When was the last time you felt stuck at work?
Daydreaming about a life beyond corporate assignments and deadlines. An existence of financial stability. Answering to nobody but yourself.
No boss, no haggard old HR lady, and no awkward elevator conversations.
This is how top tier successful eCommerce merchants live.
You’ve probably landed here because you’ve heard of Shopify success stories, and are playing around with the idea of starting your very own online store.
Or perhaps you stumbled across a YouTube eCommerce “entrepreneur” flashing his Mazzerati and thought, “I want somma that.''
Listen up. The guru’s are full of sh*t!
They rent their supercars, to flex their income in videos for a day, to sell you a $300 course on building a successful Shopify store. THIS is how they make their money.
But there’s good news.
It turns out (perhaps to your surprise) that if you have a real passion in this world, you can turn it into a viable Shopify business. One that may allow you to quit your dead-end job one day.
Contents:
- Why should I build a Shopify store?
- Shopify Store Review: Bushwick Kitchen in Food Niche
- Could Bushwick Kitchens design be better
- How to build a Shopify Store with website examples
- Conclusion
But to do so, you’re gonna need some cold, hard inspiration.
I’ve been reviewing some of the best Shopify store examples for a few weeks in different niches now. Some showcased stunning design, others focused on unique content and products. But when reviewing Bushwick Kitchen’s online store, my perspective shifted radically regarding what it truly means to create a profitable business.
You are about to discover the true secret to eCommerce success. Hint: it doesn’t involve snazzy design, countdown timers or pop-up windows.
But first.
Why Build a Shopify Store?
Reason #1. Happy birthday Internet!
The internet is officially 25 years old, which means it’s finally matured enough that anyone can make a living from it, no matter your age, gender or race. It’s become so vast, efficient and rife with opportunity that there is room for everyone to become a high-income earner.
But here’s the problem. Everybody wants to make the next Twitter or become the next Jeff Bezos.
Not gonna happen.
And this isn’t intended to sh*t on your dreams. It’s intended to lift you up. Because if you stop trying to be the best, and simply focus on doing what you love, you can use the internet to make a small fortune that can set you up for life.
Reason #2. Shopify simplifies and secures eCommerce processes
Just ten years back, running and maintaining an eCommerce store was a pain in the tush. You needed to hire developers, coders, designers and continually keep up to date with the latest internet safety protocols and changes to Google’s ranking algorithm.
Fast forward to 2019 and Shopify bundles all the technical backend gibberish into an easy to use platform. They consistently update their software to match changing internet trends so you don’t have to.
Reason #3. Shopify pricing is extremely affordable
I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But, Shopify pricing is ridiculously affordable. So affordable that you have no excuse to hide away and not start that online business you’ve been dreaming about.
Starting at $29.99 per month with a two week free trial (no credit card required), it’s a risk free ordeal.
So with that out of the way, it’s time to review another Shopify store in the food niche - Bushwick Kitchen. Let’s discover some relevant keys to their success.
Shopify Store Review: Bushwick Kitchen in Food Niche
The Bushwick Kitchen story is unique. It’s a story we can gain value and learn from when building our own brands with Shopify.
Meaning?
Bushwick Kitchen started as a learning project to prove exactly what I mentioned above: that now is the easiest it’s ever been to start and launch a business.
Co-founders mention this in an interview with Shopify, as well as how they brainstormed their first product - Bees Knees Spicy Honey. So, in an attempt to destroy the myths surrounding the business startup process, they blogged their entire journey for other eCommerce merchants to use as a blueprint.
Pulling no punches, and operating with complete transparency, they share their margins, equities, and mistakes with the world to learn from.
And if that’s not sweet enough, a whole lot of honey too.
Shopify homepage review
If you’re familiar with Shopify, you’ll recognize this as the free Brooklyn theme that nearly every online store seems to start out with. It’s a great free option if you’re looking for a theme, but it doesn’t look like Bushwick Kitchen has made any significant customization to it.
The font, colors and layout are exactly as they appear when you install Brooklyn. There are also minor formatting issues, like the hero image on the next slide that cuts into the logo.
The footer still has “Powered by Shopify”, something that many eCommerce “experts” would advise against.
All in all, Bushwick Kitchen’s homepage looks like it was thrown together with little effort. But does this matter? Is it possible to build a profitable Shopify store with a free theme and basic design?
The answer is a resounding YES.
Their Shopify homepage probably looks the way it does thanks to their 30-day launch plan. Bushwick Kitchen deliberately gave themselves strict time constraints to prove that anybody can take action and start an online business.
And with a solid product that actually DID take time to test and research, they earned $170,000 in revenue in their first 10 months.
Shopify product page review
Welcome to another absolutely zero thrills Shopify product page, courtesy of Bushwick Kitchen.
