Starting an e-commerce business can be a very exciting adventure for some. If you’ve always dreamed of starting a business but you’re intimidated by the startup costs and other complexities of starting a brick-and-mortar business, e-commerce and digital business can be a great way for you to get started!
However, starting and running an e-commerce business is not all roses and rainbows. Just like any entrepreneurial endeavor, it takes time and effort to get your business running.
That being said, if you are a budding e-commerce entrepreneur, here are the 5 truths that you should learn about starting an e-commerce business. Let’s get started!
1) Running an e-commerce business is not easy
While it’s true that most of your e-commerce business operations can be operated at the comfort of your own home (or really, wherever you want to run it), it does not mean that you can get laid-back and expect solid results.
Like other businesses, e-commerce business requires that you get good in marketing, sales, product design (or choosing which products to sell), and so on – and we’re just getting started! On top of that, there’s also accounting, taxes and, in the case of e-commerce business, shipping – which adds to the complexity of the e-commerce business, especially if you plan to ship internationally.
Don’t be intimidated by these, though. But e-commerce business requires from you is dedication to get good in your business. It may take some time before you can truly manage your e-commerce business, but once you do, success will follow!
2) E-commerce business is not a get-rich-quick scheme
If you go to e-commerce thinking that you’ll get $500 a day after getting started, then we have some news for you: unless you’re truly exceptional, it’s just won’t happen.
Making an e-commerce business profitable will take time, so set your mind on long-term goals instead of quick gains. In fact, many e-commerce “entrepreneurs” quit right away is simply because they realize that it will not give them the fast money that they want from the business.
If you are entering e-commerce business, it’s because you want to run a business in the long run, not because you just want a quick cash.
3) Failure is part of success
This is a hard-to-swallow pill, but this is the truth: you’re going to fail before you achieve success. It may sound a sad and hard truth, but in reality, it’s opposite – it means that you should learn to embrace failure whenever it comes, learn from it, move on, and try to do things better next time until you make it and be successful!
So, stop thinking that failure as an end to your business. Instead, think that failure is just part of the process that you need to learn from and move on.
4) Lead a customer-centric approach
In business, there’s a saying that “customers is always right”. It’s obviously not true all the time, but what it really means is that, in business, you should focus on giving your customers a good experience if you want to be successful.
Many businesses like to focus on themselves and on getting profits but have little care for their customers. In fact, you have probably encountered one yourself. These are the businesses that want to close the deal with you as soon as possible, but every time you have concerns, they just don’t care about you.
Don’t be those businesses. Provide good customer experience by providing proper customer service, ensuring product quality and ensuring that the products they ordered on your store will arrive at their homes safe, secure and on-time.
5) E-commerce business is a long-term game
As you can already tell above, e-commerce business is a long-term game. If you want to be successful at it, you must stick to it in good times and bad times until you make your business work.
Of course, there are times when you may need to quit, and that’s OK. It could be that you realize that e-commerce is not for you or you’ll get on to another e-commerce business and start from scratch again. But whether it’s e-commerce or any other endeavor, it’ll be a long-term and success takes time before you finally achieve it.
Stick around, play the long-term game, and you may just achieve success!
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