Starting my first E-commerce venture.

[Strm]

"Anniversary! You've been here TWO years!"

Wow, I joined this forum 2 years ago. My favorite place online! Safe to say, this has been life-changing because I can't see myself turning back to "normality".

 

[Strm]

It's been a while, things have been a bit slow due to some personal stuff.

I've decided to automate everything I can with my store that's selling locally, I'm currently moving to different platform (I want to outsource shipping and my current platform doesn't support it) and then I will hire someone who will take over the marketing and help me rebrand or at least consult with someone because my marketing is chaotic. Then I can concentrate on new products and that's my strong side. I believe all that will give me much more time to expand and also will increase my revenue and profit.

 

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[Strm]

But really if she doesn't deliver, drop her. Yes it may sound stupid, but it's just the truth.

I agree 100%.

But otherwise everything alright?

Yeah, it's going pretty good at the moment, can't complain! Will keep you posted.

 

[Deleted78083]

Hey buddy, congrats!!! Really impressive to see you made some sales already. Keep it going and please keep us updated!

 

[Chapas]

I would take 4 sales a day in a heartbeat if I had the chance

Really think it is amazing that you in 2-3 weeks have sold out your initial inventory. Looks like your product definately has been validated and the audience as well. And like you say, this is just the beginning. The more data you will get, the more trust you will build, the better the sales will be.

4 units a day is already 100 euros in profit for you. Each day. More than twice the average salary in Estonia. At this is just in your first month. It will only get better from here.

So also remember to appreciate and celebrate your achievements, and of course keep updating this thread :-D

 

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[Chapas]

I hope so! I paid for the second order today, it's bigger than the first and I think it will be even better because I listened to the customers a lot for this one. Can't wait

This has been a solid week so far. Wednesday 7 sales, yesterday 10, all through my website. It's fun.

That sounds so great. Really rooting for you!

Boring, dirty work is also a part of starting a company. Hopefully, with time you can automate as much as possible and focus on what you are good at

I might have missed that in your posts, but how did you get started after you got the products? Did you just leverage your personal network in order to get the first sales and get brand awareness? Or did you start running some FB Ads?

Imagine you are doing so great in such a small market as Estonia. If I were you I will choose the Scandinavian countries next when you are thinking of expanding. From what I hear our mentalities are pretty similar, and we are almost neighbours. Plus the purchasing power in Scandinavian countries is huuuuge

 

[Strm]

My new order arrived in the end of June and the products were on sale on the 1st of July.

Yesterday I finally crushed the 500€ mark (total sales revenue was 542€). Sales from the first 5 days of July are pretty much the same as whole June combined. But I was chilling for the most part last month too and taking time off So we have to wait and see where we are at the end of the month.

As I am slowly generating money to my business account and I have a basement full of units to sell, I've been thinking how to make this thing better in the long run. One option is to move one part of the manufacturing to Estonia. I already contacted my supplier to see what they think and if they can help me. We would still work together and it would be beneficial for the both of us. Could be huge for me if my vision would come to life. The downside is that I would have to work a lot more and I would also need a bigger place for the production. I'd be fine with both of these and it's always possible to hire someone to manage the production later. This would add some extra value to my company too. I hope to get an answer next week.

So I'm going to work hard in the next coming weeks to get some sales - hoping to have more than 10K on my business account in the end of July!

 

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[Strm]

Congratulation on your success so far, keep working hard & putting the customer first and I'm sure you'll reach all of your goals.

Kudos for dealing with the "upper limit problem" and all the other mental stuff that sometimes gets in the way.

What happened with the IG micro influencer did you track the results you got from giving her a freebie to promote to her followers?

Thanks a lot, @100k ! I appreciate your kind words. I try to listen to the customers as much as possible and always want to give out more than they expect. It seems that I'm on the right track. No matter what, I'm gaining a lot of experience and self confidence.

The mental stuff is hard for everybody but the real problem is when it gets in the way of taking the next big steps. I saw that it was starting to happen to me. Not anymore though. The end of the year and Christmas are always huge in ecom, so I MUST be ready for this.

Yeah, she did help me and I got some sales and new followers as well. When my next order arrives, I will definitely work with her again and maybe some others too! No point to rely only on social media ads when I can use other methods as well.

