First things first, let's wrap our heads around the concept…
This is a simple business model that's easy to overthink. There are lots of moving parts that can feel risky or confusing. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:
Everything is simple until you make it complicated
Understand that starting this business, like starting any business, will require taking some risks. If you don't know what you're doing, it's easy to end up with $1,000 worth of iPhone knockoffs in your garage (or $1,000 worth of nothing at all)…
That being said if you're careful, have a solid roadmap (this article), and a bit of hustle you can build a profitable business for yourself with a relatively small amount of time/work.
E-Commerce Empire Roadmap
It's important to understand your battle plan before going off to war…
Here's the basic game plan:
Find a good product You'll need to brainstorm, research, and select a product(s) to import sell. Most people find this step frustrating and overwhelming (with good reason), but luckily I have some tools that will help make this easy. Find a good supplier Once you've decided on a product, you'll need to source that product from a great supplier. It can take some digging to find them, but there's ways to ensure you avoid the scams increase your odds at finding an awesome supplier. Sell some samples You'll want to place a small sample order to test validate your product (I'll show you how I do it). This is part of the ‘secret sauce' that most new entrepreneurs miss. Scale it up Once you've validated your product, you can feel safe bulking up your order quantity making changes to differentiate your products. We'll even talk about private label branding expanding your product line 🙂
Here's the BIG pitfalls to avoid (all explained in more detail below):
- Don't buy in bulk from a factory until you have their samples in your hands andLOVE them. Don't let any supplier convince you they can't ship small sample orders, they are just trying to squeeze you. Don't pay with any other method but Trade Assurance or PayPal for the first 3-months with your supplier. This eliminates a ton of risk. Don't buy from a company that won't accept Trade Assurance or PayPal. What it really means is that they were shut down due to complaints. Don't buy counterfeit crap. Not that there isn't money to be made, it's just a bad business to build (and illegal). Don't buy a lot of inventory in the beginning. I started off buying 5-10 units at a time until I built up the money to reinvest into inventory. Don't give these suppliers your personal email. The email will be effectively nuked and unusable for years, trust me…
Well, I hope that gets you in the right mindset. Let's get into the beef of it. BEEF.
