Jarred's Journey from Zero to £4M with High-Ticket Dropshipping (Episode 39)

Get your copy of Lewis’ new book - The Home-Turf Advantage ➡️ http://htabook.com?el=podcast 

🗣 ​​Join Lewis Smith and James Eardley as they dive into an inspiring journey of entrepreneurship with Jarred, who has gone from zero prior experience to generating nearly £4 million in sales through high-ticket dropshipping. 

In this episode, you'll gain insights into the power of consistent action, mindset shifts, and the remarkable results that can be achieved in the world of ecommerce.

👉 Prefer to watch this on Youtube? Check it out here  ➡️ https://youtu.be/g_3QGlFWnGQ

Jarred’s previous interview: https://youtu.be/vAoZZYXfZCQ?si=znR_jpLkLTSn_jA1 

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Topics Discussed:

★ Jarred's Remarkable Journey: From Zero to £4M in Sales

★ The Mindset and Breakthroughs Required for Entrepreneurship

★ Scaling Up: Reaching a Run Rate of £1M Per Year

★ The Impact of High-Ticket Dropshipping on Jarred's Life

★ Lessons and Inspiration for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

For Aspiring Business Owners or Side Hustle Seekers Based In the UK…

New Book Reveals How To Launch A Low-Maintenance High-Profit E-Commerce Business Using The UK "Home-Turf Advantage”…

While also enjoying more time with your family, being free to travel, and setting the hours you work.

Click here to get your copy >>> http://htabook.com?el=podcast 

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

Get Shopify for £1 a month for 3 months: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/shopify 

Get a free trial with a professional phone line: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/circle 

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Key Takeaways:

★ The monumental growth of Jarred's dropshipping business to £4 million in sales since their last conversation.

★Insights into breaking into entrepreneurship and the required mindset.

★What it's like to reach a run rate of £1 million per year in ecommerce.

★The impact of high-ticket dropshipping on Jarred's life and personal growth.

★Overcoming challenges and navigating doubts in the early days of entrepreneurship.

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• Website: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/

Thank you for listening to the Dropship Unlocked Podcast! Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review on your favourite podcast platform.

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★★★Dropship Unlocked - Lewis Smith★★★

🌏Watch Our Free Training ➽ https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/training?el=podcast 

Transcript

Lewis Smith: 0:00

We got in touch with Jared and today's episode is going to be a conversation with them, where we'll go through the monumental growth that Jared has experienced.

Jarred: 0:08

Since then we've well, just shy of 4 million pounds on that store.

James Eardley: 0:13

So if you've ever wondered what a dropshipping journey could look like for you, then this is the perfect episode.

Lewis Smith: 0:20

This has been a really highly requested topic for us to bring him back and see where he's at now,

Unknown: 0:25

those days where you do 10 15,000 pounds a day or hop mazing so

James Eardley: 0:30

good to talk to you about all of the success he's achieved. And the mindset that's been the driving force behind all of that success.

Unknown: 0:38

I just wanted to give it a go and prove to myself that I I did have an entrepreneurial flair I guess inside

Lewis Smith: 0:47

if you're trying right now to visualize your roadmap to success with E commerce then you're gonna get a lot from this conversation Welcome to the dropship unlocked podcast your key to unlocking the secrets of high ticket dropshipping. I'm Lewis Smith, founder of dropship unlocked and with me is our Client Success Coach James Eardley. Now, when we're not recording podcast episodes, we're running our own e commerce businesses and helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch their own high ticket dropshipping businesses. So if you're ready to learn how to build your own six, or even seven figure business, pick up a copy of my book, the home turf advantage, whether you're looking to replace your income or launch a side hustle. I wrote this book as a roadmap to help you launch a low maintenance, high profit e commerce business that gives you the freedom to spend more time with your family, travel the world and work on your own terms, ready to join us visit HT a book.com To get your copy today. Now sit back, relax, and let's unlock your potential with a dropship unlocked podcast.

James Eardley: 1:58

The aim of this podcast is all about making real freedom happen. And this episode is a perfect testament to that. We've got a story lined up to share with you today that I really can't wait for you to hear. It's all about Jared, who went from having no entrepreneurial experience to making almost 4 million pounds in sales in just a few years. So if you've ever wondered what a drop shipping journey could look like for you, then this is the perfect episode. Yeah, it's

Lewis Smith: 2:24

gonna be a good one today. I remember the first interview that I had with Jared core about three years ago now where I went over to see him in person. And we sat down and we had a chat. And we highlighted the kind of initial early success that he'd had coming into the program. I think he was only six months into the dropship unlocked masterclass program at that point, and he just surpassed 310,000 pounds in sales with his single store that he had at the time. So incredible start to the journey. And we documented that and took a video. And it's been a really highly requested topic for us to bring him back and see where he's at now. So we got in touch with Jared and today's episode is going to be a conversation with him, where we'll go through the monumental growth that Jared has experienced over the years since we last caught up taking his business to nearly 4 million pounds in sales since our first conversation. So he's made an incredible start to the business and then maintain that as well. And I think just something to highlight before we dive into it. Jared story is a testament to the power of what happens when our members follow the master class program and take consistent action, which then they see compound over time. You know, something, people might say, oh, Jared is special he you know, he has something that other people don't really is a case of he followed it to the tee and he'll say it himself. You listen to the conversation in this episode, he took the steps, he revisited the program, he's still active in our community today, Ray still comes back and helps out and talks and shares his view on things. So in this talk that we have with Jared, we dive into how to break into entrepreneurship, how to overcome that limiting belief that maybe you aren't cut out yet for entrepreneurship, the mindset that's required. And then also, we found out from behind the scenes what it's like, with a run rate of 1 million pounds per year with your E commerce business after starting without any prior entrepreneurial experience. So that's what Jared has done. Got his business to a million per year now or just just under I think but we'll be there very soon, I'm sure. And yeah, there'll be some other stories as well. During our conversation with him of what it's like day to day for a dropship unlocked master class member who's followed the program to a tee and now has a thriving multimillion pound business that he can run from anywhere on the planet.

