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Stay at Home dad: mission be great father/husband and create fastlane business

Can a stay at home Dad create a Fastlane business while parenting a 2 and 4 year old?

  • Yes, absolutely!

  • Yes, but may take longer because of parental responsibilities.

  • Yes, absolutely you just need to work harder and be more organized than everyone else.

  • Quit asking other what they think Man and just make it happen already.

  • No, kids are a lot they need to be in school for you to have enough time


Results are only viewable after voting.

LittleJohn

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Hello I am 35 year old (soon to be 36 yikes!) what I call 'consumer to creator' convert of about 2 years now thanks largely to MMM if you know who that is. For years (over 10 I would say) thoughts of entrepreneurship and running a business have crossed my mind but I literally didn't know where to start. Now that thought process to me is an excuse - especially with access to the internet, etc. Not sure what I was thinking before :(

Something happened to me along the line where extreme resourcefulness kicked in combined with an outrageous curiosity for learning new things. In a way I always had that but i think i was more job focused than creating a business focus.

In my 20's it was my goal to go back and finish my education and get 'real' job. so I did that. Graduated at 32. Worked in corporate america for nearly 6 years with a real job and realized I couldn't stand it. Early on in my career there I remember driving home at like 6 pm (after leaving in the morning like 6 am) thinking this cant be the way. I mean I'm away from my family all day only to come home eat, sleep, repeat. No way! I knew there had to be a better way but I didn't know what that was. Going back to MMM - I stumbled on his site. I (we) completely embraced the frugal mentality and quit being a consumer. Sold my house since i realized I was house poor and used the equity to pay all of our debt. My goal of paying $53k in student loans in 3 years was paid off in less than 8 months. My first big win! (attending Dave Ramsey FPU a year earlier started to help us see the shift form being consumer oriented - to give credit where credit is due)

Fast forward to today. My wife just finished nursing school and has been working as an RN for about 3 months. Since we engineered our lifestyle to live on 1 income I left my miserable job and am set on creating a business which i run on my terms.

Now that I stay at home with the 2 and 4 year old children it is a new challenge to create time to devote in creating a business and be a good father and a good husband but I will find a way.
We can get by as things are but getting by is not what life is about.

Still amazed that i only found this forum through just reading the millionaire fast lane which i am 75% through in the 1 day that i own it.

I started doing amazon retail arbitrage this year and have begun to bring my first private label product to market since i discovered the amazon world of selling 4 months ago. Unfortunately, despite my due diligence (or not enough) my first supplier screwed me. I paid for samples and he dropped off the earth. I care more about the time lost then the $150. I guess I fit in well with the Millionaire fast lane thinking :)

Thanks for checking me out. Didnt plan on the long text wall but I decided to give a decent backstory about where I am now.

John

P.S. If there is a Sidewalker, slowlaner, and fastlaner then perhaps the MMM extreme frugal person would fit between the slowlaner and fastlaner since that philosophy is save 66% income and retire less than 10 years in most cases. Just my thoughts as I connect this new Fastlane information.
 
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amp0193

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Hello I am 35 year old (soon to be 36 yikes!) what I call 'consumer to creator' convert of about 2 years now thanks largely to MMM if you know who that is. For years (over 10 I would say) thoughts of entrepreneurship and running a business have crossed my mind but I literally didn't know where to start. Now that thought process to me is an excuse - especially with access to the internet, etc. Not sure what I was thinking before :(

Something happened to me along the line where extreme resourcefulness kicked in combined with an outrageous curiosity for learning new things. In a way I always had that but i think i was more job focused than creating a business focus.

In my 20's it was my goal to go back and finish my education and get 'real' job. so I did that. Graduated at 32. Worked in corporate america for nearly 6 years with a real job and realized I couldn't stand it. Early on in my career there I remember driving home at like 6 pm (after leaving in the morning like 6 am) thinking this cant be the way. I mean I'm away from my family all day only to come home eat, sleep, repeat. No way! I knew there had to be a better way but I didn't know what that was. Going back to MMM - I stumbled on his site. I (we) completely embraced the frugal mentality and quit being a consumer. Sold my house since i realized I was house poor and used the equity to pay all of our debt. My goal of paying $53k in student loans in 3 years was paid off in less than 8 months. My first big win! (attending Dave Ramsey FPU a year earlier started to help us see the shift form being consumer oriented - to give credit where credit is due)

Fast forward to today. My wife just finished nursing school and has been working as an RN for about 3 months. Since we engineered our lifestyle to live on 1 income I left my miserable job and am set on creating a business which i run on my terms.

Now that I stay at home with the 2 and 4 year old children it is a new challenge to create time to devote in creating a business and be a good father and a good husband but I will find a way.
We can get by as things are but getting by is not what life is about.

Still amazed that i only found this forum through just reading the millionaire fast lane which i am 75% through in the 1 day that i own it.

