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Today, Patrick Tedjamulia shares the story of how he founded and became the CEO of Videopeel, a video review platform. He talks about his love for customer insights, which led him to discover the true value of videos in advertising.
Consumers First Thinking
Before his venture into Facebook and Google, Patrick worked in brand management. His initial training for his career had been about consumer packaged goods. He was trained in marketing by Procter & Gamble with a consumer’s boss thinking.
“It's all about first understanding who your consumer really was, stepping into the shoes of the consumer. That’s been my love and my passion.” - Patrick Tedjamulia
Patrick then went to MBA school in Duke University to further his education in consumer insights and research.
Facebook and Google Advertising
Patrick’s formal training and education in understanding consumers eventually helped him as he worked at Facebook and Google.
“As I started helping them build their advertising tools, I had to understand their customer, and their customer was every advertiser.” - Patrick Tedjamulia
With millions of advertisers in these platforms, Patrick had to be in tune with their needs, such as AdWords that would allow them to accomplish their business goals. He had to find ways to drive traffic to their brand, their website, and their store. He also helped them in launching their objectives, ads reporting, and a ton of advertising tools and applications.
Realizing the Power of Video
Patrick noticed that advertisers across the board are having trouble with two main things. First is trying to get their ads to convert, which is every advertiser’s problem. Second, their consumers are losing trust in their ads.
In trying to solve these, he realized that the number of videos being posted on Facebook was growing like crazy. This eventually made him realize the power that videos hold.
“I knew that the best way for someone to be able to bring out the truth about a product, bring out the truth about their business, bring out the truth about who they are as founders of their business, is video.” - Patrick Tedjamulia
Connect with Patrick Tedjamulia:
Patrick Tedjamulia - LinkedInWebsite - VideopeelFacebook - VideopeelTwitter - VideopeelInstagram - Videopeel
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Join the Movement - Join the Summit
From March 5 to March 8, Jonathan is hosting the Private Label Summit. Whether you're a seasoned seller or ready to begin your own private label, join Jonathan Gabriel with expert guests Ezra Firestone, Trey Lewellen, Dana Derricks, Nate Lind and so many more!
It's 4 full days packed with great conversations about Amazon FBA, drop-shipping, Facebook ads and more. Join the summit to start or grow your private label brand today!
Sign up for Jonathan Gabriel's Private Label Summit FREE at www.PrivateLabelSummit.com
Connect with Jonathan:
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed Jordan Rolband on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
Jordan Rolband is the Co-Founder and President of DFO Global Performance Commerce. A certified performance marketing expert, he shares with us today how he blew up his marketing agency with eight global offices and over 200 employees.
Jordan Rolband - A Love for Marketing
Fifteen years ago, Jordan was in a completely different place. He started his career in finance and quickly learned that the industry wasn’t for him. Not to mention that he didn't want to dress up every day.
He worked as a partner at a company and couldn't focus on the business. Jordan didn’t have a real interest in becoming a high-level sales guy or managing the sales team. All he wanted to do was market.
Lead Generation through Microsites
Jordan then started to build microsites in 2005-2006. These sites catered for mortgages and loan consolidation. With the help of Google AdWords, they were able to scale up different campaigns.
They also utilized some of the leads they were generating for their own business. Jordan discovered another use of these lead-generating microsites, which then launched the business to new heights.
“I found out it would be quite lucrative if I also had some third-party businesses that I could sell these leads to aside from just taking them in-house.” - Jordan Rolband
Some Key Changes
While the company prospered in lead generation through various platforms, they discovered affiliate marketing.
“By using affiliates along with our small, little, internal media buying team, we’re essentially able to scale a business very quickly without having to hire a ton of people, without needing all these development resources.” - Jordan Rolband
In 2011, someone came in and offered to buy the business Jordan and his team built. At the same time, one of the companies they were working with to get traffic from had a business model that he found interesting.
Eventually, this performance-based company introduced Jordan to a whole other marketing-related endeavor that would define his career
To hear how Jordan discovered the world of e-commerce and became a performance marketing expert, download and listen to the episode.
Connect with Jordan Rolband:
Jordan Rolband - LinkedInWebsite - DFO Global Performance CommerceFacebook - DFO Global Performance CommerceTwitter - DFO Global Performance Commerce
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed Jordan Rolband on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
Saknas det avsnitt?
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Max Kolysh, Founder and CEO of Zinc, shares the story of how they managed to dominate dropshipping arbitrage with their automation suites. How does Zinc continue to influence the e-commerce industry?
Max Kolysh - Walking the Path of a Startup
Max and his co-founder met when Max was finishing his master’s at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Max’s co-founder, a large eBay seller back in high school, developed some technologies that they thought to productize.
In a leap of faith, they applied to one of the top startup accelerators in San Francisco.
“We didn't know what we were doing at the time. We thought we had a good idea and that we could sell it.” - Max Kolysh
Birth of Zinc Save
They dropped out of college when they got into the three-month startup program from which they received mentorship and advice. Their hard work culminated in a demo day where companies pitched to investors, much like in real life.
