Over the last several months, my Amazon business has begun taking off on a trajectory not entirely understood by those not in the “biz.” Anytime we have visitors, for example, they will come in to see 10-20 boxes of OA purchases, brand new toys and books and shoes and clothes and food.
“Wait, you sell macaroni and cheese on Amazon?”
“No, ass-hat, my family of four purchase wholesale from Kraft in order to fully satiate our need for processed powdered cheese.”
Ecommerce in general is still a bit Wild West for most folks. Especially because of it’s fairly young existence so far, most people do not grasp the concept in general. But if a person acquires the skill set to succeed in this space, they tend to be looked at with a mixture of envy and confusion by the outsiders.
Nearly ever person has read or heard of stories of fast success and instant millionaires online, and I constantly find myself fielding a barrage of questions.
“How long til you sell a website like Mark Cuban and make a billion?”
“Where will you live once you buy Amazon?”
“Why do you sell toothpaste online when you can sell real stuff?”
“You just scan stuff and sell it?”
“Why would someone buy it from you instead of buying it themselves?”
“Do you really make money selling cereal?”
“Will you show me how to ride a bike?”
It never stops.
And I’m fully on board with that, because, in case you haven’t noticed, we are very welcoming to new sellers here.
You can sign up for the email list, or we even have a course here that is brand spankin’ new for sourcing online.
Anyway.
Pretty much everyone wants to sell now.
Make.
Money.
Online.
And why wouldn’t they? The freedom lifestyle is so alluring.
This past weekend I was at a family party, and I was asked to explain Amazon selling basics to a dozen people. And that’s fine, I’m passionate about the life changing potential this platform offers, so I love to talk and explain it.
However, none of the people who asked me will do anything with the information they obtained.
Why?
Simple.
So, in honor of those conversations and in accordance with all the inspirational posts I’ve seen Brianna post lately (like this one), here are some facts and fictions.
FICTION: People assume after a five minute conversation they know how it works, and can succeed.
TRUTH: You can explain to me how to shoot a free throw, but I still suck at them.
I say this a lot, but I read books and blogs and watched webinars and joined masterminds and groups and conversations. This was not like a get rich quick plan. This was a well thought out plan, a process, a learning of what to sell, how to sell, where to find it, and so on.
But the catch?
You can learn while doing.
I started, but then I pursued the cerebral side simultaneously. Because I knew this would be a full time gig soon enough, I made a plan and a goal and I followed through with it. I learned how to sell on Amazon from successful sellers before me.
FICTION: Scanning something that is listed for more on Amazon means I will make money.
TRUTH: Listings are far less important than ACTUAL SALES!
I get a lot of texts from people with a screenshot of an item that has a listing of $299.99, and a purchase price of $40. And no rank.
“Why can’t I buy this?”
“Because no rank = no sales data = no sales.”
Its not a 100% always rule, obviously none are. However, for the majority of situations, if I scan something and its got a zero rank, I leave it be. But when people decide after 5 minutes they want to be Amazon.com sellers, they just scan the first thing they see, which usually is some random case of Sprite with a price of 149 dollars for a 12 pack, and they think they just stumbled upon black gold.
Wrong! Read. Learn. Sell.
Repeat.
FICTION: It’s too complicated, I don’t understand computers.
TRUTH: Neither do I! Every piece of technology needed to succeed is idiot-proof user friendly.
Amazon makes everything so easy to navigate and process, it is actually astonishing.
And if you get stumped, we have resources here, as well as a myriad of facebook groups and the actual Amazon forum.
FICTION: I don’t have the money to start a new business.
TRUTH: Neither did I. I started with $140 and a dream.
And, to be frank, it wasn’t even cash. I had a credit card with a $300 limit and it had $140 available. I had just gone out of business in a previous venture, was being sued for a million dollars, I had a newborn baby at home. I did have a job, and it would provide for my family, but it was 60 hours a week starting at 3 a.m.
Guess what?
I went to Goodwill and got some stuff. Books. Board games. In fact, I had actually bought a board game book right when I started by Smotherman, my fba man crush, and that is what even made me realize I could make bank with used board games.
It took me less than a year to make it into six figures.
It took a tremendous amount of grit, hustle and determination.
You know what it didn’t take?
Luck.
There is no luck, but that’s a whole separate issue with me.
I believe we make our own path. Not chance or luck. But whatever. That’s just me.
Anyway, I’d keep going with some more fallacies of Amazon, but, truth be told, I plan on quitting my job in 100 days, and I got shit to pack.
Yes, you heard it here. First. Please don’t share this with my boss. 😉
Yeah, friends and family can be a pain in the you know what! I have experienced exactly the same. The only thing they seem to hope is that you fail in your efforts, almost so they feel happy they don’t have to match your energy levels or something. It is just plain weird. Anyway, good you made it to 6 figures. Hope to be there soon as well. So far we are at 5 figures and going strong. Do well!