“E-commerce 101” by Francois Maingret is especially valuable as we slowly transition from Web 2.0 (social media-driven) to Web 3.0 (the metaverse) and all that entails. Every transaction we make in life is some form of business, so understanding how businesses function is vital as investors.
I started my web business roughly 18 months ago, and it’s challenging to gain traction. You can either spend time or money. Reading this book will give you the tools necessary to formulate a path for your online business. The author also goes into many business basics that are helpful for online (and physical) interaction, such as supply chain management, inventory control, advertising, and data analysis.
Overall, there are five different models of e-commerce businesses. They each have their advantages and disadvantages, so you will need to see which best fits the goals of your business.
1) Direct sales. With direct sales, you sell directly to the customer with a product that you produce. For example, you create a bath lotion that you sell on your website.
2) White Labeling. For white labeling, you take a pre-existing product and attach your branding and advertising. It takes much less money to start and carries less risk. However, you have less control.
3) Wholesaling. With wholesaling, you get a large bundle of products, usually at a discount, and then resell them at a profit. It’s hard to get significant discounts when you are moving small volumes of products, however.
4) Dropshipping. Dropshipping sees you selling products directly to customers, but the inventory comes from a third-party source. This allows you not to acquire overhead or inventory. The shipping will usually be slower because another vendor is fulfilling the order; you, in essence, are a middle person.
5) Subscription box model. In this model, customers sign up for a subscription to receive a mystery box of products you ship them. I use a subscription service called Loot Crate. I love the idea; however, it is a large amount of production.
The book also explains in detail how an e-commerce sales funnel works. You do not want to “cold sell” a potential customer. It takes multiple “touches” before people warm to the idea of making a purchasing decision. Things like social media, content creation and landing pages are great ways to create product awareness.
Also, there are four types of businesses; business to customer (B2C), business to business (B2B), customer to business (C2B), and customer to customer (C2C). Understanding each of these interactions will allow you to set achievable goals in the market segment that you serve.
Overall, the book had so much more to offer than I can list. It is a valuable resource for beginners and full-blown entrepreneurs. I am a massive fan of reading books before you start your business. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to start a physical, online, or metaverse business.
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