How I Built an E-Commerce Site in Just 5 Days, Thanks to AI (Part 1)

Meet Paul

Hello there! I’m Paul, and for around 15 years, I've been navigating the waters of Talent Acquisition, HR, and Consulting. Though I have a slight IT background, I've always been keen on leveraging my knowledge to automate as much as possible. So, when AI started making waves, it felt like Christmas to me.

Learning the AI Way

Eager to ride the AI wave, I quickly dove into tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney/Dall-E. While I did start with a few videos and tutorials, I realized that isn't how I learn best. My learning style? Finding a seemingly insurmountable challenge and relentlessly chipping away at it until it works. This approach helped me build a CRM without any programming knowledge. So, I thought, "If I can build a whole e-commerce site in 5 days instead of months, that would be really cool."

Choosing the Right Business

You might be wondering why an e-commerce site. Well, Data-driven Deputy suggested it. When I asked for company ideas requiring minimal investment, the AI churned out a list similar to what you'd find on the first page of Google: dropshipping, affiliate marketing, freelancing (which I'm already doing), and a few others. Among these, dropshipping was the one.

Taking the Plunge

With no prior experience in building an e-commerce site, I knew this task would be an uphill climb. I had a basic understanding of the mechanics but was far from being an expert. However, my unquenchable thirst for learning and my fascination with AI pushed me to take the plunge.

The Journey Begins

At this point, I was unsure about what kind of dropshipping to pursue. Naturally, I turned to my machine learning mate (you'll find this to be a common theme) and received a mixed bag of ideas. After careful consideration, I chose to leverage another AI tool that I've grown fond of: Midjourney. This image-generating AI creates some stunning visuals, and it struck me: why not create a print-on-demand dropshipping business using pictures generated through Midjourney? And that's exactly what I set out to do.

Embracing the Challenge

Thus, my journey began. I was under no illusion that it would be smooth sailing. I braced myself for potential hiccups, roadblocks, and a fair share of frustrating moments. But the excitement of learning, problem-solving, and visualizing the end result kept my spirits high.

The Chronicle of a 5-Day Rollercoaster Ride

This series is the chronicle of that journey - a roller-coaster ride of five days, during which I found myself, often late into the night and in my jammies, building an e-commerce site from scratch. It's a tale of triumphs and tribulations, of surprising discoveries, and of a whole lot of Club Mate. So, buckle up, because it's quite a ride!