Becoming An Entrepreneur Is Hard - 5 Tips To Being A Successful Entrepre...

Becoming an entrepreneur is hard and it will never get any easier. If you want some tips to become a successful entrepreneur then make sure you watch this entire video. 

A Look Inside Of A Multi Million Dollar Amazon FBA Business

by The Selling Family

The sky is the limit when it comes selling on Amazon and you need no further proof of that than the story of Dan Meadors & Eric Lambert. Two business partners from Kentucky that are doing millions in sales on Amazon. Want to know the most inspiring part? Their story of humble beginnings with selling on Amazon is one that many of us can relate to!

I have come to know Dan and Eric (they’re actually former Amazon Boot Camp students) and thought it would be a great idea to pick their brain about how they have grown their business to seven figures with the power of FBA, so I sent Dan some questions to answer for you guys. Check out the interview below!

Thanks for your time, guys. Could you please tell us a bit about you and how you got started selling on Amazon?

Absolutely! In late 2011 we were both working full-time jobs for an online retail company that specialized in selling collectible card games. One day, the CFO of the company quit. It surprised us because he was making a 6 figure salary at the time, so we asked him why he was leaving. He told us that he was making more money selling stuff on Amazon and he was just going to focus all his time on that.

We were shocked that this was even possible and to be honest, rather skeptical. We probed him about it further and he decided to take us on a trip to a local Wal-Mart to prove it to us. That was the day we learned about Retail Arbitrage and before that day could turn into night, Eric and I had decided to give this a try ourselves. We signed up for a seller account on Amazon and spent our nights and weekends either in stores scanning or at home packing and prepping. If we weren’t doing one of those things we were scouring the web to learn as much about arbitrage and FBA as possible.

So you guys started with Retail Arbitrage. How long were you doing that before you decided to leave your full-time jobs and pursue selling on Amazon full-time?

It was about four months in…and it was a crazy feeling! Up to that point we had reinvested every dollar we made back into the business and that really helped us grow our capital. We didn’t want to stop that growth either, so Eric and I calculated what the absolute minimum amount of money we could both support our families with, and that is how we came up with our initial salaries. Everything else would continue to go back into the business.

I have to say, it wasn’t exactly an easy conversation to tell our families that we’d be leaving our consistent, well-paying jobs to focus on our Amazon business…oh yeah, and taking pay cuts to do it. But they believed in us and we believed in ourselves so we made that leap.

Switching to full-time after only selling part-time for four months is amazing. How much money did you guys have to get started with?

It is a funny story really. I had basically no credit history and Eric had bad credit due to some, shall we say, irresponsible decisions he made while he was in college (he did have the nicest stereo system on campus though). That means we got started with a $600 limit credit card that was in my name and that was it. Our strategy was essentially max out the card, pay it off. Rinse and repeat.

We actually use that same strategy today except our card now has a $100,000 limit. And a cool thing is, even from the very beginning, we have never paid a dime of interest because we have never carried a balance. That is an achievement we are very proud of.

How has your Amazon business grown and changed over the years?

For the first 3 years we were 100% retail arbitrage based. In 2014 we started experimenting with other models to sell on Amazon like Private Label and Wholesale. While Private Label didn’t work out so great for us, wholesale did. It took about 6 months of trial, error and experimenting to get good at it (and putting our own special spin on it), but by the end of 2014 we had finished the year at 1.2 million in sales (our best year at the time) and decided to completely transition our business to wholesale.

In 2015 we began hiring employees to help us scale and grow while also moving into the 10,000 sq ft warehouse we currently occupy. We finished 2015 by doing 3.8 million in sales on Amazon.

Then in 2016 we were able to almost double our sales again and hit over 6 million dollars in sales across all of the platforms we sell on.

Your Amazon business is now 100% wholesale based. Do you care to explain what that means for those that may not know?

Sure! It just means that we are buying products in large quantities from wholesale companies and manufacturers to sell on Amazon. The products come to you or even better, they will send it to Amazon directly. The best part about wholesale is just how scalable it is and how simple it is to automate.

