From Zero to One! A 30 Day Challenge in E-commerce

[AllenCrawley]

If you work a job everyday that would make sense

I disagree. If someone was working 8 hours a day (40 hours/wk), slept 8 hours a day that would leave 8 available hours per day for commuting, eating, using the bathroom and working on the business. Plus on your days off you'd have an additional 8+ hours per day.

If you're in start-up mode and you're not building a "hobby" business you should be working every available minute. That means no social time with friends, no video games, no TV, no netflix, etc.

Going from zero minutes per day to 90 minutes (minimum) is a start. Don't stop.

Yes, it is a start. It's better than not doing anything. However, this sounds like dabbling to me. If you put forth mediocre effort you will get mediocre results.

 

[LightHouse]

If you work a job everyday that would make sense

Hellll no it wouldn't. If anything you'd be sleeping less and working on that business more.

Unfortunately, I'm on tapatalk and can't link my "Don't dabble" post. Splitting your time in two business's especially if you also work a job is a horrendous idea. You have to zone in on one thing and become obsessed with the process and the grind. Otherwise the motivation will fade after the easy problem solving is over and the whole thing will fizzle out.

Been there, done that.

 

[Nomangee]

This challenge is inspired by AndrewNC and his recent post.

I think the most important part, when starting any new endeavor is to get from Zero to One, which means in my case, as I want to dip my feet into e-commerce, my first sale.

I already read too much about it and didn’t take action over the last 2-3 years. So, I wanna start from scratch and document my progress over the next 30 days.

I won’t embark on this journey alone, as I found a business partner on this forum, Elon's Musk

Which is funnily enough, even when I only use TFF sparingly, my 2nd business partner I found here and the first one is now one of my best friends.

My main Goal is, to take pure focused action 90 minutes every day for 30 Days and see where we get with that.

Already have my timer ready, sitting in front of me:

Also 2 Days ago I setup the "Get Shit Done System", which LightHouse introduced me to.

Our current progress is from today, that we chose a niche to dip in first.

The niche itself is in the Fitness Industry, but a smaller segment of that.

We went with this one, because they are effective ways to target this audience, which I will explain later in the progress.

Now I will update this thread every other day, comes down to how much progress we make.

Come and Join us for the next 30 days.

 

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[theag]

dip my feet

90 minutes every day for 30 Days

You will get nowhere with that. Why only 90 minutes a day? At that rate I (and most other entrepreneurs, especially in the starting phase) put in the same amount of work in 3 days that you do in 30. You have to commit to it.

 

[AllenCrawley]

My main Goal is, to take pure focused action 90 minutes every day for 30 Days and see where we get with that.

You will get nowhere with that. Why only 90 minutes a day? At that rate I (and most other entrepreneurs, especially in the starting phase) put in the same amount of work in 3 days that you do in 30. You have to commit to it.

Yes, why only 90 minutes? I'm confused as to why you'd only commit 90 minutes a day to building a business.

Pour your everything in this business. If it's worth doing at all, it's worth doing with full commitment.

 

[LightHouse]

ITT people looking to make excuses for themselves and not finding them.

 

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[Nomangee]

Thanks for all the people who are concerned about me or my progress, but that's why it's only limited. It has nothing to do how I have build and would build an actual business.

I only wanted to show, that with pure focused action and only 90 minutes each day, anyone can start something on the internet and make their first few bucks, doesn't matter how much time someone has left in the day.

And yes, my priorities are currently not 1. Money(providing value)

The order is Freedom in these 3 areas:

1. Health
2. Emotions
3. Money

Hope we can all remain calm and maybe someone will find some value in this thread at the end.

 

[AllenCrawley]

Do you have any kids? A wife?

Yes and yes.

 

[Brian C.]

As always, any advice provided on this forum is not only welcome, but much appreciated.

While I've been a bystander for the majority of the posts so far, I'd like to add my 2 cents.

All of you are right. You MUST devote yourself to any business. It's THE Cardinal rule.

I get it. And I believe @Nomangee does as well. We really do. It's why I devote 7 days a week to building my agency. It's why a "night out" means sipping a couple of cold ones and working on my business. Even when I take a break (like I am now), I find myself on this forum educating myself further.

We have other priorities. My priorities include building a copywriting agency, and for @Nomangee it's web design. Days off are (and have been) a thing of the past.

We aren't re-inventing the wheel. We are sourcing products to determine market interest. That's it. Yes, we've built our own platform of distribution (our website), but it's cost us only 90 minutes a day - nothing remarkable! We've allocated $0 to the site. None. Just time (which does have a price). We are ready to sell on eBay and Amazon, and already have accounts set for it. We are doing everything to prep for the arrival of our samples.

