spiredigital

Right out of college I took an investment banking job, and it didn't take me too long to realize it definitely was NOT what I wanted to be doing for the next 10 to 20 years of my life.

I had it relatively easy - working for a small firm, our hours were more in 50 to 80 hour range - so not nearly as stressful as many. But it was still pretty brutal, especially when things got busy.

I worked with good people and it's not true that all bankers are insanely greedy and immoral. I met some of the best people I've ever known in the banking world, and also some real scumbbags. But one stereoype is true: just about everyone I worked with was insanely driven and incrediblely competitive.

Already a skinny guy, I dropped at least another 10 to 15 pounds due to the long hours and no lunch hour. Most of the guys simply ate soup at their desk so they could get more work done. I remember my out-of-town girlfriend coming into town for a rare weekend visit and I spent 8 hours at the office on a Sunday. That might have been the day I vowed to quit.

So I started saving my money like a miser, and after a few years had enough in the bank to quit cold turkey. Had no idea what I was going to do, but just let them know I was done at the end of my two-year commitment.

At my going away party, the wives of my co-workers secretly told my girlfriend she was incredibley lucky I was getting out and were happy for her.

I ended up starting an eCommerce business and have been doing that - and loving it - for the last 5+ years. Apart from marrying that incredible woman who stuck with me when I was in banking, leaving to pursue a more balanced life was the best decision I've ever made.

If anyone is interested in the full story, I wrote a blog post about it here:

http://www.ecommercefuel.com/my-corporate-escape-story/

Hey smalboy! OP here.

To your question: Haven't started using the disavow tool quite yet, no. When we really went through and did our initial clean-up, it was before the tool was released. I need to go back through the audit we did and tag / disavow links that are potentially hurting us.

But it's still difficult: which links are hurting, and which are providing great link juice? You can guess from the anchors given that's the majority of the problem / penalty, but sometimes it might be a better approach to build new links with varied anchor to a page and - once you start ranking again - have it be even stronger as you haven't hashed all your backlinks.

And I agree. I'd love to see more SEO posts here on HN. :-)

Good, valid advice. Thank you. For now, at least, the pop-up has been disabled.

OP here. And not necessarily. You can be "over-optimized" without being spammy.

Over-optimized refers to having your SEO optimized to rank for a very specific, targeted term. Take "trolling motors" as that's the site of mine that was penalized.

Even if I built all my links via white hat, legi methods - but the anchor text of all the links to my home page said "trolling motors" - I'd likely be penalized. That's because in a naturally linking backlink profile, people would link with a wide variety of different words, not just "trolling motors". Because the concentration is so focused, it's almost a guarantee that someone was trying to game the system. Google algorithm updates like Penguin have really started cracking down where's it's obvious the owner is trying to rank for a word by optimizing the links, title, headings, copy in a way that appears dramatically non-natural.

Often, however, spammy link campaigns are also over optimized as well.

Hope this helps!

Hey! OP of the article here. And good call - you may be right.

HOWEVER, if you download the eBook and don't think it's one of the best free resources you've ever received, let me know and I'll send you $10 via PayPal for the hassle. ;-)

But, again, point taken. I could probably make more tactful use of the popup.

Agreed! I love eCommHub, and use them for one of my sites. Kurt and the team over there are great and have built a solid service. Hopefully we can get them included.

DOBA's interface can be convenient because they integrate seamlessly with big suppliers, but they have a limited number of end-suppliers and the service is more expensive. So while I'm sure some people have used them successfully, I think starting from scratch there are more compelling options. I've never used them, however, so I can't speak from personal experience.

If you can find and work directly with your suppliers, that's preferable. Next best is going with a directory like World Wide Brands if you're struggling to find suppliers or need a solid brainstorming tool. Instead of serving as the go-between, they simply connect you directly to suppliers via their listings. Additionally, they'll have a larger selection of smaller niche suppliers which is where I see people have the most success with drop shipping. I've used WWB for years and they're a good source for legitimate wholesaler suppliers.

Full disclosure: I've been interviewed / posted on the DOBA-affiliated blog to promote eCommerceFuel.com as they have a well-known blog in the drop shipping space.

Thanks sayemm!

Wow, thanks watershawl - really appreciate the vote of confidence. And thanks for reading as well!

