, yoga, slow breathing, mindfulness) and finding and sustaining caring relationships are the royal yet truly pedestrian roads to longevity and wellbeing. Gratitude is another means of reinforcing the “rabbit effect;” it is a practice that can simply be adopted by ending each day with a list of those people whose effect on you was beneficial—and to whom you owe gratitude (even if unspoken, as in a notebook). And the last chapter takes us from the individual to the collective—to the community of others around us, where trust and humanity are built one person, one encounter at a time. We are all in this world and life together. This review would be incomplete without noting the book’s Conclusion. And we are back to the lessons we need to learn from the care of the white rabbits. Dr. Harding leaves us with the greatest of kindnesses, namely urging us to find opportunities to provide moments of kindness. To those we love and to those who are part of our communities, small and large. Random acts of kindness are fine too! She quotes Ben Franklin, who reportedly asked, every day, “What good can I do today?” She beautifully identifies kindness as an endlessly renewable resource—the light we all can shine on the lives of others and in so doing bathe in its grace ourselves. __________________________________________________________ Lloyd Sederer, MD, is Medical Editor for Mental Health for The Huffington Post, Adjunct Professor at the Columbia/Mailman School of Public Health, and Chief Medical Officer for the NYS Office of Mental Health. The opinions expressed here are entirely his own.
The Definitive Guide to Shipping During a Seasonal Rush November 13, 2019 bizadmin The dream is to have a record-breaking amount of sales during any big shopping season, whether it’s Black Friday Cyber Monday, the holiday shopping season, back to school, or highly-anticipated product launch. But the reality is even after you’ve made those sales, you still need to fulfill and ship every order. Luckily, this is a great problem to have, and we’re here to help. This guide has everything you need to create an excellent shipping experience during a rush, including specific ways Shopify Shipping can help you ship more orders to more places, quickly and efficiently. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The first step in handling your busy-season shipping is to understand your process as it stands today. Map out your shipping process Stock up on shipping supplies Ensure you can meet important deadlines Set your busy-season shipping strategy Add weights to your products Market your shipping options and prices Prepare your return policy Pay attention to the unboxing experience Map out your shipping process Do you know what the steps are in your shipping process? If the answer is no, now is the time to find out—and if the answer is yes but you don’t have it written down, it’s time to do that too. Getting the process out of your head and onto paper will help inform any team members or last-minute family “volunteers” helping you fulfill orders during busy periods. To figure out what your process is, pay close attention to the next few orders you ship, or check-in with your team if they handle fulfillment. Make a list of each step, and write down how long it takes (approximate times are fine). For example, it might look like: Open order in Shopify to review (30 seconds) Get all of the ordered items in one place (1 minute) Get out appropriately-sized packaging (20 seconds) Package items and put them in the shipping parcel (2 minutes) Include any “extras” in the package, like coupons or free gifts (30 seconds) Secure package with tape and a branded sticker (30 seconds) Print shipping labels from Shopify (1 minute) Attach the shipping label to package (30 seconds) While you’re outlining the stages of your process, look closely for any bottlenecks, and note how long each step takes to complete. Is there anything you can do to streamline those steps or make them more efficient? Shaving 30 seconds or a minute off each shipment might not seem like much, but if you’re handling ten shipments a day, that’s already five minutes you (or your team) could spend on something else. Free Guide: Shipping and Fulfillment 101 From deciding what to charge your customers, to figuring out insurance and tracking, this comprehensive guide will walk you step-by-step through the entire process Save time by buying and printing shipping labels in bulk To help you save time on every order you fulfill, you can buy and print multiple shipping labels at the same time in Shopify, which will cut down on the time you spend fulfilling orders. Since you’ll also access negotiated shipping rates for USPS, DHL, UPS, or Canada Post when you ship with Shopify, it’s a real win-win. To get started, all you need to do is go into your Orders page and select the orders you want to fulfill. When you select “Create shipping labels” you’ll see the full list of shipping prices and details for all the orders you’ve selected, and you can buy shipping labels and print them from that page. If any information is missing, you’ll be able to fill it in right