Apple Stand Empire - Importing for Resale

[Vigilante]

http://foreverjobless.com/apple-stand-empire/

If I could, I would make this blog post by @snowbank manditory reading for every member and visitor to the fast lane forum.

Interested in ecommerce? Looking for a shortcut? A product to import? How about buying a class from the people who teach you how to do this?

Billy doesn't have to spam the forum. Why? When something you write is this valuable... This golden, and this life changing I will post it for him.

Instant gold content. If you Paid $1,000 to read this single blog post it would be money well spent.

http://foreverjobless.com/apple-stand-empire/

Read this

 

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[Supa]

Holy shit, I just read that blog post half an hour ago and came online to ask snowbank to post it here since every member on here can benefit from his words. You were faster

Incredible post, should be required to be read by new members.

 

[Fox]

Great article,

I have been on both sides of this coin.

Using outdated App Store info to launch an App and wondering why I wasn't having the same success as my guru.

and

Giving out very specialized 200k+ a year niche job info and wondering why a large percentage of the massive rush of people who wanted in were not having the same success.

I think while a certain amount of 'Johnny Apple' gurus know they are peddling info that won't work for their customers there are a certain amount who have the best of intentions. This concept works regardless of your teachers intentions - if the need is filled... its filled.

 

[Vigilante]

People have contacted MJ asking how they can start a limo company. They are trying to open another apple cart.

You'll see people on the forum try to ask what the specific niche is that other people have found success with. Again, trying to open another apple cart.

Going to AliBaba and looking at their list of top sellers is the fastest way to failure. " Holy shit… Here's a list of the best selling products. All I have to do is import 10 of these, put them on eBay, and… Lambo."

Apple cart empire. The word picture analogy @snowbank used in this blog post should become part of the language at this forum.

 

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[JAJT]

Snowbank's blog is literally the only blog I read every article of these days.

I've been on a ton of different mailing lists and tried to keep up with some blogs but I always lose interest because:

- I get spammed with their stuff almost daily
- What they tell me they've said a thousand times, sometimes not even changing the copy
- The new stuff they post about sucks
- They try to use that old stuff to sell me new stuff that is just a rehash of the old stuff in paid form

I was genuinely worried with Billy's goal of writing MUCH more - I couldn't believe he would be capable of doing so without falling into the above trap. And then my fear felt like it was coming to fruition. The emails started coming in more frequently - not daily, but much more than I was used to from him.

But something weird happened - every post remained unique AND valuable. It wasn't spam, it was a welcomed and valued message.

Forever Jobless, I'm confident, will become "the" blog in this space very shortly. I also have no doubt that if he ever decides to compile his thoughts into a book it will end up on quite a few essential reading lists for a very long time. He's one of the very few people I read that I genuinely feel is operating on a different level.

 

[snowbank]

http://foreverjobless.com/apple-stand-empire/

If I could, I would make this blog post by @snowbank manditory reading for every member and visitor to the fast lane forum.

Interested in ecommerce? Looking for a shortcut? A product to import? How about buying a class from the people who teach you how to do this?

Billy doesn't have to spam the forum. Why? When something you write is this valuable... This golden, and this life changing I will post it for him.

Instant gold content. If you Paid $1,000 to read this single blog post it would be money well spent.

http://foreverjobless.com/apple-stand-empire/

Read this

Thank you @Vigilante! Really appreciate the share and the words.

I was wondering where all these $1k payments were coming from!

 

[Vigilante]

Thank you @Vigilante! Really appreciate the share and the words.

I was wondering where all these $1k payments were coming from!

Wait for my check. It's in the mail.

 

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[snowbank]

Snowbank's blog is literally the only blog I read every article of these days.

Thank you man!

Forever Jobless, I'm confident, will become "the" blog in this space very shortly. I also have no doubt that if he ever decides to compile his thoughts into a book it will end up on quite a few essential reading lists for a very long time. He's one of the very few people I read that I genuinely feel is operating on a different level.

Really appreciate it, thanks for such kind words. I quietly co-wrote a book last year that should be out relatively soon, and am planning to complete my first solo book by year end- will likely release in Q1 or Q2 of 2017. I'll get you an early copy.

 

[Captain Jack]

Wow.

I had no idea Forever Jobless was launched by someone on this forum. That's my favorite business resource (next to this forum). I've been frequenting that site for quite some time now.

This place just keeps getting better and better.

 

[Steven French]

I'm glad I found this, I was worried for a second because I did something similar to what the people that blog is referring to do. But then I realized I already have the sales lined up and I'll make the money I spent back for sure with 6 products left over. Here's to hoping my marketing idea can beat my competition! Thanks for the post.

 

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[Supa]

and am planning to complete my first solo book by year end- will likely release in Q1 or Q2 of 2017.