Halfway through the program, they pivoted from automation for affiliate marketers and switched to Zinc Save, a browser extension. Zinc Save was a way to save money on Amazon. This tool aimed to help people actually get the cheaper prices Amazon advertises on their website.
Embracing B2B Software
With Zinc Save’s combination of credit card rewards, discount codes, and a lot more, people managed to get their items at an actual reduced price. But two days into operations, Max and his colleague received a cease and desist order from Amazon.
This didn’t stop them from figuring out their next move. They reverted back to their roots, creating B2B software for e-commerce sellers. What started out as an outsourced service to cater to their first customer’s needs became a full-time endeavor.
“Part of early startup experience is talking to your customers a lot, listening to what they want.” - Max Kolysh
To hear more about the growth of Zinc and the birth of JoeLister and PriceYak, download and listen to the episode.
Connect with Max Kolysh:
Max Kolysh-LinkedInTwitterZinc.io
Sponsor:
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed Max Kolysh on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
Jonathan Gabriel looks back on The Best of Private Label Movement 2018 in episodes with Jeremy Sherk, Rob Kosberg, Chakra Yendapally and Nathan Lind.
There's more to being successful at private label than just adding products to Amazon. Jonathan's guests are successful entrepreneurs who have found thier niche in the online marketplace.
Listen in as his guests discuss the importance of choosing the right product, leveraging your expertise, bookkeeping for private label entrepreneurs and building relationships.
Jeremy Sherk Nested Naturals
Jeremy is an 8-figure entrepreneur, speaker, health nut, and Co-Founder and CEO at Nested Natural, an e-commerce supplement company.
He's a best-seller pro that focuses on great products but also reinvests heavily into his business on Amazon and through other platforms where he can control his brand more readily.
Connect with Jeremy
Nested Naturals
Rob Kosberg Best Seller Publishing
Rob was running a hundred-million-dollar real estate company when the recession hit and was forced to reinvent himself. Today, he's the founder and CEO of Best Seller Publishing and he's proud to say that he's found a way to leverage his expertise to positively impact others.
Connect with Rob
Best Seller PublishingFacebook
Chakra Yendapally Virtual Bookkeeping
Chakra is a 6-figure, soon-to-be 7-figure seller in Amazon. He created his own virtual bookkeeping company and talks about the importance of creating a brand.
Connect with Chakra
Junglebooks
Nathan Lind Seller, Coach and Community Builder
Nate is a successful online seller that doesn’t just focus on Amazon. He has created relationships with affiliates to continue to push his products. Nate is insightful as a seller, a coach and entrepreneur.
Connect with Nate
NateLindFacebook Messenger
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed The Best of Private Label Movement 2018. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
The constant evolution of e-commerce requires passage of regulations for the industry. But how do they truly work in relation to those affected? On this episode, Internet lawyer Richard Chapo shares valuable insights on sales tax, GDPR, and copyright issues.
“In the Wayfair decision, basically the Supreme Court said that states can collect sales tax regardless of where you're located.” - Richard Chapo
Wayfair and the Amazon Wars
Richard has clients who deal with physical product sales. The debate as to whether states could tax certain Internet sales has finally culminated with the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Wayfair case. The so-called Amazon wars took 20 years in total.
“One of the problems with the Internet is it takes the supreme court a long time to get around to deciding on something.” - Richard Chapo
Sales Tax Discourse
The Supreme Court sets the law for the land as far as court systems go. Once they have made a decision, all courts in the country must follow, whether they are state or federal. This is why everyone has been watching the Wayfair decision since news of it broke out.
Tax authorities in some states... they were never really gonna look at small guys and look at just the larger guys because of the amount of time and effort they spend isn't gonna be commensurate with the amount of money they would get out of hunting small guys. - Richard Chapo
This ruling understandably sent everyone into panic mode. But people who were writing articles missed a very important caveat. Sales tax may be collected as long as it’s not excessively burdensome on small businesses.
Thresholds Set and Details to Iron Out
Certain thresholds have been set to regulate the collection of sales tax. However, sales tax is not only charged at the state level. Details must be ironed out and a program must be implemented if sales tax is truly to be regulated.
To hear more about taxation, how GDPR affected e-commerce, and issues on copyright, download and listen to the episode.
Connect with Richard Chapo:
Richard A. Chapo, Esq.Internet Lawyer Advising Online BusinessesP: (619) 637-6043SoCalInternetLawyer.comLinkedIn
Sponsor:
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed Richard Chapo on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
Vladi Gordon is the founder and CEO of Sellerboard, a financial services tool for Amazon sellers. Today, he shares the story behind the tool and what sellers can learn to improve profit by keeping track of customer insights as they relate to revenue.
Bookkeeping, or stuff like Excel, it's not the thing that entrepreneurs like most unless, I guess, they're bookkeepers or owners of bookkeeping companies. - Vladi GordonVladi Gordon - Taking a Shot at SellingVladi started out as a seller back in 2015 in Germany. He was working in a software company when he heard of the new trend in online selling, Amazon. He started taking interest in private label products when there was buzz about the virtual reality glasses, Google Cardboard.
