Eric Walsh has built quite the life for himself. At just thirty-three years old, he is running several thriving businesses in a wide range of industries. So far, Eric has found success in real estate, ecommerce, and cryptocurrency, and for the past thirteen years, he has operated a “pandemic-proof” brick-and-mortar business. He has more to show for his hard work than just an impressive portfolio; he is also a millionaire who owns numerous properties. Now, Eric wants to share his success with his clients by guiding their ecommerce businesses to the top. This is what he hopes to accomplish through his two new companies, The Genius Academy and The Genius Academy Automation.
Eric knows firsthand that climbing the ladder to success comes with its fair share of cuts and bruises. “I can’t speak for Bill Gates or Elon Musk, of course, but I can tell you that any business person who attains any degree of success is going to have their share of moments they’d rather put behind them. Every day comes with its landmines, and I have stepped on quite a few. Thankfully I’ve gotten better at avoiding them over the years, but they are a reality in the business world.”
Eric believes that one of the #1 challenges facing new entrepreneurs is an ever-changing terrain of the ecommerce market. “Whether that’s because information moves at the speed of light on social media or because the world is full of a lot of insanely talented people who are always inventing something new, the world you wake up to each day is not the one you faced the day before. If you don’t adapt to that, you will get left behind fast. Actually, I don’t believe in adapting. Instead, I believe in being the person who changes the landscape itself. If you are the innovator, you have more control over what’s happening in your industry and can direct the change.”
Another hurdle is that no matter how much fancy technology you surround yourself with, something always breaks down. “You can have the latest computer, the perfect chair, whatever it is, but that hiccup always comes,” Eric says. “I can’t tell you how many times I would finally get everything running smoothly and synced up, I would feel just amazing – then suddenly, the worst possible thing that could go wrong would hit me. I’m not necessarily talking about anything big, like the stock market crashing. It is often something stupid, something small but that takes just enough of your time to screw up your plans. Pages don’t load, the computer crashes, you constantly have to reset a password, whatever it is. The simplest of things that should work smoothly just doesn’t.”
Eric believes that your attitude will determine how well you fight through the inevitable problems you face as a business person. “I think that God is always testing us. You’ve got to be resilient and not allow these things to knock you down or depress you. You need to fight through it quickly and replace the pain and frustration with action so that you can solve your problems quickly.”
The development of The Genius Academy and The Genius Academy Automation came with its own unique slew of problems. Through thousands of hours of extensive research and planning, Eric crafted the perfect formula for selling products on platforms such as Amazon, Shopify, Walmart’s Seller Central, and Facebook marketplace. “I would love to be able to say that went smoothly, but truthfully, there were plenty of times I wanted to pull my hair out,” he says. “I was surrounded by algorithm changes, contract negotiations, product research; it was a lot sometimes. Giving up, however, would have been the easy way out. I know from experience that when you don’t feel like doing something is exactly when you need to be working harder. Luckily, through consistency and resilience, I now have an amazing team of over 200 people and growing!”
Eric stresses the value of finding a support system. Those within the business community can be particularly helpful, as they understand many of the issues you’ll face. “It’s important that you stay connected to those around you, and reach out to others in times of need,” says Eric. “Your peers can show you that you’re not alone in your struggles, and sometimes, they offer really helpful advice that can guide you out of a difficult situation.” You can learn a lot from talking to other entrepreneurs and business owners; we shouldn’t overlook this underutilized resource.