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$500,000+ revenue on Shopify!

Sanj Modha

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I posted this over at FB and it made some dents. I think it could help someone here too:

Today marks an important milestone for me. It's one year of going full time on Shopify. I have 3 stores now with an excess of $500,000 in revenue (2 are newer launched in the last few weeks). Profit is $200,000.

I'm not here to brag or to release any dumb course. I'm here to inspire. To quote Biggy Smalls "It was all a dream...".

I'm actually embarrassed to post this because I know guys in here making these figures A MONTH. But you gotta start somewhere right?

This store took a dip recently due to FB ads playing up but that taught me an important lesson. I'll post it below.

I started with a vision and a road map to success. Here are my top 10 tips for achieving the same:

1) Follow the right people and unfollow the rest. Most gurus are bullshit.

2) Get into a routine. I meditate, power pose (see Amy Cuddy's video on TED), and do some stretches before starting my day. How you do anything is how you do everything.

3) Read for 30 minutes EVERYDAY. Wow...I wish I knew this when I was 18 years old. Read anything and everything. Start with sales, marketing and mix it up with fiction. I alternate between the two genres.

4) Don't work weekends. Seriously, I haven't worked a weekend in years. Spend time with your loved ones, your kids, your dog. Money cannot substitute that.

5) Learn processes. Bruce Lee called it right. Success is about stripping everything away and processes help you do that.

6) Do not rely on any one thing for your income. This is my biggest mistake to date. I was focusing on FB traffic without considering email marketing or Adwords. Now I use all 3 in my arsenal to generate sales. I'm actually in the process of replicating this revenue with Adwords traffic only.

7) "Offer value first" - I'm sorry but that's bullshit. You don't open a store in your local mall to give things away. You do it to make money. I know people will disagree but that's the cold hard truth. If you don't believe me - watch Kevin O'Leary on Shark Tank. Offer a sizzling product to the right audience and you will make money. Truth.

8) Be a nice person. Yeah the world is full of douche bags but you don't need to be one of them. I'm heavily influenced by eastern philosophies and I live in India now so I guess it's easier but if you're struggling in life, close your eyes, take a deep breath and exhale for 10 seconds. It's a Zen practise I use all the time.

9) Network, network, network - find people who propel you forwards. Join a pack of lions. Become the leader.

10) If your productivity sucks. Go use the Pomodoro Technique. It works!

I didn't get here by myself. I met some extraordinary people who mentored me, showed me the path, ridiculed my ideas but ultimately shaped my character. I thank you all and you know who you are.

Gary Vee walks into any room thinking he's the best but also realizing that his work doesn't matter. Make your ego your friend and drown out that negativity.

I'm the proud son of working class immigrants. I didn't know anything but I learnt it all. Success isn't born. It's made.

If I can do it so can you. I also want to thank the entire team at Shopify for making this possible. My goal for next year is $1m/store.

Good luck.
 
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Vigilante

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I posted this over at FB and it made some dents. I think it could help someone here too:

Today marks an important milestone for me. It's one year of going full time on Shopify. I have 3 stores now with an excess of $500,000 in revenue (2 are newer launched in the last few weeks). Profit is $200,000.

I'm not here to brag or to release any dumb course. I'm here to inspire. To quote Biggy Smalls "It was all a dream...".

I'm actually embarrassed to post this because I know guys in here making these figures A MONTH. But you gotta start somewhere right?

This store took a dip recently due to FB ads playing up but that taught me an important lesson. I'll post it below.

I started with a vision and a road map to success. Here are my top 10 tips for achieving the same:

1) Follow the right people and unfollow the rest. Most gurus are bullshit.

2) Get into a routine. I meditate, power pose (see Amy Cuddy's video on TED), and do some stretches before starting my day. How you do anything is how you do everything.

3) Read for 30 minutes EVERYDAY. Wow...I wish I knew this when I was 18 years old. Read anything and everything. Start with sales, marketing and mix it up with fiction. I alternate between the two genres.

4) Don't work weekends. Seriously, I haven't worked a weekend in years. Spend time with your loved ones, your kids, your dog. Money cannot substitute that.

5) Learn processes. Bruce Lee called it right. Success is about stripping everything away and processes help you do that.

6) Do not rely on any one thing for your income. This is my biggest mistake to date. I was focusing on FB traffic without considering email marketing or Adwords. Now I use all 3 in my arsenal to generate sales. I'm actually in the process of replicating this revenue with Adwords traffic only.

