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Becoming an ecommerce entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. The technological hurdles can be substantial. And there is ample competition within the space.

The good news is that the technology has created opportunities, and the competition is there because there is substantial opportunity. Technology and the acclimation of society to buying online have created a perfect storm of opportunity that shows no signs of abating.

So what has to happen to be a successful participant as an ecommerce entrepreneur? Here are four initiatives one must embrace.

Related: 5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Launching an Ecommerce Business

1. Experiment, experiment, experiment

This is a mentality. As we all know, failure can be your friend. And failure, inevitably, arises from experimentation. Some of my experiments early in my ecommerce career that didn’t pan out were: Starting my own private label brand early on without doing enough market research, specifically checking for demand of the item, and relying too heavily on one supplier or fulfillment channel.

This being said, if I had not taken the chance, I would not be where I am today.

One of the best ways to cultivate this habit is to embrace mentors. They can think about things analytically, without the baggage of the business being “their baby.” Take inventory of what they suggest, and step out into the unknown. It is your best chance of success.

2. Track the competition

Ten years ago, I was just starting my first store on the Amazon marketplace and opened several niche Shopify stores around the same time. I focused on the competition, often trying to learn how they might approach a similar challenge to what I was facing.

For example, I noticed some people were creating funnels for their ecommerce stores. I took note of that. Some of them were testing out different types of landing pages. Others were testing out YouTube ads for ecommerce products back in the 2010s, specifically trendy gadgets with the potential to go viral. It was something I had never experimented with before, and it was a really creative, niche-specific way of marketing. I went on to build out product funnels of my own, learned about upsell strategies, what goes into making a strong product landing page and so much more.

3. Embrace financial literacy

When I started my ecommerce business, I knew quite a bit about online marketing — I had a small locally based marketing agency in Northern California in my early 20s and I created a social media influencer business. Both of these ventures taught me important things about running an ecommerce business.

Creating and analyzing financial metrics wasn’t exactly my strong suit in the beginning. I started by learning how to read basic reports like profit and loss statements, and quickly realized how crucial it is to know which numbers actually matter. As an ecommerce seller, you have to keep a close eye on metrics like your average order value (AOV), cost per acquisition (CPA), cost of goods sold (COGS), gross revenue, net profit, overall profit margin and more.

At first, I didn’t fully understand how all these pieces fit together, so I had to learn as I went. That experience is a big part of why we prioritize financial education for our clients. Even though we break the numbers down into clear, actionable insights, we also want to empower them. Whether they eventually want to run their own operation or branch out into a related ecommerce business, perhaps on Amazon, understanding the financial side is essential.

Related: How to Build, Grow and Make Money With Ecommerce

4. Delegate

Successful people buy their time back. If you can afford to, outsource at the outset. Generally, if you do that, you can grow faster. You can’t do everything at once. You can’t wear an expert hat in every area. I tried in my early and mid-20s to do so much on my own, only to be faced with major symptoms of burnout.

Outsource it. For example, even if you’re just starting out with a modest budget, consider hiring a virtual assistant. You can train them to support your operations, or they may already bring expertise in areas where you lack experience, such as customer service or product research. A skilled assistant can help manage customer communications and keep buyers satisfied while orders are being fulfilled. Alternatively, a product researcher can take on the time-consuming task of identifying opportunities, whether you guide their efforts or delegate it entirely, freeing you up to focus on higher-level strategy. Either way, you’re buying your time back.

Reclaiming your time by delegating is one of the most strategic investments you can make. It shifts you from an operator to a true owner.

At the end of the day, ecommerce success isn’t about doing everything perfectly from the start but it is about taking action, learning quickly and making adjustments along the way. The entrepreneurs who thrive are the ones who stay curious, keep testing and aren’t afraid to “fail forward.” Every mistake you make is simply another step closer to understanding what works and building the foundation for long-term success.

If you’re willing to experiment, study your competitors, get a handle on your numbers and learn to delegate, you’ll put yourself miles ahead of most people who give up too early. The road won’t always be smooth, but the opportunities are very real. Ecommerce is still growing, and the best time to build something meaningful is right now.

Days after announcing that its hybrid employees would have to return to the office (RTO) four days a week starting Jan. 5, NBCUniversal is offering an alternative to its mandate — accept a buyout.

