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The Shopify ecosystem is built on communication, connections, and partnerships.
To succeed, it’s important to network with industry peers, form partnerships, and collaborate on solutions that benefit Shopify merchants.
In today’s fast-moving world, old models quickly become outdated—if you’re still relying on traditional growth strategies, it’s time to rethink your approach. See other Shopify players as potential partners, not competitors, and explore new ways to grow your business.
To help you navigate this landscape, we spoke with Veronica Baljak, Partnership and Growth Executive at CJ Dropshipping, who shared her journey and tips for success.
Q: Tell us where are you based? And where are you from?
Originally from New York, I've been living on a beautiful island in Croatia for the past 10 years.
Q: What company do you currently work for? And what is your role?
I work with CJ Dropshipping, one of the largest and most well-known suppliers in space, helping to shape and execute growth strategies and partnerships. I also work and collaborate with top Shopify agencies and Shopify apps like MakeBeCool and DigiSmoothie, ZipChat, and more, and I’m always helping out friends and app owners by connecting them with partners, doing promotions, or sharing resources. The Shopify and Dropshipping community feels like one big family—we all support each other and have fun doing it.
Q: How did you get started in your journey into the world of Partnerships?
My journey into remote work has been a rollercoaster, full of ups and downs, trial and error, overthinking, learning, failing, and succeeding.
About 2.5 years ago, with zero knowledge of online business or digital marketing, I set out to work from home. The main reason? I'm a single mom of three small girls, aged 2, 4, and 6, and I wanted to be present while juggling everything. Thankfully, I co-parent with an amazing father, which makes things much easier!
It all started with one dropshipping store. I’m the kind of person who goes all in, so I didn’t approach it as a one-person operation. I built a team of nine family members and friends spread across the globe, devised a strategy, and got everyone to work. There were plenty of obstacles, but we eventually launched nine stores, all marketed organically.
During this time, I was heavily involved on Facebook, documenting the journey, building free affiliate programs for our stores, teaching others how to market products organically, start their own ventures, and more.
In just a year, I ended up managing 50 Facebook groups with 700,000 members, either by creating them myself, helping others with theirs, or acquiring inactive groups. Today, I run about 100 FB Dropshipping Groups with nearly 1 million members.
As my audience and network in this space grew, so did my expertise in social media marketing, search optimization, and online business. Meta AI even recognized me as a top person in dropshipping on Facebook!
This exposure led to opportunities as an influencer, with people reaching out to write about my story, offer brand deals, jobs, and more. I owe a lot to Facebook—though I didn’t follow the traditional influencer route. I’ve never been one to charge for social promotions. Instead, I prefer to build long-term connections, doing video interviews to introduce SaaS products and Shopify apps, and helping wherever I can—for free. I later realized this was basically podcasting when someone asked if I still had my “Podcast” going. I’d rather forge a lasting relationship than take $1,000 for a single promotion. I think this sets me apart from other influencers.
Through these connections, I naturally transitioned into a Partnerships Manager role. As I met various Shopify App owners, I started connecting them with each other for cross-promotion and collaboration. I didn’t even realize this was a real job until businesses began asking me to work for them, doing things I already knew how to do—social media strategy, community building and nurturing, building affiliate programs, training affiliates, B2B partners, Shopify App partnerships, and more.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
What I love most about my job is building relationships in the Shopify space and finding ways to help each other. It’s always a win-win, which is incredibly satisfying.
I don’t believe in competition and see partnership opportunities where others might see rivals. I like to think BIG, and I think this mindset makes me unique and valuable.
Q: What does a typical day in your role look like? Do you have any rituals to help you concentrate or get in the mood?
My day begins with checking messages on WhatsApp, social media, and email to stay updated. I use time boxing to keep everything organized, setting aside specific blocks of time for various tasks. My daily work includes video calls with partners, scheduling content, and coordinating with app teams and my VAs. I also focus on nurturing relationships, checking in with current and potential partners, and continuously building my network to explore new opportunities and keep everything running smoothly.
Every day is a learning experience. I’m constantly adapting and multitasking, facing challenges that come and go. I’m fortunate to work with incredibly successful people who choose to help and teach me daily.
Q: Can you share a project you worked on that you're particularly proud of, and why?
One of my favorite projects was an affiliate marketing experiment I conducted for Sell the Trend's Affiliate Program. I organized hundreds of people to come together and promote the same affiliate link, sharing commissions, with just a one-minute daily commitment. It was fascinating—and a bit surprising—to see how few people were able to survive investing even one minute a day to make money online.
Q: If you weren’t in Partnerships, what other career could you see yourself pursuing?
I’m not sure what I’d do if it wasn’t this. I’m incredibly passionate about what I do. But I can’t lie –I do think a lot about starting my own Shopify app or SaaS business. I’ve always had a drive for building teams, strategies, and businesses. For now, though, I’m focused on working with established companies that have the resources to support the big strategies I want to execute.
Q: What are the challenges you face attending events and conferences? Do you do anything to make it easier?
I don’t face many challenges at events—I’m quick to make friends, and I find work events to be some of the most enjoyable parts of my life, especially since I don’t get a lot of in-person adult time between the kids and remote work. I keep events simple and don’t dive too deep into work talk or deals on the spot. I have a fun little event strategy: take selfies with everyone I meet, send them the pic on WhatsApp with their business name, and then follow up in the weeks after to figure out how we can work together. It’s a personal approach that helps me connect with more people—and it’ll be fun to look back on all those pictures someday.
Oh, and I have a quirky habit of wearing my Zapiet socks at these events!
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to someone just shifting to remote and considering Partnerships, what would it be?
If I had to give advice on making a full-time income online, it would be to stay consistent and not give up before you see success. Once you start making money, do more of what works and less of what doesn’t. If you can make $1, you can make $100, $1,000, $10,000, and beyond. It’s not that hard—it just takes time and consistency. Believing that you can achieve anything if you really want it plays a huge role. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want, seek help, or try things you don’t yet know how to do. And don’t be scared to change direction! Manifest success!
Q: Final question, can you share with us a personality or a book that has inspired you?
When it comes to people I admire and who inspire me, Martin Stoimenov from Dropshipping.com and Rush from Sell the Trend dropshipping platform come to mind. Both are exceptional at what they do and have spent years investing their time in teaching, helping, and supporting me, even when my ideas seemed a bit out there. Having such people in my corner means the world to me.
Thank you, Veronica! Our conversation was incredibly insightful and truly inspiring. We hope you all found it just as valuable.
If you have any lingering questions, feel free to reach out to Veronica directly through her social media on Facebook and LinkedIn.
