$126,727 in PROFIT So Far This Month | eCommerce

[FMJJ]

It's the month of August 2020. In this month alone, I made $126,727 in profit so far (before taxes). I'm 21 years old, and I'm honored to say that the content from MJ and this forum has helped me enormously alongside many other valuable sources out there for guidance.

I hope this gives a little bit of inspiration to a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs out there because it wasn't that long ago when I used to be an aspiring entrepreneur myself. Reaching the point I'm at right now was not an easy process to embark on. I had to overcome extremely difficult situations and face my most appalling fears. I'm making this thread with tremendous gratitude in mind for @MJ DeMarco. I remember when I first read the The Millionaire Fastlane a few years ago. I remember how I marked it up and read it over several times. I remember when I first joined the forums and lurked everything. I studied all the GOLD threads. I watched MJ's YouTube videos repetitively. I felt so motivated. I remember how excited it got me to pursue entrepreneurship. Turns out it wasn't an easy pursuit.

As time went by and my motivation faded, I faced some serious mental health complications. I was ridiculed for dropping out of college. I failed at several different business models. I failed at starting brands. I failed to turn a profit over and over again. I was working jobs that were mind numbing and utterly exhausting. I had constant issues with my family. That's a long, terrible story to get into... A few months ago, I suffered going through a devastating breakup with my girlfriend I loved so deeply. This is just a small preview of the adversity you'll face while you pursue the CENTS Entrepreneurial Framework. Everything about entrepreneurship is definitely not all that amazing. You have to focus and stay dedicated despite the stress you may face. However, for me, it was worth embracing the process. I look forward to executing towards my next goals in line to be achieved. I've got a lot in mind for the future. I believe in my vision.

Aside from running a marketing agency, I'm running three eCommerce brands right now. Two of the three brands are massively profitable. The numbers have been rising month by month pretty quickly. This is where the majority of my income is coming from. I've invested in several real estate properties at this point, and obviously I'm developing my portfolio with investments into the market. I'm still working on the third brand to become profitable. I'm managing a lot of different expenses for that brand because it's still relatively new. All expenses considered though, I stated at the beginning of this thread that I'm still in the green.

The hard truth about making your dreams a reality is that you have to put in the effort. You have to believe in yourself. You have to go all out regardless of your circumstances. You have to build yourself mentally and physically. You need to master skills that make you more effective and productive. You have to be creative and innovate. You have to provide VALUE. There's no way you're going to make decent money without figuring out a way to provide great value to your customer. I had to figure that out the hard way. You need to have meaning and purpose in your life. Develop the clarity you need to achieve your most important goals. If it's important enough to you, you'll find a way.

Be courageous.

“All events of wealth are precluded by process, a backstory of trial, risk, hard work, and sacrifice. If you try to skip process, you’ll never experience events.”
- MJ DeMarco

 

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[FMJJ]

I started “brand #1” after I saved a lot of money to leverage. I already failed at launching business after business at this point. I always kept in mind the metaphor MJ uses. Failure is the sweat of success. The most successful are soaking wet. I learned from and studied my failures. The most important lessons are in your failures. I did a lot of reflection there. I was in the medical field working a job at a small business. I climbed the little corporate ladder to get paid well. This was not a walk in the park. I had to make this business a lot more money than what I was being paid for my labor. I had to notably outperform my co-workers. I used to be almost minimum wage when I started there. The managerial position I was eventually put in was certainly not guaranteed. I made connections and carried out a meticulous strategy. I befriended people that I didn’t necessarily look up to. I just wanted to be a positive influence on them. I wanted them to help me while I was at this job. I was getting paid a decent amount of money (relatively speaking), but the job was draining my time and energy.

Before this job in the medical field, I started my marketing agency when I was working for a bakery at minimum wage. This place was a terrible place to work, but we don’t have to get into that. I acquired clients by building funnels and running targeted audiences (paid traffic) to them. I also closed some clients directly. I took clients on monthly retainers. When I first started this, it was nothing serious in terms of income. The service that provides the most value to my clients is managing marketing campaigns on major platforms like Facebook and generating leads. As my experience and skills developed for my marketing agency, I closed clients that were paying enough money to enable quitting the job I was working in the medical field.

This is when I urgently started brand #1. I’ve been doing product research since forever because I’ve been trying to launch profitable stores for quite some time. How I do it? I look for a big need. I look for engagement on social media. I verify engagement. Are the likes legit? Are the comments legit? How does the competition market the product effectively? How much revenue do I think they're bringing in? How can I come up with my own angle to present this product with value? Facebook is the best platform to do this IMO, however, I do product research to this day on all major platforms. When I started brand #1, I was really confident about the product I found. It was currently trending, and I knew how I’d be able to present and market it. I knew that I'd be able to make an attractive website. I did it a different way from the competitors, but I did it better. I was creative with my marketing campaigns. I had a lot of experience with this because I ran plenty of profitable campaigns for my clients. I was used to overdelivering. Based on my experience and my due diligence, I decided to take what seemed like a huge risk at that moment. I had a connection who was able to help me with a warehouse, and I invested in inventory to be sent over from a supplier in China. That’s also a long story, but not really relevant to share. I problem solved on a problem by problem basis. I launched the product on Shopify, and the marketing campaigns were profitable overall from the first month. Most notably on Facebook. I’d like to note that I do not use Shopify anymore. My websites were custom made by a web design group. That was fairly expensive, but worth the expense to be running off my own platform rather than Shopify. I’m thinking long term.

