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whumphoarder · 5 years

Text

Dad Level: 3000

Summary: Peter comes down with the flu while visiting the Stark family (and Happy) at the lake house during his spring break from MIT. Thankfully, Tony has been spending the last five years honing his Dad Skills™. He's got this.

Word count: 5,227

Genre: sickfic, hurt/comfort, fluff, whump

A/N: This story is set in March 2025. Morgan is five and Peter is 18 (but also 23 on paper, which totally isn’t confusing at all).

Most of the events of Infinity War/Endgame happened, except Captain Marvel did the snap with her mighty-glowing-lady-warrior-powers and so no one freaking died.

Thanks to @sallyidss and @xxx-cat-xxx for beta reading <3

Link to read on AO3

Tony walks into the kitchen Monday morning to see his five-year-old daughter standing on her tiptoes on a chair, attempting to reach a small cardboard box inside the open freezer.

“What is this, a heist?” he asks, moving towards Morgan. He loops an arm around her middle and lifts her into his arms, planting a quick kiss on the top of her head and causing the little girl to giggle. “I thought Mommy said no juice pops before noon.”

“It’s for Peter,” she says simply.

“Oh it’s for Peter, is it?” he asks, quirking an eyebrow. “And why does Peter need a juice pop at ten in the morning?”

“Because he doesn’t feel good and juice pops always make me feel better,” Morgan concludes.

Tony’s brow furrows, but he just steps closer to the freezer to allow her to reach into the box properly. Now that he thinks about it, Peter had seemed pretty wiped last night, but he’d brushed it off as midterm exam stress. “I think he likes the orange ones best,” he advises.

Morgan fishes out an orange popsicle and Tony lowers her back down to the floor. She skips off down the hall, around the corner, and all the way to the cabin’s guest bedroom where the kid has been staying for the past two days since MIT spring break had officially begun. Tony follows along, his frown deepening when she continues straight through the room and pushes open the slightly ajar door to the ensuite bathroom.

It’s a sorry sight indeed. Peter is slumped on the floor, propped up between the bathtub and toilet, eyes half-closed and his cheek resting on the edge of the bowl. One arm is wrapped around his stomach and he’s pale and sweaty.

Morgan, bless her heart, runs right over to him. “I got you a juice pop!” she says brightly.

Peter blinks up at her and then swallows thickly before offering her the weakest of smiles. “Oh. Thanks,” he croaks. “Uh, do you think you can do me a big favor and eat it for me?”

Spinning around, Morgan gazes up at Tony, her eyes big. “Can I?”

Despite his growing concern, Tony huffs out a quick laugh. “Sure, why not,” he agrees. Pepper is the one always reminding him to choose his battles after all. “We’ll just keep this one to ourselves.”

As Morgan unwraps the plastic from her popsicle, Peter closes his eyes tightly and swallows again, face draining even further of color.

Tony pats Morgan on the shoulder. “Hey, why don’t you go eat that with Uncle Happy? I’m gonna sit here with Peter for a little while.”

“Okay,” she agrees, spinning around on her heel.

The moment she’s gone, Tony’s attention turns back to his other kid, who is looking even more miserable now. “Not feeling so hot, huh?”

Peter shakes his head slightly, letting his eyelids squeeze shut again. “‘M’sorry,” he murmurs.

If Peter didn’t look so pathetic right now, Tony would have rolled his eyes. Instead, he just lets out a small sigh. “Not your fault, kiddo,” he assures. “You throw up?”

“Not yet,” Peter mumbles, then swallows again. “Just... feel really sick.”

“C’mon, Happy’s tuna casserole wasn’t that bad…” he tries to joke, but it falls flat when Peter doesn’t so much as smirk.

Tony steps further into the bathroom and crouches down beside the kid, wincing as his knees click in protest. “Is it just your stomach?”

“I dunno.” Peter shrugs tiredly. “Kinda ache all over...”

Tony places his hand on the back of Peter’s neck and instantly can feel the heat radiating off the kid’s sweaty skin. Peter shivers at the touch. “Your hand is really cold,” he complains.

“Nah, you’re just warm,” Tony disagrees, moving his hand to press to Peter’s forehead instead. He sighs and pushes himself back up to standing. “Think you’ll be okay here for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, ‘course,” Peter croaks, looking a little guilty. “You really don’t have to stay. I know you’re busy…”

“Ah, see that’s the beauty of the retired stay-at-home-dad life,” Tony retorts, straightening back up to standing. “This is literally my job now.”

Before Peter has a chance to dwell too much on that response, Tony exits the room and heads to the master bathroom to locate the thermometer, and then to his lab to grab the bottle of spidey-kid-strength painkiller and fever reducer pills he and Bruce had concocted. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to use them—he knows Peter hates the way the meds knock him on his ass and make his thoughts fuzzy and disconnected—but he figures it would be good to have them on hand just in case.

After making a quick detour through the kitchen for a can of ginger ale and some crackers, he heads back to the guest room, quickening his pace when he hears the telltale sound of retching and splashing issuing from the bathroom.

“Aw, Pete…” He winces in sympathy at the gagging boy. Peter’s nose is running and his eyes are red and wet with tears.

“Flu was going ‘round the dorm last week…” Peter moans as Tony sets the items down on the counter and wets a washcloth at the sink. “Thought I lucked out. Guess not.”

Tony places a hand on the kid’s sweaty t-shirt to start rubbing circles on his back. But he freezes instantly when he feels Peter tense up at the touch.

“You alright?” he checks, hand hovering just over the kid’s shoulder blades.

“Yeah,” Peter rasps. “Jus’... you never did that before.”

Tony recalls the handful of times he’d seen Peter sick during their time together before. Vomit has never fazed him—he’s had much too colorful of a past for that—but before he was definitely more inclined to offer a joke or a sarcastic remark than to settle for being a comforting presence. Funny what five years with a child who turns into a clingy octopus whenever she’s ill have done to him.

Then again, Morgan is in kindergarten while Peter is eighteen (or twenty-three, according to his birth certificate—it’s been over a year since Thanos and still no one seems entirely sure how to refer to the un-vanished). Maybe the Comforting Presence™ protocol is different for teenagers.

He is just about to offer to step out in order to give the kid some privacy when Peter interrupts his thoughts. “’S’nice,” he murmurs. “May does it too.”

Tony’s heart swells a bit. Then the moment is shattered when Peter suddenly sticks his head back over the toilet and starts gagging again.

“Alright, alright, get it all out…” With a small sigh, Tony lowers himself down to sit on the floor beside Peter and resumes rubbing his back.

When he’s finally finished, Tony flushes the toilet and Peter slumps back against the tub, his eyes closed. Instinctively, Tony lifts the washcloth up to wipe his messy face. Peter flinches at the contact and weakly reaches a hand up to take the cloth.

“Sorry, can do it myself,” he mumbles. “‘S’gross…”

Tony gives a quick snort. “Nah, you know what’s really gross? When I found Morgan’s secret booger stash on the side of her bedroom dresser.” He shudders dramatically.

Almost instantly, Tony regrets his comment when it triggers another round of heaving from Peter. “Sorry, kiddo,” he says as he rubs Peter’s back. “That was on me.”

This time when the spasms cease and Peter slumps back against the tub, he doesn’t bother protesting when Tony cleans his face and flushes the evidence away for him. Tony cracks open the can of ginger ale and passes it to the kid.

“Small sips, okay?” he instructs, reaching up to the counter for the thermometer.

“Can’t FRIDAY just tell you that?” Peter asks as Tony flips on the device.

“Morgan’s pediatrician convinced me this is more accurate,” Tony replies, inserting it in Peter’s ear. “Just be glad she’s graduated to the aural one now. You would not be happy about where this guy had me sticking it for the first year or so.”

“Huh?” Peter blinks at him. Then all of a sudden it seems to click and he groans, “Mr. Starrrk.”

The thermometer beeps. Still smirking, Tony lowers the device down to read the display. His grin falters for a second at the number.

“Wha’s it say?” Peter croaks.

“Nothing we can’t fix,” Tony replies briskly.

“But what’s it say?” Peter repeats. He weakly attempts to get the thermometer from Tony’s grip, but his mentor just holds the device out of his reach, lightly swatting the kid’s hand away.

Peter stares blankly at Tony for a second before glancing upwards. “What’s my temp, FRI?” he asks wearily.

“103.2,” FRIDAY reports.

Tony scoffs, finally flipping around the thermometer to show the ‘103.1’ displayed on the screen. “See? The doctor was right—manual is much better.”

Peter glances nervously at the orange pill bottle on the counter. “Does that mean I have to take the meds?” he whispers.

Tony hesitates for a second. While he knows 103 is not exactly life-threatening, it’s still a far cry from normal. “It would probably make you feel better if we could get it lower,” he reasons.

“It’s not worth it,” Peter mumbles. “They make me feel weird.”

“I wish we had something better for you, bud,” Tony says with a sigh. He considers their options for a moment. “Alright, how about we wait a while and see if it goes down on its own?” he suggests. “But if you hit 104, I’m making an executive decision.”

“Deal,” Peter croaks.

They sit there for a few more minutes, Peter taking deep breaths and looking like he might fall asleep right there against the tub. Finally, Tony’s stiff back protests. “How’s your stomach now?” he asks.

Without opening his eyes, Peter lifts a hand and makes a so-so gesture.

“Well, you seem pretty empty,” Tony goes on. “What do you say we move this party elsewhere?”

“Mm...‘kay,” Peter breathes. Tony pushes himself up to standing and helps him up, supporting him under the elbows. Peter sways on his feet. “Whoa…” he murmurs.

Tony quickly adjusts his grip to get a better hold on the kid. “You dizzy?” he asks.

“Kinda,” Peter admits. ”Just need a sec.”

When it seems like he can safely move without passing out, Tony helps him out of the bathroom and sits him on the edge of the bed.

“Let’s change your shirt, okay?” Tony says.

“Huh?” Peter glances down, for the first time seeming to notice how soaked with sweat his shirt is. “Oh. Yeah.”

Tony locates (what he hopes is) a clean t-shirt from the kid’s messy duffel bag on the floor and watches him pull it on. The simple act seems to take far more effort than usual.

“You wanna go back to sleep?” Tony offers.

Peter’s only response is a non-committal grunt. “Don’t think I can,” he admits. “Woke up at like, six. Couldn’t really fall back asleep.”

“Should we try the couch then?”

At the kid’s nod, Tony guides him out to the living room, keeping a firm grip around Peter’s upper arm for support. Morgan, Happy, and a staggering array of the five-year-old’s favorite toys are currently occupying at least two-thirds of the room’s large sectional sofa while reruns of Peppa Pig play on the TV.

“Peter!” Morgan exclaims when he comes into view. She hops down off the sofa and runs over to them while Happy stands up and starts clearing off some of the cushions to make room for Peter. “Is your tummy feeling better?” she asks. “Can you play now?”

Despite how miserable Peter looks, he manages to give her a half-smile. “Um, maybe in a little while…”

Tony takes pity on the kid and intervenes. “Peter’s not feeling that great, so how about we just watch a movie?” he suggests as he situates the teenager on the chaise section of the couch.

Morgan’s eyes light up. “Can we see Frozen 3?”

“God no,” Happy grumbles, sinking down into a nearby armchair. “That damn song with all of Olaf’s little frolicking snowball children was stuck in my head for a week last time.”

“There’s a Frozen 3 now?” Peter questions, his brow wrinkling. “There wasn’t even a Frozen 2 when I got dusted.”

“Yeah, well, global crisis or not, Disney marches on,” Tony retorts. He tugs a fuzzy blanket out of the stack in the wicker bin by the fireplace and tosses it to Peter, who gives a little grunt of thanks. “For the record, Cars 4 was better than Cars 2, but it was no Cars 3.”

“See, I think they peaked at Cars 5: European Adventure,” Happy argues.

“Nah,” Tony scoffs. “There were at least three too many roundabout jokes.”

“But Mater and Fillmore driving the Autobahn was peak comedy.”

Peter is still struggling to unfold the blanket, so Tony takes it back and shakes it open for him. “What are you in the mood for, kid?” he asks as he tucks it around Peter.

“Whatever you want,” Peter mumbles, leaning back against the pillows. He looks utterly exhausted—Tony figures he’ll be lucky to make it fifteen minutes into the movie before falling asleep. Best to go with something he’s already seen then.

“Lilo & Stitch?” he suggests.

The kids agree, Morgan with much more enthusiasm than Peter. Happy even gives his begrudging blessing on the basis that at least it’s ‘not another damn musical’.

(As if FRIDAY didn’t already have half a dozen audio recordings of him singing “Let It Go” in the shower).

Tony instructs FRIDAY to start the movie before heading back to Peter’s bathroom to gather all the supplies he left, and also snags the room’s small trash can because if there’s one thing he’s learned from Morgan, it’s that you can never be too careful.

Peter’s breathing has already evened out as the opening credits fade from the screen and Tony sinks down into the sofa beside him, and by the time Lilo explains why she can’t give Pudge a tuna fish sandwich, Peter is snoring quietly.

To Tony’s relief, Peter sleeps straight through the remainder of the movie, with Happy joining him somewhere around the halfway point. The moment the film ends, Morgan hops off the sofa. “I’m hungry,” she announces. “Can we have mac and cheese?”

Peter gives a low moan and stirs slightly in his sleep. Tony locks eyes with Morgan and presses a finger to his lips, tilting his head sideways in the boy’s direction.

Her eyes go wide with understanding and she tries again in a stage whisper (which honestly isn’t any better than her normal volume). “Can we have mac and cheese?”

Sighing, Tony pushes himself up to standing and prods her along to the kitchen. “Fine. But only if you eat a vegetable with it.”

Morgan grins. “Okay! I want corn.”

“Corn isn’t a real vegetable,” Tony grumbles. He steers them both into the room and moves towards the cabinet where they keep the pasta. “Pick something green.”

Her face falls for a moment. Then, just as quickly as they darkened, her eyes light up again. “Green jello!”

Tony rolls his eyes. He takes out a box of mac and cheese and then opens the fridge to take stock of what’s on hand. “You’re getting cucumber,” he says after a moment.

“I don’t like cucumber,” she pouts, crossing her arms over her chest.

Tony frowns at her. “But you said it was your favorite last week.”

“I don’t like it anymore,” she says simply. “It’s gross. Can we have pudding?”

“That’s the opposite of a vegetable,” Tony argues. “So if you’re eating that, now you have to have two vegetables.”

“Um… Potato chips?” she asks hopefully.

Tony runs a hand over his face in exasperation. “No, that’s not a—”

“Hey Tony?” Happy’s voice calls from the living room. There’s an edge of worry to it. “Can you come here?”

“Yeah, coming,” Tony replies, a feeling of dread already sinking in. He heads back to the living room, Morgan tailing along behind.

The sight awaiting him causes Tony’s heart to clench. Happy is standing over Peter, urgently shaking his shoulder while the kid moans incoherently and tosses in his sleep, clearly in the midst of a nightmare.

