If you're still working on your side hustle and haven't quite turned your online business into the success you want it to be, take a deep breath and realize that countless other people have had the same challenges. If you're aiming to succeed in online merchandise, the tools are all there, and many have succeeded before you, so it's more than possible. Check out these five tips for coming into your own as an entrepreneur.

1. Being Your Own Boss

A huge part of making it as an entrepreneur is effectively owning the "be your own boss" mindset. There are several sides to being your own boss:

• It means you don't do everything yourself. Be sure to delegate or outsource tasks to others if your time could be better spent on higher-priority work. Use tools that make your business easier to run, such as Viralstyle.
• It means having a clear vision of how you want to succeed. Go beyond something simple like "I want to work from home" and define a very specific case, such as "I want to be able to work my day job for only half the week, with the other half of my income coming from e-commerce."
• It means the success of your print on demand business is entirely in your hands, and that your success falls on your decisions. Hold yourself accountable.

2. Surround Yourself With Similar People

Successful entrepreneurs typically don't make it on their own. They develop a network of connected and ambitious friends, like influencers or creators who get them and their ideas. If you want to make the path to success a lot gentler, you owe it to yourself to network. Sure, it may be scary, awkward, or uncomfortable when you picture it in your mind, but it's always worse in your head than how it actually turns out.Whether you end up enjoying networking or not, it's an extremely useful step to take, and doing just a little regularly will eventually land you a valuable connection, such as a mentor or a friend running a similar business. Think about joining a Facebook group that discusses how influencers respond and post acceptance rates is definitely helpful when starting out. In these groups you can share problems and solutions with other entrepreneurs trying to start up, for example, are very useful when starting out. These are the people who know what you're going through and will give you a positive, encouraging, helpful outlook.

3. You're Never Done Learning

An entrepreneur isn't a title you suddenly attain after you reach a certain point. A true entrepreneur is always learning, always looking to improve their skills and knowledge and reflect that back into their business. You might be an expert at, say, Instagram marketing, and have built an audience that way. But after a while, if that starts to dry up, don't assume your audience is tapped out. Expand to new horizons, such as Facebook marketing.Remember, it doesn't matter if you're inexperienced. We all start inexperienced at everything. In online business, things are constantly shifting and changing. One of the biggest differences between those who succeed and those who give up is a love of learning. There are plenty of affordable or free resources to learn highly targeted skills, such as online course websites or knowledge bases.

4. Getting Seen Is Half the Battle

While a lot of entrepreneurs can handle the technical side of things, such as designing good products and creating an efficient customer sales process, many falter when it comes to getting the word out. People in general have a fear of being "salesy" or that their marketing will annoy someone.How do you avoid turning people off with your marketing? Come from a place of giving value. Most marketing sends the message of "buy this" or "try this." The reason content marketing and social media marketing have taken the internet by storm is because they are both about authentic sharing. You don't necessarily have to release content to get seen, either. Be an active part of the online communities where your customers hang out, and reach out to important people in those communities, especially influencers, and you'll get more attention over time. Social media groups that discuss how influencer responses and acceptance rates is definitely helpful when starting out. In these groups you can share problems and solutions with other entrepreneurs trying to start up.

5. Being Remembered Is the Other Half

Of course, no one is going to visit your e-commerce store if there's no way for them to know about it. However, every online business is trying to attract attention, and it causes people to get bunt out on advertising, growing more and more skeptical. You don't just want people to be aware that your business exists, you want them to remember, trust you, and even consider you a friend, ally, etc.The reason giving value matters is because it shows authenticity. Whatever types of online merchandise you want to sell, from outdoorsman themed to funny cartoon cats on T-shirts, you picked that for a reason. Communicate and give value to like-minded people who would also enjoy your shirts, and they'll have no problem remembering you and wanting to buy from you.Being an entrepreneur doesn't mean getting a million-dollar loan on a world-changing business idea. It simply means taking your work into your own hands and being your own boss. Even selling online merchandise as a side hustle requires that entrepreneurial spirit. That means working hard, constantly learning, staying consistent, and giving value to the right people.