Stop blindly pursuing traffic: the secret for small e-commerce businesses to make big money is hidden in that broken bowl

[](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafQVOP3_CPxMxHvNubVosC_DgnV_-FwGeyaAjOP81PYF1NQ7MLVo4sYyd-lgi0S609D53MjpJ7yDlhQL0DXJuU01kLD5EOy u1ROZfJ87tuPSKCdPS37iH92-BsQ6GhOhM-ICzuaZA6RMzBW5OgduV2vAwYGCyjmdSySGD92tzGOyDlS BccKVmNJEoNT4v/s1536/%E5%B0%8F%E9%9B%BB%E5%95%86%E8%B3%BA%E5%A4%A7%E9%8C%A2.png)

Last night, I sat in front of the computer and watched my friend Li Zijian (Mocoo) turn on the camera and use that gentle yet firm tone to start talking about his new book “[Small E-commerce Makes Big Money]” (https://www.books.com.tw/e xep/assp.php/vista/products/0011035018?utm_source=vista&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-202512)》. In name, it is a new book sharing meeting, but in fact it is more like a business physical examination workshop to help entrepreneurs repair their hearts.

He did not start with traffic, advertising or rhetoric, but instead threw out a sentence that seemed very un-e-commerce:

You have to take care of your own energy first.

If someone comes in with the expectation of “teaching me how to sell well”, they will probably be stunned for three seconds, right? But the more you listen, the more you will understand that this logic is actually the only underlying method for small e-commerce companies to live long and live with peace of mind in this era.

Mocoo said that before you really start a business, the first thing you have to face is not product selection or marketing, but whether you can withstand the endless denial and uncertainty along the way. Your family will worry about you, your friends will advise you, and there will be people on the Internet who will criticize you. These voices will not stop, but will only increase in number. If your energy is drained away little by little, it will be difficult for you to survive to any stage where results appear.

Therefore, he must first be the most supportive person in the world. When encountering problems, he must first stabilize his emotions and stand on his own feet before dealing with the problem. He does not deny that he can also be depressed and get into trouble, but rather than complain, he prefers to use small actions to “recharge” himself - such as learning a new tool, doing a small experiment, or writing an article. By completing small tasks, he can regain the feeling of “I can still do it.” For entrepreneurs, this is actually a lesson that must be practiced every day: Don’t expect that you will always have full power, but you must have a set of rituals to pull yourself back from the bottom at any time.

[](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhw9Hh93z16xsKHSzl29lmbW- u2dQmNPQn5IB-_y25StxhVva2YJm7Lr8FdDzv__7swydZjxYBnJtd5eOxXc-LIVUGShjhkEejD5uqUqUY9CQDHV4y bgDD1EQixne-G4K_Nqrh7QtfOYGXhe7zYK3_qS9ahMWtvCcDi36l2QrZnCxG9HJlvau-JzaDZID/s6400/%E5%9F %B7%E8%A1%8C%E5%8A%9B%E8%88%87%E8%83%BD%E9%87%8F%E7%9A%84%E9%9B%99%E8%9E%BA%E6%97%8B.png)

After the energy is stabilized, it is the execution’s turn to come into play. Many e-commerce merchants are very smart. They have read a lot of theories, taken a lot of classes, and played with a lot of tools, but they are stuck at the level of “thinking too much and doing too little.” In last night’s live broadcast, Mocoo emphasized again and again that his real competitiveness in the past ten years is not his ability to analyze, but the courage to do it first and then talk about it.

He didn’t know how to write a program at all, but he just relied on AI tool and started from the backend of a login page. The first small goal was just to be able to log in, and it took a week to debug it; after it was achieved, a small function, a report, and a management screen were added. This chain reaction of small successes and a small sense of accomplishment through small executions gradually builds up a complete system.

