Firing The Man

From Air Force to E-Commerce: Amy Wees on Innovation, Negotiation, and Entrepreneurial Success

• Firing The Man • Season 1 • Episode 245

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Episode Summary:
 
Join us as military veteran turned entrepreneur Amy Wees takes us on a journey from her Air Force days to becoming a powerhouse in the world of e-commerce. Discover how a simple need to tackle her pets' litter box odor led Amy down a path of innovation, resulting in a successful product that changed the game for her and many others. With a focus on creativity and resilience, Amy reveals the pivotal moments that shaped her entrepreneurial spirit and empowered her to assist other budding business owners through her consultancy, Amazing at Home.

Amy doesn't just share her story; she offers valuable lessons on product development and profitability. From the art of validating ideas with real market feedback to the nuances of building a working prototype, Amy provides a roadmap for turning concepts into viable products. Learn how to navigate the complex landscape of supplier negotiations, likened to the stages of dating, and the critical steps in forming lasting partnerships with manufacturers. Her expertise is a treasure trove for anyone looking to make their mark in the industry.

Beyond the technicalities of business, Amy delves into the mindset needed to thrive in e-commerce. She discusses effective marketing strategies and the importance of community building, emphasizing the psychological elements that drive consumer decisions. Amy's personal interests, like bodybuilding and Krav Maga, offer a glimpse into the grit and determination that fuel her success. Tune in for an enriching conversation packed with insights, and be inspired by Amy's passion for helping others succeed.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome everyone to the Firing the man podcast, a show for anyone who wants to be their own boss. If you sit in a cubicle every day and know you are capable of more, then join us. This show will help you build a business and grow your passive income stream in just a few short hours per day. And now your hosts, serial entrepreneurs David Shomer and Ken Wilson.

Speaker 2:

Welcome everyone to the Firing the man podcast. On today's episode, we have the pleasure of interviewing Amy Weiss. Amy is a military veteran turned entrepreneur who has become a leading expert in product development, branding and e-commerce strategy. Amy is the founder of Amazing at Home, a consultancy that helps entrepreneurs bring their product ideas to market and thrive in the competitive world of e-commerce. With her extensive experience and deep passion for helping others succeed, amy has guided countless entrepreneurs from concept to launch, all while building a strong community around her brand. In this episode, we'll explore Amy's journey from military service to entrepreneurship, discuss the critical steps in product development and uncover the secrets to thriving in today's e-commerce landscape. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned seller looking to up your game, you're in for a treat. Let's dive in. So, amy, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3:

Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely so. To start things off, can you share a little bit about your journey from military career to becoming an entrepreneur and then to product development expert?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so well, I was in the United States Air Force and I started selling my textbooks on Amazon in 2007. So I was going to college at the same time as I was in the military and I saw this little button on Amazon that said sell yours here. So I was like, oh cool, not only can I buy discounted textbooks on Amazon, I can sell them back. And then I started selling other things. It was always just kind of like a side little hobby. It was not a business back then.

Speaker 3:

And then in 2017, I had three cats and also a chronic, severe migraine condition, and the litter box smell was literally so bad Like I tried all sorts of litter boxes and we were like cleaning them several times a day and basically they were triggering my migraines and I couldn't. I didn't want to get rid of my pets. I didn't want my kids to not have their pets. Like. I thought, wow, we haven't innovated on pet cleanup ever. Like we're literally still cleaning up our dog's doo-doo as we're walking down the street Like, and but we humans are on toilets with heated seats and bidets built in, you know. So I was like this has to be the Hubble Bowl and I've always been one of those people that would kind of carry around a little notebook full of ideas and I never launched any of them. And so I just decided I am going to solve this problem. And every time that I would go TDY with the military and I had a little more time you know, in the evenings or I'm not with my family and I'm just sitting there with my thoughts I would try to sketch a better litter box, and I'd come to the end of my sketch and I'd go a better litter box. And I'd come to the end of my sketch and I'd go ah, this is basically the same thing that I've already tried. It's not a solution. And I got frustrated. I worked on it for like six months and I got really frustrated because I just thought like I'm not going to be able to solve this, there's not a way to solve this.

