Entrepreneurship is exhilarating — fun, humbling, rewarding, monotonous, and entertaining, all at the same time. It causes you to work more hours than you ever intended but also provides the flexibility to get the most out of life. 

WooCommerce brings WordPress’ goal of democratizing publishing to online store ownership, providing everyone with the opportunity to pursue their passion and turn it into a revenue stream. But every entrepreneur has things they wish they knew before starting their store: things they’d do differently and lessons they’d pass on to help others avoid the same mistakes. 

We took a minute to talk with four entrepreneurs in four different industries who all left successful careers to pursue a dream of running their own business. We asked them about how they got started, why, and what they’ve learned along the way.

As an online store owner, security is one of your top priorities. Not only are you responsible for your own files, order information, and hard work, you’re also responsible for customers’ personal data. The last thing you want is for that information to fall into the wrong hands.

But eCommerce security doesn’t have to be daunting! It’s just a matter of putting the right practices into place and implementing the right tools. Let’s take a look at some strategies, broken down by priority.

Running your online store just got a little easier thanks to our new service, WooCommerce Payments: a payment processor, managed right in your WordPress dashboard.

Now everything you need to run your online store is in one place: One login, one customer service department, and one platform to learn.

WooCommerce Payments is also good for your bottom line. Customers can pay for products and services without leaving your site, which means more of them will complete their purchase. That’s a win for your business!

It’s always a treat to sit down with entrepreneurs from the WooCommerce community. They come from every walk of life but have one thing in common: a commitment to helping people grow their businesses.

Cody Landefeld lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where he’s the Director of Mode Effect, a digital agency specializing in WooCommerce and WordPress. Cody started the agency in 2010, after more than a decade in the industry, and now heads a team of designers, developers, strategists, and copywriters.

Cody gave us a peek into his life as a business leader, Twitter junkie, family man, vinyl collector, Christian, and sneakerhead. Cody has a cool job and varied set of interests, so we didn’t just want to talk about Woo; we chatted about his professional and personal tech stacks — the software, apps, podcasts, and social media platforms he leverages to make his life more efficient, fun, and inspired.

Whether you sell products and services online or have a physical location, you’re likely looking for ways to increase revenue. People are currently staying home and looking for new hobbies or ways to improve themselves. One smart way to make money while you also stay safely at home is by selling online courses.

Online courses are a great solution for any business that can teach a new skill: cooking, exercising, painting, playing an instrument, writing, meal prepping, and more. Since courses don’t require physical product development or shipping, they’re affordable, fast to create, and can generate passive income for years to come. 

But how do you sell online courses and make sure that they’re the right fit for your business?

With COVID-19 causing many food businesses to close their doors, some are quickly adapting to support their employees, generate income, and deliver quality products and services to customers. It may seem overwhelming to suddenly move business models and operations online, but WooCommerce makes it doable for companies of any size.

Let’s take a look at how four small businesses used WooCommerce and WordPress to quickly and successfully shift to respond to the changing market.

With many businesses unable to operate offline, it’s more important than ever to have an online presence. You need a way to update loyal customers, bring in additional revenue (especially if your storefront is closed), and offer new options like virtual services or pickup scheduling. And you don’t have a lot of time — or money — to do it.

WooCommerce is a no-cost, fully-customizable Ecommerce tool for WordPress, the free website-building platform. It was designed to meet the needs of store owners regardless of technical expertise, so anyone can get a store up and running. And if you do run into any questions, there’s extensive documentation available along with a stellar support team.

Let’s take a look at how to create an online store in five steps.

If your offline business has been affected by stay-at-home orders or closures and you need to start selling online quickly, there’s good news:

WooCommerce has partnered with GoDaddy to help you move your business online for just $1.

GoDaddy’s WordPress Ecommerce hosting plan is priced at just $1 for your first three months to help small businesses like yours start selling online. And after the initial three-month period, it’s still only $29.99 a month — a bargain for the level of support and power you get.

You’ll also receive a bundle of 34 WooCommerce extensions – worth more than $1,000 – so you can build your online store exactly how you want.

To claim this offer, click here to head over to GoDaddy.

