From $1K to $60K a Week During COVID – Then I Lost It All
When COVID-19 hit Australia, many businesses paused, pivoted, or perished. For me, it sparked an unexpected boom. My small online venture, Prasads Home and Garden, which was clearing about $1,000 a week in profit, exploded into a $60,000-a-week success story.
It sounds like the dream, doesn’t it?
But what followed was a harsh business lesson: success without strategy can quickly become a setback.
Here's how I scaled my Shopify business during lockdown — and how opening a physical retail store brought it crashing down.
The Seed: Prasads Home & Garden Begins
Before COVID, I was quietly running a humble online garden store from my garage. The idea was simple — sell planters, pots, and outdoor décor online. Our weekly profit hovered around $1,000. Not bad for a side hustle, but not life-changing either.
Then the world stopped.
Borders closed. People bunkered down. And suddenly, Australians began spending more time at home than ever before.
What they craved was greenery, serenity, and a sense of control over their space. That’s where we came in.
The Boom: Online Sales Skyrocket
With traditional retailers closed or at limited capacity, people turned to the internet. Within weeks, my Shopify store saw orders triple. We started listing more products — eco planters, water features, garden beds, home décor, and even indoor plants.
We couldn’t keep up.
I brought on a team. We packed orders late into the night. We dealt with overwhelmed courier companies, freight costs, and customer expectations — all while watching sales numbers climb higher and higher.
At our peak, Prasads Home and Garden was generating $60,000 in weekly profit.
It was electric. Exhausting. Exhilarating.
And I thought we were untouchable.
The Mistake: Going Bricks-and-Mortar
Flush with success, I made a decision that, in hindsight, changed everything.
I opened a physical retail store.
It seemed logical at the time: give customers a beautiful place to touch, feel, and experience our products in person. Reinforce our brand with a strong physical presence. Multiply the momentum.
But I misread the market.
The cost of rent, fit-outs, staff, insurance, and energy was astronomical. Foot traffic was underwhelming. Worse still, I diverted my attention — and capital — away from our core online engine.
As restrictions eased and people began spending on travel, entertainment, and dining again, our category cooled off. The once-frenzied customer base disappeared almost overnight.
The retail store drained our resources.
The online store stagnated.
Eventually, I had to shut everything down.
The Lessons
While it was one of the most painful experiences of my professional life, I walked away with priceless lessons:
1. Know Your Lane
We were excellent at e-commerce. I should have doubled down on digital instead of stretching into unfamiliar territory.
2. Cashflow Is King
Weekly profits don't equal long-term security. The moment I poured cash into the store, our buffer vanished.
3. Consumer Behaviour Changes Fast
The COVID-era surge in home and garden spending wasn’t a forever trend. I needed to adapt faster to the shifting landscape.
4. Ego Can Be Expensive
I held onto the retail dream too long. I didn’t want to admit the idea had failed. That delay cost me everything.
Final Thoughts
Prasads Home and Garden gave me my first taste of real success — and my first real fall.
But that journey shaped everything I know now about business, risk, and reinvention.
If you're on a growth path, I encourage you to think long-term, protect your capital, and never let ego override insight.
And if you’re in a tight spot right now — you’re not alone. Let’s talk.
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