Speaker 3:

And I actually woke up at like two o'clock in the morning and had an aha moment and I was like wow, the problem is the litter box. The problem is that I'm trying to solve this problem inside of the litter box. If I could just invent a separate device that you could just pour the litter box into, I could make it super easy to clean and you know, I could clean it really fast because the only thing that was working was scooping the litter box several times a day. And so I was like, okay, I gotta not spend 15 minutes several times a day scooping the litter box. So I went to Home Depot as soon as I woke up that morning and I went and built a prototype. I built a few different sizes of a prototype and it worked great, david, it was amazing. But it was also hardware, mesh and wood and all of that sitting inside of a plastic waste trash can.

Speaker 3:

But even though I have an MBA I'm a very smart woman I had no idea. It's not like there's Amazon courses teaching you how to build a product from scratch. And I called all these design firms and stuff like that and they wanted $30,000 to turn my drawing into another drawing and I was like this is not possible. There's no way that this is the path. This can't be the path Companies bring products to market all the time. The only path can't just be like I have to go on Shark Tank, like come on, and so it really frustrated me and I got pissed off, honestly, and I was like no, I have a good idea, and this is not freaking rocket science. I'm going to figure it out and when I do, I'm going to share it with everybody who cares. And that's what I did. So I figured it out, I built a 3D printer, I started cold calling manufacturers and, in 2017, I launched my brand and my Litterbox cleaner, and that's what started it all and got me so excited about product development.

Speaker 2:

Outstanding. I love that story and I love how you're so diligent on solving this problem.

Speaker 3:

That's an awesome entrepreneurial story. So how did the launch go? Well, it went really well, but it was a frustrating process because I went through. This is before I started posting China trips and going to China myself, and also before you know. Now I have I own trade shows in Latin America and the Middle East. I help people with sourcing around the world. I've helped thousands of people develop products. I'm on the board of my inventors group for my state.

Speaker 3:

You know I do a lot of things now, but back then I didn't know nothing. You know I was just figuring it out and I went through an intermediary in the United States to help me get my molds made. And I don't know how many people know about plastic injection molding, but my product is plastic and molds are mostly made in China. And so because I didn't know that I could actually go to China I mean, I was in the military, I was banned from going to China for many years Like I had no idea that I could just go there and, you know, find somebody to do this for me. I had no idea. So I paid almost $50,000, over $50,000 when all was said and done for my molds, for my product, and in the first company that I went through.

Speaker 3:

That mold maker cut into the mold too many times and they kept missing delivery deadlines. I made a crowdfunding campaign and I had all these people like buying into my project and believing in me. And here the deadline kept getting pushed of delivering the product because every time I'd get a sample from the mold. It was a hot mess and I was like you know what can I do? And then my intermediary wasn't responding to me anymore and I was like what do I? You know what do I do? So I just got mad again and I was like okay, look, this is how much money I'm missing out on by not having this product launched and this is what it's doing to my reputation.

Speaker 3:

I was like you're either going to go send someone manually in to go inspect this mold and tell me what the heck's going on, or you're either from my lawyer. And they sent someone in to inspect the mold and the? Um, the Chinese mold maker, said no, you can just have your money back. They cut into the mold too many times. So I had to start completely over. I had to find a new mold maker, a a new manufacturer in the US, by the way, I manufacture the product in the US. So the whole thing, I had to start completely over. So talk about grit, talk about digging your heels in, because I had people that believed in me and I believed in this product. I was still using my prototype and I never wanted to go back to skipping a litter box again in my life.

Speaker 2:

That's outstanding, that's outstanding, that's outstanding. And also there are a lot of people that would have quit throughout a lot of steps in that process, and so good on you for persevering and pushing that through. So, for entrepreneurs that are interested in bringing their ideas to life, what are the steps in that product development process?

Speaker 3:

Yeah. So you know, I think the first thing is validating your idea. A lot of people fall in love with an idea, but they ask, like their moms. You know your mom loves you. She's always going to tell you that it's a great idea. It's a great idea, honey. You should totally launch it.