These days, Eric and I only work about 20 hours a week on our Amazon business and it could be even less if we wanted. This has afforded us the opportunity to work on other projects, such as public speaking, and developing The Wholesale Formula, our in-depth training course that teaches wholesale the way we do it.

Where can people find out more about what you teach and your course, The Wholesale Formula?

We do college style enrollment which means we only accept students a couple times a year for a couple weeks at a time. This allows us to really focus on helping those students learn and grow their businesses.

Our course will be opening up again soon, and we want to share more of the ins-outs of how it works to start using wholesale.  People can join us for a free webinar (hosted by The Selling Family, of course) on Thursday January 12th.  Click here to register!

I do appreciate that guys! Ok, one last question from me. What is the single biggest piece of advice you would give to someone aspiring to grow their business like you and Eric have?

I will do you one better. How about I give everyone three pieces of advice instead?

#1 - “Do…or do not. There is no try”

That is not an original piece of advice. That actually comes from Yoda, but it always resonated with me. What I gather from that quote is that you should be someone that takes action, but not just that. If you are going to take action, you want to jump in with both feet. Don’t falter. Don’t try. DO IT.

#2 - Have an insatiable appetite for Learning

I can’t stress this one enough. Every day I am trying to learn something new. From books, to podcasts, to Facebook groups…every day I set aside time to learn because some of my biggest professional breakthroughs have come from the simplest pieces of knowledge or advice I have gleaned.

#3 - If time is the single most important commodity for growing your business then outsourcing should be number two

I have always said, if you value your time at $50 an hour then you better not be spending your time on $10 per hour tasks. A top priority for every entrepreneur should be constantly finding ways to make sure your time is spent on only the highest valued tasks for your business.

 

If you have questions for Dan and Eric or you are ready to learn more about the Wholesale Business Model, make sure to register for our free webinar, right here.

Thanks again guys for giving us this opportunity to see inside of your business.  I love sharing new business strategies with our readers!   It is so cool how you have built such a strong business using the wholesale business model.

3 New Year Business Resolutions That You Should Consider Doing Too

By Dean Sotto

Well, I'm sure that you already have a whole list of goals that you've set for this year, but after reading this you may want to consider adding more. Whether you are in business now, or will be in the future, I know that these 3 resolutions will help you to make more money and grow as a person if you choose to put them into action.

1. I will never do anything for free this year (Church/Charity Excluded)

I'm a nice guy - but we honestly do finish last.  Here's what I've got for being a nice guy and for doing things for free:

• A previous client that I almost had to take to court because I did work for them for 2 months without pay.
• A past customer that is #1 for most keywords that they've been targeting, yet cancelled service because they were scared to expand and didn't trust me to help them grow their business.
• The same client neglected to give me referrals when I asked once in the middle of a successful marketing campaign and at the end of service.
• A friend and client that doesn't understand why I won't build a website for him for under $100.
• and a many similar situations...

Here's the truth, people will trust you, respect you, and value you more as entrepreneur when you charge them what you or your services are worth.  You don't tell your boss at your full-time job that you'll do some work for him for free because you are friends do you?  Why would you do the same thing in your business?

Of course, you can give things away for free in order to get testimonials or to generate buzz, etc.  But to give your services away in the name of friendship or because you are a nice guy is a sure way to kill your business and your reputation.

2. I will make at least 20 calls/emails per week to prospects

Sales will cure the majority of your business problems.  I am lazy.  I hate making sales call...  but who doesn't?  I am pretty sure that nobody wants to be told no 20 times every week.  But, until you've built enough gravity toward your brand it's what you need to do.

I resolve to make at least 20 sales calls or to at least send out emails.  On average, you should get about 2 meetings for every 20 touches that you make with prospects.  If you sign up for my newsletter, after a couple of weeks you'll see how I find targeted prospects.

3. I will write 1 -3 blog posts per week on my blog

First off, blogging is useless if you don't have a goal with it.  My goal is to sell my products, build gravity toward my brand, and to make some extra money through some of the affiliate programs that I use.