there. When you buy shipping labels in bulk with Shopify Shipping, you can print packing slips at the same time. Packing slips communicate your package’s contents to your customers and may help ensure that an order is delivered if the package’s shipping label is damaged. The time you save will really add up over the course of shipping 10, 100, or 1,000 orders during a busy season like BFCM, so don’t stop there. If there are other parts of the shipping process you can optimize, implement those changes well ahead of your anticipated rush. Stock up on shipping supplies With a consistent process in place, you should have a good idea of what physical items you need to fulfill each order. Now it’s time to see how your shipping inventory is doing, and to ensure you have enough of each item to handle your forecasted sales. The last thing you want is to have your shipping process grind to a halt because you realize halfway through your pending orders that you’re out of sticky labels. If you’re using a desktop printer, prepare beforehand by replenishing your supply of printing labels. If you’re looking to upgrade to a thermal printer for your shipping, do that now and not two days before Black Friday—you’ll always save yourself a few headaches by getting to know the tools you need to rely on during the rush. You can also stock up on free Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express Flat Rate packaging directly from USPS, so if you’re able to take advantage, place those orders well ahead of time, too. Ensure you can meet important shipping deadlines These are the recommended domestic ship-by dates in 2019 for delivery by December 25th from carriers available through Shopify Shipping. USPS Service Deadline First-Class Package Service® Friday, December 20 First-Class Mail® Friday, December 20 Priority Mail® Saturday, December 21 Priority Mail Express® Monday, December 23 For USPS deadlines for international and military addresses, see here. UPS Service Deadline UPS Ground Friday, December 13 UPS 3 Day Select® Thursday, December 19 UPS 2nd Day Air® Friday, December 20 UPS Next Day Air® Monday, December 23 For the full UPS year-end shipping schedule, see here. DHL Express For the DHL Express holiday schedule, see here. Canada Post Service Deadline Parcels/Packets to the US Tuesday, December 10 Regular Parcel™ Wednesday, December 11 Xpresspost™ Friday, December 20 Priority™ Saturday, December 21 Priority™ Worldwide to the US Saturday, December 21 For the full Canada Post holiday schedule, see here. Set your busy-season shipping strategy Your process is set and you’re all stocked up on supplies. The next step is to figure out the customer-facing details—specifically, what are you going to charge for shipping? The most common options are free shipping, flat rate shipping, and exact cost shipping. We’ve got some tips to help you figure out which one is right for your store. 1. Free shipping Shipping costs are frequently the most-cited reason why people abandon their carts, so offering free shipping is a smart way to use a compelling offer to improve conversion rates, without solely relying on percentage or dollar value discounts. That said, it’s not always cheap to provide, even with the discounted rates you get through USPS, UPS, DHL, and Canada Post with Shopify. If you want to offer free shipping to everyone, you need to understand how it affects your margins and what rates you’re on the hook to cover—including what it costs to ship your heaviest items, and shipping to your furthest locations. However, it’s not all or nothing when it comes to free shipping. You could offer free shipping some of the time, to some of your customers. Consider sending a free shipping coupon code to your current customers to encourage repeat orders, or offering free shipping above a certain order size to increase your average order value. However, when providing free shipping, you’ll need to watch out for shipping cutoff dates. If you’re only springing for free standard shipping, you’ll need to make the expected arrival dates crystal clear so your customers can order in time for their holiday of choice. 2. Flat rate shipping If you want to offset some of your shipping costs and still avoid sticker shock when people check out, a flat rate shipping policy could be the perfect fit. With flat-rate shipping, set a price that will cover most of your shipping costs, most of the time, and be ready to cover the cost for particularly expensive shipping options or items. With flat-rate shipping, aim to set a price that will cover most of your shipping costs, most of the time. Your customers will always know the shipping fees ahead of time, and you’ll still recoup most of your shipping costs, which is the best of both worlds. 