Buying and selling online has never been easier, or so busy and noisy. Every week, there’s a new tool promising to disrupt eCommerce, decode your customers, or automate your way to inbox-zero bliss. It’s exciting, overwhelming, and truthfully, a bit much.
Because let’s be honest: technically, anyone can sell online. Platforms are the most accessible they’ve ever been, templates are everywhere, and ad money still talks. But actually building something that cuts through all of that noise? Something profitable, sustainable, and not completely soul-sucking? That’s the part no one can automate for you.
Rewriting The Rules
I never imagined I’d be living in a quiet seaside town in Greece while collaborating with brands across North America. But over time, that’s where the path has led.
Over the past nine years, I’ve watched eCommerce evolve into something far more dynamic than a digital storefront. It has become a launch pad for creativity, independence, and growth on a scale that many of us never imagined possible. I’ve worked with brands that started as side projects, born out over kitchen tables or through late-night texts, and turned into serious, revenue-driving businesses. I’ve seen people with no formal background in business build companies that outperform long-established competitors.
What separates them from the rest isn’t flashy marketing or venture capital, it’s focus. They take eCommerce seriously, not just as a way to sell things online, but as a business model that requires intention, strategy, and patience.
Direct-to-consumer selling is no longer just a trend or a shortcut, instead, it’s a shift in power. Founders no longer have to rely on traditional gatekeepers such as wholesalers, retail buyers, and distributors just to get a product in front of customers. If you understand your audience and can tell a clear, compelling story, you can build something that lasts. And perhaps most remarkably, you can build it from anywhere in the world.
In 2016, after spending ten years in wholesale and retail, including what I once considered my dream job in the heart of Manhattan, I was laid off. At the time, it felt like a loss, a sort of personal failure I wasn’t quite prepared for. But in hindsight, it became the inflection point I didn’t know I needed.
I took the knowledge I had gathered over a decade of working on sales floors, managing inventory, and interpreting customer behavior, and I pivoted into eCommerce. I learned quickly. I adapted. And I started to see how those same instincts translated to the digital space. Since then, I’ve helped brands reach revenue goals they thought were out of reach, while gradually redesigning what work, stability, and success look like in my own life.
What I’ve come to understand is that tools and platforms are only part of the equation. Metrics and automations are helpful but they’re not the whole story. What actually drives growth is something more fundamental. It’s about understanding how people think and behave online. It’s about how they discover you, what makes them pause, what earns their trust, and what compels them to take action. If you can learn to master that, you can build a business that doesn’t just survive, but scales well.
We’re living through a rare and strange moment in time, one where geography has stopped dictating opportunity. You no longer need a morning commute, a corner office, or even a consistent time zone. You need an offer that resonates. You need a strategy that evolves. And you need the discipline to show up for something that may take longer than expected, but is more rewarding than you imagined.
For me, eCommerce was the path that made this life possible, and now for many others, it’s becoming the same.
The Learning Curve
Stepping into the world of eCommerce meant starting from scratch in many ways. I had to learn an entirely new skill set, and with that came the slow and often frustrating process of trial and error. In those early days, before eCommerce became the massive, fast-moving ecosystem it is today, decision-making looked very different. Most of what we knew came from intuition or conversations on the retail floor. There was no dashboard telling us what was working or what wasn’t. We made calls based on anecdotal evidence, and it often took a full week just to see whether something had resonated with customers. We were working in the dark more often than not.
eCommerce changed all of that. It introduced something I hadn’t experienced in the traditional retail world: objectivity. There is an immediacy now that didn’t exist before. We can see how customers are responding to a product, a headline, an email, or an offer within hours. The feedback loop is fast, unfiltered, and rooted in real behavior rather than assumptions.
For someone who spent years relying on gut instincts and scattered anecdotes, the shift to data was both intimidating and liberating. I began to understand how powerful it is to make decisions based not on hope or habit, but on evidence. The clarity that comes from being able to test an idea and immediately see whether it’s working or not has completely changed the way I think about building a business.
