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22 year old in college with a million dollar business. Ask me anything!

Jmadd95OE

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Hey everyone,

Happy to join this amazing forum. I wanted to introduce myself by answering any of your Amazon FBA/Vendor, Facebook Ads, Instagram, or Ecommerce Questions.

Introduction:

I'm a 22 year old about to graduate from College with a million dollar business. I spend about 60 hours/ week working on my business, along with getting my degree. I do about 50k on Amazon FBA, and I also sell wholesale to other amazon companies, and Amazon itself (1P seller). I'll provide proof so you know I'm not Bsing you guys! The product that I sell is something that my Dad has created and I do all the marketing for it. We are currently going into Retail Stores now to with it. In about 400 currently.

My experience:

-Amazon FBA (Approaching 1 Million, on one revenue stream alone)
-Instagram (Over 20k Followers)
-Facebook Ads (spent 100k on advertising)
-Shopify
-Retail Stores and Distribution

Why I'm Here:
I'm here to network and to learn from other entrepreneurs, marketers, and ecommerce experts. I'll help you and you'll help me.

Ask me anything you want! I'll give you my advice... Shoot!!
 
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_Kaiser_

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Hey welcome to the forum! What made you stick to your degree while running a business at the same time? Very impressive at what you achieved at a young age.
 

KSR

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Welcome to the forum. You should read 'The Millionaire Fastlane ' - it goes into specifics about how to separate time from money and other great life aspects.

Great to have you here -- can never have enough knowledge floating about.

How long has your business been running?
Was the business already quite successful before you started running the Marketing or did you and your Dad start this with you?

Once again, welcome.
 

James Fake

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Very nice and welcome to the forum.. and very impressive!!

My question is: Why are you still in college? lol... I have a business degree and even though I had the time of my life during those "freedom and responsibility free" years, I would have dropped out in a heartbeat if I could go back in time.
 
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Sanj Modha

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Boom!

Congratulations - I'm getting into FBA so what's the best way to ranked quickly? I uploaded a new product but it doesn't have a BSR yet and I've ran PPC ads to it too. I've also heard of people running external traffic like FB to a lander first.

Like you I run a lot of FB traffic to my Shopify stores.

What are your thought on this? Thanks.
 

hatzil

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Welcome to the forum and good luck mate :)
1. Do you feel learning in college sometimes got you out of focus working on your e-commerce? I want to open an e-commerce business but at the same time study additive manufacturing or work in real-estate.
2.Do you think that focusing on one product is what allowed you to market it so well?
3.About the creation of the product: do your dad is an inventor or he had an idea and execute it?

- I do not own an e-commerce yet, but I do have few good books to give you about growth hacking & more. I am available on skype: hatzil47
 
Last edited:

Jmadd95OE

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Hey welcome to the forum! What made you stick to your degree while running a business at the same time? Very impressive at what you achieved at a young age.

My Dad. He wanted me to stay and get my degree. He said it will be useful at one point for adding credibility!
 
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Jmadd95OE

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Welcome to the forum. You should read 'The Millionaire Fastlane ' - it goes into specifics about how to separate time from money and other great life aspects.

Great to have you here -- can never have enough knowledge floating about.

How long has your business been running?
Was the business already quite successful before you started running the Marketing or did you and your Dad start this with you?

Once again, welcome.

The business started two years ago.

No it was getting 0 Sales a day, and through listening to scott voelkers podcasts on FBA and doing a lot of research I was able to start getting sales with the product! My Dad and I started it together.
 

Jmadd95OE

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Very nice and welcome to the forum.. and very impressive!!

My question is: Why are you still in college? lol... I have a business degree and even though I had the time of my life during those "freedom and responsibility free" years, I would have dropped out in a heartbeat if I could go back in time.

I know I wanted to do the same. Parents wanted me to stay. Anyways it builds character having to do both school and work!
 

JAJT

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No it was getting 0 Sales a day, and through listening to scott voelkers podcasts on FBA and doing a lot of research I was able to start getting sales with the product! My Dad and I started it together.

I love that no only did you take a podcast that tens of thousands of other people have listened to and done nothing with (or failed at), you not only took action and applied the knowledge but you did it with the support and buy-in from your family.

AND you got through formal education at the same time (that must have been rough!). You'll go far with that kind of work ethic!

That's awesome. Welcome to the forum!
 
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KSR

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The business started two years ago.

No it was getting 0 Sales a day, and through listening to scott voelkers podcasts on FBA and doing a lot of research I was able to start getting sales with the product! My Dad and I started it together.

Thanks for the podcast! I'm giving Ep. 1 a listen now :D
 

G-Man

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What process did you find to be most effective for getting into retail stores?

Cold contacts? Leveraging existing relationships? Distributor/showrooms? Tradeshows?

x2
 
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Jmadd95OE

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Boom!

Congratulations - I'm getting into FBA so what's the best way to ranked quickly? I uploaded a new product but it doesn't have a BSR yet and I've ran PPC ads to it too. I've also heard of people running external traffic like FB to a lander first.

