A Digital Hop Across the Pond

For some, the journey to turning their passion into a thriving career can be challenging at best. For England native Kate of Kate Golding, this journey was made easier through free eCommerce support like the ShopHERE powered by Google program. 

Kate has owned and operated her small business for over five years. Even with such a successful track record however, Kate explains that, 

“I have known for a long time [that] I am missing out on a huge opportunity to expand and grow my product offering by not having my own e-commerce page.” 

What’s more, creating custom surface pattern designs for prominent clientele, including Shopify, Facebook, and Balzac’s Coffee Roasters, among others, is no small task. On the other hand, necessary back-end tasks, such as web development, can also be time-consuming and complicated. 

“As a business owner, navigating a project like this when you haven't done it before can at times feel stressful and overwhelming.” 

Answering the call to support small businesses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the ShopHERE powered by Google program available through Digital Main Street provides small Ontario businesses with free one-on-one support to help transform their digital presence.  

Kate shares the following about her experience working with her ShopHERE Coordinator: 

“Working with Tyrone has been wonderful. Tyrone is amazing at his job and I feel incredibly lucky to have had the experience of working together. Tyrone is well informed, attentive, thoughtful, dedicated, and hardworking. He also has exactly the right attitude and demeanour for working with people. Tyrone was patient, calm, attentive and dedicated to getting to the bottom of any issues that arose and I genuinely felt that he cared about the project. It was so great to work with someone who knew how much this project meant to me and he brought the same care and attention to the project.” 

The ShopHERE Coordinator team at Digital Main Street works with small business owners to build an eCommerce website tailored to each business’ individual needs. For Kate, this meant that she needed “a page which felt clean and fresh, as [her] artwork is quite busy so the [website] needed to feel light and airy so it wasn't too chaotic to look at.”  

Aesthetically, Kate’s website also needed to elevate and be aligned with the inspiration behind her artwork and brand. Inspired by the small details of daily life and the beauty of her natural surroundings, bestselling pieces like the Sumac Art Print and the Bonavista Houses Woven Throw Blanket now find themselves fondly in the hearts and homes of many internationally.  

Upon completing her business’ digital transformation in the ShopHERE program, Kate’s new eCommerce website did not fall short of her expectations. 

“I love how [my eCommerce website] looks aesthetically and I think that the navigation seems to be really straightforward. I am so excited to share this new page with my customers and feel proud of what we have created.” 

With a fully functioning eCommerce website, Kate not only has the freedom to digitally share her artwork and inspiration with those “across the pond”, but also with potential customers around the world. 

“This program has been incredibly beneficial for my business. I am so grateful that I was accepted to participate in the ShopHERE program and feel incredibly lucky to have had this wonderful experience. Being a part of the ShopHERE program and the assistance I have received has absolutely accelerated [the website building] process for me and has opened the door to a whole new avenue of growth for my business.” 

Interested in learning more about Kate Golding? Click here to visit her website. If you’re a small business and want to learn more about getting started in the eCommerce space or are interested in the ShopHERE powered by Google Program, you can find additional information here. 

Photo credits to Johnny C.Y. Lam.