Speaker 3:

But if you're a fan of Starcink, like I am, and you see you know so many inventor stories where you're not necessarily inventing a better mousetrap or a more affordable mousetrap or whatever, you really need to realize that even though you have a new and interesting idea, you still have competitors. I created a product that is a completely new category. There's never been a litter box cleaner before. People still are like it's a litter box right? No, and like, this morning I was recording another um uh summit presentation and somebody said, yeah, you're, did you do that litter uh cat litter thing, right? And so like it's totally. You know I had to educate my audience on what this was because it was a totally new and different thing. But that doesn't mean I don't have competition. My competition is other litter boxes, right? That claim to be self-cleaning, robotic litter boxes, scoops. You know I still have competition. So, just like I think one of my favorite jerk tank people that went in and they invented the camera cover for laptops, right. And the robert herjavec was just like, yeah, I just use a piece of paper or tape. Like, what's the point? Who's your product? Like, why, you know? So I mean, I think it's really really important to look at your idea from a um, to get real opinions from real people.

Speaker 3:

What I did in the I 3d printed my prototype and I brought it to local markets. I set up a little table at local markets and I just talked to people and I was like, yeah, how do you clean your litter box right now? What kind of pots do you have? Like you know. And I got their feedback and then, if they had really great positive feedback for me, they're like oh my gosh, I need this right now. I was like would you like to join my launch list? You're going to get 20% off. Like, join my launch list. And I had a little MailChimp launch list right there. So I had 63 pre-orders before I even launched, which is really, really great.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. That's awesome. So once somebody goes through that product validation stage, they talk to people other than.

Speaker 3:

So you know, I think we skipped a part of validation. Is you really need a good prototype, right? I've seen a lot of people with an idea and I've had clients that have done this before. They'll get an idea and so they'll go immediately to Fiverrcom or to like Upwork and they'll hire a product designer and they'll be like design this for me, this is my idea. But they don't even know if that idea works or if it makes sense. So I always tell people build a prototype first, even if it's an ugly prototype.

Speaker 3:

In my program I teach people to do DIY prototyping so I don't care Like. One example I give is I was going to launch a sports bag that stood up in lockers instead of laid down, because all the lockers are like this. You know, they're all vertical, not horizontal, so your duffel bags and stuff is stupid, right, and I wanted something detachable because I'm a crossfitter and I always bring equipment with me out onto the floor, and so I wanted like a little detachable part that would come with you on the gym floor and so and design is bad, right, I don't sew and you know, cool, but it doesn't matter. I literally took cardboard and tape and I was like I brought the shoes and the different things that I wanted to put in this bag and I was like, okay, how big does this need to be? And where did the shoes go? Like, how would this pocket actually work? And when I started taping it together, I realized, oh, that actually won't work there. It doesn't work there, right, the shoes can't go there, they need to go here, or this pocket needs to be bigger here, right? So I got my idea down first before taking it to a product designer, so that that way, you know, I knew what was going to work and what wasn't going to work and I had a better vision for the product.

Speaker 3:

I've seen so many people move forward and spend tens of thousands of dollars on product design and it's not even a good idea, yeah, so don't get that part Prototype. Get a really good working prototype, then validate it. That part prototype get a really good working prototype, then validate it, then move to the next step, after you validated the product, which is going to be your, your further product development, right? So you need to design a product for manufacturing, and that's it's different than having a 3d print, right?

Speaker 3:

Because you really need to make sure that your product makes sense for manufacturing and this is a huge mistake that I see people make is they'll make a really great prototype and they'll be stuck on the materials, whatever it is that made their prototype, instead of talking to a manufacturer and actually seeing what they already have, what they're already specialized in their experience, and letting them help in deciding on the materials. Because you really want to make sure that it's a profitable product, you need to make sure you can source it at a price. Don't hope you can sell it for a price. Look at the market, make sure you're competitive and you have a target price for your manufacturing. So you really need to work together to make sure you can meet your target price, that you're flexible on your materials and that you're working with your manufacturing partner to make that happen.

Speaker 2:

I like it, I really like it. So, kira, you made the point of profitability and I used to be be a CPA and I love talking about this. So, say, you do some research and you see that, okay, the market price for this is going to be $100. What are you shooting for for landed cost on a $100 product?

Speaker 3:

I love to start my negotiation at a 10x multiplier. I know that sounds crazy. A lot of people think three or four X. Now, if you're at a hundred dollar product, you can get away with a smaller multiplier because you have a bigger dollar amount, right? Versus like a $20 profit. You know half of your, you know your fees are already. Or half of your margins already eaten up by C, is you know, and then you've know your fees are already. Or having your margins already eaten up by C, is you know, and then you got like nothing left over, right? So you know that $20 product.