If you’re looking to add a new revenue stream to your offline business because of the recent economic disruption caused by COVID-19, the clear choice is to start selling online. These days, many people are eager to support local and small businesses, from retail to restaurants to professional services. To give these potential patrons a way to buy your products online while they shelter-in-place, what you need is WooCommerce.

If you already have a WordPress site, WooCommerce is the seamless, trusted solution you’ve been looking for. Get ready to have some fun and, more importantly, to grow your business or give it some much-needed relief. 

As a WooCommerce store owner, you not only need to find new customers, but you need to make the most of the ones you have. You know you’ve got great products, but it often takes more than just great products to keep customers coming back to buy more.

The world’s going through significant changes and your customers have a lot of distractions and concerns. This doesn’t mean that you should go quiet; instead, it’s more important than ever to follow up with customers. They’ll appreciate the reminder or hearing a brief message from you. 

Fortunately, with AutomateWoo, you can create automated email workflows that will lead people back to your WooCommerce site again and again.

When someone purchases from your store, you have the opportunity to communicate with your customer in a way that both delights them and makes them more likely to buy from you again.

According to advisory firm Bain & Company, increasing customer retention by just 5% boosts profits by 25% to 95%. Why? Because it’s anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive to acquire new customers than to keep current ones. It makes sense: you don’t have to spend time and resources finding new customers — you just have to keep existing ones happy.

Convincing someone to make their first purchase can be difficult, but once they’ve started doing business with you, they’re much more likely to come back. This is called the “foot in the door” philosophy, and it’s why post-sale emails are so effective.

Here are seven ways to engage customers with email after a sale. Best of all, you can automate these emails to nurture customer relationships (and repeat purchases!) with minimal time on your part.

Whether you’re a crafter who works with paper, wood, gems, or textiles, you’ve likely got an inventory of beautiful products waiting for the right buyers. A lot of creatives use a third-party storefront, like Etsy, to kick-start a business and find an audience. But once you have a small-but-growing set of fans, it’s time to maximize profits and take your business to the next level with your own online store.

Spreading yourself too thin can cause problems for your business. Whatever stage your company’s in, choosing a niche is a critical step to being profitable. So you need to ask yourself: “What do we sell, to whom, and why?”

Your niche defines the products and services you develop. It directs your marketing. It focuses your attention on specific problems facing your customers. It differentiates you from the competition.

A niche also enables you to be found more easily. So many businesses struggle with the question, “Why aren’t more people finding us online?” But if you’re trying to appeal to everyone, you’ll struggle with this forever, no matter how much money you invest in marketing. 

Food isn’t just sustenance, it’s an experience. The word “foodie” started trending on Google in 2004 and, less than two decades later, food is everywhere. People love talking about food, watching videos of food, taking pictures of food, and learning about food. It’s no wonder that the US online grocery market is the fastest-growing eCommerce product category.

It’s also crowded. How do you compete in that market and share the food you’re passionate about with the people who want to eat it?

If you’re thinking about starting an online store, you may be considering selling subscriptions. It’s a smart move: the subscription eCommerce market is growing by more than 100% a year, with companies selling everything from wine to crafts to toys. 

The lifetime value of a subscriber is much higher than the average shopper because subscribers generate reliable, recurring revenue. What business doesn’t want to make money every month without having to find new customers?

To be successful, put the right measures in place. Let’s take a look at six key steps for starting a subscription business with WooCommerce.

Lots of us have hobbies, and lots of our hobbies have the potential to provide a partial or even full-time income. Specialized bracelets, woodwork, hand-crafted clothing, homemade toys — the possibilities for original, one-of-a-kind products are endless, as is the potential demand. 

Online marketplaces like Etsy may seem like the easiest way to start an online store, but then you’re subject to their rules and regulations, which can change at any time. In fact, Etsy recently announced that all businesses will be automatically enrolled in a new advertising program that takes 15% of income from eligible sales — a big chunk of  sellers’ hard-earned money!

With WordPress and WooCommerce, you have full control over your content, products, and where your money goes. You can create a store that’s as large (or small!) as you’d like and customize everything to be as unique as your products.

Ready to start a business or expand your sales beyond local shops and farmers markets? Let’s take a look at how to create an online store, make money online, and market your products with WordPress and WooCommerce.