“He’s not waking up,” Happy says worriedly.

“I got it,” Tony says, quickly closing the distance between himself and the sofa. “Hey, Pete, naptime is over,” he commands as he taps Peter’s unusually warm cheek. “C’mon, rise and shine. I’d offer to make you some breakfast, but it looks like you’re already cookin’…”

It takes a moment, but finally Peter wakes. His eyes snap open and he sits up gasping.

“There we go,” Tony soothes, rubbing a hand down Peter’s arm. “You’re alright.”

Peter blinks at him. “...Mr. Stark?” Tears are already welling up in the kid’s eyes and falling before he can stop them. His breath hitches in his throat. “Oh god…” he sobs. “I thought… I-I was trapped and...”

“It’s okay.” He sits down beside Peter on the sofa and wraps an arm around him, pulling him into his side. Even six years out from the initial snap, Tony still has nightmares—he can only imagine what Peter must be going through. “You’re okay, you’re safe, just a dream,” he assures.

“Daddy?” Morgan asks nervously. Tony glances back and sees her standing just inside the room’s threshold, lip trembling.

“Hey, munchkin,” Tony says, giving her a forced smile. “Peter’s fine. You wanna go teach Uncle Happy how to make the mac and cheese? Don’t let him add tuna.”

Eyes still locked on Peter, Morgan nods slowly.

Happy moves over to take her hand. “C’mon, kiddo,” he says as he ushers her back to the kitchen. “And don’t listen to your daddy, tuna is a great source of protein…”

The moment they leave, Tony focuses his attention back on Peter, who is just now starting to get his breathing back under control.

“‘M’sorry…” Peter chokes out. “I just thought I was trapped there, and, and…”

“It’s okay, Pete,” Tony says gently. “You’re here with me, not on Titan, not in the soul stone. You’re safe.”

“Titan?” Peter asks, his brow wrinkling. “Wha’ about Titan?”

Tony frowns. “Your nightmare? Trapped on Titan, right?”

Peter’s tears have stopped now and he’s staring at Tony with glassy eyes. “Wasn’t on Titan,” he mutters. “Nick Fury found out I was a spider and sucked me up in a giant vacuum cleaner”—his breath hitches again—“an’ I was swirlin’ around and I couldn’t get out, and someone was chasing me with a giant spray can, and there was this cat but like, a monster cat, and—”

Okay, that wasn’t what Tony expected. He places a hand on Peter’s forehead and feels the heat pouring off of him. Taking the thermometer from the coffee table, he turns it on and sticks it in Peter’s ear.

When it beeps this time, the display reads 104.2.

Tony lets out a low whistle, already starting to untangle the blanket from around Peter. “Alright... guess we’re doing the meds now.”

Peter groans, rubbing a hand at his eyes. “Mr. Stark…”

“Nope, non-negotiable,” Tony replies. He grabs the pill bottle from the coffee table along with the package of crackers. “And you have to eat something so they stay down.”

Despite his grumbling, Peter takes the crackers Tony passes him and nibbles at them between sips of ginger ale. When he’s managed to get two down, Tony gives him the pill.

“I know you’re not a fan, but it’ll help with the pain too,” Tony promises.

“Hm, that’s good…” Peter croaks. “Have a headache. And my throat hurts.”

Tony hums in sympathy. “I can imagine.”

Stepping out, he wets a washcloth with cool water in the bathroom and returns to place it over Peter’s forehead and eyes.

Immediately, Peter lets out a sigh. “That’s really nice,” he whispers.

They rest like that for a few minutes until a small voice interrupts them. “Um, Peter?”

Peter lowers the cloth and both of them glance back to see Morgan padding into the room, a stuffed corgi dog plushie tucked under one arm, an orange popsicle clutched in the other hand. Happy is standing just inside the threshold, leaning against the door jamb with his arms crossed casually.

“Hey.” Peter manages a half-smile.

“I got you another juice pop,” she says, handing it over. “And this is Korg, he’ll make you feel better,” she adds as she nestles the toy into the crook of Peter’s elbow.

“Korg?” Peter questions as his fingers fumble to unwrap the popsicle.

“Thor named him,” Tony replies. “Apparently he’s got a buddy with the same name—thought it would be hilarious when he learned what this breed was called.”

“Uncle Happy said you had a scary dream,” Morgan goes on, plopping down on the couch next to the boy.

Peter’s already fever-flushed face goes a little redder. “Oh, yeah. I guess it was kinda silly.”

“You can tell Korg about it,” she says, stroking the plush dog’s head. “He can’t laugh because he’s not real.”

Seeming caught off guard by that, Peter barks out a sharp laugh which quickly morphs into coughs, but Tony is glad because it’s the first real humor he’s seen from the kid all day.

While Happy and Morgan eat their mac and cheese—with tuna for Happy, peas for Morgan—Tony manages to cajole Peter into eating half a can of chicken noodle before the kid nods off with the spoon halfway to his mouth.

“Sorry...” Peter murmurs as Tony dabs the spilled broth off his shirt with a wad of paper towels. “Tired.”

Tony sighs. “Yeah, that would be the meds kicking in,” he says. He checks Peter’s temperature again and sees it’s down to 102.7 now. “At least they’re working.”

“Hmm…” Peter hums sleepily.

“Let’s go ahead and move you to your real bed,” Tony decides. “It’ll be more comfortable to stretch out.”

“Hmm…” he says again.

Tony hoists the wobbly boy to his feet, supporting him under his arm. “You should probably have a shower when you wake up, but I’m thinking it’s a safety concern at the moment.”

“Hmm…”

“Okay, not in the chattiest mood, I get it…”

Tony shuffles him back to the guest room and changes his shirt again. Then he helps Peter crawl into bed and pulls the covers up around him.

“Alright underoos, take a nap,” he says softly. “I’ll keep the little troublemaker from bothering you.”

“Hmm... and Morgan too?” Peter murmurs.

“Smartass,” Tony says, rolling his eyes. “Keep an eye on him, FRI,” he commands the AI. “Sleep well, kid.”

After fixing himself his own lunch, Tony spends the next two hours alternating between entertaining a rambunctious five-year-old and trying to catch up on his backlog of SI paperwork for Pepper. He’s sitting at the kitchen table with Morgan, watching her color a page out of her Frozen 3 coloring book, as he skims through yet another proposal on his tablet. That’s when FRIDAY’s voice comes over the speakers.

“Boss, Peter’s temperature has just reached 103 degrees. He is awake and appears to be in distress,” FRIDAY reports.

“Shit,” Tony mutters, getting to his feet.

“You said only Mommy can say that word,” Morgan complains as she colors Elsa’s hair bright purple.

“Yeah, yeah, I was just borrowing it from her,” he mutters. “I’m gonna go check on Peter, okay?”

She nods, still coloring intently. “‘Kay.”

Tony hurries out of the kitchen and down the hall towards the guest bedroom, fully prepared to talk Peter down from another nightmare. What he’s not prepared for is the sight that awaits him.

Peter is sitting up in bed, hunched over himself and trembling. Liquidy vomit is running all down his shirt and soaking into the comforter.

“Aw, bud…” Tony sighs, quickly moving over to the bed. “You really go all out, don’t you?”

Peter doesn’t even look up. His breaths are coming out far too quick, and he’s mumbling something under his breath.

Tony places a hand on his shoulder, causing Peter to jerk his head up, revealing the tear tracks trailing down his cheeks.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” Tony asks in alarm.

“S-Sorry…” Peter chokes out. “I just, for a minute, I didn’t know where I was. Called for May and she didn’ answer, so thought I was at the d-dorm, but this isn’t a bunk bed, an’ then I thought I was in the stone but it’s not orange, and then I felt sick but I couldn't get up fast enough, and I just—”

(Okay so the PTSD was just a bit delayed.)

“You’re okay, you’re fine,” Tony assures, rubbing a hand up and down over the kid’s back. “You’re here at the lake house and you’re safe.”

“’M’sorry…” Peter sniffs, hanging his head. “This is dumb, maybe I should just have May come pick me up”—his nose is dripping and he sniffs again—“you shouldn’t have to take care of me when I’m being all gross”—sniff—“a-and...”

Absently, Tony pulls several tissues from the box on the nightstand and holds them to Peter’s messy face. “Blow.”

Peter goes silent and Tony freezes as the realization of what he’s just done sinks in.

Tissues still pressed to his nose, Peter raises an eyebrow to his mentor. “D-Did… Did you just tell me to blow my nose?”

Tony recovers quickly. “C’mon, it’s swallowing all that crap that’s making you feel sick in the first place,” he points out. “Now blow.”

So Peter does.

Tony lowers the used tissue back down and tosses it into the trash can. “Better?”

Looking mildly traumatized, Peter deadpans, “Iron Man just wiped my nose.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ll live,” Tony dismisses him with a hand wave. Then in a more gentle tone, he asks, “Now do you really want to go home? Because I get it if you do, but I promise, I really don’t mind taking care of you. And with your healing, you’ll probably be feeling better in another day or so. There’ll still be plenty of your break left.”

Peter hesitates. “I dunno. I mean…” He shrugs. “I guess, I don’t really want to leave, but…” he trails off, sounding conflicted.

After a moment, Tony intervenes. “Okay, here’s an idea,” he suggests, as casually as he can manage. “You’re looking a little more steady now, so how about I run a load of laundry and you go take a shower? You can call May after and decide what you want to do. Then we’ll go from there.”

A look of relief instantly washes over Peter at the suggestion. “Yeah, that sounds good,” he whispers. “Thanks.”

During the next half hour, Tony checks on Morgan—who is contentedly playing with toys on her bedroom floor—before stripping Peter’s bed and running a load of laundry. When he reenters the guestroom, he finds Peter sitting on the bare mattress in fresh pajamas and with wet hair, looking much more relaxed.

“How’s May?” Tony asks.

Peter shrugs. “Her shift just ended. She said she’s sorry I’m sick.” He pauses for a beat. “Also said she’s not surprised, given all the all-nighters I pulled during the last two weeks and the fact I’ve been mostly living off cereal, ramen noodles, and Fig Newtons this semester.”

Tony snorts out a laugh. “Yeah, that’ll do it.” According to FRIDAY, the lukewarm water of the shower has had the added benefit of bringing Peter’s temperature down to just over 102 and he’s looking significantly better for it. “Still wanna bail on us?”

Peter shakes his head, a bit sheepish. “Not if you don’t mind me staying.”

“Nah, ‘course not,” Tony assures. “Now you wanna go see if Morgan’s up for another movie yet?”

Peter agrees and the two of them shuffle upstairs. As they approach the landing, they can hear muffled voices issuing from the little girl’s bedroom.

“Do you want some more?” Morgan’s voice floats down the hall.

“Yeah, fine. Two sugar, no cream…” a gruff voice replies. “And one of those cookies.”

“No, no you have to call it a biscuit,” she insists, her tone just bordering on a whine. “Mommy says that’s more fancy.”

“It’s a double-stuffed Oreo,” Happy grouses. “It’s a goddamn cookie.”

Peter shoots his mentor a perplexed look. Tony just gives a shrug in return as he pushes Morgan’s door open and then they both immediately pause.

Happy glances up at them from where he’s seated cross-legged on the floor beside the kiddie table. One of Pepper’s silk scarves is wrapped around his shoulders making some sort of shawl, and he’s wearing Morgan’s flowery sun hat with several of her homemade plastic beaded necklaces hanging around his neck. Meanwhile, Morgan sits in the chair to his right, pouring pretend tea from her little plastic teapot into a tiny cup.

Peter leans closer into his mentor’s side. “I think my fever went up,” he whispers. “I’m hallucinating.”

Happy shrugs. “What can I say? She makes a mean chamomile.” Pinching the minuscule handle of his teacup between his thumb and forefinger, pinky raised, he lifts it to his lips and mimes taking a sip.

“Do you guys wanna join us?” Morgan asks hopefully. She’s dressed in her yellow Princess Belle dress and her hair is sporting a loose braid that definitely wasn’t there last time Tony saw her.

Peter hesitates a second, looking into the little girl’s wide eyes. Then he lets out a small sigh. “Well, May did say I should be drinking more fluids…” he mutters as he moves towards the kiddie table, Tony following along behind.

When Pepper arrives home from work just past seven that evening, she finds Peter, Tony, and Happy passed out on the sofa and snoring softly amid an array of Morgan’s plush toys. The little girl sits beside them with a bowl of popcorn nestled in her lap, intently watching Frozen 3 on the room’s massive TV.

“Mommy!” Morgan greets, hopping off the sofa and running over to her.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Pepper says as she scoops the five-year-old up in her arms. She gazes around the room, taking in the interesting fashion choices on display. It seems half of her accessory drawer has been commandeered to adorn the three men on the sofa.

Morgan’s full plastic tea service—now complete with Gatorade in the teacups and Saltine crackers on the plastic saucers—has been moved to the living room coffee table. Besides the dishes, the table also contains the thermometer, an empty soup bowl, and a box of tissues, and on the floor in front of the couch is a lined trash can. “What happened here?” she asks.

“Peter didn’t feel good, but Daddy took his temperature and gave him medicine and I got him juice pops,” Morgan reports. “And then we had tea and I gave Uncle Happy and Daddy makeovers.”

Pepper peers closer, noticing the two older men’s nails are painted with sparkly lilac-colored polish and their cheeks are looking a bit more glittery than normal.

“Good girl,” Pepper praises, giving her a quick kiss on her forehead. “Looks like you all took good care of each other.”

Fic Masterlist

For more fluffy illness, try:

Give the Kid an Oscar

Bedridden Spider

Sick as a Bug

#sick peter parker #peter parker whump #irondad fic #spiderman fic #flu #fluffy illness #sickfic #morgan stark #my fic

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violetsystems · 4 years

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#personal

I had to let the little tabby go this morning. I woke up to the third day of shitting on the rug in a row. They had tried unsuccessfully to roll the carpet up like a burrito ignoring the litter completely. I had brought it in earlier in the week and gave it a full wash. Yesterday I went so far as to get doggie pads from the pet store and laid them out near the litter. It had been locked in my back studio for most of the time until I cracked the front door open this morning. I gave it a choice as it hesitated on the porch and it slowly lunged then jumped over the divider. It stared down at me for a minute then went off. Not two minutes later when I went back out to check, another black cat was staring up from the stairs confused. I wondered if they were lonely too. There are no shortage of strays in our neighborhood. I say this almost metaphorically sometimes. One fateful November on the coldest night of the year I brought the Calico in from the cold. These days more often than not I wake up to her cuddling me like teddy bear. She was fairly vocal about the arrangement but not overly aggressive to our visitor. She adjusted to the litters almost automatically with a few months of peeing where she shouldn’t. This cat was a different story. I had felt guilty. I’m the only one who seems to care about the wildlife it seems. When it becomes my responsibility, the landlord finds new things to single me out on. But for the most part, I can’t really save the entire neighborhood by myself. Especially when people just ignore me and talk behind my back about the Fundamental Attribution Error they perceive me to be. I’ve been learning to make my own decisions however heartbreaking they may be. And in this case, I felt if I kept them indoors any longer it would not be a happy situation for any of us. It hurt. I cried a little. But ultimately, every hard decision is easy to make when nobody cares what you do. And lately it’s really felt like for the most part nobody really gives a fuck about me. This is not to say I believe it through and through. I obviously continue to write these because there are people out there who read into them for my insight. Mostly because I feel they care about me and how I think. But I can assure you that I am very much alone in my life here in this city. It is such a catastrophic failure of isolation that I’ve wondered if it’s for the best. How do you let go of the things that hurt you? How do you make decisions for yourself that tear you apart inside daily? How do you live with the guilt? Personally I’ve lived in the silence of the choices I make for so long that I am at peace with my trajectory. It doesn’t mean that it’s not a brutal process of letting go and growing at the same time.

