Scaling eCommerce Chronicle - updating - own product, online shop, amazon - latest weekly profit: 700+

[Chibbs]

Not sure where I left off last time but I think it was before Christmas holidays.

I had another week holidays mid January where obviously all marketing was paused and AMZ on holiday mode, so last month was only really half a month to work with, however started to get some good pull energy behind my campaigns and scaling was starting to work again, increasing budgets slightly every few days to around 250 a day end of January and hitting 800-1k revenue per day.

Now, big problem at the moment - Corona... I was expecting re-stock last week but the vessel has not even left China yet due to the situation and I am not sure when it will be doing that!? This is a big bummer and bump in the road, but surely I am not the only one being affect and surely some people actually suffer losses / don't know how to make a living at the moment. As it is a side hustle for me it is sad to have this slow down of the whole business but its manageable.

Monthly profits incl AMZ -
October 3400
November 5500
December 8000
January 4500
February MTD 2300

Pulled a bank statement today and you can see some nice scaling happening right here. It's all pre-tax, but this keeps me going and working hard on scaling (ONCE THE STUPID VIRUS HAS DIED DIE DIE DIE DIE)

View attachment 30387

Sorry to revive this old thread but I am sure some folks would b interested in an update. How did the business do with the virus?

 

[liero1]

Nice progress! You make it look so easy.
Definitely following.

Regarding the shopify store, do you have a separate warehouse that you ship your products to from your supplier (from China) to speed up the shipping process?

And another question regarding your marketing launch, did you learn on the go or took specific courses for each channel?

Hi

Thanks. No directly door to door and then shipping to customers myself. Also assembling and fulfilling myself. Last few weeks I sit every night until about midnight and prepare the orders. I always knew - if I ever do find something profitable I will work my a$$ off besides working th 9-5 as well as long as I have to.
Marketing - I have about ten years experience in online marketing so this is really my home game

 

[bbar97]

Extremely helpful and valuable thread. I plan to invent a product and market it through similar avenues to yours here. This stuff gets my blood pumping, I love it and want to learn as much as possible before I have the ability to move forward with one of my product ideas.

 

[BlackMagician]

Extremely helpful and valuable thread. I plan to invent a product and market it through similar avenues to yours here. This stuff gets my blood pumping, I love it and want to learn as much as possible before I have the ability to move forward with one of my product ideas.

Why not learn after you launch your product ideas?

 

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[JWM]

Oh and if anyone reads this who is Australian - would love to chat. Will be trying to launch in Australia with one friend being there for one or two years for travelling/working (but not being Australian we are not sure how to proceed and would love a partner on the ground who could also take this forward beyond that time potentially )

Nice post, good to see the progress you've made. I am from Australia and would be happy to chat to you about your business and your plans to expand into the Australian market. Feel free to send me a direct message.

 

[Icecreamchild]

I would always recommend personal visits to suppliers. They respect customers who make that effort, and this is a good start to developing Guanxi. That terms basically means relationship, and that can result in far better service, and more cooperativeness in general.

Before going to China, as I explain in Ch. 10.2 of my book, you should do serious preparation. If you have my book, read that chapter again. It will help you avoid blunders and even getting lost in a Chinese city.

Walter

Is this an advertisement?

 

[liero1]

Stay tuned for a new update including record day for Black Friday

 

[BlackMagician]

Keep going Man!!!. I am rooting for you.

 

[uroz]

MoveValue any tips on how you did it? Just started out in the sport(cycling) souvenir niche.
liero (good game also btw) - keep the posts coming, very informative. rooting for you also.

 

[liero1]

time for an update?

 

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[Vairavan]

Wow.

All the best bro.

 

[Vairavan]

Thanks man. Hope it does continue. Today was not good / but it’s about the week, the month, the year.

 

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[liero1]

This is probably too late for you because you have already dived in, but I am posting for the benefit of others new to importing.

I recommend starting off with a small order rather than risk so much first up. A small order enables you to test the supplier, as well as testing the product quality and market acceptance.


I am assuming that the supplier would use normal procedures and pack all packages in one larger package, unless that made the one package too large/heavy for the chosen freight method, which would in your case appear to be via air courier. You should know if it had or had not been sent, because it would appear on the waybill. If lost, was it insured?

Your quote from the supplier should have automatically included customs clearance. When using almost any air courier service that is the case. It is vitally important to have a written quote for freight on a door to door basis. If it was included in the quote and they are not willing to deduct that £50 from your next order, you should find another supplier.