The more you share what you're doing, the more it will ultimately end up coming back to help you out. Just look at Nathan Barry: his transparency has undoubtedly helped - not hurt - his blog, sales and reputation. I think it's a great model, and am trying to do something similar.

Thanks! You're right - most of the information is publicly available, and we just consolidated it into one spot. Some aspects are a bit harder to find publicly - like some of the tricker aspects of managing the logistics of operating a drop shipping business - but still not impossible to find. You just have to dig a bit deeper, or talk to someone with experience.

You're very welcome! I'd be wondering the the same kind of thing if I were you. :-)

Good feedback - we'll have to incorporate this into our 1st round of revisions.

Drop shipping is a fulfillment model where a merchant doesn't carry any inventory. Instead, they only purchase an item from a wholesaler when they receive an order from a customer. Then, they have that item shipped directly from the wholesale warehouse to the customer.

It allows a merchant to start a store without having to invest up-front in inventory, and without having to manage a warehouse.

Mark's co-author, Andrew, here. I just published a really length reply above, so hopefully that answers your question. In a nutshell, just like in business the biggest secret sauce is hard work and consistency - it's not like we're giving away the keys to the treasury where they print money!

With that being said, there are a lot of nuances to picking a good niche (especially in drop shipping where the competition can be fierce and margins low) and to operating a drop shipping business (as it can get logistically complex). Those are some of the things we're trying to shed more light on in the guide.

Co-author here, and a totally valid question! I started my blog about eCommerce / drop shipping for a number of reasons:

1) To expand my professional network and opportunities

I just finished co-writing a book with Shopify on drop shipping, which is something I never would have had the opportunity to do without the blog. It's allowed me to build credibility and expand my network.

Additionally, the blog allows me to reach out to really interesting people when I otherwise wouldn't be able to. For example, I recently interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk - something I never would have been to do without leveraging eCommerceFuel.

2) To connect with other eCommerce entrepreneurs

I've had the chance to connect with hundreds of other eCommerce merchants and share strategies and tips. I eventually hope to build a really vibrant community for small eCommerce merchants (as I think that's lacking online), and this is helping me accomplish that.

3) To eventually diversify my income stream with something new

Like all entrepreneurs, I think the desire to try new things is strong - especially after you've been doing the same thing for a while. I saw the blog as a way to create another income source that leveraged the experience I have.

While one of my eventual goals is to make money from the blog, my first priority is to keep the content extremely high quality, genuine, authentic and USEFUL. I wanted to give away a ton of useful information before I asked for anything in return.

Take the eBook on my site, for example. I spent 2 weeks solid writing it and I give it away for free. If you download it and don't think it's one of the better free resources you've come across online just let me know and I'll send you $20 via PayPal for wasting your time. :-)

4) To dispel the the idea of "easy money" online

You asked why I'm teaching people to setup "copycat" business, and I'd argue I'm doing nothing of the sort. 80% of success with any kind of business involves the execution and strategy - and not picking the perfect niche or having some "secret" sauce.

If Alexis Ohanian released a killer guide to programming in Python that doesn't mean someone is going to be able to create a Reddit copycat... ...at least one that will successfully compete with them. Also, just because someone is sharing their knowledge and/or tactics doesn't mean that their original project is no longer viable. It simply means they're interested in sharing their experience.

If building a profitable drop shipping business was an easy 48-hour project, I'd be less likely to share so publicly - you're right! But just like any business, it takes a lot of hard work. The knowledge is important, but the legwork is really what makes it difficult to implement.

I completely understand your skepticism as the online business space is full of scams. But hopefully if you invest a few minutes reading our guide, and my blog (http://www.eCommerceFuel.com) you'll realize we're committed to publishing quality, useful content and not trying to rip people off.

Let me know if you have any questions - happy to answer them.

It's incredibly easy to be fooled into thinking design is so paramount, when really it's usability and a clear, powerful message is really what you should be focusing on. I'm sure I'm not the only person to make this mistake.

If you have any questions about the relaunch or the business, please let me know - I'm happy to answer them.

Awesome Mark! Glad it didn't creep you out too much. For the record, while I did have an agenda in mind, I also DID like the blog and genuinely enjoyed sharing your stuff. I think you can't authentically get behind the content and quality of a site you're trying to land a spot for, you should re-consider how worthwhile it is to write for them in the first place.