 

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[Strm]

Incredible journey so far my friend. Really hope everything goes well!
Sorry if I missed but, your supplier is from China or Estonia?

Hey, thanks and sorry for the delay!

Currently I am working with a foreign supplier.

 

[Santi M]

According to my forwarder, the cargo should arrive in the first week of October

Great! You're probably impatient How is your stock? Are you sold out or just stopped some advertising and trying to sell it slowly until the next units arrive?

I have no clue how the winter will go. But I will find out!

Is your product seasonal?


Thanks for your time, keep pushing!

 

[Strm]

We agreed another smaller order with the factory this week and it's already paid too. Should arrive in November. It will be a very busy end of the year.

Next week I'll check out some warehouses and hopefully I will find a suitable one for my business to rent. Expected expense is 100-150€ monthly.

My store has been up and running for 5 months. But the first thoughts about starting this came to my mind about a year ago. On and on I go, one day at a time.

 

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[Strm]

Met with a guy who owns miniwarehouses and found myself one! Its pretty small but right now it's enough and there are bigger ones in the building and I can move if I need to. So sadly no more work from my basement It was so nice and easy and comfy. But I need to think bigger and take risks so that is the only option. No problem!

Hopefully my order arrives next week so I can move right in.

 

[Strm]

Hi, once again greath thread! How does your supply chain looks like and how did you came up with the idea of the product?

Hi, over-the-sea-neighbor @LArsv !

To be honest, I don't remember exactly how I came up with an idea. If I had to start again with a new product I'd probably concentrate on uniqueness and giving potential buyers better emotions than most products, no matter the niche.

I order products from the factory and another Estonian company handles the transport and customs. I pack and label them in my warehouse (or basement) once the customer has made the order through my website. Then I ship them to pick-up points all over the country.

 

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[Strm]

Thanks for the answer by the way, how advanced would you advise one to go in product development and do you have anything to recommend to find manufacturers/suppliers?

I really can't tell, it mostly depends on your idea and budget. I went the old China and Alibaba way. There are a lot of them and you have to take your time to find the best for you. But I plan to buy @Walter Hay 's books on importing and finding manufacturers. I think he doesn't recommend China so much and there are other options.

 

[Strm]

New products are now in Estonia and yesterday I paid the shipping costs and taxes. I will get my hands on them tomorrow. Another shipment should arrive in November.

Today I got the keys to my mini-warehouse so that is off the list now. Things are moving.

 

[Strm]

I want to make everything about this business better. Starting from the product photos, I'm looking for a photographer now. Hopefully I will get new better photos done next week. Then I'd like to get some help with SM ads and overall marketing. I'm getting pretty good results myself, but I feel it could be a lot better. So this is the plan for the coming weeks. Other then that, I'm just shipping packages daily (takes around 1-3 hours each day) and try to post quality content on social media.

Sales from October so far are bit over 6K.

 

[Strm]

I have found a photographer for my products, right now he's writing down some ideas for the shooting. I believe we can get great photos and that means better ads and content on my website and social media accounts as well.

I get decent traffic to my website but the conversion rate is rather low. For example, today I've had 290 unique visitors but only 3 sales. So there's interest but maybe the product is a bit too expensive?
I think the sweet spot is 25-30€. If I start paying VAT, I wouldn't want to sell for less than 29€. But we will see, I will figure it out. The website could also maybe be a bit better, I will work on everything once we get the photos done. So far I have done everything myself. It's normal that I don't get max results in everything I do.

 

[Gerrald]

Great thread!

I'm quite curious about your earlier adventures, what type of things did you do before you started selling this product?

Regarding your conversion rate, this is a thing you want to test. It's not always just a price thing. Do you measure statistics? With for example Google Analytics, or Hotjar.

It can help to see where visitors leave your site, maybe there's something unclear about the product or the shipment?

Further, you can maybe learn some more about copywriting, to apply on your product page? If you solve a certain problem, it can help to describe the issue people are having instead of only the solution. With this method, you make clear you understand the problems the visitors are having and people tend to take action faster when you bring up the problem first and then how your problem fixes it.