I started doing amazon retail arbitrage this year and have begun to bring my first private label product to market since i discovered the amazon world of selling 4 months ago. Unfortunately, despite my due diligence (or not enough) my first supplier screwed me. I paid for samples and he dropped off the earth. I care more about the time lost then the $150. I guess I fit in well with the Millionaire fast lane thinking :)

Thanks for checking me out. Didnt plan on the long text wall but I decided to give a decent backstory about where I am now.

John

P.S. If there is a Sidewalker, slowlaner, and fastlaner then perhaps the MMM extreme frugal person would fit between the slowlaner and fastlaner since that philosophy is save 66% income and retire less than 10 years in most cases. Just my thoughts as I connect this new Fastlane information.


I started to better my financial lot in life after Dave Ramsey and then MMM. Fastlane was the next step. I'm also a dad, with a 3 and 1.5 year old.


Can you do it? Yes, man, you can. Get a routine down with the kids, and follow it. And don't fall into the helicopter parent trap of feeling like you gotta supervise your kids 100% of the time and organize all their activities and plan out every minute of the day. It's actually better for their development to have lots of unstructured play time... so just leave them alone!

If your kids are like mine, there is no way to wake up early and work. They just wake themselves up at the a$$ crack of dawn every day.

After they are breakfasted up, they should be able to play together for awhile, without you around. Get an hour of work done, preferably on the opposite side of the house.

Get another hour or two done during nap time every day. If 4 year old doesn't nap anymore, tell her it's quiet time and she can read books or play quietly by herself. And you do work.

Then turn off the laptop and spend time with them and your wife afternoon through bedtime.

From 8:30pm to as late as you can stay awake is where the magic happens. Make the most of this time. Leave the TV off.


I'm fortunate enough to have a wife that teaches pre-k at a daycare, so the kids just go with her 4 days a week, and I'm left to my own devices on those days. If I was full-time stay at home dad, the above is how I would approach it. This is how I worked it this summer when on vacation with the family.
 

LittleJohn

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I started to better my financial lot in life after Dave Ramsey and then MMM. Fastlane was the next step. I'm also a dad, with a 3 and 1.5 year old.


Can you do it? Yes, man, you can. Get a routine down with the kids, and follow it. And don't fall into the helicopter parent trap of feeling like you gotta supervise your kids 100% of the time and organize all their activities and plan out every minute of the day. It's actually better for their development to have lots of unstructured play time... so just leave them alone!

If your kids are like mine, there is no way to wake up early and work. They just wake themselves up at the a$$ crack of dawn every day.

After they are breakfasted up, they should be able to play together for awhile, without you around. Get an hour of work done, preferably on the opposite side of the house.

Get another hour or two done during nap time every day. If 4 year old doesn't nap anymore, tell her it's quiet time and she can read books or play quietly by herself. And you do work.

Then turn off the laptop and spend time with them and your wife afternoon through bedtime.

From 8:30pm to as late as you can stay awake is where the magic happens. Make the most of this time. Leave the TV off.


I'm fortunate enough to have a wife that teaches pre-k at a daycare, so the kids just go with her 4 days a week, and I'm left to my own devices on those days. If I was full-time stay at home dad, the above is how I would approach it. This is how I worked it this summer when on vacation with the family.

Thanks for the encouragement, Aaron.
Does the following look familiar?
I actually used to be a teacher before this, thus "the heart". My Amazon business got me out of that. I still like teaching, I just hated the "job" of being a teacher. It was terrible, and so was the pay. So sure, send me anything... I just ask that before you ask me "what do I do next?" you have at least tried to figure it out on your own first. It's much more fun to help people that are taking action and learning on their own, vs. holding their hand through every baby step.

Small world, eh? I have to say as I began to read the MFL book the thought crossed my mind that you may be familiar with this stuff because i remembered your "trading time for money" comment. It continues to amaze me at the wonderful resources I continue to uncover. All your success in 2 years! I believe it is possible for me but i'm not quite sure if i believe it could be that fast or if it will take 3,4, 5 years. One thing I absolutely love about life is how quickly things (perspectives, beliefs, paradigms) can change.