And another book went on my (future) To Read List

 

[YoungPadawan]

This is gold! Rep+

 

[Longinus]

@snowbank
Thx to @Vigilante I started following your blog. However, I really like it to follow blogs when they have a facebook page. I searched for it but I obviously found the wrong "Forever Jobless".

 

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[snowbank]

That's my favorite business resource (next to this forum). I've been frequenting that site for quite some time now.

Thank you! Means a lot to hear.

 

[MakeItHappen]

@snowbank
Thx to @Vigilante I started following your blog. However, I really like it to follow blogs when they have a facebook page. I searched for it but I obviously found the wrong "Forever Jobless".

https://www.facebook.com/Billy-Murphy-130817040393819/?fref=nf

 

[JAJT]

I quietly co-wrote a book last year that should be out relatively soon, and am planning to complete my first solo book by year end- will likely release in Q1 or Q2 of 2017. I'll get you an early copy.

Awesome news! Can't wait to read both!

 

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[LightHouse]

Great way to explain the ever present issue of chasing money. Love the new graphics @snowbank

 

[aisin]

This thing is amazing, should be read by everyone. Thanks for sharing!

 

[AllenCrawley]

Billy, great article! Maybe you should start an AMA thread here. Could be incredibly valuable for members and for you.

 

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[MrOrigon]

Thanks for the share, @Vigilante - this is especially relevant to me, since I'm starting a e-commerce company. Luckily, I don't think I'm following a Johnny Appleseed - my product fills a gap! However, this was a great read, and I'm glad you put it up here so I could read it.

And you, @snowbank! This is a great article, and you're a great writer! I really get down with the 'conversation' style writing - it allows the reader to put themselves into the shoes of both the educated and uneducated characters to understand the concept better. It's also a great way to reiterate the point you're trying to make, without seeming like you're trying for a larger word count by paraphrasing the same point.

For anyone who also likes his style of writing, a great read is "The Art of Argument" from the Classical Academic Press, a fun, textbook-style book that teaches you all the informal logical fallacies through examples and staged conversations between two college students and Socrates. It's really eye-opening for evaluating the strength (or, rather, the weakness) of our peer's and our own arguments - and just a lot of fun to read!

That's all for now, I have to go read all the posts on foreverjobless - I suppose it's my new Mr Money Mustache, since I already read every article on that blog

 

[KeepGoin]

Hm maybe this is me right now with my ecommerce experiment.

 

[snowbank]

I'm glad I found this, I was worried for a second because I did something similar to what the people that blog is referring to do. But then I realized I already have the sales lined up and I'll make the money I spent back for sure with 6 products left over. Here's to hoping my marketing idea can beat my competition! Thanks for the post.

Just wanted to point out that the marketing aspect of things is completely different than value and filling a gap in the market.

Yes, you can overcome value with marketing, but marketing is significantly easier when value is much higher than competition.

Also, in terms of making money on something it's not a great variable to focus on in the short term in terms of relating to it to making the right move or not. That's being results oriented, which is where a lot of people get into trouble.

For example, plenty of people could crush it in X, Y Z market when market is hot, but if they aren't doing things properly, they run a temporary income operation that will eventually go bust. In other words, they don't have a business they just don't know it yet.

Not saying this is you I have no idea what your product or market is, but just be careful not to confuse results with optimal decision making. There's a lot of people crushing it on Amazon right now for example that I can guarantee will be out of business in 18-24 months because they don't understand the economics of that market or the principles behind what makes a business successful.

They see that you can make money in Amazon doing X, Y, Z, and so they do X, Y and Z. But when the expected results from X, Y and Z change they will be late in adjusting because they were not thinking, they were just playing follow the leader. And if they're just waiting for the leader to tell them what to do next like most people are doing, they're in big trouble.

The majority of the people viewed as 'authority' or 'thought leaders' in the market are not optimal thinkers. Some of them don't even know why they're succeeding, they just know what markets are currently making money and "oh shit, this is hot we should sell info about it." And there's nothing wrong with selling info on something that's working, but the problem that it creates is that most people are following people for the wrong reasons. The temporary results from people in a hot market are creating the illusion that the person was responsible for the results and not the market, or market conditions. So when the market changes and they're still following the person's advice, the sample size evens itself out if it wasn't an actual 'thought leader'.

Look at how many authority figures are still telling people to start blogs and referencing their own success as if the blog is the important variable in the equation. The uninformed and people who aren't thinking for themselves will follow the marketing channel as if the marketing channel is the actual variable of success. In the long term this will almost never be true. A blog for example, is just a marketing platform. And not the optimal one for the majority of people. It's equivalent to if I filled a gap in a market and I decided to sell my product at flea markets. If I was crushing it it's unlikely that my success could be attributed to having a table at a flea market. The flea market would just be the marketing channel I was using to show people my product. Having a product that filled a gap would be the reason I was crushing it.