Regarding suppliers, are you dealing with a manufacturer, or with a trader? (Don't believe any statement that they are manufacturers. As part of due diligence you should check that.) There can be big differences , not only in price, but also time before shipping. A trader will usually have to place an order with a manufacturer after receiving your order. Not many traders carry inventory, and delays are common.

Walter

Hi thanks for the comment man - totally agree. It shows I don’t have any experience important whatsoever.

Only thing now is that the customers are used to the specific product and high quality so I wouldn’t want to change. Margin is good too

Yes it looks like a valid manufacturer looking at their address pictures and certificates on alibaba.

Another shipment is on the way at the moment and already thinking about the third one which needs to be much bigger. Do you think it’s worth visiting them in person?! If I Get to about 400 net profit a day this is probably not crazy in terms of cost versus benefit (building trust relationship etc).

Thanks

 

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[ManliestManofMen]

Following.

I've heard SEO from Shopify sites can be pretty bad. Any tips for overcoming that? Do you have a blog or just market/advertise through Google and socials?

 

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[liero1]

Following.

I've heard SEO from Shopify sites can be pretty bad. Any tips for overcoming that? Do you have a blog or just market/advertise through Google and socials?

Don’t think I rank yet. It’s all paid social and ppc. Actually less real ppc and more smart campaigns / video on google. It is incredible hard on generic keywords nowadays.

 

[MitchM]

Don’t think I rank yet. It’s all paid social and ppc. Actually less real ppc and more smart campaigns / video on google. It is incredible hard on generic keywords nowadays.

Mind sharing some tactics for paid social/what you follow?

I get all of my sales from keywords and would love to get some insight

 

[MichaelCash]

Great job! I like this approach. I would wait with launching a new product. Also, if something works, I would double down on it.

 

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[MichaelCash]

Hi all,

after a lot of reading I decided to participate in this fantastic forum - it might give inspiration and I might get some good help! Can't be asked with a blog, so this might give me nice little motivation and clear historic view of what actually happened when.

I have re-read your steps again. Actually very inspirational and a kind of lean approach.
I am curious, why shopify? why don't you use Amazon or Ebay?

 

[BlackMagician]

Fast speed! Amazing. Please continue sharing.

 

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[skintinnate]

Great posts, love seeing the journey so inspiring!

Also, what would you recommend using at the beginning to get that initial traffic?
PPC? Facebook? IG Influencers?

 

[Strm]

Hey!

I agree with others, I love this thread as well. Currently working on my products as well and I always love to dive right in. Your thread is very inspiring and it is great to see your progress! Keep us posted!

 

[bbar97]

Why not learn after you launch your product ideas?

Well I'm just fresh out of college and I figured I should get a job for a while so I can gain some experience in the working world as well as pay off my loans. I have about $7,500 in loans which isn't too much, but I definitely think I should pay them off before I start with any capital intensive venture. In the meantime though, I figured learning was the best thing I could do. I also have a very small toy capsule vending machine business (only 1 machine currently, I still need to force myself to go locate more places to put my other 3 machines). I also have a blog that I kind of just work on for fun right now, but I only have a couple posts on there.

Thanks for the feedback will keep this going

Quite a few going to launch as well which is fantastic, maybe just drop your experiences here wherever relevant.

Had a few thoughts while commuting - if you are launching, podcasts are a MUST listen! Brilliant shows out there, very educational, I learned so much and I consider myself a digital marketing expert with ten years experience in corporate, agency and own ventures! Listen to all the good eCommerce podcasts.

Then try to learn as much as you need to do the activity professionally. It needs to be spot on, at the same level an agency would do it for you for big bucks but obviously you can't or don't want to pay that and do it yourself. Don't do any activity half hearted or you are just like any other guy out there in your niche who thinks some cool insta posts will nail it. Example , I been diving into email strategies the last days, listened and read a LOT and been building my strategy, next step building all the automated email templates, etc. Same for paid social, you need a full a-z strategy, don't just put ads out there. Same for Google, do PPC but do it smart or you going to burn money quickly. Have customer service nailed, I answer EVERY message and read every comment to be able to react straight away.

I'm actually in the marketing world as well, but I'm not quite at 10 years of experience yet haha.
I chose to go into marketing because I figured it would allow me to learn the most valuable skills and information necessary to be successful at owning a business. I'm at a very small company which I think is good because it allows me to wear a bunch of different hats and learn as much as possible in different areas. I'm actually enjoying it so far, especially managing Google Ads campaigns.

