Yesterday, my wife and I were working on a new product for a business we run and realized it’s been 8 years since we started it from our little apartment in NYC.
The first year or so, we were an offline operation. So there were paper invoices and checks in the mail. That’s how things worked back in the day.
Sometime in 2002 I decided to move our business online. I thought it sounded like the ticket, but I knew very little about two very important things:
- Selling
- Selling Online
Despite my shortcomings at the time, I put up a quick website, got a Paypal® account, contacted some previous customers from our offline days… and BINGO, we got our first order.
I’ve never recovered since seeing that magic happen. Value was delivered over thousands of miles. WOW.
I knew that if I was going to turn this into something real (and I needed it to be real since we had just moved across the country to Arizona with no other consistent source of income), I’d have to start learning.
That’s pretty much when my information and learning addiction kicked in.
It’s been around 7 years since that time and the business is STILL alive and kicking.
We’ve thought about closing it down every now and again, because it’s not a huge money maker. We’re not talking a million dollars here folks.
For some reason, we’ve never done it. Lucky for us, because we love it.
Looking back, I’ve learned a LOT during those 7 years. Here are some of my observations when I think back about how far we’ve come…
- Just keep going. That’s a big part of success in business and in life.
- The quickest way to get your customers coming back is to be GREAT at doing something. No marketing “tricks” are required.
- When you stick around for YEARS and have some of the same customers for years, there’s a relationship that gets created. Trust gets created. Try to remember not to take that for granted.
- Business is about people. I LOVE hearing how our little business helps people in their lives. How it makes their lives easier. How it changes their attitudes. It makes me feel good - like what I’m doing MATTERS. Honestly, I don’t know if that was our goal at the beginning, but it sure is part of the payoff now.
- Despite what the gurus say, you don’t need a big list to have a nice business.
- In the end, I think people want to be treated well and they want to get value for their money. It’s really that simple.
- Stand for something unique. Looking back, I think that’s been a big part of our success.
- I don’t think what we’re selling is the same thing that our customers are buying. You read that in marketing books, but now I SEE what that means. After all these years, seeing the difference our products make in people’s lives… and hearing them tell us about it… THAT’S what I think they’re buying. That’s the end product. Do they think that? I don’t know. Do they feel it? Maybe.
- Don’t try to make a business something that it isn’t. This is not a million dollar operation. I enjoy it more when I don’t try to make it one.
- You might piss some people off. It’s usually not about you - unless you did something stupid. Don’t worry about it too much. Don’t worry about anything too much. It’s a waste of energy. Just do your best and keep trying to help people. Life is not black and white. If your eyes are open, it’s ALWAYS many, many shades of gray.
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