Picasso once quipped it took him 30 years to draw a masterpiece in seconds. The message? Mastery ain’t a walk in the park. Neither is business success. It’s not the glossy finish we see but the gritty journey beneath it that shapes a winner. So, let’s dissect the trials and triumphs of some online warriors who’ve been there, done that, and got the T-shirt.
Take one of my recent students, Ammand Hasbani, a four-time starter whose first three e-commerce stints tanked.
Branding blunders? Check.
Shoddy products? Yep.
Seasonal misfires? Bingo.
But come the fourth, amid a pandemic no less, Ammand hit a sweet $7500 in sales in a week. The takeaway?
Adapt or Die.
Or take Chris Wilson’s tale? A branding professional at an ad agency. Started writing copy on Fiverr, then SEO help on the side and finally ad design critiques. All flops. But when he cast a wider net staying true to his core as a branding professional, catering to a core customer base that needed him, badly, the cash register finally began to ka-ching, with $13,000 in online consulting fees within weeks. Persistence, people.
The Downturn Turned Up
Then there’s the pair Emma and Elise, accounting professionals who got let go in the recent downsizing phase their company went through. Not sure where to turn, they decided to find customers online, show them how to fix up their books and manage on their own. A corporate America heartbreak that turned into a prep-class for future financial gains.
Here’s the thing:
Thomas Edison once said he found 10,000 ways that didn’t work. Each misstep is a step toward success. What’s often missing in the glossy success narratives are the blood, sweat, and tears that forge the path to victory. Remember, it’s the willingness to slog it out, trip up, and get back up that carves out true e-commerce champs. So embrace the mess-ups; they’re your unsung hero.
