Earn $50 by June 31st. Budget $350

[eTox]

Hello Everyone,

I am making a commitment to everyone that by the end of June 31st, 2016 or earlier I will make no less than $50 of profit. In return for this money I will provide a product that solves people's needs.

The sole purpose of this is to introduce myself to e-Commerce and the world of marketing, importing, selling, etc.

Steps I am about to take:

• Create a plan by which I will fulfil my promise
• Act on it immediately
• Post regular updates to my progress thread

 

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[petkovic]

Hello Everyone,

I am making a commitment to everyone that by the end of June 31st, 2016 or earlier I will make no less than $50 of profit. In return for this money I will provide a product that solves people's needs.

The sole purpose of this is to introduce myself to e-Commerce and the world of marketing, importing, selling, etc.

Steps I am about to take:

• Create a plan by which I will fulfil my promise
• Act on it immediately
• Post regular updates to my progress thread

Good luck to you! Have a look at the threads by @biophase and @Walter Hay if you need a place to start

 

[eTox]

Good luck to you! Have a look at the threads by @biophase and @Walter Hay if you need a place to start

Thank you . Already digging my way in. I do have a small to overcome right now.

I am currently living in Russia not far from Moscow though. But I am a Canadian citizen and have my family living in Toronto, Canada. Moving back is not an option in near future. I can not rely on my family or friends to take care of my supposed business back there.

Problem:
How could I manage to get started with eCom and Amazon while being outside of the country. Specifically how could I manage to get the shipment from China to someplace in Canada then to Amazons FBA and what are the difference Amazon Canada and US?

• I need to take care of storing the stuff somewhere in Toronto
• I need to get my labels on them
• I need to ship it from my place to customer or directly bulk it to FBA
• I need someone to take care of it all

The easiest solution would be to A) get back to Toronto B) Figure the steps out there. BUT I cannot do that because A) I do not want to go back there B) I do not want to go back there yet

Options to consider:

• Moving back to Toronto?
• Drop shipping?
• Shipping from Russia???
• Forget about it now and focus on getting samples of products here and testing them out in the market and only then once I have a product or two ready for mass consumption to move back and create a system for handling the dirty work?

Last point sounds more right ATM, figure out all possible solutions. Will be back.

 

[sWALK90]

Why aim so low?

50 bucks in 37 days....

You can make that now by walking down your street and asking what do people need help with..cutting grass...washing cars..ect..

 

[Walter Hay]

Thank you . Already digging my way in. I do have a small to overcome right now.

I am currently living in Russia not far from Moscow though. But I am a Canadian citizen and have my family living in Toronto, Canada. Moving back is not an option in near future. I can not rely on my family or friends to take care of my supposed business back there.

Problem:
How could I manage to get started with eCom and Amazon while being outside of the country. Specifically how could I manage to get the shipment from China to someplace in Canada then to Amazons FBA and what are the difference Amazon Canada and US?

• I need to take care of storing the stuff somewhere in Toronto
• I need to get my labels on them
• I need to ship it from my place to customer or directly bulk it to FBA
• I need someone to take care of it all

The easiest solution would be to A) get back to Toronto B) Figure the steps out there. BUT I cannot do that because A) I do not want to go back there B) I do not want to go back there yet

Options to consider:

• Moving back to Toronto?
• Drop shipping?
• Shipping from Russia???
• Forget about it now and focus on getting samples of products here and testing them out in the market and only then once I have a product or two ready for mass consumption to move back and create a system for handling the dirty work?

Last point sounds more right ATM, figure out all possible solutions. Will be back.

I can't help you with the marketing side of things such as product choice, but as far as entering the Amazon market from overseas, that is done by a large number of people, using FBA.

In your situation I would go for the bigger market on Amazon in the US rather than in Canada. In that case you would need to ship the product/s to the US, because cost of shipping from Canada to Amazon US would be high, even if Amazon subsidize freight cost to FBA.

I don't recommend shipping direct from your supplier to FBA, because: 1. Your supplier gets to know how you are marketing the product and might decide to bypass you and sell direct. and 2. Amazon get to know who your supplier is and if you are successful, they might decide to compete with you. (A common scenario.)

Instead, you can ship to a prepping service in the US, where your product can be prepared for sale according to Amazon's requirements, and then shipped to FBA at a subsidized rate.

Regarding sourcing the product once you have made your choice, I suggest you have a look through my AMA thread, or if you have specific questions you can post them there. Don't post anything confidential - PM me instead.