Like you I run a lot of FB traffic to my Shopify stores.

What are your thought on this? Thanks.

Best way to get ranked is a giveaway. Make sure you don't ask for reviews. There are Facebook Groups and a bunch of services (viral launch, zonblast, etc.) that do this. I personally don't use giveaways anymore because my brand is established, but its the fastest way to get it ranked if you don't want to do the whole organic and ppc thing.

Facebook Ads is a crabshoot. I wasted about 30k before I figured out what works. I would not recommend sending a Facebook ad directly to amazon. The conversion rate will be too low and will negatively affect your ranking. The best way to use Facebook for amazon, is to collect emails, run an email campaign, and then send them to the listing. You have to turn them from a cold lead into a hot lead essentially.

Sending Facebook to Shopify is the best way since you can see how they interact with your website using (Google Analytics, HotJar, etc.). It is also very tough to succeed using Facebook Ads to shopify too. You have to do a lot of A/B Testing and figure out your targeting group. I have seen a lot of people spend thousands of dollars on Facebook without any sales.

My Facebook Ads Method is:

5 Dollars a Day for 5 Days= 25 Dollars spent on one Ad
Low CTR (Under 1%)= Change Ad Copy or Picture (Pictures are a very important part of Facebook Ads)
No Conversions=( Change Landing Page)- Look at HotJar/Crazyegg or Heatmap to see where people are leaving

I recommend doing Facebook ads as well. CPC is much cheaper and high interaction!

For Targeting using Audience Insights. I can go more into this if you like

Hope that Helps!
 

Jmadd95OE

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Welcome to the forum and good luck mate :)
1. Do you feel learning in college sometimes got you out of focus working on your e-commerce? I want to open an e-commerce business but at the same time study additive manufacturing or work in real-estate.
2.Do you think that focusing on one product is what allowed you to market it so well?
3.About the creation of the product: do your dad is an inventor or he had an idea and execute it?

- I do not own an e-commerce yet, but I do have few good books to give you about growth hacking & more. I am available on skype: hatzil47

1. Yes it does get me out of focus, but it forced me to be more organized and more disciplined. I am sure 10 years ago when I look back on it, it would have been worth it because of the habits I had to develop in order to make the business succeed. If you have 20 hrs/ week open it is worth it to open the business. You have to be prepared to grind it out and have a lot of late nights.

2. Yes focusing on one product was very important to my success. I am getting a Bachelors of Science, so I had no experience in marketing whatsoever. Focusing on one product enabled me to spend enough time on it until I could figure out what actually works.

3. Dad had an idea and executed on it. He had experience in the field, but not in creating products.
 

Jmadd95OE

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What process did you find to be most effective for getting into retail stores?

Cold contacts? Leveraging existing relationships? Distributor/showrooms? Tradeshows?

Trade Shows!!!!
Cold contacts didn't work. Had no relationships in the field before. You meet all the distributors and brokers at the trade shows. You get their information, send them product samples, and you follow up with them. It was about a 6months-1 year process of getting the first one signed. Then once one jumps in, the rest will!

^^That is how it is in my field. It could be different in yours. But to my knowledge this is the most efficient process.
 
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AnAverageJoe

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Welcome to the forum! I'm getting started in FBA right now. What do you know now that you wish you knee starting out? Are you getting your product manufactured overseas?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 

Jmadd95OE

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Best way to get ranked is a giveaway. Make sure you don't ask for reviews. There are Facebook Groups and a bunch of services (viral launch, zonblast, etc.) that do this. I personally don't use giveaways anymore because my brand is established, but its the fastest way to get it ranked if you don't want to do the whole organic and ppc thing.

Facebook Ads is a crabshoot. I wasted about 30k before I figured out what works. I would not recommend sending a Facebook ad directly to amazon. The conversion rate will be too low and will negatively affect your ranking. The best way to use Facebook for amazon, is to collect emails, run an email campaign, and then send them to the listing. You have to turn them from a cold lead into a hot lead essentially.

Sending Facebook to Shopify is the best way since you can see how they interact with your website using (Google Analytics, HotJar, etc.). It is also very tough to succeed using Facebook Ads to shopify too. You have to do a lot of A/B Testing and figure out your targeting group. I have seen a lot of people spend thousands of dollars on Facebook without any sales.

My Facebook Ads Method is:

5 Dollars a Day for 5 Days= 25 Dollars spent on one Ad
Low CTR (Under 1%)= Change Ad Copy or Picture (Pictures are a very important part of Facebook Ads)
No Conversions=( Change Landing Page)- Look at HotJar/Crazyegg or Heatmap to see where people are leaving

I recommend doing Facebook ads as well. CPC is much cheaper and high interaction!

For Targeting using Audience Insights. I can go more into this if you like

Hope that Helps!

I meant Facebook Video Ads!
 

Jmadd95OE

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I love that no only did you take a podcast that tens of thousands of other people have listened to and done nothing with (or failed at), you not only took action and applied the knowledge but you did it with the support and buy-in from your family.

AND you got through formal education at the same time (that must have been rough!). You'll go far with that kind of work ethic!