James Eardley: 4:40

Yeah, and it's inspirational to listen to I remember I listened to his first interview before I joined the dropship online masterclass. And listening to that was so inspiration that was one of the main reasons why I joined up in the first place. So hopefully now this catch up interview that we've done with him will also inspire many others to follow their entrepreneurial dreams as well. He shared with us some insights on how you got to achieve that success. And we delve into the mindset that has been the foundation for him over the last few years to achieve the incredible success that he's had. Yet

Lewis Smith: 5:11

there's so much in this conversation is going to be a good one. And I believe that it will help you if you're trying right now to visualize your roadmap to success with E commerce, then you're gonna get a lot from this conversation. So with that in mind, sit back, enjoy this episode, where we caught up with Jared. So Jared is bitter been a while since we last properly sat down and talked I think is about three years now since that initial video was filmed where I came over to your kind of warehouse space that you were hiring at the time. And we talked a little bit about your results. So let's kind of rewind again to your beginnings if we think before you started dropshipping before you joined the dropship unlocked masterclass what feelings or desires was stirring in you that led you down this path and into this rabbit hole initially, I

Unknown: 5:55

think I've always been a bit entrepreneurial. I remember even like selling sweets and stuff at school, I've always had that, that urge to kind of do my own thing. Once you get to school, go to university, you know, the the natural route for that is to get a job and you know, get a mortgage, which went through all of that. And I just remember sitting at my, my job I had, and just looking around all these 50 year olds and just thinking, just not me this I can't I can't really see myself here in in sort of 30 years tired. 2030 years time doing that. And that's what I just made the leap. I thought now I want to do my own thing. I didn't know what I wanted to do. So we jumped out of that, and of my notes and jumped out of that role. And just ended up doing some freelance stuff because my my background was digital marketing. And then came around, I think it was a video of yours. And yeah, no, the rest. The rest is history. The

Lewis Smith: 6:45

rest is history. Yeah. It's interesting to hear that you had that kind of entrepreneurial flair as school ated selling sweets and looking for that. You think that there that was like a deeper rooted desire to want to have that level of autonomy. But you were just looking for a way to channel it at that point?

Unknown: 7:01

I think so. Yeah. Yeah, I think I think I've always had that. In me, it was just a way of, of trying out at least otherwise, you'd always have that, that those those regrets, I guess the one image in my head was just sitting one day at work. And all these 50 year old older man, they were just there. And you know, just like, I mean, it's absolutely fine for people to want that and want that sort of, you know, 30 year career in a specific industry, but just just wasn't for me. And yeah, I just I just wanted to get out there and try and do my own thing. be my own boss. And and yeah, that's that's what that's what stemmed early. Yes.

James Eardley: 7:40

He definitely preaching to the choir there in terms of thinking about looking at ahead of you in the career path and not wanting to follow that that path. Was it then just a timing sort of coincidence that it was at the same time that you knew you had that craving for an entrepreneurial journey that you came across? dropship on lots around the same sort of time?

Unknown: 7:57

Yeah, well, it was actually it was actually afterwards, I probably did the wrong wrong way around and just went, I'll just hand my notice head and figure it out afterwards, I probably should have had a bit more of a plan. But yeah, it was during that phase, when I was just doing freelance work, I'd saved up a bit of money. So you know, just taking along. I think I handed my notes in in February, I left work in February, and was it was March or April, I think when I signed up if with a course. And it was just one of those days when in the mornings, you're thinking what am I going to do now? Bonds across a YouTube video, and then somehow failed, Louis? And then that took over, I guess? Yeah,

Lewis Smith: 8:38

we had a chat. But that's interesting to hear the route. I mean, you kind of lit the fire didn't you buy it like you say quitting your job before you'd found something to do. But I guess doing going into the world of freelancing is an interesting move. Because it's almost like that intermediary step before entrepreneurship, isn't it like you no longer have a boss. But now you have clients and now you're trading your time for money. And there's like a cap on the scalability of that. So I guess, can you talk a little bit about like, maybe some of the challenges even whilst you were freelancing that made you still want to seek something different.

Unknown: 9:10

So my background was always in digital marketing. And it was just a extra way of making a bit of money on the side, I guess. But you're right. I mean, it's completely there is a ceiling to that how much you can do in a in a week, in a month. So it is cat, but I guess yeah, I've been going back to quitting the job without having anything firmly in place. It meant that to make sure that I had some form of income in the next couple of months. Right so it kind of put rock up my backside to action things and get get things done really. So yeah, in hindsight, I say silly but as your right probably was probably a blessing in disguise that I did that around. I think so.

Lewis Smith: 9:52

Yeah. Yeah, sometimes that's the way you need to do it. So reflecting on that moment, after six months when we met back can three years ago, and you made 310,000 pounds in sales within your first six months of joining the program. I remember vividly Can you describe what emotions and thoughts were swirling around your mind at that time? Like, what did achieving that early level of success feel like for you person?

Unknown: 10:15

Yeah, it was it was crazy. It just exploded just because there was such a large demand for the products besides I mean, the volume you're doing. I was just processing orders all day long. It was, it was mensajero at the time, six months in after doing 310k. It was. Yeah, it was it was great. And I remember, I had a spreadsheet where I'd forecasted sales. Like, before we'd started advertising, as if I do one or two, one or two a week, I'll be happy you don't make two to 300 quid a week. I mean, we're doing that easily in a day at that stage. So, ya know, it was it was bonkers.