Speaker 3:

I don't want you to pay more than $2 for it from the manufacturer, right. But when it comes to the $100 product, you can. You can play with your multiplier a little bit more, but the gold standard is 7X. You want to have a 7X from your landed cost to your retail price, because if you're selling that product full sale and you're wanting to grow that product into distributors and brick and mortar, you need to be able to sell it at a wholesale price, which is half of that retail price, right? And what I'm finding with a lot of e-commerce entrepreneurs is they went through this. Use some of these early Amazon courses that taught you need like a three X and so they barely have money for advertising. They definitely don't have money to sell it wholesale.

Speaker 3:

So I did a program where I taught people how to sell to brick and mortar retailers and taught them how to like speak that language, taught them how to invoice all that kind of stuff and most of them or many sellers that came to me for that to, you know, be evaluated for selling to brick and mortar did not have the margin. So it's just really important when you're thinking about scaling a brand and scaling your products that you have enough margin from the very beginning. So we always start with 10x, like, okay, I want to sell this product for $50. That's the market price, but that'll be competitive. It's going to be awesome. It's a better mousetrap, right? I think I can sell it for $50. Now means how can we get it for fives, you know? Can we get it for five, you know? And if we can't, where are we at with in terms of, you know, profitability when we add in all of our fees and everything?

Speaker 2:

I love that answer and cannot agree with you more, and and I think that's for people that I would re-listen to that, I think, especially if you're launching your first product. It seems to some people it may seem outrageous to source something for $10 and sell it for a hundred, but they're at a three X multiplier, like you were talking about. There's just not enough meat left on the bone to make any money or to run ads, and so I really like that. So I'm curious when you identify that target price, at what point in communication with the manufacturer are you communicating that, or are you waiting for them to give you a price and then you negotiate?

Speaker 3:

Oh, it's a dance. It's a beautiful dance and this is something that I teach people that come on my sourcing trips around the world. I actually wrote a book on this. It's uh, I have a global sourcing workbook that you can buy on Amazon or wherever, and it walks you through the questions that you should be asking when you're talking through products and the way that I train people on this.

Speaker 3:

Um, you know so, I was a trainer in the military, so people often tell me, like you have a way of explaining things that I just understand. And it's because I had to take very complex things and break them down to third grade levels. So a way that I explain the dance of negotiation with your suppliers is dating with your suppliers is dating. So you know, like the first, the first phase, you know you don't really know them, they don't really know you, so you're not going to just go up to them. You're not shopping. If you're on a trade show or whatever, you're not going to just go up to them and be like, yeah, excuse me, how much is this? You're going to start just by talking about the product, like, hey, can you tell me more about this product? First of all, if you're sourcing for a unique product. You don't give up your idea from the very beginning nothing like that until you're in contract with your supplier.

Speaker 3:

But you can source what I call a decoy, so there's going to be a product that's similar to yours, you know, even if it's totally different. Like, if I want to add lights to a water bottle, I can go to a water bottle manufacturer that has some electronic component to their water bottle, right? And then I can talk to them. Okay, well, tell me about this product. Like what? What kind of material is this? You know. How long have you been making these? You know. And so that's the first phase of your day. Did you just talk about the product? Do you wish to learn more about it? And you know you're not. You're not giving up too much information, right? Then you move to the second phase, which is oh, I get to know you better.

Speaker 3:

And so you're asking questions about them. Like, well, tell me about your company, you know, how many employees do you have which can tell you are they a factory or trading company? Ask them. You know what are their primary export markets? Which can tell you, oh, they have markets in Japan. Like they're primarily selling to Japan and they're not exporting to the US. Yet they probably have a lot of products that I can launch and be the first market with.

Speaker 3:

But so you're learning all these things like who are your customers Like? What are you you know. So you're learning all these things like who are your customers Like what are you? You know? You're learning all about them. So now you know that you've got this water bottle, that that can you can do different things with electronic components. You know that they're the manufacturer because you you ask them questions about it and they could answer questions about how you could differentiate it. We're a trading company. If they just put it together, they might not be able to answer technical questions about the product. Then you get to know them better because you're kind of validating that.

Speaker 3:

Okay, what certifications do you have? What are your primary export markets? All that you know, then you get in. So you do all of that and if you ever go to on a sourcing trip with me, I take you on factory tours and the reason I do this is that you understand like what you should expect and it's the coolest thing. I'm such a nerd. I'm such a like how it's made nerd. I love I can visit a factory every day and I'd never get tired of it.

