We’ve been building websites with Shopify for a while now, and as recognised expert developers we’re currently working on a number of exciting projects. Whilst there are many things that we appreciate about Shopify, one of the most impressive is the sense of community that Shopify have fostered.
Here’s the really cool thing: Shopify users really care about helping each other grow their Shopify E-Commerce businesses.
This takes various guises, including the outstanding Shopify blog. A regular feature that we particularly appreciate is called Shopify stories, which profiles emerging Shopify stores. We recently clocked a particularly impressive article about Beardbrand, a rapidly-growing Shopify store which provides “style for the urban beardsman“. As irregular shavers ourselves (Matt and Dan are both proud beardists) we think that these guys are tearing it up.
Here are some of our favourite things about Beardbrand.
Obsession meets Business
We love how Eric Bandholz birthed Beardbrand. In his own words,
“A few friends and I were trying to figure out what business to startup and I mentioned we could turn Beardbrand into a store with the article from NY Times coming in.”
Superlative Web Design
It’s responsive, it’s lightning-fast and it’s downright cool. There are so many good things that could be said about Beardbrand’s website design. We love it, and it’s very much in the same guise as what we’re aspiring to produce for our Shopify clients.
Impeccable Photography
It’s a thing of beauty. Check out the bokeh on this bad-boy. When you’ve got photography like this, selling your products gets a whole lot easier…
Beardbrand Marketing
This is where the Beardbrand guys have really smashed it. They’ve got an established blog which has created an online community even before the store was birthed. Most businesses start with a product and then try to find an audience to sell to. Beardbrand started by creating an online community of potential customers and then released the products that people were looking for. It’s simple, beautiful and highly effective.
We also love the story about the New York Times article. A feature had been scheduled profiling Eric Bandholz and his beard care products. Between the interview and the release of the article, Bandholz had managed to turn Beardbrand into a store. This is exactly what we love about Shopify – you can turn around state-of-the-art websites to meet the tightest of deadlines. It’s perfect for opportunistic entrepreneurs who need to be able to move quickly when it really matters.
Idea + Shopify = Profit
Ultimately, whilst business is about many things, if there isn’t profit then it’s not going to be much fun for anybody involved. Beardbrand launched this year and are now turning over more than $50,000 dollars a month.
With a little help from Shopify, the New York Times and some outstanding entrepreneurship, Beardbrand have built a $500k Shopify e-commerce business.
We love it.