So I've dabbled...

[eTox]

I would like to ask you guys what would you do next. Your opinions matter as I am completely lost at the moment and would like some guidance from the people here.

Since I've joined the forum I've done several things related to e-commerce but now I am puzzled as what to do next. From the time that I've joined the forum I've learned that there is the importing thing. Then there is Amazon FBA. After that, I've realized that you could drop ship from Aliexpress. And the latest was selling t-shirts and custom merchandise.

So I decided to get my feet wet and find out how to sell things through Facebook. I've had some struggles but I feel like I have grasped the basics and could find appropriate people and sell some things to them. I used drop shipping from Aliexpress for that. I've also tried selling custom t-shirt designs. No hope there for me.

I am now stuck, thinking where else to go.

I know I have to find a pain point and offer a solution for it. But I am just confused at the moment. Where should I go, what should I do. I know the forum can't make the decisions for me. I just thought maybe you guys would support me and perhaps offer some pointers on what would be a good direction to head in to.

I thought of importing, but I feel like with a budget of $2K that's a little low.

Do you think that I just need to sit down and come up with a niche to go into and after that find what the problems are there that can be solved? What would you personally do?

I just feel like I need to do something serious now.

Thank you.

 

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[AllorNothing]

Let's backtrack. Your latest gig was selling t-shirts and custom merchandise. Tell us about what you did in that field. You said "no hope there for me", but I think a problem may have been what you tried or how you executed the idea. With more information, it would be much easier for us to help. Good luck.

 

[TKDTyler]

First you should identify why you are skipping around from project to project so much. You are asking what to do next, but you haven't mastered any specific aspect of ecommerce.

There is no quick path to success, only a bunch of failures that lead up to it.

Pick something and stick with it for a year. Fail for a year. Think outside of the box and figure out a way to provide value and make money in places you currently don't think about.

There are thousands of t shirt businesses, but only a handful that are successful. Do you know what they are doing differently than their competition? How are they marketing? What materials are they using? Where do they source?

Learning the the key to success, but giving up to early will stop you dead in your tracks. Right now, you are giving up before you even began. Pick something and stick with it.

 

[Scot]

There are thousands of t shirt businesses, but only a handful that are successful. Do you know what they are doing differently than their competition? How are they marketing? What materials are they using? Where do they source?

We see a new "t-shirt entrepreneur" once a week. @eTox what do you think the opportunity is here. In a gold rush, sell the damn shovels!

Everyone and their brother is shoving crappy t-shirt ads down my throat daily on Facebook "buy this Battlestar Galactica T-shirt! Buy this Starship Troopers t-shirt! Marine T-Shirt!"

There are a few platforms out there that cater to these guys by offering on demand screen printing and drop shipping... which business do you think is more saturated? The t shirt selling business or the t shirt provider business?

Think about this. When you were trying to source, produce, sell, ship t shirts, what pain points did you have?

Did you have a hard time advertising them?

What the design process frustrating and un user friendly?

Was it hard to source blank shirts to print on?

What shipping out t shirts arduous and complicated?

Why not SOLVE those problems?

Edit:
If I didn't already have 1 business in development and two good ideas on the back burner, THIS is the industry I'd get into.

 

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[Niptuck MD]

I would like to ask you guys what would you do next. Your opinions matter as I am completely lost at the moment and would like some guidance from the people here.

Since I've joined the forum I've done several things related to e-commerce but now I am puzzled as what to do next. From the time that I've joined the forum I've learned that there is the importing thing. Then there is Amazon FBA. After that, I've realized that you could drop ship from Aliexpress. And the latest was selling t-shirts and custom merchandise.

So I decided to get my feet wet and find out how to sell things through Facebook. I've had some struggles but I feel like I have grasped the basics and could find appropriate people and sell some things to them. I used drop shipping from Aliexpress for that. I've also tried selling custom t-shirt designs. No hope there for me.

I am now stuck, thinking where else to go.

I know I have to find a pain point and offer a solution for it. But I am just confused at the moment. Where should I go, what should I do. I know the forum can't make the decisions for me. I just thought maybe you guys would support me and perhaps offer some pointers on what would be a good direction to head in to.