Why would we devote "days of time" to a product we haven't even received yet? We don't even know how the market will respond! What if there is no need? We just don't know yet!

Fortunately, @Nomangee and I are two puzzle pieces made for each other. I know copywriting, have some experience in dealing with manufacturers, and am able to distribute our products effectively. @Nomangee had the vision to source these products, knows web design, and is learning how to effectively advertise in lieu of our product samples.

I believe the "challenge" here was to show others that even with limited time, it can be done. And we are doing it. Even with all of the daily: time constraints, distractions, obstacles, and action-faking, we are trying to make it happen. We are doing it.

 

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[miked_d]

Going from zero minutes per day to 90 minutes (minimum) is a start. Don't stop.

 

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[Guest34764]

Do you have any kids? A wife?

How old are your kids?

I know this isn't directed at me but I don't see how this is relevant.

You can have a wife and kids and still create a business, It's been done plenty.

 

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[Nicoknowsbest]

Unfortunately, I'm on tapatalk and can't link my "Don't dabble" post.

Here you go:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/no-dabble-zone.66552/

 

[InitialX]

Thanks for all the people who are concerned about me or my progress, but that's why it's only limited. It has nothing to do how I have build and would build an actual business.

I only wanted to show, that with pure focused action and only 90 minutes each day, anyone can start something on the internet and make their first few bucks, doesn't matter how much time someone has left in the day.

And yes, my priorities are currently not 1. Money(providing value)

The order is Freedom in these 3 areas:

1. Health
2. Emotions
3. Money

Hope we can all remain calm and maybe someone will find some value in this thread at the end.

I definitely find it interesting. Good experiment. I came across with many people (friends, family mostly) who tell me the usual BS: " I don't have time for this"
I say: Really ?

I mean 90 minutes a day is like watching a football match (soccer). Switch off the TV and do 90 minutes of work. I am so excited that you guys are doing this. This experiment is awesome. Way to go guys!

 

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[Waspy]

Using Aliexpress is not a good idea. The prices are high and more importantly it is unlikely you will get consistency between orders.

Read some of @Walter Hay 's threads.

This

When I was in school, my business studies teacher put us in groups of 3 and gave each group £100 to start a business. My group decided to buy from Aliexpress and sell on eBay (not dropshipping). We found a supplier of a product we liked (copycat Apple headphones, no claims of being genuine or any of that nonsense mind) and bought a couple hundred sets. 3 weeks later they arrived, we stuck them on eBay and sold them at about £1 profit each. They sold out in a day, in a completely saturated market. Man we were SO excited. We just made £200 in a day. Boom, lets buy a couple hundred more sets and do it again. So we did. However this time (same supplier) the headphones were completely different, utterly unsaleable. We went through the returns process and heard nothing. 6 months later we were given half our money back, by which point school had broken up along with our hopes for the business.

We were still the most profitable group in the class though. At 15 years of age, none of this was good business, but it is a little story about Aliexpress, and how they almost ruined my entire childhood.

 

[Walter Hay]

Aliexpress may not be the best solution, but it's not the worst. It's a good way to start to test out products. A lot of people make a lot of money reselling aliexpress products.

Alibaba is the wholesale division of aliexpress. Not sure if that is what Walter is referring to. There's a few other wholesale sites like DHGate but alibaba is the 800lb gorilla. I've ordered products from aliexpress for myself and have been happy with what I received.

DHGate is more of a mixture, with numerous retailers just like most Aliexpress vendors, a lot of traders, and some manufacturers. DHGate has an even worse reputation than Aliexpress.

I don't say every vendor on either of those sites is a scammer or sells low quality or faulty goods, but it happens so often that I would never consider buying from vendors on either of those sites.

Here are some of the sites where you can browse through the many thousands of complaints from unhappy customers. You won't find such complaints on the feedback on Aliexpress because they won't publish adverse feedback.
https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/www.aliexpress.com
https://www.influenster.com/reviews/aliexpresscom
www.resellerratings.com/store/AliExpress
https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.aliexpress.com
https://aliexpress.pissedconsumer.com/

For a general introductory observation on reasons to be wary, see the original post on my thread:
Why newbies should avoid Alibaba, DHGate, Tradekey, Aliexpress, madeinchina.com, EC21, TTNet.net,
Note: I refer there to Alibaba's escrow but that has been changed several times and is now replaced by Trade Assurance.