According to internal documents obtained by Business Insider, NBC is offering employees who don’t want to return to the office the following severance package: eight weeks of pay, plus medical, dental, and vision benefits for three months after their departure. Employees will also receive a full bonus if eligible.

The package does not add additional compensation based on the employee’s tenure. Workers have to ask their HR managers about the severance offer by Oct. 3 to get the offer, BI learned.

Related: What Is ‘Task Masking’? Young Workers Retaliate Against Return-to-Office Mandates With a Viral Strategy.

The severance package only applies to NBC employees at the vice president level or below who currently work a hybrid schedule and are located in the U.S. and the U.K. They will be required to work through Dec. 31 on the company’s payroll and transfer their responsibilities to other employees before they leave. According to PitchBook, NBC has nearly 60,000 employees worldwide.

NBCU workers previously followed a hybrid schedule, coming into the office three days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), according to Variety. The new four-day policy would require them to come in on Mondays as well.

Many companies are implementing RTO mandates across a variety of fields. Buy now, pay later company, Klarna, announced earlier this week that it would require workers to work from the office three days per week starting September 29. Klarna began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday and employed 3,422 workers as of the end of 2024.

Microsoft is also requiring its employees to work from the office at least three days a week starting in February. Microsoft’s worldwide headcount as of June 30 was 228,000 employees, with 125,000 workers located in the U.S.

Related: Verizon Tries to Steal ‘Top Talent’ From Rival AT&T With Email Promoting Its Hybrid and Remote Roles

Other companies, like AT&T, JPMorgan, and Amazon, have already implemented RTO mandates this year, despite employee pushback.

A survey conducted by Bamboo HR last year found that around one in four C-Suite executives hoped strict RTO policies would prompt some employees to quit, calling the RTO orders “layoffs in disguise.” According to the study, around 40% of managers had to implement actual layoffs when fewer employees quit than expected after the RTO mandate.

Though executives have touted the benefits of in-person work for strengthening company culture and helping employees grow their careers, hybrid work also has its benefits.

A study published in the scientific journal Nature last year revealed no differences in productivity, performance, or promotion when comparing employees who went to work fully in-person for six months, and those who followed a hybrid schedule.

Related: Dropbox’s CEO Is Still in Favor of Remote Work

It’s August. Your inbox is full of OOO replies, Slack pings have slowed to a whisper and if you’re lucky, you’re halfway through a bottle of overpriced rosé on someone’s porch.

But if you’re just now starting to think about your Q4 strategy? You’re not behind — you’re already in trouble.

Q4 isn’t just another quarter. It’s the Super Bowl of marketing. And while most teams are sleepwalking through summer, this is your chance to take the lead. The ones who win Q4 are laying down the groundwork now. The ones who don’t? They’re scrambling come October, wondering why their revenue flatlined.

Here’s how to avoid becoming a cautionary tale.

Planning ahead isn’t a luxury — it’s survival

When I started The Go! Agency, I thought being 30 days ahead meant I was being proactive. I had calendars, content and what I thought was control.

In reality, I was just managing chaos with a pretty spreadsheet.

Now? We’re finalizing Q4 deliverables in August and testing campaigns by early September. That way, when the holiday madness hits, we’re not creating — we’re executing.

And this isn’t just an enterprise strategy. Whether you’re a DTC startup, a B2B SaaS company or a one-person marketing team, planning early gives you the one thing your competitors won’t have: momentum.

Related: 3 Marketing Trends You Need to Capitalize on Now Before Your Competition Beats You to It

What smart Q4 prep looks like in August

If you’re in marketing, here’s what you should be doing right now:

• Reviewing Q1–Q3 performance to cut what’s not working and double down on what is
• Updating last year’s holiday campaigns while there’s still time to test new angles
• Writing your email flows and SMS sequences so they’re ready by October
• Locking in vendors, platforms and partnerships before placements fill up
• Coordinating team bandwidth to avoid last-minute scrambles

This isn’t overkill. This is what the winners do.

Don’t just “check the budget” — work it like a lever

Most teams treat budgets like static numbers. You get a number then go spend it. Smarter teams ask: Where did we get the best return last year and how quickly can we shift budget if something pops off?

