28 Jul The Opportunity
The E-Commerce Revolution
We live in a magical age. Computers, the Internet, smartphones, and many other technologies have improved our lives in ways that only the most visionary science fiction writers could have imagined just 30 years ago.
In those pre-digital days, if you called a cab you would have to tell the dispatcher your address, confirm your address verbally, and then wait and watch by the door for the vehicle to arrive. The transaction itself required a degree of faith as you had to trust the driver was charging fairly, and the driver had to trust that you would pay. Today, however, with a smartphone, you simply download an app like Uber, enter your destination, and an Uber or other rideshare arrives promptly. You know the fare will be consistent with company policy, and the driver knows your payment is guaranteed.
Today, trips to the grocery store are quickly becoming an activity of the past. You no longer need to walk or drive to the supermarket, grab a cart, walk the aisles, hunt the aisles to find your quarry, fill the cart, and then spend time waiting at the checkout counter or processing your purchases yourself. Instead, you can spend a fraction of that time by using an app like Instacart and have the groceries delivered to your door when you wish, saving your time so you can make better use of it.
It’s the same with restaurants. You can quickly order your choices with an app like GrubHub, and your dinner arrives promptly at your home, apartment, dorm, or even at your picnic in the park.
E-commerce giants like Amazon and Walmart will deliver almost any consumer good you can imagine within a few days, and sometimes even within a few hours.
Internet-based services enable us to spend less time on mundane tasks and more time enjoying our lives, or, when you’re an entrepreneur, making money!
It’s hard to believe we’re still at the early stages of the Internet Age, and yet we can see that many services are being requested by keypad rather than a phone call or with a visit to brick-and-mortar locations. As this trend builds momentum, entrepreneurs like you have endless opportunities to make large amounts of money during this digital transition. We are in the midst of a transformation that will change nearly every aspect of how we live our lives!
Many people found it impossible to believe that horses would be replaced as an essential part of the transportation industry. When motor vehicles were mass-produced, an entire lifestyle and economy began to change and fade, replacing stables and barns, reins and wagons, with parking lots, parking meters, gasoline, traffic lights, and SUVs.
Who could see it coming? That’s the key to this book … Once, not too long ago, people wondered if the Internet was a fad. There is no doubt today that we are in the process of completely transforming our lifestyle into the new patterns of today’s Digital Age.
Already, technological innovations have made the average person more comfortable than the wealthiest person 100 years ago. Isn’t that startling? You’re living a better life than your great-grandfather and great-grandmother could ever imagine.
Similarly, a century ago, the typical person was often more prosperous and more comfortable than the most affluent person 100 years before that. The reason for this upward wealth creation spiral is simple: innovation creates prosperity, and fortunately for us, the Internet has created the most fantastic opportunities for our prosperity yet!
Without the perspective of history, it’s not easy to recognize the significance of our startling situation. A glance back in time at the innovations that brought us to where we are today will clarify how great our age truly is, and more clearly defines the opportunities waiting for you today.
Imagine getting into the publishing business when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. His invention led to the creation of industries that endure to this day, such as book publishing, journalism, retail booksellers, business cards, catalogs, etc.
Think of the wealth and opportunities created by the mass extraction of coal in the late 1760s. This marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the birth of major industries such as railroads, steamboats, mass-produced tools, textiles, and other consumer goods. This was when Cornelius Vanderbilt made his fortune in railroads and shipping. He was only one of many who took advantage of the coal revolution – tens of thousands of people became rich when they became early adopters of coal for an entrepreneurial opportunity. Their forward-thinking of an application for coal created immense personal wealth.
Did you notice that keyword in the last paragraph? It’s very important: “early adopters”. Usually, the people who are the first to engage with a new system or technology almost always have guaranteed success. Right now, you have the opportunity to be an early adopter of the applications of our still very new and yet unfathomed technologies, and this book explains how.
After coal, the petroleum economy was born in 1870, eventually leading to the automotive, chemical, steel, aviation, and mass-market retail industries. Entrepreneurs like John D Rockefeller (oil), Henry Ford (cars), and Andrew Carnegie (steel) amassed fortunes. Tens of millions of people were lifted out of poverty during this time, while hundreds of thousands became wealthy.
The next technological revolution began in the late 1960s with electronics, leading to advanced telecommunications systems, computers, and a plethora of time-saving gadgets and machines for home and industry. These advances also helped retailers and other business sectors control costs and inventory as new innovations improved every step between natural resource extraction and retailing. People like Sam Walton (Walmart), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), and millions of other entrepreneurs leveraged these advances to create new wealth and even more prosperity.
The Digital Age, coupled with high-speed computing, has now created the most significant opportunity in history for nearly anyone with grit and a good idea to live a life that was unimaginable to our parents and grandparents, and unimaginable even to ourselves as recently as 20 years ago!
The modern Internet era started in 1998 when Google went live, and the Internet became ubiquitous around 2004 when higher speeds and more user-friendly interfaces led to more rapid and widespread adoption as people became comfortable buying goods and services online. This acceptance and usability launched the Internet economy into the stratosphere. Some of the largest fortunes in history have been made by people like Larry Page (Google), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), and the countless tech entrepreneurs whose stories populate the pages of today’s (online!) business pages.