I thought of importing, but I feel like with a budget of $2K that's a little low.

Do you think that I just need to sit down and come up with a niche to go into and after that find what the problems are there that can be solved? What would you personally do?

I just feel like I need to do something serious now.

Thank you.

please delve into market research and find out exactly WHO you are trying to cater to. do you have a viable product that you can market effectively no matter what? Like scot said, every tom dick and harry is doing one thing what are YOU going to do to stand out and be a cut above? Differentiation plus strategy comes into play here;

figure out how much you have to work with and what your metrics are based on what you have done and then find a segment to cater to and solely target them.

 

[Ika]

What worked in those businesses?
What did not work in those businesses?

And more importantly: Why did you fail (and what made you stop)? A limiting belief, wrong foundation, bad product-founder fit?

And now, can you combine what did worked?

In the best case, might one experience from the business A help you with a problem in business B?


Gesendet von meinem XT1032 mit Tapatalk

 

[Argue]

We see a new "t-shirt entrepreneur" once a week. @eTox what do you think the opportunity is here. In a gold rush, sell the damn shovels!

Everyone and their brother is shoving crappy t-shirt ads down my throat daily on Facebook "buy this Battlestar Galactica T-shirt! Buy this Starship Troopers t-shirt! Marine T-Shirt!"

There are a few platforms out there that cater to these guys by offering on demand screen printing and drop shipping... which business do you think is more saturated? The t shirt selling business or the t shirt provider business?

Think about this. When you were trying to source, produce, sell, ship t shirts, what pain points did you have?

Did you have a hard time advertising them?

What the design process frustrating and un user friendly?

Was it hard to source blank shirts to print on?

What shipping out t shirts arduous and complicated?

Why not SOLVE those problems?

Edit:
If I didn't already have 1 business in development and two good ideas on the back burner, THIS is the industry I'd get into.

This.

 

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[MidwestLandlord]

We see a new "t-shirt entrepreneur" once a week. @eTox what do you think the opportunity is here. In a gold rush, sell the damn shovels!

Everyone and their brother is shoving crappy t-shirt ads down my throat daily on Facebook "buy this Battlestar Galactica T-shirt! Buy this Starship Troopers t-shirt! Marine T-Shirt!"

There are a few platforms out there that cater to these guys by offering on demand screen printing and drop shipping... which business do you think is more saturated? The t shirt selling business or the t shirt provider business?

Think about this. When you were trying to source, produce, sell, ship t shirts, what pain points did you have?

Did you have a hard time advertising them?

What the design process frustrating and un user friendly?

Was it hard to source blank shirts to print on?

What shipping out t shirts arduous and complicated?

Why not SOLVE those problems?

Edit:
If I didn't already have 1 business in development and two good ideas on the back burner, THIS is the industry I'd get into.

Well said @Scot

@eTox :

Some "thinking out loud" thoughts for you:

Example #1:

Be a t-shirt entrepreneur and sell 100 t-shirts a year (or whatever quantity, it doesn't matter)
Work hard to make all 100 sales.

Example #2:

Be the guy that sells *TO* the t-shirt entrepreneurs, and let them do the retail selling for you.

Again, work hard to make 100 sales. (same as our example above)

Instead of 100 shirts, you sold to 100 people that are selling shirts. Let's use our above example, and assume they all sell 100 shirts each a year.

100 x 100 = 10,000 shirts.

So 100 sales for 100 shirts...

...or 100 sales for 10,000 shirts. Easy choice.

Of course one has high barrier to entry, and the other does not. But that's a good thing.

 

[Goldman snacks]

going back to the book, there is no barrier to entry. I feel like i'm back looking in the mirror reading this post.
When you start reading about money, success stories and different business models there alot that I wasted my time on, lets just call them 'learning experiences' you search so much that you become the perfect target for these crappy gurus even on social media "hey look at me in my ferrari, just cashing my check from these houses i just flipped" guess what Udemy courses i was watching for 20 hours after? I also got caught up in shopify, dropshipping, learnt coding, learnt how to start a social media consultant business, how to make money in licencing, you name it, if it seemed easy to get into and I saw that you could make money doing it, i would do it. I also before hand was in MLM for 2 years from age 19-21 and left university because i as so sure that i was going to 'make it' with them LOL, so i was like the ultimate shiny object sucker.

but it will all work in your favor because eventually you will find and come back to what you really want to do. I always wanted to get into real estate but i told myself that i wasn't rich and that i needed good credit to start etc etc, but i came across the right opportunity and i was so educated about business by that point that I could do well at it. find a field and get good at it to a level people will pay you for it.