One of our clients, a global beverage brand, set a modest ROAS target for Meta campaigns last fall. When performance started to surge, we were able to reallocate budget mid-month. Result? A 135% ROAS over-delivery and more than $30,000 in incremental revenue — in November alone.

If you don’t know where your flex is, you can’t take advantage of the spikes.

Audit your channels before you sink more money into them

Now’s the time to pressure-test what’s really working. Start with the basics:

• Where’s your traffic coming from — and more importantly, where’s it converting?
• Are your email flows actually performing or are they just coasting?
• Are you reusing the same holiday sequences from 2022?

Last year, we helped a premium pet brand revamp their email strategy in August. By the end of Q4, they had generated $47K in placed orders from email alone. And their best-performing email? It went out in February — and brought in another $7K.

The lesson: strategy beats panic every time.

You can’t launch big if half your team is out

Your Q4 calendar is only as strong as your team’s availability.

Every year, brands plan big November launches — only to realize their lead designer is in Italy until the 12th and the social media manager is at a conference. That’s how good ideas turn into half-baked campaigns.

Plan around real availability. Who’s in-office when? Who can step in if needed? Have you onboarded freelance or contract support in case things scale?

You don’t need a massive team. You need a present, prepared one.

Learn from last year — then upgrade it

If you haven’t analyzed last year’s Q4 data, you’re flying blind.

What channels converted best? Which campaigns flopped? Which subject lines actually got opened?

Find the patterns. Then improve them.

Maybe your BFCM sale crushed it but your remarketing ads underperformed. This year, rebuild your mid-funnel strategy and refine segmentation before crunch time.

Q4 is not the time for trial and error. That’s what August and September are for.

Don’t coast into January — accelerate into it

Here’s what no one talks about: January is a goldmine.

If your business touches wellness, finance, productivity or anything “new year, new me” adjacent, start building those campaigns now.

Your competition will be crawling out of the holiday fog. You’ll already be converting.

Related: Why Your Old Marketing Tactics Are Killing Your Growth in 2025

Marketing isn’t optional — it’s the main engine

Too many teams treat marketing like a side hustle — something to turn on when sales slow or revenue dips.

But marketing isn’t an accessory. It’s the engine. It’s what gets you seen, heard, clicked and remembered.

So while everyone else is “planning to plan,” do the smart thing.

Plan now. Lock it in. Execute early. Optimize often. Win more.

Because by the time your competitors realize Q4 has started, you’ll already be two laps ahead.

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Shanaz Hemmati, COO and co-founder of ZenBusiness, a $1.7 billion company that provides an all-in-one platform helping small businesses become official, stay compliant, manage finances and more. Her co-founder is Ross Buhrdorf, who serves as CEO. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of ZenBusiness. Co-founder and COO Shanaz Hemmati.}

I always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but I never really thought about going off and starting my own business.

At the University of Texas at Austin, I studied computer engineering, starting with hardware design before pivoting to software engineering. I truly love technology, and especially software engineering, because you’re coding to solve problems — I still love solving problems.

Related: This Mom’s Creative Side Hustle Started As a Hobby With Less Than $100 — Then Grew Into a Business Averaging $570,000 a Month: ‘It’s Crazy’

My husband’s an entrepreneur who’s always had his own businesses. He’d encourage me to start my own business, but I was too concerned. Sometimes women can think too hard about doing something; that’s what held me back from becoming an entrepreneur.

For women in male-dominated fields, it’s important to seek out mentors who can help you from their experience, even if their journey looked different from yours. You can bounce ideas off them and ask them questions. Mentorship pushes you, but it also gives you assurance and confidence.

Over the course of my career, I learned so much, which helped me when I made the leap to founder.

“Small businesses are what keep the economy growing.”

I first met my ZenBusiness co-founder Ross Buhrdorf when we worked at Excite.com, a web portal company founded in 1994. Several years later, I joined HomeAway, a vacation rental marketplace, where I stayed for 11 years until the company was acquired by Expedia.

Later on, Ross and I met up for coffee, and he started talking about this idea of building something to help entrepreneurs and people who are starting small businesses. I was intrigued and excited. I’d always been passionate about that category in the market: Small businesses are what keep the economy growing and going.

