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Starting my first E-commerce venture.

Strm

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My new order arrived in the end of June and the products were on sale on the 1st of July.

Yesterday I finally crushed the 500€ mark (total sales revenue was 542€). Sales from the first 5 days of July are pretty much the same as whole June combined. But I was chilling for the most part last month too and taking time off :D So we have to wait and see where we are at the end of the month.

As I am slowly generating money to my business account and I have a basement full of units to sell, I've been thinking how to make this thing better in the long run. One option is to move one part of the manufacturing to Estonia. I already contacted my supplier to see what they think and if they can help me. We would still work together and it would be beneficial for the both of us. Could be huge for me if my vision would come to life. The downside is that I would have to work a lot more and I would also need a bigger place for the production. I'd be fine with both of these and it's always possible to hire someone to manage the production later. This would add some extra value to my company too. I hope to get an answer next week.

So I'm going to work hard in the next coming weeks to get some sales - hoping to have more than 10K on my business account in the end of July!
 
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Strm

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July is almost over and my sales revenue so far is over 10K! Amazing month and finally I have some cash sitting on my business account - almost 11K, for the first time in my life. Finally it's going in the right direction. I am still working for almost nothing, I have some customers paying cash though and I am saving all of it. My goal is to finish the year with 25K on business account, so I am comfortable to pay myself a small salary next year. I am very cautious when it comes to spending. :)

I will make the 3rd order for the factory this week. It is going step by step and it has been mentally a bit challenging (especially because I don't have any income, there is always this doubt). But it will be worth it, I am sure.

In august I am planning to do something different - I will give 2-3€ from each sale to Estonian Union for the Protection of Animals. They have had a busy summer and they are helping a lot of animals, so I'd like to help a bit. Of course it will do good for me too in the long run. What goes around, comes around.
 

Strm

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Wow, August just flew by. And I've been lazy here. Sorry about that!

So last month was a charity month for me and we raised some money for animals. Because I did not earn a profit last year with my company, I couldn't pay the charity with my company money - it would have been taxed hard, for some reason. So I paid with my personal funds.

I also made another order for new products. They should arrive in the end of september, hopefully.

To be honest, I've been struggling a bit mentally. When the days are not so busy, it's a bit boring and I feel like I'm not doing enough. Then I'm thinking about scaleing or starting something else on the side, but on the other hand, I need to save some money on my company account so I can pay a low salary for myself. If my next order arrives and things will be as good as they were in July, I think I am able to do it at the beginning of next year. My goal was to have at least 25K on business account before paying myself a salary. I also need a warehouse when I make another, bigger order. It's not easy to find a good one in this small town. I'm over thinking a bit and maybe I'm too comfortable now because right now I can manage the business from home or in my basement. And that will change with expanding. A lot more driving around, less free time etc. And I am still having doubts about international e-store because that means more spending and OMG what if it all goes to shit and I have to go back to work. :rofl: So yeah, it's hard sometimes mentally. I worry about money because I don't have income yet.

But I have to be grateful because I can enjoy freedom! I tend to forget it sometimes. :(
 
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Strm

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The same night when I wrote my last post, I realised that it is mostly an "upper limit problem" (ULP). If you're not familiar with the concept, it's from a book called "The Big Leap" by Gay Hendricks. I read it a couple of months ago. When things are going great and we are out of our comfort zones, we sometimes tend to self-sabotage ourselves. That is the ULP, in short. We all have these moments sometimes, I think. Especially rookies like me :D

When you realise that your ULP has kicked in, you can tackle it. I took a step back and I see that I don't need to worry so much. I also know now what I have to do to grow my business and become more secure financially. I've been feeling much better since. Time to put my big boy pants on.
 
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Incredible journey so far my friend. Really hope everything goes well!
Sorry if I missed but, your supplier is from China or Estonia?
 

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The same night when I wrote my last post, I realised that it is mostly an "upper limit problem" (ULP). If you're not familiar with the concept, it's from a book called "The Big Leap" by Gay Hendricks. I read it a couple of months ago. When things are going great and we are out of our comfort zones, we sometimes tend to self-sabotage ourselves. That is the ULP, in short. We all have these moments sometimes, I think. Especially rookies like me :D

When you realise that your ULP has kicked in, you can tackle it. I took a step back and I see that I don't need to worry so much. I also know now what I have to do to grow my business and become more secure financially. I've been feeling much better since. Time to put my big boy pants on.

Congratulation on your success so far, keep working hard & putting the customer first and I'm sure you'll reach all of your goals.

Kudos for dealing with the "upper limit problem" and all the other mental stuff that sometimes gets in the way.

What happened with the IG micro influencer did you track the results you got from giving her a freebie to promote to her followers?
 

Strm

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Congratulation on your success so far, keep working hard & putting the customer first and I'm sure you'll reach all of your goals.

Kudos for dealing with the "upper limit problem" and all the other mental stuff that sometimes gets in the way.

What happened with the IG micro influencer did you track the results you got from giving her a freebie to promote to her followers?