I would suggest reading the power of broke by daymond john, its about how you use your frustration and make it work for you, it helped me realize that i wasnt the only one that was ambitious as hell but with no direction to go in. I was so hungry i was about to do anything, at one point i read a carpet cleaning business thread on here and was about to go do it the next day as i didn't care what it was anymore i was just so eager.

just be assured, there are people making money in every single way you can think, I will probably get hate for this post but in my opinion you have to be commited to it to be successful, I was not anywhere near commited to that business, I was merely sold on it by all the ferarris that were most likely bought with the fees from the training course and infact not from selling t shirts, or i would see that so and so made 100k so why cant I.

I live in new york, there are so many wealthy people I've met its crazy, and there are so many people you will never hear of making millions, in all of the most 'old fashioned' ways possible, there are hundreds of high rises, alot of buildings where the rents are all 20k/40/even as high as 87k/month these are all full of people that i would wet myself over if i saw their bank accounts a year ago.

for every "look I quit my job by writing a blog" there is a billionaire that got a dishwasher sponge into some homeware stores you never heard of.
or what about the guy that sells christmas tree decorations in 5 christmas markets in new york.
or even the real estate agent that opened his own brokerage and sold it.

good luck man, my point is, just because you don't see adverts on your FB feed, or some guru preaching about it, doesn't mean that you cant make money at it. keep going and just don't give up, maybe even pro actively and tactically just 'stumble' across these wealthy people, there are people out there that are pros at picking up girls, well why not set aside time to look cool, hard working, anbitious infornt of these people, maybe you will find lots of advice that way, i dont know where you live, in NYC for example, it is worth the money to pay (not even)double at a snazzy hotel bar and sit across and chat about donald trump, the football game, etc with an oil millionaire, than it is to sit next to an old man at the bar on the corner with his arse hanging out (true story).

and if you really want a random suggestion that is completely biased and not coming from my own experience, why don't you make something that's yours, and actually make the cookie instead of chasing crumbs on ali express like actually making your own necklace etc, and making it unique and your brand then selling the hell out of it everywhere like retailers, online, rent retail space at an event even door to door.

 

[eTox]

Let's backtrack. Your latest gig was selling t-shirts and custom merchandise. Tell us about what you did in that field. You said "no hope there for me", but I think a problem may have been what you tried or how you executed the idea. With more information, it would be much easier for us to help. Good luck.

I've tried coming up with designs that I thought would sell and dumping money into that. It turns out those designs were only pretty, but no one would wear them.

Then I tried coming up with my own designs, that of course didn't work as well. In total I just burned that money.

Why it won't work for me? Because everyone is fed up with these t-shirt designs. It's hard to find a design that will sell and cover all of the previous costs of testing. I feel like it's a numbers game, the more designs you launch assuming they are great the higher your chance of finding that one that will sell. It's complete shit of a strategy. I don't have that much money to burn. I believe that I will just spend money on creating designs and testing them and end up selling none.

Perhaps if I chose a certain niche, came up with 1 of the best possible designs I could think and done them professional then attempted to market it from different angles to the right people:

This would be the first time that I create a professional really good design and spend a lot of money and strategically market it from different angles. Therefore actual test this product. Which I've never done before.

I think I should give it one last try and do the best I can.

 

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[Imgal]

Why it won't work for me? Because everyone is fed up with these t-shirt designs. It's hard to find a design that will sell and cover all of the previous costs of testing. I feel like it's a numbers game, the more designs you launch assuming they are great the higher your chance of finding that one that will sell. It's complete shit of a strategy. I don't have that much money to burn. I believe that I will just spend money on creating designs and testing them and end up selling none.

Perhaps if I chose a certain niche, came up with 1 of the best possible designs I could think and done them professional then attempted to market it from different angles to the right people:

This would be the first time that I create a professional really good design and spend a lot of money and strategically market it from different angles. Therefore actual test this product. Which I've never done before.

