Inspiration for entrepreneurs: Ideas to energize your e-commerce business

Running your own business can be a lot of hard work. It’s only natural that your energy will dip from time to time. To help boost your mood, we’ve pulled together a selection of videos and quotes - all designed to revitalize your sense of drive and focus.

Ready to feel good? Let’s dive in.

Need a sense of direction? Time to define your purpose.

“People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it” - Simon Sinek

Author and speaker Simon Sinek has spent many years arguing that the world’s most powerful brands and organizations are successful because they ‘start with why’. This means they use their sense of purpose to build an emotional connection with customers and audiences. This video will encourage you to define why your brand exists (as opposed to what you offer).

“Change what you do, not how you think. You are what you do, your happiness is what you attend to. Do what makes you and those whom you care for happy” – Paul Dolan

In this video, Professor Paul Dolan offers another take on the importance of purpose. According to Dolan, “Happiness is the flow of pleasure and purpose over time”. And as such, we all need to achieve the right balance of pleasure and purpose in our lives, in order to be fulfilled and energized.

Want to win more customers? Time to learn from the marketing experts.

“Pursue the smallest viable audience. Who are they exactly, by name, by worldview, by mindset?” – Seth Godin

Author Seth Godin blogs about the trends and forces that are shaping the worlds of marketing and technology. His advice is often about going back to basics. In this video, Godin concentrates on the beauty of aiming for a small addressable market.

“Don’t make excuses, make improvements” – Neil Patel

If you spend time online, sooner or later you’ll bump into author Neil Patel. In this video, Neil shares 11 powerful strategies to grow brands. A key take-out: “Personal brands can help you build amazing companies but will only get you so far”. Patel argues that if you want to grow your company over time, you need to get your business operations, systems and processes into great shape.

“I identify some of the common mistakes e-commerce founders make when they’re starting out - avoid those and start from the best possible foundation” - Gretta Van Riel

New to e-commerce websites? This video from Gretta Van Riel, founder of Skinny Me Tea, offers a detailed look at several online shops. Gretta’s comments will help you learn from the trials and errors of an experienced online retailer.

Need a dose of inspiration? Time to hear some e-commerce success stories.

“Approaching a problem from a rookie point of view enables you to innovate just because you don’t how it’s usually done” - Susan Gregg Koger

Susan Gregg Koger, co-founder of online clothing brand ModCloth, has encouraging words for anyone starting out in this video. And to prove Koger’s point: ModCloth was founded in 2002 and reported revenues of $150 million 12 years later. Not bad going!

“You don’t have to be a social entrepreneur to be a successful entrepreneur” - Maya Portorreal

Maya Portorreal started the online jewelry brand Kitten Co in 2019, with just $2,000. In this video, hear Maya share her story of building her business without putting her lifestyle in the spotlight.

“Referrals are a huge way of getting business - that’s where my customers come from” - Justin Ellen

Worried that you don’t have enough experience to start your own business? Take note of Justin Ellen, who launched the premium custom cake bakery Everything Just Baked when he was 19. In this video, Justin shares his story, which will inspire anyone who wants to turn their passion into a thriving enterprise. Today, Justin’s business has grown to offer at-home cake mixes and baking tools.

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At .shop we love to share inspiring content with our community of entrepreneurs. Got a favorite clip you’d like people to see? Get in touch today - we’d love to hear from you.