It’s important to note sometimes that people ask too much of you without anything in return. And this can go on and on until you are saddled with responsibilities. Society in America is the worst for that these days. You can never be good enough for most people. The real trick is that people aren’t really aware of what’s good enough. And so their perception of who you are and what you do is always skewed. Celebrity is a hallucination based off of this. I personally think I’m never good enough for anyone. I’m not good enough at anything to not be compared to someone else. And yet the entire last week my net worth crept up without me doing much of anything other than readjusting my finances. I compare myself constantly because nobody ever treats me like a human being. Nothing I do is good enough. The job market is the worst for this kind of mental torture. You feel picked over and ignored. You read into the narratives in the news about how the next recession will be the worst. There will be no jobs. It will be a musical chairs situation and you will have sat out too long. Your skills are useless. Your pay won’t compare to what you were making. You’ll have to make sacrifices in your life while the rich dance on the ashes of your bottom line removed from their fiscal budget. And the more I compare myself to the American narrative the more I realize how pigheaded and pompous it is. It never meets you eye to eye. It isn’t that proud. It never wants to face your pain and admit that it has contributed to it by playing into the very same game that hurts you. It wants a savoir and a martyr at the same time. A fall guy and a shill. An inside outside man. And when you look yourself in the mirror and try to be that all you can see is more pain reflected back at you. I never wanted to be in this mess. I only wanted to be a good person. I show love every day and it is not returned. And sometimes you have to reevaluate how much of it you want to squander on people who use it like a prop. Everybody wants a superhero until they realize they’re the villain. Everybody thinks they’re better than you until you prove them otherwise. They waltz around in the street like it’s a parade or fashion show. Expect you to read into every single nuance without understanding the context and the history of what you’ve honestly been through. And after awhile the writing becomes clear on the walls. The shit on the carpet is consistent and without fault. It’s in their nature. The human animal isn’t so hard to understand and neither is love Love is waking up to your cat inexplicably attached to your chest until you cannot breath. Envy and jealousy have nothing to do with it. Love sometimes after all these years is an understanding of just how fucked up it is. Like a caged bird, you open the gate and wonder if they’ll leave. I open the back door and it’s just me and my cat staring out waiting for things to change. And the more they do, things around here have pretty much stayed the same. And the angels on my shoulder however you’d like to visualize them never leave my side. So I have all the information I need to make the hard adult choices for myself and live with them.

Everything does pretty much suck lately. I’m about to face another winter alone. Aside from my cat and my long distance friendships which are more fulfilling than I could ever explain. I feel targeted and attacked almost every day. I do think about leaving entirely. I also think about how logistically that can happen with one cat as opposed to two. It hurts the most to admit that things aren’t really working out for me. And it becomes a game of figuring out what actually does. Because if you wallow in the misery of it all you can miss some opportunities. My bank missed a rally on a stock I got in on early. Now they’re projecting it forward to 2025. All I ever hear from any business talking head is this idea of pivots. How we’re supposed to continually get knocked off our bikes and get back up again. The pivot is the musical chairs game corporate America loves to play. Thin the ranks and the benefits and offer more duties to the next person for less pay. When you’ve been kicked out of every elite club and shunned into nothing more than a ghost where do you actually go? What do you have to do to be valued as a human being? I can save every cat in the neighborhood and donate my proceeds to charity and I will still be invisible. And if I don’t snap out of it I will fade like Casper the friendly ghost. It’s not a joke anymore. This is my reality. I am phased out of everything and whispered about like some legendary scarecrow. Nobody ever talks to me. Nobody ever calls me by my name. I never hear the words “Hi Tim” other than in personal assistance from Artificial Intelligence. Animals speak to me clearer than most humans. And what I heard from the little tabby I tried to help was pretty clear. They didn’t belong here. And in some ways neither do I. And yet where do I go? I feel like I’m trapped in a constant episode of the Prisoner. This happy little village wants to pretend they’re better. That I need to acknowledge them and their fucked up ways before I’m accepted again. And then there’s the undercurrent beneath all of that. The idea that people understand that I try to lead by example. That I’ve already communicated what I’m about. That nobody wants to believe my narrative on things because it would be a horrible reality. To realize that I am better than this. And in some ways, admitting this to myself I’ve realized why I’ve waited so long. I wanted to know for sure. And I wanted to make decisions that were true to myself that people could be proud of. And the one thing I have never given up on is the future. I don’t have room for any more cats. Nor do I have room for any more people. No new friends. Angels only. Yes I do sometimes feed the strays. I’m a polite and genuine person by nature. But don’t take my kindness for a weakness. And when I close the door on this chapter of my life. Don’t come knocking when the story is over. <3 Tim

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shotsbyshae · 5 years

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Rock & Roll (Part 3)

Warnings: Vomit inducing fluff, angst

Words: 1.6k

Pairing: Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

A/N: Takes place post Endgame, so spoilers. For those who have age issues, Peter is over 18 in this scenario.

Song: Rock & Roll by Led Zeppelin

It's been a long time since I rock and rolled.

2025

The warmth from the coffee mug in your hand is a soothing comfort as you make your way down to the lab, the music coming from there drawing your attention. You smile as you see Peter working away in the same place you left him last night, his Zeppelin playlist still going strong. You had simply asked him about a suit, after all, yours had seen some wear and tear over the last two years. That hadn’t meant staying up all night working on it. Stopping in the doorway, the nostalgia takes over as you stare at the man before you.

2017

You walked into the lab and spotted the boy with his arms folded under his head on the table, a science book and notes open and scattered around him. You gently nudged his shoulder and he jolted awake, hair mussed, and eyes squinted as he focused on you.

“Hi,” you said quietly as you offered him your coffee.

“Sorry,” he looked embarrassed as he took the mug from you, sipping the caffeine. “I have a mid-term on Monday.”

“I don’t miss those days,” you remarked as you glanced through his notes. “Want me to help you study?”

“Oh – you don’t have to,” he shook his head.

“It’s fine,” you said with a smile as you pulled up a chair. “I don’t have to train with Natasha for another hour. I’m all yours.”

You had mourned Peter after the snap, well everyone really, but you and he were friends. Then he came back, five years later – five years older than when he left – he came back, but you lost Tony and Natasha that day and there was no time for celebrating everyone’s return, not even Peter Parker.

2025

You approach the table as he glances over at you, reaching up to scratch the back of his head shyly, “Oh – hi.”

“Looks like you didn’t sleep,” you offer him the mug, after all, he probably needs it more than you, and he graciously accepts it.

“Yea, I got sidetracked,” he replies, before sipping the coffee slowly, savoring the caramel flavor you've added. “That's good.” His face lights up with excitement as he places the mug on the table, “I came up with something new.”

“I didn’t want something new,” you shake your head. “The same design was fine Parker.”

The suit was Tony’s idea, a deep violet color with black accents. Peter knows what the concept means to you, that’s why he didn’t change Stark’s original plan, only the color scheme.

“I thought it might be time for a change,” Peter begins, working with device in his hand. “Someone should carry on the legacy – it can’t be me.”

“Parker, no,” you shake your head vehemently, not liking the idea of what he’s talking about. “I’m nothing like he was – I – I can’t.”

He smiles at you warmly as he flicks the device in his hand, causing a case on the wall closest to you to slowly open, revealing the suit he's been working on all night. Your hand covers your mouth as you look at it in surprise.

“You admired him – yea – but that’s not who really trained you,” Parker says. Tears well up in your eyes as you stare at the solid back suit that resembles Natasha’s. Her customary red accents now a deep violet color as are the Widow’s Bite bracelets which adorn both wrists. “I suggested it to Rhodey first, and he agrees, so do the rest of the guys.” He follows with you as you approach the suit, reaching out to run your fingers along the Kevlar material.

You clear your throat as you try to wipe the tears from your eyes without him noticing, “I don’t know.”

“I do,” Peter nudges you with his shoulder. “You’re her legacy.”

“Thank you.”

It’s the first time he's seen you look genuinely happy since you've returned, and he can't help the smile that crosses his face as you glance up at him. He feels a rush of endorphins as sees the glint of admiration in your eyes for him and that look alone would be worth a week of sleepless nights spent in the lab.

“I love it Parker,” you add before moving closer to inspect the utility belt and thigh holster.

***

It was supposed to be a simple run, take down a biker gang who were running guns across the border.

Nothing is ever simple in your world though.

You use the Widow’s Bite bracelets to electrocute the man who has you from behind. Parker is busy disarming a few of the other men and webbing them up when you see one of them break free from his webbing as if it’s nothing and your eyes widen in shock. He jerks two of the henchmen free from their webbing as well and they grab weapons.

“Enhanced,” is the only word you can get out before the man launches a table across the room at you, knocking you to the ground. Peter turns quickly, sensing the oncoming assault and ducks, grabbing the man’s fist as he swings, engaging in one on one combat with one of the assailants while the enhanced individual stalks towards you.

Gathering yourself from the floor, you shoot a taser from your wrist into the man, but it does nothing against him as he continues towards you. Using your boot, you kick one of the already broken legs off the table, severing it and you grab for it clumsily.

The simple mission has just turned into a fight for survival as Parker dodges bullets, his webbing depleted, and you face down an enhanced individual. Ninety-five percent of the time missions are successful with no casualties – no blood spilled – unfortunately this is that five percent.

***

You glance from the blood on your hands to the bodies on the floor, Parker moves slowly towards you, limping visibly from the bullet you saw graze his calf.

“Are you okay?” He pulls the red mask from his head, his dark eyes full of concern and his hair a chaotic mess.

“Yea,” you reply as he glances at the blood on you, “it’s not my blood.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Peter states.

Back on the quinjet, you scrub your hands clean as Parker places the controls on autopilot. He watches as you dry your hands angrily. It’s not like it’s the first time he’s had to kill someone, nor will it be the last. He doesn’t like it, but sometimes, it’s necessary in this line of work.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He questions you again quietly.

“I’m sorry,” you reply. “I’ll talk with Wilson about this. The intel should have been better. They had an enhanced individual and we should have known that. We shouldn’t have been put in that position, I’m sorry you had to – you had to do that.”

“Hey,” Peter tries to calm you. “It’s okay. It happens.”

“No,” your voice is louder, “it’s not okay. You’re just a –” You catch yourself and stop.

“Just a what?” He raises an eyebrow. “A kid?”

“That’s not what I meant,” you begin, but he interrupts you.

“Is that what you see when you look at me?” He questions and you shake your head quickly as he folds his arms across his chest. “Then what do you see?”

“I see,” you begin, noticing how much he fills out the red and black suit. “you, Parker – like always.” He’s staring at you intensely. “Why? What do you see – with me?”

His dark eyes never waver, adrenaline from earlier still coursing through his veins, “I see the girl I’ve had a crush on since Berlin.” You tilt your head curiously, waiting for him to say he’s joking, but he begins to walk towards you. “Is that really what you see when you look at me?” He asks, hearing as your heart rate increases with each step he takes. “That awkward sixteen-year-old kid?” You move backwards as he advances until your legs bump the table. He’s far from the teenager you knew back then and even if your mind is having a hard time registering that, your body is screaming it.

You tense up as he moves closer to you, the table preventing you from getting away, “We were kids Parker. I was supposed to watch out for you.”

“We’re not kids anymore.” His eyes are full of sadness as he reaches up and brushes your hair behind your ear gently. “We watch out for each other now.”

His touch sends a shiver down your spine and your throat goes dry as he takes a step back, turning away from you. The words he said replaying through your mind, he’s had a crush on you since Berlin. Your hand flies to his arm instinctively to stop him, “All this time?” You question as he turns back to you slowly. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“You needed time to heal – we both did,” he responds. “I was waiting for you to come home.”

The muscles in his arm ripple underneath your touch as his hand moves to your waist, your voice doesn’t feel like your own as you say softly, “I’ve been home – what are you waiting for – Peter?”

His lips crash against yours – hot and hard – urgent as he drags you closer to him. There’s not an inch of space between you as your fingers tangle in his hair, heat flaring from every pulse point.

“Peter,” E.D.I.T.H.’s voice comes across the loudspeaker in the quinjet causing the two of you to pull apart slowly.

“Yes E.D.I.T.H.,” Peter acknowledges the AI.

“Mr. Stark’s protocol for this situation requires me give you a message,” the voice begins, the tone changing to a more serious one. “Took you long enough kid.”

You close your eyes, burying your face into Peter’s shoulder as you try not to laugh. Peter, however, does laugh a little as he pinches the bridge of his nose before saying, “E.D.I.T.H. initiate privacy mode please.”

“Yes, Peter.”

#peter parker #spider-man #spider-man far from home #spider-man fanfiction #avengers fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #marvel #mcu #avengers #peter parker x reader #iron dad #fluff #angst #tony stark #avengers fanfic #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker fanfic

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setsureadsshit · 4 years

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Lost At Sea: A List of WIP’s I am finally letting go of [ Part 3 ]

[ Part 1 ] [ Post 2 ]

What it says on the tin, progress is being made slowly but surely, lmao.

One Hundred Beats Per Minute by MooksMookin

Summary: In a world of starlight and music, Hinata couldn't be more at home.Or, a story of paparazzi and albums and photoshoots, and how four idols and a model manage to make love work.[INDEFINITE HIATUS]

Last Update: 2018

Fandom & Main Pairing: Hinata x the main 4 from Seijou

Personal Notes: Part 2 in the seires, y’all should read part 1 it’s fucking amazing. The only reason this is on the list is because of the “indefinite hiatus” otherwise I’d have held onto this one till at least 2025, it’s that good.

Losing Everything by wordswehavesaid

Summary: When Eobard Thawne interfered with the timeline, he didn't anticipate the discovery of Barry Allen's scientifically unique properties to be discovered by someone else.The Flash takes a much different, darker journey to becoming a hero.

Last Update: 2015

Fandom & Main Pairing: The Flash/Arrow ; Flarrow

Personal Notes: I liked the take this particular fic took, it’s a bummer it fizzled out. It’s rare for me to actually like a “dark” take.