I think I should give it one last try and do the best I can.

I know what I'm about to say is going to sound harsh and like I'm beating you up. I promise you these words come from a place of wanting to help you.

everyone is fed up with these t-shirt designs.

No-one goes around being fed up by t-shirt designs. I don't go look at Teespring and thing "God, this design is really annoying me". What I do think is "I can't find anything that I can really connect with". As there is more choice emerging in any market, the way to succeed is to get more niche. Say you were selling hockey related t-shirts and the market got saturated and now no-one wants the hockey player t-shirt. Niche down. Focus on rolling out ones only for goal-keepers and don't half-a$$ it. Go onto forums, go to Pinterest, go to Facebook Groups go to Reddit sub reddits from hockey goalies and look not only at the posts, but the comments, what are the witty things that people say that all those other people connect with. That is how you find designs that sells.

I feel like it's a numbers game, the more designs you launch assuming they are great the higher your chance of finding that one that will sell.

Sure, this is true if you're trying to take over the sports niche. It's so wide that you're going to have to do a trillion designs to find one that works, but unless you're Nike and can afford to do that then it's not a strategy that will work.

I believe that I will just spend money on creating designs and testing them and end up selling none.

This is probably the most important thing to change. If you believe this then it's going to be what will happen. You are setting yourself up to fail. The mind is a lot more powerful than you might think. I said I wanted to get 2 new clients this week. I didn't. Why? Because I spent the whole week telling myself that with two big projects to manage for completion this month I wasn't going to find the time to do it properly.... guess what. No more new clients, and it's all down to the bullshit I told myself, because I've easily grabbed 10 times that many new clients in the same time when I barely had time to breathe. I managed it though because I told myself I was going to do it and was in the mindset I could.

...done them professional then attempted to market it from different angles to the right people

This will be the smartest investment you make. We can't be everything to everyone. I often make the mistake of doing web development work for clients because I can do. The problem is it then takes me away from the work I can do a lot better.. and honestly if I outsourced it would be done in half the time... but don't do anything before you know there's an audience. Make sure there are people on Reddit talking about the niche. Make sure there are posts on Facebook showing people wanting / liking the type of content you'll feature on your t-shirts (and also seem willing to want to spend more).

If you're really wanting to do it right this time then feel free to inbox me and I'll chuck you some tips on getting that audience analysis done. It's the work that makes me my dollars so I've kinda got a knack for it..

 

[eTox]

Niche down. Focus on rolling out ones only for goal-keepers and don't half-a$$ it. Go onto forums, go to Pinterest, go to Facebook Groups go to Reddit sub reddits from hockey goalies and look not only at the posts, but the comments, what are the witty things that people say that all those other people connect with. That is how you find designs that sells.

and

but don't do anything before you know there's an audience. Make sure there are people on Reddit talking about the niche. Make sure there are posts on Facebook showing people wanting / liking the type of content you'll feature on your t-shirts (and also seem willing to want to spend more).

Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you. I feel like the harsher and more straight to the point the people on this forum are, the faster you get back up.

PS. Thank you to all of the people that have commented above and got my mind thinking the right thoughts again. @Goldman snacks @MidwestLandlord @Argue @Ika @Arun Siva @Scot @TKDTyler @AllorNothing

I love this place.

 

[IGP]

I've already sent you all you need in a private message. This is you right now!

Bust your a$$ 18 hours a day until you make it!

 

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[eTox]

I've already sent you all you need in a private message. This is you right now!

Bust your a$$ 18 hours a day until you make it!

Yeap... I feel like that is me.

On one hand, since I don't know any better at the moment I should continue doing what I've done, but improve and make it even better. Commit even more to one thing and stick with it until I have drained all of my possible efforts and budget in that one field.

I'll start a progress thread like the one I did with the Aliexpress. That really got me moving by being accountable to myself and to the forum members. Plus it helped me stay on track. The results were good. I got a better understanding of FB ads and had 50 sales with the majority within a week.

Thank you all.

 

[IGP]

Yeap... I feel like that is me.

