Job Shadowing at Shopify

Last week I had the pleasure to participate in the TRSM Job Shadow at Shopify. Myself and 2 other students Michael and Kris were paired with Abdul, who works in Community Relations at Shopify. He was also the Ryerson Toastmasters President the year before I joined the club - what a small world! Within his role, he hosts events to bring together Shopify entrepreneurs and creates a space where they can meet, learn from each other and get support from Shopify “gurus” to help further develop their business.

Fun and Functional Open Office

Our job shadow began with a tour of the office which features a large, open space kitchen, uniquely themed office rooms, and a games area which had musical instruments a ping pong table and a foosball. The spacious office space offered a start-up office feeling and encouraged collaboration with the clear office walls and large comfortable seating areas. Abdul mentioned that everyone has their own desk, however everyone works best in different ways, whether that be at a structured desk, in a lounge chair or a padded seating nook - Shopify has taken everyone's working styles into consideration, hence, the diverse working spaces in their office.

Perfect Pairing

During my job shadowing, Abdul was kind enough to pair me up with Michelle, a Merchant Revenue Accelerator who he thought would be a great connection for me to make based on my career aspirations. I can definitely say that he was spot on. Michelle was great at offering insights into working at Shopify. As someone who wants to work in branding, she was a perfect fit for me to chat with, since she had an extensive experience helping grow brands at Scotiabank and working at an ad agency.

She helps multiple accounts so I inquired to see what she believes makes a good entrepreneur. She thinks the best entrepreneurs are people who are receptive to advice and will take your critiques or try something new. This concept can be applied to all aspects of an individual's careers as learning to pivot and try new things can always help personal growth in and out of the workplace. Some of her accounts include an entrepreneur who makes instruments, along with other who have makeup and skin care brands.

When I asked her what she loves most about her job, she explained how she loves the freedom within her role. Of course she’s expected to do her job, however, she's also encouraged to take on side projects beyond her role without her manager micromanaging her. She said this plays into the warm and fun culture that Shopify offers.

Community Collaboration

After meeting Michelle, my colleagues Micheal, Kris and I watched one of Abdul’s community events unfold. We were fortunate enough to come on a day where one of his events was taking place. It began with entrepreneurs meeting with Shopify gurus to gain insights into their business and the evening continued with a panel event.

The panel consisted of 4 Shopify entrepreneurs: Jill Wood (@18waits),

Shazia Arif (@gallerinaco), Jonathan Elias (@shoplostfound) and Nadine Woods (@mayanageneviere)

Retail Realm

The conversation began by discussing selling for retail. Jonathan shared how he found his first location which was a house on Dundas East where he started. From there he then moved to Ossington where he noticed the use of the halo effect to get new customers due to the up and coming things in the neighbourhood. He also found that lots of tourists come to Toronto and people who walk by can get introduced to your brand when they normally wouldn’t have known about it. Along with him sharing his insights on creating a brick and mortar store, he emphasized the importance of making an experience personal with the customers by writing a handwritten note with the order. This really resonated with me as I’m a huge believer of thank you notes and frequently give handmade cards with personalized letters for special events or as a thank you (check out the “Portfolio” section of my website).

Jill mentioned that she hosts concerts or shows in her retail space which isn’t for the purpose of making sales, but to bring the community together and develop a relationship with the community. I believe this is a great idea as this creates a favourable memory for the consumer which then deepens their relationship and develops an attachment to the brand. It also allows her to understand her customer better so she can better tailor her products.

On the topic of retail space, they spoke about the benefit of pop ups. They are a really good way to test out a space and see what demographic comes in along with getting a sense of the foot traffic within the area. It can also expose your brand to people who would have otherwise not known of it.

Brand Bonding

After speaking about their tips on creating a retail space, they discussed the relationships customers have with their brand. This question was perfect for Nadine as she sells lingerie for women. She believes it’s important for people to relate and trust her brand since lingerie is typically an emotional experience for women, so creating a sense of trust and having a safe space for customers is crucial. This experience was similar for Shaza who creates modest clothes options for women. With both these businesses, the purchase is often a personal and emotional one so it’s important to establish a strong relationship with the customer.

The Deal on Delegating

A main struggle for an entrepreneur is to know when to delegate. Your business can often feel like your entire life so letting go of control can be hard for business owners. The main takeaway from the panel was that when you aren't strong at something, give it to someone else. If you do everything yourself, you are limited to your personal knowledge and capabilities. It’s key to hire people who specialize in something and are great on it so you can trust them to efficiently do their role and it takes the stress off of you. For example, Shazia gets help from Ryerson Fashion students for her photoshoots and modeling since they know it best. On the other hand, Nadine gets help with accounting since it’s the part of her business she’s not fond of. Essentially, don’t push yourself to do everything, get someone who’s better than you to help you and always give time draining tasks to others so you can focus on what you’re good at along with developing the strategy of your brand.

Shadowing Success

I couldn't have asked for a better job shadowing opportunity at Shopify. I was continuously impressed by the people I met and the calibre of the event. I also had the opportunity to do an Instagram takeover for the “@trsm_leaders” account, so I was very excited to share the experience with fellow Ryerson students who tuned in. I’m extremely grateful to the Business Career Hub for hosting this Alumni Job Shadowing program and as a former Toastmasters team member, it was great to be paired with a Toastmasters alum! I’m so happy to see programs like this unfold and continue to bring the Ryerson community closer together.