Speaker 3:

I didn't At factory owners love it. When I visit, I'm so curious. I'm just like, ooh, I'm so interested in everything that they're doing. I'm like, show me that. Can you show me that? Yes, that's so cool, but so then your next phase is then you get a little deeper into the product. So by now you know they have the capability to help you. They have a capability to develop your product.

Speaker 3:

Right Now you can get into actually talking about the product itself and again source your decoy. It's going to be this size of the water bottle, right? It's not going to be much bigger. You know and you can say, okay, well, as is, if I just order these from you, as is, first of all, how many of them fit in a 40 foot container. The reason I asked that question before we even get into pricing is I want to know, right, when I'm ordering a container loads of this product, which is when we get deep discount from our manufacturers I want to know how many of them fit right, like if they tell me 3000 units fit and I'm like, wow, I looked at my comps and I could actually sell 4,000, lugged on Amazon. Ooh, that's more than a container. You want to know what is 20 foot container, 40 foot container.

Speaker 3:

Then you start asking questions like okay, so you're not saying like I want to order a container, you're saying how many fit in a container. And then you're talking about you know as is, what's your unit price for this? And they might ask, like well, how many are you going to order? So now you have your container numbers. You know, like, actually and this is the thing that a lot of sellers mess up on well, there's nothing wrong with asking the MOQ, but I wouldn't lead with that necessarily, especially not if you're eventually hoping to launch a unique product. I'll say you know, okay, whether to say how many are you planning to order. I say, okay, well, I'd like to test the market with this product first. This is new to the market. So I know you don't get excited about a smaller, and neither do I, but I'd like to pass the market.

Speaker 3:

So how about a thousand units? What would that look like? Right? And then you can ask them at the same time. You could be like okay, and if I'm ordering a 20 foot container, what's your price on that?

Speaker 3:

Now, you know, you now know a target, you know your target price for your developed product. You know what that factory's capabilities are and you know where your delta is. Because if they give you a price that's way above your target price for an already ready retail product, you're like okay. So then you start the dance. This is like the last phase of the date where it's like, okay, you know pulling in each direction. Okay, my target price for this product, in order for me to be profitable, would be what? $2, whatever. You want to say right. And if, let's say, they gave you a quote of $6 or $4, right, okay. So how can we get there?

Speaker 3:

So it's important to remember your manufacturer is your partner. You both need to win and they want you to win too, because the more you sell, the richer they get too. So you work together. So you say, okay, look, we're $2 a part here. What can we do to work together to reduce the price? Can we break down the components of this product? Can we get to a level where we're kind of like tell me, how much does this straw cost you, how much does this? You know, and you start understanding the components Now when you go into actual negotiation with them. Number one you've now found out if this is a good partner for you and if they're even willing to wedge on price. Number two you just found out the cost of all the components. That's a powerful position to be in. And then number three you know if this is a good partner for you moving forward and if they really are willing to be flexible, and you can kind of find that out by asking that. So I know that was a long answer to that question.

Speaker 2:

That was outstanding. And a couple of things I want to highlight are things that stood out to me about your answer. One I've never heard anyone ask how many employees somebody has as a sneaky way of asking if you're a trading company or not. That's brilliant. As well as your commentary on how many fit into a container. I think from a supplier standpoint or a manufacturer standpoint, that makes them think, oh, this person is, they want to order a container, they are potentially going to put a lot of money in my pocket, which is outstanding, and so I really like that. And your comparison of a marriage dating to marriage, I think is great, is really liked that. And your comparison of of a marriage, uh, dating to marriage, I think is great. Uh, is really good. So, um, so, once you found, so you know we, we maybe have gotten to like the engagement right. Uh, got the engagement ring, which maybe would be the first purchase order. Uh, what, what comes next?

Speaker 3:

Well, so if you're sourcing in decoy, right, you're sourcing. If I want to add lights to my water bottle, but I just had a conversation with somebody who makes water bottles with electronics. Now I know that they're willing to work with me on price I know the price and new components. I know they're a good partner. So my next steps, before I even get to the first purchase order, would be to sign an NNN. If it's in China, I'm going to do an NNN agreement with them and I'm going to have my Chinese attorney draw that up, because you don't want to use templates or NDAs from the US. Those are not viable and, being someone who's had to see their supplier in China before, I can tell you that that was a very valuable thing for me, because I got all the money back from my order and I had someone representing me in China and there was nothing my supplier could do. Like they, the court of China, like the government of China, was keeping an eye on them and they don't want that. So, very important from the beginning, just like when you're setting up an Amazon listing and you gotta have your foundation right. You wanna have great pictures and a great listing so that you convert. This is the same thing here. This is your relationship with your supplier.

