Patricia Jones launched her Amazon store just after retiring. Here’s her thoughts about what worked and what she recommends for people just starting out – particularly those of us undergoing cancer treatment who might not be feeling quite up to par:
Q: What made you decide to get into selling online?
A: The reason I wanted and begin selling online is because I wanted a continuous residual income that would coincide with my salary and sustain me when I retired from my corporate job as a Human Resources professional. I enjoy helping others and wanted to sell products that people needed, wanted and appreciated, and selling online was the perfect gateway for me to earn a residual income.
As far as retirement, I had put a plan in place several years before making a decision to retire in 2015 at the age of 58. Three years prior, I had met with my financial advisor and had a financial/personal discussion whereas I was going to retire no matter what! The stress of working in a fast past corporate environment and supporting more than 800 people in different locations with very little support was draining and stretching me mentally and physically. Enough was enough! After flying back from Las Vegas after a much needed vacation on a Sunday afternoon I went into work Monday morning and made the announcement to my manager. It felt like the world was just lifted off of my shoulders. I was moving forward and had just answered my “WHY.” Freedom from my job of more than 25 years. Moreover, more time to enjoy my family, travel and work my online business serving others.
Lastly but not least, living life on my own terms.
Q: What platforms are you using? Why?
A: Currently, I’m using Amazon as my platform to sell products that I purchase from various suppliers; little capital is required. I started with $500. I opened my Amazon store on January 4, 2017 and on January 9th, I had 13 sales come in. I was stoked and excited at the same time. I got started because of my mentor who recommended Amazon, an online business that requires little capital to get started. He’s a 7-figure earner like Andrian Morrison and Anthony Morrison. They both provide live webinars every week to teach their students from all over the world how to make money online for free. I have also found help from other guru’s on YouTube who teach about getting started selling on Amazon. When it comes to learning about Amazon, I like to diversity my learning skills to see what others are teaching and do a comparison.
Q: What success have you had so far?
A: Below is a customize report that I ran today just letting you see the potential of what you can do if you have a willing mindset. This report is from March 1, 2017 – April 30, 2017.
Q: Is this something you think someone who might not have the energy to work full time can do? (specifically, I’m thinking about people undergoing chemo, which usually leaves one tired and sometimes with flu-like symptoms for a day or two. They also might have trouble lifting.) How much time and effort does it take?
A: Yes, I believe a person with some limitations can do this business. My recommendations would be to start off with a written plan in place on what you want to accomplish each day and how many hours you know you can commit to. For me, since I’m retired and thanks be to God have no limitations, I am able to spend the time I need to learn the business and take massive action as I learn. In the beginning, I spent about 8–10 hours learning and taking action on what I learned. Roughly from January and February and then things began to come together, where I understood the process of a Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) Seller on Amazon. In retrospective, that’s why I attended the 3-day workshop Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA). I did not know the process and wanted more about having my products shipped to Amazon to handle all the things I am doing now as a Merchant seller.
Q: What pitfalls are there that people should be aware of?
A: The pitfalls that I have seen since selling on Amazon is not doing enough research on products to know which ones sell and which products does not sell. This is very important because if sells aren’t coming in due to products with higher Sellers Best Ranking (SBRs), or products that are not trending you are wasting your time. In addition, you must continue learning because Amazon is always changing the game of this business.
Q: What first steps do you recommend?
- Don’t jump into this business without researching what it is about.
- Don’t focus on the money you will make; just because someone else made a certain amount that’s not necessarily what you will make.
- Don’t do the business as a hobby; this is a real business that you need to understand. As with any business, it takes capital to run; therefore, don’t complain about tools you will need to help your business become profitable and sustainable. Note: Some of these tools are not cheap; they can cost low end of $50.00 per month to high end of $hundreds of dollars per month. Something to think about later.
- Start off sourcing for lower cost quality products that people want. Remember, you don’t have to like the product, it’s for the customer who you are serving.
- Invest your profits back into the business so that you can buy more products; FYI, high end products will bring in higher profit margins. Just something to keep in mind.
- Never stop learning and do not give up!