That's awesome. Welcome to the forum!

Appreciate it! Thanks
 
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Jmadd95OE

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Welcome to the forum! I'm getting started in FBA right now. What do you know now that you wish you knee starting out? Are you getting your product manufactured overseas?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

I wish I knew the importance of amazon ppc. I started doing Amazon before the whole ppc craze was in full effect. PPC was the main reason why I was able to succeed in a very tough market.

No we manufacture in US.
 

Sanj Modha

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I wish I knew the importance of amazon ppc. I started doing Amazon before the whole ppc craze was in full effect. PPC was the main reason why I was able to succeed in a very tough market.

No we manufacture in US.

What's your PPC strategy?
 

Guest304

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I'm just curious what you're selling. Looking at your data metrics, the items are right around $20 and you seem to be selling a lot of it. I don't think most folks are interested in the widgets, but more or less focus on how you got where you are. Me on the other hand, I'm interested in what your father created and you have done so well at selling. Strategy is great, but sometimes the product is the key.
 
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Jmadd95OE

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What's your PPC strategy?

This is on the premise that you have good photos, description, bullet points, and back end keywords.

2 Week Auto Campaign at 1.00 Bid
Transfer good Acos keywords into Broad Campaign at 1.50 Bid
Transfer good Acos keywords from Broad into Phrase Campaign 2.00 Bid
Transfer good Acos Keywords from Phrase to Exact Campaign 2.50 Bid

I also have a research campaign where I put keywords that i get from simple keyword inspector tool (great resource), google keyword planner, and scientific seller. I usually do a 2.00 Bid on those.

Bid Adjustment: I only adjust the Bid by 20%. So if it is 2.00 it can go up or down by .40. I do bid adjustments every 3 days.

Acos- I shoot for 60% or less. Most people want under 40%. I am willing to loose money to get sales. PPC is a double edge sword either profit or growth. Depends on the field you are in.

Conversion Rate on PPC- shoot for a conversion rate higher than 7% on your keywords.

Hope that Helps!
 

Jmadd95OE

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I'm just curious what you're selling. Looking at your data metrics, the items are right around $20 and you seem to be selling a lot of it. I don't think most folks are interested in the widgets, but more or less focus on how you got where you are. Me on the other hand, I'm interested in what your father created and you have done so well at selling. Strategy is great, but sometimes the product is the key.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you what product we are selling. All I can tell you is that we are not competing against other Amazon FBAers, we are competing against actual brands in retail. We used Amazon as a platform to establish are brand, the endgame is retail for us.

You can ask more questions and I'll answer what I can.
 

Guest304

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Unfortunately, I can't tell you what product we are selling. All I can tell you is that we are not competing against other Amazon FBAers, we are competing against actual brands in retail. We used Amazon as a platform to establish are brand, the endgame is retail for us.

You can ask more questions and I'll answer what I can.


Hmm,
You're selling it online already, buy you can't say what it is? I'm not trying to get any details on it. Just curious if the industry is something new, niche, innovative, or if your product is simply a better mousetrap.
 
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KeepGoin

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How did your dad go from concept to production? Specifically how did he know the product was perfect before committing to a run and shipping it?

I have Walter's book so I know these steps but I just wanted to hear your take. Thank you for your thread!
 

AnAverageJoe

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I wish I knew the importance of amazon ppc. I started doing Amazon before the whole ppc craze was in full effect. PPC was the main reason why I was able to succeed in a very tough market.

No we manufacture in US.
Is there a particular reason you manufacture in the U.S? I'm talking to manufacturers overseas now but I've always had an interest in getting my product made domestically.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 

Iwokeup

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Hmm,
You're selling it online already, buy you can't say what it is? I'm not trying to get any details on it. Just curious if the industry is something new, niche, innovative, or if your product is simply a better mousetrap.
Dude. It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

The widget or industry DOESN'T MATTER.

The execution and the processes do.

Stop asking these types of questions lest you be labeled as someone trying to steal or reverse engineer the OP's product.
 
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Vigilante

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Hmm,
You're selling it online already, buy you can't say what it is? I'm not trying to get any details on it. Just curious if the industry is something new, niche, innovative, or if your product is simply a better mousetrap.

It's literally none of your business and not relevant to the thread. You are missing the forest because of all of the trees.

He doesn't owe you an answer to satisfy your curiosity. It doesn't matter what the product is.

Focus on process.
 

Guest304

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It's literally none of your business and not relevant to the thread. You are missing the forest because of all of the trees.

He doesn't owe you an answer to satisfy your curiosity. It doesn't matter what the product is.

Focus on process.

I know he doesn't. No need to be rude about it. I don't need to know the process. I get the process. I'm interested in what he's selling. Maybe I want one? It's relatively inexpensive and he sells a lot. Maybe it's unique and cool. Not EVERYthing is about the money.

I know I know. Crazy idea. I'm genuinely interested. It doesn't make sense to me that he's selling it online, but can't talk about it. While it's not my business (literally). He posted it on a public forum. Don't see how it hurts to inquire.
 

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