Maybe you can look into this, the next time you're waiting for new stock;-) For example, read about Robert Cialdini (principles of influence) or the book Cashvertising.

I have some samples of a product coming in next month, so will definitely follow your thread, good luck on your journey!

 

[Kasimir]

Just had an amazing read through your whole thread. What a story! I was a part of an eCommerce so it was even more interesting to read.

So, below my opinion on your current situation: (Please note that's just my opinion and another path could obviously be better)

• So your current sales are good so around 12k for October if my math is any good? But they could be much higher I believe. You have to expand, it's lovely that you started in your own country but you have to get the whole of Europe. You get 12k from just your country can you imagine what you can get from the EU? You can raise prices easily if your customer base is bigger. (for example, companies which ship to Switzerland usually ask for 25-50% more on their products compared to other countries in the EU)
• Don't really know a lot about your product but it seems pretty interesting. But from my point of view, your progress is pretty great. I'd focus on getting it all in a Shopify store asap (if you didn't do already) it's much easier.
• Are you happy with the product atm? I read that you maybe want to sell the shop and want to try something new? I would put your product on Amazon just to get more customers, but would still try to get a lot of traffic on your own website.
• How is your traffic for your website generated if I may ask? Organic or through ads? That could have something to do with your conversion rate. Think about why that's the case. Usually have to do with the website or in some cases it's just normal for that kind of product.

Just some things I'd do. I personally couldn't run my now sold eCommerce store without my friends/business partners. I just find it much easier if you have somebody to discuss everything with and have a second opinion. Also, I find when building an online store and putting in the 100 hours workweek it's easier to motivate when you're not on your own. But I'm not you and maybe that's not the best thing for you.

I wish you the best and will definitely look into this thread more often. If you need anything feel free to pm me.

 

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[Strm]

Great thread!

I'm quite curious about your earlier adventures, what type of things did you do before you started selling this product?

Regarding your conversion rate, this is a thing you want to test. It's not always just a price thing. Do you measure statistics? With for example Google Analytics, or Hotjar.

It can help to see where visitors leave your site, maybe there's something unclear about the product or the shipment?

Further, you can maybe learn some more about copywriting, to apply on your product page? If you solve a certain problem, it can help to describe the issue people are having instead of only the solution. With this method, you make clear you understand the problems the visitors are having and people tend to take action faster when you bring up the problem first and then how your problem fixes it.

Maybe you can look into this, the next time you're waiting for new stock;-) For example, read about Robert Cialdini (principles of influence) or the book Cashvertising.

I have some samples of a product coming in next month, so will definitely follow your thread, good luck on your journey!

Thanks, @Gerrald !

I haven't really had any earlier adventures regarding entrepreneurship, only one small project (I used artists from Fiverr to draw portraits and sold them here locally). I did this just to start something finally. I finished with this in March. I was working as a carpenter/builder before this e-com thing, but I've always had different view in life and finances and I see things differently than most people. I was always learning new stuff too while I was working so it was a logical step to start a business.

I am not sure if I can use google analytics on the platform I am using, but I already contacted their support and hopefully I can do it. Thanks for pointing that out! My website is pretty easily navigable, I've made it as clear and easy as possible to shop. My sales have improved in the last few days, but I definitely need to analyze a bit more.

It's more of a "want" product, and I've learned some copywriting as well. It's a product where bullet points and features don't work.

I really appreciate your reply and thanks for the help!

 

[Kasimir]

Let's say I'm selling mugs with Estonian flag - that's why they sell well here because Estonians can relate to that. I have social media and website built only for local audience. It's going well and this doesn't require a lot of time and effort right now. I want to sell abroad as well so I need to get new products in that have to be different and without Estonian flag, let's say. I am thinking if the market is so small, maybe it would be wise to sell the local shop, get new products in that would appeal people from other countries. The product would be the same - with different features.

