Commerce Minded

Rachel Gertz, the visionary co-founder and director of growth and delivery at Louder Than Ten, graces today’s episode with revelations that will forever alter your perception of project management. We examine the psychological depths and cultural implications of project management, discussing how this discipline is not just about timelines and budgets, but about understanding the complex human dynamics that drive success in business. Rachel's insights on attachment theory in professional relationships and the emotional landscapes navigated by project managers illuminate the often-overlooked aspects of team interaction and company culture.

Later in our conversation, Rachel touches on ‘humanizing’ project management techniques, touching upon the integration of psychology in change management and the burgeoning concept of 'Brave New Work.' Rachel shares Louder Than Ten's journey toward becoming a worker-owned cooperative, a move that's redefining community engagement and power dynamics. Her practical advice and heartening anecdotes offer invaluable wisdom for anyone aiming to champion project management with confidence and empathy. 

In this episode:

• Insights about the human element in project management and its relationship to attachment theory and psychological safety
• Evolution of digital project management, challenges in integration, sales alignment, and the expanded role of project managers
• The power of a mindset shift in project management, wielding power through communication and risk identification
• The need for project management literacy throughout a business to promote communication, a better understanding of risk, and fostering company growth
• Understanding desire dynamics (high and low desire roles) in project management and how they can create conflict and affect relationships with potential for trauma
• Workplace culture, organizational trauma, personal traumas, and employee well-being
• What's next for Rachel and Louder Than Ten as they transition to being a worker-owned cooperative
• “Would you rather” questions posed by Stephen to Rachel about project management

The Commerce Minded podcast is powered by Foster Commerce. Hosted by Foster’s Owner and CEO Stephen Callender and Director of Marketing & Business Development Elle McSharry, the show features interviews with leaders in the trenches of digital commerce who are figuring things out, experiencing triumphs, overcoming challenges, and experiencing success.

Mentions in the show include: a quote from Edwin Friedman, Conversations for Action by Fernando Flores, and Brave New Work

Resources:

Louder Than Ten

Rachel Gertz LinkedIn

Stephen Callender on LinkedIn

Elle McSharry LinkedIn

Foster Commerce

Today we speak with Maddie Banta, the website manager at MW Company. We’ll take a deep dive into her work for MW Company migrating several online retail websites to Craft Commerce. Maddie’s rich background spanning agency work, graphic design, development, and ecommerce, contributes to her expertise. Throughout the episode, Maddie underscores the importance of a personal touch in digital commerce and discusses the challenges and triumphs of re-platforming, the significance of a developer-friendly CMS for managing multiple brands, and the strategic approach to enhancing user experience.

Maddie reveals how Craft Commerce has revolutionized the company's B2B and D2C platforms, allowing them to pair content and commerce and streamline operations. From the intricacies of online retail and re-platforming challenges to the upcoming multi-site B2B dealer portal with Craft Commerce 5, Maddie shares her comprehensive journey from graphic design to ecommerce expertise. Tune in to hear helpful insights into the strategic innovations that keep the customer experience at the forefront.

In this episode:

• Paying it forward at Starbucks can be pricey
• Icebreaker game- “Texas or Virginia”
• MW Company's ecommerce evolution
• Maddie's journey to ecommerce expertise
• Learning to troubleshoot leads Maddie to discover Craft CMS
• Migrating websites
• Craft Commerce blends B2B and D2C with a personal touch
• Challenges and successes of re-platforming 
• Anticipating Craft Commerce 5's impact on B2B dealer portal
• Decision-making process behind choosing Craft CMS
• Real-time marketing adjustments streamline high-pressure sales events
• A development team for custom module integration
• Human-centric ecommerce experience with Craft Commerce

The Commerce Minded podcast is powered by Foster Commerce. Hosted by Foster’s Owner and CEO Stephen Callender and Director of Marketing & Business Development Elle McSharry, the show features interviews with leaders in the trenches of digital commerce who are figuring things out, experiencing triumphs, overcoming challenges, and experiencing success.

