The Road to $250M with Amazon Seller Ash Thompson

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In this episode, Ash Thompson shares with us his journey to $250M as an Amazon seller and how to grow into that person you need to be in order to reach your goals.

The genesis…..

  • I always had the desire for freedom and not having a limit.
  • I found out I wasn’t cut out to work for other people.
  • I got into poker before I even got into Amazon

Amazon Launch

  • The first product was a silicon spatula set, silicon products
  • But if you can execute and do it well
  • We made a ton of mistakes but we got on at the right time
  • We had review groups and gave away 300 to 400 units and had had 280 reviews and get ranked in the top 4 keywords within a few days

Key to Success

  • Add more value than what others are doing
  • Add more pieces or add larger sets or colors, or even smaller sets
  • Do not do things exactly the same as other do it
  • Have nice photos

Challenges

  • This is a cash-flow tight business and we were not growing fast enough
  • Solution: We took in product investors
  • I showed the breakdown of expenses and they can choose what products they can invest in
  • Then we started to grow and scale up pretty quick

Consulting

  • I started consulting with the factory
  • And built relationships in China
  • The factory owner became a partner to our company
  • In 2014 we started, and we grew from $25,000 a month to $2.3M a month

Operations

  • We got 36 people in the team and we have different  departments like HR, Finance
  • We have heads who lead each department
  • We create teams based on what we need
  • Final quarter, we will be launching 50 to 60 products.

Launching 50 Products

  • We have a Launch Group and we have them on Slack and everyone is involved
  • We have managers for every process and they all have a schedule for products coming out
  • We also have keywords research
  • We stagger the release.
  • Get the keyword research done, the whole process
  • They report the information back on a dashboard and everyone works on the tasks
  • We also work on reviews and everyone has a defined role
  • There are a lot of crossover between the launched products
  • We have to go more aggressive in ordering our products
  • When our products don’t do well, we decrease the price to the point where we break even and make a small lose

The Secret Recipe on Research

  • The product selection and the product research are the key to this business
  • Get GOOD PRODUCTS
  • Be obsessive over the business
  • Go on Amazon and crunch out the best opportunities

Horror Stories and Avoiding Them

  • You got a product and it shows that it is patented and you can not sell
  • This is how you lose a lot of money
  • HOW TO NOT LOSE MONEY:
    • Product research
    • Check out if it is patented
    • Get samples from the competition
    • Sell a product only once you’ve seen the competition and saw that your product is better
    • ROI has to be good
    • There has to be a good differentiation factor.
    • It has to be a market that has 2 to 3 sellers doing pretty well
    • Packaging is a great factor is well

Reviews

  • If you want to be the number one seller then you need the best reviews, review count and review rating
  • It is important
  • 150 reviews is a good benchmark for new products launch
  • You need to be at least within half of the total reviews of most sellers in your niche

The Road to $250M

  • I like the idea of 10x, set that goal
  • I like the way it makes me feel of how I can hit that
  • Subconsciously, my brain plays towards that goal
  • There will always be negative thoughts but set a goal
  • So you can grow into that person you need to become in order to reach that goal
  • The mindset needed to get there:
    • Always be willing to invest in yourself and your team
    • When people don’t have anything then everyone’s hungry because you are in survival mode
    • Some people get satisfied easily
    • Some people would have bigger plans
  • It;s not just about the money, it is also about getting healthy.
  • That also means working towards that goal.
  • Use 30% of your time on training people
  • Invest in yourself, your health and building relationship
  • Go with people that stretch
  • Choose progress over perfection
  • Let go of needing to control everything

Join us in these key events!

September 7 – Orange Hat Mastermind | Check event HERE
September 12-14 – Sellerfest Lithuania | Check event HERE
October 1 – Birmingham Linn Academy | Check event HERE
October3 & 4 –  Amsterdam PPC Congress | Check event HERE
October 17 – AmaFest Manchester | Check event HERE
October 22- 23rd – Cross Border Summit and China Magic the same week!
October 27 and 29 – Global Sources | Check event HERE
October 14-20 – India Sourcing Trip | Check event HERE

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