For small e-commerce companies that are just starting out, this is actually a very pragmatic reminder: Don’t start by saying, “I want to build a brand, build a complete funnel, and integrate all channels.” First, let yourself complete one small thing every day—write one more customer letter, optimize one more product page, or test one more advertising combination—small successes will develop great confidence, and confidence will make you willing to continue executing.

Mocoo reminds everyone: Energy and execution are not enough. We are in an era where every category is full of competing products. You must honestly ask yourself: Who am I?

Many people think that differentiation is the secret of the recipe, the sentences of copywriting or the style of design, but these things can easily be plagiarized or copied. Mocoo’s answer is simple: the biggest difference is actually you. Your story, your passion, the abilities you have accumulated along the way, and the resources you have, the intersection of these four things is a combination that others cannot copy.

[](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjLRfPocZhZ4Ea8s2t9GVw0Nc YzvphPSVy4GBajnbDyiRL5doishDjU5QH7MyOplXjGGQpVSZFlXM1r5DsXragTbnZ_J3ww2IEcCQHsoUvbAPoF3s8 eX69StUOVNQFBbtNV4XRRhPV2JLniRm5TtxVAakCRemOUmXLcCyO4BbqiTHw1FxJYxYJnhgJGRR/s6400/%E7%8D %A8%E7%89%B9%E5%B7%AE%E7%95%B0%E5%8C%96%E7%9A%84%E5%9B%9B%E5%A4%A7%E4%BE%86%E6%BA%90.png)

He has been obsessed with marketing and business since his days as a designer. In his early years, he ran “[SET KUSHOU](https://mr6.cc/2007/05/22/%E3%80%8C%E8%A8%AD%E8%8B%A6%E6%89%8B%E3%80%8D%E7%B6%B2%E7%AB%99%EF%BC%8 C%E5%85%AD%E6%97%A5%E5%AE%8C%E6%88%90%E7%9A%84%E4%B8%8D%E8%8B%A6%E7%94%9C%E8%9C%9C%E9%BB%9E/)” website, I read hundreds of foreign websites every day, just to pick out three or five cases worth sharing. The Looking at Pictures and Selecting Products training in those years seemed to be incomparable to selling chili sauce and doing e-commerce later, but it laid the most critical intuition for product selection for him.

You think you have taken many long detours, but in fact they are all part of your future differentiation. If a small e-commerce company only thinks about being like a certain brand, it will always copy others; on the other hand, if you are willing to look back and take inventory: “What [stories] have I had along the way (ht tps://iamvista.substack.com/p/vista-no74)? What are I particularly fascinated by? Where have I practiced? What unique advantages can my family, background, and network provide?” Your brand soul will grow.

Of course, this also brings up the issue of product selection. What most people ask him is: “A certain product is very popular now, can I make it?” It took him more than ten years to sort out a relatively simple but very effective product selection logic: first look at the industry, and then choose the product.

Product selection refers to the process of carefully selecting products with unique style, story or emotional value from many products based on the operator’s philosophy, taste or specific theme, and planning and presenting them to consumers. [](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhU6z0058zRDROCqUQk 01gIqyK9c945hLPJ4cmSrUslVjzSk6zE3L2ttDBHg-Q_oAhm0vzwdIAf6bdOjgW2ETCsKfuInqb1gmA8j2 uzA3oxiASK1KIfTtDNp50CwYtr7fO0ZezkM8mm2LIhN-dIWLNMOjuQLxrhSrZJOWOOsC5Xkk82nCOPuRcq 3DvgTTZ/s6400/%E9%81%B8%E5%93%81%E9%82%8F%E8%BC%AF%E9%87%91%E5%AD%97%E5%A1%94.png)

For example, he would walk around a hypermarket like Carrefour and stare at the shelves - not at a single product, but at an entire row: If a certain category can occupy two or three rows of shelves, it means that the industry has enough demand to support many companies; if it only huddles in a corner, it may be difficult to support a complete team. First use this method to lock in a deep pool, and then consider from which angle you want to enter?

