Enterprenuer
Erman Kumplu has been interested in the Internet since his childhood.
He developed an interest in SEO and web development during his university years.
Erman realized it could become his career. After some small entrepreneurial ventures, he founded Digibase, an Istanbul-based digital marketing agency.
For eight years, they have worked with national and international clients.
Erman wanted to work internationally and be immersed in foreign cultures.
He co-founded Solverhood and Selfinvest. Together with the Solverhood team, he has completed more than 400 digital marketing and development projects using Upwork.
This experience enriched his digital marketing skills and opened up new opportunities.
Erman was passionate about data analytics and realized that it could help store owners make better decisions.
Analysis was his data analytics solution for Shopify merchants.
Analyzify generated $12,000 per month in Erman’s first seven months of development, even though it was the first version.
This has made Solverhood’s most popular product.
What is the story of Solverhood?
Silverwood was founded in 2017 on Upwork with an innovative offering and positioning.
My co-founder and I were both entrepreneurs for many years.
We wanted to offer entrepreneurs a simple way to access digital agencies-like services.
It was called the “6-pack of entrepreneurs” because it contains six packs designed to help fellow entrepreneurs launch their businesses. These packs include:
- CodePack (Custom design)
- WebPack (Website, analytics, and e-commerce)
- SearchPack (SEO)
- AdPack (Google Ads for ecommerce)
- DataPack (Custom analytics)
- BrandPack (Brand evolution and development)
Those skills enabled us to complete more than 400 projects on Upwork with a 100% success rate, which rarely occurs.
The app solutions are often conflicting with one another and can cause issues.
DataPack is our solution for custom data analytics.
Because Shopify’s data analysis infrastructure is not merchant-friendly, DataPack has been most popular among Shopify clients.
After receiving many requests for assistance, we created our app.
Analyzify (a Shopify Google Tag Manager app) uses custom data layers and a GTM (Google Tag Manager) container.
This allows entrepreneurs to gather and analyze critical data about customers, channels, and sales to help them make informed decisions.
Analysis was our first software product. It was launched just one year ago.
It was still the first version, but it generated $12,000 monthly after seven months.
This has helped us transform our company and made it our most-sold product.
How do you stay productive?
Finding productive and efficient work in small businesses with minor labor divisions s essential.
This may seem obvious to some, but it was something I had to do for myself.
Every day starts with a game of chess. Then I review the traffic, sales, and engagements from the previous day.
I also use this time to check in on my team’s messages.
Then comes my favorite part: writing. I write blog posts, landing pages content, video scripts, and guest posts.
Tweets are also my favorite part. We are a bootstrapped business and don’t have any marketing budget, so we make the most of natural channels.
Writing is my passion, so I would still be writing even if we had millions of dollars in the marketing budget.
Finally, I get into client tickets. Even though Analyzify is a small team of 11, I still solve many client tickets, especially the difficult ones. To make my day productive.
I prefer to work in a coworking space, as cafes and my home are too distracting.
- I almost always use headphones and listen to Brain—FM focus music.
- I always have pen and paper handy so that I can make notes.
- I enjoy playing chess during the day to keep my attention and focus.
- I close my day reading blogs and tweets about the market.
How do you bring ideas to life?
It was much more difficult when I was a newbie to creating products.
Instead, I was focusing on providing services.
Although I’m not an expert in building products, I have experience and know-how it works.
I always begin by writing down the core problem and the target audience.
Then, I run a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis immediately tells us where we should start.
Next, we choose a few features to help us build the MVP (Minimum Viable Product), and then we begin building, preferably in an open-source environment.
If we can solve the problem early on, we can then develop what might be a new product.
This is an iterative process, and sometimes we have to rethink.
What’s your favorite trend?
No-code
The power of no-code means that the product team does not need to be technically skilled, and changes to the product can be made in days or even weeks.
It’s essential. Without it, the development process could take several months.
Also, it would not be easy to pivot or iterate the product with the same ease.
It’s great to know that you are not the only one struggling.
