Start an Online Store: Shopify, Etsy and The Future Market

01

Your own store or a marketplace?

In simple words

Your own store is like opening your own shop on a quiet street: it's all yours, but you have to bring people there. A marketplace is like a table at a busy mall: people are already walking by, but the mall makes the rules and takes a cut.

Key facts

	Own store (e.g. Shopify)	Marketplace (e.g. Etsy)
Who brings buyers	Mostly you	The marketplace brings shoppers too
Branding and design	Your brand, your design	Marketplace look and rules
Customer relationship	You own the customer list	Marketplace controls most of it
Typical costs	Monthly plan + payment fees	Per-listing + per-sale fees

Many sellers use both: a marketplace to find first buyers, their own store to build a brand.
Public example: Shopify began because its founders wanted to sell snowboards online. Their store, Snowdevil, launched in 2004; they turned the software into Shopify in June 2006, based in Ottawa, Ontario. Shopify went public on May 21, 2015. (Mentioned as an example only; Shopify is not affiliated with The Future Market.)

Step by step

Write the question 'Do I already have people who would buy from me?' and answer yes or no.
Write 'Do I want my own brand look and my own customer list?' and answer yes or no.
Write 'How much can I spend each month?' as a number in dollars.
Use the table in this lesson: if you have no audience and a small budget, lean towards a marketplace; if you want your own brand and can bring buyers, lean towards your own store.
Circle one choice: own store, marketplace, or both.
Check: you can say in one sentence why you chose it.

LESSON 01Your own store or a marketplace?

LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00

Voice

Read the video script

[Host] "Where should you sell online? Your own store, or a marketplace?"
[Screen: a quiet street shop vs a busy mall] "Your own store is all yours, but you bring the traffic. A marketplace has shoppers, but it sets the rules."
[Text on screen: Snowdevil 2004 → Shopify 2006, Ottawa] "Fun fact: Shopify started as one snowboard shop called Snowdevil, then became a platform in Ottawa in 2006."
[Host] "Lots of sellers start with both. Let's look at each one."

Try it now

Write your answer to three questions: Do I already have an audience? Do I want my own brand look? How much can I spend each month? Then circle: own store, marketplace, or both.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Start an Online Store: Shopify, Etsy and The Future Market" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Your own store or a marketplace?".

What the lesson teaches:
- Own store (e.g. Shopify) - Marketplace (e.g. Etsy)
- Who brings buyers - Mostly you - The marketplace brings shoppers too
- Branding and design - Your brand, your design - Marketplace look and rules
- Customer relationship - You own the customer list - Marketplace controls most of it
- Typical costs - Monthly plan + payment fees - Per-listing + per-sale fees
- Many sellers use both: a marketplace to find first buyers, their own store to build a brand.
- Public example: Shopify began because its founders wanted to sell snowboards online. Their store, Snowdevil, launched in 2004; they turned the software into Shopify in June 2006, based in Ottawa, Ontario. Shopify went public on May 21, 2015. (Mentioned as an example only; Shopify is not affiliated with The Future Market.)

The exercise I'm working on:
Write your answer to three questions: Do I already have an audience? Do I want my own brand look? How much can I spend each month? Then circle: own store, marketplace, or both.

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.

I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Your own store or a marketplace?" from the course "Start an Online Store: Shopify, Etsy and The Future Market".

Here's what the lesson says:
Your own store is like opening your own shop on a quiet street: it's all yours, but you have to bring people there. A marketplace is like a table at a busy mall: people are already walking by, but the mall makes the rules and takes a cut.

The activity:
Write your answer to three questions: Do I already have an audience? Do I want my own brand look? How much can I spend each month? Then circle: own store, marketplace, or both.

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.

Open Claude

Sources

Wikipedia, Shopify: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopify

My notes

I learned this

02