E-commerce and fragility: why have many entrepreneurs already forgotten the lessons of 2020?
In recent years, we have experienced a succession of events described as "extraordinary" which, when added together, have become our new normal. Pandemics, global geopolitical tensions, raw material crises, and a chronic market sensitivity to every health or war-related news item.
And yet, speaking daily with entrepreneurs — often at the head of artisanal businesses with enormous potential — I still hear phrases that leave me stunned:
"Dario, why should I bother with e-commerce? It costs too much, I'm not sure if it's worth it right now."
These statements conceal a fatal strategic misjudgment: confusing momentary tranquility with structural solidity.
The "short memory" virus
It seems that Covid taught nothing. In 2020, those who didn't have alternative channels were left standing still, watching their shutters lowered, hoping for external help or scrambling to find makeshift solutions, often getting "scammed" by the typical snake oil salesman promising miracles in 48 hours.
Today we are back there again. We look at the cost of the investment (e-commerce, in this case) as a simple current monetary outlay, without evaluating it as an asset for protection and diversification.
Diversification is not an option, it's insurance
A business that relies on a single pillar (a physical store, local word-of-mouth, a single large client) is not a solid business: it's a fragile business. Thinking like a business partner and not just an executor, the analysis is simple:
- Risk Protection: The more sales channels you have, the more protected you are from exogenous shocks (new lockdowns, international crises, decline in local consumption).
- Growth Quality: Online doesn't just mean "more revenue"; it means improving the quality of the revenue itself, scaling beyond the geographical boundaries of your workshop or city.
- 3-5 Year Vision: An artisanal company that wants to become a structured reality must stop looking at the weekly balance sheet and start planning on a medium-to-long term horizon.
The entrepreneur's duty
Building a strong company is not an exercise in style. It is a duty. Towards yourself, towards your company, but above all towards your employees and their families. Standing still because "things are good today" means condemning your structure to the next inevitable crisis.
Moments of strength, when things are going well, are not for complacency, but for investing in resilience. It is when you are solid that you must build the channels that will allow you to resist when others are struggling.
E-commerce, integrated into a serious business strategy, is not a cost: it is a piece of your armor.
Planning today means not having to rush tomorrow.
Professione Business
Your business partner.