Walter

 

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[Brian C.]

Excited to embark on this journey with you @Nomangee. Let's make it happen!

 

[DillanE]

I disagree. If someone was working 8 hours a day (40 hours/wk), slept 8 hours a day that would leave 8 available hours per day for commuting, eating, using the bathroom and working on the business. Plus on your days off you'd have an additional 8+ hours per day.

If you're in start-up mode and you're not building a "hobby" business you should be working every available minute. That means no social time with friends, no video games, no TV, no netflix, etc.


Yes, it is a start. It's better than not doing anything. However, this sounds like dabbling to me. If you put forth mediocre effort you will get mediocre results.

Do you have any kids? A wife?

 

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[InitialX]

Going from zero minutes per day to 90 minutes (minimum) is a start. Don't stop.

I agree. And also don't forget that he said it was a Challenge! 90 minutes a day for 30 days experiment. Let's see what you guys get out of this.
Good start!

 

[NiteRider]

Very interested in seeing how this goes. My biggest obstacle is and has always been putting focused attention into what I'm doing on a daily basis. May try the timer idea as a way to avoid slipping away from what needs to be done each day.

Just wondering how many of each product you decided to order?
Are just doing a test at this point to gauge the popularity of the product?
I've always done drop shipping and then ordered in bulk the most popular items to ship myself so I'm curious how you determine how many to order up front.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Do you have any kids? A wife?

How old are your kids?

Totally agree. I'm guessing, due to his lack of a response, that his kids are older. It's a fine balancing act. Health, family, career...in that order.

 

[DillanE]

Success does not care about your wife and kids. It only cares about your hard work.

You should care. Your kids are only kids once. Your wife will have no problem finding someone who acts as if she excists.

Im all about hustle and hard work. But I aint about to let life pass me by.

The point in my question is that if the OP insists that he only has 90 minutes a night, try to encouraged instead of discourage. There is probably a good reason for his 90 minute time restraint.

 

[miked_d]

80$ worth of products from Aliexpress

Using Aliexpress is not a good idea. The prices are high and more importantly it is unlikely you will get consistency between orders.

Read some of @Walter Hay 's threads.

 

[Walter Hay]

Using Aliexpress is not a good idea. The prices are high and more importantly it is unlikely you will get consistency between orders.

Read some of @Walter Hay 's threads.

Don't forget that Aliexpress is a retail site, a bit like eBay. Many of the products sold there are sourced from another Chinese site that I won't name, where liquidation and reject stocks are sold. Quality doesn't enter into the thinking of the vendors on Aliexpress.

Feedback quoted on Aliexpress is a farce, and despite the descriptions of their factories, you will often be dealing with someone who operates out of their bedroom, and can and will change their business name in a flash if they get complaints.

Aliexpress vendors are the subject of literally thousands of online complaints. I'll publish links for evidence of that if anyone wants to look through thousands of tales of woe. I can think of other sites worse to deal with, but Aliexpress are close to the top.

Walter

 

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[Brian C.]

This

When I was in school, my business studies teacher put us in groups of 3 and gave each group £100 to start a business. My group decided to buy from Aliexpress and sell on eBay (not dropshipping). We found a supplier of a product we liked (copycat Apple headphones, no claims of being genuine or any of that nonsense mind) and bought a couple hundred sets. 3 weeks later they arrived, we stuck them on eBay and sold them at about £1 profit each. They sold out in a day, in a completely saturated market. Man we were SO excited. We just made £200 in a day. Boom, lets buy a couple hundred more sets and do it again. So we did. However this time (same supplier) the headphones were completely different, utterly unsaleable. We went through the returns process and heard nothing. 6 months later we were given half our money back, by which point school had broken up along with our hopes for the business.

We were still the most profitable group in the class though. At 15 years of age, none of this was good business, but it is a little story about Aliexpress, and how they almost ruined my entire childhood.

£200 in one day for a student at 15? Wow. And then to have it taken away? I would've needed to see professional help.

Despite the slight exaggeration, that really sucks.

Fortunately, we only ordered 10 of each product - 2 total.

We aren't sourcing from AliExpress. Just testing products to then go source. We figure 10 of each, what do we have to lose? If they work, we'll place sample orders from a supplier with branding, packaging, etc. included.

Sure, in hindsight we could've placed a "sample order" from Alibaba. It's true. Might've been a better option. AliExpress is convenient though. And in my experience, a large percentage of Alibaba vendors sell on AliExpress. Not all, but some. Some you can trace back to Alibaba.

