Should a Shopify seller quit their day job? The exact numbers.
Inventory turning 6+ times/year with 25%+ net margin after ads.
Ecommerce is working capital intensive. Under 6 turns/year and your inventory strangles cash flow; under 25% net margin after ad spend and your ROAS can't absorb a single bad ad week. Both gates must be met before the income is safe to live on.
Run the numbers for your situation
Real shopify / ecommerce seller transitions
Attribution stripped for privacy. Patterns are what matters.
FAQ — Shopify / ecommerce seller
How do I calculate inventory turns?
Cost of goods sold ÷ average inventory value = annual turns. Aim for 6+. Under 3 turns, you have too much cash locked in stock.
Does organic vs paid traffic matter?
Yes. 25% net margin after ads is the floor. If you're at 40% margin organic but 15% margin paid, the blended margin is what counts (and the dependency on paid traffic is a second risk flag).
What runway do ecommerce sellers need?
12+ months because inventory reorders are lumpy. A single $8k reorder cycle can drain 3 months of operating cash if revenue has a slow quarter.
What if I sell digital products only?
Then you're closer to the Creator archetype than Shopify — no inventory gate, but platform-diversification still matters.
Other archetypes