Let’s Talk About My Disaster of a Side Hustle

Look, I’m gonna be honest with you. I’ve been in this game for over 20 years, and I’ve seen alot of stuff. But nothing, nothing, prepared me for the cluster that was my attempt at launching an online store back in 2018. I was so sure I had it all figured out. Boy, was I wrong.

It was March 14th, 2018, to be exact. I was sitting in my apartment in Austin, Texas, surrounded by boxes of inventory I thought would sell like hotcakes. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. I had this brilliant idea to sell handmade, organic, gluten-free, vegan, whatever-the-hell-else-you-want dog treats. I mean, who doesn’t love their dog, right? Wrong. Turns out, not enough people love their dogs enough to pay $12 for a bag of treats that look like they’ve been stepped on.

But hey, let’s back up a sec. Before I dive into my personal train wreck, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. E-commerce is hard. Like, really hard. It’s not just about throwing up a website and waiting for the money to roll in. It’s about marketing, logistics, customer service, and a million other things that most people don’t even think about.

Why Most Online Stores Fail

I’ve talked to so many people who think they can just slap a Shopify store together and become the next Jeff Bezos. Newsflash: it doesn’t work like that. Let me tell you about Marcus, a guy I met at a conference in Austin last year. He had this idea for a subscription box service for cat owners. Sounds cute, right? Well, he didn’t think about the cost of shipping, or the fact that cats are picky little jerks who probably wouldn’t even use half the stuff he was sending them. I tried to warn him, but he was convinced he was gonna be the next big thing. Fast forward six months, and his store is gone. Poof. Disappeared into the ether like so many others.

And look, I get it. The allure of being your own boss, setting your own hours, and making a killing online is tempting. But the reality is, it’s a committment. A big one. You gotta be ready to put in the work, the long hours, and the emotional energy. Most people aren’t.

Take my friend Dave, for example. He’s a web designer, and he’s seen his fair share of e-commerce sites. I asked him what the biggest mistake he sees new online store owners make. He said, “They think they can do everything themselves. They don’t realize that running an online store is a full-time job, and then some.” Which… yeah. Fair enough.

So, You Want to Start an Online Store? Here’s What You Need to Know

Okay, so you’re still reading this, which means you’re probably still interested in starting your own online store. Fine. Let’s talk about what you need to do to actually succeed.

First things first, you gotta find a niche. And no, “selling stuff” is not a niche. You need to find something specific, something you can actually compete in. And for the love of god, do your research. Don’t just assume that because you love something, other people will too. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people launch stores based on their hobbies, only to realize that the market for hand-knitted, fairy-themed, crochet dolls is not as big as they thought.

And speaking of research, you gotta know your competition. Who are they? What are they doing well? What are they doing poorly? How can you be better than them? This is where most people drop the ball. They think they can just jump in and start selling, without even looking at what’s already out there. Newsflash: that’s a recipe for disaster.

Oh, and let’s talk about marketing. Because honestly, if you don’t know how to market your store, you might as well not even bother. You can have the best product in the world, but if nobody knows about it, you’re gonna be in for a world of hurt. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people spend thousands of dollars on inventory, only to have it sit in their garage because they didn’t put any effort into promoting their store.

And look, I’m not saying you need to be a marketing guru. But you need to have a basic understanding of how to get the word out. Social media, email marketing, SEO, whatever. You need to be doing something to drive traffic to your site.

Speaking of SEO, let me tell you about the time I tried to “SEO-optimize” my dog treat store. I spent hours researching keywords, tweaking my product descriptions, and building backlinks. I even wrote a blog post about the immigration policy news update and how it affected the pet industry. I mean, I was completley obsessed. And you know what? It didn’t do jack. Turns out, SEO is a long game, and I was too impatient to wait for it to pay off.

But hey, let’s talk about something else for a sec. Have you ever noticed how some people just have a knack for this stuff? Like, they can launch a store overnight and start making money hand over fist? It’s frustrating, I know. But the truth is, most of those people have been working their butts off behind the scenes for months, if not years. They’ve failed, they’ve learned, and they’ve kept going. That’s the secret sauce, folks. Persistence.

And look, I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that starting an online store is easy. Because it’s not. It’s hard, and it’s scary, and it’s gonna take alot of work. But if you’re willing to put in the effort, if you’re willing to learn from your mistakes, and if you’re willing to keep going even when things get tough, then maybe, just maybe, you’ll make it.

But probably not. I mean, let’s be real here. The odds are stacked against you. But hey, somebody’s gotta win, right? Might as well be you.

Author Bio: Sarah Johnson is a senior magazine editor with over 20 years of experience in the e-commerce niche. She’s launched her own online store, failed miserably, and lived to tell the tale. When she’s not writing about the ups and downs of e-commerce, she can be found drinking too much coffee and complaining about the state of the world on Twitter.

If you’re passionate about online shopping and the world of e-commerce, you won’t want to miss this insightful e-commerce exploration that captures the highs and lows of the industry.

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