Just like the sauce industry, people need to eat every day, and the demand will not disappear just because the algorithm changes. He has found his own small niche here - others are making very spicy chili sauce, so he makes a chili sauce that is not too spicy but goes well with rice.

The key here is not just that there is a gap in the market, but: “This industry can operate in the long term”, “This product can solve real and ongoing problems”, “This positioning is just compatible with me as a person”. If you are also selecting products, instead of asking around to find out what will sell next year, it is better to calm down and ask yourself three questions: Which industry can I do for ten years? Inside, what overlooked needs do I see? With my current story, abilities, and resources, which is the most natural starting point?

Speaking of which, here comes the real turning point in this new book sharing session!

Even if you find the right industry and create differentiated products, if customers only buy from you once and then leave, everything will still be back to square one.

Mocoo used a very vivid metaphor to explain this matter very thoroughly:

Your business is like a bowl, customers are the water dripping into the bowl, and advertising and marketing are the ways to pour the water in.

In the past, when the traffic dividend was huge, everyone only thought about how to pour water faster and harder, and rarely looked back to see if their bowl was full of cracks - products could not be repurchased, services were haphazardly provided, and customers disappeared after buying. When Facebook ads became expensive, Shopee traffic became difficult to obtain, and the water flow was no longer so urgent, the problem suddenly surfaced: you are burning money every day, but the bowl is never full.

The so-called “replenishing the bowl” actually means adjusting the thinking from prioritizing traffic to prioritizing customer retention. When you start asking: “How do I make customers willing to buy a second or third time? How do I make them really get results from my product?” What you are dealing with is not short-term revenue, but long-term assets.

[](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4E3X7mOcfRsNPjFdg4tg2 ejwsddpofMWQi5fAKIF8Pb9-d88gzrog5j6s2D7owjM-AbjDqgb8UmjQIaPgVLTW0diCqHHQAFNSAZIkkUIK fKdZkfHrQiV2zzDiTjHzEwW3iQgY-VMYygRqxmdn33jZeUN7H4j-_-FwDnUGSQdaYcUSTkig7bu_I9KYWO8C /s6400/%E9%A1%A7%E5%AE%A2%E7%B4%AF%E7%A9%8D%E6%88%90%E9%95%B7%E6%A8%A1%E5%9E%8B.png)

Having said that, this is why he uses Customer Success as the core of the entire methodology. Customer success is not a slogan, but a very pragmatic checkpoint: Have customers really become better because of your product? Can he say “getting better” himself? Selling headache medicine, the customer does not have a headache after taking it, this is just the basics; if you can continue to accompany him to find a way to truly improve his physical condition, so that he can reduce the frequency of headaches more and more, that will be a deeper customer success.

Let’s look at the scope of e-commerce. If you sell kitchen condiments, are customers more willing to cook because of this? Will he start sharing dishes and tagging you on instagram? If you sell learning products, do customers really use your content to create works and find customers? Every time you help a customer cross a small threshold, your relationship with him will become stronger. In the long run, this will be a completely different business: you are not just selling goods, but participating in his life.

[](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4EIMsnPYdDdOzFIqweTz_ VuqVjw8pnX8FmVoG2rYDG9x2a_X47_TTSl2excmpErG1nBVBeUuqBMvdKxS7z0l5cqfPmOnmwwQXdDtx2YYO w3TST-l4B3iJvm7JLe5xGt0xlA3-vCClb2kFoxL_odQOwinKtjtRx60i6jARFIwJjIFnDpSUAv876SUIfjAn /s6400/%E9%A1%A7%E5%AE%A2%E5%83%B9%E5%80%BC%E5%A0%86%E7%96%8A%E6%A8%A1%E5%9E%8B.png)

In order to give customers a better chance of success, Mocoo has put a lot of effort into book design. He knows very well that no one is willing to read from the first page to the last page, so he simply admits it and uses the rhythm of a short video to reorganize a book: the story draws attention, the illustrations breathe, the concept is explained clearly, the diagram helps you organize it, and finally he gives you a small exercise. He put eighteen sets of exercises in this book. As long as readers are willing to follow them, it is almost impossible not to make any progress at all.