Related: I Walked Away From a Corporate Career to Start My Own Small Business — Here’s Why You Should Do the Same

So Ross and I founded ZenBusiness in 2017.

When it comes to a fast-growing company like ours, we have so many things on our to-do list, but we don’t always have the resources to get them done at the same time, so we have to prioritize.

AI has been one of those priorities. Everybody in business should be using it these days. It’s a great tool that saves time once you get employees on board and using it based on their role and function. Our personalized AI assistant, ZenBusiness Velo, is included with every LLC formation and helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

Related: Two-Thirds of Small Businesses Are Already Using AI — Here’s How to Get Even More Out of It

“It all comes down to this — people are at the center of any great company.”

For a long time, I’ve had this mantra that’s helped me succeed as a business leader: Be fearless, be ethical, be passionate.

Being fearless means recognizing that nothing is ever going to be perfect, but you just do it anyway. Being ethical means always being honest, to yourself, to your co-workers, to anyone. And being passionate is everything. Loving your work and doing the best job possible will help you progress in your career and build your business.

It all comes down to this — people are at the center of any great company. Anything you do is all about people, whether they’re employees, customers or the community.

ZenBusiness puts this rule into action by hearing and supporting its employees.

For example, we became an early adopter of remote work. The company sent employees home when the pandemic hit, but as we continued to grow and hire more people, we listened to employees who said that they preferred working from home. Remote work gave them the chance to spend time with their families, cut down on commute hours and be more productive.

Related: A CEO Who Runs a Fully Remote Company Has an Unusual Take on Employees Starting Side Hustles: ‘We Have to Be Honest With Ourselves’

“Maybe you launch as a side hustle to test it out.”

All aspiring entrepreneurs should avoid the pitfall of thinking about a business idea for too long before they take action: Do it sooner rather than later.

You don’t have to drop everything else you’re working on to start. Maybe you launch as a side hustle to test it out. Talk to the people you’re trying to solve a pain point for because those conversations will give you a lot of information.

Every day, you’re learning something new, and being able to pivot fast can be the difference between driving your business in the right direction or not. There are always going to be surprises along the way. So remember, it’s all about the people who are around you — it’s all about the people you bring in to help you go through your business journey.

This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.

We’ve seen all the think pieces about work-life balance. We’ve heard plenty of opinions from burned-out employees and concerned health experts, and even seen travel blogs touting countries like New Zealand and South Africa to find the perfect utopia where ‘work to live, not live to work’ exists.

But what if none of it is real? What if everything we’ve been led to believe about work-life balance is just a myth, and thinking we are failing in the mission leaves entrepreneurs miserable and unfulfilled?

I remember feeling this way when I first started my company, BriteCo. I was plagued with the thought that I was not giving enough hours to my business or that I was not committed enough as a father and husband when I was at home, if I spent too many hours at the office. The ideology bogged me down until I shifted my perspective and began to think of this preconceived “work-life balance” as “work-life mastery” instead.

Related: 10 Myths About Work-Life Balance and What to Do Instead

It’s not one or the other — It’s both

The breakthrough came when I stopped asking, “How do I separate work and life?” and started pivoting to “How do I make work worth integrating?”

Everyone talks about work-life balance as two polar entities: You have your work life and your home life, and they’re completely separate, never to meet. But that belief is where burnout happens.

Instead, learning to blend the two and finding ways to integrate and intersect is where there is real power and personal reward. This doesn’t mean you have to work 24/7/365. It means being intentional about what deserves your attention — and when.

Related: Are You Overlooking the Mindset Shift That Transforms Good Leaders Into Great Ones?

Making work meaningful

First and foremost, you should enjoy your work. As entrepreneurs, this is pivotal. You’re going to invest many, many hours, especially in the beginning, so rather than begrudge it, embrace it.

Having a strong passion for your business and the services or products you offer will help drive your success: It will help you solve problems and keep your curiosity firing. However, the other benefit is that when you enjoy what you do, the rules for structuring work are thrown out. You’ll soon realize you don’t have to gate work outside your life but can keep both doors open and accessible at all times.

