Starting My Own ECommerce Business

Let’s face it - this pandemic has hit us super hard. I know that some people have been more affected than others, and that is totally something that one needs to consider when sharing their own pandemic situation. However, I have had my fair share of struggles through this whole thing as well. While I did not end up losing anyone close to me to COVID (thank the Lord) I faced a lot of financial uncertainty and was at risk of completely losing my business, which in turn meant losing my home and my livelihood. Now, I am a simple man who owns a bait and tackle shop in a rural town in Florida. I have seen a lot of dark days in my lifetime, but never has my life been so completely upended like it was in the face of the COVID19 pandemic. Once the government decided that most restaurants, businesses, and other public places needed to be closed down for several months, I was not sure if my business would make it through to the other side. However, thanks to eCommerce and technology, I have been able to thrive in the midst of this crazy time. 

The first hurdle I needed to overcome was my aversion to all things technology. Like I said earlier, I am a simple man who loves to fish and is passionate about bait and tackle. I did not have much need or use in my life for fancy technology or great involvement with computers or the internet. However, I was introduced to the idea of eCommerce by a colleague of mine who was also a small business owner. It seemed like that was my only shot at making it through the pandemic with my business intact, so I just went for it. To my surprise, I found it relatively easy to adjust to the online world. I had help creating my website and various software accounts to manage my orders and inventory, but after that it was all smooth sailing. The nice thing about my customers is that they are very loyal and always come back to shop again; once they heard that I was still kicking online, I had no problem filling orders throughout the week! I even began to see more and more people start to buy my products. I realized that, due to the pandemic, people were on the prowl for new hobbies of all sorts, including fishing. 

It was nice to see the spike in new customers wanting to shop my store and buy my products. Managing my store online was definitely new for me and caused a lot of stress at first, but I knew it was the only way for me to keep my business alive. I had to invest in a lot of different shipping boxes and packaging materials because people only used to buy my products in person.

I even

had orders coming in from different states and eventually different parts of the world, how crazy is that! It took me a hot minute to find the right supplier of shipping boxes because many companies were having supply chain problems and shortages due to the pandemic. Now that things are opening up again and I am back in my store, I can happily say that I kept my business alive through the pandemic with the help of eCommerce.

Why I Left My Job At The Amazon Warehouse

Say what you will about Jeff Bezos. I know there is a lot of controversy going around about him at the moment and many people have found a complete distaste for all things Jeff Bezos and Amazon related. However, the ironic part is that most of these same people still use Amazon to order a multitude of products on a regular basis. I know that we as a country worship convenience and ease of use above all else, and that is demonstrated by the way we shop for things. However, it is true that there is something sinister about Amazon. Personally, I don’t believe that one man should be able to be worth that much money. Jeff Bezos is worth 193.4 billion dollars, the richest man to ever live in the history of the world. That number alone is crazy, but it is also crazy to think that he is on his way to becoming the world’s first trillionaire. Some people think that might be a little far-fetched, but I believe in exponential growth and the greedy heart of Jeff Bezos. I don’t doubt that one day we might see him as a trillionaire amidst a starved and suffering world.

I am writing this article to talk about my job at an Amazon warehouse. Now I am a young guy, and I needed a job in between career changes. I had heard a lot of mixed things about working for Amazon. Mostly, I heard that it is a cold and unfriendly place and all around not a good work environment. The hourly salary was decent compared to other places around my area, though, and the hours I was promised to be able to work were definitely enticing. I decided to try my luck and apply for an Amazon warehouse and distribution center in my city. Despite all the criticism that Amazon constantly faces in the press and on social media about their working conditions and treatment of employees, you cannot refute the simple fact that people are still wanting to work at Amazon because of the competitive pay and apparent benefits for employees. Well, I am here to tell you what it is really like to work in an Amazon warehouse. Hopefully I can enlighten you on some new facts and put some old rumors to bed in the process.

First off, I would like to say that Amazon’s warehouses are massive. Like, it is almost incomprehensible how big some of these things are. Shipping boxes are transported in bins and conveyors as far as the eye can see. If you turned off all the lights in there and put me in a random spot in the warehouse, I probably would have been lost for at least a week and a half.

I worked as a picker during my time there, which involved running around with a handheld GPS looking for certain packages and pulling them off of shelves, where I scanned them and put them into the bin I was toting around. This work wasn’t too bad at first, and honestly felt kind of fun for the time being. Eventually though, I got tired of scanning shipping boxes all day and walking over 15 miles a day with my sore feet. That’s why I quit my job at Amazon. Down with Jeff Bezos, the villain of our generation.