Of course, that access to data comes with responsibility. It only works if you know how to read it, and how to tell the difference between what matters and what simply looks impressive. There’s a lot of noise out there, including vanity metrics that distract more than they inform. Learning how to filter that out and how to focus on what actually moves a business forward, became a skill I had to build through repetition and experience. And the truth is, I’m still learning.
Some of the most valuable lessons came from building direct-to-consumer brands from the ground up. I had no choice but to understand the full picture, not just the marketing or creative sides, but operations, customer service, supply chains, analytics, platforms, and people. It was an intense education, not a glamorous one. There were moments of real doubt. I made more mistakes than I can count, and in many cases, there was no one to ask for help. I had to figure things out by doing them wrong first, sometimes more than once.
Those early years, especially between 2015 and 2018, shaped everything that came after. They taught me to be resourceful, patient, and how to listen: to the customer, to the numbers, and to the quiet signals that usually show up before the big ones do.
I didn’t have a map, but I kept going. And eventually, things started to make sense.
Tools of the Trade
The core of eCommerce hasn’t changed much since I first stepped into the space over a decade ago. The fundamentals remain surprisingly consistent: sell something people want, create a seamless path to purchase, build trust, and deliver value. The tools have become more sophisticated, but the bones of the business are still the same.
That said, we’re now on the edge of what feels like a deeper, more structural shift that could reshape how the entire industry operates. For the first time in years, we’re not just adding tools to our stack. We’re rethinking how the system itself works.
Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming foundational. Tools like ChatGPT are being folded into daily workflows across the board, from ideation and copywriting to product development and customer support. Brands are using AI-driven service platforms like Sienna AI, building visual assets with tools like Midjourney, and organizing digital content libraries with platforms like Canto. Every few weeks, a new solution emerges, each one claiming to streamline, optimize, or automate something we used to do manually.
And it’s not just about the tools we consciously adopt. AI is also changing the way major platforms like Google and Meta operate behind the scenes, especially in areas like targeting, bidding, and generative search. That alone has significant implications for eCommerce, where performance marketing often drives the bulk of growth.
We’re already beginning to see the early signs of disruption. For years, the consumer journey has followed a fairly predictable path. Someone sees an ad on Instagram or Facebook, then heads to Google to search for the brand, read reviews, and validate the product before making a decision. But what happens when consumers stop going to Google for that second opinion? What happens now that they are turning instead to tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude, asking for product comparisons, brand reviews, or curated recommendations?
That small behavioral shift could completely upend the visibility game. If discovery and validation move away from traditional search engines and into conversational AI platforms, then brands will need to rethink how they show up, how they’re talked about, and how they position themselves in a space where algorithms are curating the conversation.
Of course, automation itself isn’t new to this industry. eCommerce has always relied on systems that can scale without needing someone to be at the controls every second of the day. An eCommerce store is open twenty-four hours a day, serving hundreds or even thousands of customers simultaneously. That kind of reach depends on backend efficiency like email flows triggered by user behavior, customer journeys that adapt in real time, and service inquiries resolved without human intervention.
AI has already started replacing some of the most repetitive elements of the business. In customer service, chatbots are trained to answer complex questions, resolve tickets, and learn from interactions at a speed no human team could replicate. We’re seeing AI inch its way into product descriptions, email subject lines, ad copy, and social content.
Beyond content, AI is reshaping operational areas as well, from sourcing new manufacturers and managing logistics, to forecasting inventory more accurately than ever before. These may not be the flashiest use cases, but they’re often the ones with the biggest long-term impact.
What excites me most is not just what AI can do today, but how it’s forcing us to revisit old assumptions. It’s pushing brands to be more nimble, more curious, and more strategic. The landscape is shifting quickly, and the brands that thrive will be the ones willing to experiment, adapt, and learn alongside the technology, rather than waiting for a perfect playbook that may never arrive.