It’s Never Too Late To Teach An Old Dog New Tricks by MulaSaWala

Summary: When students left Mr. Swift's math class, they were usually either inspired or in tears.

Last Update: 2018

Fandom & Main Pairing: Person Of Interest ; Rinch

Personal Notes: This was one of the few fandoms where I was fairly picky about what I was looking for in fic and once I finished the series I was kind of just...done with it. It didn’t end the way I wanted it to let’s just put it that way. I remember being only sorta interested in this one when I read it, so do with that what you will.

Ink’d by sourwulfur

Summary: Several years ago, most of the Hale family died in a fire. Since then, Laura and Derek Hale moved to New York; until recently. They moved back when Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall were sixteen, opening a tattoo parlor that they owned and operated, named Ink'd. The Hales have always been known for being secretive; and, Stiles, well, he may just accidentally stumble upon their secrets.

Last Update: 2014

Fandom & Main Pairing: Teen Wolf ; Sterek

Personal Notes: Again, a good start, very enjoyable, wish it hadn’t died :<

Improbable Blending by phoenixgal

Summary: When an attack leads to a Tok'ra symbiote taking Jack as a host to save both their lives, it's only supposed to be temporary. Unfortunately, temporary can get dragged out when all your allies are on the run. Jack doesn't want to live like this, much less get dragged into the symbiote's life. But the longer they stay together the more the symbiote changes him, including who he loves. Jack finds himself on a crusade against a shadowy enemy, trying to help solve a mystery of where the Jaffa are disappearing to, all while caring for a kid in need and trying to work out how he feels about Daniel.

Last Update: 2017

Fandom & Main Pairing: Stargate SG1 ; Jack Daniels

Personal Notes: This was an ambitious fic from the jump and the slowest of burns, Jack Centric and really interesting - but it’s time to put it to bed. The 17 chapters that are posted are worth a read though.

in the smallest space of silence that stretches between us by TheKitteh (orphan_account)

Summary: After they banish the nogitsune from Stiles' body, everyone copes with what has happened in their own way.And if Stiles' methods of coping includes coming over to Derek's place time and time again? Well, Derek is surprisingly okay with it.He owes Stiles this much.

Last Update: 2015

Fandom & Main Pairing: Teen Wolf ; Sterek

Personal Notes: One of the few post!nogitsune fics that I’d really been enjoying and while I might have dithered on letting it go, the fact that it’s been orphaned sealed the deal.

I’ve Been Losing Sleep by bonnie_bee

Summary: It's not that Derek thinks he doesn't have what it takes to catch Stiles' attention, it's just that there are so many other people, other alphas competing for him. Alphas with bigger packs, alphas that aren't totally fucked up by their tragic past, alphas that don't allow themselves to be bossed around by their beta sisters and suckered into babysitting all the time.Okay, actually, yes Derek has serious doubts about his ability to get Stiles to notice him. But he's waited too long for this chance to back down now, and Derek will be charming and suave even if it kills him.It probably will.

Last Update: 2014

Fandom & Main Pairing: Teen Wolf ; Sterek

Personal Notes: THE FACT. tHAT THIS FIC. HAS NOT BEEN FINISHED IS AN AFFRONT TO MANKIND AND A DIRECT INSULT TO ME. I TKAE IT PERSONALLY, I AM HURT BEYOND WORDS.

Hoping a Better Place is All I Need by ephemeraa

Summary: “So,” Stiles starts. “What’s wrong with your kid?

Last Update: 2014

Fandom & Main Pairing: Teen Wolf ; Sterek

Personal Notes: This is a sad that never really got off the ground. Just 3 chapters. Alas.

He Must Have Been Lonely by WolfVenom

Summary: The dog was absolutely huge. At least two layers of sleek black fur draping it's massive body and large ears swiveling this way and that upon it's coarse-haired head. It's long snout lay on both of it's big paws, each toe decorated with a threatening looking claw. Bright blue eyes flicked up and stared at Stiles as he approached, yet it didn't move a muscle. After a seemingly thorough inspection on the dogs' perspective, it yawned and stretched its rump in the air, tail curled high, before straightening out and facing Stiles. It sat right down in front of him, simply gazing with it's strange eyes. "Oh yeah... This is the one."

Last Update: 2016

Fandom & Main Pairing: Teen Wolf ; Sterek

Personal Notes: Another lament, sung to the fic gods in mourning of a deserving story unfinished.

For Your Entertainment by Leafontehwind

Summary: Stiles is a best selling artist of the glam-rock persuasion and has a threatening fan. Intro Derek Hale, bodyguard. Things pretty much progress from there.

Last Update: 2013

Fandom & Main Pairing: Teen Wolf ; Sterek

Personal Notes: I.....honestly don’t remember much about this one and even with 7 posted chapters I don’t have the energy right now to fuss with it.

Object and a Dream by theroguesgambit

Summary: Short stories based in the Fantasy universe.Chapter One: Derek's history and the start of Sterek, with a Fantasy twist.

Last Update: 2016

Fandom & Main Pairing: Teen Wolf ; Sterek

Personal Notes: The sequel/companion piece to (not so) Pure Imagination which is A+, 10/10, have bookmarked and read more than once, please treat yourself. Giving up on this going anywhere though.

#Hanamaki Takahiro x Hinata Shouyou x Iwaizumi Hajime x Matsukawa Issei x Oikawa Tooru #Haikyuu!!#The Flash #Arrow #Flarrow #Barry Allen x Oliver Queen #person of interest #Rinch #Harold Finch x John Reese #Teen Wolf #Sterek #Stiles Stilinski x Derek Hale #Lost At Sea

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wikimakemoney · 4 years

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The Ultimate Introduction to Starting an eCommerce Business

The daily grind is tiring.

You commute to work, clock in, put in your hours, and head home right when the sun is starting to set.

Then you rinse and repeat until you can finally have a breather over the weekend. But all too quickly it’s Monday again.

Enough is enough.

You want something better for yourself. You want to start a business and be your own boss.

So you search online for how to make money online.

You learn that there are many ways that you can build a viable income online — freelancing, affiliate marketing, tutoring, consulting, etc.

What about eCommerce?

eCommerce is appealing for many reasons. More people are shopping online than ever before with no signs of slowing down.

It’s a trend that has massive income potential, and the good news is that starting an eCommerce business has never been easier.

So what is it and how can you start making money doing it?

This resource will give you a comprehensive overview of everything you need to know about starting a successful eCommerce business — from what it is and how it works to getting your business up and running, getting that first sale, and the tools to help you do it all.

It can feel rather overwhelming if you’re just getting started. But with this in-depth guide, you’ll be able to launch an eCommerce business and start generating profit in no time.

What You’ll Learn in This In-Depth eCommerce Guide

Click the links below to navigate:

What is eCommerce?

How Does eCommerce Work?

Types of eCommerce Business Models

Impact of eCommerce

The Evolution of eCommerce

Anatomy of an eCommerce Business

How to Market Your eCommerce Store

Which eCommerce Business Should You Start?

Tools and Resources to Help You Grow Your eCommerce Business

Create Your Online Business Today

It’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive in.

What is eCommerce?

eCommerce (or electronic commerce) is the buying and selling of goods using the internet. Since the first transaction in 1994, eCommerce has grown to become a multi-trillion dollar industry.

eCommerce is estimated to reach a staggering $6.54 trillion in sales by 2022.

(Source)

Those figures are projected to continue growing as consumers shift even more of their spending online.

That’s good news for you, as it means it’s not too late to get into eCommerce and build a profitable business.

eCommerce Examples

Here are some examples of eCommerce:

eCommerce Example #1: Online Stores

Best Buy is a multinational retailer that sells a range of electronics, appliances, and other items from its physical locations.

They also sell products directly from their online store:

(Source)

Visitors can browse their product catalog and order directly from their website.

Amazon is another example of an online store that most people are familiar with. The company initially sold books, but has since expanded to include a wide range of products. A large majority of their product sales are conducted through their website.

eCommerce Example #2: Online Auctions

eBay is an example of an online site that works like an auction house. Sellers can list their products for sale and consumers and bid on them.

(Source)

Fun fact:

A broken laser pointer was the first item sold on eBay for $14.83 to a collector. The founder personally emailed the buy to make sure he knew what he was buying.

Other items sold just a week after that purchase include Marky Mark underwear, a Superman metal lunchbox, and a Toyota Tercel. The company now has yearly revenues of over $10 billion.

Not bad for something that started off as an idea.

eCommerce Example #3: Payment Gateways

PayPal is an example of a payment gateway. Users can connect their account to a debit or credit card to send money and accept payments.

(Source)

eBay purchased PayPal back in 2002 for $1.5 billion and phased out its own competing payment service.

eCommerce Example #4: Classified Websites

Craigslist is a classified advertisement website where users can post items for sale and even offer services. Other users can reach out and either meet in person or transact online.

(Source)

Craig Newmark started Craigslist as an email distribution list of events in the San Francisco Bay Area that he sent to his friends. It eventually became a web-based service and has since expanded to include other categories.

The company now does yearly revenues of over $1 billion.

eCommerce Example #5: Online Banking

Bank of America offers online banking. This allows users to conduct financial transactions online from paying bills to transferring funds.

(Source)

Consumers don’t need to visit a branch in person for basic tasks. They can simply log in to their accounts and send money online to others or a business.

These are just some examples of eCommerce. While many of these companies now do billions of dollars in revenue a year, they all started with a simple idea and have grown to become household names.

Of all the different types of eCommerce businesses, online stores are one of the easiest to get started with. It’s also the business model that I’ll primarily be covering in this article.

eCommerce Trends

The eCommerce industry is constantly changing how people shop.

Here are some eCommerce trends that are worth paying attention to:

eCommerce Trend #1: More Consumers Shop From Mobile Devices

Shopping from a mobile device wasn’t always so easy.

Mobile phones in the past didn’t have the same capabilities they do now and websites weren’t designed for small screens.

But new advances in mobile devices, particularly touchscreen capabilities and faster connection speeds, made it easy for consumers to shop right from their smartphones.

This has led to more consumers shopping from their smartphones. 72.9% of all eCommerce sales are now expected to take place on a mobile device by 2021.

(Source)

These figures simply can’t be ignored. As you build your online store, it’s important to think about optimizing for mobile devices right from the start.

Otherwise, you risk users bouncing out because your site wasn’t designed for mobile devices.

eCommerce Trend #2: Consumers Use Social Media For Product Research

There are an estimated 3.81 billion social media users.

Those figures are HUGE. They represent nearly half the world’s population!

Social networks like Facebook and Twitter are still widely used to connect with friends. But more people are using these platforms to inform their purchasing decisions.

40% of consumers use social media channels to research products. Facebook is by far the most popular:

(Source)

The implications are clear:

A social media presence is a must.

More importantly, you’ll need to monitor your brand mentions and stay on top of what other people are saying about your business.

eCommerce Trend #3: Personalization is Key to Driving Sales

Walk into any local retail store and it will likely be the same the next day. Retail stores can’t personalize the shopping experience for individual customers.

Online stores don’t have the same kind of limitations as brick-and-mortars. Many use cookies to track previously visited pages and use that information to display product recommendations.

Just how effective is this?

Very.

59% of online shoppers find it easier to shop for interesting products on personalized online stores and 56% are more likely to return to a site that offers product recommendations.

(Source)

Online shoppers want a more personalized shopping experience. One way to build customer loyalty and drive more sales is to utilize a product recommendation engine.

Visit Amazon and there’s a good chance your homepage looks different from mine:

(Source)

Amazon utilizes algorithms to recommend products based on a user’s browsing and purchase history.

eCommerce Trend #4: Rise of Voice Shopping

“Hey Alexa, order milk.”

Shopping with just your voice may sound like a foreign concept. But more consumers are doing exactly that with smart speakers.

Amazon Echo is the most popular smart speaker, but Google Home is expected to surpass it in market share by 2025.

(Source)

Virtual assistants have certainly come a long way since Siri made its debut on the iPhone 4S.

Voice shopping is growing in popularity. Spend on voice shopping in the US is expected to reach $40 billion by 2022, up from $2 billion in 2017.

eCommerce Trend #5: Shopping With Augmented Reality

Nothing beats the convenience of shopping online — there are no crowds to deal with and you can easily compare prices.

But there are also major drawbacks. You can’t physically hold a product in your hand or try it out before you buy it.

Augmented reality or AR aims to bridge this gap. Consumers can use smartphones with AR capabilities to “test out” a product before placing an order.

IKEA built IKEA Place to allow its users to virtually place furniture in their homes and visualize how it would look.

(Source)

The AR market is projected to reach $72.7 billion by 2024. Other retailers, including Converse and Gap, have begun experimenting with this innovative way of shopping.

As you plan your entry into eCommerce, paying attention to emerging trends will be important to effectively compete.

How Does eCommerce Work?

eCommerce businesses work on the same principle as brick-and-mortar stores — you place an order and receive the product you purchased.

The difference with online shopping is you don’t get to physically handle the product. The entire transaction is done through a computer or mobile device via the internet.

Then, it’s just a matter of waiting for your order to arrive at your doorstep. It sounds straightforward enough for buyers. But there are also many things happening behind the scenes.

Here’s a basic illustration of how eCommerce works:

eCommerce consists of complex systems that work together to facilitate a transaction. These systems include:

Webserver

Shopping cart software

Payment processor

Inventory management system

Dispatch system

A web server hosts your website and delivers pages to users via a browser. Think of it as a virtual storefront that you can “stock” with products.

Shopping cart software is software that enables users to browse products on your site. It displays a list of the added products and automatically tallies up the total.

A payment processor allows users to enter in their credit card information and send money securely to complete their purchase. PayPal is an example of a payment processor.

Customers can use PayPal to pay for a product and businesses can accept those payments. However, PayPal takes a small percentage of each sale.

Inventory management systems allow businesses to keep track of inventory. Many also send alerts on when to resupply stock.

Finally, dispatch systems automatically send orders to a warehouse where they are packaged and shipped to the customer.

Companies with complex supply chains, like Apple and Best Buy, employ all these systems together to maximize efficiency.

However, only a web server, a payment process, and a shopping cart are necessary to build an online store. The rest like inventory management and dispatch can be handled in more traditional ways like using spreadsheets.

Let’s look at the different types of eCommerce business models you can consider:

B2B: Business to Business eCommerce

B2B eCommerce refers to online transactions between businesses. An example might be a manufacturer selling its products or software to other businesses.

Dropbox Business is an example of B2B eCommerce. Dropbox offers cloud-based storage directly to companies.

(Source)

B2B eCommerce business can be wildly profitable, but they also typically require more startup cash.

B2C: Business to Consumer eCommerce

B2C eCommerce refers to online transactions between a business and a consumer. This follows a traditional retail model but is conducted entirely online.

Zappos is an example of a B2C eCommerce business:

(Source)

Zappos is strictly an online retailer — they only sell products through their website. Other examples of businesses that sell exclusively online include Newegg and Overstock.

