Fuel Your Business Brain with Real Stories of Innovation, Risk, and Growth
When you’re running a business, time is your most valuable resource. But inspiration, insight, and perspective? Just as essential. And that’s where documentaries come in.
Store pickup used to be a compromise.
Merchants offered it to keep customers happy — but behind the scenes, it meant flat-rate pricing, limited flexibility, and lost margin. Logistics teams had to guess at fulfillment costs. Fraud claims went up. And store teams had to scramble to manage the gaps.
What your eCommerce cart can learn from the kings of short-shorts... When your cart experience hits an 8/10, you're doing something right. That’s exactly what Chubbies Shorts, the $120M lifestyle brand known for their thigh-high energy, has pulled off.
Let’s break down why their cart works—and what you can steal from it to level up your store’s conversions and AOV.
Ecommerce brands put serious money into acquisition—but too often forget that retention, trust, and conversion depend on one critical thing: user experience.
One customer reported: "I recently ordered a BÉIS bag for my wife’s birthday. The product looked great. The site? Slick. But the experience after hitting “Buy” was a masterclass in how not to treat a paying customer."
Let’s break down what went wrong—and what it costs.
Your MVP got you here, but it won’t get you to the next level. Whether you're hitting walls with clunky operations, fragile integrations, or patchwork apps that don’t talk to each other, we rebuild with intention, clarity, and the long-term in mind.
The “full-stack developer” title sounds great—but in reality, most devs specialize while maintaining broad knowledge across the stack. The goal isn’t to do everything—it’s to be versatile, collaborative, and sharp where it counts.
UI is not UX.
UX is not UI.
Yes, they’re connected. But no, they are not the same thing.
If your customers still have to call or email to update their contact info, check their order status, or get an invoice copy… you’re wasting time and money.
Integrating your ERP system with a self-service customer portal isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a smart move—for your customers and your bottom line.
Not every company needs to become a software company. But a lot of businesses fall into the trap of thinking they do—so they start hiring developers, building internal teams, and investing heavily in tech they barely understand.
As winter rolls in, Shopify has introduced a flurry of new updates designed to make your store faster, smarter, and more efficient. From boosting load speeds to improving customer experiences with advanced customization, these updates are here to transform how you manage your business and connect with customers. Let’s dive into the highlights!
Influencer marketing is a powerful tool for brands, but without a strategic approach, it’s easy to overspend and see little return on your investment. The good news? Influencers can deliver excellent results if you focus on measurable strategies and data-driven decisions. Here’s a step-by-step guide to ensure your influencer campaigns are cost-effective and impactful.
The buyer’s journey isn’t linear. It’s filled with distractions, influences, and touchpoints. It’s not about the click—it’s about the consistent presence.
From startup to startup to startup? Image starting 3 different companies...
That’s exactly the journey Chad VanCalster, President at QOLOS, took. Along the way, Chad has gathered valuable insights on building and scaling startups, insights that could benefit anyone on the entrepreneurial path. Below is a summary of his learnings from starting 3 companies and working on a 4th.
In today's fast-paced digital landscape, selecting the right technology partner is a crucial decision for businesses of all sizes. Whether you're embarking on a new software development project or seeking ongoing technical support, your technology partner plays a pivotal role in your success. To help you make an informed choice, we'll delve into the top three deciding factors when choosing a technology partner. The 3 deciding factors?: Budget, Skills and Expertise, Reputation/Trust.
One of QOLOS' strengths lies in guiding businesses through the transition from their legacy, outdated eCommerce platform to a more robust, cost-effective solution. QOLOS emphasizes that before initiating any migration, business leaders should pose four critical questions to ensure a successful transition.
Hey there, website owners! We've all been there—the excitement of launching a new website, the thrill of seeing visitors pour in. But what happens when those visitors start to dwindle? Don't worry; it's a common challenge in the ever-evolving digital world. The good news is, there are some nifty strategies to bring those users back for more. So, put on your digital detective hat and let's dive into some effective ways to re-engage your audience with your website.
In today's digital marketing game, we're all on the hunt for fresh tactics that can give us a leg up. Enter geofencing marketing, a cool strategy that's all about targeting folks in specific locations with tailored messages. In this blog, we're going to break down what geofencing marketing is, how it works, and how you can dive into it to supercharge your marketing game.
If you own an ecommerce business, you might’ve heard some rumblings about ChatGPT recently. In today’s world, companies are always looking for new and exciting ways to engage with their customers and grow their businesses. Thankfully, ChatGPT has provided businesses with an advanced and efficient tool to reach their goals and connect with their consumer bases.