7) "Offer value first" - I'm sorry but that's bullshit. You don't open a store in your local mall to give things away. You do it to make money. I know people will disagree but that's the cold hard truth. If you don't believe me - watch Kevin O'Leary on Shark Tank. Offer a sizzling product to the right audience and you will make money. Truth.

8) Be a nice person. Yeah the world is full of douche bags but you don't need to be one of them. I'm heavily influenced by eastern philosophies and I live in India now so I guess it's easier but if you're struggling in life, close your eyes, take a deep breath and exhale for 10 seconds. It's a Zen practise I use all the time.

9) Network, network, network - find people who propel you forwards. Join a pack of lions. Become the leader.

10) If your productivity sucks. Go use the Pomodoro Technique. It works!

I didn't get here by myself. I met some extraordinary people who mentored me, showed me the path, ridiculed my ideas but ultimately shaped my character. I thank you all and you know who you are.

Gary Vee walks into any room thinking he's the best but also realizing that his work doesn't matter. Make your ego your friend and drown out that negativity.

I'm the proud son of working class immigrants. I didn't know anything but I learnt it all. Success isn't born. It's made.

If I can do it so can you. I also want to thank the entire team at Shopify for making this possible. My goal for next year is $1m/store.

Good luck.

The first person replying to this that asks him what he sells is getting banned from the thread.

Thank you for sharing this.
 

eTox

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Very inspiring!

If you do not mind sharing the answers to few questions:
  • When you started your first shopify store, did you start with one product and gradually add more? Did you continue in the same niche you chose at the beginning or did you have to move around?
  • Do you still handle packaging and shipment yourself or have you outsourced it to fullfillment centers to take care of it for you? If so, how soon did it happen and are there any lessons you would like to share?
Thank you :)
 

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That's amazing. Congratulations and well done.
I can't imagine the feeling looking at your monthly sales results like that, what a feeling that must be.


So what do you se.... just kidding

A serious question though;
How did you discover the need for your products?

At what moment did you apply copywriting for your products?

Thank you
 

mtn_baldy

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Amazing dude!
For someone who is interested in getting into the eCommerce industy, which books and ideas made the biggest impact for you?
 

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Amazing post. Thanks for sharing this. You came out of the gate quite strong - how did you prepare pre launch.

You mention education and learning, what people and resources do you recommend that have helped you? Great thread. Rep on the way
 
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Sanj Modha

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Very inspiring!

If you do not mind sharing the answers to few questions:
  • When you started your first shopify store, did you start with one product and gradually add more? Did you continue in the same niche you chose at the beginning or did you have to move around?
  • Do you still handle packaging and shipment yourself or have you outsourced it to fullfillment centers to take care of it for you? If so, how soon did it happen and are there any lessons you would like to share?
Thank you :)

I launched my first store with about 50 products but I was only driving ads to around 4 and upselling the others. I sell generic items on the main store. 2 are niches.

I don't handle anything. I have dropshippers and wholesalers who do it for me.
 

Sanj Modha

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That's amazing. Congratulations and well done.
I can't imagine the feeling looking at your monthly sales results like that, what a feeling that must be.


So what do you se.... just kidding

A serious question though;
How did you discover the need for your products?

At what moment did you apply copywriting for your products?

Thank you

I did some research on trends and what people talk about. You can do the same with Google Trends, forums, Reddit etc.

I don't bother with copywriting product pages. The visitor is on the site and interested. You need to close the sale by making them trust you. Ad copy is important on the ad itself.
 
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Sanj Modha

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Amazing dude!
For someone who is interested in getting into the eCommerce industy, which books and ideas made the biggest impact for you?

I just jumped into it and started. Books like 4 Hour Work Week, Think & Grow Rich have been influential to me too.
 

Sanj Modha

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Amazing post. Thanks for sharing this. You came out of the gate quite strong - how did you prepare pre launch.

You mention education and learning, what people and resources do you recommend that have helped you? Great thread. Rep on the way

The Shopify blog is very useful. There are some really smart cookies here as well. Just test, test, test. There is no secret.
 

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I am realizing more and more that very little of the specifics really matter. Not that I am not grateful for your answers! Every product, business and path has too many variables to just copy someones formula. I think its all down to mindset, belief and process. Again - great results and thanks for sharing. I like just knowing that people can do this and that others on here are succeeding.
 

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Great thread @Sanj Modha , can specially relate to the diversification of traffic. Wonder what kind of funnel and ads you have set up, straight product ads or content marketing? Tailored landing pages, or product pages?