Speaker 3:

So I enter into an NNN agreement with them so that they understand that I'm going to be giving. I'll tell them. I'll say, you know, so I love this product giving. I'll tell them. I'll say, you know, so I love this product, I'm excited about it. I want to make some unique changes and so I'm going to be sending you my designs. Before I do that, it's very important. These are proprietary and alleged to the property, to my company. So I will be sending you an, an, an agreement to sign, um, so that you know that it's important to not release this information, and make sure they agree to that. And then I have my my attorney information and make sure they agree to that. And then I have my my attorney, you know, go over the contract with them. They sign it and then, okay, now I'm going to, let's have a meeting. I'm going to tell you about what I want to do. I want to add lights here.

Speaker 3:

You know, whatever you know and you know, you're sending them your designs, all of that and the thing that the attorney does. That's key as well. They also it's not just the agreement, they also check their business records. They check their financial records to make sure that they would actually be able to be financially responsible and that they're not in any trouble for you know them to actually be a good manufacturer for you. So that's, I would be doing a factory audit and then I would have my attorney do those things and then, once I have that contract, then meet with them and, okay, let's get to work Like let's, we're developing this product and we're working on everything, and then they're going to make their the first sample for you and you probably might go back and forth with a few samples.

Speaker 3:

If you can go in person to meet them, even better. That's been such a blessing for me. It's amazing. You know, I spent 50,000 on my molds the first time and that same mold I could have got in China myself for $13,000. So most people who come with me to China save an average of 50% on their products. Using my methods, understanding how to source, understanding how to build relationships, 50% is our average savings. So like it's like a free trip plus some, it's totally beneficial for them.

Speaker 3:

But you enter that contract, you have them make a sample. Once the samples are good, then you do your purchase order. We also do something called the general conditions agreement, and a general conditions agreement in China is an agreement that goes over your pricing terms, because you want to negotiate terms from the very beginning and you can keep those terms for a three to five year period. For three to five year period, it also identifies that if a sample or if they start production and they fail an inspection, what has to happen? Who pays for the second inspection, what is the timeline for delivery from order to production to actually delivery. All of that is outlined in the general conditions agreement and that's good for three to five years. So then you know, know, you are kind of moved to the top of the list when it comes to like, hey, I need to make an order and it's key four and you've got a bunch of other customers. Well, you have a contract with me, so you know, that's just the way that it works. So it's how to be a pro, right? So you've got your agreements, you, you do your purchase order and it also makes purchase orders very easy. You don't have to add a bunch of stuff to the purchase order. You've already covered that in the general conditions agreement and that protects you for many years, and it protects them too, you know. So it's a partnership. And then that's it.

Speaker 3:

You do your inspections. Never skip an inspection. Never, ever, ever, even if that supplier has been your supplier for years, because every Chinese New Year their turnover is huge, so you might have different people making your product every time. So never skip an inspection. Get your products inspected when you're first ordering a new product. You want to do a mid-production inspection, not a post-production inspection, because you will let them completely finish production and then the whole thing be screwed up and you have to do it over again. You want to stop them in the middle of production, make sure everything is good. It's like 200 bucks Are you kidding me? Like so worth it and then do another inspection before it leaves the warehouse or before it leaves. The supplier then gets on a boat.

Speaker 2:

Awesome, awesome. So so it's on a boat, it's on its way, and say the entrepreneur has decided that they are going to launch on Amazon. What are some common mistakes you see Amazon sellers make when launching a product?

Speaker 3:

Oh, my goodness. Um, okay, so launch list is a big one. A lot of sellers just ran a Amazon only launch and they don't get people excited about their brand and their product before they launch. And so initially, when you need those first few reviews and you need that social proof and you have no launch list and you haven't talked to anybody about your products, you're stuck Like you're basically hoping that you don't get a one-star review or you know whatever, and so that's huge.