C2C: Consumer to Consumer eCommerce

C2C eCommerce has gained tons of traction in recent years. These types of sites allow consumers to buy and sell products to other consumers.

Etsy offers an example of C2C eCommerce.

(Source)

Shoppers can buy crafted items directly from independent sellers or even start their own shop if they so choose.

C2B: Consumer to Business eCommerce

C2B eCommerce is when consumers sell goods or services to businesses.

Upwork offers an example, as individuals can sell their services to other companies.

(Source)

Companies can post a job listing and individuals can bid on them as a way to supplement their income. You may even consider using this platform as you grow and scale your online store.

It’s easy to fall into the hype of starting an online store. But like with any business model, there are advantages and disadvantages of eCommerce to consider.

Let’s explore these in more detail:

Advantages of eCommerce

Low startup costs: Opening a physical store can easily cost tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars once you factor in costs like rent and inventory. In contrast, starting a dropshipping store can set you back a modest $418.

Sell products internationally: eCommerce doesn’t have the same physical limitations of brick-and-mortar stores. You can choose to sell locally or ship products to a worldwide audience.

Showcase product recommendations: eCommerce allows you to create a personalized shopping experience. For example, you can showcase products to individual customers based on items they’ve viewed or purchased.

Easy to retarget: With eCommerce stores, you can view data about your visitors and use tracking pixels with retargeting ads to bring them back.

Ability to scale: It’s easier to scale an eCommerce business. There’s no need to worry about shelf space as you can add more products. You can also increase your ad spend and bring on new team members without being weighed down by overhead costs.

Clear insight into buyer behavior: With online analytics, you get a clearer understanding of your business’ return on investment than you can get from brick-and-mortar marketing strategies. Details like traffic sources can be used to form your marketing campaigns.

Disadvantages of eCommerce

Shoppers are often wary of new sites: Starting a business can be difficult in the beginning as your name barely carries any weight. 89% of buyers are more likely to buy from Amazon than other sites because it’s a name that people know and trust.

eCommerce is highly competitive: Heavyweights like Amazon and Wal-Mart can afford to sell items cheaply, making it difficult to compete against them online. The low cost of entry also means that eCommerce has grown more competitive over the years.

Shoppers expect fast responses: 62% of shoppers expect an immediate response to sales inquiries. If you’re not available, you could lose that sale. One option is to hire customer representatives, but that incurs extra costs.

Shoppers are impatient: What makes shopping from Amazon highly attractive is their same-day shipping option with Amazon Prime. If customers have to wait a long time, they may not shop again from your store. Worse, they may post a negative review about your business which could hurt future sales.

Fraud is a major concern: Consumers run the risk of having their identities stolen when they purchase from a new site. Businesses also run the risk of being targets for phishing attacks.

Regulations and taxes: With an online store, you need to apply for a business license and complete all the necessary paperwork. You’ll also need to collect sales tax and file returns according to your state’s requirements.

It’s a lot to take in, but understanding the advantages and disadvantages of eCommerce can prepare you for some of the challenges that lie ahead.

Here are some of the different types of eCommerce business models you can start.

Types of eCommerce Business Models

There are different types of eCommerce businesses you can start. But before you do, you’ll need to think about inventory management and product sourcing.

Let’s take a look at each one in more detail:

Dropshipping

Dropshipping is one of the easiest ways to start an online business.

It’s a fulfillment method in which products are shipped directly to the consumer. What makes this business model appealing is you don’t need to stock any products.

That’s right.

With dropshipping, you won’t need to pay huge overhead costs for a warehouse. Once you receive an order, simply send it to your supplier and they’ll take care of the rest.

Dropshipping is a great way to get your feet wet in the entrepreneurial world.

Startup costs are low and suppliers are often happy to work with business owners — sales you send over ultimately mean more revenue for them.

This is a business you can potentially start today. However, no business venture is without its downsides.

Because dropshipping is so easy to get started with, stores can sell products at a competitive price to attract customers. This results in lower profit margins.

Inventory management is another issue. If your products are out of stock, your customers have to wait which can lead to frustration with your business or even order cancellations.

Pros

Cons

Easy to start. Dropshipping is a business you can start today.

Lack of control. You don’t have any control over your products’ branding.

Low startup costs. No need to worry about managing inventory.

Thin profit margins. Low overhead costs mean that stores often compete on price.

Highly scalable. You can leverage multiple suppliers to handle orders.

Supplier errors. Botched shipments or long waiting times can hurt your reputation.

Reselling Products

Reselling products is a more traditional retail model.

It takes more work than dropshipping, but has higher profit potential. This involves working directly with manufacturers and negotiating prices for their products.

If you’re just starting out, you may not be able to get good rates. But once you scale and establish your business, you can ask for bulk discounts and increase your profits.

With this eCommerce model, you’ll need to think about inventory management. You have several options:

Store products in a spare room

Rent a local warehouse

Have another company handle fulfillment

An example of the latter is Fulfillment By Amazon or FBA, a service that enables third-party sellers to ship their products to a fulfillment center and have Amazon handle the shipment.

You can wholesale products (B2B) or sell directly to consumers (B2C) on sites like eBay or Amazon. You can also sell products from your own online store.

Pros

Cons

More control over inventory. Orders you receive can be shipped right away.

Higher startup costs. Buying inventory comes with higher overhead costs.

Higher profit potential. Buying in bulk allows you to negotiate lower prices.

Need to handle logistics. You’ll need to manage inventory and track orders.

More flexible. You can scale your business as profits grow.

More work to set up. More planning involved to get the ball rolling.

White Labeling

Developing and manufacturing your own products can easily cost thousands of dollars or even much more.

White labeling (also private labeling) is one option you can consider if you have an idea for a product, but don’t have enough capital.

White labeling is when you purchase products directly from a manufacturer and put your branding on them. You can even work with a manufacturer and have them produce a product based on your specifications.

For example, Costco sells a wide selection of products under its Kirkland Signature brand. But they don’t actually manufacture many of these products.

Instead, other manufacturers make their products and Costco slaps on their label. Kirkland Signature now accounts for almost a third of all Costco sales

However, there are also several downsides to white labeling.

Most manufacturers require a minimum production quantity to make it worthwhile. You could be stuck with a ton of products if you can’t sell them.

Pros

Cons

Build a professional brand. You can put your own labels on these products.

Minimum production quantities. Managing inventory means higher overhead costs.

Reduced production costs. Manufacturers already have production lines setup.

High startup costs. You’ll need a larger investment.

High profit margins. You can determine price points for your products.

Potential liabilities. You could be held responsible for manufacturing defects.

Selling Your Own Products

Another option you can consider is to sell your own products.

For example, maybe you have an idea to sell high quality handcrafted jewelry. You can sell your items on a site like Etsy or on your own online store.

This is the approach that Steve Chou’s wife from MyWifeQuitHerJob.com took. She was able to grow Bumblebee Linens to 7 figures with this business model!

This approach isn’t as easy as dropshipping or reselling products. But it does offer a high profit potential as we’ve seen with the example above and you have more control over product quality.

However, you’ll need to source materials and either make the products yourself or work directly with a manufacturer. This means you can expect higher startup costs as a result.

You’ll also need to manage inventory and track customer orders. Alternatively, you can turn to FBA to handle the logistics.

Pros

Cons

Quality control. If you make the products, you can control its overall quality.

Time-consuming. Selling handcrafted items requires a huge time investment.

High profit potential. You can price your products as you see fit.

Not as scalable. Not always possible to scale depending on what you sell.

Highly scalable. You can hire employees to help you scale your business.

More logistics involved. You’ll need to handle customer orders or rely on FBA.

Subscriptions

The eCommerce subscription model is another business model that has become popular in recent years. 15% of online shoppers have signed up for these subscriptions.

(Source)

The way it works is straightforward — customers pay a monthly fee and you ship out products on a recurring basis.

These could be products that you create or rebrand.

Dollar Shave Club follows a subscription model with its personal grooming products. The company sells Dorco razors, but rebrands them with their own label.

Another approach is to put products together from different suppliers and sell them as a sort of care package.

This is the model that SnackCrate follows.

SnackCrate doesn’t make any of its products. Instead, they source snacks from countries around the world and put them together into a neat package for a monthly fee.

The subscription model certainly sounds appealing. You get predictable recurring revenue once you build up a customer base.

But one of the downsides of this business model is churn rates — the percentage of subscribers who cancel. Churn rates are around 5.6%, but can vary from industry to industry.

Pros

Cons

High profit margin. Products you sell can be marked up for a premium.

Extremely competitive. More companies are entering the subscription eCommerce market.

Greater predictability. It’s easier to predict demand in advance.

Subscription fatigue. Consumers are wary of signing up for more services.

Highly scalable. Once you have systems in place, you can start to scale and expand.

High churn rate. Unless you offer tons of value, you’ll likely lose customers.

Let’s look at the impact eCommerce has had.

Impact of eCommerce

eCommerce has radically changed retail.

Just look at the following chart:

(Source)

In 2017, eCommerce sales accounted for 10.4% of total retail sales. That figure continues to steadily rise as more consumers shift their spending online.

eCommerce sales are expected to account for 22% of total retail sales by 2023. That’s a whopping 111% increase!

Let’s look at the impact of eCommerce on consumers and business:

More Choices for Consumers

It happens:

You’re looking to buy a pair of shoes. So you drive down to the store, but the ones you want aren’t available in your size.

At this point, you have a few options — buy a different pair, visit another store to see if they have your size, or forego your purchase entirely.

Either option can lead to a frustrating shopping experience.

The above example is how Zappos was founded. Nick Swinmurn, the company founder, had the idea to sell shoes online after he was unable to find a pair of Airwalk Desert Chuka boots.

One of the largest impacts that eCommerce has had is giving consumers a seemingly endless number of products to choose from.

If one store doesn’t have what you’re looking for, you can simply load up another site.

Rise in Comparison Shopping

It wasn’t easy to compare prices before the internet.

If you were looking to save on a camera, you would have to visit multiple stores to compare prices until you found one with the best deal. The whole ordeal could take an entire afternoon.

In contrast, eCommerce has made it effortless to compare prices. You could easily compare prices on just about anything in a matter of minutes.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. 36% of online shoppers spend time finding the site that has what they want at the lowest price.

(Source)

This is great for the average consumer. But it often means that business owners have to operate on thinner profit margins to compete on price.

Offline Research, Online Purchases

eCommerce has led to another rise in consumer behavior: offline research, online purchasing.

Have you ever gone to a store to test out a product only to purchase it online because you knew you could get it cheaper?

Don’t worry, I’ve done it too.

It’s called showrooming.

Because online stores have lower overhead costs, many can offer lower prices on the same products available in a brick-and-mortar.

This has led to consumers visiting retail stores and then making their purchases online. We even do it while in the retail store (59% of shoppers admit to using their devices while in-store to compare prices).

Showrooming has had major effects on retailers.

Just look at this chart comparing eCommerce sales and department store sales:

(Source)

It’s clear that department store sales are steadily declining. One reason is the continued dominance of eCommerce and the desire to find great deals.

Low Startup Costs

Starting a retail store isn’t cheap.

One business owner spent over $30,000 to open a consignment store in Texas. Costs start to add up once you factor in rent, licensing fees, store fixtures, inventory, etc.

That kind of capital isn’t exactly easy to come by. But it’s a completely different story with eCommerce.

You don’t need a storefront, which significantly reduces overhead costs. And you don’t even need to stock products as you can get started with dropshipping.

eCommerce has such a low barrier to entry that anyone with a little capital can build a profitable online business.

The Evolution of eCommerce

eCommerce is a multi-trillion dollar industry.

It didn’t start like that, of course. Let’s look at some of the major milestones that led to this explosive growth:

1972: First Online Deal

The first online transaction wasn’t for a book or a household item. It was so some students could get their hands on marijuana.

Students at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab used the ARPANET (predecessor to the internet) in the early 70s to arrange the sale of marijuana with students at MIT.

Money was handed over in person, so it technically wasn’t an eCommerce sale. But it’s still a noteworthy inclusion as it’s the first deal that the internet facilitated.

1989: World Wide Web

You’re reading this page thanks to Tim Berners Lee, a British computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web in 1989.

Lee developed three technologies: HTML (HyperText Markup Language), URI (Uniform Resource Identifier), and HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) — all of which make it possible for users to browse and follow links across the web.

The first webpage is still published. It’s nothing fancy, but it laid the foundation for enabling people to access information and eventually make purchases online.

1994: First Online Purchase

The first legitimate online purchase can be traced back to August 11th, 1994.

Dan Kohn created a site called NetMarket and sold a CD of Sting’s “Ten Summer’s Tales” to Phil Brandenberger in Philadelphia for $12.48 plus shipping.

It’s the first time that encryption was used to make the transaction secure. A secret code was used which enabled Kohn to securely send his card Visa information.

1994: Amazon Was Founded

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, a name which was settled on because it sounded “exotic and different,” in his garage in Washington.

The company sold books and was generating a staggering $20,000 in sales a week within just two months.

Here’s what the original homepage looked like:

(Source)

Amazon is now one of the most valuable companies in the world with a market cap of over a trillion dollars.

1998: PayPal Was Founded

PayPal was one of the first companies to deal with secure online transfers.

Anyone could sign up and send money electronically by linking their email address to their bank account.

Its ease of use made it a popular way to send payments, especially on sites like eBay. PayPal was eventually sold to eBay for $1.5 billion back in 2002.

2004: Facebook Was Founded

Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg.

The platform was initially limited to Harvard students but has since expanded to include anyone with a valid email address. The network now has 2.5 billion active monthly users.

(Source)

This inclusion is important for two reasons: More people are turning to social media for product research and the site is a major player in social commerce.

Businesses can create a Facebook Shop and customers can buy directly within the site or mobile app.

2007: Apple Launches the iPhone 2007: Apple Launches the iPhone

“An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator.”

These were the words that Steve Jobs famously uttered as he unveiled the first iPhone, which would completely change how consumers shop online.

Smartphones like Blackberry had been around for a long time. But these devices weren’t as innovative and using them to shop online was clunky.

The explosive growth of smartphone users combined with faster connection speeds have resulted in more people shopping from their devices than ever before.

Mobile commerce is projected to reach $3.56 billion in 2021.

(Source)

How consumers shop online is constantly changing.

Some changes we’re seeing in the industry today that we’ve previously covered is the use of voice to make purchases and AR to better visualize products.

eCommerce will continue to evolve, but who knows what the future holds.

Anatomy of an eCommerce Business

Successful online stores share similar characteristics. Understanding what these are can be beneficial as you start planning and building your eCommerce business.

Let’s take a closer look at each:

Memorable Brand Name

What do some of the largest companies have in common?

(Source)

They have memorable names.

A strong brand name can distinguish your products and enhance how others perceive your business, distinguishing you from the competition.

A brand name should give some indication of what your company does. But this doesn’t always have to be the case.

Instead of naming itself BuyAnythingOnline.com, Jeff Bezos instead chose to name his site Amazon after the world’s largest river.