On one hand, since I don't know any better at the moment I should continue doing what I've done, but improve and make it even better. Commit even more to one thing and stick with it until I have drained all of my possible efforts and budget in that one field.

I'll start a progress thread like the one I did with the Aliexpress. That really got me moving by being accountable to myself and to the forum members. Plus it helped me stay on track. The results were good. I got a better understanding of FB ads and had 50 sales with the majority within a week.

Thank you all.

You know what you SHOULD be doing INSTEAD of starting a progress thread???

WORKING!

 

[eTox]

You know what you SHOULD be doing INSTEAD of starting a progress thread???

WORKING!

Fine IGP. I'll go and work now. Be it, I'll just update this thread with any whines I'll get down the road but I PROMISE not to post any stupid questions or useless content.

Thank's for kicking my a$$. You rock (iceberg)!

 

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[PaulRobert]

You are going into these businesses for the wrong reasons. Basically the wantrepreneur way. "People are making money in it, so I can too."

@Scot post is spot on.

Simple way to put it ... Find a need/problem, solve it, then the money comes in.

 

[TKDTyler]

I've tried coming up with designs that I thought would sell and dumping money into that. It turns out those designs were only pretty, but no one would wear them.

Then I tried coming up with my own designs, that of course didn't work as well. In total I just burned that money.

Why it won't work for me? Because everyone is fed up with these t-shirt designs. It's hard to find a design that will sell and cover all of the previous costs of testing. I feel like it's a numbers game, the more designs you launch assuming they are great the higher your chance of finding that one that will sell. It's complete shit of a strategy. I don't have that much money to burn. I believe that I will just spend money on creating designs and testing them and end up selling none.

You're limiting your thinking to a defensive mindset. In essence, you are internally telling yourself "I'm scared to lose money because nothing I have done has worked."

Instead, It's up to you to think, 'How can I test my T-Shirt designs without burning money."

I can already thing of 3 different ways of testing:

1. Build a landing page that people that people can get all the way to the checkout. Track your analytics. Are people buying? Are people adding to the cart and forgetting? Are people even wanting to go to the website? (This will require a small amount of capital for FB adds. $100 is nothing in the grand scheme of things).

2. Print off designs onto sheets of paper and walk around a mall for a day asking which designs they would be likely to buy. Track your own analytics by demographic of people you are asking.

What other methods can you pursue? Think outside the box!

 

[eTox]

You're limiting your thinking to a defensive mindset. In essence, you are internally telling yourself "I'm scared to lose money because nothing I have done has worked."

Instead, It's up to you to think, 'How can I test my T-Shirt designs without burning money."

I can already thing of 3 different ways of testing:

1. Build a landing page that people that people can get all the way to the checkout. Track your analytics. Are people buying? Are people adding to the cart and forgetting? Are people even wanting to go to the website? (This will require a small amount of capital for FB adds. $100 is nothing in the grand scheme of things).

2. Print off designs onto sheets of paper and walk around a mall for a day asking which designs they would be likely to buy. Track your own analytics by demographic of people you are asking.

What other methods can you pursue? Think outside the box!

I admit it, I am scared. I am afraid to lose more money without gaining any. It's really scary knowing that I am on my last breath AGAIN. I want it this time to work. And it will.

For the testing method, I think I've nailed it I hope I am not wrong, but maybe others can pitch in as well:

1) If you've launched a design and it's not receiving engagement, then the targeting is wrong. Numbers will tell you (High CPE, PPE) This rarely happens now since most of my targeting is spot on.

2) If the post gets great engagement that means it's getting low CPE and CPM that means people love it. However, if the post is getting lots of likes, but really low amount of shares and comments. That means people just found the product interesting, original and cool but that's it.

3) If the post is getting great engagement (likes, shares, comments) then you've hit the viral post that means, the copy was right, the product looks awesome. But the link CTR is terrible, then that means people really connected with the message, or the image. But that means that people aren't interested in wearing it, or actually spending money on it. It means it's funny/cute/worth sharing but thats it. Perhaps change the design, make it better, more appropriate, ask the people in comments for their opinion on what to change/adjust.

4) If the post is getting great engagement and great CTR but people aren't adding to cart, that means the price is really high, or sketchy low. It may mean your website is shitty/sketchy so no one trusts it.

