Success Tips from CEO
Written by Shala Hainer Tuesday, June 28 2011
Snapshot: Jill Layfield
Jill Layfield, CEO of Utah-based Backcountry.com, has moved quickly up the ranks since joining the online retailer in 2004. Starting out as director of customer marketing, she became vice president of product development in 2009, COO in 2010, and CEO early this year. A major factor in her rise up the ladder is her persistence in pursuing creative e-commerce solutions and always keeping customer needs in mind.
Since its inception in 1996, Backcountry.com has grown to employ more than 700 people. The company shipped more than 2.6 million orders last year.
Layfield, 36, credits her strong team with the company’s success. Prior to Backcountry.com, Layfield worked in marketing with Shutterfly.com, Cisco Systems, InfoGear Technology Corp., and 8x8. She lives with her husband, daughter, and two dogs, and the family is expecting another baby in July.
Womenetics: What do you consider your biggest break in your career? How did you discover the opportunity?
Jill Layfield: Without a doubt it was being asked by Jim Clark to go to work at Shutterfly.com. Jim is a good friend, great supporter, and mentor. At the time, he was chairman of Shutterfly and believed it would be a great next step for me career-wise. He made some introductions, which led to my taking a position with the company. He was absolutely right; it was an amazing company – the people were incredibly smart, and I’ve taken a lot of what I learned while there with me into other positions.
Womenetics: You've been described as being a very capable manager. What skills are the most important when building a successful team to help you accomplish your work goals?
Layfield: First, you must surround yourself with competent, intelligent people, and then you have to listen to them. This is the only way to succeed at leading a company. I don’t know everything. I can’t. But I have exceptional colleagues who inform me in their areas of expertise, and together we are going to take this company where it needs to go. I’ve learned this from experience.
Womenetics: What has been the most important lesson you have learned during your time with Backcountry.com?
Layfield: Make decisions. You have to keep moving. You can’t wait around to try to find perfect information. I firmly believe that you can course correct on most decisions. Don’t over analyze, procrastinate, or be fearful. Just make sure you surround yourself with smart, capable people who will counsel you on the decisions that need to be made.
Womenetics: What has been your secret to increasing traffic to your online retail sites? What gives your sites the edge over local retailers?
Layfield: Measure everything. If you don’t take the time to set up tracking and reporting then you won’t know what is or isn’t working. Test, tweak, measure, repeat. This is the edge we have over local retail – we know the impact of our marketing down to the marketing channel very quickly (what we spent, what the return was). However, I want to note that we are very supportive of brick-and-mortar specialty retail. We are trying to grow the industry and specialty retail as a whole. Without local retailers, our industries (specialty outdoor, bike, and action sports) and the specialty retail experience are in jeopardy from big-box, non-endemic retail/e-commerce. 
Womenetics: How did winning the Sporting Goods Business 40 Under 40 award in 2010 and the Utah Business 40 Under 40 award in 2011 affect your life and career?
Layfield: Both awards made me realize that I am very much an external face for our company, and that that’s a massive responsibility. Our employees were proud of me for being honored, and I was touched by the employee support I received. I’ve always been proud to say I work at Backcountry.com – and getting an award because of my work here is the ultimate compliment.
Womenetics: Between family and quickly moving up the ranks at Backcountry.com, you must stay perpetually busy. How do you make time for yourself? What do you like to do to unwind?
Layfield: I consider time at Backcountry.com time for myself – that may sound odd but it’s true – I love my job, and I get a ton of personal satisfaction from work. As for unwinding from work – I like to travel, read, cook, run with my dogs, and fly home to California to see my extended family and friends. The simple things are what make me happy – dinner with my husband and daughter, gardening on a sunny day, or a hitting a garage sale on a Saturday morning.
Womenetics: With a young daughter and a baby on the way, how do you balance your personal life with your successful career?
Layfield: I manage my time well. I have to. I don’t have the luxury of putting things off or being vague about my schedule. I do make a concerted effort to work smart and to allow myself to be present with my family and friends when I’m not working. That takes practice, but I’m getting better at it.
Womenetics: What advice would you share with young women trying to plan a career in marketing or as a corporate executive?
Layfield: The advice I would give would be for both women and men, and it should apply to whatever it is that you choose to do as your career.
- Choose to work for a company or in an industry that you can really get behind. Believe in what you do, what you make, or what you represent. Being true to yourself and doing something that you’re passionate about will make you much more successful in the end.
- Always surround yourself with exceptional people – whether you’re collaborating with them or you’re hiring them.
- Obsess over the quality of your work. Take the extra 10 minutes, 30 minutes, two hours, whatever it takes, to polish a report, a presentation, a spreadsheet, an email, etc.
- Develop a reputation for going the extra mile to deliver excellent work.
- Have fun at work.
Based near Atlanta, Shala Hainer has been writing and copyediting since 1995. Beginning her career at newspapers such as the Marietta Daily Journal and the Atlanta Business Chronicle, she most recently wrote and edited articles for several nonprofit organizations before purchasing a flower shop in 2006. She earned a bachelor’s in communications from Jacksonville State University.
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