Another tip is to keep your business name short. Shoppers are going to have a hard time remembering your name if it’s too long.

Check that your brand name isn’t already in use. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to form a business entity or you run the risk of infringing on trademarks.

Capable Team

As you build your eCommerce business, you’ll likely oversee everything from managing your inventory to marketing your products and handling customer inquiries.

But attempting to do everything yourself severely limits your growth potential. Not to mention that you’ll also burn yourself out from taking on too many responsibilities.

A strong eCommerce team typically consists of the following roles:

Director of eCommerce

Web developer

IT technician

Inventory manager

Logistics manager

Digital marketing manager

Customer represent representative

Accountants

Analysts

Start small and bring on new team members as your eCommerce business grows. You can even outsource some tasks to save on costs instead of hiring in-house.

Strong Vendor Relationships

Vendor relationships play a crucial role in the success of any organization. Strengthening these ties can take time, but they can benefit your business in many ways.

Becoming a “customer of choice” can mean receiving preferential treatment or getting early access to new products. It can also lead to volume discounts if you order regularly and send payments on-time.

Despite the importance of Supplier Relationship Management or SRM, 23% of organizations don’t have an SRM program in place.

(Source)

That’s good news for you as it means you can bring someone on to manage supplier relationships and give your business an edge.

Efficient Inventory Management

Some of the largest online retailers have hundreds or even thousands of products. Keeping track of that much inventory isn’t easy.

Inventory management systems keep track of your products. Some even send alerts when stock starts to dwindle, so you know to place an order soon with your suppliers.

Effective inventory management allows you to quickly locate and ship your products out when orders come in.

Why is this important?

Because shoppers are impatient. 45% of consumers will unlikely order from a company if they receive their packages too late.

Instead of managing inventory yourself, you can use a fulfillment service like Amazon FBA to handle the logistics.

(Source)

Simply ship your products to their warehouse and they’ll take care of the rest.

Excellent Customer Service

Not every customer will buy right away. Some may have questions about your products or may call in to see if it’s in stock.

Customer service is certainly an investment, but it can ultimately pay off in the long run by reducing your overall customer acquisition costs.

(Source)

Zappos is a prime example of a company that prioritizes customer service. One representative stayed on a call with a customer for 10 hours and 51 minutes!

In contrast, many companies typically try to end customer service calls as quickly as possible to help the next customer.

If your competitors aren’t exactly known for customer service, you can use that to your advantage by prioritizing your customers.

Clear Value Proposition

A value proposition is a statement that helps your prospects understand why they should do business with you. It answers the question, “What’s in it for me?”

A strong value proposition can also hold your visitors’ attention and keep them on your page longer.

Here’s an example of how Tortuga positions its travel backpacks:

(Source)

Value proposition doesn’t necessarily have to come from the products themselves.

Millions of shoppers buy from Amazon because they know they’ll receive their products fast with one-day shipping.

Many customers choose to buy shoes at Zappos because of their stellar customer service. If something goes wrong, they know they’ll be taken care of.

Think about your value proposition and communicate that clearly on your website.

Quality Website

First impressions matter on the web.

48% of people judge the credibility of a business based on its website design. If your website is poorly designed, you risk visitors bouncing out.

A quality website is key to making a good first impression. Equally important is an intuitive navigation structure that makes it easy for visitors to navigate your site.

Here’s an example of a navigation structure you can follow for your site:

This site architecture allows users to click through categories and subcategories to find the products they’re looking for.

Business Structure

There are different ways you can structure your eCommerce business:

Sole proprietorship

Partnership

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

Corporation

The structure you choose will determine how much you pay in taxes and your personal liabilities.

As a sole proprietor, your business and personal assets are not separate. If you form an LLC, your personal assets are not at risk if your business faces any lawsuits.

Operating any kind of business, including an online store, also means that you’ll need to obtain the necessary licenses and permits.

Each state has its own requirements, so check your state’s website for more details. Here’s a state-by-state listing.

The steps to register your business depends on the structure you’ve chosen and the state you live in. Some states require that you register a legal entity name.

Registering also protects your business name and prevents anyone else from using it. You can either register your name on your own or by hiring a filing company to do it for you.

With all these components together, you have what it takes to build a successful eCommerce business.

Let’s look at how to make your store and bring in customers.

How to Market Your eCommerce Store

Starting any kind of business isn’t easy. But you managed to push through and launch your online store.

Now it’s time to pop open the champagne and wait for the sales to roll in, right?

Not exactly.

This isn’t Field of Dreams. If you build it, “they” most definitely won’t come. You need to market your eCommerce store to get the word out and drive sales.

Here’s how to market your eCommerce store and start bringing in sales:

eCommerce Marketing #1: Promote on Social Media

Try to find someone without a social media account and you’d be hard-pressed to. There are over 3.5 billion social media users.

(Source)

These figures mean you simply cannot afford to ignore social media.

Start with the major platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as these are the most popular. Completely fill out your profiles to get them ranking for your brand name.

Visitors to your profile pages should know exactly what your business offers. Follow this image optimization guide to ensure you have the correct image sizes with each network.

Now what?

It’s time to start posting. Share content that’s relevant to your audience to build a following for your brand.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Tutorials

Product showcases

Product giveaways

Customer spotlights

Upcoming sales

Behind the scenes

Event coverage

Here’s a Facebook post from Bobbi Brown Cosmetics that details their skincare routine:

(Source)

They also include details about the products they use.

Building a following on Facebook can be difficult, especially if you’re still a new brand.

With Facebook Ads, you can increase your reach by showing your ads to your audience. You don’t need a large budget either as you can set a daily limit.

There are even different formats including photo ads, video ads, carousels, and slideshows to showcase your products.

Bewakoof uses carousel ads to showcase their products to shoppers based on their interests and browsing history:

(Source)

Here are more success stories of how businesses are using Facebook to increase their reach and grow their sales.

Instagram product tagging is another way you can market your products. This feature allows you to tag your products and link them to your site.

Here’s an example of how Lulus uses product tagging to promote their products:

(Source)

Lulus was one of the first companies to test product tagging for Instagram, which has led to over 100,000 visits to its website and 1,200 product orders.

Using this feature can also help you showcase your products and make it easier for your followers to buy from your business.

Here’s a guide to getting started with Instagram Shopping.

eCommerce Marketing #2: Use Google Shopping Ads

Amazon is undoubtedly a popular site for consumers to shop.

But when it comes to product research, 85% of shoppers turn to search engines like Google for product information before they make a purchase.

Search engines represent a massive opportunity for your eCommerce business. Ranking for your keywords can drive more targeted traffic to your product pages.

But even with search engine optimization (or SEO), you can’t expect a new product page to suddenly rank in the top position overnight.

It can take weeks or even months to rank for competitive keywords. If you’ve just launched your new store, you can’t afford to wait that long. You want to start bringing in sales ASAP.

With Google Ads Shopping, you can advertise your products and drive visitors to your store with targeted ads.

Here’s an example of how these product ads appear in the search results:

(Source)

Shopping ads appear at the top of the search results.

Users can see a photo of your product, its listing price, and your store name. If they’re interested, they can click on the ad and make a purchase.

How well do these convert?

Shopping ads have 30% higher conversion rates compared to regular text ads. These ads utilize a visual format, so they’re likely to attract more attention over plain text.

To get started, you’ll need a Google Merchant Account with your product data.

Google pulls data from your product feed to create your ads. You must include all the required attributes. Here’s the full list of product data specifications to include.

To make things easier, Google Merchant Center provides a template you can use in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel to create your product feed.

Watch this video on how to create and submit your data feed:

Log into your Google Ads account and click the plus button to create a new campaign. On the next screen, click on the Sales and Shopping tabs:

(Source)

From here you can link your Merchant Center account to your product data and place bids for your campaigns.

You can always get started with a small budget and gradually ramp up your spending once you start seeing results.

eCommerce Marketing #3: Utilize Content Marketing

The Content Marketing Institute offers the following definition for content marketing:

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

The key here is on providing valuable and relevant content. Then, you can leverage your content to reach your audience and drive them to your online store.

Perhaps the most popular method is blogging.

If you sell electronics, you can publish in-depth reviews of the latest gadgets. Or if you sell fishing equipment, you can publish a beginner’s guide with links to your products.

Blogging allows you to capture prospects in different stages of the sales cycle.

Use keyword research tools like Keyword Planner (found inside Google Ads) to uncover keywords that your target audience is searching for.

Write in-depth content and publish them to your blog.

Remember to optimize all on-page factors to increase your content’s relevance. Optimize the following on-page factors for your keywords:

Page titles

Header tags

Meta descriptions

Content

Internal/external links

Image ALT text

URLs

Here’s a visual guide of the “perfectly optimized page”:

(Source)

Be careful not to overly spam your content with keywords. Otherwise, you risk your site getting hit with a ranking penalty.

Don’t just limit your content marketing efforts to blog posts.

For example, you can use your blog posts to create:

Ebooks

Videos

Infographics

Slideshows

Webinars

Guest posts

Social media posts

Repurpose your content into different formats to reach a wider audience across multiple channels.

eCommerce Marketing #3: Remarketing

Picture this:

You’re looking to buy something, maybe a new pair of running shoes, so you search online and click through to a store.

But you decide to hold off on your purchase to do more research or you got sidetracked by something else.

Then as you browse through your Facebook feed the following day, you see the exact ad for the shoes you were looking at.

Is that a crazy coincidence or what?

Nope.

That’s an example of remarketing.

Remarketing is a marketing strategy that allows you to show targeted ads to visitors who have visited a page on your site.

It can help your business drive more sales by bringing visitors back to your site and encouraging them to complete their purchase.

(Source)

The average shopping cart abandonment rate is 69.57%. This occurs when a visitor adds a product to their shopping cart but leaves without completing the purchase.

If that happens, you can create a remarketing campaign on Google or Facebook and show an ad to that visitor. You could even offer a discount as an incentive.

Whether you use Google or Facebook, you’ll need to add a tracking code or pixel to your website.

This allows you to create more relevant ads. For example, if a visitor visits a category page on smartwatches, you could create ads that show the smartwatches you offer.

eCommerce Marketing #4: Reach Out to Influencers

Influencers are authoritative figures in their respective industry. People listen to them and even make purchasing decisions based on what they say.

That’s why companies are willing to pay big bucks to work with influencers. These individuals tend to have massive followings that engage with their posts.

Influencers with a million followers can command up to $10,000 per post. Even those with smaller followings can charge a few thousand dollars per post.

It’s a lot to shell out on a limited budget. But it can be an effective way to market your eCommerce business and spread the word.

So how do you find influencers?

The simplest approach is to search for hashtags that are relevant to your business on Facebook or Instagram. Look through accounts and note down any that aligns with your brand.

Here’s an example when searching for #techgadgets on Instagram:

(Source)

Look for posts that are relevant to your business.

Don’t rule out micro-influencers or individuals with small followings. While these influencers may have smaller followings, they often have higher engagement.

Micro-influencers also charge significantly less than celebrity influencers. Once you’ve found influencers you can work with, send them a DM or an email.

Influencers have busy schedules. If you don’t hear back from them, wait a few days before following up again.

As your business grows, consider working with influencers with more reach to promote your products.

Which eCommerce Business Should You Start?

It’s a difficult question.

The answer depends on factors like how much capital you have and your long-term goals.

Let’s look at some scenarios that can help you make a decision:

If you have little to no capital…

You’re already working a full-time job, but you’ve barely been able to save anything. That leaves you with little to no capital to start a business.

Dropshipping is the best place to start.

This eCommerce business model has an incredibly low barrier-to-entry. You don’t need to purchase inventory or worry about overhead costs like rent.

To get started, you’ll need a domain name and hosting. These can cost anywhere from $10 to $20 a year.

Then, you’ll need shopping cart software. I’ll provide a more comprehensive overview in the next section, but you can either use free software or a platform like Shopify.

Shopify costs a modest $29 a month, but there’s a 14-day free trial you can sign up for.

Dropshipping is the best business model to start with if you have little to no capital. As you grow, you can reinvest your profits into stocking inventory and scaling your business.

If you have some capital…

You’ve been working and steadily saving over the last few years. You have anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $10,000 that you can allocate to start a business.

Consider reselling products.

With this business model, you’ll be working directly with manufacturers to purchase inventory in bulk that you can then sell on your store for a higher markup.

For inventory management, you can handle the logistics yourself or use a fulfillment service like Amazon FBA, which costs $39.99 a month for a Professional account plus selling fees.

The latter option allows you to spend more time on growing your business instead of managing inventory and shipping orders out.

As your business grows, you can negotiate discounts with your suppliers and scale your marketing campaigns.

If you are financially stable…

You’re financially comfortable and you have a sizable amount set aside for a new business venture. You have big plans and you’re not afraid to see them through. You’re in this for the long haul.

Consider creating and marketing your own products.

There are different approaches you can take. You can launch your own private label products or work with a factory to manufacture your product.

Then, you can sell on your site or offer your products on different platforms like Amazon and eBay. As for managing your inventory, you can set up a warehouse or use Amazon FBA.

On the marketing side, you can hire content writers to create quality content for your blog or social media profiles.

This business model isn’t easy as it requires more capital, but it gives you much more control and has a high profit potential.

Ultimately, only you can decide which eCommerce business is right for you. Whatever you decide, you’ll find the following tools and resources helpful.

Tools and Resources to Help You Grow Your Ecommerce Business

Need help building your eCommerce business?

I’ve put together a list of tools and resources that will help get you on the right track.

eCommerce Platforms

Here is a list of eCommerce platforms you can use to power your store:

Shopify

(Source)

Shopify is one of the most well-known eCommerce platforms on the market. It’s a fully hosted solution that starts at $29 a month for the basic package.

The platform includes all the tools you need to build a professional online store and sell on your website and multiple marketplaces.

There is also a large selection of apps you can install to extend the functionality of your store.

If you’re looking for an eCommerce platform that’s intuitive and easy to use, you simply can’t go wrong with Shopify. You can even sign up for a free 14-day trial to test it out.

BigCommerce

(Source)

BigCommerce is another popular eCommerce platform that enables business owners to build an online store and sell their products.

The platform supports cross-channel commerce, meaning you can integrate with top marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay, and Google Shopping.

BigCommerce also offers Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram integrations.

Even with little design experience, you can build a professional-looking store with the intuitive storefront builder and customize the theme to your liking.

Pricing starts at $29.95 per month for the Standard plan, $79.95 per month for the Plus plan, and $299.95 per month for the Pro plan.

There’s also a free 15-day trial you can sign up for.

Squarespace

(Source)

Squarespace is a website builder that also has eCommerce tools for users to sell online.

You can use the drag-and-drop builder to create your own design or choose from a selection of ready-made templates.

You’re not just limited to selling physical products. You can also use Squarespace to sell your services and allow customers to schedule appointments.

Squarespace offers integrations with payment, social media, and marketing tools to grow and scale your business.