And who knows if we'll even use Alibaba. @Walter Hay recommends other alternatives in his book (my importing bible).

I've sourced other products, so I feel somewhat comfortable in this stage. It's just for now, we are testing the market and how they respond.

 

[Walter Hay]

This

When I was in school, my business studies teacher put us in groups of 3 and gave each group £100 to start a business. My group decided to buy from Aliexpress and sell on eBay (not dropshipping). We found a supplier of a product we liked (copycat Apple headphones, no claims of being genuine or any of that nonsense mind) and bought a couple hundred sets. 3 weeks later they arrived, we stuck them on eBay and sold them at about £1 profit each. They sold out in a day, in a completely saturated market. Man we were SO excited. We just made £200 in a day. Boom, lets buy a couple hundred more sets and do it again. So we did. However this time (same supplier) the headphones were completely different, utterly unsaleable. We went through the returns process and heard nothing. 6 months later we were given half our money back, by which point school had broken up along with our hopes for the business.

We were still the most profitable group in the class though. At 15 years of age, none of this was good business, but it is a little story about Aliexpress, and how they almost ruined my entire childhood.

Thanks for the story from your real life experience. I have seen that bait and switch operation happen so many times. But because someone has been lucky enough to have made money buying from Aliexpress and selling at a profit, people disregard the advice about the real risks of dealing with those suppliers.

In fact one marketer's experience in buying from Aliexpress has formed the basis of his "expert" story upon which he and his friend have built a huge business selling a program on how to make big money buying from China, and thousands follow their advice - I suppose because they have paid big bucks for it.

Your mention of the copycat Apple headphones deserves comment. Just because they don't carry the brand doesn't mean people who buy for resale, products that look like or use similar technology to big brand products, can avoid prosecution or litigation that in many cases has led to bankruptcy.

Copying the brand name is obviously taboo, but ..... Designs are often the subject of copyright. Out of sight technology is often patented. Colors are sometimes the subject of copyright.

I know of cases in which importers had refurbished second hand big brand products confiscated by Customs. There's no profit in that. The Customs authorities were probably on shaky ground in those cases, but who's going to risk their shirt on a legal challenge to recover the confiscated goods?

Walter

 

[miked_d]

Yes, it is a start. It's better than not doing anything. However, this sounds like dabbling to me. If you put forth mediocre effort you will get mediocre results.

Agreed. Hopefully this dabbling will lead to more commitment.

@Nomangee - It has been 2 days. What have you done?

 

[miked_d]

Do you have any kids? A wife?

Success does not care about your wife and kids. It only cares about your hard work.

I know I encouraged the OP with the 90 minute a day challenge. I was only trying to get him moving. I was hoping he would see it is not enough time and he would devote more time.

 

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[Nomangee]

Just wondering how many of each product you decided to order?
Are just doing a test at this point to gauge the popularity of the product?
I've always done drop shipping and then ordered in bulk the most popular items to ship myself so I'm curious how you determine how many to order up front.

It's just a test run, to get back the basics of e-commerce again. I know a few other niches that are harder to get in, but way more profitable. I took one that was quite low barrier only for the challenge.

Exactly, it's just a test run. I ordered around 10 of each product.

Really good idea with first drop shipping a market to test it out and then build your own out of it.

 

[Waspy]

I'm a big advocate of "just do it", so I commend you for getting moving after 2 years of stagnation!

I am however perplexed by the 90mins limit. 5 businesses getting 90 mins a day will never get close to 1 business getting 8 hours a day.

That is by the by. I hope these 30 days go well, and give you a reason to devote more time to it, I'll be following closely!

 

[Nomangee]

ThanksElon's Muskfor articulating our motives more profound and in greater detail.

Update Day 8,9 and 10

1. Facebook:

Created again the Facebook Business account.

Setup the whole Ad once again and now can set it live, when the products arrive.


2. Shop:

We finished completely setting up the Shop.

Elon's Muskbought the Domain, linked it with our Shop and then finished the copywriting for the whole website.

I did the last design and development changes.

Only part that is missing is the Upsell plugin, which I will add when the products arrive.

Also created the exit intent Pop-up via SumoMe for free:


Takes like 10m to do so, really easy process.



Costs so far:

80$ worth of products from Aliexpress

10$ Domain

Shopify 60 days Trial

Upsell 30 days trial


Next Steps:

1. Wait for the Products to arrive

2. Setup the Upsell Plugin

3. Start the Facebook Ad

4. Wait for the first Sale to Happen

5. Sum Up the Challenge with Stats