Ah sorry, now I get it. And I also get it why you want to sell. Don't know if you find a great offer but if you find one I'd go for it. Because then I'd rather focus on building a brand than a normal eCommerce store. If I'm not wrong the shipping costs from Estonia to the rest of Europe are quite alright, aren't they?
If so I'd try to find a niche you like and where it's possible to generate an income from it. If you want to make it really big I'd make customized products. Like shirts with your logo on it, bags, mugs just branded. That usually works out quite well, maybe not the mugs but the rest.
Then get them from a local shirt producer, which there is quite a view in your area I think. And then you only have to mail them to everybody in the EU for example or maybe if it's not too expensive even the US.
What I personally see that works really well is that you put in 100% so if you focus for example on climate change that you maybe even have a blog about it. And if you want to take it even further that you look that your shirts are quite CO2 neutral made.
To distance yourself from your competition it's important to put in 110% in a store, brand, etc.

 

[Strm]

New shipment arrived yesterday and I'm almost ready to start selling abroad. I will focus on a couple of EU countries first.

I will probably get a new store up and running in the next week or two. I have no idea how it will work out, but hopefully can get a couple of sales from outside my local market!

And first Amazon shipment is also in the works.

In other news, the last 3 months have been awful. I broke up with my girlfriend of 8 years. I'm slowly getting over it and finally I have new products in to work on and I will be alright soon. It has been extremely painful though.

 

[Kasimir]

It's been a while, things have been a bit slow due to some personal stuff.

I've decided to automate everything I can with my store that's selling locally, I'm currently moving to different platform (I want to outsource shipping and my current platform doesn't support it) and then I will hire someone who will take over the marketing and help me rebrand or at least consult with someone because my marketing is chaotic. Then I can concentrate on new products and that's my strong side. I believe all that will give me much more time to expand and also will increase my revenue and profit.

Hope everything is fine with your personal stuff.
Great tactic! Think you're on the right path. Create a company, scale it, automate it, and then take a step back and repeat. Or that's at least my approach. If you need any help just let me know.

 

[Kid]

Congrats as well. Celebrate for a day. Then come back and hit it big. No reason to stop momentum.

 

[Champion]

A bit more than half a year ago I came up with a simple product idea and have been working on it since. I got some samples about 4 months ago and they were quite popular, sold them pretty fast, so I decided to invest in it a bit and go for it. Last wednesday I got my bulk order here in Estonia and the same evening got the first sales as well. I'm happy that I sticked to it for all this time, not really knowing where it will lead me. I took a break from my construction job abroad (was so fed up with it too) and now I am finally back home and can work on my own project. Luckily my boss is a good friend so I will probably have work when I need it. This thread is long overdue but I didn't want to make it before something real was going on. My last execution thread died too quickly

From wednesday to sunday I sold 18 units, that's around 620€ in revenue (not profit). When I calculate all the expenses, including ad cost, the net profit per unit should be around 25€. I need to sell around 90-100 units to cover my first investment. I'm ignoring the crisis and I know that people have money just like they always do. My product is not an essential but still seem to press on some emotions and people are buying. Also I have found out that I am pretty good in customer service so that helps. When I got reviews for my last business, people always said how nice it was to communicate with me. I'm keeping it up this time too - no need to be an a**hole!

I'm taking orders only on FB right now, sending invoices manually, packing, shipping and doing all this stuff, so the next goal is to get a website up and running to automate it a bit. I will probably use Shopify. It's a bit scary but I know it will be next level for me! I also need to learn more about Instagram and other platforms to use.
I think I will have enough money in May to make a second order and slowly start to sell in Europe (maybe I will use my personal funds to make the process go faster) because the local market is pretty small. There's only 1.3 millions of us Estonians. But I see some potential in it. I was hoping for maybe around 30 sales per first month, but I think I will get there on wednesday - after just one week. To be honest, that's huge for me!

I have some personal savings for maybe about a year or so. So I have time to work on this and hopefully grow this business. But sales are so addictive and it's a bit challenging mentally, real emotional rollercoaster. Even now when there's some proof that people like my stuff, I still find myself doubting. I guess that's the part of it. No problem. I can handle it. I'm enjoying it actually.

So I'm writing this thread to keep you guys posted. Maybe weekly updates on sales numbers and also when I have something big to share. Thanks for all of you inspiring people who are here in the forum giving advice and helping so often. I hope this thread can inspire someone in the future as well.

Hey Strm, you say that you sold 18 units = 620 euros in revenue.

So you are selling your product for 34,4 Euros a piece?

Then you said, after deducting all costs, you make 25 Euro profit per piece?

