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The only people who truly understand entrepreneurship are entrepreneurs. Until you've taken the leap yourself, it can be difficult to appreciate the magnitude of it.

You might be the only one of your friends or family that owns a business. Each step along your journey presents obstacles and forks in the road which can be hard to navigate, especially if you feel like you don’t have anyone to ask for help.

That’s why we’re bringing you Shopify Masters, the ecommerce marketing podcast that provides you with the knowledge and inspiration you need to build, launch and grow a profitable online store.

Here’s what you can expect.

Growing a business can feel like a bit of a marathon. In some cases, it takes months to bring a business up to speed.

But does it have to take that long? Maybe not. 

A well executed, but simple giveaway can help you grow your business quickly and for relatively low cost.

In this post, we’ll take a look at how to use giveaways and contests to help achieve rapid growth for your business.

At the end of the day, persistence is a prerequisite for success.  

In this episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, we speak with Justin Quinn, Co-Owner of Natural Force, who added his own unique twist to an existing product in the workout supplement market and built the business to $1 million in sales.

An ever-growing email list of qualified leads is a valuable asset for businesses of all kinds and sizes, especially when it comes to getting the most value out of paid advertising.

In this episode of Shopify Masters, you’ll hear from Susan Bradley, President of Wee Squeak, who grows her email list solely using Facebook, and get a detailed look at a highly successful list building strategy she recently used on Black Friday 2015.

Pretty Presets was created to solve a pain point that many photographers experience: editing takes a long time. Pretty Presets solves that problem with pre-made alterations for Lightroom that cut photo editing time in half. 

Because the business is so visual, Pretty Presets quickly turned to Pinterest as a marketing tool. Over the years, Pinterest has become their number one traffic source, accounting for 10% of sales.

In this customer spotlight, we chat with founder Laura Thomas about how she uses Pinterest to drive traffic—and revenue—for Pretty Presets.

In this episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, we’ll be chatting with the founder of NOVO Watch, a company that sells fashion forward wrist wear that won’t break your bank.  

You’ll learn from an entrepreneur who has outsourced to China for many years about the lessons he’s learned and the improvements he’s made to decrease his lead time from 9 months down to 3 months.

In this episode you’ll learn from an entrepreneur that believes you should launch as soon as possible. He launched his profitable store within just one month with only $500.

Matt Geddie co-founded Skinny & Company in 2013, and after a trip to Vietnam, the idea of Skinny Coconut Oil was born—the only 100% raw coconut oil on the market. 

In this episode you’ll learn from an entrepreneur that started selling on eBay in 2001 and now sells on over 10 marketplaces.

Our guest is Brian Fujita who, together with Viet Tran and Sean Lyon, co-founded zeroUV in 2001, a curated eyewear boutique for the fashion savvy.

Motivation is the fuel many ecommerce entrepreneurs use to keep moving forward. We find motivation in many places, from seeing others working hard and being successful, to reading powerful quotes and words that inspire us.

In this Shopify Masters episode, you’ll learn from an entrepreneur that believes so deeply in the power of words she built a fast growing business around it.

Pratima Aravabhoomi, a former Apple consultant, founded Craft Street Design Co and sells motivational posters and wall art to get you inspired to achieve your dreams, make a difference, and be happy.

Some of the most successful ecommerce entrepreneurs spent years working in their industry before branching out and starting their own business, using everything they learned.

In this episode from the Shopify Masters podcast, you’ll learn from an entrepreneur that spent years marketing for Redbull and Monster Energy Drink and has now started his own beverage company.

Vipe Desai launched HDX Hydration Mix in 2011, a brand that sells healthy hydration drink mixes with a perfectly balanced blend of the essential minerals and nutrients your body needs to stay hydrated.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How to convince customers to buy a product online that requires the sense of taste
• Why you should not build a customer base from scratch and instead how to partner with complementary companies
• How to get free samples to potential customers for pennies on the dollar
• And why you shouldn’t focus on volume, but instead on margin—this company has 80% margins

Yesterday we published our annual Year in Review. It’s a look back at the state of the commerce industry and the growth of the Shopify ecosystem and platform.

Because Shopify now powers 140,000+ businesses, this data provides good insight into where ecommerce trends as a whole appear to be headed, and can help you prepare for 2015 and beyond.

You can learn just about anything through trial and error. It may take a while, but eventually you'll figure out what to do—and what not to do. The problem is, this method of learning is not very effective.

Don’t waste your time learning how not to photograph jewelry. Learn from our experience instead. 

Jewelry product photography comes with its own unique set of challenges. Products are small, reflective, and can be difficult to stage for shooting. However, these challenges can be easily overcome with a little bit of planning.

Here are ten common mistakes to avoid when photographing jewelry.