Contributed post
It’s not hard to see why so many people from all walks of life are choosing to set up their own ecommerce businesses, either alongside their day job or taking the plunge as a full time entrepreneur.
There’s something inherently enticing about the thought of waking up in the morning and finding a huge amount of new orders waiting for you as soon as you get out of bed.
What’s more, the rise of digital technology has made it quicker and easier than ever to start a business. Depending on the nature of your product and processes, the overheads can be far easier to accommodate than if you were to set up your own brick and mortar store.
Yet, while establishing an online business can be a quick and easy enterprise, it takes a lot more than 24 hours to grow a business that will generate consistent long term growth.
You can make money in your first month
Conventional wisdom dictates that startups can take years to begin to turn a profit but ecommerce businesses, if properly managed can begin to generate meaningful revenue (at least $1000) within their first month. A business can be established overnight by using a service like www.yourcompanyformations.co.uk to register your business with the appropriate authorities and assuming that you have the means to sell and the resources to distribute you’re good to go straight away. While this kind of short term success is certainly doable, this kind of turnover is rare. Here’s why…
It can take years for your SEO rankings to improve
Unless you’re prepared to begin your operations with a blitzkrieg of Pay Per Click Advertising it could take some time for your website to climbs through the search engine rankings organically. Of course, organic growth is good because it’s inevitably more sustainable than the short term spike of a PPC campaign but it can take 4 months, 6 months or even up to 2 years for your online presence to rise to prominence on the search engines that your target market will be using.
Success requires a long term mentality
If you’re just out to make a quick buck, your business is doomed to fold within its first year. You might be fine with that, but making money in the short term, failing in the long term and trying again under a new banner is hardly a sustainable business model. Moreover, it won’t do your reputation any favors either (and in the digital world, your reputation counts for a lot).
A sustainable business can take 3-5 years to build and if you’re in it for the short haul, you’ll never create the conditions that will allow your business to flourish.
It can take time for your business to find its voice
Any entrepreneur worth their salt will tell you that in an ultra competitive digital marketplace it’s not enough to make or sell the same product as everyone else and just hope that customers will flock to you because you’re awesome. A potent brand needs to be built on a sense of identity and that can take time to establish. You may have an idea of what your mission statement and your values are before you start but these will naturally change and evolve. While this process is always beneficial to a business it can take time.