Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business solutions but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Carol Shih, Co-Founder & CEO of Qode Space LLC, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
QODE SPACE, Quality First.
Our world lives in constant evolution, and in the last few years, e-commerce has evolved alongside it. The last push was during the pandemic when companies around the world discovered the need to adapt and focus on online sales to survive. This focus on eCommerce is only growing, imposing on the company owners to have a dependable, stylish, and user-friendly web presence. At Qode Space, we aim to support other small businesses such as ourselves by building high-quality eCommerce stores on Shopify's platform. As a minority & women-owned business, we understand the needs and struggles of small business owners and strive to provide support for them as a trusted partner to build a strong and stable online presence.
The top eCommerce agencies that provide services such as design and development are expensive, cater to large companies. They are notorious for their high employee turnover, low employee morale, and hostile work environments, leading to rushed and sloppy work. Ultimately, this costs business owners more money over time. We experienced this first hand after working in the e-commerce fashion sector for ten years. The Shopify platform, fortunately, made it easier for non-technical business owners to onboard quickly and set up a basic shop on an existing template. However, many of these templates are limited in features and designs necessary for many business models.
This is where Qode Space comes in. We offer fair rates that are accessible to small companies and mom-and-pop establishments, while our staff enjoys a multicultural, respectful, and innovative environment - an aspect that increases our quality of work performance and service.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Carol and I am a third-culture kid (TCK). I was born in Taiwan, raised in Australia, and spent most of my teens studying at an American international school in Taichung, Taiwan. I followed my classmates and took the SAT and ended up in Long Beach, California. If you ask me where I’m from, I’ll usually say “it’s complicated”.
I settled in Los Angeles when I was 19 on a student-visa, and worked my way up to obtaining a working-visa at one of the first one-stop eCom-solution agencies in the United States. For eight years I learned the ins and outs of the full service retail eCommerce process - from customer service rep to warehouse fulfillment, front-end and back-end web development, product photoshoot to post-production, and all marketing channel management including data analysis. I was promoted to a Director, and the company also granted me the sponsorship of a Green Card to ensure I could permanently stay in the United States. Simultaneously, the tech world started changing rapidly. I was part of a company-wide layoff, but soon landed another leadership role at a Chinese startup which was a subsidiary of Alibaba Corporate. Again, I find myself working my tail off but struggling to stay mentally and physically healthy. I noticed how work stress has been impacting my health for years, and I decided to make a change.
Qode Space was originally founded by two developers who invited me on board to oversee operations and business development, as well as shape the culture of the company. Although the majority of my responsibilities are similar to other leadership roles, owning a company and being responsible for employee retention brought me new insight to the American work-culture:
A) Education is not available to all, it depends on each individual’s income and socioeconomic status;
B) Bachelor's degree or 5+ years of work-related experience is often required for entry level positions;
C) Lack of minority and female representation in leadership roles - 86% of businesses with employees are owned by White Americans.
I thought to myself, “I wish I could see more examples of me in our field, so I can learn and advance faster.”
I want to see and normalize minorities and women as leaders in the tech world. With Qode Space, I am purposeful in who I hire - I specifically interview those who didn't get to complete school, or the stay-at-home moms, and or kids who want to learn but are not financially able to take coding or project management classes, for example. It’s been four years since I began to lead with this purpose, and today I find my team more eager to learn, more resourceful and supportive of each other, have more empathy for each other's lives and situations, and have more open conversations about work-life balance.
It is encouraging to see how people thrive under the right environment while giving back to the community. We also talk as a group about who we want to work with, who are the small businesses that need our help, and how we can help them stand out in a saturated market.
These conversations lead me to set a solid foundation for Qode Space with the following ‘Qore Values’:
- Quality - provide the best quality of work for those that don't have a budget to compete with large brands;
- Community - Referring work to our internal network of freelancers, mom-trepreneurs, and supporting small agencies in our community to provide intimate services to grow local businesses;
- Be Purposeful - be intentional in how we lead, be aware of who we onboard, and be purposeful in who we partner and serve with.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishments as a business owner are the following:
- Finding the right partner with complementary skills to grow the company together;
- Bringing purpose to our work;
- Creating and nurturing an inclusive company culture;
- Developing a team of self-taught learners;
- Building a growth-mindset culture.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
I find the biggest challenge in being a business owner, especially as a minority woman owning a tech agency, is battling the imposter syndrome and working authentically to align with our core values. It’s not always the occasional big decisions that stump me, it’s being consistent and purposeful about every little decision knowing it’ll serve the greater good. Making that purposeful decision even if that means we’re going to take two steps back. Making that commitment to do things differently every single time, not just when we’re seen on social media. To make that conscious change and remind myself that our will and resources advance a cause greater than ourselves.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
I always have to remind myself that I am only human, and I live to experience change and welcome the opportunity to learn from mistakes. Whenever I’m feeling defeated or stuck at work, I asked myself these three questions:
- Do I love what I do? If I have zero passion towards the work I’m doing, I’m not delivering my best quality work
- Am I bringing value and purpose to my work, better yet, is this what I really want? It’s never too late to learn and change.
- Am I learning anything here? Unless I’m ready to retire, my answer should always be “Yes”. The minute I realize there’s no change, it’s time for me to go.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://qodespace.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karolz/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shihcarol/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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