eCommerce Reality

[DataDog]

Hello Small-Business-Forum eCommerce Vets,

Like all noobs to eCommerce, I am drooling with the prospect of sitting at home on the sofa in my boxers collecting bundles of passive income. Though, I know the age-old expression "If it is too good to be true..." probably applies. With that said, what is reality ... can I make a family-sustaining amount money in a 5-year range, is the eMarket too dynamic to have a stable business, is the real money starting a site and selling it quickly? I need a
dose of eReality, please?

Thank you,

Data

[Harold Mansfield]

Well...first dose of reality is that eCommerce is hard. Very hard. And there's really no such thing as "passive" income. You work for every dollar you make.
You can certainly learn a lot and get something going in 5 years. Lot of trial and error. Whether or not it will be enough to support you is another story. Depends.

Let's start with the basics. What do you plan on selling and to whom?

[Fulcrum]

If you want true passive income, invest in Vanguard funds. Just as great a risk of losing your money but you pay someone else the privilege of doing that for you.

Bluntness aside, I'll echo what Harold asked.

[SumpinSpecial]

Like all noobs to eCommerce, I am drooling with the prospect of sitting at home on the sofa in my boxers collecting bundles of passive income.

Well, first of all, and I don't mean to be rude, but.... this is a stupid thing to think so get it out of your head right now. Nobody thinks this. Even when I launched my online shop, while I thought I would sell more than I currently am, didn't think this. There's no such thing as easy money.

So, as the others have said, we can't tell you what's doable without more detail about what you are thinking of selling. Consulting? Products or services?

[RjMaan]

Yes, there are plenty of people out there who are making plenty of money by doing work in their own house. It is possible but you have to make sure that all the services that you provide by using internet is good and people will pay you.

[JackRidley]

It depends on a niche you pick, but yes everything is possible.
First, start with research. Pick the least competitive niche and build it in stages. Of course, you'll need the right tools: If it's an e-commerce shop, Shopify (https://www.shopify.com/) is an excellent alternative. If you want to get your business running as soon as possible try emailing your prospects, Oxyleads (https://www.oxyleads.com/) is an excellent tool for that. Don't set a bar to high aim for low hanging fruit first and work yourself to the top in small but achievable steps.