I am an action taker but i do believe "a smart man learns form his mistakes and a wise man learns form the mistakes (or experience) of others." I have to admit i did feel at least a little bit that I was asking for hand holding to some degree but at the same time i was looking to shortcut the learning curve. If anyone has suggestion son how to learn form others without being obnoxious about it I am absolutely open. :)

In any case I continued moving forward. At your suggestion in the MMM forum i found Walter May book (although a seemingly older version) and printed it and had it bound. (sorry Walter i found a PDF online and paid $3 to have it made into a book - this probably ended up costing me the $150 lost in sample) I read / re read it 2-3 times. It was my main point of reference as I sought to bring my first FBA product to market. I didn't use Alibaba as everyone seemingly uses today. I found my supplier in made-in-china.com (reached out to 15). This one was the only one that responded fully to my inquiry. And the price was something i could profit from nicely. Since the supplier was consistent and for the most part thorough in his communications I felt good about it. With no pressure for buying samples or orders once we agreed to the specs I desired I suggested trying a sample before a trial order to which he agreed. I offered to pay via PayPal and he provided me what appeared to be a personal email @163.com (Chinese social site I believe). I remember this striking my gut as odd because it was a different email than we had been using but I rescanned prior emails and this email address had been included at least in some prior communications in the footer so it made me feel comfortable enough to proceed with good faith. Plus he could have setup paypal with this email long ago in the past or whatever. Besides, watching some Tjernlund stuff from years ago (sound familiar?) I heard him say something like, "of all the suppliers and all the things I bought (a lot) there was like 1 supplier who I paid for a sample from and never heard from again. Add this tidbit to the decision pie and I felt good about getting my first sample.

Im just throwing this out there for you to follow. I suspect Walter's new updated book has some relevant updates and probably encourages use of Alibaba more since everyone seems to be using it. (I tend to do the opposite of what everyone is doing so maybe I am wrong here. I am learning.)


I am open to sharing my product idea / incremental improvements but this might not be the best place for it. I also realize that my incremental improvements are easy to execute for any one that wished to execute but the last time i checked no one is doing it yet. My thinking is this is the advantage of a low competition product and niche. Who knows maybe the supplier is doing it himself now. No point in going down that hole though.

P.S. Totally relate to being checked out at the 9-5. Fortunately I didn't drag it out too much and I dont think anyone really noticed. It always seemed lots of people were often checked out there and just fake cared or went through the motions. So much apathy..la la la la la
 

Get Right

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Sure you can. Wait until you see those little eyes get BIG when they get to help daddy with the business.

Even little tasks like stacking UPS boxes at the door or putting bubble wrap in the boxes is GOLD for them. Just imagine how big of a head start in life they will have LIVING in a business household.

...and that's just their benefit. Wait until you start feeling your rewards!
 
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amp0193

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Small world, eh?

Haha, yup. There's several people here who have crossed over here. Like I said, the Fastlane is the next step for those that want more...

All your success in 2 years! I believe it is possible for me but i'm not quite sure if i believe it could be that fast or if it will take 3,4, 5 years. One thing I absolutely love about life is how quickly things (perspectives, beliefs, paradigms) can change.

5+ years is more realistic, unless you've already got some skills under your belt. The last 2 years were my "overnight success". The previous 3 or 4 years were a slow evolution of side hustles, failed business attempts, and falling victims to scams. I started from nothing.

The MMM approach is linear. You try and maintain the same shit for 10-15 years and you make it to that modest goal you set for yourself. The fastlane is exponential. You go sideways for a few years while you figure things out, and try new things, and then, when it clicks (for some, it never does...), you hockey stick and the sky is the limit.


I am an action taker but i do believe "a smart man learns form his mistakes and a wise man learns form the mistakes (or experience) of others."

Surround yourself with smart people who are doing what you're trying to do. It will shortcut your learning by more than half. My success started when I did this. I learned more in that first month with that group than I had in the previous 4 by myself.

If anyone has suggestion son how to learn form others without being obnoxious about it I am absolutely open. :)

Peers and mentors like people who are taking action. When you execute someone's advice, and you do it immediately, that's the biggest thank you you can give, and it keeps that positive cycle going. As you go, you'll begin to have experience and value to reciprocate and then it's just a big positive feedback loop for everyone involved. You want to wear someone out? Ask their advice repeatedly, and then never do anything with it.

"of all the suppliers and all the things I bought (a lot) there was like 1 supplier who I paid for a sample from and never heard from again.

This has never happened to me. I don't know anyone else who has ever had this happen to them. It is not common. You seem to be dwelling on it. Move on. You said you reached out to 15? Surely another one responded?

I suspect Walter's new updated book has some relevant updates and probably encourages use of Alibaba more since everyone seems to be using it.

@Walter Hay :rofl:

You got some nerve coming to this forum talking about how you're bootlegging one of the most prominent forum member's stuff. Just buy the damn book.
 
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amp0193

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Even little tasks like stacking UPS boxes at the door or putting bubble wrap in the boxes is GOLD for them. Just imagine how big of a head start in life they will have LIVING in a business household.

My kids love putting "do not stack" stickers on pallets!

One pallet got 18!

And with all the product pics I've taken with them, I'm sure I owe them modeling royalties in the tens of thousands by now!
 

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Haha, yup. There's several people here who have crossed over here. Like I said, the Fastlane is the next step for those that want more...

Boom - so glad i am here.

