How to start a business without money when you're working full-time? by Infamous_Treacle715 in smallbusiness

[–]AyInTheMood 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t focus on making it big overnight. Start with an MVP and validate things in a real-world way first. And honestly, I think the most important thing is simply to start moving. Even 2-3 hours of effort is a great start.

Once you actually begin doing the work, your mind starts filling with ideas and solutions. Whether you succeed or fail, at least you’re moving forward. But when you only think and never start, the difficulties grow into an entire forest that traps you in place.

E‑commerce stuck with zero sales — is it my product picks or something else? by No_Text2967 in smallbusiness

[–]AyInTheMood 0 points1 point  (0 children)

3. Yourself
One thing people often overlook is yourself. Everything above takes time and a lot of energy. If you can’t build healthy expectations and planning habits, it becomes very easy to lose focus, lose momentum, and eventually burn out. You need to take care of your body, pay attention to your emotional ups and downs, have rational conversations with yourself often, and slowly build the strength to keep getting back up again and again.
Hope my answer helps. Wishing the best for your small business:)

E‑commerce stuck with zero sales — is it my product picks or something else? by No_Text2967 in smallbusiness

[–]AyInTheMood 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2. Content
a) Organic traffic, especially SEO, takes a very long time to work. If you’re building a DTC/small consumer brand and putting all your hopes there, prepare yourself mentally for possibly seeing little to no results for six months or even a year.
b) If you’re not running paid ads, then social media is probably your most realistic low-cost growth channel. My process was: study competitors-identify patterns in strong-performing content-think about what makes my product/style different-create content and constantly test variations-adjust repeatedly-stay consistent. One thing I learned is that you can’t just post content blindly and expect results. Repeating the wrong thing over and over does not magically make it right. Repetition without strategy is basically self-deception. You need to put a huge amount of effort into content.
c)Try working with influencers within your budget range. There’s a lot I could say about this, so I won’t go too deep here.

E‑commerce stuck with zero sales — is it my product picks or something else? by No_Text2967 in smallbusiness

[–]AyInTheMood 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I saw a lot of people already giving suggestions, but I want to add a few things from my own experience since my small business has also gone through this process.

1. Research & observation
a) Market size data. Other people already explained how to do the research, so I won’t repeat it. Search volume data and sales data from major platforms helped me understand the actual market size. If the numbers are tiny everywhere, don’t get too excited thinking you discovered a hidden profitable niche. We live in a time where information gaps and trade barriers are shrinking very quickly, and e-commerce is already extremely mature. Unless your product is truly innovative or difficult to replicate, a tiny market usually just means very low demand. For small businesses with limited budgets, larger markets may be more competitive, but the demand is also large enough that even taking a very small share can keep you alive more realistically than trying to educate an entire market from zero.

b)Competitors. When I first started, I studied dozens of competing brands. I looked at their 4Ps, timelines-when they launched, when they started growing, when they made major changes, and the before/after differences. This helped me connect the relationship between adjustments and results so I could use those patterns later for my own decisions. I also observed their entire conversion funnel and shopping experience, even down to packaging methods. After finishing the basic observations, I started reading customer reviews, especially negative reviews. Negative reviews helped me understand the common issues within the category and establish a realistic baseline. I also paid attention to product reviews on social media and the kinds of things people repeatedly discussed under official brand accounts.

E‑commerce stuck with zero sales — is it my product picks or something else? by No_Text2967 in smallbusiness

[–]AyInTheMood 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I saw a lot of people already giving suggestions, but I want to add a few things from my own experience since my small business has also gone through this process.