I’d like to point out that this might all sound simple, but it wasn’t. The concept of success is quite simple, but things get complicated. Why do you think Unscripted is such a long book? I accredit a lot of my critical decisions to having clarity in what I was doing. I have several journals with pen and paper as well as on the app, Day One. I journal about emotions (yes I’m human and have to manage emotions), insightful ideas, failure, deadlines, etc... I journal about everything.

Right now I'm in a great place mentally. My physical health is great too. I'm grateful for the journey I took on. I'm appreciative for everything that helped get me to this point. I have to say that the "paranoia" feeling hasn't gone away, and I don't think it ever will. It's just a trait of a great entrepreneur. I'm always thinking of how I can improve. I'm always thinking about how things can go wrong. I'm always thinking about risks and how I should structure things. I like to think this way though. Not at all annoying. I embrace an entrepreneurial lifestyle. I find great meaning living the way I do.

 

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[FMJJ]

Making money through my marketing agency came down to developing valuable skills and the ability to make sales. I was obsessed, and I’m still obsessed about figuring out my own way to benefit my clients/customers. This involves lots of research and critical thinking. I wrote my own scripts. I practiced talking in an exciting way in front of the mirror with my scripts. I studied a lot of sales material and applied it to my process in closing deals with clients. It’s really important to record the Zoom video calls that I have with my prospects because I can see how my demeanor is, and how I can improve for the next call. Obviously, I had to achieve great results for my clients. I made it very clear to them how I’d go about driving towards the desired outcome if they signed on with my agency. I knew what I was doing because I actually developed the skill to produce great results for my clients. I wasn’t selling something that didn’t work. I actually back up what I sell with excellent work.

Building an efficient team was something I made sure to get right. The people you work closely with determines a strong factor for or against your success. This applies to everything. I brought on several effective freelancers into my agency to assist with specific work done for the services I provide. I made sure to develop relations with those who did good work for me. I took the time to determine if freelancers I worked with had genuine character so that I could recruit them into full time positions within my agency. I was eventually able to hire several awesome freelancers from abroad full time to get the most important work of the agency done. With so much of my agency’s work being outsourced, I was able to focus on scaling.

I make sure to work with the best clients out there. I don’t work with clients that can’t afford my services. I don’t work with clients who run poor quality businesses that aren’t scalable. To drive this point home, I developed rapport with one of my most valuable clients in the eCommerce world, and he was eventually the one to hook me up with an affordable warehouse management solution when I started my first profitable eCom brand. Effective product research is extensive. I took a lot of time to find products that fit my strict criteria. I needed to see thousands of people engaging on major platforms, a consistent trend, room for improvement with the product, a strong desire associated with the product, etc. A great product is a great product. If you find a way to improve something that is already great, and on top of that brand it well, then great results are to follow with the market.

I put in a lot of hours into thinking about, researching, and making plans for how I could brand a given product. I also needed to find a supplier in China that would be competent and willing to meet my standards for the improvements I had in mind. I had one of my employees make multiple renders for the possible products to be developed. I contacted suppliers everywhere to find an optimal deal to make an investment on. I didn't bother interacting further with anyone communicating poorly. I qualified and had discussions with the best quality suppliers available. Networking/negotiation skills come in handy. If you want the best deals, you need to be able to express what you’re doing and how it can be beneficial for everyone involved. You have to be confident in having a win-win situation.

In the first month of brand #1, the large expenses were for the USA warehouse system, inventory, ad spend on all major platforms, *outsourcing customer service, and *influencer promos.

*Customer service works off a script I developed myself. And if there were any really upset customers, I used to have my team forward the tickets to me to deal with. Many times there’s really insightful feedback to gain from really upset customers.

*I paid influencers with decent followings to do Instagram posts featuring the product so that the brand would have credibility.

Finding the best deals came down to negotiation with a ton of different sources for each of these expenses. To get the best deals, I had to present the brand launch to be very compelling to be involved with. I’m a great salesperson because I know how to create great opportunities and drive great results. Getting involved with this brand was an incredible investment. I saw that back when I was in the process of starting the brand, and I’ve made it a reality.

I broke even and started making profit two weeks into the second month.

I started all three of my brands with a strong focus on a singular product for each brand. Upsells are available so that each store has a decent selection. Retargeting (via SMS, FB Messenger, and email systems) alongside upsells accounted for a lot of profit. At first, the upsells were dropshipped from the US.

 

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[FMJJ]

I’d like to thank everyone who replied to this thread with a compliment. I really appreciate the positive and respectful remarks. I’m glad to share some details of my journey. It’s awesome to know that you can apply things you learn from here and experience growth in your own journey.