Lewis Smith: 10:53

I think a lot of people feared that when the whole world shut down in 2020, that it was going to be like the end of business. But what actually happened was it forced the world of customers that maybe you hadn't yet adopted buying things online to suddenly have no option but to right, I remember, we were all buying stuff online. So suddenly, it became like, I think a catalyst to the E commerce world. And so it had, like you said, the complete opposite effect. And actually, we saw business absolutely boom, which was crazy. So since our first chat then since we did sit down three years ago, and had that conversation conversation, which is recorded, and we'll link below this episode of the podcast, so that anyone who hasn't seen that can go back and watch it if you'd like to. What results specifically have you been able to go on to achieve since then,

Unknown: 11:36

since then, we've well, just shy of 4 million pounds on that store. So you know, we've done okay, we've we've managed to scale it, and as I said, you know, there's been ups and downs. But yeah, overall, you know, I'm really pleased with the the progress that we've done. And I'm a little bit annoyed, we probably won't hit the 4 million pound mark this year. incredible

James Eardley: 11:56

progress. I mean, you've pretty much tracking for a million every year since you started the program, which is just awesome progress. But obviously, the numbers are some one thing on the sheet. But how does that have an impact on your life when you're reaching those sales numbers? In

Unknown: 12:11

terms of my personal I mean, it's been great. I mean, as you say, we try and forecast yearly sales. So you know, 1.2 last year and yeah, I mean, obviously, in terms of how it impacts my life, we've managed to move out to a slightly larger house than we had in London, which has been nice. It's created an income for me that we live on comfortably, which is which is excellent. So ya know, it's, it's really Yeah, impacted impacts my day to day life

Lewis Smith: 12:40

pretty well. And comparing the recent wins, you know, that's incredible, like tracking a million per year, you know, on average, and hitting that 4 million pound mark. So I think you're massively underselling yourself, Jared, when you say, yeah, we've done alright, so that's the kind of modesty that I'd expect from you. But no, congratulations. That's fantastic achievement. Since those early victories, though, how has the recent success that you've seen where it really like rocketed? Like you said, how has that impacted your personal life because I know we were chatting a little bit before we started recording, you're now a dad, I'm sure life's changed a lot. You've moved out of London, like having the freedom that this kind of business now provides you comparing that back to how it was initially, like, what's that changed about your personal day to day life?

Unknown: 13:21

Yeah, I mean, obviously, I'm, I'm able to work on my own terms, I guess, which is, you know, great with, with a little two year old. So, you know, if I, if I need to, you know, pick them up from nursery or, you know, if he's ill, or whatever I can, I can be there at the drop of a hat, just because I, you know, I've been able to be in a position now where I've got two full time staff who can, who can handle 99% of issues. And, you know, that's, that's where we're at. So, yeah, it's been great, more free time. You know, you can take as many holidays as you want. But yeah, no, it's, it's excellent. Absolutely,

James Eardley: 13:57

yeah. I mean, completely incomparable in a way to how it was when he first met with Louis before having a son. I remember in that interview, you mentioned that you were first able to get a dog because of the freedom that it allowed you in it or taking them out your dog out for a walk and that sort of thing. Now with your son, the freedom that you've got, do sort of take him to nursery and pick them up from nursery and that sort of thing. And you're a bit more flexible with the hours that you were.

Unknown: 14:21

Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, now I'm on the drop offs and pickups at 530. So, ya know, it's, it's a lot a lot more flexibility as I said, like, don't have to worry about taking holidays for you know, friend's weddings and stuff like that you can you have the time and and availability, I guess, to be able to do that, those kinds of things. And yeah, I mean, it's, it's been great. I mean, that there are challenges as well. But you know, it's been brilliant and being able to be more available I guess is is great.

Lewis Smith: 14:50

Yeah, I can I can relate to that as well as you know, now father of two sons. It's like, I love the thought of the E commerce entrepreneur dads at the nursery gate. Do you know They're doing the school run. And really like, for me as that's a massive priority. You know, people might think, oh, you know, when you're successful, you can pay someone to do that kind of stuff. But I'm like, No, the reason why I wanted to succeed in business is so that I had the freedom and the flexibility to be able to do that stuff. So that, you know, your kid sees you at the school gates and can come run into you. So, yeah, I totally understand that and can relate to it, because it's something that I do as well. So congratulations on getting there making it happen. And, you know, taking the action to create it. So I know, you mentioned that it's been a bit of a bumpy road, you know, on your way to a million per year and reaching the 4 million pounds mark in sales. Could you share with us a little bit about, you know, the feelings of doubt that maybe you faced in the early days? Because I'm sure it wasn't all smooth sailing? How did you emotionally navigate through the the ups and downs as you went? What advice would you give to someone listening, who's maybe going through some of those rocky periods at the moment, as

Unknown: 15:52

long as you if you put the hours in a, you know, focus on, you know, tasks, and just get them done? I think one good thing about, we had a direct competitor, and I think that was for the good of our business, and probably theirs as well. So I always looked at competition, just thought, how can we just be better than, and I think we kind of piggybacked on each other a little bit. And I found that, that ways of not getting too obsessed with them, but you know, just knowing that someone out there, they're also making money, and just always continuing to learn, you know, I've got quite a few regrets and stuff that I didn't do earlier on. So you know, focusing on on, like, email, for example, our email channel, you know, now that, that I think we do about 40% of our sales through email. And I've actually spent quite a bit of time not becoming an expert, but really studying email. And I'd like to think we've got it in quite good position now. And I've actually gone on to do freelance work for some suppliers in email. So you know, I mean, once you've got that, that that relationship with the suppliers, and they know you're doing quite well, it's quite easy to be able to say, look, we will replicate our success on your site, because they're all trying to do sales directly themselves anyway. So yeah, no, I think I think that would be a thing is a big thing for us was Yeah, or for me was, was looking at the competition, and just tweaking our stuff. And as you see those small, incremental improvements, I think it you see it in the results.