3. Exact cost shipping With exact cost shipping, customers can see exactly what it’ll cost to ship their order, and pay for it when they check out, and they’ll get the same discounted USPS, UPS, DHL, and Canada Post rates that are available to you as a Shopify merchant when you fulfill your orders with Shopify Shipping. Remember, cart abandonment rates tend to go up around BFCM and other holidays, and shipping costs are one reason why. Just remember: Cart abandonment rates tend to go up around BFCM, and shipping costs are one reason why. It’s not a deal-breaker to offer exact cost shipping, especially if that’s what works best for your business, but it is important to be aware of the potential impact—and have a plan in place to win back shoppers who’ve abandoned their carts. 4. International shipping You might not be shipping internationally right now because it seems complicated and expensive, but it’s not as tricky as you think it might be. Plus, customers are more and more likely to shop outside of their borders, so if you’re considering expanding your audience, an international shipping strategy is one great way to do it. Plus, there are three carriers with international shipping options built directly into Shopify Shipping to streamline the process for you: USPS, DHL Express, and UPS. You can ship with the same premium carriers that global retailers use with guaranteed express service, negotiated shipping rates, and service to over 220 countries and territories. Whichever option you use, when you purchase international shipping labels through Shopify Shipping, all of the customers’ forms and details you need are automatically generated for you. If you’re shipping with DHL Express, the information is electronically transmitted to customs, so you won’t need to bother with paperwork at all. Once you’ve decided on a pricing strategy, it’s time to get into implementation by making sure each product is shipping-ready, and that starts with adding accurate weights. Add weights to your products Adding an up-to-date weight to each of your products helps customers see accurate shipping costs during checkout based on their chosen items. It’s good for them, but it’s also good for you: You’ll be able to quickly print accurate shipping labels for each order because you won’t need to update or correct the weight mid-fulfillment. Need to figure out how much each product weighs? No worries. You have plenty of time to order a shipping scale ahead of BFCM. Market your shipping options and prices We know unexpected shipping costs can hurt your conversion rates, but “how much will it cost?” isn’t the only pressing question your customers have about shipping during the holiday season. Equally important is “will my order get here in time?” Don’t be afraid to over-communicate when you’re answering both questions, since the answers are critical to anyone considering buying from you. This email from Province of Canada shows how you can clearly let your customers know the time-and-day cutoff to place their orders so they arrive before a holiday—in this case, Father’s Day. They’ve also taken the opportunity to send a final reminder about their sale, making their email pull double duty. If you’re short on time or design resources, or simply prefer the reliability of plain formatting, text-based information works just as well—especially if you have details you know your customers are going to care about. Take this example of an email from Emily Ley looping their customers in on shipping details. Your international customers will appreciate the info just as much as your US customers, and you’ll equip them to make better purchase decisions, too. Beyond using email, here are additional ways you can get that information in front of the right people, at the right times during BFCM. Add a banner promoting shipping prices, options and timelines to your store. Too much to fit in a banner? Link to a blog post or dedicated shipping information page in your store. If you’ve got a shipping deadline coming up, add a popup to make sure shoppers are aware (popups are only annoying if they’re useless, and making sure orders get there by the holidays is hands-down useful to your customers during BFCM and the holidays). Add a homepage image or section that clearly communicates all of your shipping information. Share your shipping information on social media. Even if you don’t have free shipping, cutoff dates are a great thing to promote using branded images on Instagram and Facebook. Send a reminder email to everyone on your list—and everyone who has abandoned their cart—on the last day they can expect a purchase to arrive before the holidays. You might opt for more email reminders, but this one is non-negotiable. You’ll catch a lot of procrastinators who intended to buy, but needed one final nudge (which is a sizeable group, let’s be honest). Update your FAQ page. If you don’t have one, now’s the time to write one addressing the most common shipping questions. People will naturally go to this page to find the answers they need about shipping if it’s not obvious elsewhere, so you’ll save yourself a ton of customer support by getting it set up early. If you’re looking for some good images to level up your marketing messages about shipping, check out Burst’s collection of shipping images. Prepare your return policy Another aspect of shipping you’ll need to keep in mind during a busy season is returning, since research indicates 67% of e-commerce buyers will check your return policy before buying. When it