 

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[sweetlif3]

Had a few thoughts while commuting - if you are launching, podcasts are a MUST listen! Brilliant shows out there, very educational, I learned so much and I consider myself a digital marketing expert with ten years experience in corporate, agency and own ventures! Listen to all the good eCommerce podcasts

What are some of the good podcasts you recommend?

Thanks for doing this thread by the way . Love reading execution threads! As MJ says, ideas are f-ing worthless -- it's all about the execution.

Looking forward to seeing how you do over the holiday gifting season with things pumping at full speed.

 

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[jon11]

good stuff. I'm in australia as well would be interested in hearing more.

Cheers
Jon

 

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[DeletedUser0287]

No one (no one) will get to your shop if you don't buy the traffic.

This is false, I haven’t paid for traffic and get organic views and sales.

 

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[glai7159]

Hi all,

after a lot of reading I decided to participate in this fantastic forum - it might give inspiration and I might get some good help! Can't be asked with a blog, so this might give me nice little motivation and clear historic view of what actually happened when.

Goal - be able to quit the office. That will need at least about 5k profit gross / month (double the current net income, due to pensions, security etc).

How to get there - scale an online shop to the absolute MAX.

July/August - product idea, researched market which showed there are only a hand full of shops that sell a similar product and all of those don't look like they are run by exactly scale-driven, perfectionist individuals.

August - product purchase, directly from China through Alibaba. Nervous first big investment of circa 2k to get a first big(ish) batch of products delivered door to door. Delivery costs were just as much as the product costs but that's what it is when you order the MOQ (minimum order quantity). Then some more smaller investments from national suppliers for printer, paper, labels, envelopes, some other smaller things to assemble the actual product. Overall prob 3k investment.

Delivery - nothing straight forward, first the chinese supplier takes much longer than anticipated to get the packages out, then one of packages is either LOST or probably never been sent, so another 4 weeks on top, also they /forget/ to pay for customs clearance so I end up paying 50 quid to get that last (crucial) package through...

Mid September - launched a little online shop, using shopify which is very easy to set up and easy to make look good/converting.

Mid September Launch Marketing - No one (no one) will get to your shop if you don't buy the traffic. So first channels to launch are:
- PPC google, search and shopping
- Paid Social (as competitors are very active with influencers/paid social)
- Influencer emails/reaching out if they fancy a free product
- Amazon (but nothing approved yet)

Week 1
Desperate for the first sale, watching real time google analytics non stop - who knows that
THEN BOOM first sale after about 4 hours and obviously much more money spent than that sale would bring in.
In the end spent about 300 pounds that first week on mainly top line, awareness social campaigns. Top line cost per sale way too high - nervous time but early days. From my experience I know about digital marketing and how algorithms can't work if you don't feed them with data, visitors.
- tried snapchat ads without any results (just left me with a stupid visitor explosion in analytics as /preload website/ was activated for EVERY ad impression on snapchat...
-86 P&L

Week 2
- added more apps to the shop, some crucial some probably not.
- optimizing paid social, cutting down on awareness, putting more into modeled custom audiences
- end of week changed an essential thing in the shop and giving customers more CHOICE - conversion rate significantly increased.
- first profitable week (just looking at marketing costs, product unit cost vs revenue) - over the moon
+140 P&L

Week 3
- done a mobile website speed check - SHOCKING results, way too slow, very very bad. Cut down all of the non-crucial shopify APPS, massive difference, speed up again, conversion rate up instantly almost. using Speedboostr.com instead of google page speed tool - massive difference, don't panic about google;s score..
- optimizing paid social further, more ads, more audiences
- scaling down on PPC as it is losing money
- sending loads of products to influencers without proper success (thanks.. I thought boobs sell everything)
- about same performance week on week (for a LOT of work)
+200 P&L

Week 4
- One Influencer post really made a difference! Profitable for itself even with paying about 200 quid for it, also great brand effect (I assume). Very different target group than originally targeted - so this shows, nothing will be as you think.
- adding and testing more creatives on social.
- retargeting on social activated.
- record for direct sales which have a big impact on overall efficiency (0 CPA).
- CPAs amazing! Profit amazing! ROAS amazing.
- Amazon FINALLY approved products and account, sales slowly come in.
+689 P&L

Next: scaling without losing that efficiency... wish me luck .

Questions in my head at the moment -
- when to start email marketing to existing customers (don't want to burn email adresses too early!). Shall I wait until I got 1k+? (currently about 400).
- when to add a new product line (I have something in mind that would fit well to the category but is a very different product)
- can i get my xmas wrapping idea executed in time

TBC...

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Thanks for documenting and sharing how you did it