Lewis Smith: 17:23

I love that, because I love the strategy of saying that I'm going to look at a competitor that's doing really well. But most people, I think, with a scarcity mindset would would think that oh, by you doing well, it means that you must be stealing share for them, which means their business must start to decline. But I think the most important thing that you just stated was that it actually helped both of you. So you made a lot more money. And actually, it pushed them to make a lot more money, because they had to up their game as well. So I think when you transition from that, like, you know, it's, it's a zero sum game, to like, actually know, when you both up your game, the market itself can expand, you can both bring more people into that industry that you're selling in, and you both end up making more money. So it's beneficial to do that. And with the expansion of e commerce as well, right. Yeah,

Unknown: 18:06

I completely agree with that. Yeah, I think having having that that competition with a direct competitor is good. I enjoy it, you know, keeps me on my toes. So, you know, if someone in our nation is looking at me, good. I want all the competition there is fantastic.

James Eardley: 18:24

Yeah, it's a good way of looking at it. And obviously, you mentioned the unexpected sort of benefits that come from starting a business like this, like your suppliers are actually approaching you and giving you their their marketing budget to learn. So what are some of the key lessons you said that you'd learn from the dropship? Or not masterclass that you've been able to take on now over the last sort of three or four years?

Unknown: 18:45

Optimizing ads? What are the three things optimizing ads, adding suppliers, and adding new products? I think that that is still crucial for for our business today. You know, those three things if you're if you're ever start? I mean, I always go back to that myself, you know, what, what can you be doing? Those are the three priorities. Yes, you know, outside of that, do some more SEO, do some more, you know, email, email campaigns, but with I think one of the key movers for us was just picking up this one supplier who we ended up doing. I think, at one stage, there were about 30%, about 2% of our total revenue. I think you're always one, always one client away from not doubling, but you know, having significant growth. And that's what that was provided for us that no, it took us to, to a new level. And I think you can never stop looking for new suppliers and at something that we were, I was, I mean, in the game for it. Yes. Absolutely.

James Eardley: 19:51

And it's well drummed into us by you know by Louis in the program about being really simple. With what you focus on the some of the you mentioned virtue as well was getting a team on board, you've now got two full time staff. What sort of freedom today allow you now that you've got your virtual assistants and your team on board? Yeah,

Unknown: 20:10

I mean, it allows me to focus on more of the strategy side of things. Yeah. I mean, I still I still enjoy that customer interaction. I should probably do slightly, slightly less of it. But I think again, it keeps me in the game, it keeps me you know, my product knowledge on on on top. And I think yeah, having having that team obviously allows me to, to focus on more the supplier relationships, I think that's something that is, is quite crucial. And something that I've done pretty well in is, is making sure that I, you know, I'm always reaching out, I go and visit suppliers, a lot of the time, just pop in for a coffee. And, you know, three of them actually, do I do freelance work for them now. So that's how close I think people should get their supplies. Because, you know, if they're, if they're spending money on on digital marketing, and you've got that skill, why not try and take a piece of that pie? I guess.

Lewis Smith: 21:12

So going back from where you were, before you left your job, and, you know, working there, you said, you were looking at all of the people who were kind of in their 50s that were working that had worked there for years, and you thought I don't want to become one of those. Looking at where you are now. That's quite a transformation. Right? So who or what would you say has been a cornerstone in your journey? And how did that make you feel like, what was their sense of empowerment at any point? Or a moment of clarity? Or was it something else? Was there any milestones that you can think of, we thought that was a real turning point for me. So I think

Unknown: 21:45

the it was the scary moment in thinking, you know, you, you're 50, you've done that years in a corporate job. And that's just not what I had envisioned. But in terms of who has been a cornerstone, I've obviously, obviously, my wife, and I'm doing it for my family now, but I didn't, I didn't necessarily have that at the time. But it was more a sense of, I just wanted to give it a go and, and, and prove to myself that I I did have this entrepreneurial flair, I guess inside and that I want to see how far I could go. And just it was almost like a test to myself just to see know how far I could go. And and if it was possible, and at the end of day, you could always fall back on my job, Connie. So it was more just a sense of I had this desire just to be able to, to do my own thing and and see where we're at lead, I guess.

Lewis Smith: 22:44

Yeah, exactly. Because I think the the societal norm, right, is that leaving the job is the risk. And that that's the thing that guys, you're entering this world of the unknown, right into entrepreneurship, how like, you won't have the stable salary or the pension or the nice perks that you get in the job. But like you said, Change flipping that and say, well, I could always just fall back on that. That's, that's the backup plan is fine as a safety net. But that's not what I'm striving for, you know, the risk for me is not leaving this ending up as one of those people that I see down the line in their career on that trajectory that I don't want to be, and not having experienced the life that taking this, this move this step won't even call it a risk would would unfold. Right. So I guess reflecting back on all of the incredible successes that you've had over the last few years of running your business? Can you share a bit more behind the scenes of like the emotions and the thoughts that you've experienced that? But how did it feel seeing your vision start to materialize going from just an idea in your head, following programs, step by step getting it up and running? How does that feel seeing that start to come to light?

Unknown: 23:47

I guess I'm not very good at sort of accepting that how well I've done in that sense, you know, when you actually sit back and you reflect as to where you've come? Yeah, I mean, it's incredible. It's, it's, it's been really life changing for me. And, yeah, I, as I said, if it hasn't come with it without its hardships, which, you know, every entrepreneur would go through, but when you when you sit back and just look at what you've done over the years, how far you've come. Yeah, it's really rewarding. And, and yeah, I guess I'm quite proud of how far I have come in that sense. Yeah.