One of the most amazing effects of this revolution is how it has obliterated the traditional hurdles to starting and growing a business. Starting a business a few decades ago required a deep knowledge of the selected industry, a good deal of capital, and the right connections. Now, as you will see in the following pages, those barriers have been demolished and your access to the wealth that’s available is now the easiest it has ever been throughout the whole of history. How eager and excited are you to get started?
The changes that are coming, and which you now have an opportunity to help create, will probably be more astounding than anything you can think of today, and yet, with your imagination and the advice in this book, you will be invited to use your imagination in ways that will significantly change and benefit the lives of the people around you while also rewarding you with tremendous wealth and, even more importantly, the opportunity for a lifetime of fulfillment.
The Future of E-Commerce
One of the greatest features of the Internet-based economy is that you don’t have to build the next Uber, Grubhub, Amazon, or InstaCart to become wealthy. There is much, much more opportunity available to today’s entrepreneurs. According to Statista (2020), worldwide annual retail e-commerce sales will reach around $6.3 trillion in 2024. If you were to capture just 0.01% of this market, that’s $63 million!
E-commerce is an absolute goliath of an industry. It’s growing fast, is here to stay, and there’s room for you to claim your share. The growth rate is astounding. In 2014, global retail e-commerce sales were a mere $1.3 billion. By 2024 the expected growth will represent a 4,746% increase … in just one decade! When you use the tools in this book, you can help yourself to some of the immense wealth that’s steadily growing right now.
Many exciting changes are going to unfold in the e-commerce industry in the years ahead. These will be the result of additional technological innovations from entrepreneurs like yourself who rose to meet this incredible opportunity and satisfy the desires and needs of a world becoming accustomed to, and even demanding, better, easier, faster, and more efficient ways of participating in this wealth-producing economy. The pressures applied by consumers, businesses, and governments for improvements and innovation will continue to create new opportunities for entrepreneurs who choose to claim their niche and participate in the enormous changes happening now and in the coming years.
Here is just a sampling of how the e-commerce industry is expected to change.
Shipping and Order Fulfillment
The logistics of e-commerce are constantly evolving, driven by the demand for businesses to reduce costs and deliver products as quickly as possible.
It wasn’t long ago that Amazon delivered goods from distant warehouses, using carriers such as UPS, FedEx, and USPS. Amazon is now constructing hundreds of fulfillment centers around the globe, has its own delivery fleets, and is building an entire logistics system with the goal of same-day delivery. In the future, Amazon could even employ autonomous drones to deliver products within mere hours.
The great thing about the tech economy is that even with Amazon’s investments in its distribution infrastructure, it is still possible (and not that difficult) to compete with them. E-commerce fulfillment enterprises like ShipBob can offer the same technologies and efficiencies that Amazon enjoys. They’ve created an edge by building their own warehouse network, negotiating shipping rates with UPS, FedEx, and USPS, and even handling returns for their customers. These features provide the benefits of a highly efficient logistics system to small businesses at a competitive price. Conversely, you can create a store, sell through Amazon, and use Amazon’s size and efficiency to serve your target market. You can also use the same marketing leverage with other Internet behemoths such as eBay, Etsy, and Alibaba.
There’s no reason to be scared off by the false perception that a big player such as Amazon has permanently claimed the market with some special innovation. Instead, you can always find other businesses that cater to smaller entrepreneurs and can offer your company comparable efficiencies. Or, you might establish a company that offers these services!
Emerging Markets
Even though almost every nation on Earth has made developing its domestic Internet infrastructure a priority, it’s astonishing to realize that a large portion of the world’s population still lacks access. Someday, nearly everyone on the planet will have Internet, but until then, each new Internet connection represents a potential new customer for an e-commerce entrepreneur. Here are the percentages of people from selected countries who had Internet access in 2020:
% of Population
Country or Area With Internet Access
Falkland Islands 99.02% (highest)
The United States 96.26%
Chile 82.33%
Russia 76.01%
Brazil 75.12%
Vietnam 70.04%
Mexico 69.00%
China 63.33%
South Africa 56.17%
India 55.40%
Egypt 44.95%
Sudan 30.87%
Laos 25.51%
Haiti 12.33%
Madagascar 9.80%
Eritrea 1.31% (lowest)
India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa, for example, are projected to play a massive role in the future of e-commerce. It’s no wonder tech giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft are putting enormous resources into these and other emerging markets.
Since these markets are still relatively untapped, they present huge opportunities for entrepreneurs. As more of these populations gain Internet access, there will be more and more potential buyers which means more and more sales and revenue.
Automation
Automation is also a huge part of the Digital Age future. E-commerce companies have automated marketing, warehousing, and logistics. Manufacturers have automated assembly lines. Supply chain managers have software that triggers inventory alerts that reorder when stocks get low and may even reorder from the supplier without any human intervention.