At this point, you might be wondering, “What even is ChatGPT?” Well, don’t worry, we’ll explain everything about it for you, including how ChatGPT can help you grow and enhance your ecommerce business.
At QOLOS, our mission is to provide clients with the highest quality software products. Code review serves as our primary line of defense in upholding stringent code quality standards. By ensuring meticulous code review, we not only enhance the outcomes for our clients but also create a more rewarding experience for our developers.
When a developer submits their code for review, it undergoes rigorous evaluation by their peers. This collaborative process identifies gaps in test coverage, highlights repeated code segments, and uncovers potential vulnerabilities that might have been overlooked initially.
In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful tool that's reshaping industries, and marketing is no exception. AI-driven marketing solutions offer a range of benefits, but they also come with potential drawbacks that require careful consideration. In this blog post, we'll delve into the advantages and disadvantages of using AI in marketing.
We live in a time when e-commerce has revolutionized the way we shop. Since we can now buy products from the comfort of our own homes, it's no surprise that consumers are increasingly shopping online. As a consequence of this convenience, however, e-commerce businesses must prioritize security and privacy to build trust with their customers.
In the ever-evolving landscape of business, customer experience has become the North Star guiding organizations towards success. Among the crucial aspects of a positive customer journey, the ease of canceling subscriptions stands out as a key factor. The notion of making cancellations complicated in a bid to reduce churn might seem logical at first glance, but this approach is fundamentally flawed. In this blog post, we'll delve into why prioritizing easy cancellations over retention hurdles is the smart way forward for businesses.
Your website's performance is crucial to your online business as an e-commerce store owner. Slow websites not only frustrate customers but also negatively impact your search engine ranking and sales.
In today's competitive and volatile business landscape, companies are placing increasing demands on their employees. However, the same factors that drive businesses also overwhelm individuals, fueling fear and compromising their potential. While many C-Suite leaders strive to cultivate high-performance cultures, our findings suggest that focusing on performance alone may not be the healthiest or most sustainable approach. Instead, fostering a culture of growth proves to be more effective. This article explores the concept of a growth culture and outlines the key components needed to build one.
Properly marketing ecommerce companies is a hotly contested topic with wide-ranging opinions. Depending on the source, marketing pros often give advice that sometimes seems less designed to increase your traffic and more designed to increase your dependence on the marketing ecommerce agency.
With the rise of subscription services, you might just feel like ownership is going out of style. Of course, once you see the success of these 12 up-and-coming companies, you'll understand why everyone is jumping on board and paying to have these boxes delivered to their door.
Our shopping habits have fundamentally been transformed by the growth of e-commerce. With a click of a button, we are able to purchase almost anything we need right from the comfort of our homes. However, as the e-commerce industry has grown, so has the demand for fast and efficient customer service.
According to Campaign Monitor, for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return on investment (ROI) is $42.
Email marketing is an effective tool for driving revenue, as highlighted by this metric, and implementing effective email marketing strategies can maximize ROI. Even with social media and other marketing channels on the rise, email marketing remains an essential part of e-commerce success.
E-commerce is booming, and businesses are taking their products and services online in greater numbers than ever before. Despite this, increasing competition can make it difficult to attract potential customers to your website and convert them into paying customers.
You all know the story: The board members of Blockbuster all sat in a room and laughed at Netflix, saying nobody will buy a DVD subscription service. Believe it or not, there are still deniers of the subscription revenue model in other industries, even though the numbers show a different trend. The deniers may be laughing at Blockbuster now, but following the same path as its board members. Is it too late to change course?
In the long term, smaller donations that recur benefit your charity much more than a one-time (larger) donation. What can you do to attract those donations?
It's always better to be at the starting of a trend than behind it, and the salon business model is changing. Salons like Society in LA are looking to increase revenue and brand loyalty by adding the salon service as a subscription.
Texting has revolutionized the way we communicate. Rather than wasting your entire day on phone calls, texting is a quick and easy way to get a message across. But when it comes to communication with your customers, emailing or talking over the phone are some of the more common approaches. However, many people believe communicating via text is a far better option—but the key is to do it right.
SaaS gives companies access to the latest technology in a safe and affordable manner. If you are still buying software for your business, you are doing your bottom line a disservice. SaaS simply makes more sense than ownership in a number of ways.
