With this next installment, I’ll be introducing Marc, who started an online business with his wife. They managed a successful business selling products on Amazon and made a killing!
Hearing great stories like this keep me motivated to continue doing what I’m doing, not necessarily because I expect to have this massive success myself. (Although there’s no valid reason why that couldn’t happen.) But because I love sharing the good that’s out there in the world.
I want others to realize they can try new things, learn a new skill, and find exciting ways to make money on the side. If it exists in your imagination, there’s more than likely a way to turn it into reality.
The Introduction
And now, here is more about Marc:
My name is Marc. I’m 40 years old, and I live in Pennsylvania with my wife and two kids. I’ve been a full-time blogger and internet marketer since 2008.
The Interview Questions
Tell us about a fun, unique, or interesting Side Jam you’ve tried:
My wife and I have talked about running a business together for a long time. We never really had any specific ideas, but I came across some information about creating a private-label brand and selling products on Amazon a few years ago. So I talked to her about it, and we decided it could be a good project for us to work on together.
In the spring of 2015, we went through an online course that showed us how to choose a product, pick a manufacturer, get it listed on Amazon, and start making sales. We went through the course and launched our first product in the summer of 2015.
How/why did you get started with selling products on Amazon?
Our original goal was to have a brand that sold just 1 or 2 products. We wanted to make a small amount of money and have something that didn’t take much time.
My wife is a stay-at-home mom, and we thought this might be something that she could run with once both of our kids were in school (she was pregnant with our 2nd when we started the business).
What appealed to me was the potential for passive income. With private labeling, you are essentially outsourcing all of the manufacturing.
And if you sell through Amazon’s FBA program, Amazon handles all of the order fulfillment, returns, and customer service issues related to shipping. So it’s possible to have a profitable business that runs without too much time on your part.
The Details
In general, how profitable was this activity? (financially or even educationally, lessons learned)
We sold through our first inventory order of 1,000 products in about three weeks. Our biggest problem was keeping inventory in stock during the first few months.
During the 30 days leading up to Christmas, our 1 product sold over 3,000 units and accounted for more than $50,000 in gross sales (our profit margin at the time was about 35%).
In 2016, we added six other products and grew them more extensively than initially intended. As a result, we did about $500,000 in sales that year, with about $160,000 in profit.
In 2017 we wound up selling the business for $225,000 because it took up more of our time than planned, and we didn’t want to invest more money in inventory.
The Learning
What type of research or learning curve is required for this Side Jam?
Compared to other types of businesses, it’s not that bad. I mentioned that we took a course, and there are several courses you can take that will teach you how to sell on Amazon.
Although it’s not extremely hard to learn, some aspects can be intimidating. For example, contacting manufacturers or suppliers can be a little intimidating if you’ve never done it before. Wiring $4,000 to a company in China for the first inventory order was a little scary too.
The most significant learning curve has to do with the intricacies of selling on Amazon. Of course, Amazon has a lot of policies that you need to follow. But compared to setting up and running your own store, it’s much simpler.
If you’re interested in this opportunity but not ready to invest in a course, I have a detailed blog post that walks through the process.
What Tips Would You Have for Someone Who Is Looking To Get Started With Selling Products on Amazon?
The biggest thing is just to get started. At first, it’s overwhelming, and you question whether you can make money with it. It’s tempting to say, “it’s not worth it.” But you learn a lot by going through the process with your first product.
Our course encouraged us to see our first product as a learning experience. Even if you fail, you learn valuable lessons that you can apply to your next product.
Our first product did well, but I agree with that mindset, and it helped us move forward without a fear of failing.
The Reflection
Overall, what have you learned by doing this activity? (soft skills, limitations, introspection, character-building, or any literal skills)
I think the biggest thing we learned is that my wife and I can work on a business together.
We knew we wanted to try it but had never done it. We found we work well together, and each has different strengths. We’ll have another business together again, and I know we’ll have more confidence to make it work.
Is this something you would like to do again? Why or why not?
Possibly, but we would do some things differently.
Our biggest mistake was handling the inventory ourselves. The manufacturers shipped it to our house, I inspected it, and repackaged it to send to Amazon’s warehouse.
This accounted for the majority of the time that we put into the business. There are third-party logistics companies that you can hire to do this stuff for you. And if we were to do it again, I would outsource all of that stuff.
The Wrap Up
If anyone is interested in finding out more about Amazon FBA or selling products on Amazon, please be sure to check out Marc’s mega-post on his website. His guide on selling private label products on Amazon is PACKED full of helpful information and is definitely worth the read!