5+ years is more realistic, unless you've already got some skills under your belt. The last 2 years were my "overnight success". The previous 3 or 4 years were a slow evolution of side hustles, failed business attempts, and falling victims to scams. I started from nothing.
Were you also trying to bring products to market via FBA private label during these first 3-4 years? in other words was it trial and error with fba PL before you hit or was your success there a culmination of those things before that?

Surround yourself with smart people who are doing what you're trying to do. It will shortcut your learning by more than half. My success started when I did this. I learned more in that first month with that group than I had in the previous 4 by myself.


So far forums seem to be the best I got in this regard. MMM and now FLF. MMM more frugal not business oriented but here seems like a whole new world (Disney singing voice :) )
What group are you referring to? Is that group open for me to join? what other options are you aware of I should know about to continue surrounding myself with smart people doing what im trying to do?



Peers and mentors like people who are taking action. When you execute someone's advice, and you do it immediately, that's the biggest thank you you can give, and it keeps that positive cycle going. As you go, you'll begin to have experience and value to reciprocate and then it's just a big positive feedback loop for everyone involved. You want to wear someone out? Ask their advice repeatedly, and then never do anything with it.
Absolutely man.



This has never happened to me. I don't know anyone else who has ever had this happen to them. It is not common. You seem to be dwelling on it. Move on. You said you reached out to 15? Surely another one responded?
I read this and light bulb went off telling me to check the spam on the email im using to source product. Bam! my supplier has been trying to reach me. Im a moron! :)
Actually, quite odd for emails to suddenly be deposited in spam from existing address i have been corresponding with but now i know. wont happen again.
The pictures of samples look good. I asked him to send them asap as he suggested yesterday in his most recent message while i sort out how to print whatever is going on the box template he sent me. Im reading about branding now in the MFL book and so Im thinking maybe get this sku in the market with generic white packaging and no logo on box/product etc. and see the traction. Move on branding later, etc. But what the hell do i know for sure now anyway. At least one other seller listing is using pretty generic packaging and they are getting a lot of the sales..

Oddly enough Jungle scout extension not sourcing sales and revenue at this moment for newest sku validation. Ill attribute this as a temporary issue. Combing through the existing listings i still don't see my variation..



@Walter Hay :rofl:
You got some nerve coming to this forum talking about how you're bootlegging one of the most prominent forum member's stuff. Just buy the damn book.

@Walter Hay
Thank you for your contributions Walter and I hope you are doing well these years after your heart surgery. My FIL went through heart surgery like 14 years ago and had stints about 5 years ago. It scares my wife. I sincerely wish you the best.

It is probably of little value of you for me to tell you that for many books I first google search their title followed by PDF. I would say i have a about a 10-20% success rate doing this. I do apologize for bootlegging but I cant imagine this is an uncommon practice.
Have you found this to be a significant issue? Maybe here lays some opportunity for a new business to stop this stuff form happening.

thank you,
John
 
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amp0193

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Were you also trying to bring products to market via FBA private label during these first 3-4 years? in other words was it trial and error with fba PL before you hit or was your success there a culmination of those things before that?

I didn't do any FBA in the 3-4 years prior. But, I did learn things that helped when I did start trying to do FBA stuff. Everything is interrelated in some way.


What group are you referring to? Is that group open for me to join? what other options are you aware of I should know about to continue surrounding myself with smart people doing what im trying to do?

Everyone's different and every path leads you into contact with unique individuals. I'm in a group now, because I went to Scottsdale in February and met some folks. I was in another group a couple years ago, when someone posted a random thread here about starting a group, and I joined up. Something like this: Any interest in virtual, bi-weekly accountability Zoom on our Fast Lanes? One time, I got something going with some local folks after meeting some guys at the UPS store dropping off loads of Amazon boxes.

As long as it's not a bunch of people action-faking and circle-jerking, it's bound to be better than just trying to go it alone.

The forum isn't bad, but it's less personal. The contacts you make here in these threads are more sporadic and random. You aren't interacting with people who know the full history of your choices and what you're working on. You're extracting tidbits from people who you don't know much about either.




I read this and light bulb went off telling me to check the spam on the email im using to source product.

Haha, yeah, gotta check that spam folder regularly when dealing with new foreign contacts.

so Im thinking maybe get this sku in the market with generic white packaging and no logo on box/product etc. and see the traction. Move on branding later, etc. But what the hell do i know for sure now anyway. At least one other seller listing is using pretty generic packaging and they are getting a lot of the sales..

It's Amazon. You don't even see the packaging until it shows up at your house. People aren't buying based on the packaging, they're buying based on the perceived value of your product compared to the perceived value of similar products. Unless... the niche is so saturated, and your product is no different than anyone else's, and the only way to differentiate is to put a fancy box on it. In which case you probably don't need to be selling that product.