James Eardley: 24:25

Would you say any sort of connections, or any sort of learnings or people you've got around in your journey that have really helped you to get to where you are today? Well, obviously,

Unknown: 24:37

the support from you guys early on, really, you know, laid the foundations for for where we're at. The pillars or the core pillars of success are still instilled from me from those early days. Like we just discussed now, like, you know, when you're stuck or whatever, was going back to those kinds of do those Everything's, you know, the suppliers products and optimizing ads. I think, you know that from the early set, lay those foundations. And, you know, I massively owe it to Louis and the team for for getting me to, to where I am now. Absolutely. I think, you know, when you go down or start something new, you always have to have a mentor who's kind of been there and done that before. And without that, you're kind of running in the mud, you know, and I think I think I didn't really know where to start off, I knew I wanted to do e commerce or run a business or whatever, but not really sure of the best way of doing that. And by having that structure, and the course behind you is I mean, that, that lay the foundations for, for the success part of the last three years. Absolutely.

James Eardley: 25:52

I think when we started started before me, but I had similar feelings where we both were in a nine to five job that we didn't see a future in. So you've got this energy, or you've got this desire for something, but you don't exactly know what it is. So there's that gap that needs to be filled. You know, you want to get after a more free lifestyle, run your own business, be an entrepreneur, but you need something in between that desire and actually achieving it. And that was for me in the same way. As you Jared it was finding dropship unlocked and Louis's program. So I had that structure to follow. So I could actually channel my energy into something would you say is a similar feeling for you? You had all this energy and this desire, but you didn't know how to channel it necessarily?

Unknown: 26:32

Yeah, absolutely. I think Yeah. I mean, I think I can remember speaking to Louis being like, now, I'd love to sell products online. But what, how were, you know, all those questions like, you know, what? Yeah, where on earth do you start? As you say, James, like just having that, that structure to, to channel this, like, you know, I want to do this, this and that, and just work through it periodically? And say, lay those foundations and, and yeah, you just grow from that.

James Eardley: 27:05

Yeah, you say that. There's so many questions we had before you start, you've got an idea of where it is you want to go. But you know, Shopify, you've never had experience of which products? How do you sign a supplier? How do you run an ad campaign? If you've never done that before, there's so much missing in between that energy, but interesting that the spark for both of us was just a realization that you wanted to get somewhere else that you wanted to have your own business, but you didn't have any of the answers? Or perhaps you had a few answers, and maybe with a little bit of a digital marketing background. He certainly didn't have the answers in terms of a drop shipping business signing suppliers and adding products, would you say a particular learning, you mentioned signing suppliers? But was there a particular learning around picking your niche that really helps you to then identify the products that you wanted to sell? Not

Unknown: 27:50

really, I mean, I just I just run, I just stopped to the course to III really think it came up with three or four niches? And yeah, just kind of get to a stage where you, you're looking at three, and they're all good options. You just got a pick in and move forward. Take action. And that's what I did. Luckily, I picked the one for what I did, because it soon exploded. So that was a bit of luck, I guess. But, you know, you kind of make your own luck by having that in the in in the pot three in the first place, I guess. Exactly.

Lewis Smith: 28:26

And I've no doubt you'd have made a success of the other two as well. Right? It would have been you know, it's all to do with your execution. So

Unknown: 28:33

yeah, if you if you just apply the same principles again, yeah, well, so

Lewis Smith: 28:37

aside from the business then like now now that you have this level of sales coming in, you've got this this income coming in? Can you talk us through a little bit about what your life looks like now after the sales that you've achieved to date because if we talked a bit about, you know, being there for your son being able to go and pick him up from nursery during the drop off like that, that's something I remember last time we talked about, he said, Dad enabled you to get a dog to go on holiday to take your laptop, earn your income whilst you're away, took us a bit through like the day in the life or, you know, what, what are you able to do? What are some cool things that you have coming up in your life that maybe this type of business has enabled you to be able to do? I'm

Unknown: 29:13

slightly more away from the day to day running, I guess I'm not I'm not spending, you know, eight hours a day in the business, which is just been good. I've been, at the moment looking to just diversify. Essentially my income stream I I'm working on other projects as well. Another another job ship projects, which is which is really exciting. And I'm looking to get a bit more into property as well. So those are kind of the things I'm working on at the moment. And and yeah, I mean, I guess as we said previously, you know, I have a bit more time on my hands in terms of, you know, looking after looking after my little boys if needs be, you know, doing the school pickup drop offs. You You know, we can were able to, you know, go on holiday, without any sort of fixed times or you know, holiday allowance, which is, which is, which is nice. I'd say I do a little bit of more stuff now than I was doing before.

