ECommerce Interview - Staff & ECommerce business - Business Structure Web Businesses UK

ECommerce Interview with John Sollars - Page 4/4

Gareth: And what are your predictions for the future of search? We've talked a little bit about pay per click, what about organic search?

John: Well, obviously Google is number one at the moment. I think there's a typical response from the public - Microsoft is number one in software, Google is number one in search and people start knocking them and try to snipe at them. Bottom line is they provide a really good service and they provide a really good return to your search term.

If you do it right for Google, do it right for your business. Google provide 70% of the search terms in only UK.

The thing is you got to be patient because everything you do it takes time to get a reward from. Whatever you do you got to take time and appreciate it's going to take time to get a result.

Gareth: Yeah, I think that's quite a common thing now in the sense that what may have taken a month or three months 5 years ago - the timeline is shifted constantly as the competition has got greater - and perhaps now what would have taken three months you might be looking at 6 to 12 months. Is that your experience?

John: Yes I think it probably is - you got to appreciate there are like 5 billion sites indexed by Google so to get in there and start shining you've got to be a bit special, don't you? It's very difficult, just by the vastness of the Internet now.

Gareth: You must come across of lot of websites and there must be a number of people out there perhaps struggling a little bit with every common business. From what you've learn in the last 5 years, taking your business from a one man company to a one million pound turnover, for all those people looking to achieve that, what tips would you give them going forward?

John: I have been totally focused onto my website and always tried to make it the best I possibly can. I think if you're distracted by a shop situation or the website, then one or the other will suffer.

Gareth: And have you found as you progressed with your ecommerce business that is become important to bring some of the skill sets in house rather than outsourcing whether that's technical work or support work. Is it something that's happend as you're business has grown?

John: I employed a full time website designer and it gives you the power to change things very quickly, it's much easier to explain to somebody sitting next to you your vision and how you wanted to look, than it is over phone, then is from distance, or in meetings.

So the control of it is important for me to have that level of expertise and experience in house.

Gareth: In terms of your full time staff, can you briefly explain to us and just a run through the structure of the business and who's working for you full-time?

John: There's me, obviously I work full time sometimes when the golf course is shut. I've got a purchasing manager, I've got a database manager, a web designer and I've got a full time accounts manager ( we process many transactions every day so that's a full time job just keep on top of that) and I've got 2 girls in the store picking and packing and that's full time for them too.

ECommerce Interview with John Sollars - Page 4/4

Join Our Newsletter