Oddly enough Jungle scout extension not sourcing sales and revenue at this moment for newest sku validation. Ill attribute this as a temporary issue. Combing through the existing listings i still don't see my variation..

Jungle scout doesn't really matter. Are there similar products making sales? Cool. Is your product better than those products? If so, you'll get sales. If not, then why are you selling it?



I do apologize for bootlegging but I cant imagine this is an uncommon practice.

Apologies with a "but" don't count. (That's relationships 101)

Apologies with a $97 credit card transfer at 2018 Learn To Successfully Import From China and The Rest of The World - Proven China Sourcing do.
 

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@Walter Hay
Thank you for your contributions Walter and I hope you are doing well these years after your heart surgery. My FIL went through heart surgery like 14 years ago and had stints about 5 years ago. It scares my wife. I sincerely wish you the best.

It is probably of little value of you for me to tell you that for many books I first google search their title followed by PDF. I would say i have a about a 10-20% success rate doing this. I do apologize for bootlegging but I cant imagine this is an uncommon practice.
Have you found this to be a significant issue? Maybe here lays some opportunity for a new business to stop this stuff form happening.

thank you,
John
IP theft is very common and the way most authors deal with it is to incorporate affiliate links into their eBooks. That is small compensation for knowing that one's hard work is being stolen.

I don't chase individuals unless they are selling pirated copies, and when someone draws such cases to my attention, it is not difficult to have their site taken down, or have their subscription to their selling platform revoked.

One important fact that seems to be beyond the thinking of pirates is that there is a good reason why I do revisions every year. A lot of the information becomes obsolete over time. In fact a member posted on my AMA a couple of days ago, suggesting that a major filter for Alibaba searches might have been removed.

I didn't need to check because I already knew, due to the fact that I constantly keep abreast of what's happening in product sourcing and importing. Alibaba made that very important and highly detrimental (for buyers) change within days of my 2018 revision being published.
Apologies with a "but" don't count. (That's relationships 101)

Apologies with a $97 credit card transfer at Proven Global Sourcing - Proven Global Sourcing. do.
@amp0193 Thanks for drawing this to my attention. I am well past being troubled by such things.
@LittleJohn No need to send the $97 unless you want the latest 2018 edition. If you want to see what you are missing with your obsolete copy, have a look at my post announcing the release: GOLD! - Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

On reading your posts I see someone who needs my labeling book. See link in my signature below.

Walter
 
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LittleJohn: The pictures of samples look good. I asked him to send them asap as he suggested yesterday in his most recent message while i sort out how to print whatever is going on the box template he sent me. Im reading about branding now in the MFL book and so Im thinking maybe get this sku in the market with generic white packaging and no logo on box/product etc. and see the traction. Move on branding later, etc. But what the hell do i know for sure now anyway. At least one other seller listing is using pretty generic packaging and they are getting a lot of the sales..

It's Amazon. You don't even see the packaging until it shows up at your house. People aren't buying based on the packaging, they're buying based on the perceived value of your product compared to the perceived value of similar products. Unless... the niche is so saturated, and your product is no different than anyone else's, and the only way to differentiate is to put a fancy box on it. In which case you probably don't need to be selling that product.

@LittleJohn No need to send the $97 unless you want the latest 2018 edition. If you want to see what you are missing with your obsolete copy, have a look at my post announcing the release: GOLD! - Sharing my lifetime experience in export/import. Product sourcing specialist.

On reading your posts I see someone who needs my labeling book. See link in my signature below.
Walter[/QUOTE]
This seems very contradictory. I WANT to trust Walter May and buy the book now but I dont make decisions without understanding what I am doing and why. I think this is a case of I don't know what I don't know. I also think i am confusing the intent of the word 'labeling' here from 'doing private label' and also 'labeling' as in packaging. Either way im sure its clear i have a lot to learn. It would be great to get clarity on what appears to be contradicting suggestions from two successful private labelers.

On the flip side I need to learn whatever is in Walters labeling book now. I will go buy it after this post and download it and read it today as my supplier is wants to know if I want the sample as it is (with the logo on the product where i very strongly believe the customer will not want the logo) and also I need to figure out how i should treat the packaging. Again, both sets of suggestion as noted above conflict my thought process now. I guess i do make decisions sometimes without knowing the full what and why ;)

I am also thinking my logo and brand name might be shit and have to rethink it to make a strong differentiated brand, etc.

I also feel it is in good conscience to purchase this product since admittedly i didn't do so before with the sourcing book. I am very much in tune with my conscience and I like sleeping good.
 
