Someone sound the trumpet — a creative renaissance is well underway! The resurgence of handmade goods and local services means entrepreneurs — of all ages in any location — can thrive. It means people are more willing than ever to pay a little more for a local, artisanal cheese or a hand-woven bag when they know it’s a one-of-a-kind. The popularity of products with a story, a meaning and, more importantly, a maker, has a new wave of entrepreneurs DIY’ing their own online stores. These small business owners are getting their piece of the $1.2 trillion eCommerce pie and redefining what it means to be successful. In fact, new research shows that more than half of those with an online store believe doing something you love is more important than making money. That number is even higher for people who work from home.
The folks over at Weebly, a simple platform to start and grow your eCommerce business, wanted to do a quick experiment: How would entrepreneurs who’ve created their own site or store answer the question, “What does success mean to you?” Would budget-conscious millennials say, “Cash in the bank?” Or would people respond with a more meaningful answer? Or, in this busy day and age, would they respond at all?
What they received were dozens of inspirational selfie videos from around the world. Each depicted real people confessing how taking a leap on their idea and accessing user-friendly tech from home allowed them to reach customers around the globe. It’s micro-entrepreneurs like these that have completely revolutionized the definition of success. Warning: Inspo alert!
Take Ashlee in Houston, who quit her marketing job to launch a Southern “punny” Texas t-shirt company. She had no business plan. She had no employees. She had no money. But she had an idea! She built her own eCommerce store, mastered email marketing, lead capture and boosting her search ranking on the new Weebly 4 Platform which made her tiny business act big almost overnight.
While Ashlee was able to double her 2015 sales in the first half of 2016, the real measure of success was being proud of what she did every day, having happy, repeat customers and using her profits to help her community recover from devastating floods.
Or take the cute couple behind Heartsleeve, who say success is working with the person they love every day (cue the “aww”) while designing from their Louisiana home. For others, success means being able to support their disabled children, giving back to their community, spending time with their baby, working in sweatpants — you name it! It’s refreshing to hear how success is changing; it’s not just about the Benjamins, but about something more impactful and personal.
Want to start redefining what success means to you? With affordable and easy-to-use tech, it’s literally never been easier to do what you love! Learn more about this creative movement by checking out the new Weebly 4 Platform to jumpstart your business, because your idea deserves a home online. You never know how many customers are waiting to support *your* success story.
Author: Kim Chappell
