Why it takes long time to establish an e-commerce store without any money

 (For me, anyway)

Photo Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

From the very beginning when I started my online store I decided not to involve my friends and family, in any way.

For me, that was important.

Friends are friends and family is family, and should so be I think. Involving friends and family as customer relies on the guilt I think, and will not end well, not with friends.

That was number one for me.

Number two was because I have no money to invest with and I decided not to borrow any money for my business.  It must, and should grow by itself.

And there came the second problem, how to grow something without advertising, and advertising, that costs money, it is a huge problem.

Email is one thing, but then you have to have an email list. I will not involve my friends, and that's my email list.

So that's no option, and to grow my email list at my store, people have to subscribe.

And that means I have to have visitors.

So there's a moment 22, without visitors, no subscribers, without subscribers, no email list.

Make a Facebook page, someone thinks.

Yes, I've done that, but a business page on Facebook depends on advertising, and again a cost. I want to reach people, not companies. And a business page suggests companies follow. And that doesn't sell.

People with the same ideas and businesses connect. And that's nice, but don't implicate buyers.

Instagram! Yes, also an idea, and fulfilled.

Instagram is almost like Facebook, why shouldn't it be, it is the same company. It is a bit easier to connect to "ordinary" people but most of them who follow you are people with the same idea and interest, to start a business. And yes, you get some input and ideas, but seldom customers.

You can put most of the social media in the same box. Followers are often people and businesses with the same goal.

It is important to sell yourself, someone says, and your business, and that's the third problem. 

In my mind, that is like hustling and it is wrong to think so, I know, but I still think so. I have to climb that mountain, but it is still, a bit hard for me, to reach my goal.

Instagram and Facebook are to forget, it's advertising there to reach the customer I want. LinkedIn feels wrong for my kind of product. Twitter can't stand it, I dislike Twitter. And I have not analyzed it, I just do. 

What's more?

Time!

Time is the word.

Time and SEO. They are still free and don't cost anything, at least now.

So I decided to let it take time.

Two year at least before it will bring any profit.

So to everyone who thought of starting an e-commerce business without money I want to say…. Do it! It is fun.

But, don't believe that you are going to succeed at the beginning. Let it take time.

Don't rush, let it slowly grow.

And work on SEO, so you get a better position in Google.

If you can do it full time, it is easier, then you can dig into it, and fully understand every process. I can't, I have my full-time job as an embryologist and that is a bit far away from the knowledge of how to manage a business. But I use a lot of time trying to understand.

But I know nothing about algorithms and how they affect you on social media and marketing. 

Why does he do it then, someone perhaps thinks? 

First of all, I think it's fun. 

Second, it is far away from my daily job, and I think it is important to do other things in your spare time. It makes you a better person, both at home and at work.

Third, I have some loans to pay off and I want to do it quickly. I don't want to have that on my shoulder anymore. So I need an extra income. 

And perhaps one day can work from wherever I want. Misunderstand me right, I love my full-time job, but I am a bit tired of going to the same place every day. I want to spend more time at my summer house, where I feel free in my mind.

If there is anyone who has a tip or an idea to reach customers and buyers, please give me a hint and I would be grateful to you forever :-)

And, of course, it must be free of charge.

How to make a profitable business without any money

 

It seems like the word with right now is a funnel for marketing and selling.

But what the f… is a funnel.

Many companies are advertising buy this funnel, and your selling will grow by 50%, they must have meant their selling.

Photo fauxels from Pexels free photos

A funnel is not a magic wand, it is how you make visitors to buyers. That's all. 

Every commercial business has a sales funnel because every commercial business is attempting to flip visitors into leads and leads into paying customers.

But before you can talk about the funnel, you have to have visitors. It doesn't matter how well-done funnel you have unless you don't have visitors.

So before you even think about the funnel, you have to think about visitors. 

That is the main problem, how to get visitors into your funnel?

Advertising and marketing, and yes there's a funnel too, is the only way to get visitors fast. But then you have to have money. Advertising at a good spot is expensive if you want effective marketing.

Photo Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels free photos

If you don't have money?

Most of those who start a side business like myself and my e-commerce business, do it as a small business in their spare time with no or a small budget.

So what to do?

First, you need time, time is on your side, there is nothing like easy passive money, the only thing you can offer is hard work, and time. 

When I started my e-commerce business I decided to give it two years before I get any customer to talk about, so I work about 1 to 3 hours every day (evening and night) for nothing and that's how it is going to be I think. With a few selling now and then.

Second, you have to work on your SEO, that's the ultimate thing, you have to get a better position at Google. And there you need time too, it takes time to get a high score at Google.

This guy, says he has found a loophole in Google that works, he calls it invisible keywords.

I have not yet dug deeper into that, so I don't know, but I will and it would perhaps end up in a new article.

Buy the way, that's why I write, it is a good way to understand things. I have to dig into it to understand it and write about it.

You can get some help from Fiverr or other sites like that but again you need money, but you can start and download the e-book from Fiverr at the end of the article. 

Learn SEO, I am still doing that, work hard, and give it some time and you perhaps and probably will end up with a working business.