E346: How to Overcome the Challenges of Running and Growing an Ecommerce Business

Many people who have not been in the ecommerce business themselves have these expectations about the industry that are almost instantly shattered once they try it out themselves. One of the biggest myths in running an ecommerce business is that it’s an easy thing to do because you have the potential to earn while you sleep.

What they don’t know is that unless you learn to manage your processes and to let go some of the responsibilities to concentrate on what matters most, you might not even get enough sleep in the first place.

In this episode, we acknowledge these expectations and show you what you can do to run and grow your business without losing your sanity. There’s a lot to learn from this episode because our guest, Melissa Eisler, is an executive coach who has helped many entrepreneurs figure out how to run their businesses smoothly while still being able to have time to actually enjoy life.

She has also helped us with our Masterminds before, and I’m very happy that she’s finally joining us in the podcast.

Timestamps:

• The overwhelming feeling that comes with expanding your business – 4:14
• How Melissa manages her responsibilities – 5:10
• Melissa’s trick to determining which things to focus on – 6:24
• The cons of having freedom with your time – 7:34
• Some principles to consider to not be busy all the time – 8:53
• The one thing that keeps entrepreneurs from improving – 11:30
• How to transition from solopreneurship to hiring employees – 14:28
• The advantages of hiring employees with complementary skills – 17:28
• Mike’s advice on letting go of responsibilities and assigning them to specialists – 19:10
• How to tame your controller tendencies – 21:05
• Getting a business partner vs. hiring employees – 24:30
• Self-awareness and the importance of actively discovering your flaws as a leader – 29:54
• The harsh realities about running an ecommerce business – 33:02
• Investing in good employees – 36:18
• Creating a space for conscious choices – 40:03

If you want to learn more about Melissa and her work, you can visit her website.

She also runs our Masterminds, and if you want to learn more about that, reach out to us through the special email address we sent you if you’re an EcomCrew Premium member. If not, you can sign up to be one to get access to these Masterminds, our Secret Sauce webinars, Premium courses, and other Premium-members-only features through our paid subscription. With our Black Friday deal coming up, now is really the best time to sign up!

Meanwhile, you can join us on our upcoming Public Q&A Webinar on December 1 at 10 AM (PST). You can ask us any questions related to ecommerce, importing, hiring, and any other areas you’re having trouble with.

Finally, if you like this episode, please leave us a review over on iTunes. It helps us reach more people, and you’ll be accumulating good karma for doing so.

Until the next one, happy selling!