My story. The short version.
Somewhere around this time 10 years ago I launched my first attempt at an e-commerce business. The year was 2000. I had been importing and wholesaleing jewelry from Nepal where I served in the Peace Corps (1991-1993) since 1994. This was just a hobby at the time but helped me pay my way through grad school (MBA in non-profit management from Boston University, 1996).
My non profit career ended abruptly. After four exciting years of serving as Executive Director of an NGO in Boston working to improve public high schools by engaging students and parents, my organization disintegrated before my eyes. It was a heart wrenching experience. I was fortunate to receive about 3 months of severence and used this time to launch an e-commerce website (www.silvergemshop.com) and simultaneously started selling on eBay.
Back in 2000 eBay was the place to be. I could sell as much as I wanted – whatever I listed sold within days! I learned to code and programmed custom checkout software which eBay and few 3rd parties offered at the time. My efficiency allowed me to sustain the ebay business for a full time income for about 4-5 years. In these early years I was operating out of my 4′x25′ porch. Not even a four-season porch (and I lived in Boston!). I did my best to insulate it, but it was always cold, drafty and so very narrow. I had so much stuff crammed in there!! During that period my retail website (silvergemshop.com) saw very little traffic and I did not know a thing about SEO at the time.
Every year life on eBay became challenging. More businesses and individuals selling similar jewelry drove prices way down. eBay also raised fees constantly and became more and more autocratic and restrictive. Around 2004 I think, I started wholesaleing through my silvergemshop website. From 2004-2005 I weened myself off of eBay. But ironically the garantuan customer database I generated through ebay (20,000+ customers!) enabled me to directly market to them and channel significant traffic to my website.
In 2006 I established Wholesalegemshop.com. The learning curve for ecommerce is not too bad, but the industry is always in flux so you need to stay on your toes. For a time I was spending $1000′s of $/ month on Google Adwords and this was the prime way I generated traffic to wholesalegemshop.com. This worked great for about 2-3 years. But like ebay, everyone else caught on – bids on the best keywords went crazy and conversion rates plummeted. So I learned SEO to generate my own traffic. I am #1-#2 for Wholesale Silver Jewelry and have been as high as #7 for wholesale jewelry.
2008-Now has definitely been the toughest period. Everyone’s business has suffered and I am no exception. Some of my customers have gone out of business. But many are still doing ok. The key to success of the savvy ones is to keep experimenting – with new products, new promotions, marketing strategies, financing, etc. And I am still gaining new customers daily. Believe it or not a recession is a great time to start a new business (if you have a good business plan) because it is much easier to negotiate with vendors for favorably terms and you are forced to start realistically. Only place to go from there is up.
The most enjoyable aspects of my job have been the ‘change’ and helping small businesses get established. By Change I mean, this industry is never stagnant. You constantly have to learn and evolve to stay in business. No sitting back on your laurels. And of course I thoroughly enjoy meeting and helping new small business customers get their dream businesses underway. Some go all out – go right for the place on main street. Others just do this for supplemental income. Ironically, I am one of the most fashion challenged guys you’ll meet. I’m good at designing jewelry but that is about it! It’s funny where life takes you.
My three boys are 3,7,9 years old and I forgot to mention this is the reason I started this venture to begin with. It has been a blessing to be able to manage my business in such a way that I can spend a lot of time with my kids as they grow up. It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years. I am going to mark this anniversary with some special events and promotions throughout the year so stay tuned.
And most importantly, thank YOU for keeping me around for 10 years. Going forward I will continue to do everything I can to provide you with excellent product for your business and any advice or information I can give to help you succeed. Where will we be in 10 more years? I am sure it will be nowhere we can even fathom!
– Aaron
10 Years ago,
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