It’s been a while since I last made a developed post in this thread. My time has been focused on my health, the relationships that are important in my life, and of course scaling my business. Total income is consistently over $80k profit per month. Creating a productocracy is a real thing. My experience is proof of that. Things are running well and it’s an incredible, fulfilling feeling to have such a powerful business system. Let me be clear though, there’s a lot more to living a fulfilling life. Financial freedom is not everything. Money is among many other things that are important. There’s plenty of people making bank, yet they have trash relationships in their life— and/or they have a toxic way of thinking, and/or they neglect their physical health, etc. This is more apparent in those who aren’t self-made, but also apparent in those who are. My journey was not a simple one, and it took character and dedication to make it to the point I’m at right now. Self damn made. Healthy. Physically and mentally. I’m able to drop by this thread as often as I can to discuss anything related to the pursuit of entrepreneurship. As I’ve said, I’m writing here to inspire you and help you gain some insight.

Let’s touch on product/service research some more. In other words, identifying needs. It’s about having options and taking in as much information as you can to make a decision on what’s worth pursuing. This process is time intensive because most business models are not worth your time. Be picky with what you choose to focus your energy on. You have your list of ideas. Figure out what’s absolutely not worth pursuing, what’s worth considering, then narrow your options some more to figure out what single business you’re GOING TO COMMIT LARGE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY TO. You don’t need a business plan. Have a set of ideas and execute the research process necessary to pick which of those ideas is the best idea. I’ve made the mistake of not identifying pros and cons thoroughly before making the choice to pursue a given business. Take this damn seriously. Write down what’s important on paper. Think carefully and clarify any confusion. Draw out your thinking. Circle things. Underline key points. Draw arrows showing what’s relevant to what. Hopefully you get the point. Paper and pen is a great tool to supplement your thinking so that you’re “thinking on the next level.” What value attributes can you add to skew value in your favor when it comes to competing with other businesses in the space? Is this need something you can fulfill for the market long-term, year round? Or seasonally? What specifically will you do better than the competition? What can you focus on that your competition is neglecting to focus on? What’s your competition’s main source of revenue? What’s the entry barrier to establishing the foundation your competitors have? In my previous post in this thread, I talked a little about some other factors to consider. With that said, use your brain to figure out what other factors to consider when you study your ideas to potentially go forward with. Research research research. As far as specific information like assessing the revenue of your competitors, you get as much detail as you can. Go ahead and use tools such as the ones that track inventory over time. You get as much detail as you can about all the important aspects of your competitors and from there my thing is this. I go with my gut. I go with my intuition. When you have options and you’ve taken in all the information and data you can get, it’s obviously time to make a decision. Indecision kills. When sufficient research is done, sometimes you go with your gut from there even if you’re not “fully validated” by the studying you’ve done. Now execute. Unfold your process with concerted action. Aim for a standard of excellence. Let’s say your business failed. Ultimately, you don’t know if your business will work until you put it out in the market and see the results with sales. It’s better to have experience pursuing something worthwhile than not. The lessons you’ll find will be much more valuable and useful for your next go at it. You learn a lot more when you take on a business attempt that follows substantial due diligence.

 

[Think Expand]

Great Story brother hope you achieve more in future..
any advice for freelance in web design

I love web design, but the problem with it is that you are trading time for money. The more websites you create, the more time it absorbs. You're actually building nothing. Again, it does not fit MJ's CENT principle. But it a start in the Fastlane journey.

I think you can figure out a way to convert your web design skills into an asset that produces income.

1. Create a blog and sell advertising.
2. Create an online store and scale it into a money tree.
3. Create a web app that provides value divorced from your time.
4. Create a web design agency that other web designers do the work.
5. Create a web design course that teaches people divorced from your time.

However, @FMJJ Great story. It pays to persist. Kudos. More grace for greater exploits. Keep moving forward!

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Damn! Awesome story, MARKED Gold! Thanks for sharing some of the details, please keep it coming!

 

[Ronak]

Thanks for these details, surprised there aren't any more questions about your process.

I agree.
There are very few "secret keys to success" in business, but if there were any out there, product/market research would easily be one of those keys, as I can personally attest.

Can you share a little bit more about your process there?

What exactly are you looking for? How do you measure engagement? If it's likes, shares, etc, then what is the threshold for you to decide "go" or "no go"? What tools do you use to measure trends, etc?

For me personally, Amazon is a goldmine for research. There are some great tools out there like Jungle scout that can give estimates of sales, which can be very valuable in gauging demand.

Awesome story!

 

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[FMJJ]

> influencer
> credibility
pick one.

That's black and white thinking. If you work with a credible influencer, he/she will vet the product or service you're promoting before agreeing to promote it.

 

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[WildFlower]

All that by age 21! Congrats! Sorry about your girlfriend. Honestly, I suggest not having another until you are older than 25. Focus on you and the rewards will be great. This is potentially the only time in your life you won't have to be responsible for other people like a wife or children and you can work all hours.