comes to planning, you’ll want to pay specific attention to return shipping costs. There are three main ways you can handle the cost of return shipping labels: Your customer pays the cost of return shipping You pay the cost of return shipping A combination of the two The right strategy for you will depend on your margins, as well as your expected return rate, but keep in mind that return rates can be high during gift-giving seasons. Whatever you decide, make sure that you communicate your return shipping information as clearly and prominently as you do your shipping rates—it’ll save you time and customer support effort if people do decide to initiate a return. Pay attention to the unboxing experience After all the work required to successfully ship and fulfill your orders, you want to provide an equally great experience when customers finally get to open their package. With a bit of planning, you can create a stand-out unboxing experience that drives real business results. So start with that in mind: What do you want the result of your unboxing experience to be? I want… social shares To encourage social shares, consider branded packaging, a small gift, or a call-to-action asking people to share their experience. This can be as simple as a small business card with your social handles, a hashtag, and a (polite!) request that they post on social media if they enjoy your products. Posts from happy customers are also some of the most valuable user-generated content available to you, but remember to secure permission before repurposing any content created by your customers. Asking for social shares is a great way to get some user-generated content to fill up your social feeds for the next few months. Since there’s a strong chance that at least a few of your holiday orders are gifts, including social media prompts into the packaging itself is one way to make sure they’re seen by the intended recipient. Mom and Dad are probably not going to Instagram a unicorn highlighter, especially since it will ruin the surprise. I want… repeat business If you want to drive repeat business, consider adding samples of your other products, or include a coupon code on your packing slip that encourages repeat orders, like free shipping on their next purchase or 10% off if they buy again in the new year. Knowing many of your purchases will be gifting can inform your strategy, too. For example, try including two coupons—one for the gift-giver, and one for the recipient—as a way to potentially get two customers for the price of one. If you include samples, your products may end up in the hands of someone who would never have tried your product otherwise—that’s a win. I want… to stand out As a small business, one advantage you have over big-box competitors is the ability (and willingness) to do things that don’t necessarily scale. If you want to make a strong impression during major sales seasons like BFCM, remind your customers that they’re supporting real people with their purchase by including a personalized touch like a hand-written thank you note. No matter what unboxing experience you’re trying to create, you’ll need to make sure you have the supplies to make it happen before you’re sitting down to ship your orders out, which is why it’s important to plan well ahead of a rush to get your supplies in time. Your well-laid plans will only be realized if you can actually implement them. As a small business gearing up to get a piece of the holiday sales action, it’s important to get your logistics on point well ahead of the busy shopping season. Plan now for shipping success later As a small business gearing up to get a piece of the holiday sales action, it’s important to get your logistics on point well ahead of the busy shopping season. It’ll help create a great experience for your customers, and it’ll definitely help make for a smoother experience for you and anyone involved in helping you get those orders out the door. About the author Desirae Odjick Desirae is a product marketing manager at Shopify and has zero chills when it comes to helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
You will have whatever you say November 12, 2019 bizadmin For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Mark 11:23 YOU WILL HAVE WHATEVER YOU SAY God says that we will have whatever we say. So whatever we want to have, we can say it and have it. Unfortunately, we often say what we don’t want to have. For example, we say, “I don’t know why I go through my money so fast every month. Even when my boss gives me an increment, there never seems to be enough money.” And true enough, we see a lack of money at the end of every month. You see, you will have whatever you say, good or bad. So why not change what you have been saying to, “From now on, I will have more than enough because Jesus became poor at the cross, so that I might be financially supplied—2 Corinthians 8:9. So lack be gone in Jesus’ name!” Whatever mountain of difficulty you have, be it a mountain of debt or serious health condition, Jesus says, “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” Jesus highlights the importance of saying by