Pricing starts at $26 per month for the Basic Commerce plan and $40 per month for the Advanced Commerce plan.

You can get started with a 14-day free trial.

Magento Commerce

(Source)

Magento Commerce, owned by Adobe, is a feature-rich eCommerce platform that’s designed to be highly customizable. It provides sellers with everything they need to scale their business.

Features include a page builder with drag-and-drop functionality, allowing you to design more engaging product pages.

Another huge selling point of Magento Commerce is the business intelligence and data visualization tools. You can use these tools to gain valuable insight into your business.

Magento Commerce doesn’t publicly display pricing information as there are so many customization options. You can get a free demo or reach out directly to their sales team for details.

OpenCart

(Source)

OpenCart is a flexible and light-weight eCommerce platform. It’s built on a fully open-source system, meaning there are no costs associated with using it.

There are tons of modules you can install to expand your store functionality along with a large selection of beautiful themes.

Because OpenCart is open-source, you have more control over your store. But it also means you’ll need some development knowledge depending on the work you need done.

OpenCart is a good option if you’re just getting started with little to no capital.

WordPress + WooCommerce

(Source)

WooCommerce is an open-source plugin that’s built for WordPress. The plugin is free to download and install, but other add-ons (like extensions and themes) come at an extra cost.

The WooCommerce plugin has an intuitive Setup Wizard that allows you to set up your store in just a few minutes. It also supports major payment gateways, such as PayPal, Stripe, and Square.

If you already have a WordPress site and want to turn into an online store, all you have to do is install the WooCommerce plugin.

Business Tools

Building an online store takes a lot of work.Here’s a list of tools to make things easier:

Namecheap

(Source)

Namecheap is a domain registrar that offers competitive prices. Simply enter the name you would like to register and you’ll see a list of available domain names.

You’ll find a large list of top-level domains. But I recommend that you register the .com extension, which is priced at $8.88 a year.

If you need to register a new domain, then go with Namecheap.

HostGator

(Source)

HostGator is a leading website hosting service that’s well-known for its reliability. With their shared hosting plans, you can host an unlimited number of domains.

HostGator also offers 24/7 customer support. If you run into any troubles, you can reach a customer service representative at any time.

Monthly pricing for the baby plan starts at $11.95 per month, but you can bring that down to $5.95 per month by purchasing 12 months in advance.

Sumo

(Source)

Sumo is a free email capture tool that you can add to your eCommerce websites to build your email list.

Other features include social share buttons you can add to your content and heat maps that show what your visitors are doing on your website.

You can send up to 10,000 emails per month and connect your store with the free plan. The Pro plan is $49 per month and includes features like A/B testing, email integrations, eCommerce design templates, and more.

AWeber

(Source)

AWeber is an email marketing software that allows you to manage your mailing list and create an autoresponder series.

Use the drag-and-drop builder to create custom emails or choose from a library of templates to quickly get started.

With email marketing, you’ll be able to build relationships with your customers and send personalized emails with relevant offers.

AWeber offers a free 30-day free trial.

OptinMonster

(Source)

OptinMonster is a lead generation software that enables you to convert more of your website visitors.

With the plugin, you’ll be able to capture more leads with multiple form types and even split test different headlines to see what converts.

If you want to convert more of your visitors, then OptinMonster is a must-have tool. Pricing starts at $9 per month for the Basic plan and goes up to $49 per month for the Growth plan.

Upwork

(Source)

Upwork is a platform that connects businesses and freelancers.

Whether you’re looking for a content writer to grow your blog, a developer to customize your theme, or someone to manage your customer support, you’ll be able to find the right individual on Upwork.

Simply start by posting a job or browse profiles to find a suitable candidate. You can pay a fixed price or by the hour.

WP Engine

(Source)

WP Engine provides managed WordPress hosting solutions on a secure and scalable platform.

Features include fast loading times and daily backups. Premium WordPress themes and the Genesis framework are also included, so you can build a professional website in no time.

Pricing for the Startup plan starts at $25 per month and goes up to $368 per month for the Premium plan.

If you use a combination of WordPress and WooCommerce to build your store, I recommend using WP Engine to host your site.

Ahrefs

(Source)

Ahrefs is a powerful marketing tool that lets you spy on your competitors and see how they’re ranking in organic search.

With the Keywords Explorer tool, you’ll be able to get thousands of keyword suggestions and other metrics like ranking difficulty, search volume, and more.

Ahrefs also includes Content Explorer which allows you to identify the best performing content in terms of social mentions and organic search traffic.

You can get started with a 7 day trial for $7, then it costs $179 per month.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free web analytics tool from Google that lets you track key information about your visitors, including how they found your website and what pages they visited.

You can also use the tool to track conversions, allowing you to identify which pages are driving sales and which ones aren’t.

The tool can be rather overwhelming, but you can register for Google Analytics for Beginners to learn more about how to navigate the interface and set up dashboards.

NicheHacks Academy

NicheHacks Academy is where you’ll learn how to build a successful online business.

You get access to powerful tools and a growing library of resources. There are over 145 step-by-step plans that you can follow that you can use to scale your business.

If you want to learn how to build an online business and grow your marketing skills, then I recommend joining NicheHacks Academy.

Website Marketplaces

If building an eCommerce business sounds like a lot of work, that’s because it is.

Get a jump start by purchasing an existing online store.

Here’s a list of marketplaces you can use to buy (and sell) websites:

Exchange Marketplace

(Source)

The Exchange Marketplace is a marketplace from Shopify where you can buy eCommerce websites for sale.

You can use the site to search for dropshipping sites that are already integrated with vendors like AliExpress and FBA or established businesses with everything setup.

Many listings provide metrics like average monthly revenue and profits. You can even check out the site for yourself and contact the seller if you’re interested in purchasing.

Flippa

(Source)

Flippa is another marketplace worth checking out if you’re interested in purchasing an online store. You can browse eCommerce businesses by price, age, type, and category.

Just like with the Exchange Marketplace, you can view details about a site like revenue and net profits, and reach out to the seller if you’re interested in purchasing.

Learning Resources

Ready to take your business to the next level?

Here are some learning resources that will help you take your business to new heights:

eCommerce

How to Start a Dropshipping Business

Customer Service 101: A Guide to Providing Stand-Out Support Experiences

Discover 100’s of Best Selling & Expensive Amazon Products

How to Write Product Descriptions that Sell

SEO

SEO Basics: A Beginner’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization

How to Safely Rank in Google For Any Keyword

How to Guest Blog and Gain Lots of Backlinks and Traffic

Keyword Research Tools

Digital Marketing

The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing in 2020

How to Make Sales With Facebook Ads

The Small Business Guide to Instagram eCommerce

A Quick (but Useful) Guide on Using Google Shopping Ads to Generate Sales and Revenue

Content Creation

The Ultimate Guide to Blogging: How to Start a Blog That Makes Money

The Ultimate Collection of Free Content Marketing Templates

How to Write a Content Marketing Strategy Step-by-Step

Content Optimization: The MarketMuse Guide

Create Your Online Business Today

Starting an online business has never been easier. It has a low barrier-to-entry and you can get started with a small investment upfront.

In this in-depth article, we’ve covered different eCommerce revenue models as well as how to build your online store and market your products.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when starting an online business.

If you would like to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs and access a growing library of resources, consider joining NicheHacks Academy.

We’ve love to hear from you. Be sure to leave a comment below!

The post The Ultimate Introduction to Starting an eCommerce Business appeared first on NicheHacks.

source http://wikimakemoney.com/2020/06/05/the-ultimate-introduction-to-starting-an-ecommerce-business/

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dailytechnologynews · 7 years

Photo

The 10 Years Cycle

*This post is Inspired by Ray Kurzweil and his Law of Accelerating Returns. (my english is not perfect)

I've seen a patern within technosocial paradigms (I mean, main technologies with the ability to change society and, at the same time, used by almost every person) since the Web... There're three phases of adoption and perfection of the tech:

3-4 Years of Early Adoption (A1): the product isn't good and it's very expensive, only a few milions buy it.

4-5 Years of Mass Adoption (A2): the product gets good enough to mainstream adoption, it becomes cheaper and better so a vast majority buys it.

2 Years of Technological Plateau (A3): there are no more major innovations and the product is almost perfect and impossible to improve. Almost everybody uses it and the society as a whole is absolutely affected by it.

Yes, I'm talking about the famous S curve... First, I thought "why 10 years if technology is exponential?" So maybe I'm wrong about further predictions but, what if it's not about the time but about the tech itself? I mean, the next tech is exponetially better even if the curve lasts the same amount of time... I hope I'm wrong, but that's just my intuition...

Lets begin, I'll need your help to know if I'm wrong or right so, if you can remember how things were back in time, please, help me to correct and improve this post :) (Note, this is for developed countries, sadly, other humans suffer a tech delay because of X causes...)

THE WEB:

A1 1996-2001: Internet becomes more and more popular but just a few millions use it and connections are very rudimental, limited by time and bandwitch etc.

A2 2001-2005: Connections get fast, cheaper and web 2.0 makes everything better. Google, Facebook, Youtube become more popular and full of new services. More than 70% of people use internet.

A3 2005-2007: Adoption stabilizes around 75%, a lot of new services have born and been perfected.

Note: I know it's very unfair to consider Web has reached tech limits by 2007 but in my mind it makes sense xD

THE SMARTPHONE:

A1 2007-2011: I guess everybody remember first iPhone's keynote, I don't like Apple but they did it very well, puting BB like a nice try but not enough for what we could do with this tech.

A2 2011-2015: this tech gets better, with better screens, cameras, sensors, sizes, uses etc.

A3 2015-2017: we all know smartphones have reached tech limits, iPhoneX is the proof, after a few years of no major improvements we've started dreaming about the next big thing...

MIXED REALITY:

A1 2016-2020: I know Oculus and Google started with AR and VR back in 2010-2011 but that was a development phase, we had to wait for 2016 for a consumer product for VR and still we're waiting for a decent AR one, maybe Magic Leap will do something about this by the next year. Hololens consumer version came this year, even if devs had it in 2016. There are more MR products from MS, HTC etc., of course.

A2 2020-2025: I think VR resolution and GPU power will become cheaper enough to allow a very good experience and even displace monitors and other productivity screens. At least if Moore's Law keeps alive in other way (optical-3D-Cloud-5G... computing). This video seems very possible to me by this time... Plus, battery tech could have evolved to next gen etc. I don't want to do the math about FLOPS, miniaturization etc., I don't like numbers sorry xD

A3 2025-2027: it's very likely that everybody wears glasses by this time, I know it seems absurd (and very hipster) but if could asked some guy by the 2000s that everybody will look at tiny screens from their pockets while walking on the street and in the metro, in just 10 years, you know what I mean... Damn, and even pay things with you fingerprint! A lot of social, consumer and work activity (if jobs still exist) will take place in VR/AR places. But, we need something more isn't it? We are humans.

NEURAL LINK:

A1 2027-2030: this is starting to sound very crazy but consider this tech already exists. Today we can connect the human brain to computers and even other brains, its very rudimental but promising enough to induce Elon Musk to create "Neuralink" a company hoping to connect the human brain to the cloud/internet/other people with neural implants by 2027 (that's literally the goal). Sorry guys, but I can't imagine other paradigm before this one, I feel it's the next logical step and, Moore's Law by our side, it's congruent.

A2 2030-2035: maybe thanks to some short of nanotech, with or without surjery, almost everybody will get his/her neuralink. Why? Isn't dangerous? Can I get a virus and die? Well, I repeat what I said before, now we can't imagine allowing ourselves to do this kind of crazy things, but time goes on and minds change, people will accept it. There will be dangers, of course, but it will worth the risk: what about becoming Einstein? what about Matrix-like VR? what about...

A3 2035-2037: everybody is neuro-connected and max bandwitch achieved.

MERGING WITH AI: Sorry, my human mind is too much limited to even imagine what this could mean.

Thanks for reading my shitpost and I hope you share your thoughts with me :D If this post can be corrected and improved, please tell me!

#Futurology #Technology #Tech #Studies #Humanity #Development #New #Gadgets

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swapna8-blog · 5 years

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Top iOS Application Development Trends Set to Dominate in 2019 - Fusion Informatics

Apple is ready to accept and support mobile technology growth. And, for 2019 onwards, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), and Augmented Reality (AR) will continue to rule the world of technology. With the release of iOS 12, businesses will definitely be looking to take advantage of the latest trends in developing iOS from one of the innovation-led organizations. IOS 12 incorporates Apple's best features such as increased security, face recognition, and cloud integration to make iOS more competitive. These features have ruled the technology industry since last year.

Latest trends in iOS application development

With this blog post, we also want to share some of the latest iOS trends, how businesses can use them to provide a better user experience.

IOS 2019 Application Development Trend

1. Security

Apple has built a very good security system that sets the tone for further development. This system allows users to have a safe work environment. Because cybercrime is developing, data protection is not only a trend but also a vital increase. Currently, the mobile application is used for payments, banking, etc.

This year Apple promised to implement several new security features. Among them are features such as Face ID and Touch ID, so people are waiting for repairs and developments.

2. AR and VR

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) trends are ready to attend. ARKit 2, the advanced version of ARKit on iOS 12, is ready to present an in-depth AR experience in the application. From enhanced face tracking to 3D object detection, ARKit 2 is equipped with several innovative features.

ARKit 2 is designed to allow users to create AR-based artwork that can be seen by others in the same place at any time. What's more, SceneKit is very useful for designing 3D graphics like the original. We can hope that AR technology will soon be integrated into customized iOS applications.

3. Machine learning

Core Machine Learning (ML) was introduced to technologies such as NLP (natural language processing), and the development of AI games. The latest version - Core ML 2 will lay the foundation for creating Apple hardware products that are ready in the future. It is estimated that Core ML 2 will enable the development of feature-rich, high-performance, responsive and interactive iPhone and iPad applications. In addition, this will allow iPhone application developers to reduce 75 percent the size of trained machine learning models.

The Bionic A12 chip with its resolution engine facilitates machine learning functions on Apple devices. Furthermore, Apple even plans to include Apple Neural Engine (ANE), a chip that will help accelerate ML functionality for future devices. It will also allow third-party developers to execute their AI inside the device. Thus, Machine Learning will continue to be on the list of trends in iOS application development this year.

4. On-Demand Apps

The growing popularity of applications such as Uber and Postmates generates new trends. Now application-based applications can do even more. For example, services such as cleaning, product delivery, shopping are easier because of geolocation, payment services, etc. This application is made to simplify life and tasks that must be fulfilled every day.

5. Wearable Devices

We need to thank Apple because they gave us devices that can be used, be more precise, smart watches. As a result, developers need to create applications for devices that can be used. According to CCS Insights, the number of usable devices will grow to 245 million by 2019. Speaking of money, this number will be worth around $ 33 billion by the end of this year. As you already know, all of these devices depend on a strong connection to your smartphone. So, it is necessary to develop two applications simultaneously.

