What does it take to become a successful eCommerce Entrepreneur? Determination.
Unfortunately it’s all too easy to be disheartened at times. So if our guide for a new business owner didn’t help, and our list of low-cost, high-return strategies for sustainable growth failed to inspire you, get ready to learn about 4 groundbreaking real-life eCommerce entrepreneurs who refused to take no for an answer. Grab a cup of tea, get inspired, and then go back to building your own eCommerce success story.
And just maybe we’ll be writing about you in a few years!
Why is being an eCommerce entrepreneur so vital?
In a world like ours, almost every moment revolves around online accessibility. It’s no surprise that eCommerce entrepreneurs are the ones affecting our lives on a daily basis.
After all, business is business. From a stroll to the grocery shops, to a new T-shirt purchase, almost every functioning part of our lives revolves around commerce. Now with eCommerce covering any kind of product we desire entrepreneurs aren’t simply providing products.
They are re-inventing them.
Virtualised Shopping Centres
Dropped out from college and received over 40 investor rejections, but Deena Varshavskaya refused to take no for an answer, and is now listed by Glamour as one of 35 women under 35 who are changing the tech industry.
Tired of searching from shopping centre to shopping centre, Varshavskaya decided to launch Wanelo (the name stems from “want-need-love”) to bring businesses and customers closer together.
Now Wanelo provides 550,000 stores all one one app. From large chains to tiny, kitsch boutiques, her vision and determination has launched the company from aspiring startup, to revolutionary eCommerce provider.
Cosmetic Creativity
Our daily lives are filled with incredibly photogenic (or photoshopped) movie stars, youtubers and celebrities. Birchbox is a company that decided on a business plan that appeals to a huge majority of cosmetic enthusiasts.
Their catchy phrase “beauty casual” is a perfect target market identifier. They cater to the middle-ground. Those who want to look good – but without the hours and investment that are involved with high-end cosmetics.
Far from a singular focus on beauty products, BirchBox built its entire online business to encourage female empowerment and sustainability. They don’t just build products – they build a brand and an ethos that appeals to their customers.
Not only that, but they have the intelligence to include subscription services within their orders (something that our very own eSuperStore provides!) This reduces hassle for customers, maintains a steady source of business, and basically proves convenient for everyone involved!
Rethinking Retail
Clothes shopping is the marmite of eCommerce – you either love it or you hate it. One defining feature however, is that you rarely find clothes that fit you perfectly.
If the waist fits, the legs are too long. The style is perfect, but maybe the shoulders are a little off.
Bonobos is the brand that changed the meaning of a retail store. Since its launch in 2008, Bonobos is now the largest company ever built online in the US. After a setback in 2011 the CEO Andy Dunn, in typical eCommerce entrepreneur fashion, refused to take NO as an answer!
The company survived on social media marketing alone and they carved out their stunning success on a reputation of uniquely fitted clothes. Simply turn up for a measurement appointment, and then select your orders online to receive perfectly fitted attire with zero stress.
Eight hour shopping trip across five different shopping centres? Or just one single fitting and clothes ordered to your door?
They did whatever it took – and found they had more to spare!
Shaking up Shoes
From time-to-time, companies can change the world not by their products, but in how they define their management style. Zappos is one of them.
The company CEO Tony Hsieh launched an initiative that allowed the company sustainable growth, and avoided the issues facing growing businesses.
Lack of improvisation, slow management and stagnation can affect all businesses, regardless of size. This means that centralised businesses across the world reach a certain stage of growth and find themselves unable to continue.
Since their adoption of Holacracy, that was no longer an issue.
Tony Hsieh restructured his business in a very different way to most companies, and that appears to have been the ticket to success. He created a list of guidelines for the entire company – and that was it.
As long as those guidelines are fulfilled, each smaller centre can function as they like – just as long as they are successful. With de-centralised centres efficiently running themselves according to their own circumstances, Zappos pioneered a different method of business management.
Sometimes the “old-school” isn’t always the best way – so don’t be afraid to try something new!
Inspired to Become the Next Revolutionary eCommerce Entrepreneur?
Every one of these businesses started off with a single, determined individual. Their original ideas probably changed along the way, but their resolve to succeed did not.
That’s what it means to be an eCommerce entrepreneur.
Luckily we’ve made it easier for aspiring businesses to get their foot on the ladder, and we mean WAY easier. With our eSuperStore, businesses can now set up their own website completely free. Not only that, but you:
- Pay ZERO commission on sales
- Have multilingual storefronts
- Use multiple payment pathways to avoid international sales (more about that here)
- Accurately provide business projections with subscription features
- Control business via your on-the-go app
And much more – just check out our eCommerce platform comparison!
So now you can see what your business could become. With the right mindset, and a little help from us, you could be changing the world with your vision in just a few years. We’ll even showcase you on our resources page to inspire other aspiring eCommerce entrepreneurs.
Now get out there and show us what you’re made of!