Finding time for personal time

It should go without saying that you should absolutely schedule personal time — take days off, take vacations, show up for family time. But maybe taking a day off leaves an hour for a board meeting before you go. Maybe weekends also offer a chunk of time to catch up on menial tasks, so they don’t waste your attention during the work week.

When I go home every night, I sit down and have dinner with my family. I’ll still throw the baseball with my son and make time to coach his baseball team. I’m not working during that time, but that doesn’t mean that whole evening or that whole Saturday is completely checked out. It doesn’t have to be a full workday, but the purpose is to be flexible with my time and optimize my efficiency.

When I take vacations, I don’t completely shut off. I’ll still enjoy time away with my family, but I’ll check emails while we’re getting ready in our hotel and look for updates before going to bed. Doing so helps me stay even tangentially connected and offers a much smoother transition once I’m back to the office because I avoid the burnout of playing catch-up.

Aligning business goals with personal growth

What would shift if you viewed your business as part of your life’s purpose rather than something stealing from it? You’d probably have a whole new appreciation for what you do and the value it adds to your life.

If accomplishing business goals doesn’t give you a rush of endorphins and a huge sense of personal accomplishment, you may want to reevaluate whether your current line of work is the best fit for you. If your work successes don’t also make you want to level up in the gym, at home or in your personal hobbies, then it’s time to start finding that inspiration and fusing it into your whole life.

Whereas the old “work-life balance” model assumes work and life compete with each other and that you must escape one to enjoy or focus on the other, it’s time to flip the switch and invest in meaningful work that can energize your entire life.

The CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization, was killed after being shot on Wednesday at an event in Utah. He was 31 years old.

President Donald Trump announced the news on Truth Social.

^{Charlie Kirk at the White House on May 28, 2025. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images}

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

Kirk founded Turning Point USA when he was 18 years old. By 2023, the company’s revenue had reached $81.7 million, per TIME, and he garnered millions of followers by hosting debates and podcasts to showcase all viewpoints on college campuses. His YouTube page alone has four million subscribers.

The AP and NBC had previously reported that a person of interest was in custody, citing FBI Director Kash Patel’s initial statement on X. Later in the evening on Wednesday, the FBI Director released an additional statement saying that “the subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.” Per the AP’s reporting, authorities are searching for a new person of interest.

^{Photo by Yilmaz Yucel/Anadolu via Getty Images}

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Planning isn’t sexy. It doesn’t trend. No one’s going viral for updating their content calendar or plotting campaign touchpoints.

But here’s the hard truth most marketers won’t admit out loud: the teams that win are the ones who plan. Period.

As CEO of The Go! Agency, I’ve worked with growth-stage startups, international brands and Fortune 500s. And the difference between consistent growth and quarterly chaos always comes down to this — the presence or absence of a plan that actually works.

Yet every August, the same cycle begins. Q4 shows up like a freight train, and suddenly everyone’s scrambling:

• Campaigns are rushed
• Budgets are misaligned
• Messages are muddled
• Leadership is confused
• Teams are exhausted

And all of it could have been avoided with one thing: a strategic, forward-looking, execution-ready plan.

Related: Why Your Old Marketing Tactics Are Killing Your Growth in 2025

Why most marketing plans fail before they even start

Let’s stop pretending a planning session is a slide deck with buzzwords or a half-hearted brainstorm led by someone who still thinks “go viral” is a tactic.

Planning is not about checking a box. It’s about building a structure that connects real objectives to measurable actions across every channel. But most teams aren’t doing that.

They’re treating planning as an afterthought — if they’re doing it at all. And when your plan is a vague Notion doc, a disjointed task list or worse, a whiteboard of “cool ideas,” don’t be surprised when your campaigns flop.

The planning process has become a casualty of hustle culture. We’ve been trained to equate movement with progress. But in marketing, unplanned execution is just expensive guessing.

The fall framework that delivers results

At The Go! Agency, we’ve built and tested a framework that cuts through the noise. It’s what we used to help a premium pet nutrition brand drive over $47,000 in email campaign revenue and increase TikTok video views by nearly 500% in a single quarter.

It’s also what helped an international beverage equipment company exceed ROAS goals by 135% — scaling from 9.4 to 14.78 in just four months.