Resources:

Maddie Banta LinkedIn

MW Company

Stephen Callender on LinkedIn

Elle McSharry LinkedIn

Foster Commerce

Listen in as we celebrate the milestone of our second show with a bang, joined by the esteemed Jason Greenwood, a top voice in e-commerce for 2024. Jason shares his impressive journey through over 330 podcast appearances and his insights on the B2B commerce landscape. He generously shares stories from his recent travels across the US, tying in the personal with the professional, and the serendipity of missing the Super Bowl frenzy. 

Our dialogue takes a deep look into the specifics of B2B e-commerce platforms, the critical tools and functionalities needed for success, and the unique challenges businesses face when selecting the right technology. Jason brings to light the emerging trend of blending content with commerce and how it's transforming the B2B buying experience. Plus, don't miss out on the expansion of perspectives in the e-commerce enablement technology sector, where I discuss consulting for non-merchant clients and share my excitement for what feels like the dawn of a new era in B2B commerce.

Jason Greenwood is a major figure in the e-commerce sector and the founder of Greenwood Consulting, has been lauded as one of the top 24 e-commerce voices for 2024 by Dark Matter Commerce. With a rich background spanning over 20 years as both a merchant and a consultant, Jason's deep expertise in B2B commerce, retail tech, and trends is widely recognized. This May, his insights will reach an even broader audience as he takes the stage to speak at the B2B Online Conference in Chicago, further cementing his status as an influential thought leader in the digital commerce space. Make sure to check out Jason's The Ecommerce Edge podcast for consistent insights throughout the year.
 

In this episode:

• Jason Greenwood's expertise in B2B e-commerce evolution
• Insights from U.S. business trips and retail trends
• Digital transformation in sales processes
• Adapting legacy sales to modern online buying
• Integrating e-commerce solutions with existing business systems
• Critical B2B e-commerce platform tools and functionalities
• Content and commerce integration
• Expanding e-commerce consulting to non-merchant sectors
• Engaging with the B2B commerce community and podcast
• Reflecting on digital advancements and future B2B strategies

The Commerce Minded podcast is powered by Foster Commerce. Hosted by Foster’s Owner and CEO Stephen Callender and Director of Marketing & Business Development Elle McSharry, the show features interviews with leaders in the trenches of digital commerce who are figuring things out, experiencing triumphs, overcoming challenges, and experiencing success.

Resources:

Jason's website: https://www.greenwoodconsulting.net/

Jason's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-greenwood-digital-expert/

Jason's podcast The Ecommerce Edge on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5HbftDWo3TpYjjNYzX5imh

Speaker at the B2B Online conference in May of this year: https://b2bmarketing.wbresearch.com/speakers/jason-greenwood

Honored as an influential voice in ecommerce by Dark Matter Commerce in their Top 24 Ecommerce Voices 2024: https://www.darkmattercommerce.com/news-post/dark-matter-commerce-presents-the-top-24-ecommerce-voices-2024/

Stephen Callender on LinkedIn

Elle McSharry LinkedIn

Foster Commerce

Hello Commerce Minded friends! After a lengthy hiatus of nearly five years, we're back and better than ever. Join me, Stephen Callender and Elle McSharry from Foster Commerce as we welcome Paul Babb from Maxon to the show. Paul reveals how Maxon achieved a staggering 50% market share while maintaining that crucial human touch in client relationships.

In this episode:

• Paul’s experiences at Capital Records that led to the 3D industry
• The “Who’s That Paul” game, “Trees of Mystery”, and Starbucks around the world
• Maxon's early days, growth and market expansion
• Building community, relationships, and promoting success
• Bezos, customer satisfaction, and data
• Maxon and Nemetschek
• Strategies for marketing to creatives
• Website development challenges and future goals after Maxon
• Building successful client-company relationships

The Commerce Minded podcast is powered by Foster Commerce. Hosted by Foster’s Owner and CEO Stephen Callender and Director of Marketing & Business Development Elle McSharry, the show features interviews with leaders in the trenches of digital commerce who are figuring things out, experiencing triumphs, overcoming challenges, and experiencing success.

