Notes from the build
What we're learning building an AI that runs real stores — shipped features, honest numbers, and the occasional wrong turn.
Online store launch checklist, in the order that matters
A store can look finished and still be unable to take money. The ordered checks before you go public, including the one nearly everyone skips.
Read articleDo I need a business license to sell online?
It is four questions, not one: legal structure, tax registration, product permits, and your payment provider. Orientation, not legal advice.
Read articleCommon ecommerce mistakes share one root cause
Nearly every mistake new sellers make is the same one: choosing the work you control over the work that could tell you you were wrong.
Read articleHow long does it take to build an online store?
The build is a few hours. Opening takes one to three weeks, and almost all of it is decisions and product information rather than building.
Read articleOnline store vs marketplace: which one first?
A marketplace rents you demand and keeps the customer. Your own store gives you the customer and leaves demand your problem. How to choose.
Read articleHow much does it cost to start an online store?
The nine lines on the real bill, three worked scenarios with tables, and the forgotten cost: the first marketing spend that returns nothing.
Read articlePre-launch marketing: what to do before you open
Launch day is silent by default. A four-week plan for having a short list of people who actually want to hear that you have opened.
Read articleHow to scale an online store from 10 to 100 orders a day
Ten orders a day takes an hour; a hundred takes ten. What changes in fulfillment, support, cash and hiring, and what does not change at all.
Read articleHow to prepare for Black Friday without losing money
Work backwards from the date: stock, what breaks under load, support volume, and the discount arithmetic that decides whether the day pays.
Read articleWhy do online stores fail? The honest ranking
Most stores that fail never break. The real causes, ranked, with the strongest argument against that ranking stated fairly.
Read articleHow to write product descriptions, in order
A repeatable seven-step structure for product descriptions, what to lead with for each product type, and the one failure that costs most sales.
Read articleEtsy vs your own website: don't leave, outgrow it
Fees are the wrong reason to leave a marketplace. The signal that says go is buyers arriving by name — plus when staying is still right.
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