Lewis Smith: 30:14

Yeah, it's amazing what else, you know how much richer life can become when you've got that amount of time that flexibility to go wherever we're at, like you say, you could just at the drop of a hat, say, Okay, well, we're gonna flight tomorrow to the other side of the planet and just go, no boss is going to be like, Oh, you didn't book annual leave, or you know, you didn't? It's not company policy, you can't do it like you are the one that calls the shots, which is both exciting and scary at the same time, in the sense that you say, it doesn't come without its burden. So we're not here painting a picture of like, oh, it's gonna be this smooth sailing journey into the sunset with business, of course, you're gonna get the hurdles. But I'd argue that the bumps in the road are the things that make it worth doing, right, because those obstacles are the reason why it feels good once you've done it. So looking back at the growth and the changes in your business since the early days, how do you feel now when you consider the achievements you've made? Because I think it's easy for you to normalize it because you experience this every day, you're like, Yeah, okay, we're at 4 million in sales, like you're, you're caught up in the work. But if you zoomed out, and your old self working in the job looking at you being like, you've worked since then you've in that last three years, you've made 4 million pounds in sales, you'd be quite shocked, I imagine. So how does it feel if you really think deeply about the achievements you've made? Now, I

Unknown: 31:26

guess I'm just quite proud of where I've got. So you know, I said, when I was when I started off, had this little spreadsheet of, you know, kudu, 112, maybe three or four a month, that'd be great just to you know, keep it ticking over. And to get to the point where doing, like we did 1.2 million last year in sales is, you know, it's great. And, yeah, I guess I'm just really proud of how I've out of got there, and, you know, still still got the urge to keep doing more, you know, hit that 5 million mark hit the 10 million mark. And, and, you know, that's, that's where that's where, you know, I want to be, you know, striving to get to

James Eardley: 32:13

a very, and you have to actually remind yourself sometimes of how far you've come because it does feel normal the day to day. Do you remember a moment? Did you ever sort of like celebrate? Do you have a proper bottle of champagne or something when you hit certain milestones? Do you remember like, for example, the moment you realize that you've done a million in sales? Was there? Is there a moment where you looked at your sales, or your Shopify analytics and you realize you hit that milestone or you sort of mark these milestones or any sort of celebrations?

Unknown: 32:38

I don't quite remember the I definitely remember looking for the two mil and thinking it's quite a lot of it's quite a lot of sales, isn't it? But yeah, I think I'll probably I'll pop a bottle at five. I remember doing my first meal in a year. That was that was a target for me at the time. I think it was, it was the year after we'd lost on the interview. Well, that would have been 2021 I think have managed that by by the end of November for the for the calendar. So that was that was a milestone that I remember clearly thinking well did did well, there.

Lewis Smith: 33:22

Yeah, it's great. It takes a lot for you to pop a bottle of champagne, doesn't it 5 million in sales quite a big, quite a big requirement for gyratory for the champagne bottle. But it's good. I mean, like, you know, I think the form of you looking at yourself, I'm sure you've had days or you do like 10 grand in sales in a day and you think I've just made like maybe four, three or four grand in profit in a day like that the the former you, I think we'd look at that and be like, You should be open in Champagne every day. But I think we reset the bar, don't we we normalize the, the achievement and that's simpler. Sometimes as entrepreneurs, we need an external party to point that out to Us a Reminder, so if there's any help, um, you know, I can say absolutely, you are smashing it. And I'm very, very proud to see where you've got to so well done and continue to keep up the work.

Unknown: 34:05

I do celebrate, I've learned to, to not over celebrate those highs because with those highs, you will serve days where you don't where you don't have anything coming in. So I've kind of become more level headed in terms of, yeah, don't go overboard. Because you know, there's gonna be a day where you don't do any sales or there might be back to back days where you don't do any sales, then those those days where you do 10 15,000 pounds a day are amazing.

Lewis Smith: 34:31

That's great. And I think that actually ties into a question that I wanted to ask you because that normalization that like you said not right in the height like this, right? The Highs low and the lows high so that you kind of baseline as an entrepreneur's and because if you let that become tied to your identity, I felt that where you have an incredible month and then it all comes crashing down and then it's back in the law has too much of an emotional roller coaster. I can't deal with it. So you're better off just spike. You know, I now just look at the months in totality and I'm like, Okay, how do we do you know, and I'll I were looking at individual days. But um, from all the experiences that you've had, from all of the lessons that you've you've gained throughout the process of building your business to the level that it's at any lessons that you think could resonate with or inspire listeners who are maybe just at the beginning of their journeys, that first one that you just shared was a great one about, you know, riding the lowest high the highest load, but anything else that you think the former, you would really value hearing right now who's, who might be just listening to this in the car on their commute to work or on the tube or in the gym? I'd

Unknown: 35:29

say just just try and build relationships with suppliers. At the end of the day, that is going to be, in my opinion, the biggest single mover, or single thing that you can do to scale the business. So, you know, I go to work tries to go to all the traders trade show, but even if there isn't anyone new there, but just to just to, you know, reacquaint ourselves with someone who, you know, you've, I mean, I've forgotten supplies on there, who I've been with for 334 years now. And I see them once a year at the tradeshow and, and it's just a way of, of keeping, keeping that relationship going. So I think, yeah, definitely, definitely try and better your relationship with suppliers. And a one lesson I had was, I mentioned earlier about the one supplier that we're doing about six of our, our revenue with and I think they are based off up north somewhere, and she spent a day's go up there, be there with ya, it's just important to always, you know, hone in on those relationships, because I sometimes spend a splendid day just ringing suppliers and just having a chat with them. You know, when when the times are good, when times are bad, just say, you know, How's it go? You'll see a feel for where the markets at as well. So I think yeah, my my one thing would be, yeah, just just try and always build your supply base and build those relationships with suppliers. That's

James Eardley: 36:57

really valuable lessons adding, what's sort of coming through with your journey is that being level headed, where the winds being level headed with with the times that are more difficult, and always just staying in the game for that for the long term, and just consistent learning, and also being open to new opportunities, you say, sort of picking up different opportunities here and there starting new projects. So if you could try and distill your lesson into like, sort of a couple of sentences for people? Would you say that that would that's how you do it? Would it be around sort of saying consistent making consistent progress? Is that overall, sort of picture you paint for your success?