And no, it didn’t require 10 tools or a 92-slide deck.

Here’s how it works:

1. Set goals that actually mean something
“We want more engagement” is not a goal, but “We want a 30% increase in demo bookings from LinkedIn in Q4” is.

Start with your business objectives, not just marketing KPIs. Growth only happens when your marketing activities ladder up to tangible business outcomes.

2. Audit your current channels
You’re probably doing more than you think: emails, blogs, paid ads, social, events, PR. But how much of it is working — and how much is noise?

Take stock. Know what’s performing and why. Then cut what’s not moving the needle.

3. Lock in messaging that doesn’t suck
Your message is your fuel. If it’s generic, recycled or vague, your audience is already tuned out.

You don’t need “clever.” You need clear, compelling positioning that reflects your unique POV and actually speaks to real pain points.

And no — ChatGPT can’t do this for you. AI is a multiplier, not a mind reader. Garbage in, garbage out.

4. Match the message to the market
Segment smarter. The same campaign can’t serve every audience. Tailor your messaging per segment and then match it to the right platform.

LinkedIn for B2B thought leadership? Absolutely — it’s still the best platform for building trust and credibility with a professional audience. TikTok for brand storytelling? If your audience lives there, it’s a powerful way to connect through authentic, culture-driven content. Email for conversion? Still king — when it’s targeted, relevant and backed by a strong message.

5. Build around a calendar
Themes drive cohesion. A roadmap aligns execution. You need to know what’s happening when — and how your campaigns, content, sales pushes and partnerships sync up.

Planning gives you rhythm. That rhythm gives your team momentum.

Stop glorifying the grind

Let’s kill the myth that planning is rigid. The right plan is a launchpad — not a cage.

It’s what lets you pivot without panic when a new initiative lands in your lap. It’s what helps you say “no” to shiny distractions. And it’s what allows you to build campaigns that scale, not scramble.

You don’t need more meetings. You need direction. You don’t need a productivity tool with 30 integrations. You need strategic clarity.

The ROI no one talks about

Think planning is overhead? Here’s what it really unlocks:

• Smarter content with a clear purpose
• Faster execution with less firefighting
• Scalable campaign architecture
• Higher ROI with fewer wasted hours
• Cleaner data to prove your impact

And let’s not ignore the internal wins: clearer expectations, tighter collaboration and less burnout.

The brands that scale aren’t guessing. They’re mapping.

Related: 3 Marketing Trends You Need to Capitalize on Now Before Your Competition Beats You to It

Final word: be the marketer who’s ready

You can’t be bulletproof without a blueprint. And planning is your blueprint.

This fall, don’t wait to react. Build your roadmap now. Align your team. Ground your efforts in strategy, not spaghetti.

Because the truth is, in a landscape filled with marketers who are busy, the ones who are intentional will always win.

Buy now, pay later online payment provider Klarna began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Its IPO was priced at $40, which valued Klarna at about $15 billion, but opened at $52 per share in its debut.

“To me, it really just is a milestone,” Klarna’s co-founder and CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, told CNBC on Wednesday. “It’s a little bit like a wedding. You prepare so much, and you plan for it, and it’s a big party. But in the end, marriage goes on.”

Meanwhile, just a few days before the IPO, Klarna, which was founded in 2005, told employees that it is joining Microsoft, Target, and other companies in mandating a return-to-office schedule (RTO) — in Klarna’s case, three days a week in the office starting September 29.

^{Sebastian Siemiatkowski, chief executive officer and co-founder of Klarna Holding AB, during the company’s initial public offering (IPO) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Michael Nagle/Bloomberg | Getty Images}

Related: ‘A Game Changer’: Klarna Becomes Walmart’s Exclusive Buy-Now-Pay-Later Provider

According to a Slack post seen by Business Insider, Klarna posted the news on an internal message board, but comments were disabled. Emoji reactions, however, were not.

According to the outlet, around 3,000 Klarna workers saw the post, and responses included a sad face (341), a “no” emoji (167), sweat-faced and sad (149), sad cat (131), facepalm (90), crying (86), clown face (73), and a “this sucks” (41) emoji.