Products

If you don't have a product this year, make one.  Even if it's just an audio product of someone asking you questions about a particular topic, package it and sell it using something like E-Junkie.  Even if you only sell 1 a month, that's $9.99 - $99.99 that you didn't have before.  Plus, you'll be teaching someone how to do something in an hour what would have taken them many hours or days to learn.

Gravity toward your brand

What I love about blogging and about podcasting is that it is a great way to reach out to people without having to do much work.  Don't get me wrong, having a blog takes persistence and requires a bit of expertise (I cringe when I see people starting out with blogger or WordPress.com blogs), but it's nothing compared to making cold calls.

Think about it, when someone comes to your site the only expert is you.  Of course, if you are a good blogger you'll link to other people as well (you'll see me link to folks like Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income, Paul Tran - sales genius and franchiser, Ted Nguyen - PR guru, and Neal Schaffer - Social Media Expert and consultant).  When people see that you have amazing content and that you can teach them something of value, you will be seen as an expert.  If your content is remarkable enough, it will lead to opportunities that come to you.

Affiliate sales

If you have services that you've used in the past, by recommending them to other people you will be saving them a lot of time and money.  I don't know about you, but I'd hate to waste money on a service that didn't solve a problem that I was facing.  Even if you make a little money off of your resources you'll be doing your audience a huge favor in recommending the best product out there.

Recommending products that you've used or that you know is of high value is also a great way to earn some side income.  In fact, (no lie) I made $100 today from affiliate sales ($60  from a niche site that I've had and I'll be talking about in my Profitable Niche Adventure Series, and $40 from a sale from an affiliate on this site).

This is the year for business

We are in recovery mode, so this is your chance to make things happen.  Don't be a faux Mr. Nice Guy.  Don't use your talents for free (unless it's for church or charity).  Now's your chance to get out there, talk to people, make sales, and build gravity toward your brand.

(SOURCE)

Online Arbitrage Selling At Christmas (Amazon FBA)

- Get behind-the-scenes access to this $400k a year Amazon business!

Fulfillment by Amazon FBA Seller Success - Kelly Lester of EasyLunchboxes

- Watch Kelly Lester's rise to success with FBA!

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)

Amazon FBA Recipe for Success!

- Share your thoughts on this video by leaving a comment below!

Step By Step Training Using Jungle Scout Web Application To Find Amazon ...

- Looking for some products to sell? Here's a guide on how to find them!

Top 10 Must Have Tools For Amazon FBA Sellers

by The Selling Family

When it comes to running a business of any kind, there are always tools that can make running that business much easier.  Having an Amazon FBA business is no different. 

When you first get started, I recommend sticking with the very basics to keep costs low.  But as your business becomes profitable, I would start adding in new tools to increase your productivity.

Below is a list of our top tools that we can’t run our business without now.  

Services For Your Amazon Business

Inventory Lab

Inventory Lab is the service that we use for listing products on Amazon.  We like to use them to list because we are able to print our labels individually at the time of adding each item to our inventory.  Rather than waiting until the end of the shipment and printing them out on Avery Labels.

Another benefit of using Inventory Lab is we can keep track of our profitability for each SKU that we send to Amazon.  It’s not a full-on accounting/bookkeeping system.  So, we don’t use it for taxes, just to see how profitable we are as items sell.  

We use 3 tools total for all the “money” stuff in the business, and you can see all of the differences here.

The cost for Inventory Lab is currently $49 a month.

Scoutify

Scoutify is the scanning app that comes with an Inventory Lab subscription.  The reason that we use this as our main scanning tool when doing in-store sourcing is because there are a lot of great integrations built right in.  

For example, we can easily check the camel camel camel history, or the Keepa history of the items that we are scanning.

This app is very easy to navigate when you first install it.

The cost is free for Inventory Lab subscribers (so $49 a month)

Shipping Supplies / Tools

Better Pack 333 Tape Dispenser

The Better Pack Tape Dispenser has made a huge difference when it comes to packing our shipments.  This may seem like a weird thing to be excited over.  But when we use regular packing tape, we usually do 3 pieces of tape across the top seam and the bottom seam.  Just to make sure it stays close.

With this paper tape, we are able to just use 1 piece of tape across the top and bottom seam.  Then we are comfortable with knowing that it will stay closed. 