In essence, this is a practical demonstration of taking customer success into product design: it not only teaches you the principles, but also pushes you step by step to the line of “really doing it”. For small e-commerce merchants, this attitude can be directly applied back to your products and content - don’t just ask whether it will sell like this, but also ask whether the customer will be pushed to take a small step forward after getting it?

Interestingly, when we talk about customer relationships, Mocoo does not rush to bring out CRM systems and marketing automation, but returns to a very old-school word: dialogue. When many brands talk about customer management, they only think of opening the official LINE, sending e-newsletters, and setting up a bunch of automated tags, but there are fewer and fewer real one-on-one conversations. In an era where AI can help you generate unlimited messages, people will become more accustomed to being broadcast in large quantities, but they are more eager to be seen sincerely.

Mocoo asked everyone a very straightforward question: When was the last time you made a serious phone call or wrote a longer private message just to care about the usage status of a certain customer? The kind of well-designed physical activities - such as chartering a car to take old customers to Qishan to eat off-menu cuisine - seem to cost hundreds of thousands, but in exchange they are a group of loyal customers who continue to return to this day. You could call it a romantic, less efficient approach, or you could see it as a deliberate investment in maintaining humanity and connection in the age of AI.

And all of this ultimately points to the sentence he most agrees with: “Business should become easier and easier.” [](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9_h8LUaOT5P3Es1sgzOuDANXuhDKs1TNgxKBDYu5dQRAn-S62hPVIJDC0QAr7KNza5KQLLE4ZqbWMMFXMfEeq_M1CugaMSFyv4s SsS74IXpGk94Ghu8GM_HCRwDZiJrDRO1wVVBGUQWpgAtpeitYJiBTvLL1c79hHHEPOvf48RcWWPtmPRTa8 lKf5J_R/s6400/%E7%94%9F%E6%84%8F%E6%84%88%E5%81%9A%E6%84%88%E8%BC%95%E9%AC%86.png)

In the live broadcast, Mocoo mentioned that a frozen food factory owner once told him that if the business is getting harder and harder as time goes by, it means you may be doing it in the wrong direction.

When customers are successful, bowls are filled, and connections are established, signs should slowly appear: old customers will take the initiative to find you, help you introduce new customers, and naturally place orders when you launch new products. You will still be busy and worried, but the tension and the fear of losing traffic every day will gradually fade away and be replaced by a predictable sense of peace of mind.

Mocoo said sincerely: If small e-commerce companies want to make big money, they do not rely on one or two explosions, but on this kind of positive cycle that can slowly accumulate and get bigger and bigger.

If I were to give an action summary for this sharing session, I would say this:

• First design a daily energy management ritual for yourself. Allow yourself to be at low points, but don’t allow yourself to stay at the bottom for a long time.
• Change the annual plan from how much revenue I want to achieve to how many small executions I want to complete, so that every small result becomes the fuel for your next step.
• Spend an evening writing down your story, passion, abilities, and resources, and honestly find the differentiated intersection that belongs only to you.
• When selecting products, first check whether the industry pool is deep enough? Then choose an entry point that you can do well and do for a long time.
• List three holes in your bowl that you could patch right now—maybe a buyback mechanism, maybe after-sales instructions, maybe a conduit for real dialogue.
• Make customer success the only criterion for your product design and content output. Not only ask whether the sales are good, but also ask him how he has become because of you?

When you do these things one by one, you may not necessarily soon become an e-commerce tycoon with annual revenue exceeding 100 million, but you will slowly become a small e-commerce owner who is really worthy of customers choosing again and again - and this is what “[Small E-commerce Makes Big Money](https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/v ista/products/0011035018?utm_source=vista&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-202512)》What we really want to bring to us.