Bro, thats amazing! To me, it almost sounds too good to be true lol. Are you sure that you aren't missing some costs here? for e.g. VAT?

Either way, it sounds like you are doing a great job and your product has HUGE potential with those margins.

If you are interested in working together to get your product sold in the german market (I specialise in Fbook Ads and Ecommerce and speak german fluently), shoot me a PM.

Best

 

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[Champion]

Right now, yes. I've learned FB ads, and I'm getting good results right now. Definitely want to make some cool videos and stuff also in the future!

Small update - just had my 50th sale, pretty crazy. I think I will make a longer post on Sunday.

Cool, looking forward to your updates!

 

[Strm]

The more data you will get, the more trust you will build, the better the sales will be.

I hope so! I paid for the second order today, it's bigger than the first and I think it will be even better because I listened to the customers a lot for this one. Can't wait

This has been a solid week so far. Wednesday 7 sales, yesterday 10, all through my website. It's fun.

Yesterday a blogger contacted me, she liked one version of my product and said that if I give it to her, she can use her audience to promote my social media and my website. Why not!
She has around 25K followers on FB and IG, which is not huge, but I get more traffic and probably some sales too - 2 so far this morning. I think I will finish the day with 8-10.

There are some issues with shipping now due to C0VlD-19, people are ordering stuff like crazy, so I haven't managed to make a contract with one major company yet so I still have to write the info manually on the boxes and send them one by one, if the customers choose them from my website. But to be honest, they're really crappy all around and takes days to answer to my emails. But a lot of customers are using them (because they have the most amount of pick-up points) and I have to have them listed on my website, otherwise I will lose sales. No problem, I don't mind the boring dirty work. Yet!

 

[Strm]

I might have missed that in your posts, but how did you get started after you got the products? Did you just leverage your personal network in order to get the first sales and get brand awareness? Or did you start running some FB Ads?

First, when I got the samples, I made a quick FB page and did some boosted posts just to see if there's any interest and if I should move on with this. Later, when the bulk order was done, I added a photo maybe once a week and boosted it, to tell that it will be availible soon. I have different designs made so I boosted all of them, so I kept my FB page active even when I didn't have the products to sell. A lot of people commented and I also got some messages. I did this for around 2 months I think. When I finally got the products, first I messaged to everybody who commented or messaged me about the products earlier. And then I slowly started to add photos of the real products to my page and started boosting, I also did FB ads, started with IG, made a post to all of my friends that this is my new project etc.

Imagine you are doing so great in such a small market as Estonia. If I were you I will choose the Scandinavian countries next when you are thinking of expanding. From what I hear our mentalities are pretty similar, and we are almost neighbours. Plus the purchasing power in Scandinavian countries is huuuuge

Absolutely! I think I will start testing this in the summer, and Scandinavian countries are definitely in my thoughts. Maybe I will do it the same way like I started out locally. First I need to build some capital and focus on local growth though. I have some friends in Scandinavia too, so maybe I can use that somehow in the future.

 

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[Jeannen]

Thanks! I will!

TIME FOR AN UPDATE

Time flies! Crazy. I started this already a month ago. I think it was exactly a month the last Friday. I added up some numbers: sales revenue from 8.04-8.05 was 5800€. The record so far was on 5.05, sales from website were 371€ and I think there was one guy who paid cash so it was around 400€.

I have different designs for my product, not all are selling as good as others. But that was to be expected, so no worries here. I don't net as much from these but that's fine. I have lowered the price for some products, the price range for my products right now is 19-33€. We will see what happens during May

I changed my website a bit, I think it looks so much better now and my sales are back up again (only 2 on Friday when the website was down and ads cancelled). I paused all the ads and started over, better photos, better copy, and that has lowered my ad spend a bit. I'm still pretty much testing but slowly figuring out what works.

OK, gotta go and eat dinner now.

Thanks & take care!

Hey !
Congrats on your success !

Are you doing some kind of print on demand, or is that a genuine products that you created ? If so, what was your process from idea to samples ?

 

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[Chibbs]

Awesome thread OP.

What made you decide on the product you decided to choose? Is it in the fitness industry or otherwise related to your interests? Great that you’re seeing some success.. Following!

 

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