Many people are willing to help you when you get stuck. It’s also amazing to have the support of no-coders.
What habits make you productive?
Yes, chess. When I was young, I played chess. I rediscovered it three years later.
Although it could just be a coincidence, I have become a much more successful person since then.
When I get distracted, I play a short chess game, which helps me regain my focus.
Chess enables you to be more accountable improves your creativity, confidence, and problem-solving skills.
What’s your advice for the Noob?
It’s too many to list, and I feel old answering this question.
Write more; Writing can be a superpower. Write everything. What you feel, your needs, and what you don’t.
Write what you are familiar with and what you would like to learn.
Focus on global projects only. You are capable of achieving great things in the worldwide market.
Do not underestimate your ability to succeed in the worldwide market.
What is one thing we can all agree on?
It would help if you spent the same time creating content as you started the product.
Content creation will help you learn more about your product and increase your company’s longevity.
What do you recommend as an entrepreneur?
It’s a mantra I cannot help but repeat: Create content. Write posts and videos.
Engage on social media. If I hadn’t created my first Youtube video, Analyzify wouldn’t be in the news.
It was followed by a course called “Shopify – Google Tag Manager” for potential clients.
This resulted in increased traffic, sales, respect, and loyalty from clients. I began to spend between 30-40% of my time writing content.
What’s your rich strategy?
Focus on the marketplaces and amaze your clients. It’s simple advice that works.
This is what we learned on Upwork. Upwork success is mainly about getting great reviews.
This made us a customer-centric business. We don’t want any client to say “good service,” so we go the extra mile to make sure they are happy.
We built trust in Upwork, which led us to long-term clients and sales.
This approach was brought to Shopify by Analyzify.
Analyzify’s app store reviews will show you how much we care about our customers.
Although this might sound negative, our customer support costs are higher.
However, we are the best Analyzify and Google Tag Manager app on the market.
We would fail if we didn’t use marketplaces (Shopify, Upwork) or were not customer-centric.
How do you overcome Failure?
My co-founder and I almost went bankrupt multiple times.
We didn’t have enough money to purchase proper food for many months.
Every time, we were more substantial.
We continued to provide services even when our companies or projects failed.
This kept us on the right side of the game.
Can you share a business idea?
I recommend that you reach out to Shopify merchants depending on your level of expertise.
You can become a Shopify SEO expert if you’re an SEO expert.
You can become a content writer and offer productized services to e-commerce brands if you are a content maker.
SaaS companies that develop accounting software should focus on Shopify merchants.
These 1,7 million Shopify merchants need all of these products and services.
What’s your recent best buy?
The Next and laptop stand. I can work longer hours and have no neck pain.
Combined with the keyboard and touchpad, it has increased my productivity by about ten times.
They can be carried in my backpack to turn any place into my office instantly.
What are your favorite Softwares or Apps?
Vimeo Recorder (like loom). This allows me to communicate with my clients and team. This saves you a lot of time.
This allows me to share my screen quickly and express emotion, which is not possible with writing.
Which book would you recommend?
Rand Fishkin’s Lost and Found: A Painfully Honest Field Guide into the Startup World.
This is the honest and transparent story of someone I admire and have followed for nearly 15 years.
Before I read this book, I was unaware of how common it is to doubt your self-esteem or skills.
It was essential to realize that the struggles I experienced as a founder were not unique.
What’s your favorite quote?
Simple:
“If you are faithful to your obligations every day, you don’t have to worry about the future.”
Jordan Peterson
TL;DR; you could offer to our readers?
It would help to niched down your domain to gain market knowledge and authority. It helps in getting recognized and building a solid online reputation.
Create and consume lots of content in your niche to help you find clients. Clients will be more inclined to consider you an expert.
Consider marketplaces like Shopify, App Store, Appsumo, and other app markets if you consider creating a SaaS product. This will help you get traction quicker and become part of a community.
Do not watch videos about entrepreneurship. Instead, create a micro product to gain first-hand experience.
Check out no-code products and learn no-code methods – they will inspire you to build more content.
