I am going to commit an atrocity the next time I hear a leftist or a nostalgic conservative tell me how much
better the economy was in the 1950s.
Think about the guy running the corner store.
He's cheery and everyone loves him.
But chances are, he used to be, or often still is, a nervous wreck.
With a brick-and-mortar store, as soon as you open the clock is ticking. You'd better get profitable fast, or you're going to be overwhelmed by rent, utilities, wages, and the long list of other expenses a store owner faces.
With an online store those expenses are a tiny fraction of what the poor brick-and-mortar fellow has to deal with. You have all the time in the world to get profitable. You can experiment, learn the ropes, try different products, try different audiences, until it begins to click. No ulcers from worrying that if you're not profitable by the Xth week, you're finished.
Another thing: if life should happen -- if you should need to take a few months off to attend to an emergency, let's say -- your online store will still be waiting for you when you get back.
The advantages are overwhelming.
Now: what products you choose, where you get the products from, how they get shipped to the consumer (you don't have to touch them), how to pick winners, how to identify the right demographic -- this is all stuff Aidan Booth can teach you, since he's the expert.
He gave us a bird's-eye overview of how the most newbie-friendly eCommerce strategy works in 2020 on Tuesday night. You should watch it.
You keep telling yourself: one of these days I'm going to look into this Internet thing.
Today's the day.
The replay of our online event gets taken down tomorrow, so tune in:
Tom Woods