Many people begin an eCommerce side hustle to increase their income and improve their prospects. It is relatively easy to set up and doesn’t cost a great deal.
But making online selling profitable is a challenge. You see videos online talking about the enormous sums of money that you can make. But when you come to do it yourself, you find yourself out of pocket.
Here are some of the reasons your eCommerce side hustle still isn’t profitable and what you can do about it:
Reason #1: You Haven’t Chosen The Right Niche
If you want to make money selling products on the side, you need to choose a niche. Taking the scattergun approach and offering customers anything, and everything might sound like a good idea. Still, it is never going to make you rich. There are already too many firms out there doing just that.
If you find that you’re not making any money after several months, you might need to switch the products you sell. Try to focus on high-margin products, like garden ware. Try to avoid unprofitable lines, including electronics.
Reason #2: You’re Not Working With A Professional Wholesaler
People trying to make money with an eCommerce side hustle, usually need to work with a wholesaler – somebody who supplies them with products straight from the manufacturers.
Wholesale products tend to be far less expensive than their retail counterparts and provide you with an opportunity to make a profit. If you’re not working with a reputable provider, though, you can quickly find yourself in trouble. It becomes increasingly difficult to get the goods you need on time. Eventually, your customers leave you for more reliable services.
For this reason, you need to work with a professional wholesaler with a proven track record. Where possible, work with an outfit that covers the region in which you operate.
Reason #3: Your Site Is Sluggish
Consumers no longer have the attention spans than they used to. People want sites to react to their inputs instantly. Those running eCommerce side hustles, therefore, need to focus on making their portals snappy. If users have to wait for screens to load, they’ll just go elsewhere.
Reason #4: You’re Not Using Platforms
In the early days, you had to build an eCommerce website from scratch and deal with all the ancillary services yourself. But with the rise of platforms like Amazon, you don’t actually have to do any of that yourself. Instead, you just set up an account and a brand, and then skim off the profits.
Dropshipping, for instance, allows you to outsource the entire process to a third-party. All you do is slap your name on a website and let them get on with the difficult job of fulfilment.
eCommerce businesses, therefore, can be profitable, but you need to take the right approach. If you just assume that everyone makes money on the platform, you’re in for a disappointment. Follow these rules, though, and you’ll be able to add to your existing income considerably.
