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Jaiden Vu is the founder of Black Peached, a digital sales and consulting firm that helps small businesses and individuals take their services online. Following the events of 2020, most notably COVID-19, Black Peached is positioned ideally to support a variety of businesses and freelancers to make a digital footprint in the blossoming world of e-commerce.
What inspires you?
There are a variety of reasons why I’m inspired to pursue success relentlessly, but if I had to pin it down to one reason, I’d say being able to leave behind my own legacy for years to come. Money is great, but it’s not something I can take with me. I believe legacy is something I can leave and take at the same time. Have my cake and all the while eat it!
What’s the best part about being an entrepreneur?
There are so many great privileges to being an entrepreneur, but one that stood out most to me and compelled me to venture out on my own, after being a corporate employee, was to gain back more freedom. What I mean by that is I now can hire individuals slowly to take over certain parts of my business that I had to manage on my own. Over time, I relinquish most of my duties to trusted personnel and find myself working less in the business and more on the overall business model.
Another benefit is working less, and finding more time to enjoy my life. My goal is always to work smarter, not ever harder — life’s much more enjoyable like that.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
To be patient. When you’re in your 20’s, you shouldn’t focus on how to be just like everyone else you see on social media; rather you should focus on picking a craft and being a sponge, absorbing as much as you can to master that craft.
Then as you’re in your 30’s, you should focus on now — how you can use your craft to make an impact on the world, solving some kind of problem?
Don’t run before you can walk.
Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you? If so, how has it impacted your daily life as an entrepreneur?
Zig Ziglar once noted:
“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”
This quote has made a tremendous impact on me as the majority of my fortunate successes along the way have been due to putting my clients ahead of my own interests. At the end of the day, they are the ones who pay my bills, so why not treat them with extra attention?
What is your best productivity tip?
What I’ve been doing for many years has really helped me stay focused and productive every day. Without it, I catch myself slipping, and the feeling grows, which throws me off balance. The first hour of my day, I stay away from my phone. I have built-in a routine to stay away from technology as we can be so consumed with all the notifications, causing us to be very reactionary, and more often than not, emotional.
In the first 15 minutes of my day, I meditate. Then I spend another 15 minutes stretching. In the last half an hour, I take a cold shower, cook breakfast, and plan out what tasks are a priority for that day. After that, my day flows by like a breeze.
What e-commerce trends are you watching?
I wouldn’t say I’m actively looking at trends, but more so at which companies shut down to a lack of social media presence during recent months. With most hardest-hit businesses in industries like travel, restaurants, and hotels, I noticed the salient trend is the lack of a robust social media presence. It sounds simple, but the companies that survive are brands that have created a loyal follower base. Social media is now stronger than ever!
Businesses that want to survive during tough times need to learn how to leverage social media to reach larger audiences, even if they work in a niche subset of a small market. There are always customers out there somewhere.
What advice do you have for business owners looking to transition to e-commerce?
Focus on giving your audience free value to stand out as the expert and be trusted. The biggest mistake most companies make when transitioning to e-commerce is forcing their product onto the customers without building value and trust within their community.
How do you decide if a business is a fit for your agency?
We have a distinct focus on smaller businesses and individuals as compared to other companies that primarily focus on larger brands and influencers. We screen our customers based on the following standard metrics:
- $5000/m in gross sales
- At least one year in the business
- Sales in at least three different products.
Why is it important for business owners to get involved with e-commerce?
COVID-19 hastened the transition to a thriving e-commerce market significantly. Consumers already have demonstrated a strong preference for online shopping that has only continued to balloon — now it has reached an inflection point. COVID-19 may have permanently changed consumer behavior.
If businesses want to still run a brick-and-mortar retail operation, that’s fine. But to flourish, they need to complement it with an e-commerce branch or online shopping portal. That way, they won’t be relying explicitly on their physical retail location, which has shown its vulnerability during a crisis like COVID-19 — less exposure and risk to their bottom line.
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