I joined the forum a couple weeks back and said I would be making a progress thread. Well... here it is!
If you want to know a little more about me you can check out the intro thread I posted, but some key points are that I'm 18 years old, I'm a freshman in college (going for the knowledge, not necessarily the degree as I don't plan to get a job), and I seriously LOVE the hustle.
I have a small e-Commerce store in a very specific niche that I have gradually grown to ~$450/month in sales (currently). This is averaging 3-4 sales a day; sometimes less, sometimes more. My margin % (after shipping, merchant fees and cogs) is about 45%. I am working to dominate the niche that I'm in, and grow it to the point that I can cover my basic costs of living with the revenue. I'm living in my parent's house currently, so this would hopefully give me the option of moving out. I don't know if this business has quite that much potential (the niche might be a tad too small), but that is my vision for it.
Here's a re-cap of the last couple weeks (from around the time I posted my intro thread to now).
Executed
A little background for the first bullet point: About 6 months ago (yes, that long... yikes!) I ran out of one of my products, and my supplier just fell off the map. I have no idea where they went. This product is bundled with my main product and the bundle sells for almost twice as much(still under 10 dollars though). I was lazy and didn't take action towards getting a new supplier.
Some Things I Learned:
If you want to know a little more about me you can check out the intro thread I posted, but some key points are that I'm 18 years old, I'm a freshman in college (going for the knowledge, not necessarily the degree as I don't plan to get a job), and I seriously LOVE the hustle.
I have a small e-Commerce store in a very specific niche that I have gradually grown to ~$450/month in sales (currently). This is averaging 3-4 sales a day; sometimes less, sometimes more. My margin % (after shipping, merchant fees and cogs) is about 45%. I am working to dominate the niche that I'm in, and grow it to the point that I can cover my basic costs of living with the revenue. I'm living in my parent's house currently, so this would hopefully give me the option of moving out. I don't know if this business has quite that much potential (the niche might be a tad too small), but that is my vision for it.
Here's a re-cap of the last couple weeks (from around the time I posted my intro thread to now).
Executed
A little background for the first bullet point: About 6 months ago (yes, that long... yikes!) I ran out of one of my products, and my supplier just fell off the map. I have no idea where they went. This product is bundled with my main product and the bundle sells for almost twice as much(still under 10 dollars though). I was lazy and didn't take action towards getting a new supplier.
- Contacted about a dozen suppliers (mostly China based, a couple Taiwan), inquiring about the product I need.
- After lots of back and forth between the suppliers I landed on one that I liked their product, as well as their quoted price and their company in general.
- They agreed to send me 5 free samples (each unit is priced as under a dollar each), with a $24.00 shipping charge. They also agreed to allow me to pay via PayPal, which makes it easy on me with less risk.
- Samples arrived in about 3 days from the shipping date. Tested the product, loved it. Contacted the supplier and placed an order for 500 units. My order won't arrive until march sometime due to Chinese New Year.
- Spent 50 dollars ordering two new products off of Aliexpress that are relevant to my customer base. I am going to test them out to see if they will sell. If they will, I will find a supplier for them and place a larger order.
- Adjusted some things on my shopping cart to make it more clean and simple. Also made it so I have the ability to open up shipping to other countries in the future (currently only shipping to US and Canada... would like to ship to the UK, Italy, and Australia).
- Ordered a fiverr gig for a new logo (HAHA!), turned out to be OK actually. Just not what I was looking for. Note: I don't really need a new logo, I just saw it and thought "Eh, what's 5 bucks?"
- Ran an AdWords campaign for about a week at 5-7 dollars a day.
- Found some threads on a couple forums asking about something related to my product. I helped them out with a very detailed response and recommended my product (this is mostly in hopes that if someone finds the post in the future they might find my site)
Some Things I Learned:
- Improved my skills working with chinese/international manufacturers.
- Chinese New Years is one freaking long vacation.
- How to run an Adwords campaign!
- AdWords simply will not work for this business. The margins are too small (in terms of dollars, not %) to make money with it.
- Shipping via china post is VERY slow(free shipping option on the things I bought from Aliexpress)
- I really like waking up at 5 or 530am.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Membership Required: Upgrade to Expose Nearly 1,000,000 Posts
Ready to Unleash the Millionaire Entrepreneur in You?
Become a member of the Fastlane Forum, the private community founded by best-selling author and multi-millionaire entrepreneur MJ DeMarco. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has poured his heart and soul into the Fastlane Forum, helping entrepreneurs reclaim their time, win their financial freedom, and live their best life.
With more than 39,000 posts packed with insights, strategies, and advice, you’re not just a member—you’re stepping into MJ’s inner-circle, a place where you’ll never be left alone.
Become a member and gain immediate access to...
- Active Community: Ever join a community only to find it DEAD? Not at Fastlane! As you can see from our home page, life-changing content is posted dozens of times daily.
- Exclusive Insights: Direct access to MJ DeMarco’s daily contributions and wisdom.
- Powerful Networking Opportunities: Connect with a diverse group of successful entrepreneurs who can offer mentorship, collaboration, and opportunities.
- Proven Strategies: Learn from the best in the business, with actionable advice and strategies that can accelerate your success.
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with the most..."
Who are you surrounding yourself with? Surround yourself with millionaire success. Join Fastlane today!
Join Today
.
