“Steve Ashley, A Proactive & Forward Thinking Leader”

Interviewed by Nick Thomson

As President & COO of SHOP.COM, a global and award-winning e-commerce site, it is readily apparent that Steve has proven himself to be invaluable because he always knows what’s happening within the market and with the competition. He studies the business landscape and helps the company navigate emerging challenges in a highly effective manner. One of Steve’s guiding principles is, “if you’re not improving, you’re slipping” and Steve’s foresight and leadership are huge reasons why Market America Worldwide and SHOP.COM are perpetually ahead of the curve.

“Without question, there will always be e-commerce challenges to overcome. Still, we look forward to navigating emerging challenges because we understand that the businesses most successful at overcoming these often have the chance to lead the next emerging wave of growth or, at the very least, capitalize on it,” said Ashley. “One great differentiator about our business model is that a lot of our customer acquisition and retention comes via our distributors, known as UnFranchise® Owners, who promote the business and our exclusive products. It’s a highly effective grassroots marketing effort that helps us stand out in an otherwise tech-heavy industry. In fact, our UnFranchise Owners act as personalized Shopping Consultants, answering customer questions and helping to connect them with the right products, allowing us to offer online shoppers both high tech and high touch, ultimately surpassing the online experience many other e-commerce sites offer today. Consequently, our business model empowers us to not have to compete head-to-head with other e-commerce sites on their terms.”

Steve has a vast scope of knowledge with a background that spans various aspects of technology and business, from mobile development to field training to cryptocurrency. Steve’s development as an entrepreneur was influenced by a few impactful leaders. Over his 29 years with the company, he has learned invaluable business knowledge from each of its’ Executive Team members.

“What I have learned from JR Ridinger (Market America Worldwide | SHOP.COM Founder, Chairman & CEO), Loren Ridinger (Market America Worldwide | SHOP.COM Co-Founder & Senior Executive Vice President) and Marc Ashley (Market America Worldwide President & COO) can’t be taught in any business school. You have to experience the passion, the commitment and the hard work it takes to make a dream into a successful company,” said Ashley.

Applying this expertise and experience throughout multiple facets of the business has ultimately helped the company’s UnFranchise Owners capitalize on Steve’s insights while generating a steady flow of new customers. As one might expect over the course of 30 years, the company’s achievements and awards have been many. Steve shared a few that came to mind.

SHOP.COM is one global e-commerce company that should be on everyone’s radar as one to watch in 2022 and for the foreseeable future. Steve shared what is in the works for this online giant that is specifically designed to benefit both the company’s UnFranchise Owners and their customers.

“We’re always looking for ways to make us stand out as an online retailer, and one simple way to do that involves embracing and capitalizing on tech trends such as cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens or NFTs and entering the Metaverse. Most importantly, we’ve been collecting data for nearly thirty years, and our personalization technologies utilize this massive volume of consumer data that allow us to offer relevant products and services in an easy and efficient shopping experience,” said Ashley.

Unlike many interviews I have had over the years, after speaking with Steve Ashley extensively for this interview, I really got a true sense of who Steve is and what makes him tick. What honestly makes Steve such an irreplaceable asset for Market America Worldwide | SHOP.COM is his uncanny ability to identify and exploit emerging technologies. He continues to be a very proactive and forward-thinking executive with an ear to the street and an eye on the future. His ability to help this award-winning global e-commerce company utilize and leverage emerging technologies is bolstered by his keen eye for talent acquisition. Identifying useful leading-edge technology is one thing but developing the cohesive team to wield these technologies is an equally important task and one at which Steve excels. Steve’s capabilities as a technology trendsetter are matched by his qualities as a team builder — attributes that make him the total package. IE