Thanks a lot, @100k ! I appreciate your kind words. I try to listen to the customers as much as possible and always want to give out more than they expect. It seems that I'm on the right track. No matter what, I'm gaining a lot of experience and self confidence.

The mental stuff is hard for everybody but the real problem is when it gets in the way of taking the next big steps. I saw that it was starting to happen to me. Not anymore though. The end of the year and Christmas are always huge in ecom, so I MUST be ready for this.

Yeah, she did help me and I got some sales and new followers as well. When my next order arrives, I will definitely work with her again and maybe some others too! No point to rely only on social media ads when I can use other methods as well.
 
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FBA-N-SEO

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I'm loving the thread and wish you the best. It seems like your head / thoughts are in the right place.

It's exciting to follow
 

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A bit more than half a year ago I came up with a simple product idea and have been working on it since. I got some samples about 4 months ago and they were quite popular, sold them pretty fast, so I decided to invest in it a bit and go for it. Last wednesday I got my bulk order here in Estonia and the same evening got the first sales as well. I'm happy that I sticked to it for all this time, not really knowing where it will lead me. I took a break from my construction job abroad (was so fed up with it too) and now I am finally back home and can work on my own project. Luckily my boss is a good friend so I will probably have work when I need it. This thread is long overdue but I didn't want to make it before something real was going on. My last execution thread died too quickly :)

From wednesday to sunday I sold 18 units, that's around 620€ in revenue (not profit). When I calculate all the expenses, including ad cost, the net profit per unit should be around 25€. I need to sell around 90-100 units to cover my first investment. I'm ignoring the crisis and I know that people have money just like they always do. My product is not an essential but still seem to press on some emotions and people are buying. Also I have found out that I am pretty good in customer service so that helps. When I got reviews for my last business, people always said how nice it was to communicate with me. I'm keeping it up this time too - no need to be an a**hole!

I'm taking orders only on FB right now, sending invoices manually, packing, shipping and doing all this stuff, so the next goal is to get a website up and running to automate it a bit. I will probably use Shopify. It's a bit scary but I know it will be next level for me! I also need to learn more about Instagram and other platforms to use.
I think I will have enough money in May to make a second order and slowly start to sell in Europe (maybe I will use my personal funds to make the process go faster) because the local market is pretty small. There's only 1.3 millions of us Estonians. But I see some potential in it. I was hoping for maybe around 30 sales per first month, but I think I will get there on wednesday - after just one week. To be honest, that's huge for me!

I have some personal savings for maybe about a year or so. So I have time to work on this and hopefully grow this business. But sales are so addictive and it's a bit challenging mentally, real emotional rollercoaster. Even now when there's some proof that people like my stuff, I still find myself doubting. :) I guess that's the part of it. No problem. I can handle it. I'm enjoying it actually.

So I'm writing this thread to keep you guys posted. Maybe weekly updates on sales numbers and also when I have something big to share. Thanks for all of you inspiring people who are here in the forum giving advice and helping so often. I hope this thread can inspire someone in the future as well.
Congratulations!

How are the payment gateways in shopify now? Last time I used Shopify It was a serious headache for me to get CC payments in shopify since I live in Estonia too.

But nevertheless, keep going!
 

Strm

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Congratulations!

How are the payment gateways in shopify now? Last time I used Shopify It was a serious headache for me to get CC payments in shopify since I live in Estonia too.

But nevertheless, keep going!

Thanks! Still a long way to go but that's a start.

Sorry, forgot to mention earlier, I didn't go with Shopify as I focus on the local market for now and there are better options, Voog for example. Once I start selling abroad, I need to upgrade though. I think I will start working on it after Christmas.
 
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Strm

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I'm loving the thread and wish you the best. It seems like your head / thoughts are in the right place.

It's exciting to follow

Thank you, @FBA-N-SEO !

Sometimes they are but sometimes they're not in the right place! :rofl: But thats entrepreneurship, right!?
 

Santi M

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Man what a thread!

Please keep pushing with this, looks very very good. Your posts are so inspiring.

Congratulations.
 

Strm

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Man what a thread!

Please keep pushing with this, looks very very good. Your posts are so inspiring.

Congratulations.

Thank you, @Santi M !

I will! I know I've been playing it a bit safe due to the financial situation but it gets better each month so hopefully I have more to share in the future as well!
 
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Strm

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I crossed 25K mark this week, from the end of april to now. This is through website only. Total sales revenue is higher, probably around 30K .

Bold predictment for this year is 50K, with profit more than 50%. I think I have to pay VAT as well before the end of the year so another new experience and this will eat away some of my profits. Theres always an option to make another company and not pay VAT. I'll work it out, but exciting times ahead!
 

Strm

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Incredible journey so far my friend. Really hope everything goes well!
Sorry if I missed but, your supplier is from China or Estonia?

Hey, thanks and sorry for the delay!

Currently I am working with a foreign supplier.
 