Speaker 3:

Also, understanding your advertising efforts and your listing efforts. So really understanding your target market, who you're selling to. I do a ton. I started as a copywriter when I started my agency. I was doing copywriting to make extra money to pay off my malls and the big thing that I noticed is that a lot of sellers just had no idea. I've fixed literally hundreds of listings and it's because those sellers have no idea who their target market is. They're just selling a product and they don't know who they're selling it to. Well, buying is a psychological decision, it's a process and if you don't feel like that product is for you when you visit the page, you're not going to buy it, period. And so just I would say understand your market. Understand your competition so that you're coming out with a really great offer. Have a marketing plan both on and off with Amazon. Understand you know what you're doing with your funnel. Always build your bottom of funnel channels out first and then build your middle, then build your top of funnel right.

Speaker 3:

But I think a lot of new sellers they just get stuck trying to do everything at once and they're trying to sell everything to everyone and it's like no focus on what it is you're trying to sell, to Get left out on them. Nail those keywords, make sure you have a perfect offer. Then, you know, make sure you have reviews for social proof, all that stuff. Like, really get locked down on those easy to target keywords and that target customer, those medium to long tail Rank for those. Get those impressions going and then add on your other layers. So many sellers, just no reviews, no, nothing. They'll start an auto campaign. They'll rank for all the wrong keywords because their listing isn't even indexed yet and they start this awful ripple effect. And so that would be. My thing is just focus.

Speaker 2:

Very nice, very nice. So you've built a strong community around Amazing at Home. What strategies have been the most effective in fostering this community?

Speaker 3:

The feedback that I get is that a lot of our community members have been with us for years, like literally, they start with us and they don't ever leave, even if they exit their businesses us, and they don't ever leave, even if they exit their businesses. And the feedback that I get is that people feel included. They feel like they're one of us and not being talked down to. There's a lot of programs out there that call their members their students. I don't call my members my students. We're all in the same joint. I don't care if you're just starting or if you'd launched 10 products like. We all have something to learn from each other and I feel like every entrepreneur that's out there is freaking brave. You're braved as hell and you're part of a special community and you should be treated as such.

Speaker 3:

So that's that's how we look at it. It's like we're one big family and that's why we have so many people that have gone on like three or four sourcing trips with us and they're like we're coming again. You know it's just become like a family and you know I get that from my clients as well. You know they're like. You know you're always there for me. Thank you so much, you know, and it's like well, you're there for me too, because I, if I just focus on my pet brand and I hadn't helped thousands of people with their businesses, they didn't trust me enough, or whatever, I wouldn't know any of these things. I know these things about orange, I know these things about launch and know these things about product development because people have trusted me and worked with me and taught me you know. So I think that's the best thing about community is making people feel being inclusive, making people feel like they're part of something and building each other up and making it kind of like a safe space where people feel like, wow, like I belong here.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. I really like that, and if people are interested in working with Amazing at Home, what would be the best way?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, they can follow us on any of our channels, right? We do have a YouTube channel. It's just Amazing at Home. Youtubecom forward slash amazing at home. Uh. We also have a free Facebook group. Um, it's same thing. Facebookcom slash food slash amazing at home, um. And then, if you want to work with us on Amazon, on TikTok, on product development, come to any of our events, sourcing trips. You just go to amazing at homecom and I'll be happy to hear from you.

Speaker 2:

Awesome, awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time today. Before we close out the episode, we have the fire round. This is a list of four questions that we ask every guest at the end of each episode. Are you ready, I guess? So All right Sounds good. What is?

Speaker 3:

your favorite book, oh my goodness. It's a personal growth book that's absolutely changed my life. It's called the Inner Work.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 3:

What are your hobbies? I am a team rat, I love to do bodybuilding and Krav Maga, and I also love to learn and read and play with AI.

Speaker 2:

Very nice. What is one thing you do not miss about working for the man?

Speaker 3:

Oh my gosh bureaucracy Working on, so, working so hard on something, presenting it and then having it shot down.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, I can definitely relate to that. All right, and last question what do you think sets apart successful e-commerce entrepreneurs from those who give up, fail or never get started?

Speaker 3:

Grits and mindset.

Speaker 2:

Very nice. Well, amy, thank you so much for your time today and, to our listeners, we're gonna post links to all of the amazing at-home socials and the show notes. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next week.

People on this episode

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David Schomer

Co-host
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Ken Wilson

Co-host