G
GuestUser140
Guest
Hi all,
You might want to read this.
15 months ago I wrote this post:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...e-fastlane-by-michael-grey.46884/#post-286345
In short, rather than viewing flipping on Craigslist as a temporary cash generator, I wanted to show that it can be turned into a retail fastlane business.
At the time I was buying in bulk, sold in different cities, was contemplating opening a retail store. Wanted 500k in 15 months.
That was 15 months ago. Time flies. Feels like 5 months.
What happened during the past fifteen months?
This is what I'm doing now:
I don't focus mainly on making 500k and selling my business anymore. I focus on helping 10,000 customers asap. I treat it like a game.
Enough "I" for now...to all you guys flipping small stuff on CL out there for "fun and profit": scale up. If you can sell one, you can sell 10. If you can sell 10, you can sell a hundred. Help people. Build a business, a brand. Stop making excuses that this is "just for now, to pay the bills" and stop thinking your "real", proper fastlane business is a future thing when you'll have read all the books, have a $MM mentor, and the sun will shine 365 days a year.
Make a dent.
You might want to read this.
15 months ago I wrote this post:
https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/co...e-fastlane-by-michael-grey.46884/#post-286345
In short, rather than viewing flipping on Craigslist as a temporary cash generator, I wanted to show that it can be turned into a retail fastlane business.
At the time I was buying in bulk, sold in different cities, was contemplating opening a retail store. Wanted 500k in 15 months.
That was 15 months ago. Time flies. Feels like 5 months.
What happened during the past fifteen months?
- I've sold over $1.2M worth of product.
- I filled a need for nearly 4000 customers.
- I made hundreds of thousands in profit. Saved 99% of it.
- I built a website. I've learned that I love the internet.
- I never opened a store. A physical store is no prerequisite for retail success. My current overhead is $5 for the website and $300 for an office each month. A B&M store, where I live, starts at $3000/month with a 36mo. lease. This means committing over $100,000 + 8 hours daily of your time to be physically present. Those are serious numbers.
- Spent time building a brand. Pack my products in custom packaging. Give my customers a 1 year warranty. They love it. Provide excellent after-sales service. Encourage word of mouth.
- I'm still a one-man show. I work 35 hours/week solving problems, answering e-mail, telephone, packing and shipping. I outsource repairs.
This is what I'm doing now:
- Advertise more. I never spent more than $200/month on advertising. For starters: Google Adwords. Want to learn it and see results. Perhaps some time in the future offline ads (posters, radio, bill board, bus stop, direct mail).
- Lower my margins to sell more volume. Or at least try. My business identifies itself as "good value", even though I charge $20 more than competitors on a $350 product. My net after tax profit is $50/sale. What if I lower this to $30? Will that result in xx% more orders? Currently testing this with one product.
I don't focus mainly on making 500k and selling my business anymore. I focus on helping 10,000 customers asap. I treat it like a game.
Enough "I" for now...to all you guys flipping small stuff on CL out there for "fun and profit": scale up. If you can sell one, you can sell 10. If you can sell 10, you can sell a hundred. Help people. Build a business, a brand. Stop making excuses that this is "just for now, to pay the bills" and stop thinking your "real", proper fastlane business is a future thing when you'll have read all the books, have a $MM mentor, and the sun will shine 365 days a year.
Make a dent.
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