How did you come up with the e-commerce brands? Did you develop the product?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

This is when I urgently started brand #1. I’ve been doing product research since forever because I’ve been trying to launch profitable stores for quite some time. How I do it? I look for a big need. I look for engagement on social media. I verify engagement. Are the likes legit? Are the comments legit? How does the competition market the product effectively? How much revenue do I think they're bringing in? How can I come up with my own angle to present this product with value? Facebook is the best platform to do this IMO, however, I do product research to this day on all major platforms. When I started brand #1, I was really confident about the product I found. It was currently trending, and I knew how I’d be able to present and market it. I knew that I'd be able to make an attractive website. I did it a different way from the competitors, but I did it better. I was creative with my marketing campaigns. I had a lot of experience with this because I ran plenty of profitable campaigns for my clients. I was used to overdelivering. Based on my experience and my due diligence, I decided to take what seemed like a huge risk at that moment. I had a connection who was able to help me with a warehouse, and I invested in inventory to be sent over from a supplier in China. That’s also a long story, but not really relevant to share. I problem solved on a problem by problem basis. I launched the product on Shopify, and the marketing campaigns were profitable overall from the first month. Most notably on Facebook. I’d like to note that I do not use Shopify anymore. My websites were custom made by a web design group. That was fairly expensive, but worth the expense to be running off my own platform rather than Shopify. I’m thinking long term.

Thanks for these details, surprised there aren't any more questions about your process.

 

[WildFlower]

I started “brand #1” after I saved a lot of money to leverage. I already failed at launching business after business at this point. I always kept in mind the metaphor MJ uses. Failure is the sweat of success. The most successful are soaking wet. I learned from and studied my failures. The most important lessons are in your failures. I did a lot of reflection there. I was in the medical field working a job at a small business. I climbed the little corporate ladder to get paid well. This was not a walk in the park. I had to make this business a lot more money than what I was being paid for my labor. I had to notably outperform my co-workers. I used to be almost minimum wage when I started there. The managerial position I was eventually put in was certainly not guaranteed. I made connections and carried out a meticulous strategy. I befriended people that I didn’t necessarily look up to. I just wanted to be a positive influence on them. I wanted them to help me while I was at this job. I was getting paid a decent amount of money (relatively speaking), but the job was draining my time and energy.

Before this job in the medical field, I started my marketing agency when I was working for a bakery at minimum wage. This place was a terrible place to work, but we don’t have to get into that. I acquired clients by building funnels and running targeted audiences (paid traffic) to them. I also closed some clients directly. I took clients on monthly retainers. When I first started this, it was nothing serious in terms of income. The service that provides the most value to my clients is managing marketing campaigns on major platforms like Facebook and generating leads. As my experience and skills developed for my marketing agency, I closed clients that were paying enough money to enable quitting the job I was working in the medical field.

This is when I urgently started brand #1. I’ve been doing product research since forever because I’ve been trying to launch profitable stores for quite some time. How I do it? I look for a big need. I look for engagement on social media. I verify engagement. Are the likes legit? Are the comments legit? How does the competition market the product effectively? How much revenue do I think they're bringing in? How can I come up with my own angle to present this product with value? Facebook is the best platform to do this IMO, however, I do product research to this day on all major platforms. When I started brand #1, I was really confident about the product I found. It was currently trending, and I knew how I’d be able to present and market it. I knew that I'd be able to make an attractive website. I did it a different way from the competitors, but I did it better. I was creative with my marketing campaigns. I had a lot of experience with this because I ran plenty of profitable campaigns for my clients. I was used to overdelivering. Based on my experience and my due diligence, I decided to take what seemed like a huge risk at that moment. I had a connection who was able to help me with a warehouse, and I invested in inventory to be sent over from a supplier in China. That’s also a long story, but not really relevant to share. I problem solved on a problem by problem basis. I launched the product on Shopify, and the marketing campaigns were profitable overall from the first month. Most notably on Facebook. I’d like to note that I do not use Shopify anymore. My websites were custom made by a web design group. That was fairly expensive, but worth the expense to be running off my own platform rather than Shopify. I’m thinking long term.

I’d like to point out that this might all sound simple, but it wasn’t. The concept of success is quite simple, but things get complicated. Why do you think Unscripted is such a long book? I accredit a lot of my critical decisions to having clarity in what I was doing. I have several journals with pen and paper as well as on the app, Day One. I journal about emotions (yes I’m human and have to manage emotions), insightful ideas, failure, deadlines, etc... I journal about everything.

Right now I'm in a great place mentally. My physical health is great too. I'm grateful for the journey I took on. I'm appreciative for everything that helped get me to this point. I have to say that the "paranoia" feeling hasn't gone away, and I don't think it ever will. It's just a trait of a great entrepreneur. I'm always thinking of how I can improve. I'm always thinking about how things can go wrong. I'm always thinking about risks and how I should structure things. I like to think this way though. Not at all annoying. I embrace an entrepreneurial lifestyle. I find great meaning living the way I do.