Many companies have decided to spend money on building specific applications for Apple Watches. Of course, it is necessary to recognize the convenience of these devices because they can provide permanent access to almost all important functions.

6. Apple Pay

The survey report shows that Apple Pay has more than one billion transactions during the last quarter of 2018. This number is expected to witness 200% growth in 2019, according to the Loup ventures study. Integrating Apple Pay in the application will encourage safer transactions. Therefore, no doubt, development in this domain will become an essential iOS trend in 2019.

7. IoT

The list of trends in developing iOS applications has not been completed without the Internet of Technology. According to Statista, in 2025 around 75 billion devices will be connected to the Internet. This technology has brought many advantages in fields such as health, e-commerce, etc. In addition, specialists expect some positive changes and improvements in the ecosystem because of the application of IoT in fields such as the retail industry, real estate, etc. The creation of smart cities is able to solve the problem of parking spaces and public transportation.

In 2019, it is expected to see IoT implementation in business to optimize its operations.

Closing Line

Apple has discussed developing technologies such as AR, VR, IoT, and ML when developing iOS 12. It is certain that mobile application developers will bring iPhone application development solutions to the next level by utilizing this progress. However, it is fair to mention that this trend also continues to change along with technological advancements.

As one of the top mobile app development companies, we are building the latest generation iOS application by integrating the latest technological advances and trends our experienced application development team is always up-to-date with every iOS version update to maximize it.

Are you looking for the iOS Application Development Companies Bangalore, Your search end with Fusion Informatics is one of the leading Mobile App Development Companies in Bangalore, Mumbai, and India.

The company provides the mobile applications and Android App Development in Bangalore and assists Business owners to reach more customers who want to change their business towards application development. Mobile Apps Development Company in India, and Best React native Application Development Companies Bangalore. The company has the very good working environment. To know more information, Visit Fusion Informatics.

App development cost like naukri

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zomato app development cost

#ios App Development #iOS App Development Trends in 2019 #Top iOS App Development in 2019 #7 Latest Trends

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timothyakoonce · 5 years

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Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach to Marketing

In this guide, I’ll go into detail about how artificial intelligence is impacting marketing right now and how it will continue to impact it in the future.

At the end of this post, you’ll be excited about the possibilities of AI and probably a little nervous about the implications!

And it’s alright to be nervous because the role of marketers in organizations will change but….

…you’ll still have an important role to play.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Chapter 2 – The elements of Artificial Intelligence

Chapter 3 – AI Applications in Marketing

AI and Content Marketing

AI and Analytics

AI and Marketing Automation

AI and Conversational Marketing

AI and Email Marketing

AI and SEO

AI and Social Media

AI and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

AI and Listening/Monitoring

AI and Image Recognition

AI and Influencer Marketing

Chapter 4 – Security Concerns about AI

Summary

Download a PDF of this Guide

Would you prefer to read this later? If so, download a PDF version of the AI Guide.

Download PDF of Guide

C H A P T E R – 1

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence in Marketing is real and now is the time to sit up and take notice.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating marketing toward a more intelligently automated future in which smarter (i.e. AI-powered) solutions enable marketers to solve problems and achieve goals more efficiently. You have a choice. You can sit back and wait for the marketing world to get smarter and change around you, or you can embrace AI now and be proactive in creating a competitive advantage for yourself and your company.

Paul Roetzer, Founder of Marketing Artificial Intelligence Institute

However, not all software companies really have AI that say they do.

There’s just so much hype surrounding AI Tech companies want to capitalize on it by saying their software is powered by AI and investors will give higher valuations to them because of the AI in their software.

But there are many great software companies building true AI applications and this is set to grow massively over the next few years.

MRFR research predicted the AI market to be worth 25 billion by 2025.

If you’re a marketer, it’s time to get up to speed and understand the potential impact that AI will have on marketing. I’m pretty sure that this guide will help.

So, what is artificial intelligence?

We all know what human intelligence is…I hope so anyway!

Artificial intelligence is when a machine demonstrates some human-like intelligence.

For example:

A machine processes data and learns from it so it can make smarter decisions about the data it will process in the future.

Instead of just repeating the same instructions, the machine automatically learns new instructions based on experience.

Alpha Zero, the game playing AI developed by Deepmind, learned Chess in 4 hours and then was able to beat the best computer program available for playing chess.

Learning a new game is mimicking human intelligence, but the AI can learn in 4 hours what a human may take months doing.

Computer science describes the study of AI as the development of intelligent agents.

Look:

This is really about smart programming.

Our intelligence helps create artificial intelligence.

As some tasks become very routine they may not be considered artificial intelligence anymore.

Here’s an example:

Optical character recognition is often excluded because it’s a routine task expected from computers.

What is the difference between narrow and strong AI?

Narrow AI (also called weak AI) is artificial intelligence focused on one task.

Strong AI is everything else!

Strong AI has the ability to apply intelligence to any problem rather than a specific task.

For example:

A spam filtering tool performs one task well. A self-driving car is also described as narrow AI but I think this is a bit of a stretch!

Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Marketers?

Yes…. some!!!

Marketing is a time-intensive process with a lot of repetitive tasks which machines can help with…

…but there are certain tasks that machines will never be able to perform at the same level as human marketers.

I can imagine, in the future, sitting across from a robot discussing a business proposition but I can’t imagine I’d build the same relationship with a robot as with a real human. It’s relatively easy to build software to beat someone at Chess and…

…the software gets better at beating people.

But…

Building relationships is the most important part of marketing and computers suck at it.

Also, who is going to build a strategy for a company?

An AI enabled machine can provide inputs into this strategy but strategists will still survive.

I watched a movie called ‘Her’ recently where the actor builds a relationship with an operating system.

Such a ridiculous movie!

Currently, though, there is a serious problem with implementing AI within organizations because of the lack of knowledge amongst marketers.

In a report done with CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) by Deloitte in 2018, the major factor that could slow down the organic growth in marketing is lack of talent.

And because AI is more technical than most other areas of marketing, this is going to be a major issue.

I wrote this guide because there is so much technical information on AI online that it’s quite difficult to understand. I’m hoping this guide will help marketers understand what AI is really about.

Once you understand AI, then you can work out how to replace the systems you use internally with AI software. And if you decide it’s smart to replace the existing software solutions, you need to figure out what functionality will be gone and what new functionality will be added.

You’ll then need to educate your team about AI and train them on the new software.

Plus, the marketplace for AI solutions is growing so fast that, without understanding AI, you’ll have a hard time finding the right vendor.

C H A P T E R – 2

The elements of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is a complex field that includes various elements.

It is focused on the following:

Learning – Acquiring information and rules for using that information.

Reasoning – Thinking about something in a logical and sensible way.

Doing – What’s the point in learning and thinking if you don’t do?

Self-correction – Understanding mistakes and correcting them.

Here’s a breakdown of the main areas that AI has been implemented in.

Note: There are some overlaps in each of the areas. For example, a self-driving car uses a combination of machine learning, image recognition, and deep learning.

Neural Networks

A brain takes an input (external or internal), processes it and then produces a result.

A neuron is the basic unit of computation in the brain and it’s responsible for processing those inputs to produce the outputs.

Chemical signals are passed from neurons to neurons.

There are over 100 billion neurons, on average, in a human body and it’s an extremely complex web of interconnections between neurons. Some neurons can be connected to up 10,000 other neurons.

Imagine if someone was putting their hand near a hot stove. This is an input. The neurons would process this causing the hand to move from the stove.

Here’s how this would look internally:

The sensory neuron feels the heat, passing the information onto other internal neurons and eventually to a motor neuron which causes the reaction of moving away from the heat.

A single neuron doesn’t do much on its own, but using a complex web of neurons gives you amazing capabilities.

The neuron consists of input, output, and weight. Weight is really an indicator of importance in the overall scheme of things for this particular piece of information.

For example, you want a machine to work out how valuable a car is.

You take in a range of inputs e.g. year, make, model, condition, mileage, etc. and these are passed through neurons. Each input is weighted.

The make and the model are weighted higher than the mileage or the year.

And then:

Through a series of complex calculations, the machine comes up with a result.

Here’s a simple example of a neural network.

The initial inputs are weighted (e.g. characteristics based on importance), they are then sent to the hidden layer for processing, and the result is the output.

Machine Learning

Machine learning is a branch of AI which enables computers to become progressively better at performing existing tasks or become able to do new tasks without any need for human intervention.

The computers are continuously analyzing data so they can produce better results in the future. Simply put, they’re becoming smarter.

Machine learning is typically broken down into 3 parts:

Deep learning

Earlier we talked about neural networks. Deep learning uses more advanced neural networks.

So instead of an input, hidden, and output layer, you may have many hidden layers.

Meaning there is a lot more processing done than with a basic neural network. The same system of weights is passed between the neurons.

Deep learning is typically categorized in the following way:

Supervised

Supervised learning is where you provide the computer with input data and then the output data (i.e. the results you’d expect). You then build an algorithm around this so you can start providing new input data and the computer will automatically create the output data.

For example, imagine if you had a spam filter. Instead of giving the computer a set of rules to determine whether an email is spam or not, you provide it with a set of emails and then tell it which of those emails is spam and why. The algorithm would then be used to work out a new set of emails.

Unsupervised

With unsupervised machine learning, you provide the input data but you don’t provide the output data. The input could be a batch of test data at first.

So, the computer doesn’t have any example data to help it generate the answers. It needs to do a bit more work.

Semi-supervised

This is a happy medium. It’s not completely unsupervised but the output data is not enough to accurately predict all results.

So, the computer processes the data and uses the output data as a guideline that it improves over time as it processes more data.

You may want to use semi-supervised ML in cases when you have to manually classify the data but there’s so much to classify that you just classify a piece of it and leave the rest to the computer to deal with.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

This is what natural language processing is about…

Alexa is an Amazon device.

You ask questions in a conversational way and Alexa is able to process them and give a response.

Well, it usually is…..

Natural language processing (NLP) systems have become more advanced over the last few years but there are still many challenges.

For example, it wouldn’t be unusual to say the following:

Alexa – Who are Man U playing?

Manchester United supporters often abbreviate Manchester United to Man U or the Red Devils or just saying United. There’s a slim chance that Alexa would understand these abbreviations.

Here’s another challenging example for NLP:

“I was at a pub the other night with my mates and it was deadly.”

When we use the word ‘deadly’ in this context in Ireland we mean that it was great fun. NLP systems are still not good at detecting the sentiment of text or spoken word.

So NLP will continue to evolve but it will never be perfect because of:

Accents

So many languages, variations of languages and slang used

The tone of voice and body language

Evolutionary Computation

This is the definition of evolutionary computation from Wikipedia:

“In computer science, evolutionary computation is a family of algorithms for global optimization inspired by biological evolution, and the sub-field of artificial intelligence and soft computing studying these algorithms.”

But what does this actually mean…

It was called evolutionary because it’s a continuous process of optimization of results which ‘evolves’ better solutions over time.

It was also called evolutionary from Darwin’s theory of evolution.

For example, one of Darwin’s theories was about survival of the fittest. The weakest members of a species will die over time.

With evolutionary computing, you come up with many potential solutions to a problem. Some may be good and some may be completely random.

With testing, over time, the best solutions evolve.

With deep learning, we are focusing on models we know already. Evolutionary computing is coming up with solutions to problems where we don’t have any sample results we could use to help.

Vision

We’re talking about the ability of computers/machines or robots to see, process, and act automatically based on images.

AI for vision it’s generally split into:

Computer vision – A computer extracting information from an image to make sense of it.

Machine vision – Machines using visual methods to improve things in areas such as a production environment. They could be visually identifying faults, reviewing food labels, and/or detecting flaws in a product.

Robot vision – This is where vision is used to identify something to be worked on and the robotic capabilities perform the necessary action.

Robotics

Robots are physical machines.

Robotics is the field of study of robots.

Sometimes you’ll hear people talking about robots automatically creating content for marketers but these are not actually robots. There’s no physical robot involved.

Most robots do not have AI but this is changing.

For example, I used to own a robotic lawnmower called ‘Robomow’. The tagline was ‘It mows you don’t’. I actually used to sell them but that’s a whole different story.

Robomow sits on a charging unit and every few days it would come out and cut the grass. There was an electrical cable around the edge of the garden and the mower would go back and forth at different angles to the edges. It recorded where it had been so it knew when everywhere was cut.

It even had rain sensors so if it was raining it wouldn’t come out to cut the grass.

But it didn’t have artificial intelligence.

For example, it could have learned about obstacles in the garden and built different routes based on those obstacles.

Unfortunately, mine just kept getting stuck underneath the trampoline…

…every time…

Look:

I’m not saying these devices are not useful.

But…they could be a lot smarter.

Expert Systems

An expert system is a computer program that emulates the human ability to make decisions.

i.e. it replaces the need for or supports an existing expert.

It typically contains a knowledge base with a set of rules for applying the knowledge to each particular situation.

With machine learning capabilities, it’s building its knowledge base over time and adapting or creating new decisions based on its working knowledge.

Speech Interpretation

In the not too distant future, it will be unusual for someone not to have a device such as an Amazon Echo in their home so they can voice questions and instructions to this device and get immediate answers.

Voice interpretation is getting better all the time and some of these devices are leveraging artificial intelligence to learn over time and produce better responses.

Imagine if a speech recognition system was able to predict if a sale was going to be generated from a call center and then make suggestions to agents to improve the conversion rate?

And they did this by analyzing the conversation and the acoustics in this conversation.

A company called OTO systems studied 4,000 hours of inbound sales conversations with 50% conversion rates.

They trained their deep learning models to capture the ‘acoustic signature’ of a successful sale.

They managed to predict 94% of the call outcomes.

They then implemented this system in a call center and seen a 20% increase in engagement with a 5% increase in sales.

AI Planning

According to Wikipedia, these are strategies or sequences of actions automatically created for intelligent agents, robots or unmanned vehicles.

So, its all about analyzing a problem and producing a plan of action.

AI planning is taking into account things like:

Dependencies – does one task require another task to be completed

Milestones – specific dates that have to be met

Constraints – for example, if you only have 10 people available you can’t throw 20 people at the problem.

When the plan and the schedule are created, it is automatically adjusted based on results and changes to inputs.

For example, if a resource is not available any more then the plan has to be adjusted.

C H A P T E R – 3

AI Applications in Marketing

There are so many potential uses of AI in marketing that would make it more efficient and help deliver better results.

We have talked about 1 to 1 marketing for many years and, even with advanced marketing automation systems, this is still not a reality.

But…with artificial intelligence, we have a much better chance of delivering what feels more like a one-on-one customer communication.

Let’s take a look at some examples of how marketing can improve with AI.

AI and Content Marketing

To survive on the web we need to produce content.

Content attracts visitors, engages our audience, and gives them an incentive to come back.

Content comes in many forms:

Blog post

Testimonials

Factual data e.g. reports

Video content

Tweets