This one-and-a-half-hour live broadcast covers the essence of Mocoo’s more than ten years of e-commerce experience. From cultivating inner energy and cultivating execution capabilities to finding differentiated value and establishing product selection logic; from the bowl-filling theory and customer success methodology to dialogue and connection and long-termism—these concepts are intertwined and form a complete set of small e-commerce business philosophy.

[](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Yzx7bsA3PMfxdYCyTXC1Kgl_6c8yFj_ocCM1DPnTCrbUQ8rGYIIyzAewr2s9GOEQzXrv_aonXKRh8l3DZQprbT 0fe9TF1DZb1iDrezebwG29bkhxFIhjfX69iCeK-YMj1pexI0daoNr6t3mYlxZ5PDr9hQK-1OmuF YbAa13wfF5MFg11jVgr0A-A89gX/s6400/%E9%95%B7%E6%9C%9F%E4%B8%BB%E7%BE%A9.png)

If I were to sum up the core of this new book sharing meeting in one sentence, it would be:

Maintain your own energy internally, and replenish the company’s bowl externally.

Internal cultivation can be said to be the foundation of everything. You have to believe in yourself and affirm yourself, even if the whole world denies you. You have to use small actions to accumulate energy and small successes to build confidence. You need to protect your energy and not be consumed by external noise. Because in the end what sustains you through all difficulties is your own inner strength.

External operations are the way to put this power into practice. Make up the bowls so that every customer who comes in can be retained. Create value and let customers succeed through your products and services. Build a connection and let your customers feel that you really care about them. When these are in place, your career will become easier and grow naturally.

Mocoo said he considers himself the most supportive person in the world. This sentence may sound a bit narcissistic, but it is actually an attitude that every entrepreneur should learn. Because on the road to starting a business, you will encounter countless denials and doubts. If you don’t support yourself, how can you go on?

Being your own biggest advocate isn’t arrogance, it’s a necessary survival skill. It gives you the strength to get up when you are down and not lose your way when times are good. It allows you to think independently, stick to your beliefs, and not be swayed by outside voices.

This book “Small e-commerce makes big money” is the result of Mocoo’s systematic organization of these years of experience and understanding. It is not a book that teaches you how to get rich quickly, but a book that helps you establish the correct thinking framework. After reading it, you will not immediately become an e-commerce master, but you will know what direction you should work towards and what mistakes you should avoid.

Finally, Mocoo expressed his gratitude to all participants. He said that the management of this community was very Buddhist and he did not actively run it, but everyone still stayed and were willing to spend nearly two hours on this night to listen to his sharing. It moved him and made him want to do more.

Well, maybe this is what he meant by “connection”. Not through fancy marketing techniques or frequent message bombardment, but through sincere sharing and continuous dedication, slowly building a trusting relationship. This relationship is the most precious asset and the real secret for small e-commerce businesses to make big money.

Thanks for sharing Mocoo, I really learned a lot!

[](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGCNEj9_AmPXR1oMj4k9nvm iivnZcRlzrDuTB-9ao4-YRwfHEPEhjQeTrapdb21rArcMNwXiIE34tDA1o7m7AcfgVnulXv5VkMcNhEa6qmWv IacVlKvKHFOfT2OB8avreOz-7iq54xYrrOFoMiPCstBxs8V31Sv3WdqMuripKKSYPYpTum3maSSc3A8L4O/s6 400/AI%20%E6%99%82%E4%BB%A3%E7%9A%84%E4%BA%BA%E6%80%A7%E7%AB%B6%E7%88%AD%E5%8A%9B.png)

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Further reading

• Sales no longer relies on luck: Revealing the growth rules of “The Model” of Japanese B2B
• I watched “The Era of Resumption is Coming”: From π-shaped people, slash youth to the gig economy
• I read “Starting a Business from 0: How to Turn Experience and Knowledge into Gold”: Combining unique experience and resources to create a business with knowledge gaps

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