What I’ve Learned After 2 Years in Business

Many people who have known me for a while know that I’ve been in the eCommerce industry for a while. 20 years actually. But how did I get into the industry? I was fortunate enough to be an early employee at a startup in North Carolina called AuctionRover.com in 1999, back in the time when adding a “.com” to your name instantly tripled your venture capital valuation. (Now that same premium is just applied to anything which says “social marketplace.” See how much has changed?).

I spent about 10 years there doing all sorts of things, mostly related to technology and understanding our sellers who were looking to make more money on eBay and Amazon. During that 10 years, the company changed names another 3 times. First, Goto.com Auctions, then Yahoo, finally becoming ChannelAdvisor, a company that exists still today right down the street from its original location.

Why do I say this? Because I still draw on those lessons today, the people I met there, and the relationships I formed during that period in order to be successful in my current business.

1. What is RMW Commerce about?

   The problem I solve is that many companies are trying to take advantage of eCommerce and new digital channels, but many don’t have the experience, talent, or vision to execute a major shift to these new channels successfully.
   I help these companies by providing advisory services which assess their current situation and then build a clear strategic plan (including people, process, technology, and financial components). Once a strategic plan is approved by investors, I can stay with the company through the risky startup and launch phases of the project until the company is prepared to execute on its own.

   Common areas I specialize in include direct-to-consumer eCommerce, online marketplaces such as Amazon, building your own marketplace or drop ship program, and supply chain.

   Unlike other agencies where they assign whoever happens to be on their “bench” to your project, I pick from across the entire industry of experts in the field that I have worked with in my 20 year career and craft a custom team to stay with the project throughout its duration. These individuals are simply the best I can find and any client would be lucky to have 1 of them on any project, much less an entire team of eCommerce and digital experts on one engagement. This is quite different than a traditional big consulting firm where you are lucky to get one senior partner with some experience, while your money subsidizes the rest of the people on the project that are learning from you, rather than the other way around.

   My customers are multi-hundred million dollar large private-equity backed brands, growing direct to consumer marketplaces, eCommerce software and service providers, and privately held brands looking to make a switch in their business model.

   Now, onto why you clicked this in the first place — what I’ve learned.

2. I Like the Sales Process

   This is probably the biggest surprise for me. It certainly feels strange to say as a trained electrical engineer. Most people think the sales process involves an endless number of cold calls. I don’t do that. In the last two years, I have only done a blind outreach that was not for the purpose of networking about twice. I’ve done hundreds of outreaches for the purposes of networking, and networking can result in business, but those aren’t the same thing. I consider cold calls and cold outreach “working a list of companies.” I have definitely never done that.
   

   What is it I like most about the sales process? Two things. One is creativity. Particularly in consulting, while you have a general idea of the types of problems you can solve, unlike a normal software company you aren’t limited by “what’s on the tin” (as the Brits might say). Meaning, you can be creative and meet the customer where they are with a solution that fits exactly what they need. Another is problem-solving. I enjoy the process of meeting new people and understanding what’s going on with their business. What they’d like to achieve, and what is standing in their way.

3. Consistency Beats Everything

   This applies in particular with regards to marketing. When you start a business, people don’t just beat a path to your door. It takes a while for people to know you are in a new business, and it takes even longer for them to think of you when they have a need to reach out for a referral or conversation. That means you need to be patient and consistent about your networking, your content generation, etc.
   
   In the early days of starting your business, I would encourage you to use your downtime to write content and network. Keep those habits and don’t let them wane when you get busy. I still make time every week to meet 2-3 new people, even if I have no idea who they are or why they were introduced to me. I can’t tell you how many times I have a new challenge I need help solving, and the person who I just happened to have met 1-6 months ago is the perfect person to help with that part of the project. Other times, it’s someone I’ve known for years.
   

   With regards to content consistency, the road to failure is paved with infrequent and perfectionist tendencies. I have gotten some of the best responses to my content when I publish something before I think it’s ready, or even before I feel that I’m an expert.

   
   If you think of your content as a conversation, you become less worried about being “right” and more worried about how to start the dialogue.

4. Give Yourself Some Runway

   This one was the hardest for me, and probably one of the reasons it took me so long to start my own business. Fear.
   
   Fear of looking stupid. Fear of not knowing what you’re doing. Fear of not having enough money. That last one is real. For this venture, I saved up enough money that I was willing to give myself two years without making a single dime before giving up and getting back to a normal job. Would I have lasted a full two years? I’m not sure. I’m just glad I didn’t end up having to find out.

   
   What do I mean by giving yourself runway? Essentially, once you make a decision to start your business, don’t revisit it each month. At the beginning of your business there is excitement and energy. But it’s not easy. And there will be days you get frustrated and down. In those times, it helps to remind yourself that you didn’t expect it to take only a few months to get off the ground.
   
   That’s when it helps to think — oh, I’ve only been at this for 4 months. I didn’t expect to have any customers by this time in the first place. It might not make you any less scared, but it does help you get up the next day and not panic!
   
   Panic is bad, right? No one wants to buy from a panicked salesperson.

5. Treat Small Projects Like Networking

   If you haven’t had work in the last couple of months, it’s easy to want to price yourself to perfection instead of just being appropriate for what the customer can bear. Particularly early on, you can’t be too choosy about your projects. You don’t know what you’ll be good at, and you need the practice anyway.
   
   One helpful thing to tide you over during the lean times (and if you are consulting, there will be some!) — treat small projects like networking. Don’t try to ask for too much money for a small customer. Just enjoy working with them and charge what they can afford. The customer will appreciate it, you will keep yourself busy, you’ll learn something, and you’ll make a new connection.
   
   That connection might be useful at some other time in the future, you never know.

6. It Takes Six Months to Find Your Audience

   If you try to start out your business by perfecting your pitch, you may not be very successful. Why? Because you don’t know who you should be pitching in the first place! My first meetings were not pitches at all. It was just networking, telling people about my background, and then judging their reaction. Before I met with someone I might try to put myself in their shoes and have 2-3 ideas for how I might be able to help them, but not always. Sometimes I just blurted out my career history. If it got someone excited I knew I might be on the right track.
   
   After about 6 months of doing this with dozens of people, you start to get an idea of people you hit it off with, and people you don’t. Oh, and quite a number of these calls ended badly. People thought I might be trying to sell them something, or often I just seemed to have nothing in common with the person. Neither of us could think about how we might help each other out. That’s OK too. But it can get frustrating, even depressing if you have a number of calls like this in a row.
   
   I’ll be honest, I work better not thinking of what I do as pitching or sales. At this point in my business, I know the types of people I can help, and I know what I can help them with. I know pretty early on if a customer is too big or too small for me to help. This helps me be more efficient with my time.

   
   Another reason that you want to know your audience? Many people are friendly and want to help you. If they remember you, and you are clear about the type of person you are trying to meet, perhaps they just met with someone who fits that profile. Early on, some people would ask me who I would want to meet - and I really had no clue who I wanted to meet. How could I? I hadn’t made any sales yet.