mentioning the word “say” thrice, but the word “believe” only once. Our problem today is that there is more preaching on believing than saying. So the reason people find it hard to walk in faith is that they are not saying enough of the Word. But if we would focus more on saying God’s Word, faith will come. That is how God quickened Abraham’s faith. He changed Abraham’s saying when He changed his name from Abram to Abraham, which means “father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). From then on, whenever Abraham introduced himself, he would say, “Hi, my name is Father Of Many Nations.” Beloved, declare your abundance, saying, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). Speak forth your healing, saying, “By Jesus’ stripes I am healed!” (see Isaiah 53:5). And you will have whatever you say! -Joseph Prince
10 Creative Instagram Stories Tips, Tricks, and Ideas November 9, 2019 bizadmin Instagram Stories has fundamentally changed the way people use Instagram as a whole. Both individuals and brands are breaking down the barriers of beautifully curated feeds to share more off-the-cuff and behind-the-scenes content through Instagram Stories. All this casual sharing is generating deeper engagement as more than half of the platform’s one billion-plus monthly users watch stories on a daily basis. That attention also comes with intention as one in four Generation Y and Z shoppers look through Instagram Stories of products and services before purchasing, according to Vidmob. But with this influx of Instagram Stories viewers and creators, creativity has never been more important. To help you raise your game, we wanted to share some of our best Instagram Story ideas, tips, and tricks (with step-by-step tutorials) to help you impress your followers and keep them coming back for more. Photography tips for Instagram Stories Some say that Instagram Stories are for photos and videos that aren’t good enough for your feed. But with a bit of curation and planning, you can produce standout Instagram Stories that are worthy of pinning to your profile as a Highlight. Sarah Pflug, an in-house photographer for Shopify’s Burst stock photo library, recommends understanding the following photography fundamentals before playing around with each component. Rule of Thirds: This classic theory suggests dividing photos into 9 equal quadrants as a guide to place the main subject not directly centered but within the right or left third. To hone this rule, try shooting photos on your phone with the “grid lines” setting on. Once you are acquaintanced with where to place your subject, feel free to break this rule by testing out how you like to frame your vertical photos for Instagram Stories. Lighting: Before sourcing lighting equipment, first master natural lighting by placing your subject in front, to the side of, and behind your light source. Seeing how lighting affects your photos allows you to experiment with shadows, glares, and additional light sources. Cropping: Uploading a pre-shot photo into Instagram Stories often makes it less sharp and resizes it to 9:16. To combat this, edit your photos beforehand to a 9:16 aspect ratio before uploading them to Instagram photos. 10 creative Instagram Story ideas, tips, and tricks Without downloading any additional photo editing or graphics apps, there’s plenty you can do within Instagram to make your Instagram Stories stand out. Here are some creative Instagram Story ideas that you can easily apply, along with tutorials and examples of how to bring them to life. 1. Use rainbow or ombre letters To add flashes of color to your Instagram Stories text, you can use rainbow or ombre letters to make your captions stand out. Type out your word or phrase Select all of the letters Hold down your cursor on the letters and the color selection tool at the same time, both from the far-right Slide both fingers at the same time and watch as each letter gets updated with a different color gradient Let go of both fingers and rearrange your rainbow letters to the desired place on your screen 2. Change the background color when sharing a post There may be times when you want to notify your followers that you have posted something new to your grid by sharing your post to your Instagram Stories. But the default background color for it might not be what you had in mind. Here’s how you can change it. Select the photo from your grid that you’d like to share on your Instagram Stories Click on the sharing options and share to your Stories Click on the drawing tool Use the color selection tool and drag to the desired color for your background Hold down on any part of the screen; your background color will be updated 3. Use individual letters as decorations This might take a little bit more time but decorating your Instagram Story with the individual letters of a caption adds an additional flair that will help you stand out. Select where you would like to use the individual letters to decorate. Ideally framing or tracing an object or subject within your shot Type and adjust each letter individually to place it around your object or subject Repeat until your word is completed and readjust the positioning of the letters if needed 4. Mix fonts and handwriting together Show your personality by writing part of your caption with your own handwriting and mixing it with a complementary font for the rest of the text. Use the drawing tool to write out the word or phrase with your finger Type out the second part of your phrase and adjust the positioning 5. Add a drop shadow to your text Add an instant pop to your text by adding in a shadow. 