Walter

 

[eTox]

Why aim so low?

50 bucks in 37 days....

You can make that now by walking down your street and asking what do people need help with..cutting grass...washing cars..ect..

You are absolutely right, there is not one reason why I should not make more in less time.

Problem:
To confirm the selection of one product i like it takes time for it to come here

• 1 week - 90 CAD
• 2 week - 60 CAD
• 4 weeks - free

Options:

• Swallow the cost for few product candidates and get them here ASAP
• Forget product selection at all. Trust gut and go big (Order small from Aliexpress maybe 10-100 depending on budget and price)

1) I get to lose a month and get several products to choose from or pay a hefty price lets say 1 for 1 week and loose 1/3 of budget. The benefit is assurance. I get to ensure that the product is good quality. Make notes of whats bad what to improve, how to brand it. Take custom photos. If not i dump a week and 90 out of budget.

2) Forget it. Trust your gut instinct. Select the best one that you think will cut it based on reviews and overall impression. Manipulate the images to suit your needs. Import a few straight to warehouse. Plus I could already use before hand the product images for my test campaign on Fb or the likes.

Solution: dont waste the time and money on shiping them home first. Trust gut instinct.

 

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[eTox]

I can't help you with the marketing side of things such as product choice, but as far as entering the Amazon market from overseas, that is done by a large number of people, using FBA.

In your situation I would go for the bigger market on Amazon in the US rather than in Canada. In that case you would need to ship the product/s to the US, because cost of shipping from Canada to Amazon US would be high, even if Amazon subsidize freight cost to FBA.

I don't recommend shipping direct from your supplier to FBA, because: 1. Your supplier gets to know how you are marketing the product and might decide to bypass you and sell direct. and 2. Amazon get to know who your supplier is and if you are successful, they might decide to compete with you. (A common scenario.)

Instead, you can ship to a prepping service in the US, where your product can be prepared for sale according to Amazon's requirements, and then shipped to FBA at a subsidized rate.

Regarding sourcing the product once you have made your choice, I suggest you have a look through my AMA thread, or if you have specific questions you can post them there. Don't post anything confidential - PM me instead.

Walter

Thank you Walter for your epic suggestions! You have just solved my problem with shiping to Amazon

Todo:

• Determine the costs involved in using a fulfilment center
• How to set up US Amazon account for a Canadian and what is involved with it: addresses, tax info, etc. I do not have or plan to use a company atm. My goal is to get out there first.
• Learn about Amazon rules.
• Find out all there is about fulfilment centers!

 

[Walter Hay]

See your PMs for more help re US Amazon FBA for a Canadian citizen.

Walter

 

[eTox]

Update:

I have looked into few products I like and came up with 3 I would like to test. I also introduced myself to Shopify and decided to validate 1 product that I feel like has the most success and then work on the next 2.

I have set up a Shopify page with a test product and some of its variation.

Next steps:

• Get to know and play with FB ads
• Test product 1 with FB ads over the weekend and see if there is any demand
• If there is any demand, calculate the final costs that are associated with my product and hypothesize returns

Really excited!!!

 

[eTox]

Stuck.

I disregarded the previous products.

I am now stuck at selecting products. I feel so overwhelmed, there are so many things to choose but when I come up with one and go check out amazon sales prices and volumes I get so discouraged because:

1. so many people are selling
2. low margins after import and shipping

Current strategy:

• Look for products that have at least $10 profit margin (products no cheaper to sell than $25)
• Find and concentrate on niche items to be able to brand around a niche
• find preferably those products that would be boring to sell for other people (not very popular or known items)

If anyone has any strategies or suggestions for finding the first product to sell please share, thank you!

 

[BellaPippin]

June has 30 days! And the 30th is my bday 😀 Lol

Good luck! We're kind of on the same boat. I promised myself I'd have my first sale by then. Let's do this!

 

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[eTox]

June has 30 days! And the 30th is my bday 😀 Lol

Good luck! We're kind of on the same boat. I promised myself I'd have my first sale by then. Let's do this!

Well, I don't mind an extra day let us see who gets the first sale!

 

[eTox]

Great

Found 3 products to test out. I believe they seem promising.

Also identified my goals and created a vision, a goal, so that my fastlane converges with my dreams now!

Execution is King. Let us see where I go.