There were also some custom creations: the “Homer Simpson backing into a bush” meme emoji (62), a “Hide the Pain Harold” meme emoji (43), and a child going down a slide saying “bye” (17).

Related: Klarna’s CEO Used an AI Clone of Himself to Report Quarterly Earnings. Here’s Why.

Still, not everyone hated the news; there were 19 thumbs-up emojis and 14 rocket ship emojis, Business Insider notes.

In June, Klarna announced that it was launching a debit card called the “Klarna Card.” Siemiatkowski told CNBC that the company has signed up 700,000 card customers in the U.S. so far, with a waiting list of five million people.

Kevin O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, is one of the original Shark Tank sharks who, since 2009, has made the dreams of some entrepreneurs come true and sent others home in tears. The 17th season premieres in about two weeks, and if my conversation with him for our show, How Success Happens is any indication, time has not mellowed this man.

He calls b.s. when he sees it, but he isn’t a hater. As fast as O’Leary is to declare “I’m out!” he also doesn’t hesitate to throw his full energy behind the things he loves. If you follow Mr. Wonderful on social, you know he loves watches. WORSHIPS watches. We talked about where his passion for collecting rare timepieces came from and how that obsession led to his latest venture, WonderCare, a partnership with the 1916 company.

We also talked about the one investment his wife told him he was “out of his mind” for making (a record-setting winning $12.9 million auction bid on a basketball card,) his thoughts on management tactics, how he keeps his energy up, and the worst mistake he sees people make over and over again in entrepreneurship.

You can watch our entire conversation above or listen here, and check out below for some truly wonderful highlights.

Subscribe to How Success Happens to get a dose of inspiration twice a week! Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Give the Crap a Rest

The number one thing hurting most entrepreneurs’ ability to stay focused and energized? “Shit food,” says O’Leary. “You don’t know how bad that crap is for you until you stop eating it, and then you feel incredible.” He tells anyone he meets to try the Yuka app, which scans barcodes of packaged foods and tells you if you really want it in your body or not. He also stresses exercising your mind by doing things out of your comfort zone. “The producers of the upcoming film Marty Supreme called me and said, ‘Look, we’ve got a part in a movie for you and we’re looking for a real asshole and you’re it.'” O’Leary has never done scripted entertainment before and jumped at the challenge.

Takeaway: If you want to stop feeling like garbage, stop eating garbage.

Great Customer Service = Great Profits

Responding to a listener question about maintaining margins, O’Leary offers: “Customers covet one thing more than anything, service and support. …If the minute they call you, you fix it that same day… they’re not going to quibble about the bill.” He compares this to Apple’s ecosystem: “I worked for Steve Jobs way back in the early ’90s. Not a nice guy, but he taught me so much. He said, ‘I don’t need to do market research. They don’t know what they want till I tell them what they want.’ I said, ‘Steve, you sound like such an asshole.’ But he was right. He said they want a great product with fantastic service.”

Takeaway: Superior service commands demand—invest in happy customers, not endless discounts.

Success Demands Resilience, Not Certainty

Mr. Wonderful warns founders against falling in love with their own projections: “The road to success in entrepreneurship is a journey, it’s not a destination… Stuff you never saw coming at you, boom, it hits you. You need to be flexible.” He values founders who own their failures: “When you fail, it’s your fault. You screwed up. Own it and learn from it and don’t do it again. Then you get me to invest in you.”

Takeaway: Build flexibility into your business and see failures as critical learning opportunities.

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Let’s address the elephant in the inbox.

Email marketing isn’t dead. It’s not outdated. It hasn’t been replaced by TikTok, Threads or an army of AI bots. In fact, email is still one of the most reliable, highest-ROI marketing channels in your arsenal — if you actually use it right.

But here’s the inconvenient truth: most businesses don’t. They treat email like a leftover tactic from 2009, not the strategic revenue engine it can be. So when their campaigns fail, the blame is often directed at the platform, the audience, the open rates — everything except the real culprit: a broken system.

I’ve had enough client calls that start the same way to spot the pattern. “We’ve been sending emails for years,” they say. “Newsletters, sales promos, special offers. But it’s just not working anymore.”

Spoiler: The problem isn’t email. It’s execution. Let’s break it down.