6. Use text as a backdrop Create a unique background and get your message across with this text-based backdrop Instagram Story idea Type out the phrase Select all text and click to copy Move to another section of the screen and paste the phrase and adjust for positioning Repeat the pasting and adjusting until you fill the screen 7. Create a collage with multiple photos Give your Instagram Story a scrapbook look by using this idea to create a collage and share multiple images at once (iPhone only). Start with a background of your liking Go to our album and click to copy the image you want to use Go back into Instagram Stories and post the image as a sticker Repeat the copy and paste process to include all of the images you desire Rearrange photos to the layout you planned Add a caption if needed Android users: With the Gboard keyboard enabled, you can add a collage of photos to a single story if you select the 🔎 when entering text to search for photos. 8. Convert a Live Photo into a Boomerang (iPhone only) Without the need to take your Boomerang within the Instagram or Boomerang app, here’s how you can turn a Live Photo into a Boomerang. Take and then select a live photo from your Instagram Stories upload cue Hold down on the image Watch as it gets updated to a boomerang 9. Use the eraser tool to reveal parts of a photo Add a little bit of mystique or unveil an exciting surprise for your followers by using the eraser tool to showcase the most important part of your Instagram Story. Start with a photo you want to reveal partially Use the drawing tool to select a color Hold down on the screen to cover up your photo Switch over to the eraser tool Move and erase part of the photo you want to reveal Add additional text to complete the Instagram Story 10. Decorate with dotted lines You can bring more attention to the main subject of your story with dotted lines. Here’s how to create them by combining the drawing and the eraser tools. Draw some lines on the screen to frame a subject or object Use the eraser tool to remove part of the line to create dotted lines Add additional text to complete the Instagram Story Start sharing your story with Instagram Stories With these tips and tricks now at your disposal, go ahead and experiment to bring your own style to your Instagram Stories. Instagram is all about creativity and play so try out new designs, keep tabs on your Instagram Analytics, and post consistently to share your story as Instagram Stories. About the author Shuang Esther Shan Shuang is a storyteller at Shopify, fascinated by how change is created through commerce. When she’s not obsessively researching or glued to hearing the stories of merchants, she’s discovering new places—with a camera in hand.
Books and Big Dreams: Inside the Mind of a 19-Year-Old Founder November 7, 2019 bizadmin In Season 2 of our Homework series, we explore the lives of ordinary teens with not-so-ordinary hobbies. Between part-time jobs and schoolwork, these young founders are also running successful businesses—many before they can even drive a car. Simone Hufana admits she’s pretty bad at time management. But give her a break—she’s only 19. She’s currently taking the semester off college to dive full-time into her business, Color Herstory. Simone created her brand out of a desire to see more representation of women of color in the world. Her coloring books introduce young girls to the amazing women that inspired her to love herself. With a little help from friends and mentors—and from winning Shopify’s 2017 BEASTMODE-A-Business competition—Simone is taking her successful business to the next level. One day, she hopes to take it globally (mostly for the travel perks). But lately, she’s just trying to juggle teen blossom with a part-time job and an internship. About Me Name: Simone Hufana Age: 19 My business: Color Herstory Where I live: East Bay, California My typical week: I’m taking this semester off just to go full throttle on my business. My average week is working on my business. It’s a lot of computer time. It’s a lot of hands-on, too. I literally make the t-shirts. I cut out the vinyl, I peel the vinyl, I put it on the shirt, I press it, I fold it. With the coloring books, I press them and staple them all together. One half of my week is physical work, and then the other half is computer work, graphic design, talking to people, being a vendor at events. And then I have my little side job doing event planning for weddings on the weekends. And I have my internship in between. A book I’m reading is: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I was given this book on my birthday. It’s kind of a philosophical book. It’s insane. A