Lessons learned:

• Little thinking goes a long way. Think too much and you become a thinkoholic who only talks and dreams. Guid: from now on, come up with a goal, list things to do, list things that bother you, take of your head and put it on the table, start acting. When you need to solve a problem, go back and get your head, once done, take it off again and continue executing.
• One step at a time, dont rush it. Better to get little bit done, than be overwhelmed and not do anything.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

Why aim so low?

50 bucks in 37 days....

You can make that now by walking down your street and asking what do people need help with..cutting grass...washing cars..ect..

I think the low goal is a great way to start.

Too many people set unrealistic goals and then give up.

In entrepreneurship, getting from $0 to $1 is definitely a lot harder than getting from $1 to $100.

Starting with the $50 goal sets the right goals and expectations. It's not a lot of money, but the perfect first step to building a "system" / "machine" that does.

 

[eTox]

I think the low goal is a great way to start.

Too many people set unrealistic goals and then give up.

In entrepreneurship, getting from $0 to $1 is definitely a lot harder than getting from $1 to $100.

Starting with the $50 goal sets the right goals and expectations. It's not a lot of money, but the perfect first step to building a "system" / "machine" that does.

I cant agree more with you, I have fallen in to that exact trap for the last year and a half. It seems like I focus on the reward, on the MY wants and needs, and I ultimately fail. every single time. Why? well because I then cant stop dreaming how awesome it would be to have it happen, and then I get carried away with, cool Ill get it done, but tomorrow, today I will only plan

Never, ever, will I ever again let my self fall in to that trap. I wasted this whole fall/winter/spring being there, I have disappointed everyone, my girlfriend, my parents, and myself just because of self-obsession.

I had no skill, or experience to rely my excess self-confidence, and when the harsh reality hit, I fell so low, that I felt crying each time in my pillow at night. Although I believe I have accomplished quite a little, it was barely nothing in terms of self growth. But such hard failures made me realize that there is something more.

I am glad that I am back on track and can give a new fast lane my best shot ever Feel excited and pumped!

 

[eTox]

Goals for the day:

• Extract product images and create product listings in Shopify with descriptions
• Identify pricings
• Set up the Shopify website

Also, after running a facebook campaign to test validity I have an option to:

• order a test order (~$30) for one unit
• or order 25 test units and pay ~$50

I think if it validates I'll go all in and order 25 or more depending on the demand.

Also, I want nice packaging and custom letters printed for each order. Ill look into that a bit later.

 

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[nradam123]

Good luck my boy. $0 to $1 is going to be an eye opener. Its all about the small wins

 

[OldFaithful]

@eTox If I may ask, was there a business related purpose in moving to Russia? You need not answer if you're so inclined.

I must admit that I'm curious just because I've been there twice and an eCommerce business seems worlds away from what I saw in Russia. But perhaps that would provide you a front row seat as they adopt the internet/eCommerce/apps/etc.!?!? Might be a great opportunity.

 

[eTox]

@eTox If I may ask, was there a business related purpose in moving to Russia? You need not answer if you're so inclined.

I must admit that I'm curious just because I've been there twice and an eCommerce business seems worlds away from what I saw in Russia. But perhaps that would provide you a front row seat as they adopt the internet/eCommerce/apps/etc.!?!? Might be a great opportunity.

To be honest, there was no business related purpose, it just so happened that I was born there and my grandparents are here. My parents are back in Canada. I just decided to take full control of my life and burn all bridges: quit university (Accounting), quit my job, cancelled absolutely everything. All I have is 10k of student debt (I call it the National Debt).

Why Russia? I have my girlfriend here, plus with a monthly budget of $600 here, in the province, I live better than most bank managers in this city. So now I am free, financially and morally from parents (no bs go back and be a slave). Everyone still wants me to go back and study and get a nice 9-5 for 40 years. I politely decline the opportunity each time.

To be honest I have enough savings to stay here until the end of September. I also have $350 budget for starting something, but if what I am doing now will prove itself, I could drop another 1.5k cash of my living budget, if I need the money asap.

In terms of business, Russia is that last place, after hell, I would do business in. There is absolutely no justice. The law does not work. There is no understanding of "private property". The level of corruption is at such high that I can not possibly picture it to you. You can have everything now and the next day a fat prick from government may liken your business and lock you in a shithole in siberia for 25 years. It all seems fine from the outside, yet inside its F*cking utmost unbelievable shit you can imagine. A world where a majority of population lives below poverty, where bank loans are 50% yearly, where entrepreneurs flee this shit hole at their first chance. Russia, what it is right now, has no future. Done.