For centuries, revenue streams have gone something like this: A company sells a product or service. A customer buys that product or service. Money exchanges hands. And that's pretty much it. That's the end of the transaction. Businesses have been doing the same thing over and over again. Now, a new revenue model is taking hold in the software and tech sectors, and it's much more stable and predictable.
Yes, I'm spilling the beans, it may be time to fire your SEO company. Now don't get me wrong, your website still needs to be optimized for SEO. But what it really comes down to is good keyword-rich content and brand popularity. Popularity is measured in many different ways, and yes, Social Media is now one of them.
We already know Social Media is the biggest hype for small business marketing in recent history, and rightfully so. Businesses that blog and engage in social media can see 80% or more traffic than businesses that don't. If you are already on the bandwagon, good for you, but let's be sure you aren't hindering your campaign through bad social media practices...
The bottom line is simple though: if your churn rate means you are losing customers at the same rate or faster than you recruit new ones, your long-term outlook is somewhere between uncertain and bleak.
If customers are the lifeblood of every business, then Customer Relationship Management is the veins through which it runs. In today’s hyper-competitive environment, it’s hard to fathom a business world without CRM. A CRM platform enables businesses to target their audiences, set customized scores and alerts, maintain relationships, and perform so much more.
Companies from “direct to consumer” startups to the largest tech firms are adopting subscription-based business models. They’re forgoing advertising or traditional sales and nurturing subscriber communities that keeping coming back. But what makes this business model so attractive? Is it applicable to your industry or product offering? Here’s what makes subscriber business models so effective.
Let’s not beat around the bush here. If you have a tech-related client and they don’t have a video describing their product or service, then your client is losing out on new customers or users. Flat-out, bottom line.
With the rise of subscription services, you might just feel like ownership is going out of style. Of course, once you see the success of these 12 up-and-coming companies, you'll understand why everyone is jumping on board and paying to have these boxes delivered to their door.
There are so many choices when it comes to your website designer/website developer. Quite frankly, it’s one of the easiest businesses to start. All you need is an email and a computer and you can open up your website business. But how do you filter out the bad from the good? Here are some key points that can clue you on to a better choice.
While uploading videos to YouTube may be easy, adding content to a channel doesn’t guarantee it will get viewed – there are far more factors at play. Pixability’s new report, “Top 100 Global Brands: Key Lessons for Success on YouTube”, looks at the ways in which the world’s most successful brands use YouTube to their advantage. The report notes seven habits that are consistently employed by the top brands:
The more high-quality content offers on your website, the better. But what’s the secret to turning your standard website into a lead-generating machine? Here are some tips:
There are social barriers all around us. Race, gender, religion and many other factors separate us through our differences. In a very general sense, people are wired the same. I believe that barriers are caused by a lack of understanding and compassion. If you are reading this, I don’t have to preach to you how social media has changed how we communicate today. This is the biggest culture shift mankind has probably ever seen – besides maybe the invention of the internet to begin with. I realized the other day that I don’t know that many of my neighbors. Why? Maybe it’s because they haven’t friended me on Facebook.
Small businesses in today’s marketplace may run into a snag when it comes to social media. Social media is a huge part of any marketing strategy, or at least it should be, but it’s not even 10 years old yet. If it takes 10 years to become exceptional at your position, why would you take this on yourself? Let's explore!
By far the most frequent comment designers hear from clients is to make their logo bigger. Throughout the industry, we hear this with nearly every single project. In fact, it is actually a common joke within the creative industry, as this video demonstrates. While we understand your logo is a huge part of your brand’s visual component, it doesn't need to be extra large and bold. As designers, we don't decide to make your logo a small element without educated reasoning behind our decision.
A highly competitive market presents online retailers with the challenge of retaining customers as e-commerce continues to rapidly grow. The key to keeping customers coming back to an e-commerce business is a personalized shopping experience, not just a user-friendly website, fast shipping, and quality products.
These guys are hands down the best out there. From the very beginning the design team hit the ground running and built us multiple options to choose from. The main asset to small business is the support from the tech team. The diligence and attention to detail is a service received that you cannot put a price on. Chad is very knowledgeable and keeps the clients interest in the forefront all of the time. We have been a customer for 5 years and look forward to many years of a continued relationship. Highly Recommend. Thanks again Chad for your leadership and all you and your team do for us.
From the very beginning, QOLOS demonstrated a deep understanding of our industry, market dynamics, and our unique business goals. They took the time to listen attentively, ensuring they fully comprehended our vision and objectives. Their ability to translate our ideas into effective marketing strategies has been nothing short of remarkable.