TV show I’m watching is: Stranger Things. I’m finally finishing Season 4. It’s really good. I do love just sitting down and binge-watching. I’m kind of a night owl. Like, if I’m up, I’m up. Why I started Color Herstory: Color Herstory is a coloring book that’s based on influential women of color. I originally started it because, growing up, I was very insecure about my features. I didn’t see any representation in the media. I wanted to look like Hannah Montana. I wanted blond hair so, so badly. But it took a toll on my mental health. It wasn’t until I educated myself about these amazing women that I really started my journey of self-love. I was like, “Oh my gosh, these women are so, so incredible. I can literally do the same things that they’re doing.” It just gave me that much more motivation. I had two younger sisters, so I felt kind of responsible. Like, if our education system isn’t doing it, if the media is not doing it, then why not me? The best part of running my own business is: Making my own hours. Also, when it comes to Color Herstory, I like things a certain way—I get to be the one to produce the merch my way. I also love talking to people and making connections. The hardest part is: That you have to hold yourself accountable. I’m only 19 years old, so I don’t have the best time management. I’m not superstar organizer or anything. It’s easy to just slip up and be like, “Oh, shoot, I totally forgot I had that goal. Ah, whatever. I’ll see about it next week.” About my team: It’s just me, kind of, but my dad helps me a ton. He’s a graphic designer so he knows a lot of people that print and where to get good book materials. Stuff like that. One of my friends is helping me do a lot of the manual labor because we made a compromise this summer. I was like, “Hey, I bought your festival ticket. In exchange, you don’t have to pay me money, but you have to help me out.” My friends are willing to help me, so I guess I have a little team going on right now. I have a really strong support system. My mentors are important because: They don’t treat me like just some 19-year-old girl who doesn’t know what she’s talking about. They really believe in me and my vision. It’s really empowering. I love having mentors. Even if they’re not around all the time, you know they’re down for you. I’m interning for one of my mentors right now. Her business is on a bigger scale, and it’s really cool to see behind the scenes. She’s opened her books up to me. I don’t even really know anything about finance—I’m pretty much freaking out right now. I mean, I know some, but it’s the internship that makes it that much easier to do what I do right now. What motivates me: I remember one time, I was a vendor at this random event and this dad came up to me with his two younger daughters. They’re around, like, probably five and nine. The dad bought two coloring books. He came up to me later and was like, “My older daughter has been going through a lot of problems with her image and feeling very insecure. I feel like this will really help her. So honestly, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the work that you’re doing.” I wasn’t ready for that. I went home and cried from happiness, like, “Oh my God, I’m doing it. I’m doing what I was supposed to do.” Someone who inspires me is: Gloria E. Anzaldúa. She was a Chicanx author. I got a hand-me-down book from one of my mentors, and I read it and was like, “My mind is blown right now. Somebody feels exactly how I feel.” She was Mestiza, so she lived on the border of Texas and she struggled with her identity being both indigenous Mexican and white. I’m mixed myself. My mom is Mexican and Puerto Rican, and my dad is Filipino. Oh my gosh, her book really spoke to me. And after that, I was like, “Who else do I need to learn about?” That really sparked my interest in wanting to learn more about all these different women. My goal for the future is: To go back to school and at least get my AA, if not my bachelor’s. I think I want to do ethnic studies because I’m really, really, really interested in that. And that will make me want to go to class. I definitely want to do entrepreneurship as a full-time thing. I don’t know if it’s going to be specifically Color Herstory. Maybe it will transform into some kind of organization, because I really want to work one-on-one with kids. I’m going to make that happen somehow. I just really want to be able to travel the world and connect with people, connect with girls, connect with women. But I’m just kind of following this path right now. This is my beginning. Illustrations by Joel Holland About the author Dayna Winter Dayna Winter is a Storyteller at Shopify, curious about the humans behind the brands and the moments that motivate them to create. She follows more dogs than humans on Instagram and isn’t a real redhead.
Do Not Sell These Products November 5, 2019 bizadmin Just watch the video above by Oberlo to know what to sell and what not to sell. These are nuggets of gold for the drop shipper. It will save lots of research time and headache and advertisement money from selling the wrong products. So, there you go!