Skills of a Successful Amazonian

I guess for most people reading this blog, you understand that there is a serious business opportunity with Amazon but are thinking it is too good to be true. Well, you are kind of right!

Building an Amazon business is not easy and comes with risk!

A couple of years ago I went to a huge Amazon conference in Las Vegas. There I spoke to a woman who was at her second conference (these guys charge $5000 a conference to give you some perspective). She said she was “close” to a new product, she had to get it right first time as it was a lot of money to invest. I really felt for her – she was so genuine in what she said and I felt her pain. Two years, 10 grand and she was still at the start line!

Well, there is the first risk! It is called procrastination and I am really, really good at this!

In fact, the book I mentioned in an earlier blog called The Perfect Day Formula by Craig Ballantyne is what has finally broken me out of this habit. One of the key takeouts I got is to write a list of what needs to be done today – no more than 5 items to start with and then you cannot do anything else until you have ticked off those items.

That was a real challenge for me – particularly not diving into emails first thing in the morning!

I figure Craig must be a guy of steel….I run an Amazon business and cannot afford not to check emails in case there is a customer issue overnight. So, my compromise has been to get up earlier and spend my first hour researching and writing this blog.

My #2 priority for the day is to scan my emails for Amazon issues and ignore anything else that is not mission critical. I then do not look at emails again until 11am (and Facebook, the scourge of living other people’s lives and not your own until 2pm!)

Life is a compromise at the best of times. We all act with the same intent, of building a better future but react to the external going’s on in very different ways. However, as I have learned, an entrepreneur does not get sidetracked, moves with giant strides and acknowledges all may not be perfect along the way.

I’m a guy who likes to pause, reflect, make sure something is as perfect as I can get it…and then move on. What sort of person are you?

This is a very important question, as it is only by understanding ourselves that we can really mentally prepare ourselves to get an Amazon business up and running.

Nothing in life is achieved without some sort of end goal and steps to get there…

You need the same for your Amazon business. Treat this as you would your day job. Your boss gives you tasks or set an expectation of what you will do for your wages…and if you don’t do it you usually lose your job! If you are already self employed, just as you manage your own time (or staff ) to make a widget or deliver a service you must manage your Amazon business.

So let’s get back to risk. You buy a product, ship it to Amazon and sell it. All going well you make a profit and buy some more and the cycle repeats.

You put all your profit back into these buy and sell cycles for a while and slowly you build up your sales and inventory.

If it does not go to plan, you discount your stock (to cost or below if you have to) and sell it through and start again. It is like driving a car. The more you practice, the better you become. Initially, there is so much to think about – pedals, steering, looking where you are going, looking behind you, judging distance. If the first lesson does not go so well you still try again. If you scrape the car, money is spent to fix your mistake and you try again. There is no choice. If you are going to learn how to drive a car, then you have to keep focused on trying to be successful.

Like anything new, you “learn by doing” and no matter what, YOU have to do it. Think of Amazon like getting a car licence. YOU have to learn how to drive it!

If I told you you needed a minimum of $5000 to start an Amazon business, what is your first reaction? Is it an excuse…too much/I don’t have it. Or is it more questions to understand. All up front, some along the way, can I use my credit card?

Even better, are you asking how long before you get it back/what chance you will not get it all back?

There is a lot of self help available on the internet. Sure, you can wing it and get most of the info for free. However, you need to be smart and work at educating yourself on all things Amazon. As I find good “stuff” as I call it I will post a link. 

No affiliate links in this blog by the way. I write to give back, to encourage others to start an Amazon business and enjoy the extra income – maybe your goal is to end up with a full time business and learn what freedom really feels like:)

If it bothers you when you see a link, then just go onto their website direct…the key is that you take action. We all know Nike…

Just Do It

You must also chart your own course. You don’t need the permission of family and friends to explore an Amazon business. With their best intentions, they will not want you to try. It is human nature to be risk averse and to want everyone to be the same. Work 40/50/60 hours a week, family time if you have or had kids, hang out with friends at the weekend, grow old and pass on to your next life “together” so to speak. This Amazon thing might spoil the good order, distract you and they lose a friend as you get busy/more successful/move to a better neighborhood.

So, back on the bucks. Some money to educate yourself, some for stock, some for freight, some for Amazon fees. All going well, you can spread this over a few of months.

Here’s a couple of courses worth considering. 

If you’re a self help person, kind of already got a good idea what you want to do then check out these guys (no affiliate links in our blog by the way):

www.amazing.com

If you’re like more structure and guidance then check out this one:

www.reliable.education

Set yourself some goals:

Get up an hour a day earlier with the sole purpose of starting your Amazon journey (Go to bed half an hour earlier so you can get up earlier lol)

Google “start an Amazon business.” Don’t buy, just shop the different options. Get an idea of the market place

Make a note of the courses, webinars, blogs, etc available that feel like a good fit for you

Priotitize them and make the decision of who to start with

Oh – and to be absolutely clear…then START…!!!

None of this will work for you unless you have created the space in your life so you can become as effective as possible as you start your Amazon journey. Think of it like understanding the road rules before you take your first driving lesson

You must develop the core skills you need to become a successful Amazonian!

Get your head in the right space – read Craig’s book!

Create the time you need by scripting your day

Remember, no one is perfect so just focus on making tomorrow a better day than today!

As always, ask us anything. If we don’t know we’ll know someone who does!