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You’re NOT Just An Amazon Seller

I’ll be honest. When someone asks me what I do for a living I often times respond with “I sell on Amazon”. Since selling on Amazon is not understood by the masses, it usually gets either 1000 questions or a shrug-off as another come-and-go nickel-dime “hobby”. Most people don’t get it or don’t take it seriously. Saying I sell on Amazon is a quick and easy answer.The truth is, I am selling myself extremely short by saying this and so are you.

ENTREPRENEURDefinition: a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

If you are an Amazon seller you are an entrepreneur, a business owner. You are an online store owner. You are 100% responsible for its success or failure. When we reduce our business to something as simple as “I sell on Amazon”, we are not giving ourselves proper credit for what we do and we are not affording the opportunity for others to learn about and respect our business.

As third-party sellers on Amazon, we are small business owners. We are required to file and pay taxes, acquire and ship inventory, process returned goods and put time and money at risk to earn a profit. This is no small thing. This is not a 9-5 punch in, punch out job. It is not a get rich quick scheme. It is a hustle and grind, up all night catalog cruising, wholesale ordering, thrift shopping, sticker peeling, poly-bagging, box cutting, fun and exhausting BUSINESS.

If you are an Amazon seller, you are:

• a decision maker
• a financial planner
• a merchant
• in the shipping business
• the purchasing officer
• the deal maker
• the ROI hunter

Have you ever met a person who owned a store and when you ask them what they do they say I sell stuff in a store down the road. NO WAY. They said I own “XZY Gift shop on Main Street”

Many times Amazon sellers are not taken seriously because they don’t view themselves as business/store owners. Even if you are a small time seller or just getting started you are still a business. Amazon requires it. It will take time, money and energy to build it.

Act Like a Business

In order to feel like you are a legitimate business, act like one!

• Be professional.
• Keep up on your bookkeeping.
• Research new ways to profit.
• Diversify by selling on multiple platforms.
• File taxes.
• Track mileage.
• Set goals.
• Work hard.
• Set up a Facebook business page.
• Get business cards.

I encourage you to be proud of what you do and give your business the respect it deserves.

The next time someone asks you what you do try this:

“I am a business owner. I am the CEO of purchasing, finance, and shipping for a large e-tailer. I am an entrepreneur.”

(SOURCE)