You said Bakery! LOL I hit the ceiling at Vons I was the bakery manager.. union pays way better FYI.. I looked at working in private bakeries and they paid crap! But I hit the ceiling and I was like 25 years old.. as a woman that's an added layer of "challenge" (really discrimination but it's life get over it, right!). I quit and learned coding on my own, worked for an internet company during the big bubble.. got a job at Warner Bros making great money.. with little college. BUT I still realized I was trading time for money.. I loved working on the lot.. I think that's my real calling.. film/content creating.. but anyway. All this by the time I was 30.. you did that by age 21? Holy cow.. when did you start? I also had a son during all this.. then another one when I was 30 .. who is now an adult! I'm free again! LOL j/k

 

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[Jeff Noel]

> influencer
> credibility
pick one.

Some influencers are experts in their niche. Perhaps we're not looking at the same type of people. I consider people with strong social media followings to be influencers.

For example, Mrwhosetheboss, a YouTuber who focuses on transparency and integrity with his viewers, would be an excessively good influencer for those trying to target the smartphone niche. But it's not the type of guy to accept $500 to shoutout a product he never tried. If the guys says to his people "This thing is great, buy it", you'd probably end up with 5000 sales in a day only from his comment on your product.

 

[Flint]

Nicely done @FMJJ, great to read about your progress.

There are very few "secret keys to success" in business, but if there were any out there, product/market research would easily be one of those keys, as I can personally attest.

Can you share a little bit more about your process there?

I'm interested in your answers to market research questions too.

Some needs are greater than others (and reoccurring more often). Do you apply any filter to this? I'm having second thoughts that I'm investing my time and money into an "impulse buying" solution that users don't need more than 1 over a few years and pay around $40 for the premium product.

Also, what are your methods for assessing the revenue competitive products bring in? I use Amazon (monitoring inventory over time), but also Google Ads (for relative search volumes related to brands) and ads history (relative; how long they've been advertising for = paying traffic). Curious about your approach.

Thanks!

I'm looking forward to reading more about where you'll take it from there. I know it's not been an easy path and it took a few years of ups and downs to get here. Keep it flowing.

 

[Harsha Vardhan]

It's the month of August 2020. In this month alone, I made $126,727 in profit so far (before taxes). I'm 21 years old, and I'm honored to say that the content from MJ and this forum has helped me enormously alongside many other valuable sources out there for guidance.

I hope this gives a little bit of inspiration to a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs out there because it wasn't that long ago when I used to be an aspiring entrepreneur myself. Reaching the point I'm at right now was not an easy process to embark on. I had to overcome extremely difficult situations and face my most appalling fears. I'm making this thread with tremendous gratitude in mind for @MJ DeMarco. I remember when I first read the The Millionaire Fastlane a few years ago. I remember how I marked it up and read it over several times. I remember when I first joined the forums and lurked everything. I studied all the GOLD threads. I watched MJ's YouTube videos repetitively. I felt so motivated. I remember how excited it got me to pursue entrepreneurship. Turns out it wasn't an easy pursuit.

As time went by and my motivation faded, I faced some serious mental health complications. I was ridiculed for dropping out of college. I failed at several different business models. I failed at starting brands. I failed to turn a profit over and over again. I was working jobs that were mind numbing and utterly exhausting. I had constant issues with my family. That's a long, terrible story to get into... A few months ago, I suffered going through a devastating breakup with my girlfriend I loved so deeply. This is just a small preview of the adversity you'll face while you pursue the CENTS Entrepreneurial Framework. Everything about entrepreneurship is definitely not all that amazing. You have to focus and stay dedicated despite the stress you may face. However, for me, it was worth embracing the process. I look forward to executing towards my next goals in line to be achieved. I've got a lot in mind for the future. I believe in my vision.

Aside from running a marketing agency, I'm running three eCommerce brands right now. Two of the three brands are massively profitable. The numbers have been rising month by month pretty quickly. This is where the majority of my income is coming from. I've invested in several real estate properties at this point, and obviously I'm developing my portfolio with investments into the market. I'm still working on the third brand to become profitable. I'm managing a lot of different expenses for that brand because it's still relatively new. All expenses considered though, I stated at the beginning of this thread that I'm still in the green.

The hard truth about making your dreams a reality is that you have to put in the effort. You have to believe in yourself. You have to go all out regardless of your circumstances. You have to build yourself mentally and physically. You need to master skills that make you more effective and productive. You have to be creative and innovate. You have to provide VALUE. There's no way you're going to make decent money without figuring out a way to provide great value to your customer. I had to figure that out the hard way. You need to have meaning and purpose in your life. Develop the clarity you need to achieve your most important goals. If it's important enough to you, you'll find a way.

Be courageous.

“All events of wealth are precluded by process, a backstory of trial, risk, hard work, and sacrifice. If you try to skip process, you’ll never experience events.”
- MJ DeMarco

Great Story brother hope you achieve more in future..
any advice for freelance in web design

 

[Xeon]

Am I the only one who sees this as a HUGE red flag?

