For years I was intrigued by the idea of starting an importing business. I had an idea of where to get started, but decided not to pull the trigger until this past summer. In this thread I'll be sharing my progress, goals, achievements, and failures, and through it all I hope you can gain something from my experiences. I also welcome your input, thoughts or criticism. Thanks to all who follow along!
Background
In order to better understand where I am at today with my business, I thought I'd give a bit of background into how I got started. There were several things that contributed to my pursuing of an e-commerce business.
1) My Digital Marketing Job - As mentioned in my introduction, I learned the art of SEO at the age of 9, which led to my eventual position at a Digital Marketing Agency. So I have been constantly surrounded by successful businesses and business owners. One client in particular ran an e-commerce business and sold products on Amazon. I worked on the optimization and marketing of their Amazon store and products for quite some time, and developed a relationship with the business owner. She coached me and gave me advice hoping that I would start a business of my own. (Her business was very successful, as she did $1.6 Million in sales in 2014 with a 40% net profit margin)
2) Family & Friends - My family owns a music store, and sells those products online. So I had some previous experience with different platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify, etc., and I managed most of the marketing and SEO for my family's business for quite some time. I also have a friend that runs a successful Amazon & eBay business, so I spent hours with him learning the processes that worked well for his business.
All this to say, I had experience in the e-commerce world and was surrounded by successful business mentors, so I decided to go for it. However, I wanted to do things the right way, so I took my time in the early stages.
Stage 1 - Picking My Products/Niche
I liked the idea of importing, but I didn't want to be one that just picked a product and threw it on Amazon. I wanted to build a real business. So I spent hours and hours researching different markets to find my first product or niche.
In the starting stages, I was looking for something that met the following criteria:
- Demand
- Added value to the current market
- Market not over saturated
- Profitable
- Lightweight/Easy to Ship
I'm all about excel spreadsheets and keeping track of my research, so I assembled a list (stuffed with all sorts of relevant data) of 100's of potential products in markets that I could potentially pursue.
After evaluating my options, I decided upon what seemed to be the perfect first product. Not only was it a perfect product in my eyes, but it had a plethora of related products in the same niche that I could pursue in the future.
Stage 2 - Sampling/Innovating
After deciding upon two initial products, I looked to Amazon to see the current products on the market. I read through reviews, ordered from several of my soon to be competitors, and discovered some HUGE areas that could be improved.
I then looked at Alibaba to find a potential manufacturer. I decided on 10 different suppliers who I believed would best suit my product needs. After talking with those manufacturers/traders, I narrowed down my options to 3 suppliers. I have a system that I use to determine the credibility of those suppliers so I that I don't get screwed, although there is still some risk involved.
I made a sample order from those three suppliers and decided on a winner.
Stage 3 - Building a Brand
Working in marketing, I know how important it is to set yourself a part from the rest of the competition. I wanted to tackle this in two ways - 1) selling a product that added big value to the market. 2) presenting that product better than my competition.
I decided on a company name and started my branding efforts. My initial 2 products were in the same niche as the products that I anticipated to sell in the future, so I created a brand that would encompass all of my products. I did some logo, graphic design, and package design work, and my brand was set to go. I source all of my packaging from the US, and assemble my products at my house for the time being. I am in love with my packaging, and I feel like it gives me a big advantage against my competitors. (Most of the packaging from my competitors is simply a poly bag or cheaply made packaging from China)
Stage 4 - Execution
This is one heck of a stage, as a great idea isn't great if you can't execute it.
Also note - my business is not an Amazon business, but my initial efforts are geared towards selling on Amazon.
Here is a rough outline of how I got things rolling:
1) I ordered 100 units of each of my two products.
2) Took photos of my products. Photography is a hobby of mine, so I do all of my own photography in order to get the perfect shots of my products. I don't take photos for granted, as I believe that can really impact your conversion rate.
3) Created Amazon listings. Once again, I take my time on these. A well thought out and properly optimized Amazon listing can go a long ways with ranking and conversion rate on Amazon.
4) Sent my products to Amazon via FBA fulfillment.
5) Promotions. Once the products were received by Amazon, I ran a few promotions and gave away 20 units of each product at a low cost. This was my way of kickstarting the new listing and building a few reviews at the same time.
160 combined units were remaining after the promotions. Within 2 weeks of initially launching on Amazon, all 160 units sold. This occurred in November, which is generally a good month for online sales, so I have yet to see sales numbers for the rest of the calendar year.
I was very pleased with these initial results, and decided to order again - this time with larger quantities. I also decided to order 4 NEW products that I had been developing. (I used the same process with these products as I did with the first). They are all variants to essentially the same product.
Where I am at Today
Unfortunately, long delays from my suppliers and packaging company prolonged my restocking of inventory and listing of my 4 new products. I have now determined the realistic amount of time it takes to get new inventory to Amazon FBA so next time I do not wait around with no inventory in stock.
Fast-forward to today - the new inventory has been shipped to Amazon, and I am currently waiting for it to be received by the FBA warehouse. This time I sent:
- 400 units of product 1
- 400 units of product 2
- 40 units of each of product 3-6 (These these products are more expensive than products 1 & 2)
Once these products start rolling on Amazon this next week, I will share updates on the progress of sales.
So What's Next?
Selling products on Amazon is just the first step for my business. Although I know success can be found on Amazon, I do not want it to be my primary source of sales.
I am currently designing an e-commerce website through Shopify, and hope to focus on that more in the near future. Since my background is in SEO and Digital Marketing, I am optimizing the website in hopes to eventually make the website my primary source of sales.
I've got big dreams and aspirations for this business, and I am getting closer to that reality each and every day.
