June 2020 - Ballito Umhlanga

onsidered somewhat
of a North Coast
‘power couple’, Sarah
and Paul (who have
been married for
eight years) are both
highly ambitious and
goal-oriented. They are successful
in their respective businesses, avid
runners and doting parents to their
‘fur-children’.
Paul, who currently works in
outsourcing, has over 20 years’ retail
experience managing an estate of up
to 700 stores and 5000 people both in
the UK and South Africa. Sarah is the
owner of SA’s largest online lingerie
retailer, Sarah Elizabeth, as well as an
online pet retail store called Pawfect.
Now the couple have combined their
years of expertise and experience
and created a ‘one-stop-shop’ called
Uploaded4U to help SA businesses,
specifically in the SME segment,
navigate their way through the digital
realm.
Although Uploaded4U had been in
the pipeline for a while, Sarah says
the Covid-19 pandemic forced many
businesses to go the digital route and
there was a sudden need for this type
of service.
“It is more than just ‘taking a business
online’,” says Sarah. “It is about walking
the journey with business owners. We
pride ourselves on not ‘speaking geek’
but rather speaking business and
applying sense to any problem.”
Sarah says taking your business online
can be intimidating and confusing
for many people. Where do you start
and who can you trust to give you the
right advice? “I speak from experience.
When I started Sarah Elizabeth I
didn’t know anything about running
an online business. I sat comparing
quotes from developers and
designers, not being able to decipher
the online jargon or understand the
complexities. It was so confusing and
overwhelming. Ultimately, I learnt
through much trial and many errors.”
Paul says he is proud to have been on
a journey with his wife in the online
world over the last five years. “We’ve
built successful online businesses and
harnessed the power of an awesome
team. We have also had the privilege
of helping a number of businesses
to take this step through sharing our
experiences and lessons learnt.”
The most important thing, he says, is
that they both understand return on
investment and the ‘bottom line’. “This
is a scary time for many small business
owners and we can help them
through the minefield of terminology
and figuring out what’s needed and
what’s not.”
Paul says there is no perfect time to
take your business online. Regardless
of whether you are a service or
product-based business, having
an online presence is crucial. “Now
more than ever you need to be
engaging and communicating with
your existing customers and new
customers to ultimately grow your
business.”
Details: www.uploaded4u.co.za; hello@
uploaded4u.co.za; 072 6989746
Paul and Sarah’s top ‘going online’ tips:
1. GO ONLINE AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN. GO, GO, GO!
I always thought that our first website needed to be perfect and envisioned
that as soon as we went live, we would be swamped with web traffic. The
reality for a small business owner, however, is that you turn your website on,
and nothing happens. You then need to work hard to drive traffic to your
website. Our advice is to make sure you have the basics in place, but go live
as quickly as you can. It’s called imperfect action. The online world is always
changing, and your website will too. The great thing about online is the ability
to adapt and change. It is not like a physical store where the cost of changing a
store front is massive.
2. CONSIDER FUNCTIONALITY VS BUDGET.
Realise that very elaborate functionality costs money. Keep things simple.
Start small, get to market and then upgrade as you go along. In the beginning
try and imagine how your customer would navigate your website. Look at it
objectively and make sure it’s easy for them to find what they are looking for.
You know your business, your customer doesn’t. Keep it really simple and easy
to navigate.
3. SHOP ONLINE BUT DEAL WITH REAL PEOPLE
Make sure your customer knows that there are humans on the other side of
the transaction. Make it clear that if they have a problem or question there
will be someone to help them. Clearly outline the ways that people can get in
touch with you.
4. CLEARLY THINK THROUGH YOUR DELIVERY, RETURNS AND
EXCHANGES POLICIES
We have made some enormous, costly mistakes in the past. Know your
costings! I cannot stress this enough. If you offer free delivery, then make sure
you have costed this in across your products. This is one of the quickest ways
to lose money. There are formulas that can help you think through this process.
WATCH NOW
Paul and Sarah share their online tips.
June 2020 Get It • Ballito Umhlanga 15