This is the type of tape that very large companies use.  It’s similar to that black tape that Amazon uses that says “Amazon” across it.  

You can set the dial to the length of tape that you need, and when you pull the lever it will automatically cut that size tape for you.  So just pull the lever, grab the tape and seal the box.  That easy!

The cost is around $400 for the machine and then about $20 for the rolls of tape (they are very large).

Dymo Label Printer

The Dymo Label printer can be used in conjunction with a 3rd party listing service (such as Inventory Lab) so that you can print labels our one at a time, as you add them to a shipment.  

Aside from just printing the Amazon FNSKU labels (the one’s that tell Amazon the product is yours, that you put on the UPC code during the shipping process).  You can also use the Dymo to print out your own “this is a set” stickers, suffocation warnings or even custom expiration date labels.  You do these from within the actual Dymo software.

This one printer prints out 1,000’s of labels for us every month, and has run great for over 5 years!  We’ve never had to replace it or had any problems with it.

The cost is around $100 for the LabelWriter 450 Turbo.  

Scotty Peelers

Scotty Peelers are one of those tools that seem pretty insignificant, but are oh-so-helpful! 

If you sell a lot of products that have price stickers on them, then these are a must have tool for sure.  You use the Scotty Peeler to get underneath the label, and then peel it off of the box.  Almost all of our clearance purchases, Big Lots purchases and Liquidation purchases have price stickers.  That means we are peeling LOTS of stickers!

I personally prefer the metal version.  But be careful because I can guarantee that at some point, you WILL get a Scotty Peeler cut, and it will NOT be fun.  It’s like a “right of passage” amongst sellers.

The cost is less than $10 for a set.

Self Sealing Poly Bags

Self sealing poly bags are a staple for anyone who does multi-packs or bundles on Amazon.  

We used to use shrink wrap film, or open ended poly bags and a sealer.  But these self sealing bags save us SO much time.  We just add the product to the bag, pull the strip and fold over to close.

This has cut down on time spent closing bags significantly.  There are days when we have 50+ packs to get ready.  

Also, any products where there is a part exposed needs to be covered.  So we get these in very large sizes that work for big toys and things like backpacks.  Gotta protect those things in the Amazon warehouse!

The sizes that we keep in stock are: 8×10, 9×12, 11×14 & 14×20.

The cost for a starter pack of 100 is about $25.  This will give you multiple sizes to see which ones you prefer the most.

USB Barcode Scanner

Having a USB scanner on hand for entering the items in your shipment is really helpful.  You plug the scanner into the computer, and then when you scan a barcode it acts like a keyboard.  It will enter the UPC code into the field that you have the cursor in.  It presses “enter” too, so it will move on to the next screen.

This works whether you are using a 3rd party listing service, or listing directly through Amazon.  

This is an item I recommend getting in the beginning of your business.  The cost is low and it definitely saves a lot of time!  I know that entering UPC codes doesn’t seem like a lot.  But when you are entering a lot of items at once, it can really save a significant amount of time.

The cost is around $20

Browser Extensions / Plugins

Ebates

 Using a cash back service like Ebates is a must in my book.  We are already spending so much money when purchasing inventory online, why not get some cash back at the same time?

You can see my full review of Ebates here.  

I use the Ebates browser bar / button so that I can instantly be reminded when I am making an online purchase and need to activate the cash back.  We have earned over $4,000 in cash back from Ebates.  

The cost for Ebates is nothing!  It’s FREE

Cleer Platinum

Cleer Platinum is an add on to the Chrome browser that makes comparing products super simple.  This tool adds buttons onto the pages of many major retailers so that you can easily click to pull that item up on places like Amazon / eBay.  

When you find an item on say Walmart that you want to see if it is selling on Amazon, you just click the Amazon button and it will bring up the search page on Amazon with the product already entered.  

Then, when you are on Amazon, you can easily click to search other sites.  So you can click to compare to Ebay, or check price history in Keepa or Camel Camel Camel.  

This also comes with another tool as a bonus that will show if Amazon is selling and the rank/category…Right from the search page on Amazon.  So you can quickly see which products meet your criteria, or which search result you should dig into further.