Stop sending and hoping

Before you send another message, ask yourself one question: What is the actual goal of this email? If your answer is “generate leads,” great. That’s a start. But leads don’t materialize just because you hit send. Email isn’t magic. It’s a relationship channel.

You need a strategy. Are you building relevance? Segmenting based on interest? Optimizing timing? Tracking behavior across your site and CRM? If not, you’re not doing email marketing. You’re just sending digital flyers and hoping someone notices.

Related: 12 Reasons Why Your Emails Aren’t Driving Business

Your list isn’t a strategy

Here’s the harsh reality: most email lists are digital junk drawers. Bloated, unsegmented and outdated.

One client had 25,000 contacts in a single list labeled “Newsletter.” No segmentation. No tagging. Just one-size-fits-all messaging to cold leads, VIP clients and long-lost contacts alike. Their click-through rate? Less than 1%.

Would you hand the same sales pitch to a returning customer, a cold prospect and a lapsed buyer? Then why are you emailing them like they’re all the same person?

Your email platform has segmentation tools for a reason. Use them. Tag based on behavior, purchase history, content engagement and lifecycle stage. And if your list is outdated? Run a re-engagement campaign. Let people self-select. And yes — let them unsubscribe. Because a clean, active list will always outperform a bloated one.

Your platform might be failing you

If you’re still using the free version of Mailchimp from 2017, expecting results is like entering a Formula 1 race on a tricycle.

Email platforms have evolved. If yours doesn’t offer automation, A/B testing, tagging, CRM integration or real-time analytics, it’s holding you back. For ecommerce, I recommend Klaviyo. It connects directly to Shopify, lets you recover abandoned carts, trigger smart automations and — this is key — track actual sales tied to email behavior.

And yes, you’ll need to invest in a platform that can handle more than “send newsletter.” If you’re serious about revenue, stop being cheap about the tool that drives it.

Stop worshiping the open rate

Everyone obsesses over open rates like they’re gospel. But here’s the truth: a high open rate doesn’t mean anything if no one clicks, converts or remembers you. Don’t just design pretty emails. Design strategic ones.

Ask better questions. What KPIs actually map to your business goals? For ecommerce, it might be revenue per email, cart recovery rate or product clicks. For B2B, it may be meetings booked or resources downloaded.

Start there. Reverse-engineer your content. Then test relentlessly. Subject lines. Send times. CTA placement. Message framing. Real marketers test. Lazy marketers send and pray.

Visibility, credibility, engagement — then sales

Email doesn’t operate in a vacuum. It’s part of a journey. You don’t go from “nice to meet you” to “here’s our invoice” overnight. So layer your content.

Visibility gets you seen.
Credibility makes you trusted.
Engagement builds the bridge.
Sales walk across it.

If every email is just a promotion, you’re not building a bridge — you’re shouting into the void. Offer value. Share insight. Deliver relevance. And when it’s time to sell, you won’t have to beg for attention. You’ll already have it.

Related: 6 Reasons Your Marketing Emails Aren’t Converting — and How to Fix Them All

Campaigns don’t build revenue — systems do

Most marketers jump straight to tactics — “Let’s send something Tuesday at 10 a.m.” — with no infrastructure underneath.

But if your email doesn’t plug into a system, it’s a short-term stunt, not a long-term strategy.

Here’s what a real email system looks like:

• Set up automated workflows for key stages like onboarding, re-engagement and post-purchase to nurture your audience over time.
• Build segmented customer journeys that align with specific buyer behaviors so your emails are always relevant and timely.
• Integrate your email platform with your CRM and ecommerce systems to enable real-time targeting based on user actions.
• Define clear KPIs that are directly tied to business outcomes before you create or send any campaigns.

This is the work most marketers skip. And it’s why their email marketing never scales. Strategy always beats volume.

Want to win Q4? Fix this in Q3

Here’s your reality check: once fall hits, you’re out of time. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Holiday chaos. End-of-year goals. Your calendar will be execution-heavy and strategy-starved.

So fix it now.

Audit your platform. Clean your list. Segment your contacts. Define your goals. Connect your data. Build the machine. Because when email works, it doesn’t just deliver opens. It delivers ROI. Recurring revenue. Customer loyalty. And a real reason to celebrate when the quarter ends.