How can you develop resilience in your E-Commerce career?

You can only carry so much weight alone, you need both a great team and strong support from top management in such a crucial role. Depending which organisation you are in, E-commerce can either be looked upon as the Future of the business or be seen as the Evil Cannibal that is going to devour other business lines. One of the biggest challenges in E-commerce management is that innovation is fast but systems evolve slowly. This means the outcomes of half of your work is long term requiring vision and planning, while the other half is immediate, requiring operational excellence and agility. So to build resilience get long term buy-in using roadmaps for upper management and build an agile and responsive team to perform on a daily basis.

The common path to an Ecommerce careers are either from - Performance/ Growth - Product/Tech - Merchandising / Content - Supply Chain/Operations When hiring the department head one challenge I have often experienced is lack of understanding of end to end process. Its important to have detailed understanding of the processes that are being used in aforementioned functions to build resilience. Common examples - Performance team has no visibility of stock - Merchandising Team lacks will change the product sorting without knowing the impact - Product Team will launch the product without proper UAT by end users To build resilience its important to be empathetic and active look for opportunities to learn new skills.

Focusing on solutions instead of problems Developing coping mechanism Embrace changes and stay open to new technologies Be patient, big companies might be slow to invent new tech for the upcoming trend in E-commerce

Adaptability is key to resilience. Develop contingency plans to address unforeseen challenges such as supply chain disruptions, changes in consumer behavior, or shifts in market trends. Establish alternative suppliers and explore flexible shipping options to mitigate potential disruptions

1. Be very passionate about E-commerce first, you should be self-driven, and no one should be required to push you 2. Be an expert in a specific domain and start building a network/community around it, and start helping/sharing your knowledge 3. Learn to carry a growth mindset because that's what I have done in my 5 years of career that made my salary 7x in a matter of 4 years 4. Keep learning constantly, no matter what, through short courses, programs etc 5. Be ready to take on new challenges in your current organisation in your/different domain 6. Always keep experimenting and innovating 7. Carry expertise in 1 domain, but learn basics of all domains of E-commerce so that you understand how business runs online

While embracing change and uncertainty is generally seen as positive, there's a risk of becoming too adaptable and losing sight of your core values and objectives. It's crucial to balance adaptability with consistency to ensure long-term success.

The best way I've found to embrace change and uncertainty is to dedicate myself to the process and simply put in the reps. Know that I control the input but not necessarily the output. Then go to work. Day after day, through triumphs and adversity. Being parts of business masterminds and having mentors has also helped me enormously to get objective feedback. I also try to work on forging good, healthy habits. With food, exercise, sleep and relationships. So when times get tough I have strength of mind and body to keep me going. But it never gets easier. I guess we just get more used to setbacks. It sounds clichéd but they do litter the path to success.

Especially post-covid, e-commerce is pretty stormy. Some businesses thrive, some fail. And that makes making assumptions based on history pretty sketchy. Try to follow your own course and don't look too much at your competition.

E-commerce thrives on a dance with the unknown. Change and uncertainty aren't enemies, but stepping stones. Instead of flinching at shifting trends or new tech, embrace the dance. See each twist as a chance to learn, to flex your adaptability muscle. Experiment, welcome feedback, and polish your solutions. Fixating on a rigid "how" blinds you to a kaleidoscope of "whats." So, don't fear the unknown, embrace its rhythm, and pirouette towards a vibrant future, step by creative step.

Perspective is critical when building an ecom business. There are so many ups and downs, that if you aren't able to remind yourself of that it will drive you mad. This means that when a campaign isn't working, you remind yourself that you will iterate and test and find the solution. When it's going well, you take it with a grain of salt. You aren't god because a FB campaign blew up over the weekend. Chill. Talk to others. In ecommerce especially, there are thousands that have been there too. The community is incredible.

You only have to ask yourself one question: "Can I do something about it?" If the answer is YES, do it. If the answer is NO, don't waste your energy on it.

I'm so glad that stress and emotions are brought up here! When you are in a field with extremely fast feedback loops like your bounce or conversion rates, or ROI on ad spends, it's tough to stay objective! A few things have helped me: I'm a fan of Jocko Willink's work, especially his writing called "Good". It's a fantastic perspective on how any setback can be turned around into a positive and a learning. "Didn't make your goals? Good. Now you have more learnings and know what to do next." Really inspiring. (it's even a song on Spotify!) Also as a sci-fi fan, I picture how Spock or any Vulcan would respond to the news I just got. It's a silly and fun way to get some objectivity back in your mind.

E-Commerce is made up of unexpected day to day challenges, from the management team, clients, and customers as well. And resilience is one of the key factors that will really determine your stress and emotions.

In the e-commerce hustle, emotions run wild! Resilience is your cape, and stress is the dragon you slay with meditation, exercise, hobbies, and self-compassion. I lot of people feel bad when they don't do anything from the above, but if you can stay offline for 2 days, or do something that really makes you happy so it helps you disconnect, you should focus on that and not what Linkedin articles or magazines they you, you should do.

In the vibrant jungle of e-commerce, bumps and bruises are inevitable. But fear not, each scar whispers wisdom! Don't get lost in the sting of setbacks or replay failures on loop. Instead, embrace them as teachers, offering invaluable lessons. Reflect on what went awry, glean the gold from mistakes, and apply it like brushstrokes to your future canvas. Every experience, every rejection, is a seed for growth, a chance to innovate and rise stronger. So, learn from the dance of success and stumble, and watch your resilience bloom, one insightful step at a time.