The product description is to the point, highlighting how the honey goes with just about anything thanks to its unique flavor profile. There’s also some nice product photography, but it’s laid out in standard format and requires a lot of scrolling before you get to the product reviews.
The product page really gets a chance to shine here, with over 666 positive reviews for this product alone. There’s no better way to become a credible brand than by showcasing real reviews.
Bushwick Kitchen made the statement that their honey goes on just about everything, and their customers are backing up the claim for them.
These guys use YotPo reviews, so check out the app if you want to showcase reviews in this format too. Customers create their own headlines for each review, giving it more impact.
All in all, this Shopify product page gives the bare minimum, but has the chance to shine thanks to gleaming reviews from people across the globe. Could it be optimized to convert better? Absolutely. Read on to see how I would customize this page to maximize on sales.
Blog & Content review
Oh, you weren’t expecting to see anything other than the basic Brooklyn theme design parameters were you?
I’ll admit, I was hoping the Bushwick blog would be more than a chunky wall of text. With a brand in the food niche, there is so much opportunity to lace your content with food imagery and decadent videos. Recipes, production processes, etc.
Some people are just long form text kinda guys and gals. But the fact remains that media rich content increases engagement significantly. And user-attention is hard to come by these days.
That being said, there are a few nice touches including a call to action at the bottom of each blog post.
And of course, the complete transparency in their blog content is to be admired. It’s definitely welcomed in today’s world where everyone is trying to get a foothold by scamming consumers. The type of honesty portrayed in Bushwicks articles such as “The Ugly Side of Customer Service” and “The Pains of a Remote Team” is refreshing.
And it builds trust as a no BS brand with a product to match.
Could Bushwick Kitchens design be better?
The answer to this question is yes. But a more important question is:
Does it need to be?
Perhaps not. But it could definitely be optimized to look more appealing and potentially increase conversions. Here’s how I would customize Bushwick Kitchens product page to stand out from the crowd.
By using all the space on page, the layout is more user friendly - visitors don’t have to scroll too far. Adding more dynamic headlines next to the images allows you to really drive home the benefits of the product.
And lastly, a second Add to Cart button makes the purchase process easier (if they’re convinced).
I made this in a whopping 10 minutes with PageFly by dragging and dropping each element onto the page.
It’s clear Bushwick Kitchen have great products that speak for themselves. But it makes you think, how much could they increase their conversion rate with a few simple layout changes?
How to build a Shopify Store with website examples
Shopify themes are generally not very customizable. You can add your own images, change fonts and tweak minor aspects.
But what if you see a stunning store design that you want to replicate?
You’ll need to use a page builder from the Shopify app store. PageFly just happens to be the most affordable and one of the most powerful there is.
The latest update to the PageFly app brought about massive changes to the UI. The process of building out your Shopify store is now exciting and enjoyable as you see the fruits of your labour slowly come to life. And of course, you have complete control over the design process.
No coding. No design degree. And no hefty hole in your wallet.
Building with PageFly only requires dragging and dropping your elements onto the page like so.
Check out some of the stunning Shopify store examples that use PageFly, and wouldn’t have it any other way.
BrickSlip
Myle
BrightGreens
If you want to make highly customized product, home, blog, collection or landing pages, give PageFly a crack with the risk-free 14 day trial.
Further Reading:
- Google Analytics Tracking For Your Shopify Store - A Step-By-Step Guide: Read Now.
- Practical Handbook To Shopify Conversion Tracking Guide: Read Now
- Learn From The Best - 100+ Best Shopify Store: Read Now
- We Studied Over 30 Shopify Apps - Check Out What We Found Out: Read Now
Conclusion
If there’s a lesson to be learned from Bushwick Kitchen, it’s that ANYONE can start an online business (granted you have an internet connection).
This special brand with their feisty honey proves that a great product, coupled with real social proof and taking ACTION. In just 30 days Bushwick went from idea to product shipping. And within 10 months they hit 170k in revenue.
Here’s an inspiring quote from the founders themselves about the importance of building relationships in business.
“Make relationships, not transactions.
The time we “invested” into in-person meetings and building solid relationships with our suppliers and partners in the first months of business paid off exponentially as these partners all came to our aid, and never let us down, during a December holiday rush that resulted in 2200% growth in sales over previous monthly averages.”
I always like to bring something new to the table when reviewing Shopify stores. A lot can be learned from Bushwick Kitchen and their approach to business.
Their secret to eCommerce success came from:
- Building key relationships
- Crafting a unique product
- Putting it in front of the right people
- Being honest and transparent
- Using real social proof
The result is a brand with global reach, loved by many, all hosted on Shopify’s free Brooklyn theme.
Excuses for not starting your own online business are hard to come by these days. What’s yours?
