Let me address the 2nd question first. I am assuming that I will be successful, but if I am not (I give that 90% livelihood - sure, call me a pessimist), I hope I will learn something from it, even if it is as inconsequential as, "ok, I am not good at it". If I am successful, I hope other people can learn from my real-time experience. I have read about and listened to successful people recall how they achieved their success. But I am skeptical about their recollection even if they're trying to be genuine because of what psychologists call, recall bias. Recording the experience real-time should eliminate that bias, and let readers appreciate what exactly is like to go through the experience of opening a successful Amazon Store.
Now, the 1st question, why am I opening my first Amazon Store? To be frank, I don't have to. I have a steady job with good pay and benefits. I have a stable and supportive family; btw, my family and friends don't know that I am doing this. More importantly, I really don't have time to do this; aside from work and family obligations, I am active in social/professional organizations. I guess the reason I am doing doing this is because I am in a "mid-life" crisis.
The definition of "mid-life" crisis for me is the feeling of "self-let down". That means, in retrospect, knowing hindsight is 20-20, I was not able to capture my full potential, or what Malcolm Gladwell calls, capitalization rate. And I am disappointed especially when I compare myself to my peers, classmates and colleagues, and what they have achieved thus far. The sore point for me is complete lack of progress in my career. Sure, I enjoy what I do and I think I am good at it, but I feel I am stuck with no chance of promotion (i.e. higher income) in the foreseeable future while my contemporaries are doing bigger and better things at my company or elsewhere. As such, I feel out of place in my group and don't enjoy the collegiate aspect of my work. Of course I could look for bigger and better job/career. Trust me, I have done that but to no avail. I feel it has become harder as I have grown older. That brings to my next point. If I were to lose my current job, I will probably not find a comparable one, and I will have to find a different career. That's where Amazon shop comes in.
I have always contemplated owning a business. Ideally, an investment company that owns equity or full ownership in different type of businesses. But obviously, capability, capital and credibility have been the issues. I have not given up on that yet, but we'll see what happens. A more practical route is to own a small business. I have given thoughts to that also including franchise, gas station, restaurant etc. But I have been hesitant for several reasons.
- Time - I have a full-time job and it is hard to be physically at 2 places at the same time
- Financial - I am hesitant to make a big upfront investment without knowing how it will eventually work out.
- Personality - I am not a salesperson. I am neither good nor want to sell things in person.
- Preference - I want a business which can run on its own without constant oversight
My Amazon Store addresses all those concerns since everything is done online and/or over the phone and the initial financial commitment can be as small as I want it to be.
Wish me luck!
