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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