The influence of automation is not just with robots and computers in distant warehouses and offices. Automation has even crossed the threshold into our homes. Our refrigerators can reorder food and also monitor our home’s security. Our heating and cooling systems can sense what room we are in. Our toilets can automatically flush when we finish our business. Soon, our cars may pick us up, drowsy at the curbside, and drive us to a morning meeting across town while we catch some more zzzs or make the final touches to our PowerPoint presentation.
With artificial intelligence, the implementation of 5G infrastructure, and the ever-decreasing cost and size of computing power, there is no limit to what can be automated. As automated systems and software become more affordable for smaller e-commerce businesses, entering the market becomes easier and more affordable.
Your (Large) Piece of the Entrepreneurial Pie
Wealth is always rapidly created in the early stages of an industry’s growth. For example, consider the development and evolution of the first personal computers. Apple and Microsoft were well-positioned to ride the rapid adoption of PCs and the software programs that operated them. Once they claimed and owned the sector, these two companies profited immensely from rapid growth.
For a more recent example, reflect on Facebook’s growth in the social media market. Many of the currently dominant social media sites were started at around the same time. MySpace and Friendster were launched in 2003, Facebook in 2004, and Twitter in 2006. In their infancy, these companies counted their users in the hundreds; today, their users number in the billions. By getting into the social media market extremely early, these social media monsters rode the growth curve and created fortunes for thousands of people.
There will be many more fortunes made in e-commerce over the coming years as trillions of dollars continue to migrate from traditional streams to digital. Imagine, if you will, what the world will look like in 10 years!
10 years ago you had to run to the post office to buy stamps and send packages. Today, courier services will pick up your mail.
10 years ago you had to do your banking in person. Today you can check your accounts and transfer funds in your pajamas over your morning coffee.
10 years ago the cost of marketing to a specific audience was astronomical, and a startup’s advertising budget could soak up all its profits. Today, for a small fee and some hard work, you can get an entire business up, running, and profitable for what used to be a one-month advertising budget.
The point is clear. Life has changed enormously in the last 10 years and become increasingly convenient. The emergence of new platforms and technologies such as smartphones, data centers, and ultra-fast computers have enabled entrepreneurs to create new types of businesses that were not even imagined just a short time ago.
Most importantly, with the exponential development of new technologies, our lives are changing faster and faster as time goes by. Technology is expected to accelerate even faster over the next 10 years than it did over the last 10.
Perhaps cryptocurrencies will supplant money as we know it. Ownership of assets may be recorded on blockchains rather than pieces of paper, or in digital folders. Couples may honeymoon on the actual moon. Surgery may be performed by mini-robots you swallow in a pill. Beef may be grown in vats rather than raised on ranches, and steaks might be delivered to your BBQ by drone. We could eliminate poverty, illiteracy, and war, and your smartphone could translate your voice fluently into any one of the 7,000 human languages. The tasks we most dread may be accomplished by pushing a button on our phone or using a hologram projected from a wristband.
Change is coming … for the better … and you are right in the middle of it. You have the opportunity, right now, to ride the growth curve of digital transformation. This wave of innovation is boosting every sector of the economy, every industry, and every type of business.
This amazing new opportunity offers you the fulfillment of your dreams … of your wildest dreams … and the time to make this opportunity work for you is right now. Think of it as a gift that you are alive today and can take advantage of this unique opportunity, available because of innovative technology and the infinite creativity of your mind.
This once in a lifetime opportunity can provide all the money you want, allowing you to purchase whatever you wish, offering you the very real chance of a respectable and even outstanding quality of life, and guaranteeing financial security for you and your loved ones, the ease of donating to honorable causes you’re passionate about, and the potential to retire early and live your life the way you wish, doing all the interesting activities you’ve dreamed of doing and traveling to every one of the amazing places you’ve always wanted to visit and enjoy, fulfilling your heart’s desire. Wow!
Choosing to live an entrepreneurial lifestyle offers the potential for personal empowerment, self-actualization, and a profound sense of accomplishment for those who follow this exciting path. Even better, you’ll feel the deep satisfaction of fulfillment that is only attained through the achievement of your life’s purpose.
In the course of human history, opportunities such as the one that is now waiting for you are extremely rare. Previously, opportunities like this were only available to royalty or very wealthy people. But not this time.
Anyone, including and especially you, can now access fabulous wealth and change your life, the lives of your loved ones, and the generations of your family that are yet unborn, if only you will recognize the treasure that lies before you! All you have to do is commit to navigating the path illustrated in this book, capitalize on this opportunity now, and claim the incredible success that’s yours when you follow the advice you’re about to read.
The digital revolution is here now, at your doorstep, and there is a knock!
I know you can hear it …
Will you open the door?
Lessons Learned
1. Whether you are an entrepreneur interested in a brick-and-mortar store or a digital online store, business opportunities are everywhere.
2. As technologies change, opportunities are born.
3. The Digital Age promises to make more people wealthy than any other technology that ever existed before.
4. Entrepreneurial opportunities offer you financial security, the freedom of having your time, and the possibility of self-actualization to engage your full potential.
5. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is waiting for you, and you can capitalize on this extraordinary event with the experienced guidance this book offers.
