Darnell, barber and small shop owner

I'm a barber. I sell pomades, beard oils, and combs from my chair. During lockdown, I built a Shopify store to keep selling to my regulars. It's still going, but the "you might also like" suggestions were terrible — showing beard oil to someone buying a comb. Like, okay, but not why they're buying the comb.

The chapter on catalogues (I think Chapter 3) made me realize I had no product details in the system. Just name, price, photo. So I added things like "hold strength" for pomades, "scent profile," "hair type," "beard length." My nephew helped me set it up. Now when someone buys a strong-hold matte pomade, the store suggests another matte product or a matching beard oil with the same scent. It actually makes sense. Customers have mentioned it — said it feels like I'm personally recommending stuff. I'm not; it's just the tags. But it works.

I also used the pause idea from the cancellation chapter. I have a subscription for monthly beard oil refills. People cancel sometimes just because they're travelling or tight on cash. I added a "pause for a month" option. A few people use it and come back instead of leaving forever.

The book is written for tech people, and some parts flew over my head. But the stuff I understood? I used it. And it worked.