Denis@akrosfit
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My name is Denis. I live in Alberta, Canada, with my wife and two kids. We moved to Canada 14 years ago.
I call myself an immigrant pro, as I have immigrated to the USA and lived in NJ for 4.5 years. After spending some time back in my home country, I returned to N. America, to Canada. It was not a smooth ride, but it was worth it.
I tried a few entrepreneurial gigs before. I bought trucks and cars for export to China, I have done Amazon FBA; and I traded stocks online for a bit. At the same time, I was working in oil and gas up north in Alberta. None of the businesses I tried were viable or provided enough to support my family.
In 2017 or so, I read Unscripted and it was clear to me that working the job would never be enough for me. Being away from home for 2-4 weeks at a time, there is no real schedule, and industry booms and busts really do not support long-term steady income. But after reading the book and understanding the math limitations of trading time for money, I was sure that I needed a business to get ahead. I think that this book is sort of a red pill. I could not go back to the mindset of an employee any more. There should be a disclaimer on the front page - "Read at your own risk of never enjoying being an employee ever again." LOL
I read the other 2 books and continued to go back to different chapters and chain read them all the time to stay on track and motivated. In my head, I started looking for people's problems and developing possible solutions.
In 2019, things got so bad for me with work that I was forced to start moving things along. It was my rock bottom point, I guess. I even got my car ready for Uber and opened a driver account)))) in case nothing got better.
At about the same time, I opened a Shopify account and, in a couple of months, launched www glampingdomestore com. In May 2020, as COVID start really shutting down jobs and travel, I got my first sale. In July 2020, with more sales, I asked my dispatch to lay me off and concentrated on the sales.
I use dropshipping business model, the only one possible for me at the time without much money to invest. I invested only my time and "elbow grease," as Mark Cuban says.))) I understand that the dropshipping model is not ideal as it lacks control over production. This business was profitable for every one of the 4 years, with an average revenue of 200,000.00 CAD a year. And it allowed me to stay home during COVID!
In 2022 my sales declined as I raised my prices. I got less sales, but made more profit. Additional advertising and promotions did not yield more sales volume. Competition has started to be more of a problem. As I got less busy, I felt like I should go back to work. I took a job in oil sands with a 2-week on, 2-week off schedule. This allowed me to get some steady income and also run the business. My wife also got involved and can now answer calls and emails when I am not available.
When I started, I had to deal with very raw products from the supplier, without a good installation manual and often manufacturing deficiencies. Now it's gotten a lot better. I feel like right now may be a good time to offer the product to a wider public . I have sent an offer/application to a couple of big box retailers and am right now waiting to hear back. I know it is quite hard to get in.
If anybody here at the forum has questions about the dome structures or glamping, please do not hesitate to ask. Over the course of 4 years, we gained pretty good experience and expertise in geodesic domes and glamping, campgrounds, permitting, etc.
As I mentioned before, dropshipping is not a very strong business model, and this means I am still in search of an idea that can make enough to set me free. I think I have one. And this is what I am here for. But this is a topic for a whole separate post.
Thank you all who read my intro, and you are welcome to comment!! I am really looking forward to it.
I call myself an immigrant pro, as I have immigrated to the USA and lived in NJ for 4.5 years. After spending some time back in my home country, I returned to N. America, to Canada. It was not a smooth ride, but it was worth it.
I tried a few entrepreneurial gigs before. I bought trucks and cars for export to China, I have done Amazon FBA; and I traded stocks online for a bit. At the same time, I was working in oil and gas up north in Alberta. None of the businesses I tried were viable or provided enough to support my family.
In 2017 or so, I read Unscripted and it was clear to me that working the job would never be enough for me. Being away from home for 2-4 weeks at a time, there is no real schedule, and industry booms and busts really do not support long-term steady income. But after reading the book and understanding the math limitations of trading time for money, I was sure that I needed a business to get ahead. I think that this book is sort of a red pill. I could not go back to the mindset of an employee any more. There should be a disclaimer on the front page - "Read at your own risk of never enjoying being an employee ever again." LOL
I read the other 2 books and continued to go back to different chapters and chain read them all the time to stay on track and motivated. In my head, I started looking for people's problems and developing possible solutions.
In 2019, things got so bad for me with work that I was forced to start moving things along. It was my rock bottom point, I guess. I even got my car ready for Uber and opened a driver account)))) in case nothing got better.
At about the same time, I opened a Shopify account and, in a couple of months, launched www glampingdomestore com. In May 2020, as COVID start really shutting down jobs and travel, I got my first sale. In July 2020, with more sales, I asked my dispatch to lay me off and concentrated on the sales.
I use dropshipping business model, the only one possible for me at the time without much money to invest. I invested only my time and "elbow grease," as Mark Cuban says.))) I understand that the dropshipping model is not ideal as it lacks control over production. This business was profitable for every one of the 4 years, with an average revenue of 200,000.00 CAD a year. And it allowed me to stay home during COVID!
In 2022 my sales declined as I raised my prices. I got less sales, but made more profit. Additional advertising and promotions did not yield more sales volume. Competition has started to be more of a problem. As I got less busy, I felt like I should go back to work. I took a job in oil sands with a 2-week on, 2-week off schedule. This allowed me to get some steady income and also run the business. My wife also got involved and can now answer calls and emails when I am not available.
When I started, I had to deal with very raw products from the supplier, without a good installation manual and often manufacturing deficiencies. Now it's gotten a lot better. I feel like right now may be a good time to offer the product to a wider public . I have sent an offer/application to a couple of big box retailers and am right now waiting to hear back. I know it is quite hard to get in.
If anybody here at the forum has questions about the dome structures or glamping, please do not hesitate to ask. Over the course of 4 years, we gained pretty good experience and expertise in geodesic domes and glamping, campgrounds, permitting, etc.
As I mentioned before, dropshipping is not a very strong business model, and this means I am still in search of an idea that can make enough to set me free. I think I have one. And this is what I am here for. But this is a topic for a whole separate post.
Thank you all who read my intro, and you are welcome to comment!! I am really looking forward to it.
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