Unknown: 37:30

Yeah, absolutely. I think consistency is absolutely key, I saw, I saw a little graph where it was like, you know, small movements over over time, you know, you just grow exponentially. And I think just staying consistent and keep chipping away. And you know, you might not see the rewards immediate daily, you know, day to day, but over a six month period, you look back and think Wow, that really owned it and really through scale the business that way. So yeah, I think just keeping consistent with stuff and yeah, not not doing things for a couple of days and thinking, you know, getting too disheartened and, and not working. Just keep at it, keep chipping away. And you'll look back in in three to six months time and think, thank God I did that.

Lewis Smith: 38:15

Exactly. And you'll never truly done as an entrepreneur. I know from personal experience, we're always looking at the next thing always on to the next. So with all the success that you have achieved what what emotions are staring in you now? And what are the new dreams and aspirations they're guiding you to your next steps like what what comes next?

Unknown: 38:32

What's next? Remember, you have a little task at the beginning don't do where you have to put the pictures of what your life you want your life to look like or what you aspire your life to buy. And you know, mine was filled with cars and houses and stuff. But now as I'm working on trying to automate businesses that I run a bit better so that's that's probably what I'm I'm working on to get to, as well as you know, keep growing keep keep being on the strategy side of things. Yeah, I

James Eardley: 39:01

suppose that option is there for you with a dropshipping business to outsource and automate as much as possible. Do you think there's a reason why you haven't outsourced or automated earlier in your journey? Is it just something that you've recently sort of turned your attention to now?

Unknown: 39:14

I did give it a go I guess I wasn't that good at it. That is something that I need to work on and and be better at is relinquishing power I guess. And realizing that people might not You're not looking for a direct replacement of yourself it's impossible. You're

Lewis Smith: 39:33

always learning right as an entrepreneur and I think you what you just said there is just your next evolution now in terms of it's the same it's the same jump it's going from like Oh, could I ever do that to Oh no, I'm doing it now. It's Could someone else ever do that completely for me and may be completely removed from that? Oh, suddenly now I'm doing it I just want to say thank you Jared for firstly for jumping on this call but for taking the time to share your journey on the the first time that we sat down together three years ago, but also for you has been a model member of the dropship I'm not community like you came into it with the exactly the right attitude you were so driven from day one. I remember you asked all the right questions you never felt like you were asking a stupid question, which is exactly what we want you to do. You know, not suffering in silence just coming to us seeking that support and continuing to take action and writing their the ups and downs as you go, I think your ability to put yourself out there, go to trade shows, like you said, build those strong relationships with customers with clients that to the point where you even then start helping them with their digital marketing is testament to you as a person, you as an entrepreneur. And we're very, very proud to have you in our community. So thank you for coming on the episode today and sharing all of your lessons and your journey with the rest of the listeners.

Unknown: 40:44

Perfect. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Well,

James Eardley: 40:47

that was a fantastic conversation with Jared, so good to talk to you about all of the successes achieved, and the mindset that's been the driving force behind all of that success. Yeah, it

Lewis Smith: 40:57

was a pleasure to chat with Jared and to hear more about his inspirational story. If you feel inspired by Jarrett's story, then you don't just have to be a bystander watching him or from the sidelines. You can take action like he did and start your own story today. For your guide to start your own multimillion pound e commerce business. Start by picking up a copy of my book, the home turf advantage, which you can get from H T A book.com. And your success might just be featured in an episode of the podcast coming up soon. Just a quick heads up. If you'd like to share your questions, stories, successes or challenges, you can email us directly at podcast at dropship unlocked.com. And you never know we might even feature you on the next podcast episode. Also, if

James Eardley: 41:44

you want access to today's show notes or any of the resources we've mentioned in the episode today, then head over to dropship unlocked.com forward slash podcast. We also have a small favor to ask if you if you enjoyed the show so far, you could take a minute to leave us a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice.

Lewis Smith: 41:59

You wouldn't believe how much your reviews help us grow the podcast, we'll even read out some of our favorites on the next episode. So if you want to be featured on the show, please do go ahead and leave us a review today. Thanks so much for your support. We really couldn't do it without you. And we absolutely love hearing what you think of the podcast. Now

James Eardley: 42:13

let's answer a question that we've had in from a listener of the podcast. And this is a fantastic question that we've had in from George. And the way he got his question was by emailing us its podcast at dropship unlock.com. So if you've got questions for us, email us, and we'll answer them on the podcast. So George's question I'm gonna read it out for you, Luis, he's asked, I've been following your podcast for a while now. And I've been inspired by the success stories and the reviews. However, I'm hesitant to dive into high ticket dropshipping. Because I'm worried about the initial costs and the potential risks if it doesn't work out. How can I justify the investment and minimize my risk of