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I started doing amazon retail arbitrage this year and have begun to bring my first private label product to market since i discovered the amazon world of selling 4 months ago. Unfortunately, despite my due diligence (or not enough) my first supplier screwed me. I paid for samples and he dropped off the earth. I care more about the time lost then the $150. I guess I fit in well with the Millionaire fast lane thinking :)
EDIT Update
Thanks to the initial correspondence that has taken place on this conversation a lightbulb was triggered and I was able to see that my supplier did not screw me and he was actually trying to reach me but his messages for some reason starting coming in my SPAM folder.
Let other newbies beware this could happen to you. As I said before this is one thing that wont happen again to me.
 

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@LittleJohn Thanks for your purchase of my labeling book. I hope it is of benefit to you. If it is not, let me know via PM and I will send you a refund.

You have raised an important subject regarding private labeling.

There are two aspects to this subject:
  1. Private Labeling as a business model.
  2. Private Labeling meaning choosing label or branding method, designing, sourcing and incorporating your brand name or attaching it to the product and packaging.
While I certainly recommend private labeling as a business model, and I often comment on aspects of that model, I don't teach it per se.

The point I most often make is that I don't see the simple use of a label as of much value if it is used only to differentiate one vendor from another. That is part of the business model generally promoted by Private Label experts who say "Slap on a sticker." (or label)

If a seller is going to the trouble and expense of having a label printed, why not use the brand name, logo, label design, and packaging design to make the product stand out from the crowd? That is the thrust of my book, which is designed to help sellers use their time and money to develop a great brand that will have value in its own right.

If that is done effectively, development of a memorable brand is possible, and that can lead to expansion of the product range under that brand name, together with the establishment of an eCommerce site that can free sellers from the constraints of selling through Amazon only.

Of course, all of this is dependent upon choosing or creating a great product.

Walter
P.S. If you have any questions on labeling, branding, and packaging, please post them here and I will be happy to answer.
 

amp0193

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@amp0193 Thanks for drawing this to my attention. I am well past being troubled by such things.

I know, I'm just trying to get a point across to John.

What goes around, comes around. Give credit where credit is due. Invest in your success. Pay for knowledge that will end up paying for itself 1000-fold. Be efficient, be frugal, but don't be cheap.
 
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It would be great to get clarity on what appears to be contradicting suggestions from two successful private labelers.

It's not contradictory.

If you're going to be selling on Amazon, exclusively, which it sounded like that was your plan, at least for now... packaging isn't that important.

If you're going to build a "real" business and a real brand, which you should do, and you're selling through your own website, and you're wholesaling to retailers... you damn well better have thought through the packaging, and it better be amazing.

I'm just encouraging you to move fast. I'd rather see you get a good product out there quickly than jack around with the details of your box.

I guess i do make decisions sometimes without knowing the full what and why ;)

Welcome to entrepreneurship.

I am also thinking my logo and brand name might be sh*t and have to rethink it to make a strong differentiated brand, etc.

Action fake. Just get the damn product for sale on Amazon and see how it does. You can always change brand/logo/all of it later.

What's important is seeing if the product will sell. And then being able to improve it after getting customer feedback.
 

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I know, I'm just trying to get a point across to John.

What goes around, comes around. Give credit where credit is due. Invest in your success. Pay for knowledge that will end up paying for itself 1000-fold. Be efficient, be frugal, but don't be cheap.
Absolutely man couldn't agree more. Purchased Walters Power Labeling book and gave it a good first read already.
 

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It's not contradictory.

If you're going to be selling on Amazon, exclusively, which it sounded like that was your plan, at least for now... packaging isn't that important.

If you're going to build a "real" business and a real brand, which you should do, and you're selling through your own website, and you're wholesaling to retailers... you damn well better have thought through the packaging, and it better be amazing.
I understand. Thank you.

I'm just encouraging you to move fast. I'd rather see you get a good product out there quickly than jack around with the details of your box.

Awesome.



Welcome to entrepreneurship.
Awesome x2

Action fake. Just get the damn product for sale on Amazon and see how it does. You can always change brand/logo/all of it later.

What's important is seeing if the product will sell. And then being able to improve it after getting customer feedback.
Absolutely. Super awesome. :)
 
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Question on getting UPC bar codes. My gut says going 100% legit through GS 1 is the way to go vs. these cheap options on eBay or whatever for 1/100th the price. Agree?

My thought is to invest in 1-10 UPC's through GS1 due to the cost factor now. I figure if I need more I can buy more and the fact that my GS1 'prefix' will be different for the additional bar codes shouldn't impact me negatively or limit me in some way. I also figure starting or changing brand names shouldn't be an issue either in the future going this route.

Also, my current amazon seller name / business is setup as a sole proprietor which based on my research is no problem for getting UPC's but I have to imagine in the future if I do indeed to set up a 'real' business and brand than i would most likely change my seller name to match the brand and still have the ability to use my UPC's even though my brand name is different. (It does kind of seem weird to me that if an AMZ FBA seller created like 2 -3 different brands in different niches there might not be a way to distinguish seller names and brands. Unless I just haven't learned this fully yet)

I realize i am only sharing my thought process on this but I am curious if anyone reading this sees any red flags or can advise me against possible future constraints or limitations i may be setting myself up for.

thank you.
John
 

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I'm in a group now, because I went to Scottsdale in February and met some folks.