The cost is normally around $97 (one time fee).

How Many Extension

The How Many Extension is another chrome tool that makes online sourcing easier.  What this tool does is shows you how much stock the current sellers have on the product you are researching. 

Say you are trying to decide if you should pull the trigger on 50 of a game.  But there is one seller who is really low priced.  Now you can quickly see how many that seller has in stock and make an educated buying decision based on that information.  

This basically replaces the step of adding 999 to your cart to see a sellers quantity   And you can see all of the sellers quantities at once.  

The cost on this one is $8.95 monthly.

---

We are currently looking at quite a few new tools and services.  Things are always changing in the Amazon space, so we want to make sure we keep you up to date on the best and most efficient ways to run your business.

Fill us in on your favorite tools in the comments below 

(SOURCE)

- What are your favorite tools that help out with your Amazon business?

Amazon/E-Commerce Sellers: Here’s 3 Product Research & Selection Tactics (Working Right Now)

By Will Mitchell

Are you frustrated with product research & selection?

Do you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, making no progress towards building the business of your dreams?

You’re not alone. The #1 thing I see new Amazon sellers getting stuck on is product research & selection.

But when I speak with successful e-commerce entrepreneurs, finding new products to sell tends to be the least stressful part of their business.

Why is there such a HUGE disconnect?

How can new sellers be so overwhelmed with something experienced sellers barely think about?

It’s because new sellers are using outdated strategies.

E-commerce is currently the fastest growing business model in the world. In fact, it’s one of the fastest growing business model ever. 

With rapid growth, comes rapid change. And here’s where new sellers have a big disadvantage…

When I figure out a new strategy in my e-commerce business, here’s what I do (in order) –

• Implement it across my main e-commerce company
• Help my high-end clients implement it for themselves
• Help my other clients implement it
• Write about it on my blog / make some YouTube videos

New sellers typically learn how to launch & grow their businesses from blogs (like this one), YouTube (like our channel), etc.

That usually works out just fine – except when you’re talking about the fastest growing business model ever.

You see, Amazon & E-Commerce are growing mind-numbingly fast. Strategies that are working today will be stale by Christmas.

By the time I (or other like me) write about the strategies that are working for us, they’re already outdated.

And that’s why you’re so frustrated – you’re using strategies that used to work, but simply don’t any more.

How Can You Break Free?

If you want to break free, you need to use a magnet.

Experienced sellers don’t need to spend hours and hours on product research & selection – we use strategies that attract the best ideas to us.

What are those strategies, you ask? No worries – I’ve got you covered 

Over the past 3-years, we’ve worked with over 5,000 clients to successfully launch new e-commerce brands from scratch. I’ve probably seen every product research & selection strategy known to mankind…

Some of those strategies are solid and timeless, like surveying your target customer for pain points. Most strategies, however, are purely a waste of time (such as scanning Amazon’s Best Seller Lists).

Up until now, the only way to know what works (and what’s a waste of time), has been searching through an endless sea of blog posts, podcasts, and more. And it simply takes way too much time.

Since our team has been prepping to open enrollment to a new round of clients (in about 2-weeks), we’ve been digging into the data and checking what’s working vs. not working for our clients.

What we found, was pretty surprising…

Out of all the hundreds of strategies out there, there’s just 3 main product research & selection tactics working right now. I wrote a detailed breakdown of each strategy, showing you exactly what it is, how it works, and how you can put it to good use.

Click here to download your copy now. 

I’ll also be sitting down later tonight and recording videos to explain each strategy more in-depth.

This e-book will only be available for the next couple weeks, so be sure to grab your copy now (even if you’re saving it for later).

Once we open up enrollment and take on a new round of clients – we’ll be taking this down and keeping this private.

Hope this ebook can help fuel some breakthroughs for you and your business!

P.S. – What’s the worst product research & selection tactic you’ve ever heard of? Share in the comments below.

I’ll pick my favorite comments and give you an all-expenses-paid scholarship to our premium coaching community for e-commerce entrepreneurs (worth $3k).

Just download the ebook & leave a comment for your chance to win.

(SOURCE)