Ive spent a great amount of time perfecting my product, now I need to uppen my ecom/ads game, would appreciate the help :)

Cheers
 

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Thread title is misleading (has become usual on here sadly..). Expected Shopify specifics and then stopped reading when I realized its just generic success tips..

200k profit is nice though!
 
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Sanj Modha

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Thread title is misleading (has become usual on here sadly..). Expected Shopify specifics and then stopped reading when I realized its just generic success tips..

200k profit is nice though!

Shopify is just a platform. This post could be about Magento, Woocommerce etc. That's not important. What's important is the processes and the knowledge you apply.
 

Sanj Modha

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Great thread @Sanj Modha , can specially relate to the diversification of traffic. Wonder what kind of funnel and ads you have set up, straight product ads or content marketing? Tailored landing pages, or product pages?

Ive spent a great amount of time perfecting my product, now I need to uppen my ecom/ads game, would appreciate the help :)

Cheers

I sell direct from FB or Adwords. I don't have time for content marketing.
 

Sanj Modha

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How much did you initially invest into your stores when you bought wholesale? My budget is not very high

I wouldn't start wholesale to begin. It's much higher risk so go down the dropship route. Make sure you order samples, and speak to the supplier. I buy and sell from the US so my risks are much lower.
 
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MakeMoreMoves

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I wouldn't start wholesale to begin. It's much higher risk so go down the dropship route. Make sure you order samples, and speak to the supplier. I buy and sell from the US so my risks are much lower.

People still do dropshipping? I thought customers get mad at the slow shipping times.
 

Sanj Modha

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People still do dropshipping? I thought customers get mad at the slow shipping times.

Not at all. I can dropship most of my items in 3 biz days or less. That's tracked too. In my experience, customer tolerance levels for shipping maxes out at 7 days. Anything longer and you get chaser emails.
 

Sanj Modha

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The number #1 post on FLF now! Thanks to everyone for responding. Keep posting questions and I'll answer when I can.
 
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Supa

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Awesome post, thanks for sharing!

7) "Offer value first" - I'm sorry but that's bullshit. You don't open a store in your local mall to give things away. You do it to make money. I know people will disagree but that's the cold hard truth. If you don't believe me - watch Kevin O'Leary on Shark Tank. Offer a sizzling product to the right audience and you will make money. Truth.

Definitely understand what you mean here. What I think most people on here mean, when they say you should create value first, is not to give away things for free. It is to create something of value and sell that.

You're right, you don't make money without selling something, but before you can make money you have to create a product that's valuable to people, first.

Could be wrong, but that's what "create value first" means to me: create something of value and sell that.
 

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I don't bother with copywriting product pages. The visitor is on the site and interested. You need to close the sale by making them trust you. Ad copy is important on the ad itself.
Ditto.



They search: plumber dublin


Ad says: Dublin Plumber



Landing page says:

Looking for a plumber in Dublin?

Bullet 1
Bullet 2
Bullet 3

Tap to Call
 

Sanj Modha

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Ditto.



They search: plumber dublin


Ad says: Dublin Plumber



Landing page says:

Looking for a plumber in Dublin?

Bullet 1
Bullet 2
Bullet 3

Tap to Call

That's EXACTLY it. Once a visitor clicks on the ad - you need to CLOSE the sale. Ad copy is about getting visitors to click in the first place.
 
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Entrepreneur101

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Inspiring thread @Sanj Modha. I noticed that you mentioned that your FB ads have increased CPC and also reduced conversion rates. I was wandering if the list below would improve the performance of your FB ads or if you have tried them already :
  • Email marketing from FB ads
  • Re targeting to a slightly different audience in the same niche
 
Last edited:

Sanj Modha

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Inspiring thread @Sanj Modha. I noticed that you mentioned that your FB ads have increased CPC and also reduced conversion rates. I was wandering if the list below would improve the performance of your FB ads or if you have tried them already :
  • Email marketing from FB ads
  • Re targeting to a slightly different audience in the same niche
  • Promoting your FB Page so customer's purchase inside of FB rather than the Shopify Store
  • Manually inputting the CPC for FB ads

I don't bother with CPCs because I really don't care about them. I'm happy to spend $10/click if it makes me $20. It's a simple money in vs money out system.

I don't rely on FB ads as much now but they are still converting well. I'm spending about a $1000/day on that and moving towards Adwords too.
 

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