This year I opened my first ever virtual/online art store as a newbie to product-based business. In hindsight, I may have gone a little overboard in some ways, but overall it was a worthwhile learning experience. Here are some of the bigger lessons learned as a first-time ecommerce biz owner:
1. I am not as tech savvy as I thought.
Complex e-commerce platforms can be overwhelming, even for me.
I had heard that woocommerce is complicated. But since I tend to be more technically savvy than most people, I thought I wouldn’t have any issues.
I was wrong about that.
Woocommerce was fun and exciting at first. But then I quickly fell into “Oh no, too many settings and I don’t know what will break something ” territory.
It was all set up on my wordpress website subdomain. I even bought a template (which, of course, did not look nearly as good once my content replaced the template content on the preview site). I loved the idea that I could funnel multiple print-on-demand manufacturers into one store without my customers (necessarily) knowing about it.
But then came the shipping settings. And the tax settings. And do I have people create user accounts on my domain, or not?
Woocommerce just turned out to be too complicated for my needs as a first-time online seller.
I ended up going with fourthwall. Opting for a simpler platform allowed me to focus on my art and customer experience rather than getting bogged down in technical details.
2. Have a strategy and implement it ahead of time.
Batching work and staying ahead of schedule saved my ass.
Having most of the work done in advance kept me from stressing too much about doing all the things. I'm grateful I followed my instinct to work ahead and batch tasks. Right before launch week I got hit with an episode of vertigo that had me laying down and clocking out from life and business for a few days.
My promotion strategy for this grand opening was mostly social media content that sent my followers to subscribe to my newsletter for a discount code. Plus emailing my list to remind them to actually use their discount codes.
No collaborations, no live streams, no paid ads.
It was relatively easy to make the content ahead of time and then pre-schedule the posts to go live on specific days. Once I did the work, the work was done. And I was able to just let my vertigo brain take its time to reset.
(In full transparency: I still burned myself out in the aftermath. I had some Halloween art ready to go for the “next” launch, but instead of having a strategy and repeating the process, I just uploaded it all and didn’t tell anyone. Guess how much I sold on Day 1 with zero promotion and zero strategy! Yup.)
3. Support comes from unexpected places
This is not my first rodeo, as that silly saying goes.
Launch day brought a pleasant surprise: my largest purchase came from a family member I didn't even know was aware of my business.
I also had another family friend who didn’t buy any products but did donate money to me just to show her support. What!
Keep in mind: I don’t have a very lovey-dovey supportive network of family and local friends. The open, safe conversations that may happen in other families do not happen in mine and we’ve got the history and trauma to prove it.
But this experience reminded me that supportive business friends and family members are often watching and rooting for your success, even if you don't always see it or even believe it exists.
If unexpected financial generosity can come from my family, it can come from anywhere. (Also, I’m working on finding a sense of safety such that I don’t get shocked when people treat me well!)
4. Set Realistic Expectations
I was emotionally prepared to launch my art store and make zero sales, especially given my inconsistent social media presence, very new relationship/familiarity with some email subscribers, and the very recent pivot to my art business.
I really could have made zero sales and I wouldn’t have been shocked.
I knew I needed data to see where I stand as a product-based solopreneur, and launching some products was the way to get it.
This realistic approach, based on an honest assessment of my circumstances, helped me appreciate every sale and connection that I made during the launch.
5. Be Open to Self-Discovery
Lesson: Your goals and preferences may evolve, and that's okay.
Initially, I thought my goal was to establish a platform for pitching to art licensing agents and also make some money on the side. Something along the lines of “Look, I sold my art on products already. You want me on your roster because you can sell my products too.”
But I’ve changed my mind on art agency representation since then. I also realized I want to be more hands-on with my product-based business. I want to give my customers freebies and write hand-written notes and doodle on the mailer. That kind of thing.
Now I’m pivoting away from the print-on-demand work and planning to do product printing and packing and all that stuff that makes the small business shopping experience a lot more personal, for both me and my customers.
Learning is good. Pivots are good.
Launching an online art store is just the beginning, for me. This is the first step on my path to the big things that (for now) are hidden safely from the world until I’m ready to share them. Wish me luck!