– Online retail veteran gives tips and tricks for surviving the world of e-commerce
On air:
18 August 2015
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2015 Businesswomen’s Hall of Fame inductee Kate Morris, founder of Adore Beauty, is an e-commerce expert.
Growing up in Tasmania, Kate knew the challenges of not having access to some her favourite brands. So at just 21 years old, she started the revolutionary online make-up store at a time when online retail was in its infancy. She faced a myriad of challenges such as only being able to dial-up internet to create and run the store, and being a 21-year-old who the banks refused to lend to.
But she didn’t let these roadblocks stop her, and never took no for an answer — this mindset was one of the main strategies that led her to success. For her, failure is always a lesson.
In this podcast, Kate gives valuable advice on the world of e-commerce, a world that she has seen change drastically throughout the years of the internet. She discusses the many challenges of starting up as an online retailer — and how to overcome them — and offers important online retail marketing tips and tricks.
Listen to this herBusiness podcast with Kate Morris to learn:
- How the world of e-commerce has changed and is still changing, and how to adapt to these changes
- The different ways to participate in e-commerce
- Whether investing in setting up your own online retail website is right for you
- The challenges one may face in online retail — and how to overcome them
- How to accept failure and turn it into something positive
- Why you should never take no for an answer
- The importance of listening to your customers
- Cost-effective marketing strategies for online retailers
Mentioned in this episode:
This post was co-authored by Courtney Sweeney. Courtney is currently completing a journalism internship at the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. She studies journalism, political science, and public relations at Michigan State University in the United States.
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About the guest(s)
Kate Morris
Beauty junkie Kate Morris, CEO and founder of Adorebeauty.com.au, had her inspiration to start the business in 1999 at the age of 21. Having grown up in Launceston, Tasmania, she had always bemoaned the fact that all the hottest beauty products mentioned in the magazines were only available to those who lived in the big cities. After studying a Bachelor of Business at Monash University while working on the cosmetic counters part-time, Kate was inspired to create an online beauty boutique that would allow women to access the products they loved and wanted – no matter where they lived. Kate set out to make her vision a reality. But back in 1999, e-commerce was in its infancy and many brands were reluctant to allow a start-up to sell their products on an undeveloped website. It was a Catch 22: without products, the site could not launch. Another challenge was finance: banks were not prepared to lend to a 21-year-old woman wanting to start a dot-com business with no collateral. Not to be deterred, Kate managed to scrape, beg and borrow $12 000 seed money, and launched Adorebeauty.com.au in 2000 with two little-known brands. “I started adorebeauty.com.au in a garage, with next to no money and no business experience. When I look back on those early days it amazes me that I managed to get where I am today,” laughs Kate. “Back then, online shopping was extremely uncommon. There was no such thing as broadband – I had to disconnect my phone line and then dial up the Internet to check the site and get orders.” When it launched, adorebeauty.com.au made one sale a week. Today, the site attracts millions of visitors and offers free shipping on over 8000 products on its virtual shelves – from hard-to-find niche and cult brands, through to the beauty industry’s big players like Clarins, Benefit, Kérastase, SK-II and Lancôme. Recently Adore Beauty announced that it is the first and only online pure-play in Australia to be approved as an agent for Estée Lauder Companies – and one of the first in the world. Kate was recently awarded the Business Innovation Award for Victoria at the Telstra Business Women’s Awards in 2014. Adore Beauty has also been scooping up accolades, making the 2014 lists for the Deloitte Asia Pacific Tech Fast 500, Deloitte Tech Fast 50 Australia, and SmartCompany Smart 50. Kate was also awarded Telstra Young Businesswoman of the Year for Victoria in 2010.
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