Why would paying influencers to promote and give credibility to new products be a huge red flag?
I actually feel this method helps an unhead-of-company get traction.

 

[Xeon]

> influencer
> credibility
pick one.

IMO, it doesn't matter if we perceive an influencer to be credible, as long as that influencer's followers see them as credible and are willing to lap up any products the influencer mentions.

 

[Jeff Noel]

I'm curious about a few things, as you took the route I am on right now (planning to restart ecom with a REAL, useful product and not just a trend item that everyone else sells for no reason).

Since I'm working in a specific language, I can tell you more about it.
My agency is growing. We haven't even started reaching for prospects because we got leads coming organically and we're working on closing deals including copywriting, website optimization, sales funnels, ads, etc.

We're working on new offerings such as 1-on-1 coaching while offloading the task to field experts, where we get a smaller part of the cut than they do, but we find the leads for them.

We got courses and a new masterclass selling (both low and "mid" ticket offers with upsells) that's bringing in most of the money while we're trying to close bigger deals.

Do you have any courses, books or resources (other and MJ's encyclopedia on how to succeed, which I'm very fond of) you would recommend to someone looking to follow a similar path than you did ?

What web hosting provider would you recommend ? We're hitting peaks of ~1500 visitors per day right now from our ads and the server just cannot keep up.

Because my plan has been just this ever since I gained a slight bit of clarity: Agency, 1 Ecom brand with a unique product, entry into Real Estate, Project XYZ (which will be another business, and another one, and another...).

Agency isn't big enough right now to allow me to leave my job, so it's 7hr/day planning my stuff while working, and 7-8hr/day working on my business.

 

[Xolorr]

Damn good read,

You're making in a month what I'm projected to make in a year with my agency, and it's exciting to see someone young going after it!

Question:

What were your initial investments to get brand #1 up and running, and are you having the products manufactured and fulfilled by a 3pl?

 

[Mike Hart]

Making money through my marketing agency came down to developing valuable skills and the ability to make sales. I was obsessed, and I’m still obsessed about figuring out my own way to benefit my clients/customers. This involves lots of research and critical thinking. I wrote my own scripts. I practiced talking in an exciting way in front of the mirror with my scripts. I studied a lot of sales material and applied it to my process in closing deals with clients. It’s really important to record the Zoom video calls that I have with my prospects because I can see how my demeanor is, and how I can improve for the next call. Obviously, I had to achieve great results for my clients. I made it very clear to them how I’d go about driving towards the desired outcome if they signed on with my agency. I knew what I was doing because I actually developed the skill to produce great results for my clients. I wasn’t selling something that didn’t work. I actually back up what I sell with excellent work.

Building an efficient team was something I made sure to get right. The people you work closely with determines a strong factor for or against your success. This applies to everything. I brought on several effective freelancers into my agency to assist with specific work done for the services I provide. I made sure to develop relations with those who did good work for me. I took the time to determine if freelancers I worked with had genuine character so that I could recruit them into full time positions within my agency. I was eventually able to hire several awesome freelancers from abroad full time to get the most important work of the agency done. With so much of my agency’s work being outsourced, I was able to focus on scaling.

I make sure to work with the best clients out there. I don’t work with clients that can’t afford my services. I don’t work with clients who run poor quality businesses that aren’t scalable. To drive this point home, I developed rapport with one of my most valuable clients in the eCommerce world, and he was eventually the one to hook me up with an affordable warehouse management solution when I started my first profitable eCom brand. Effective product research is extensive. I took a lot of time to find products that fit my strict criteria. I needed to see thousands of people engaging on major platforms, a consistent trend, room for improvement with the product, a strong desire associated with the product, etc. A great product is a great product. If you find a way to improve something that is already great, and on top of that brand it well, then great results are to follow with the market.

I put in a lot of hours into thinking about, researching, and making plans for how I could brand a given product. I also needed to find a supplier in China that would be competent and willing to meet my standards for the improvements I had in mind. I had one of my employees make multiple renders for the possible products to be developed. I contacted suppliers everywhere to find an optimal deal to make an investment on. I didn't bother interacting further with anyone communicating poorly. I qualified and had discussions with the best quality suppliers available. Networking/negotiation skills come in handy. If you want the best deals, you need to be able to express what you’re doing and how it can be beneficial for everyone involved. You have to be confident in having a win-win situation.

In the first month of brand #1, the large expenses were for the USA warehouse system, inventory, ad spend on all major platforms, *outsourcing customer service, and *influencer promos.

*Customer service works off a script I developed myself. And if there were any really upset customers, I used to have my team forward the tickets to me to deal with. Many times there’s really insightful feedback to gain from really upset customers.

*I paid influencers with decent followings to do Instagram posts featuring the product so that the brand would have credibility.

Finding the best deals came down to negotiation with a ton of different sources for each of these expenses. To get the best deals, I had to present the brand launch to be very compelling to be involved with. I’m a great salesperson because I know how to create great opportunities and drive great results. Getting involved with this brand was an incredible investment. I saw that back when I was in the process of starting the brand, and I’ve made it a reality.

