Hey! Thanks for clicking on my (first and who knows, maybe last?) article. I’m Jake, the new project manager at Infigo, and perhaps you reading this will mean we could be getting to know each other real soon.
As the latest hire on the team, one of my first tasks was to dive headfirst into Infigo Academy to build my own storefront – not just to learn the ropes, but to really understand what we’re asking our customers to do. The goal? Absorb as much knowledge about the product as humanly possible in my first month.
What followed was equal parts enlightening and humbling, let me share the real story of what it’s actually like to go from zero to storefront hero using our comprehensive teaching tool.
First Impressions: This Isn’t Your Average Tutorial
Right off the bat, Infigo Academy impressed me. This isn’t some thrown-together collection of videos recorded off the cuff because a customer somewhere in the past needed an extra recording.
We’re talking about a dedicated resource at Infigo, creating properly structured learning journeys that take you from understanding the basics of a storefront, to building something you’d actually be proud to show your boss and have your own customers interact with on a daily basis.
The modules flow logically, building on each other in a way that actually makes sense. Each one explains not just the how, but the why behind every decision. Trust me, that “why” becomes crucial when you’re three weeks into implementation and wondering why you set up your product categories the way you did.
But here’s where it gets interesting – and where I suspect many of you reading this might nod in recognition.
The Reality Check: Time Is Everything
The content is brilliant. The structure is solid. The challenge? Finding the time to actually engage with it properly.
Picture this: I’d start a module full of enthusiasm, get halfway through understanding product hierarchies, then the next thing I know I’m off down another rabbit hole with my regular day job. By the time I got back to the Academy days later, I’d forgotten half of what I’d learned and found myself starting again.
This became my life for a few weeks. A frustrating cycle of learning, forgetting, and re-learning driving me slightly mad like I just wasn’t quite getting it.
Sound familiar?
I bet it does, because this is exactly what happens when you try to squeeze in a whole new learning experience around your existing workload and for me, trying to integrate into a new business and learning my new role was more than enough mental energy.
The breakthrough moment came when I had a chat with some colleagues about this. We agreed that half-hearted learning wasn’t helping, let alone of all the customers I’d eventually be supporting so it’d need a different approach.
The Game-Changer: Proper Time Investment
Here’s what actually worked, and what I now recommend to every customer starting their Academy journey:
Option 1: Go All In If you can swing it, block out 2-3 solid days for intensive Academy work. I’m talking proper focus time – phone on silent, emails ignored, dedicated time away from your normal day job.
This approach lets you maintain momentum between modules and see how everything connects. Plus, you can start building your storefront while the concepts are still fresh in your mind.
Option 2: Sacred Time Blocks When full immersion isn’t possible (and let’s be honest, it often isn’t), schedule protected blocks of at least two hours. Shorter sessions just don’t cut it – you spend half the time remembering where you left off.
I found Tuesday and Thursday afternoons worked perfectly, but find what suits your schedule, block out your diary and stick to it religiously.
The other key ingredient? Getting your team’s buy-in. When everyone knows these are your Academy hours, the expectation from everyone around you aligns and you can take comfort in knowing this is exactly what you are supposed to be doing.
What Success Actually Looks Like
After completing the ‘Rapid Build Guide’ as a baseline understanding of the building blocks and what makes up an Infigo storefront. I then took a deep dive into the rest of the content, and with proper time management, I finally got it. A successful storefront isn’t just about ticking technical boxes – it’s about creating something that makes sense for your actual users and that you’re proud of.
You’ll find yourself asking better questions during your implementation: “How do I add content on my storefront, what are best practices?” “How do I configure payment and shipping options?”
These insights are gold, and they only come from properly engaging with the material. I would recommend having dedicated subject matter expert users in your business who have utilised the Academy’s vast knowledge base even if Infigo are building the storefront for you.
This will allow you to scale and empower your team to build multiple storefronts and make changes as your business grows.
My Honest Advice
If you’re about to start your storefront build and Academy journey, here’s what I wish someone had told me:
Take it seriously – This isn’t background learning you can half-watch while answering emails. The Academy is comprehensive because building a successful storefront is comprehensive. Respect that, and you’ll get exponentially better results even if you’re making a demonstration storefront, treat it like you’d be using it as a live production environment.
Get your manager on board early – Explain that this investment of time will pay dividends in terms of implementation success, fewer headaches down the line and quicker return on investment.
Don’t rush it – I know there’s pressure to get your storefront live quickly, but doing the Academy properly the first time is infinitely better than having to retrofit knowledge later.
The Bottom Line
Infigo Academy is genuinely excellent at what it does – teaching you to build storefronts that actually work in the real world. But like any comprehensive education, it requires proper application and time investment.
The customers who treat the academy learning as a priority consistently have smoother implementations and better end results meaning that they’re taking orders with their Infigo storefronts just months after purchasing the software.
So do yourself a favour – commit properly to the Academy experience. Your future self will thank you for it.