The Takeaway
The one thing I’ve learned after years of working in eCommerce is that noise is everywhere. New tools, new tactics, new gurus with the “next big secret” to take your business up a notch. It’s easy to get caught up in it all and to lose your grip on what actually matters.
I’ve watched founders waste months chasing trends that promised quick growth but delivered very little. I call it “shiny object syndrome” - the tendency to confuse what’s urgent with what’s important. The temptation is real, especially when the pressure to grow in this environment is constant. But the truth is that the most successful eCommerce brands don’t get distracted by the noise. Instead, they double down on the fundamentals.
This is not an industry where you get to specialize too early. If you’re running an eCommerce business, especially in the early stages, you have to become a generalist. You need to understand how your entire ecosystem works, from paid ads and direct response marketing to acquisition and retention strategies, customer experience, and unit economics. You don’t need to be an expert in everything, but you do need to know enough to make informed decisions.
There are so many things you could do, but only a few things you really must do. The difference between growth and stagnation often comes down to whether or not a founder can separate the two.
Success in eCommerce isn’t about going viral or launching with a splashy brand campaign. Those things are fine, but they’re not sustainable. This is a business of repeatability and refinement. It’s about showing up every day. It’s about doing the same unglamorous things over and over until they work better, and then doing them again. It’s about tracking what matters, cutting what doesn’t, and constantly iterating toward something more efficient, more scalable, and more aligned with your customer base.
The beauty of eCommerce is that it has leveled the playing field. It does not care where you live, how big your team is, or how much funding you’ve raised. The same platforms, tools, and audiences are available to everyone. I’ve seen solo founders bootstrap their way to eight-figure revenue and raise capital from top-tier investors, not because they followed trends, but because they were fast, flexible, and always improving.
In many ways, smaller businesses actually have the advantage. They can test faster, shift gears without red tape, and make bold moves without waiting for ten layers of approval. The ones that thrive are the ones that don’t fear mistakes. They know that failure is part of the process, and they treat every setback as a data point, not a dead end. This is the mindset that defines real success in the eCommerce world.
If You Take Nothing Else From This, Remember This:
Here are a few lessons I wish someone had given me earlier, the kind you only learn through hard-won experience:
- Master the boring stuff. Consistency, clarity, and clean operations will always beat flashy branding and viral campaigns over time.
- Build for sustainability. If your margins don’t work, your business doesn’t either. Don’t scale a broken model.
- Data is your co-founder. Learn how to read it. Use it to guide decisions. But never let it replace common sense or intuition.
- Avoid chasing trends. What works today might not work tomorrow. Focus on timeless principles: good products, smart positioning, and customer knowledge.
- Test, learn, adapt. Your first idea won’t be your best one. The faster you move through feedback loops, the better your outcomes.
- Stay close to your customer. The answers you’re looking for are often hidden in their behavior, not in a dashboard or report.
Most importantly, be patient. The wins that last don’t show up overnight - they’re built slowly, through persistence, clarity, and a willingness to keep going even when results don’t come as fast as you hoped. The opportunity in eCommerce is massive, but only if you’re willing to commit. Not just to the goal, but to the work which may be long, sometimes messy, often uncertain work of building something real.
If you’re reading this with an idea still in your head, this is your cue: start now. If you’re already building something and wondering if you’re behind, you’re not. Keep going. Keep learning. Keep iterating. That’s the game. And if you play it well, it can change your life. It’s certainly changed mine.
Author bio: Corporate life was not enough for Marissa Rodriguez. After losing her job, she took a leap of faith that transformed her life and career. From leading eCommerce brands to helping clients generate over $100 million in revenue, Marissa proved success does not have to follow tradition. In 2021, a trip to Greece became a permanent move, where she embraced freedom and built Through Experience®, an online platform guiding entrepreneurs to create businesses that support their lives. For Marissa, success means control, freedom, and living life on your own terms.
