Back in the days when Amazon was just a bookstore and checks were in the mail
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In the late 1990s and early 2000s, e-commerce was still in its infancy. Today, buying online feels natural and almost trivial—you just click a button, pay, and the product shows up at your door. But back then, it was an adventure. A mix of improvisation, curiosity, and trial and error.
That’s when I launched my first real online business: selling a line of DIY products that I created and presented with the help of my skills in photography, design, and technology. Looking back now, it was a small pioneer’s journey, and it taught me lessons that still guide me today.
The Birth of the Idea
It all started with a passion for crafting and creating useful objects. I was fascinated by the possibility of sharing these ideas beyond my local area—reaching people I had never met, from different cities and even other countries.
The internet was beginning to open doors that had been unthinkable just a few years earlier. But there were no Shopify platforms, no ready-made templates, no social media. If you wanted a website, you had to build it yourself from scratch. And that’s exactly what I did.
Building a Website With Notepad
I still remember those long nights spent writing HTML code in Windows Notepad. No visual editors, no drag-and-drop builders. Just lines of code, saved as .html, uploaded via FTP to a basic hosting service.
Every small adjustment required patience. I had to learn how to structure pages, add links, insert images, and optimize for the slow connections of the time. And yet, when I saw my first product page load online, it felt like a small miracle.
Creating that site forced me to stretch my skills. I wasn’t a professional web developer, but I had always been comfortable with computers. This project pushed me further. I also started experimenting with 3D graphics, so that I could better illustrate how my products were meant to be used. Those simple renderings helped customers visualize the functionality in a way plain text could not.
Photography as a Key Ingredient
One of my other passions—photography—proved invaluable. I didn’t have professional equipment, but I had enough experience as an amateur photographer to take clear, well-lit photos. Back then, most online shops had grainy or poorly scanned pictures. I wanted something better.
So I staged my products carefully, adjusted the lighting, and took the best photos I could. The results gave my site a professional look that helped me stand out at a time when e-commerce was still full of clumsy and homemade attempts.
The Challenges of Selling Online Back Then
Today, if someone wants to sell online, they just connect a PayPal or Stripe account. But around the year 2000, online payments were complicated, and many people still didn’t trust them.
So how did I get paid? Believe it or not, most of the time customers would send checks through the mail. Sometimes, I even received cash in an envelope. It sounds incredible today, but that’s how much people were willing to improvise to buy something they wanted.
Of course, this also meant waiting. Payments took days, sometimes weeks, to arrive. Only then could I ship the product, which I did personally, carefully packing and sending each order.
Every sale felt like an achievement, because behind it there was effort, patience, and a leap of faith on both sides—mine and the customer’s.
What I Learned
Running that small online business taught me more than any textbook could.
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Resourcefulness: When tools didn’t exist, I had to invent solutions.
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Skill integration: Photography, web design, 3D graphics, customer service—I brought everything I had to the table.
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Patience and persistence: Nothing was immediate. From coding to shipping, every step required time.
Most importantly, I learned that with enough determination, you can combine your passions and skills to create something real. Even if the tools are basic, what matters is the vision and the will to make it happen.
Looking Back
Today, the e-commerce world is unrecognizable compared to those days. Anyone can start an online store in a single afternoon with platforms like Shopify or Etsy. Payments are instant, logistics are streamlined, and customers expect delivery within a couple of days.
And yet, part of me is grateful that I started when I did. I experienced the raw, experimental phase of the internet—when each site was unique, each sale was a triumph, and every new customer felt like a discovery.
That first business may have been small, but it was the seed of everything I’ve done since. It taught me to value independence, creativity, and the courage to try—even when the path isn’t clear.
Looking back, I realize that those early efforts were more than just a way to sell products. They were my first step into the digital world that has now become such a huge part of all our lives.