Wāhine Māori in E-commerce Business

In this episode we cover This episode shares some of my experiences owning an ecommerce store for the past 5 years and some simple steps I notice new small business owners often overlook in setting up their ecommerce store.  I share 7 tips around; Business Name Custom Email EDM System Social Media Accounts Payment Providers Shipping & Delivery Branding Photography  While there may be another step in the process, or additional cost, my experience has found them all invaluable long term. References in Podcast One Check – to check your business name Colour pallette generator on coolors  Shopify Store Snap my Snaps FB Group Adjust photo sizes with tiny.png NZ Post Business Account DHL Business Account Hine Biz Blog: 7 steps often missed when setting up an ecomm store  Important Links Find out more about Hine Biz and if you are interested in joining our Hine Biz Network Follow us on Hine Biz Instagram Check out our product based business on Tuhi Stationery I also share more of our business journey on Tik Tok

I have owned a product based ecommerce business for the past 5 years.  We organically built your community and customer base at the beginning, with no strategy.  If I did a new ecommerce business, I would build from the beginning with a strategy! We were just lucky, it doesn't always work out that way.  In this episode we cover Building a community is important, but know who are the customers amongst your community Have a clear strategy in mind, and focus on what you are good at initially until you build a good audience & community Don't be sucked in by vanity metrics in social media  - size of followers is irrelevant if that does not translate to converting customers Understand who your customer is and what problem you are solving, and build around that group, not be to the side flying a flag no one is interested in.  Important Links If you are a Wāhine Māori with an ecommerce business consider joining our Hine Biz Network Follow us on Hine Biz Instagram

3 simple things I've taken a long time to learn - but I am going to be actively doing this year to back myself; Celebrating my wins I am of the generation that I was always told "He whakaiti, whakaiti, whakaiti" Be humble, be humble, be humble.  It was really challenging to acknowledge the wins in my business as I never wanted to be whakahihi (boastful), but as Wāhine Māori we have a responsibility to share our highs and lows for other aspiring Wāhine Māori to look to.  This year I want to celebrate and share my wins in business.  Disconnecting from anything that makes me feel less Having more confidence and faith in myself and my contributions to Te Ao Māori and to ecommerce, so that I can tune out and turn down the noise around me that questions how much, or what.  Trusting myself more by taking in less advice Have more faith in yourself that you got yourself to this point, and that all the advice in the world - if you are not 100% in agreement, you won't implement into your business.  So trust yourself more so then you can take in the advice you actually want to implement. 

I know the value of networks and community, but I have found it a challenge to find my own community as a Wāhine Māori Ecommerce business owner, so I have created Hine Biz to build it!. We are a small niche within an already small market of Wāhine Māori in Business (only 3% of Wāhine Māori are business owners) but I believe it can be a powerful network if we came together to support one another.  If you are curious to know why I have established Hine Biz - then listen in.  In this episode we cover Why I think you should invest in yourself and your business, during a recession! What I wish I had in the first 5 years of being a Wāhine Māori Ecommerce business owner Why I think a small niche membership group for Wāhine Māori Ecommerce business owners will help my business thrive What Hine Biz will include and why I think it will be of value to Wāhine Māori Ecommerce business owners Important Links If you are a Wāhine Māori with an ecommerce business consider joining our Hine Biz Network Follow us on Hine Biz Instagram

I have previously found it very confronting do an EOFY review in my business. I had a poor experience in the past with business advisors who made me feel very inadequate about my business development, it put me off doing.  So I would then just do quick superficial reviews then jump straight into planning, without properly reviewing and reflecting.  If you are in the same boat as me, listen in as I talk through how I got over the fear of doing my EOFY review and the gems I found in doing the EOFY myself, and how it has focused my business strategy going forward.  In this episode we cover Doing an EOFY review holistically Why its easy to fall into the trap of blaming external factors on business performance A walk through of my business performance for the year and the metrics I have reviewed A canva dashboard you can use to review your business  Downloads Check out my EOFY review canva template you can edit for your own business review.  Important Links If you are a Wāhine Māori with an ecommerce business, join our Hine Biz Network Follow us on Hine Biz Instagram

Introduction I was 3 years into my ecomm biz journey when I first heard the phrase "build your business to sell".  I started my business from a hobby, it was a side hustle and I never knew if it was going to survive or not. When I first heard the phrase, I didn’t understand, I was still trying to build my business, I had no plans to sell it. But then I learnt what was meant by the phrase, and how the shift in mindset helps you to document and build your business in a way that you have a legit business you could one day sell, not a stack of post it notes that no one understands besides you. In this episode we cover What does it mean to “build your business to sell” – end game in mind at the beginning The variables that affect sale price Writing an effective SOPS manual – because you cant sell a stack of post it notes Video recording processes for others to follow A simple SOPS checklist to start you off. Downloads Check out my SOPS checklist for the basic information to document in your business as you build it Important Links If you are a Wāhine Māori with an ecommerce business, join our Hine Biz Network Follow us on Hine Biz Instagram

Hine Biz Podcast series for Maori women in e-commerce, to share and support each other to collectively grow our indigenous business