5) If there are lot's of add to carts but low sales, that means the shipping is too high. Shouldn't be a problem with free shipping, or appropriate shipping. This is usually the case with F+S products.

But basically, when testing products/designs I go by the engagement levels first and then see the results. Spending $5 is not enough on a product at all if the engagement is decent.

I believe for the next product I should really hit the people from all angles with a good sum. Not $5 but $150 to get a good reach of people and get a good understanding of the ideal buyer. Their age/gender, the type of pages they like. Etc.

 

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[eTox]

You are going into these businesses for the wrong reasons. Basically the wantrepreneur way. "People are making money in it, so I can too."

@Scot post is spot on.

Simple way to put it ... Find a need/problem, solve it, then the money comes in.

Thanks for calling me out on this, and I believe you are right. I just can not come up with anything better right now. In the worst case after really trying and not half-assing one more time I think I will learn much more than just the fact that I failed. And I believe this time it will work out. At least I will have sales at break even. We will see...

 

[TKDTyler]

Thanks for calling me out on this, and I believe you are right. I just can not come up with anything better right now. In the worst case after really trying and not half-assing one more time I think I will learn much more than just the fact that I failed. And I believe this time it will work out. At least I will have sales at break even. We will see...

I was stuck in that mindset for a while.

Try going out into the world and doing things for other people without asking anything in return.

Buy a meal for the homeless. Volunteer to help out an organization. Give up your time for somebody else.

Give give and give some more. Understand how people react and appreciate your willingness to provide value into their lives. Internalize that impact. It feels amazing.

Apply that same concept to your products after you understand what it feels like to give with no intentions of return. Help people. Give value. Do things for free.

Do your tee-shirts help 3rd world countries with clothing? Do your proceeds help children with medical treatment? I really believe in understanding the appreciation people who really benefit from solutions that are provided.

I.E. Obama-care.

There are hundreds of thousands of people who are against it, for good reason too. It has done nothing for their lives.

On the other hand, I can guarantee it has saved countless lives and livelihoods of people who could not afford proper health care in the US.

Be that guy who helps those who really need it. Take a day per week/per month and just do things for other people. I guarantee you your mindset will shift.

 

[IGP]

I was stuck in that mindset for a while.

Try going out into the world and doing things for other people without asking anything in return.

Buy a meal for the homeless. Volunteer to help out an organization. Give up your time for somebody else.

Give give and give some more. Understand how people react and appreciate your willingness to provide value into their lives. Internalize that impact. It feels amazing.

Apply that same concept to your products after you understand what it feels like to give with no intentions of return. Help people. Give value. Do things for free.

Do your tee-shirts help 3rd world countries with clothing? Do your proceeds help children with medical treatment? I really believe in understanding the appreciation people who really benefit from solutions that are provided.

I.E. Obama-care.

There are hundreds of thousands of people who are against it, for good reason too. It has done nothing for their lives.

On the other hand, I can guarantee it has saved countless lives and livelihoods of people who could not afford proper health care in the US.

Be that guy who helps those who really need it. Take a day per week/per month and just do things for other people. I guarantee you your mindset will shift.

Don't want this to turn into a politics discussion, but LOL at your Obamacare example... That's too funny!

 

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[TKDTyler]

Don't want this to turn into a politics discussion, but LOL at your Obamacare example... That's too funny!

It may not have been the best example I could come up with... haha

 

[eTox]

Just to update the situation. Thank you everyone for your input.

I have settled with doing my best one more time with t-shirts. This time I am deadset on a niche. It's sport bike riders. I have researched the niche well. Found all of the groups, came up with a strategy to test the product on Facebook.

I have researched 10 phrases that bikers love and use. I've picked one that got the most response on facebook groups. I've also asked my sport bike friends whether it resonates with them or not. The response was "genius" and that it'll work great on tshirts/hoodies. I have placed 2 orders for the designs so that I have 2 designs to choose one best one.

If you are a bike rider and would love to support me, pm me I will let you know the phrase I chose.

I will update when I receive my designs, when I pick the best one, when I launch the campaigns and go live. From there it's going to be awesome. I have a feeling I am gonna kill it with this phrase!