Final Notes
Phew! That was much longer that I anticipated, but I hope it gives you some insight into the importing business that I have started & where I hope to take it in the future. I hope you stick around and follow what's to come!
*I've edited the title to better represent this thread.
Background
In order to better understand where I am at today with my business, I thought I'd give a bit of background into how I got started. There were several things that contributed to my pursuing of an e-commerce business.
1) My Digital Marketing Job - As mentioned in my introduction, I learned the art of SEO at the age of 9, which led to my eventual position at a Digital Marketing Agency. So I have been constantly surrounded by successful businesses and business owners. One client in particular ran an e-commerce business and sold products on Amazon. I worked on the optimization and marketing of their Amazon store and products for quite some time, and developed a relationship with the business owner. She coached me and gave me advice hoping that I would start a business of my own. (Her business was very successful, as she did $1.6 Million in sales in 2014 with a 40% net profit margin)
2) Family & Friends - My family owns a music store, and sells those products online. So I had some previous experience with different platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify, etc., and I managed most of the marketing and SEO for my family's business for quite some time. I also have a friend that runs a successful Amazon & eBay business, so I spent hours with him learning the processes that worked well for his business.
All this to say, I had experience in the e-commerce world and was surrounded by successful business mentors, so I decided to go for it. However, I wanted to do things the right way, so I took my time in the early stages.
Stage 1 - Picking My Products/Niche
I liked the idea of importing, but I didn't want to be one that just picked a product and threw it on Amazon. I wanted to build a real business. So I spent hours and hours researching different markets to find my first product or niche.
In the starting stages, I was looking for something that met the following criteria:
- Demand
- Added value to the current market
- Market not over saturated
- Profitable
- Lightweight/Easy to Ship
I'm all about excel spreadsheets and keeping track of my research, so I assembled a list (stuffed with all sorts of relevant data) of 100's of potential products in markets that I could potentially pursue.
After evaluating my options, I decided upon what seemed to be the perfect first product. Not only was it a perfect product in my eyes, but it had a plethora of related products in the same niche that I could pursue in the future.
Stage 2 - Sampling/Innovating
After deciding upon two initial products, I looked to Amazon to see the current products on the market. I read through reviews, ordered from several of my soon to be competitors, and discovered some HUGE areas that could be improved.
I then looked at Alibaba to find a potential manufacturer. I decided on 10 different suppliers who I believed would best suit my product needs. After talking with those manufacturers/traders, I narrowed down my options to 3 suppliers. I have a system that I use to determine the credibility of those suppliers so I that I don't get screwed, although there is still some risk involved.
I made a sample order from those three suppliers and decided on a winner.
Stage 3 - Building a Brand
Working in marketing, I know how important it is to set yourself a part from the rest of the competition. I wanted to tackle this in two ways - 1) selling a product that added big value to the market. 2) presenting that product better than my competition.
I decided on a company name and started my branding efforts. My initial 2 products were in the same niche as the products that I anticipated to sell in the future, so I created a brand that would encompass all of my products. I did some logo, graphic design, and package design work, and my brand was set to go. I source all of my packaging from the US, and assemble my products at my house for the time being. I am in love with my packaging, and I feel like it gives me a big advantage against my competitors. (Most of the packaging from my competitors is simply a poly bag or cheaply made packaging from China)
Stage 4 - Execution
This is one heck of a stage, as a great idea isn't great if you can't execute it.
Also note - my business is not an Amazon business, but my initial efforts are geared towards selling on Amazon.
Here is a rough outline of how I got things rolling:
1) I ordered 100 units of each of my two products.
2) Took photos of my products. Photography is a hobby of mine, so I do all of my own photography in order to get the perfect shots of my products. I don't take photos for granted, as I believe that can really impact your conversion rate.
3) Created Amazon listings. Once again, I take my time on these. A well thought out and properly optimized Amazon listing can go a long ways with ranking and conversion rate on Amazon.
4) Sent my products to Amazon via FBA fulfillment.
5) Promotions. Once the products were received by Amazon, I ran a few promotions and gave away 20 units of each product at a low cost. This was my way of kickstarting the new listing and building a few reviews at the same time.
160 combined units were remaining after the promotions. Within 2 weeks of initially launching on Amazon, all 160 units sold. This occurred in November, which is generally a good month for online sales, so I have yet to see sales numbers for the rest of the calendar year.
I was very pleased with these initial results, and decided to order again - this time with larger quantities. I also decided to order 4 NEW products that I had been developing. (I used the same process with these products as I did with the first). They are all variants to essentially the same product.
Where I am at Today
Unfortunately, long delays from my suppliers and packaging company prolonged my restocking of inventory and listing of my 4 new products. I have now determined the realistic amount of time it takes to get new inventory to Amazon FBA so next time I do not wait around with no inventory in stock.
Fast-forward to today - the new inventory has been shipped to Amazon, and I am currently waiting for it to be received by the FBA warehouse. This time I sent:
- 400 units of product 1
- 400 units of product 2
- 40 units of each of product 3-6 (These these products are more expensive than products 1 & 2)
Once these products start rolling on Amazon this next week, I will share updates on the progress of sales.
So What's Next?
Selling products on Amazon is just the first step for my business. Although I know success can be found on Amazon, I do not want it to be my primary source of sales.
I am currently designing an e-commerce website through Shopify, and hope to focus on that more in the near future. Since my background is in SEO and Digital Marketing, I am optimizing the website in hopes to eventually make the website my primary source of sales.
I've got big dreams and aspirations for this business, and I am getting closer to that reality each and every day.
Final Notes
Phew! That was much longer that I anticipated, but I hope it gives you some insight into the importing business that I have started & where I hope to take it in the future. I hope you stick around and follow what's to come!
*I've edited the title to better represent this thread.
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