I see the new thread for early planning of next years meetup...
So crazy as I pointed out there that I just relocated from Chandler, AZ to PA to be near family. Would definitely love to go next year though. Glad to hear it was beneficial for you.

Thank you for your suggestion on the other gal looking for a bi weekly zoom meetup. Engaged..
 

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Question on getting UPC bar codes. My gut says going 100% legit through GS 1 is the way to go vs. these cheap options on eBay or whatever for 1/100th the price. Agree?

I spent all of 10 minutes looking into it, but I guess Amazon has come down on this a little more than in the past. I had always used reseller codes in the past, but I just went for GS1 codes for my new business.

Also, my current amazon seller name / business is setup as a sole proprietor which based on my research is no problem for getting UPC's but I have to imagine in the future if I do indeed to set up a 'real' business and brand than i would most likely change my seller name to match the brand and still have the ability to use my UPC's even though my brand name is different. (It does kind of seem weird to me that if an AMZ FBA seller created like 2 -3 different brands in different niches there might not be a way to distinguish seller names and brands. Unless I just haven't learned this fully yet)

You're spending too much time thinking about this. Yes, you can change a seller name, it takes 5 seconds. Your brand isn't buying the UPCs, you are (or your LLC is). Whatever your brand is, you've got the UPCs.

If you have 3 different brands in 3 different niches, you can have 3 different amazon accounts. If it's all in one, then just have a generic name for the seller name. XYZ brands or whatever. Literally no one will care about your seller name.

I realize i am only sharing my thought process on this but I am curious if anyone reading this sees any red flags or can advise me against possible future constraints or limitations i may be setting myself up for.

The only red flags is that you're posting paragraphs about stuff that doesn't matter, and posting almost nothing about your product, your plans to improve it, how you plan to launch on amazon to gain traction, how you're going to market it... i.e. everything that has to do with creating a product and selling it.

The tiny logistical details can all be changed or redone later if it's not exactly right. But if you don't have the product right and you don't have a marketing plan, then you don't have a business at all.
 
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Literally no one will care about your seller name.
Cant people click into a seller name and see all the products sold by that seller? If so, and i had 2 different / unrelated niche brands i dont think that is something i would want.


The only red flags is that you're posting paragraphs about stuff that doesn't matter, and posting almost nothing about your product, your plans to improve it, how you plan to launch on amazon to gain traction, how you're going to market it... i.e. everything that has to do with creating a product and selling it.

The tiny logistical details can all be changed or redone later if it's not exactly right. But if you don't have the product right and you don't have a marketing plan, then you don't have a business at all.

Im not posting about my product and my plan to improve it because that is my end of the business.. As far as launching it my belief is maybe some Amazon PPC if any. I purposely sought a niche / sub niche that is not very competitive and has relatively few sellers to start out. My value skew is a better product that makes installation much more simple and eliminates additional trips to the hardware store once they have the product. I also am offering a color / finish variation that is not only trending in the world but at least one reviewer stated they wanted or created after they bought a competitors. My listing copy will be better because it will address problems people have had vs generic product details and i seek to create the listing so folks can easily compare the value array of 'mine and theirs'.

So at the end of the day the incremental improvement i am doing is pretty easy for someone to do but no one is doing it now that i can tell plus there is relatively low competition in the sub niche.

I figure the worst case is i sell at a break even to liquidate or best case over 100% ROI. Estimated 86% ROI. Of course this is the theory we will see the actual soon enough. Might have to get smacked over the head a few times before i get it right ;)

I ask about the UPC because ill have the sample by Monday and depending on how it checks out i may want to send that in to amazon or at least get the listing up.
 

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Cant people click into a seller name and see all the products sold by that seller? If so, and i had 2 different / unrelated niche brands i dont think that is something i would want.

Yes, they can click a seller name. I can't think of a single time where I've done this, as a shopper. No one would care, so many sellers sell multiple products on Amazon (retail arbitragers). It will not affect sales in any noticeable way.

You're trying to figure out how to manage multiple brands and businesses when you don't even have one product yet. Do you see how backwards that is?




I ask about the UPC because ill have the sample by Monday and depending on how it checks out i may want to send that in to amazon or at least get the listing up.

:thumbsup:
 

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You're trying to figure out how to manage multiple brands and businesses when you don't even have one product yet. Do you see how backwards that is?

I will say that this is fair enough.
What I am really hearing and taking away is (and this goes for entrepreneurship) is tackle whats in front of you. There will always be problems to solve and dont let the fear of the future and unknown become an obstacle today. In essence - still start with the end in mind but have faith and belief that each problem can be overcome and the likelihood of being permanently screwed because of some trivial logistical decision in the past is usually not something to be concerned with today.
 
