The Marks of an Irreplaceable Developer - TJ Gamble

On this episode of Smash the Bug, TJ Gamble, Owner and CEO of Jamersan and the one and only Ecommerce Aholic on YouTube is here to discuss what makes a developer irreplaceable and how to think about your journey as an Ecommerce professional.

Key Takeaways

Why is understanding the business of Ecommerce important for developers?

How can agencies and their developers differentiate themselves in the marketplace as the best at building and maintaining sites, but also partnering with the merchant and educating them?

Merchants need to know that you are their PARTNER, not just their emergency help in distress. After all, the more successful and profitable that merchant becomes, the more they need your agency in order to continue that growth process and increase their marketshare!

Agencies want someone who doesn't have an ago, who can communicate well and employ a high level of emotional intelligence, and who shows a certain level of curiosity.

Curiosity, in this industry, proves that a developer enjoys their work, wants to grow and improve, and is going to do a thorough job when given a difficult and/or obscure project. Curiosity can even be regarded as a dying quality in today's world, since we are constantly being influenced towards speed and objectivity, which naturally surpasses the ability to be curious.

TJ believes that developers who are busy with side jobs and creative hobbies make for some of the best developers, and it all contributes to that idea of "curiosity".

Good communication doesn't mean more communication, but means being able to listen well and explain information in simple, clear terms.

A good developer is able to communicate the same information to a merchant that he or she would be communicating to a manager or co-worker, in different ways that apply better to the person he is speaking to.

Merchants don't want to work with a team that won't slow down and try to help them understand what is going on.

You may not be an account manager or regularly interfacing with merchants, but learning to communicate effectively will serve you well in your career. It will certainly help you land that promotion or job that you've been working towards!

Check out TJ Gamble / Ecommerce Aholic right here: https://www.youtube.com/c/eCommerceAholic/videos

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