All businesses start with a specific goal in mind. For most, it’s profit.

Even at not-for-profit organizations – or when the main driver of a business is a personal goal, like being able to work in a more flexible way or spending more time with family – income is almost always required for sustainability.

Entrepreneurship can deliver on the various freedoms it promises, but success requires an active understanding of a business’s finances – which starts with knowing what to measure.

As management consultant Peter Drucker says, “What gets measured gets managed.” – so here are four key metrics of eCommerce profitability.

1. Gross profit margin

Gross profit margin is “a financial metric used to assess a company’s financial health and business model by revealing the proportion of money left over from revenues after accounting for the cost of goods sold (COGS).”

Gross profit margin is critical because it immediately gives you an overview of how your current revenue is serving the rest of your business, and whether it is doing so at a profit or a loss. This has a far-reaching impact on your strategic and tactical options for how to run your business.

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Neil Whippey and Shami Radia, the founders of Eat Grub, are on a mission to “change the way the West eats”. With their successful eCommerce business, this London-based duo is promoting insects as a sustainable and nutritious source of food – one delicious snack at a time.

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So you’ve made the decision to launch a new store using WooCommerce. The first few things you’ll do are choose a hosting solution and order your new domain name, then you can get started on setting everything up, and getting ready for launch.

But wait! What if someone visits your site while you’re working on it?

Welcome to to the useful world of Coming Soon or pre-launch landing pages. Let’s take a look at why it’s a good idea to set one up and how to add one to your store for free.

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Every new shop builder has the same goal: to make money from their eCommerce site. However, the first few transactions can sometimes be the most difficult to make since these are the sales that put your strategy, your store, and your patience to the test.

Luckily, the early days of any business offer the perfect opportunity to listen, learn, and experiment with different sales tactics. To help you get started, we’ve compiled ten ways to make your next sale with WooCommerce that will help you now and throughout the lifetime of your online store.

Let’s put some wind in your sales.

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Six years ago, I built my first online business. Like most entrepreneurs, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t the hard way: through experience. Despite facing many hurdles, each project I’ve built has been more successful than the last.

Recently, I began to wonder what is it that I’ve learned that’s made this difference. In other words, if I could go back six years and give myself a few tips, what would I say?

Here are seven lessons I wish I knew six years ago, before building my first online business.

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