 

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[Raoul Duke]

http://foreverjobless.com/apple-stand-empire/

If I could, I would make this blog post by @snowbank manditory reading for every member and visitor to the fast lane forum.

Interested in ecommerce? Looking for a shortcut? A product to import? How about buying a class from the people who teach you how to do this?

Billy doesn't have to spam the forum. Why? When something you write is this valuable... This golden, and this life changing I will post it for him.

Instant gold content. If you Paid $1,000 to read this single blog post it would be money well spent.

http://foreverjobless.com/apple-stand-empire/

Read this

The Cook and the Chef


https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/are-you-a-cook-or-a-chef.63843/
http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/11/the-cook-and-the-chef-musks-secret-sauce.html

 

[snowbank]

Billy, great article!.

Thanks Allen!

Maybe you should start an AMA thread here. Could be incredibly valuable for members and for you.

Would love to but pretty locked in at the moment. Possibly sometime in the next month or two.

 

[luke111]

Thanks for the great share!

 

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[Steven French]

Just wanted to point out that the marketing aspect of things is completely different than value and filling a gap in the market.

Yes, you can overcome value with marketing, but marketing is significantly easier when value is much higher than competition.

Also, in terms of making money on something it's not a great variable to focus on in the short term in terms of relating to it to making the right move or not. That's being results oriented, which is where a lot of people get into trouble.

For example, plenty of people could crush it in X, Y Z market when market is hot, but if they aren't doing things properly, they run a temporary income operation that will eventually go bust. In other words, they don't have a business they just don't know it yet.

Not saying this is you I have no idea what your product or market is, but just be careful not to confuse results with optimal decision making. There's a lot of people crushing it on Amazon right now for example that I can guarantee will be out of business in 18-24 months because they don't understand the economics of that market or the principles behind what makes a business successful.

They see that you can make money in Amazon doing X, Y, Z, and so they do X, Y and Z. But when the expected results from X, Y and Z change they will be late in adjusting because they were not thinking, they were just playing follow the leader. And if they're just waiting for the leader to tell them what to do next like most people are doing, they're in big trouble.

The majority of the people viewed as 'authority' or 'thought leaders' in the market are not optimal thinkers. Some of them don't even know why they're succeeding, they just know what markets are currently making money and "oh shit, this is hot we should sell info about it." And there's nothing wrong with selling info on something that's working, but the problem that it creates is that most people are following people for the wrong reasons. The temporary results from people in a hot market are creating the illusion that the person was responsible for the results and not the market, or market conditions. So when the market changes and they're still following the person's advice, the sample size evens itself out if it wasn't an actual 'thought leader'.

Look at how many authority figures are still telling people to start blogs and referencing their own success as if the blog is the important variable in the equation. The uninformed and people who aren't thinking for themselves will follow the marketing channel as if the marketing channel is the actual variable of success. In the long term this will almost never be true. A blog for example, is just a marketing platform. And not the optimal one for the majority of people. It's equivalent to if I filled a gap in a market and I decided to sell my product at flea markets. If I was crushing it it's unlikely that my success could be attributed to having a table at a flea market. The flea market would just be the marketing channel I was using to show people my product. Having a product that filled a gap would be the reason I was crushing it.

Honestly you're 100% right, I could ride this for a while and make a decent bit of money off of it, I could probably even cut in on the guy selling them at "wholesale" price and make a business out of that, but no matter what it will eventually just stop making money altogether once people realize they can get the same results for free with a laptop, I give it less than 12 months lol.


But I've been staying up until 6am everyday learning data analysis by using terapeak, and I've found some good stuff I think I am going to focus on. I even managed to get a pretty good price by showing the Chinese guy I was negotiating with terapeak results. Some of my friends have paid 350$ for things that are on alibaba for 25-40$, and unlike the product I was talking about in my previous post the demand for this one will only get bigger. Thanks for the great advice.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Great article - and incredibly applicable even on this forum.

If you scan through the top trends here in the past year, you'll notice "self-publishing" and "copywriting".

Self-publishing has died down, but copywriting has not. Don't get me wrong, writing good copy is an amazing skill, but the amount of people jumping into copy is disproportionate when compared to the other valuable skill-sets. So my only conclusion is that a lot of these people here are just trying to build another apple stand. This article sums up the attitude perfectly.

 

[marklov]

Great read but this one is still my favorite http://foreverjobless.com/entrepreneurial-diworsification/

 

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[amp0193]

Great read but this one is still my favorite http://foreverjobless.com/entrepreneurial-diworsification/

A classic. That was a tough, tough lesson for me to learn. I had my hands in too many things for years.

This one remains my favorite: http://foreverjobless.com/ev-millionaires-math/

 

[snowbank]

This is a great article, and you're a great writer!

Appreciate that, thank you man

a great read is "The Art of Argument"

Looks interesting, going to check it out.

I have to go read all the posts on foreverjobless

If you do this I'd be incredibly interested in your feedback when you're done