Discipline and Consistency in engaging and BUILDING a community of customers for the e-commerce business. Decide if your e-commerce business is a complementary business or the core business. The approach has to differ.

As correctly said, E-commerce is very uncertain industry in terms of your tasks and projects to do. There are no clear tasks defined and SOPs to refer when in need, rather one has to use his skills and learnings from past experiences to solve the problem at hand. Reflecting on past mistakes, mishandled projects and applying that learning into similar cases in future show your leadership creativity in your work. This only comes when you have burnt your hand by playing with this evolving E-commerce industry and never saying no to any new task.

Learn how to stop and reflect, this is something people often forget about. Also, if you had a bad experience, it doesn't mean you can't fix it. If you haven't failed, you haven't really tried.

Make sure you build a strong network and community. This should have experts and mentors you can reach out to, peers who can act as sounding boards, and people with whom you can collaborate and learn. Since the space is vast, relatively new, and fast-changing it is difficult for one person or a handful to know it all based on the same set of tried and tested rules as many other industries

Network is incredibly important. Your childhood friends are great too, but you should surround yourself with people that are experiencing similar problems, and finding ways how to solve them. I think it's always a great idea to join a mastermind and get an advice from like-minded people.

E-commerce presents a great scope of building network with smart and intelligent audience. There are multiple departments in the company with which daily interaction happens for work related tasks. Also there are many external stakeholders like brands, vendors, agencies with which you get to learn a lot about the industry, its trends and challenges. Building a positive network which can show up when you need help will always help in the long term career in e-commerce.

This is my favorite thing in the world. Network is your net worth. When you sometimes think you didn't get a lot of clients from an event you attended, just think about all the connections and relationship you will get out of it.

Growth mindset is key: surround yourself with people that know more than you. When you put your ego aside and open your mind to learning from your colleagues, you will develop further skills, and come across scenarios that you would not come across if you stay in your bubble. Your comfort zone might be cozy, and change might be scary, but the world of ecommerce is progressing, and you can't expect to stay afloat with the same skills and processes you were using 10 years ago!

You must always push yourself and your team to grow professionally. Having a growth mindset and framework allows you and your team to accept wins and failures more evenly because you are always moving forward. The cautionary rule is not to outpace your customers with growth concepts; avoid confusing “new” with growth. Growth allows your customers or team members to have a better experience without that it is just “new”.

Business today is inseparable from having a growth mindset! Change is constant and perpetual. We are in a time of swift change, with new learnings, tools, failures, and opportunities at every corner! Change in every aspect of e-commerce and business is constant and perpetual. Keeping a growth mindset, or as I like to say "surfing change" is critical... you've got to keep your balance, and expect to swim a bit, before getting back up on your board and looking for the next big wave! Frankly, I'm not sure how anyone with a fixed mindset could be very happy in e-commerce... ;-)

E-commerce is a fast-evolving space. Technologies, landscapes, customer behavior, and expectations keep changing drastically. Two key points can help anyone navigate this dynamic landscape with relative ease 1. Invest in continuous learning of the latest trends, and technologies and keep updating oneself so as to leverage the best solutions at any given time 2. Develop a deep understanding of the core underlying principles like consumer psychology, motivations, and need states which more or less remain the same.

Its impossible to survive with fixed mindset in e-commerce. The daily challenges posed in the work is not the same as yesterday. Everything is new and that innate hustle is required to solve the problem. When the industry is so dynamic, rigid and straightforward solutions will solve the problem. So is applicable in E-commerce as well. Continuous learning, developing hard and soft skills can only help.

E-commerce is here to stay and will see a lot of innovations in the coming years. Anyone who wants to be in the space needs to be in it for the long haul and should be excited to keep learning, and constantly experiment and fail a lot. A growth mindset, patience, curiosity, and resilience are the key.

Be known as a listener who is always willing to pivot! Your flexibility in the space will be your badge of honor. Be known as someone who is willing to take criticism and take action going forward. I know it's a hit to the pride but this is absolutely crucial for a long term career in the ever changing e-commerce space!

Resilience is a crucial trait in e-commerce. eCom roles are etiher within a larger retail organization or as the primary sales channel in a D2C or online-only company. Each has its own challenges. In the first case, eCom is often responsible for 10% or less of total sales, but it's seen as more expensive due to factors like last-mile freight, ease of expense tracking and fewer eCom expenses qualify as CapEx or assets. This makes it challenging for eCom departments to secure $ from leadership. In the 2nd case, D2C brands might use eCom as a marketing tool to attract investors, buyers, or plan for an IPO. The least resistance for eCom professionals is typically found in online-only companies that have outgrown their initial stages.

One way in which I keep building my resilience muscle is to keep doing experiments, especially in good times when you have more voice. These experiments have come to my rescue during bad days ?? An example in my case, my meta ads were giving high ROAS at a time. Naturally, the inclination would be to invest more marketing budget there. But we kept investing in improving Google SEO consistently. As a result, when our chips were down due to low ROAS OF meta from iOS 14 release, google SEO helped us.