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Still working on getting my second sample. Additional time sourcing an input from a second supplier to ship to my primary supplier. Then some back and forth with the primary. Thinking I should have second sample next week sometime pending supplier response most likely tonight/tomorrow.

Definitely takes time thus far bringing in one simple product..
I think I am going to dust off the DSLR and do my own product/lifestyle photos. I think the product is simple enough this could be adequate because i think i can make the listing copy resonate to buyers vs. competitor products.

*For the long game (i.e. building a business) I haven't decided this category is a niche to build a business in. At the moment I haven't seen in my mind a way to really differentiate vs. competitors in a way that is meaningful despite seeing in my mind how creating a brand (that would create a certain perception and evoke feelings) could move a customer to buy.

I have a need to connect with people that have done/are doing what I am trying to do.

*This is what nags me.
 

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*For the long game (i.e. building a business) I haven't decided this category is a niche to build a business in. At the moment I haven't seen in my mind a way to really differentiate vs. competitors in a way that is meaningful despite seeing in my mind how creating a brand (that would create a certain perception and evoke feelings) could move a customer to buy.

I have a need to connect with people that have done/are doing what I am trying to do.

*This is what nags me.

Say you're selling $200,000 a year of this product at some point in the future. But you don't see where you can go to expand. One exit would be to sell the little business you have to someone else in that niche, and move on to the next thing.

I personally wouldn't want to even work on something that didn't have the potential to grow.

Or maybe that potential is there, and you just haven't figured out how to do it yet.
 
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Or maybe that potential is there, and you just haven't figured out how to do it yet.

Thank you. Definitely at least some of this. I think its possible there may be some limiting beliefs at play within me. I say this because as I consider different product niches/categories I could enter of course I find there is already competitors and brands so I see that mine will be just another 'me too' product company barring some creative branding that can distinguish my products from others and create a valuable perception. (This happens most of the time I set out to go through categories and seek product markets I could build a business around)

I think back to the concept of skewing product value attributes to create value in which should create sales but it seems I am looking at products/categories that there either isn't away to skew the value or I just haven't figured out how that can be done.

Building a unique brand that people can resonate with, enjoy, get behind, support, whatever that gets sales where the product is essentially the same as others seems more like money chasing than creating value. Am I missing something here?

I anticipate the answer to what I just asked is that in the case above yes it would be money chasing but what if someone found a category that they could add certainly add value in the product for their customers and then also create a brand ^like above to further differentiate themselves would be the way to go.

I am starting to believe the trouble is finding a category that you can do both in is the hard part?
 

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The only red flags is that you're posting paragraphs about stuff that doesn't matter, and posting almost nothing about your product, your plans to improve it, how you plan to launch on amazon to gain traction, how you're going to market it... i.e. everything that has to do with creating a product and selling it.

The tiny logistical details can all be changed or redone later if it's not exactly right. But if you don't have the product right and you don't have a marketing plan, then you don't have a business at all.


Ditto on this!
 

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I am looking at products/categories that there either isn't away to skew the value or I just haven't figured out how that can be done.

You don't have to skew the value on every product.

You've got your money makers... the ones that are unique, cool, different, than everything else that's out there. That gets people in the door. Then, because they're already buying from you, they're more likely to buy other things from you. Even if those other things are very similar to what they could get from someone else.

You do a mix.
 
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Can you do it? Yes, man, you can. Get a routine down with the kids, and follow it. And don't fall into the helicopter parent trap of feeling like you gotta supervise your kids 100% of the time and organize all their activities and plan out every minute of the day. It's actually better for their development to have lots of unstructured play time... so just leave them alone!

If your kids are like mine, there is no way to wake up early and work. They just wake themselves up at the a$$ crack of dawn every day.

After they are breakfasted up, they should be able to play together for awhile, without you around. Get an hour of work done, preferably on the opposite side of the house.

Get another hour or two done during nap time every day. If 4 year old doesn't nap anymore, tell her it's quiet time and she can read books or play quietly by herself. And you do work.

Then turn off the laptop and spend time with them and your wife afternoon through bedtime.

From 8:30pm to as late as you can stay awake is where the magic happens. Make the most of this time. Leave the TV off.

Thanks, @amp0193 This dad-to-be lives and breathes logic, routine & process and you just murdered the "Will I have enough time with an infant?" excuse.
 

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Thanks, @amp0193 This dad-to-be lives and breathes logic, routine & process and you just murdered the "Will I have enough time with an infant?" excuse.

Dude, infants are easy. They just sleep. All the time.

Get a standing desk, and you can work while the kid naps in the baby carrier.

I started my first business on paternity leave.
 

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