Forget Russia in terms of business.

I am wrapping my head around this new fast-lane. If it all works, great, I will leave this place asap and do business in Canada/US. But as far as life, its my homeland, I like it here.

 

[OldFaithful]

There is absolutely no justice. The law does not work. There is no understanding of "private property". The level of corruption is at such high that I can not possibly picture it to you. You can have everything now and the next day a fat prick from government may liken your business and lock you in a shithole in siberia for 25 years.

I can believe that. I've been there too. Tambov, south of Moscow & Khabarovsk in eastern Siberia.

I hope it works out for you.

 

[eTox]

I have set up my Shopify store and added 4 different product variations to test out. I only need to come up with the right price for it, but I think I have a reasonable one.

I was looking into FB and after messing with it, I am really frustrated, it shows my currency in RUB instead of CAD, no matter what I do, ended up recreating accounts. Seems to have solved that. Oh yeah, no support from facebook. FML.

Now I identified my niche, and was setting up my ad, but:

$6 bid per click!!! WTF?! I tried changing different variations, and a whole different niche and the lowest I get is $3/click.... WTF!!!

I think I need a break for today.... I can't throw such money at the screen atm to validate the demand. At this rate, getting a single test sale will cost more than the product itself...

 

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[Ecom man]

I have set up my Shopify store and added 4 different product variations to test out. I only need to come up with the right price for it, but I think I have a reasonable one.

I was looking into FB and after messing with it, I am really frustrated, it shows my currency in RUB instead of CAD, no matter what I do, ended up recreating accounts. Seems to have solved that. Oh yeah, no support from facebook. FML.

Now I identified my niche, and was setting up my ad, but:

$6 bid per click!!! WTF?! I tried changing different variations, and a whole different niche and the lowest I get is $3/click.... WTF!!!

I think I need a break for today.... I can't throw such money at the screen atm to validate the demand. At this rate, getting a single test sale will cost more than the product itself...

Just because a recommended bid is a certain amount doesn't mean you have to bid that amount. Are you using Adwords or just Facebook ads?

 

[m500]

Good look on your journey and thanks for sharing.

I did a couple of things with Shopify last year (that didn't really work out) but liked the platform a lot, and aiming to try something else. Need to finalise a niche/products first.

I'll be following this thread with interest.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[eTox]

I have never learned so much in such a small period of time. Since I joined the forum few weeks ago, I became an insider and the amount of knowledge I am getting is so so so over my head. I am burried. I spend at least 3-6 hours clean on this forum almost every single day. The insider subscription is simply invaluable. I can not be more thankful to the contributors of this forum.

No, I have not taken any action yet aside from what I have said already, I hit a road block with fb ads, but I think it was for the better. Since then I acquired even more knowldege, albeit it barely scratches the surface of everything that is on this forum.

I am writing out plans for action taking.

I am thinking of abandoning this thread and moving inside. I feel like I would like to share some personal details and close details about my progress and I do not feel comfortable posting it to the general public.

To be honest I feel so overwhelmed. Anxious and frightned. But it feels good, because knowing the person who I am, I am making huge progress.

 

[JokerCrazyBeatz]

I have never learned so much in such a small period of time. Since I joined the forum few weeks ago, I became an insider and the amount of knowledge I am getting is so so so over my head. I am burried. I spend at least 3-6 hours clean on this forum almost every single day. The insider subscription is simply invaluable. I can not be more thankful to the contributors of this forum.

No, I have not taken any action yet aside from what I have said already, I hit a road block with fb ads, but I think it was for the better. Since then I acquired even more knowldege, albeit it barely scratches the surface of everything that is on this forum.

I am writing out plans for action taking.

I am thinking of abandoning this thread and moving inside. I feel like I would like to share some personal details and close details about my progress and I do not feel comfortable posting it to the general public.

To be honest I feel so overwhelmed. Anxious and frightned. But it feels good, because knowing the person who I am, I am making huge progress.

Learn the execute what you've learned . That's DEFF the process . But make sure u don't spend more time learning then u do taking action . I say this cus I have that problem lol

 

[4x4ord]

I have never learned so much in such a small period of time. Since I joined the forum few weeks ago, I became an insider and the amount of knowledge I am getting is so so so over my head. I am burried. I spend at least 3-6 hours clean on this forum almost every single day. The insider subscription is simply invaluable. I can not be more thankful to the contributors of this forum.

