Andres Corona: The Grave Mistakes People Make When Starting An eCommerce Business

5.2 trillion U.S. dollars – that's how much the worldwide retail e-commerce sales amounted to last year, according to Statista. Truly a massive cake that one can grab a piece of just with a laptop, a couch, and a dream of financial freedom.

While starting an eCommerce business is easy in theory, there is a catch. As Andres Corona explains, if it were an easy business, everyone would do it, and everyone would have success. But not everyone can make it work long-term.

"The biggest mistake first-time entrepreneurs make is that they often can't see the forest for the trees," he says. "You can spend days and months creating the perfect store only to close it a few weeks after the launch. They lose their focus and start thinking about triflings instead pushing forward."

Andres Corona is a renowned Orlando-based eCommerce expert and serial entrepreneur with multiple eCommerce businesses under his belt. Last year, he made over $7 million gross in sales, and his most profitable company, MidoCommerce, made over $35 million. Still, Corona had to overcome many challenges to get to where he is today.

He founded his first eCommerce business eight years ago while living in Venezuela. His father, who was the sole provider, had died, and Andres needed a way to earn some money. He found a menial job but also started a side hustle of re-selling protein shakes and supplements, first to people at the local gym, then the whole city, and over time, he found clients in Puerto Rico and the United States.

At the time, Corona was an entrepreneur diving into every business possible just to see if he’d fit in — Shopify stores, eCommerce, dropshipping, trading, crypto, etc. As he points out, in doing all of that, he realized that eCommerce was something he enjoyed doing.

However, constantly switching his focus to other things made him close the business, giving him his first six-figure paycheck. Beaten but unbroken, Corona collected his composure, knowing that if he made it work once, he could make it work again.

That's when he met his lifelong friend, Eberths Perozo, who was also dabbling in eCommerce. The duo realized that the process would be smoother if they joined strengths. "We shared the same vision and goal, so we decided to come to the United States and start MidoCommerce," he says. "Even though we had done things like this before, it was tough. We had trouble finding products, wholesalers, and clients."

Despite a troubling start and dwindling resources, they weren't keen on giving up. Andres Corona spent every waking moment brainstorming solutions, calling suppliers, and trying to score a good deal. After a couple of sleepless months, persistence finally paid off. They successfully launched a new product line, and the money poured in.

"We made $286,000 in sales with our first store, and after that, it was only a matter of growing further," he says. "Still, there were many ups and downs. We had some very successful products, but there is no 100% efficiency in business. Some of the products were complete failures. Still, that never discouraged us from pushing even more."