Business
Warrick Kernes
11
30:30
Handbook
A pioneer of e-commerce in South Africa and the founder of The Insaka E-Commerce Academy explains the intricacies of starting and growing an online shop.
Warrick Kernes Teaches
The pandemic has cemented e-commerce's reign and woe the business that refuses to create a presence for itself online. This has had the added effect of making the internet an even more competitive space - meaning that your online shop has to be built for success.
Warrick Kernes is one of the most respected e-commerce experts in South Africa. In ten super insightful learning bites, he reveals how you can build a profitable business online.
E-Commerce Basics
See moreEp 1: Where Does Your Fascination With E-Commerce Come From?
Warrick was introduced to e-commerce when he was working in the UK.
Noting that South Africa had no real e-commerce players, he saw this as a big opportunity.
Warrick had no mentor and there was little known about e-commerce then so he had to teach himself.
Ep 2: How Is The Insaka E-Commerce Academy Supporting Online Stores In South Africa?
When he started off in e-commerce, he was one of few players in the space.
Not having a mentor or a community he can be part of made his journey a lonely one.
He started Insaka in order to provide the community and training he needed when he was starting out.
Ep 3: What Are Some Of The Opportunities That E-Commerce Entrepreneurs Can Take Advantage Of?
Finding the right product to sell is the starting point of any business, even online.
To have a viable product, you don't have to invent something completely new.
You can take on an existing product or service but do it better.
Ep 4: What Are The Fundamental Steps To Launching An Online Business?
Don't wait to have the perfect website before you start your online shop.
As soon as you have a great product, get it in front of your customers.
The trick is converting the visitors to your site into buyers.
Ep 5: What Approach Do You Recommend For Online Stores To Attract More Customers?
Getting visitors to your online store is of utmost importance.
For organic traffic, using Search Engine Optimisation on your site's content will do the trick.
For faster results, you can pay to direct traffic to your site.
Ep 6: What Are Your Favoured Platforms To Build An Online Shop?
Warrick recommends WordPress with WooCommerce and Shopify.
Both are intuitive and relatively simple to use - making them suitable even for beginners.
Your choice will depend on the level of support and integration you need.
Ep 7: What Lessons Have You Learned From Choosing The Wrong E-Commerce Platform?
When creating Action Gear, Warrick decided to go all in and spend some real money on the website.
While the site was perfect, he hated being reliant on a team of developers.
So he built another, using a cheaper platform that allowed him to tinker and update at will.
Ep 8: What Advice Can You Share For E-Commerce Entrepreneurs To Simplify Online Payments
A decade or so ago, taking payments online was a complex process.
Today, payment platforms exist with the sole purpose of simplifying this process.
Platforms like PayFast will have you transacting online in no time at all.
Ep 9: When Do You Believe It Makes Sense To Build Your Own Custom E-Commerce Website?
Unless you really can't avoid it, try not to start off by building your own site from scratch.
When starting out, you only need a platform that gets your customers to interact with your product.
If you decide to build, make sure it's done in-house.
Ep 10: How Can E-Commerce Entrepreneurs Differentiate Themselves In Such A Competitive Online Space?
On the internet - trust is everything.
So you want to build a brand that people can trust.
You can also set yourself apart with great customer service and product expertise.
Ep 11: What is Your Secret Ingredient?
Warrick Kernes shares his secret ingredient.