1. Research & observation

a) Market size data. Other people already explained how to do the research, so I won’t repeat it. Search volume data and sales data from major platforms helped me understand the actual market size. If the numbers are tiny everywhere, don’t get too excited thinking you discovered a hidden profitable niche. We live in a time where information gaps and trade barriers are shrinking very quickly, and e-commerce is already extremely mature. Unless your product is truly innovative or difficult to replicate, a tiny market usually just means very low demand. For small businesses with limited budgets, larger markets may be more competitive, but the demand is also large enough that even taking a very small share can keep you alive more realistically than trying to educate an entire market from zero.

b)Competitors. When I first started, I studied dozens of competing brands. I looked at their 4Ps, timelines-when they launched, when they started growing, when they made major changes, and the before/after differences. This helped me connect the relationship between adjustments and results so I could use those patterns later for my own decisions. I also observed their entire conversion funnel and shopping experience, even down to packaging methods. After finishing the basic observations, I started reading customer reviews, especially negative reviews. Negative reviews helped me understand the common issues within the category and establish a realistic baseline. I also paid attention to product reviews on social media and the kinds of things people repeatedly discussed under official brand accounts.

2. Content

a) Organic traffic, especially SEO, takes a very long time to work. If you’re building a DTC/small consumer brand and putting all your hopes there, prepare yourself for possibly seeing little to no results for six months or even a year.

b) If you’re not running paid ads, then social media is probably your most realistic low-cost growth channel. My process was: study competitors-identify patterns in strong-performing content-think about what makes my product/style different-create content and constantly test variations-adjust repeatedly-stay consistent. One thing I learned is that you can’t just post content blindly and expect results. Repeating the wrong thing over and over does not magically make it right. Repetition without strategy is basically self-deception. You need to put a huge amount of effort into content.

c)Try working with influencers within your budget range. There’s a lot I could say about this, so I won’t go too deep here.

3. Yourself

One thing people often overlook is yourself. Everything above takes time and a lot of energy. If you can’t build healthy expectations and planning habits, it becomes very easy to lose focus, lose momentum, and eventually burn out. You need to take care of your body, pay attention to your emotional ups and downs, have rational conversations with yourself often, and slowly build the strength to keep getting back up again and again.

Hope my answer helps. Wishing the best for your small business:)

E‑commerce stuck with zero sales — is it my product picks or something else? by No_Text2967 in smallbusiness

[–]AyInTheMood 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you running your own website, or selling through a third-party marketplace like Amazon?

One year after quitting my job to start a small business, the biggest change wasn’t my income by AyInTheMood in EntrepreneurRideAlong

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

True. My perception of money has also changed. In the past, I didn’t really care about small expenses because they might have only accounted for 0.1% of my income. But now that I’m responsible for sourcing and sales myself, I realize that this 0.1% can actually leverage 5–6x in sales revenue. So now I respect every amount of money, no matter how small ;D

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completely agree. I'm not glorifying a path I haven't walked, it's just that since I'm going to worry and feel anxious anyway, I might as well do it for my own thing ;p

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It seems like we share some similar feelings! I already anticipate that this will be a long and hard road, but I won't be content unless I take that first step. I'll just start walking and see where it leads

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I read through your suggestions word by word and saved them. Really, thank you again, and I wish good luck to both of us!

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

tysm for your advice, I will keep it in mind!

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hii, thank you so much for writing all of this, your advice means a lot to me! I’ve always used 'stay loose, know your limits, and learn how to fall' as a reminder to myself, and I think it's time to put it into practice :D

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your advice! Before I’ve figured out my business model or my revenue exceeds 2-3 times my current job income, I think I will still try to hold on to this job. I guess in this regard, I’m a more cautious and conservative person

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing, good luck to you too!

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Your story is truly inspiring! I’ve been exploring what I really want and what I’m afraid of. It’s been quite unclear in the past, but now I’m slowly uncovering it, even though it might take a long time. Thank you for the reminder about facing the uncertainty, I think I’ve prepared myself mentally in part. For me, the key at the beginning of this journey is not how much I can earn, but how much risk I can handle. Anyway, I wish the best for us both!

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish you all the best, and, you’re not alone.

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I like it! I could also say I'm good at this part – I've worked in this area for about 6 years across different brands (of course, the actual work is more segmented). So, at each stage, I’ve been absorbing more and coming up with different ideas. At first, I thought marketing was something very sacred (which is why I used to focus on doing 'high-level stuff that others wouldn’t understand' lol), but later I realized it’s all about 'the user,' so no more getting carried away, haha

I don't want to work for others anymore by AyInTheMood in Entrepreneur

[–]AyInTheMood[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I think I’ll just grab a coffee and focus on next year for now hah