Strm

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According to my forwarder, the cargo should arrive in the first week of October. This is order nr 3, around 950 units. I want to make another smaller one (around 500 units) ASAP so I get them before December. Hopefully I'll get it done this week. These two orders combined is around 6500€ investment which is pretty big for me. :D But there's no other way. Ideally I will sell at least 1000pcs during Oct-Dec. But to be honest, I have no clue how the winter will go. But I will find out!
 
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Santi M

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According to my forwarder, the cargo should arrive in the first week of October

Great! You're probably impatient :clench: How is your stock? Are you sold out or just stopped some advertising and trying to sell it slowly until the next units arrive?

I have no clue how the winter will go. But I will find out!

Is your product seasonal?


Thanks for your time, keep pushing!
 

Strm

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Great! You're probably impatient :clench: How is your stock? Are you sold out or just stopped some advertising and trying to sell it slowly until the next units arrive?

A little bit, yes :happy: But I try to take it easy and enjoy my time. Yeah, I'm not advertising as much as usually so I don't run out entirely. So I get some sales daily but nothing crazy. I hope to beat my best month (July) in October though.

It's not seasonal but the factory said that august-april is busier months and summer not so much. But I guess that's normal in ecom, because of the holidays, warm weather, people hanging out more and buying less etc. Unless you sell some summer products.
 

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We agreed another smaller order with the factory this week and it's already paid too. Should arrive in November. It will be a very busy end of the year.

Next week I'll check out some warehouses and hopefully I will find a suitable one for my business to rent. Expected expense is 100-150€ monthly.

My store has been up and running for 5 months. But the first thoughts about starting this came to my mind about a year ago. On and on I go, one day at a time.
 
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Strm

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Met with a guy who owns miniwarehouses and found myself one! Its pretty small but right now it's enough and there are bigger ones in the building and I can move if I need to. So sadly no more work from my basement :arghh::rofl: It was so nice and easy and comfy. But I need to think bigger and take risks so that is the only option. No problem!

Hopefully my order arrives next week so I can move right in.
 

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Hi, once again greath thread! How does your supply chain looks like and how did you came up with the idea of the product?
 

Strm

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Hi, once again greath thread! How does your supply chain looks like and how did you came up with the idea of the product?

Hi, over-the-sea-neighbor @LArsv ! :D

To be honest, I don't remember exactly how I came up with an idea. If I had to start again with a new product I'd probably concentrate on uniqueness and giving potential buyers better emotions than most products, no matter the niche.

I order products from the factory and another Estonian company handles the transport and customs. I pack and label them in my warehouse (or basement) once the customer has made the order through my website. Then I ship them to pick-up points all over the country.
 
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Haha it's true just over the sea neighbors :)

Thanks for the answer by the way, how advanced would you advise one to go in product development and do you have anything to recommend to find manufacturers/suppliers?
 

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Thanks for the answer by the way, how advanced would you advise one to go in product development and do you have anything to recommend to find manufacturers/suppliers?

I really can't tell, it mostly depends on your idea and budget. I went the old China and Alibaba way. There are a lot of them and you have to take your time to find the best for you. But I plan to buy @Walter Hay 's books on importing and finding manufacturers. I think he doesn't recommend China so much and there are other options.
 

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I really can't tell, it mostly depends on your idea and budget. I went the old China and Alibaba way. There are a lot of them and you have to take your time to find the best for you. But I plan to buy @Walter Hay 's books on importing and finding manufacturers. I think he doesn't recommend China so much and there are other options.
If you are not dealing direct with the real manufacturer you will always be paying more than you should.

Yes I do strongly recommend sourcing from countries other than China, and my book will give you instructions on how to navigate some of the sourcing sites in 39 other countries, most of which are not as easy to use as Alibaba.

One big advantage is finding unique products, as you have said you want to do.

Walter
 
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Strm

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New products are now in Estonia and yesterday I paid the shipping costs and taxes. I will get my hands on them tomorrow. Another shipment should arrive in November.

Today I got the keys to my mini-warehouse so that is off the list now. Things are moving.
 

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Congrats!
I have a question about the early stage when you were getting samples..was there any fear of someone that makes those samples steals your idea? Have you (and when) made a copyright or something?
 

Strm

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I have a question about the early stage when you were getting samples..was there any fear of someone that makes those samples steals your idea? Have you (and when) made a copyright or something?

No, not really. When I started with the samples, I had no idea how's it going to go and neither did the factory. Starting out is scary enough - no point to put extra pressure on yourself with fears like that. :D
Haven't made a copyright or patents etc yet.
 
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Strm

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OFF-TOPIC

Sometimes you have to do something different. Today was first time for me to run a half-marathon. I didn’t prepare at all and I haven’t run much this year, but it was my goal and I just did it. It was very hard but nice to get my mind off of business and concentrate on something else. My legs are killing me now :D
 

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Awesome thread, really inspiring!!

Did you grab an already existing product and made it better or was did you start something from the ground?
I really like your approach to finding products that trigger people's emotions, never thought about it that way.

I'll keep following this thread! :)
 

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