If you try to compete against on Amazon on price - or really ANY company on price - you'll get crushed. Without a unique selling proposition, you're going to have a hard time differentiating yourself in the marketplace.

Great infograph on this post! It's amazing how quickly eCommerce is transitioning to mobile devices, although I'm not sure who all the people are that are buying via mobile. I almost never buy anything via mobile as it's a hassle - much easier to do so on my primary machine.

Regardless, as an eCommerce shop owner I need to do some serious mobile optimization this year to stay ahead of the curve.

John Jonas, the interviewee, has over seven years of experience outsourcing to the Philippines and currently employs over 12 full-time VAs.

He's got a lot of great tips on how to effectively find, hire, train and manage VAs to build a full-time business around them.

Totally agreed! Just left a comment above about how eCommerce is my favorite source of passive income.

I'd have to say my two eCommerce businesses. They took a ton of time to setup and market initially, but now they generate a full-time income as I have a team in place to manage operations.

I love to work on them and often do, but I'll frequently take weeks off at a time to travel and everything continues to run smoothly. The entire business is based on the drop shipping model, so I don't have to stock any inventory and can run the business from anywhere. Plus, the initial capital outlay was just $1,500 so I didn't have to take on any risk.

For anyone interested, I blog about running my two businesses and eCommerce in general at:

http://www.ecommercefuel.com

Yep! If businesses would worry less about the cost of providing world-class support and do a better job of testing to identify the most profitable price points then everyone wins - customers and business owner.

I spent my first few years out of college working for an investment bank, and feel the same way as the piece author – I have no regrets leaving. Finance can be a great way to start / springboard your career: I sharpened my analytical mind, saw how companies worked under-the-hood, really learned how to work hard and was able to save some money. But as a long-term profession, at least in the area I was in, it's brutal. The job took a huge toll on the people that stayed with the career for 5-10 years. And like the author said, once you're making insanely great money it's hard to give that up.

When my (now wife) and I went to my going away party, she was approached by many of the other banker's wives. They said they were so happy for her that I was leaving the industry, and expressed the difficulties the lifestyle presented to raising a family and relationships. I loved the people I worked with - they were hard working, honest, great people. But only an all-consuming industry could generate this kind of response from the families of my co-workers.

After my stint in banking, I left to start my own company which I've been doing full-time for nearly five years. And while banking provided the initial savings safety net to scale-up the business I couldn't imagine going back. For anyone interested in the full story of my departure from finance, I wrote about it in the post below:

http://www.ecommercefuel.com/my-corporate-escape-story/

It's getting harder to "game" the search engines, especially with updates like Google's Penguin. So a lot of the old methods that might have been effective a few years back (article marketing, reciprocal linking) won't work, or will event be detrimental moving forward.

A colleague of mine said it best a few days ago: "You can't fake it anymore when it comes to SEO. If you want to rank well, you're going to have to put out / do awesome stuff." I totally agree.

Great post. As a guy with almost no gift for design, I've struggled with how to hire a designer and work with them effectively, and this help a lot.

Nope, that's right! Should have explained it that way the first time.

It's technical name is 'Meta Title', which helps disguising it from an article's on-page title, which is actually an H1 or H2 tag. Often, please think the meta title is what appears in big letters at the top of an article. While they are often the same, they're set in ways and just wanted to make the distinction.

Thanks boothead! Spent a lot of time trying to distill SEO down to the need-to-know concepts without skipping over anything major. Glad you enjoyed the eBook, and thanks for not writing me off based on my past career! ;-)

It's interesting how the nofollow tag has evolved over the years. Originally, people used it not only to control blog SPAM but also to shape the way PageRank flowed throughout a site - a method called PageRank Sculpting. The idea was you'd nofollow links to unimportant pages on your own site so that more PageRank would flow to the important pages you wanted to rank for.

I'm pretty sure Google has confirmed this doesn't work anymore. Now a nofollow link still takes a portion of a page's PageRank just without passing it along. Hence, no more sculpting power.

The article also addresses a lot of the downsides to drop shipping - tons of competition, dealing with inventory problems, mistakes from the wholesalers - instead of just skimming over them and pretending like they're not there.