No, I have not taken any action yet aside from what I have said already, I hit a road block with fb ads, but I think it was for the better. Since then I acquired even more knowldege, albeit it barely scratches the surface of everything that is on this forum.

I am writing out plans for action taking.

I am thinking of abandoning this thread and moving inside. I feel like I would like to share some personal details and close details about my progress and I do not feel comfortable posting it to the general public.

To be honest I feel so overwhelmed. Anxious and frightned. But it feels good, because knowing the person who I am, I am making huge progress.

Your covering your anxiety about taking action by keeping busy thinking about taking action. Believe me, I've been there. When you make one small real action you will learn mountains more than what you will reading and making plans. Take a step. It's ok if it's not perfect. It's a lot easier than you think. You've got the tools you need already.

Btw, PM me anytime if you'd like. I was recently where you are and in 6 months have made more progress than I can believe in ecommerce. I'm happy to help.

 

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[eTox]

I have been productive yesterday and today ))))))))))))))))) so happy

Things that I have accomplished:

• created a plan and a goal by which I was going to change my life to its desired state
• finished my shopify store
  • priced the product
  • inserted fb pixel
  • inserted google analytics
  • tried and played with personal test orders to get the feel and taste
  • created gmail account
• created and launched a fb ad campaign for 2 days at $5 /day just to see whats going to happen

It feels like I have done soooooo much!!!! To be honest I felt so scared throughout all of the time. Perhaps 5 times I stopped and fought my fears to keep going.

What really helped:

• Dry runs!

It felt so much easier to creating a plan for dry runs. It is like just playing around with tests. I read somewhere on the forum where they were talking about it, and instantly it clicked with me. That's it! That is what I should do. So all I said to myself was go and do dry runs, as many of them as you need for any things. So I created a plan and started executing.

Will post further actions!

I feel on fire Thank you so much guys!!!

 

[eTox]

After getting some results from FB campaign, it turns out my bid is way too low and the suggested bid is
$21 per click!!!!!

I think I am in the wrong niche or my marketing strategy is all wrong. Something must be done.

• raise the bid = burn through budget with no results
• change the marketing strategy: identify a narrower audience for the product that would have a lower CPC and see how that goes for few days
• do the previous, and make another dry run with product test on shopify and fb ads

I also have another thought:
I want to make a dry run to Amazon.

I have found very sharp and simple knives at the local store. There are two variants of them. The total cost for two will be $0.80. I could buy 10 of each and package them together. Based on what I understood I could sell them for $10 on Amazon.

I want to do it because I get to know the process of shipping, packaging, and selling on Amazon + creating my own accounts and listing products.

The problem:
Because they come in Russian packaging I will remove the original packaging. So how do I repackage?

• I am thinking of leaving them without original packaging and simply bubble wrapping in sets of two and simply shipping to amazon.

I am not trying to build a brand, I just want to get the hang of it. Is this wrong to do?

I would appreciate some thoughts on this

 

[eTox]

Also how should I go about having multiple Amazon store accounts?

Say I am starting out broad, because I do not know which niche I will end up taking and say I name "John Doe Products" thus being a generic name. But the end of testing I end up selling from biscuits to condoms. How would I be able to narrow down then If I would want at the end for example "John Doe Beauty & Care"?

I understand I would have to have different emails and home addresses and names to start a different amazon account.

Am I missing something?

 

[eTox]

Mental masturbation.

I have not done anything since last update, except for crawling through the forum's trail of golden nuggets only to smash against a steel toe boot of harsh reality:

I am not taking any action.

What worries me:

• I am constantly afraid to make progress. I really can not understand why I feel afraid.
• I am disorganized and lazy. I believe I am lazy because I am disorganized.
• After starting to reread TMF book second time, I am 1/5 through the book and realized that I have not come up with any financial plans.

Life is easy shit right now. Burning through my savings.

I feel like it will hit me hard again soon if I don't start taking action and getting results. I have 2 more months of savings and afterwards I have secured a sales job with my uncle, so I am settled for the next 4 months for sure in COMFORT. This pisses me off.

I feel happy when I am not comfortable. I need change. But I am afraid of taking action to change things. Why?

Because I understand the journey will take time, a year and more, and that's what makes me lazy. I know I have TIME. I am consciously allowing my self to be lazy and unproductive because I am

What am I going to do TODAY about it:

• Keep on procrastinating for today.

Until tomorrow.