I broke even and started making profit two weeks into the second month.

I started all three of my brands with a strong focus on a singular product for each brand. Upsells are available so that each store has a decent selection. Retargeting (via SMS, FB Messenger, and email systems) alongside upsells accounted for a lot of profit. At first, the upsells were dropshipped from the US.

Great post, man. Respect the dedication.

Just wondering - any resource recommendations other than browsing GOLD posts and MJ's youtube videos / books? Perhaps some resources on Upselling and Retargeting?

Also curious - how much type do you allocate for "learning" and how much for "work". 20/80, something like that?

Cheers

 

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[ramonorencio]

Great post!
You mentioned facing your most appalling fears, what were some of those fears? We’re they as bad as you initially thought they’d be?

 

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[ElleMg]

Inspiring story! My goals were too low and although I bought my first house age 21, things went downhill after that. Luckily I don't have a mortgage (or the awful boyfriend) and the property is almost sold so I can get back to the fastlane.

Sorry to hear about your girlfriend, you'll be happier long term by focusing on yourself and you're clearly killing it! I can't wait to hear more about your e-commerce stores and experience

 

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[Jeff Noel]

FMJJ

FMJJ, can you kindly give me some advice for the right people to follow for learn and create a profitable shopify store?
Who are the people that you learned from?
Thank you very much

Most of the time, the best way to go is to get out and do it yourself. You'll make mistakes, but you'll learn infinitely faster than reading or listening to someone else. It's also easier to get a mentor or someone to give you feedback if you are IN the process rather than starring at an imaginary brand.

 

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[FMJJ]

Thank you for this great thread!

For me there are definitely some golden nuggets in here, which exactly fit my current situation. Fascinating how you scaled your agency by winning clients with Facebook ads.

How have you verified whether a client is worth taking on? Have you researched their products to see, if this can be a success?

Really good questions. You want to work with clients that you can enjoy significant profits from and at the same time have a healthy, professional relationship with them. Choose clients that are worth it rather than "bad clients" that are unappreciative, lacking competence, or just plain toxic, etc. Create a lot of options. Prospect a lot. An abundance mindset is important here. Providing a valuable service and fulfilling your clients' need to the best of your ability is key of course. With that said, "good clients" accept strong boundaries that you must put in place via effective communication and an efficient business system. In other words, they let you do your job well while they do theirs. Win-win. Know, as specifically as you can, who your ideal client is based on the benefits your business provides. Approach ideal clients with a personalized outreach strategy and be consistent. You ask if I researched products of my prospects. Yes. Absolutely. Always do thorough due diligence on a business and your ability to help that business before reaching out to work with that business. Obviously, don't work with clients that don't qualify to work with your business. The opportunity costs of choosing to work with a "bad client" are quite damaging. It takes away from your focus on "good clients." You wanna focus on your best clients without unnecessary nonsense from clients that don't fit well in your business system. Similar to how it's exhausting to deal with a narcissist or toxic person in a romantic relationship, it's exhausting to deal with clients or customers that don't fit your business. You can't afford to be weighed down by nonsense. Prioritize being productive. Manually finding the best clients is a time-intensive, effort-intensive process, and it's worth it if you do it right.

 

[aliosa]

It's the month of August 2020. In this month alone, I made $126,727 in profit so far (before taxes). I'm 21 years old, and I'm honored to say that the content from MJ and this forum has helped me enormously alongside many other valuable sources out there for guidance.

I hope this gives a little bit of inspiration to a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs out there because it wasn't that long ago when I used to be an aspiring entrepreneur myself. Reaching the point I'm at right now was not an easy process to embark on. I had to overcome extremely difficult situations and face my most appalling fears. I'm making this thread with tremendous gratitude in mind for @MJ DeMarco. I remember when I first read the The Millionaire Fastlane a few years ago. I remember how I marked it up and read it over several times. I remember when I first joined the forums and lurked everything. I studied all the GOLD threads. I watched MJ's YouTube videos repetitively. I felt so motivated. I remember how excited it got me to pursue entrepreneurship. Turns out it wasn't an easy pursuit.

As time went by and my motivation faded, I faced some serious mental health complications. I was ridiculed for dropping out of college. I failed at several different business models. I failed at starting brands. I failed to turn a profit over and over again. I was working jobs that were mind numbing and utterly exhausting. I had constant issues with my family. That's a long, terrible story to get into... A few months ago, I suffered going through a devastating breakup with my girlfriend I loved so deeply. This is just a small preview of the adversity you'll face while you pursue the CENTS Entrepreneurial Framework. Everything about entrepreneurship is definitely not all that amazing. You have to focus and stay dedicated despite the stress you may face. However, for me, it was worth embracing the process. I look forward to executing towards my next goals in line to be achieved. I've got a lot in mind for the future. I believe in my vision.