Lewis Smith: 42:50

failure? Yeah, thank you for your question. George is a really good one. And actually, it's a really common one as well, because that's a question that comes up time and time again. So it's an important one for us to answer. It's natural to feel hesitant before starting something that you've not done before, I think it would be strange to not feel slightly nervous about that, you know, as humans, we have evolved to be wary of risk of the unknown, right. So it is totally natural. So I think that's the first thing you can label that feeling as it's okay. You know, that's not just you feeling that week. I know. It's certainly how I felt, I'm sure it's how James got I'm sure. It's how Jared felt as well, when they first started, right. But let's kind of unpack that question a bit, because there's quite a lot in there. So first off, you talked about like, cost versus investment, how do you view this as an investment. So I think regarding the cost, whenever I'm investing in myself, personally, whether that's joining a mastermind or investing in a training program, or just working on my own personal development, I always have to think of that as an investment in my business. You know, if I go to the gym, and I pay a monthly gym membership, I don't view that really as a cost, I view that as an investment in my long term health, that will make me a better person happier, you know, live longer like that. That to me is an investment. An investment that once up and running can be paid back very quickly. And then hundreds of times over as well with the likes of this type of program, as we've seen with Jared and many of our members before, unlike with the low ticket items. So if you're selling the more traditional type of dropshipping products, where you're sourcing them from China and running Facebook ads and doing the model that we don't really recommend, and you might need hundreds or 1000s of sales to see a significant return that would be equivalent to replacing your income and then creating some, you know, exciting levels of wealth. Whereas with high ticket items, the margins is just so much wider to it's one of the reasons why the home turf advantage model is the model that I'd recommend for people who haven't got previous entrepreneurial experience. Because the buffer, the margin for error is wider. It gives you more wiggle room and allows you to make a few mistakes when you're first starting out without it being catastrophic. It just means as well that your initial investment can potentially be recouped in a much shorter time period and with far fewer sales. Now also George in your question You asked about risk. So on the subject of risk, our approach is all about risk management. So our method is a proven pathway to success. So the strategies that we endorse are not based on guesswork. It's not like, what do I think might sell these strategies were the combination of what's been tested and proven to work hundreds and hundreds of times over by the members in our program, and by myself personally. So by following the method that we've laid out, you're tapping into a process that's been replicated successfully by many people already, and is data driven, that's the key thing is not guesswork, that would be a huge risk. Of course, there is still an element to risk in business. But this is a very, very stacked in your favor so that you know, the scenario before going into it, and you can control the outcome a lot better. And the other thing with that is that we guide you through a step by step process, which significantly reduces your risk as well, because you're not just out there wandering around taking shots in the dark on your own. It's about following a series of very deliberate, very strategically placed steps. So this structured approach means that you're left trying to figure things out on your own. So each phase of your journey is crafted based on strategies that we've refined through actual results and experiences we've seen where people commonly get stuck. And then we've updated modules in our program to ensure that that gets them over the hurdle when they face it. So you go into this, trying to reinvent the wheel and trying to piece it all together yourself, I'd say that is a big risk, because you will encounter all of those issues, you come to a program like this, you're going to have all of those things laid out for you along the way. When talking about the other members, I should probably mention that as well, George, another key point here is the support system that we have in place. So the dropship unlocked masterclass is not just a collection of videos or resources, although those are there, we've got 30 plus hours worth of step by step over the shoulder content, but it's a gateway to a community, you know, you'll have mentorship, you'll have support from peers, and also long experienced entrepreneurs as well, as people who've just started like you, which is so valuable when you're starting out as an entrepreneur, I can't overstate that enough, the importance of getting around your tribe, you know, a group of people who are where you want to be, so that you start to level up, you start to normalize up to their level. And then you mentioned all of the success stories as well that you've seen George. So there are so many of our members who began exactly where you are in that same frame of mind, I can hear it, I can tell and I probably was exactly the same unsure whether to take the leap, and those who finally did many of them then went on to build profitable, life changing businesses, which is so exciting. And it's just all about the right guidance, taking consistent action and leveraging the collective wisdom of a community of E commerce entrepreneurs who are like minded that have walked the path before you. So yeah, hopefully that helps George whilst any business venture is going to carry its fair share of risks, right? It's the strategies that we teach, that are designed to minimize those risks as much as possible, you should see the bigger risk as trying to piece this all together yourself to certainly in time and money, those two currencies is going to be much more costly, trying to figure this out your own in the dark. So it's just about making informed decisions. Of course, taking calculated risks, but steps towards your goal. You're not the first person to feel this way. I'm sure if you're listening to this, you might think that's exactly how I'm feeling. They're just remember there are hundreds of people who have come before you who've taken that step have invested in themselves and are now living a completely different life and are reaping rewards. So yeah, perhaps we'll be interviewing you on an upcoming podcast episode soon, if you take that leap. So you can share your story with us too.

James Eardley: 48:42

And that's a great goal to have is to have a podcast episode dedicated to your success in the future. And we will be excited to to host you on the podcast once you've achieved that success. Thank you for your answer, Louis, and thanks for your question, George. I hope that's helpful to George and everyone else who are thinking about getting started as well. So let's now highlight a review that we've had in recently from a listener. So thank you very much to Jay, for sharing your thoughts on a recent Spotify episode. And Jay said, really good content. I'm just setting up my own website as we speak. And the information that these guys provide, even just through Spotify is really, really useful.

Lewis Smith: 49:20

Thank you so much for your review. Jay from Spotify. We're really glad to hear that you've been enjoying the podcast. If you found value in today's conversation and you want to help spread the word. Leaving a review is a simple, yet powerful way to do just that. Drop your thoughts on your preferred podcast platform. Or if you're tuned in on YouTube, leave us a quick comment below this video. Also, share this episode with someone in your circle who might be on the brink of their own e commerce adventure. You never know this story of Jared transformation that we shared today could be the little nudge that they need to explore the digital nomad lifestyle for themselves. Thanks

James Eardley: 49:57

for joining us on this episode of the dropship On locks podcast, we hope you found the discussion both inspiring and entertaining. If you're ready to begin your own high ticket dropshipping

Lewis Smith: 50:06

journey then here's what to do next. I've taken all of the years of my own experience both of running my E commerce, businesses, and teaching hundreds of others how to do the same, and I've condensed it all into my book, the home turf advantage. It's your comprehensive guide designed to help you create your own ecommerce business and you can grab your copy today at H T A book.com.

James Eardley: 50:28

Stay connected by subscribing to the podcast. This way you'll never miss an episode packed with valuable insights. And if you enjoyed what you heard today, please leave us a review. Your feedback motivates us and we love sharing our favorite reviews on future episodes. And thank

Lewis Smith: 50:41

you for deciding to spend your time with us today. We really appreciate you and we look forward to sharing more high ticket dropshipping insights with you on our next episode of the dropship unlocked podcast.