Resources:

Paul Babb LinkedIn

Maxon

Nemetschek

Stephen Callender on LinkedIn

Elle McSharry LinkedIn

Foster Commerce

In this final episode of his first season, instead of an interview, Stephen is reflecting on the revelations from his guests, in particular the episodes featuring Jeremy Daalder of Image Science and Lee Goldberg of Happy Cog. (If you haven’t tuned in to them already, they’re really worth a listen.)

He also talks about why he continues to be such a huge fan of Craft Commerce and his thoughts on the future of Craft Commerce.

On a side note—Stephen will be talking at the Dot All Conference, the official Craft CMS conference held in Montreal, September 18-20, 2019.

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Not everyone comes into website development through the same route. Today’s guest, Josh Angell, studied music production at university and in his final year lived with a bunch of nerds (his words) who were hacking away on HTML and coerced him into it. They taught him the fundamentals of HTML and he quickly realised with these new skills he could make websites for all of the bands he was in, including friends’ bands and other projects.

Having graduated from university with first class honours, he gave himself one week to make money out of music, but failed spectacularly. However this failure paved the way for his first proper job building websites, and from there he never looked back.

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Lee Goldberg is President at Happy Cog, an award-winning, full-service digital agency which he runs with his childhood friend, Matt Weinberg. Lee shares some golden nuggets about conversion rate optimization.

Lee and Matt were close friends since they were five. They went to elementary school together, grew up in the same town, and before they graduated high school, they had already started their business.

They tried to juggle the business with their post-graduation full-time jobs, but ultimately decided “to hell with it.” With no formal business plan, they went all out, and haven’t looked back since.

Their success has been purely organic: they realized that happy clients breed more happy clients, and they’ve been holding the same philosophy since.

Today, Happy Cog offers web development, design & branding, and digital marketing services. Tune in to hear Lee’s conversion rate optimization tips and where many businesses go wrong with their sales funnels.

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Ecommerce isn’t always glamorous. It’s hard work, and at times it can be daunting. The client relationship is something that today’s guest takes seriously, and delivering value is one of his main priorities.

Mark Dunbavan is a detail-oriented developer passionate about his builds and taking care of his clients. He believes in a flexible team structure as long as it’s effective, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and he’s proud of the work he does.

Listen to hear about one of Mark’s clients, a furniture sourcer in the UK, and the kind of site he’s built for them using Craft Commerce. Mark also shares how having his first child has changed his approach to problem solving at work and overcoming the challenges of maintaining a unique and complex site.

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On today’s episode, our guest is Roger Glenn of Mach 1 Media out of Austin, Texas. He’s working on a Craft Commerce build for a furniture store, and we lay the groundwork for the most flexible, efficient, and future-proof way to set up the site.

We start by looking at the big picture and walk through the process and steps all the way down to the nitty gritty details of how to plan and implement the site in a way that makes sense to the client as well as to shoppers.

If you’re a developer who’s developing Craft Commerce stores, you’ll find this episode useful as we explore how to handle some of the complexities of multiple variants, SKUs, and manufacturers.

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Stephen chats with Seb Dehesdin who came up with a clever multiple currency setup solution in Craft Commerce for his client’s designer clothing ecommerce site.

While Craft Commerce is a powerful platform offering businesses the ability to write the story for their brand with content and present it in a unique way for their niche, when it comes to some of the commerce-specific features merchants are asking for, there is still some room to see improvements.

Tune in to learn about the challenges of multi currency as Seb walks us through the setup, technical aspects, and customer experience flow of his solution.

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