Hours spent setting up ads

A friend of mine makes and sells her own products. Her entire business rests on her shoulders — from production and packaging to customer communication. She decided to launch an Instagram ad campaign. She set it up in a way that made sense to her, clicked through tutorials, and spent hours on it. Then she asked me if everything was okay.

It wasn't. The targeting was too broad, the creative didn't match the campaign objective, and the pixel wasn't set up correctly. Money was being poured down the drain.

My first question was: why didn't she turn to a specialist? I know the answer by heart because I hear it over and over again.

"I thought about it, but I figured it would be too expensive anyway."

And that is exactly where the idea for this article was born. Because that sentence is one of the biggest myths holding small business owners back.

The Czech Republic is an e-shop paradise — and most of them are on their own

Let's look at the numbers for a moment. The Czech Republic is an e-commerce powerhouse — we are among the best in Europe in terms of the number of e-shops per capita. There are currently over 50,000 online stores operating in the market. And the vast majority of them are small firms or micro-entrepreneurs.

This means that behind the vast majority of Czech e-shops are one or two people who, in addition to production or purchasing goods, simultaneously handle the website, social media, advertising, email marketing, photos, product descriptions, and customer service. And they do it alone because "a specialist is too expensive."

How much does a specialist actually cost?

A specialist could have solved my friend's Instagram campaign problem in 2–3 hours of consultation. That’s 1,200 – 2,000 CZK. Compare that to the hours she spent herself — and the money that went into a poorly set-up campaign.

A specialist solves the same task every day. You solve it once in a while. A specialist's time costs hundreds of crowns. Your time costs money too — we just don't perceive it that way.

Where does the myth about expensive specialists come from?

A large part of the fear stems from the fact that small business owners imagine an agency with a long-term contract, onboarding, and monthly invoices in the tens of thousands. But that is not the only option. The reality is much more accommodating:

A one-off consultation, a campaign audit, setting up email automation, or optimizing one part of an e-shop — all of this can be handled in a few hours, without long-term commitments, for a price that pays for itself very quickly.

Moreover, a specialist is not just "someone who does it for you." They are also someone who will tell you what doesn't make sense — and save you from further unnecessary expenses.

What exactly is an e-commerce manager and why aren't they the same as a marketer?

Marketing is a huge field — social media, PPC advertising, branding, SEO, offline activities. A marketer's goal is to bring people to your website.

An e-commerce manager goes further. They take care of what happens afterward: ensuring the website is clear and the customer can buy easily, ensuring they return, and making sure they receive the right email at the right time. They combine technical know-how with business thinking. Simply put: a marketer hunts for customers, an e-commerce manager takes care of the whole farm.

And most importantly — you don't need one full-time. You just need to have them on hand when you really need them.

Do you have a Shopify e-shop and want to find out where you have room for higher sales? Or do you want to start selling on marketplaces and don't know how to set everything up? Write to me for a no-obligation consultation.