In this interview series by Website Planet, I talk to digital business leaders, who share their untold truths, tips, stories and insights on what it really takes to build a successful online business. A deep dive into decades of hands-on experience that will immediately help you build and grow your online presence.

Today we have Ricky Hayes, founder and CEO of Debutify and eCommerce expert with over $8 million generated in sales through his dropshipping ventures. His expertise in eCommerce marketing and operations led him to co-found Debutify, provider of one of the top Shopify themes and various eCommerce tools helping small and medium-sized enterprises grow their online presence.

Whom do you help and with what? What was the “aha Moment” that started everything? Can you share that story with us?

I help small and medium-sized business owners from b2b, dropshippers, retail, and print-on-demand to build their online store quickly, easily, and with deep customization.

My “aha moment” was actually when someone approached me to create Debutify (a developer who co-founded Debutify with me to create a product that allows business owners not to need so many third-party apps, reduce costs, and centralize it all into a theme to make it quick and easy for them. As a brand owner, I know the difficulties of building a site, so when we discussed this I knew there was an opportunity to make something to help many people who have the same problem. That is where it started.

My story before that was that I was an eCommerce brand owner, and really hated editing my website, finding it frustrating. I was also a YouTuber, and that is how I met my business partner through our overlapping networks. From there we built Debutify, and promoted it through our network on YouTube and it grew far further than I had anticipated. Since then we have reached 500,000+ customers worldwide and continue to grow every day! 🚀

Fast forward to today, what do you think makes your company stand out? What are you most proud of?

I think what makes our company stand out is our attention to detail. We really listen to our customers, and proactively address problems before they become one for them. 

I am a firm believer in customer-centric business. It’s the best and most rewarding way to build your business, and it allows us to tailor our solutions to multiple industries simultaneously without sacrificing quality.

From your experience, is there a piece of conventional business wisdom that you strongly disagree with? What does reality look like?

I strongly disagree with the sentiment that starting an online business is easy. Yes, it is easy to get software solutions to start it, but to me building a business is incredibly difficult, even to this day I still find it extremely difficult. 

Online we see people promoting it as easy, which is not true and sets people’s expectations too high only to be hurt when reality kicks in. In reality, you have taxes, refunds, staff costs, business software costs, your expenses, and many more unexpected costs that won’t stop coming.

Building a business to me is all about cash flow. Building a good customer base and managing your cash flow is the baseline of a successful business to manage the bumps and unexpected turns you will encounter. We are shown the profits you can make, but to me cash flow is king, so I always encourage people to focus on cash flow and not focus on profits. You will find you will have a more sustainable business that way.

What are in your opinion the most crucial but overlooked things to build a successful website and online business? Please explain each in detail.

The most overlooked thing in building a successful website and online business is longevity by far. Too often I see many focused on immediate results, to get quick sales, to try and scale quickly, but in reality that is not the right approach. I believe in a slow and steady methodology, yes it means you may not hit your goals for some time, but you will hit them methodically, and with more control because there will be unexpected hurdles. 

The online sphere is extremely competitive, the barrier of entry is extremely low and getting lower due to the advances of technology, meaning competition will only grow. 

Focus on the long term: build your brand, customer loyalty, cash flow, quality product/service, and ignore all the noise you hear daily. You will be far better off for it, as you will have a long-term sustainable business instead of a business that will quickly encounter troubles trying to rush things.

If I asked you to share the key ingredient in your “secret sauce” for driving and converting traffic what would it be?

It always starts with the product. Product is always king, the rest is knowing your marketing strategy. 

The best marketing is word of mouth, and that will never change. In the online space focusing on partnerships with influencers, affiliates, and your customers is the key as they will provide you with the best traffic, and the best feedback to improve your product. It is also cheaper than running ads, especially long term. That is what I do frequently to stay ahead of the competition.

Looking back, what’s the one key lesson you’ve learned that you wish you knew when you started? 

Being respectful to staff if I’m honest. I feel I was angry, and when I didn’t get the outcome I got I would lash out and get frustrated very quickly. That damaged trust, people didn’t open up to me, and it made it harder to get things done. 

In retrospect valuing people more, listening to them, and expressing your concerns in a respectful, mindful manner allows you to express your feelings without damaging relationships. That is the key I have found to building a great culture and the hardest thing I’ve done as I’ve had to fight my internal defaults and change that within myself. I wish I knew how important that was when I started.

Is there also one you wish you had never followed? What happened?

Complacency. For some time I had the wish to step back and let the team do the work. For me, that does not align with my values to my core. 

I am a certified workaholic, I love work and have little interest in other things. When I stepped back I found my motivation dropped drastically, so I pushed myself back in and I’m happier than ever. I love working hard as I find I get the most motivated and energized out of it.

How can our readers follow your work?

Website:  www.debutify.com

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickyhayes/

X:  https://twitter.com/rickyhayesreal