Aside from running a marketing agency, I'm running three eCommerce brands right now. Two of the three brands are massively profitable. The numbers have been rising month by month pretty quickly. This is where the majority of my income is coming from. I've invested in several real estate properties at this point, and obviously I'm developing my portfolio with investments into the market. I'm still working on the third brand to become profitable. I'm managing a lot of different expenses for that brand because it's still relatively new. All expenses considered though, I stated at the beginning of this thread that I'm still in the green.

The hard truth about making your dreams a reality is that you have to put in the effort. You have to believe in yourself. You have to go all out regardless of your circumstances. You have to build yourself mentally and physically. You need to master skills that make you more effective and productive. You have to be creative and innovate. You have to provide VALUE. There's no way you're going to make decent money without figuring out a way to provide great value to your customer. I had to figure that out the hard way. You need to have meaning and purpose in your life. Develop the clarity you need to achieve your most important goals. If it's important enough to you, you'll find a way.

Be courageous.

“All events of wealth are precluded by process, a backstory of trial, risk, hard work, and sacrifice. If you try to skip process, you’ll never experience events.”
- MJ DeMarco

Don't know your name man, but keep going and update about your work here, very inspiring information, thank you!

 

[pappaishere]

You are a really motivation for me! Cheers from Italy!

 

[floridaman]

It's the month of August 2020. In this month alone, I made $126,727 in profit so far (before taxes). I'm 21 years old, and I'm honored to say that the content from MJ and this forum has helped me enormously alongside many other valuable sources out there for guidance.

I hope this gives a little bit of inspiration to a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs out there because it wasn't that long ago when I used to be an aspiring entrepreneur myself. Reaching the point I'm at right now was not an easy process to embark on. I had to overcome extremely difficult situations and face my most appalling fears. I'm making this thread with tremendous gratitude in mind for @MJ DeMarco. I remember when I first read the The Millionaire Fastlane a few years ago. I remember how I marked it up and read it over several times. I remember when I first joined the forums and lurked everything. I studied all the GOLD threads. I watched MJ's YouTube videos repetitively. I felt so motivated. I remember how excited it got me to pursue entrepreneurship. Turns out it wasn't an easy pursuit.

As time went by and my motivation faded, I faced some serious mental health complications. I was ridiculed for dropping out of college. I failed at several different business models. I failed at starting brands. I failed to turn a profit over and over again. I was working jobs that were mind numbing and utterly exhausting. I had constant issues with my family. That's a long, terrible story to get into... A few months ago, I suffered going through a devastating breakup with my girlfriend I loved so deeply. This is just a small preview of the adversity you'll face while you pursue the CENTS Entrepreneurial Framework. Everything about entrepreneurship is definitely not all that amazing. You have to focus and stay dedicated despite the stress you may face. However, for me, it was worth embracing the process. I look forward to executing towards my next goals in line to be achieved. I've got a lot in mind for the future. I believe in my vision.

Aside from running a marketing agency, I'm running three eCommerce brands right now. Two of the three brands are massively profitable. The numbers have been rising month by month pretty quickly. This is where the majority of my income is coming from. I've invested in several real estate properties at this point, and obviously I'm developing my portfolio with investments into the market. I'm still working on the third brand to become profitable. I'm managing a lot of different expenses for that brand because it's still relatively new. All expenses considered though, I stated at the beginning of this thread that I'm still in the green.

The hard truth about making your dreams a reality is that you have to put in the effort. You have to believe in yourself. You have to go all out regardless of your circumstances. You have to build yourself mentally and physically. You need to master skills that make you more effective and productive. You have to be creative and innovate. You have to provide VALUE. There's no way you're going to make decent money without figuring out a way to provide great value to your customer. I had to figure that out the hard way. You need to have meaning and purpose in your life. Develop the clarity you need to achieve your most important goals. If it's important enough to you, you'll find a way.

Be courageous.

“All events of wealth are precluded by process, a backstory of trial, risk, hard work, and sacrifice. If you try to skip process, you’ll never experience events.”
- MJ DeMarco

What are your thoughts/feelings on the difference between running a services business, versus running a products business? I was considering starting an agency, but I'm not sure if I want to tie my time to money like that, and have employees I have to manage, etc. I'm considering just doing a digital or physical product.

 

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[Not Most People]

Awesome stuff man congrats on all the progress!

Are all of your brands in the same general niche or spread across different industries?

 

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[Panda__]

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your story. I am curious as well to know more about your process. In the past, I have tried to launch an ecommerce store and could never get past the product research phase. I don't have a background in marketing. Learning FB marketing and product research quickly became all very confusing to me. I've used Jungle Scout before and I couldn't justify the data to make sure I was making the right decision.

How do you analyze the data when making a decision to start "the brand"?

 

[Chibbs]

Great inspiration to me personally as I am beginning my first ecommerce brand. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Santi M]

Wow, congrats! I just read this, what a long and tough process, the thing that amazes me the most is that you're 21... With that process, I'd expect you were at least 30

And when did you start focusing on new brands? Once brand #1 got to X amount per month or quite early at the beginning or maybe when you delegated almost everything?

Thanks for your time and again, congratulations.