When Vladi found a much cheaper alternative to the VR glasses, he ordered ten of them. Because he was the only person in Germany who was selling these glasses, they sold out fast. The same went for the next hundred glasses he put up on his online store.
Curse of Shiny ObjectsBut like other trendy products, the sales explosion lasted only for as long as the marketplace wasn’t saturated. For a time, fidget spinners and selfie sticks were huge. They never stood the test of time, though.
That's the problem with trendy products. if you catch the wave, you explode, but then everybody else comes in and the market dies completely. - Vladi GordonBirth of SellerboardVladi tried to source some more products after the VR glasses noise went out, but they didn’t really do well. He reached a point when he could no longer tell whether he was making money.
He sought for a tool to help address this concern, but he didn’t find any that he liked. So, he partnered up with some developers to make one. It took off and they all decided to focus on it, hence the conception of Sellerboard.
We learned a lot from our customers in the last two years and I kind of put down a list of five hidden profit killers which are very underestimated by sellers. - Vladi GordonTo hear more about Sellerboard and the five profit killers, download and listen to the episode.
Connect with Vladi Gordon
Sellerboard - Partner Link
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed Vladi Gordon on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
Jon MacDonald is the President and Founder of The Good, the most trusted e-commerce conversion rate and customer experience optimization advisory company. They started about ten years ago. When they first built the company, they focused mainly on e-commerce development.
"Bringing your consumer into the process is extremely important because they are the ones who are doing the research." - Jon MacDonald
Origin of The Good
They built e-commerce sites for brands that wanted their own channel for sales online. They discovered a lot of things along the way.
First of all, development was becoming and has become a commodity. Everyone can find a developer or a shop that will build their e-commerce site. Some of the more popular platforms include Shopify and BigCommerce who do not require a lot of development skills to at least get something set up.
Jon MacDonald Becoming Different
In order to set them apart from everyone else, The Good offered a three-month optimization engagement after launching sites for every client that came in.
"What we found out was most brands were doing a launch and leave philosophy." - Jon MacDonald
Most brands would launch their site and then their development company would leave them on their own. The Good handles this differently. They ask their clients to stick around for three months in order to optimize.
Keeping Clients Happy
They found out that most brands put more value in the optimization than the quality of coding. They weren’t really concerned about the quality of the site that the developers built from a technical aspect. As long as it worked and processed orders and they were converting highly, clients were very happy.
"We needed to focus on that optimization, where we were really different, and at the time, there wasn't even a term for conversion rate optimization." - Jon MacDonald
Before they started this movement, optimization wasn't a common idea within e-commerce sites. But now it has become a wonderful part of the process.
To hear more about The Good and Jon's story, download and listen to the episode.
Connect with Jon MacDonald
JonMacDonald.com
Twitter
LinkedIn
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LinkedIn
Email Jonathan
Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed Jon MacDonald on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
Earnest Epps is a life-long entrepreneur and salesman. After losing his corporate position, within 30 days he self-taught himself and created the Earnest Approach to dropshipping high ticket items from US manufacturers.
NFL Dreams
Earnest had a bit of a mindset when he entered college. His mother had pushed him to pick a specialty and focus on that during college. Because of his mother's encouragement, Earnest chose IT and technology.
Football was his main reason for going to college and his choice was based upon a path to the NFL and not the educational opportunities. Unfortunately, before he ever got to play in college, Earnest's dreams of going to the NFL were smashed due to injuries.
Earnest Epps Hustling to Succeed
Not knowing what to do, he started knocking on doors and passing out flyers for a remodeling company. He soon learned the art of setting up leads for sales in order to earn commission checks.
If I can get (that first) sale, I can figure it out from there. - Earnest Epps venturing into e-commerce
Earnest's passion to succeed led him to first succeed at selling, then training, hiring and eventually running a team. His success led to his promotion to marketing director at the age of 22.
Envisioning Himself as CEO
His job success gave him the skill set to move on to a position as a sales director for a marketing company whose clients were multi-billion dollar companies. From 2009 - 2015, Earnest was managing about 100 employees on the east coast. When he was fired, it crushed his soul.
The trajectory for US online sales is projected to be $600 billion dollars by the year 2021. - Earnest Epps
For two years, Earnest was going through the motions in a state of depression. He had invested everything in that company for his and the company's success. He was certain he was going to be the CEO and work there for the next 40 years.
Earnest had always tried small side ventures on his own. He had never taken them seriously because his position in corporate America was so good to him. He felt like he had it all.
Finding His Piece of the E-Commerce Pie
For two years Earnest was stuck. It wasn't that he didn't have the work ethic or the right skill sets, he just didn't know what he wanted to do. While scrolling through Facebook, an ad for e-commerce and dropshipping popped up. At first, he was really skeptical and was unsure he could make money at it.
Take the same energy and effort for your boss on a full-time basis...and just do it for yourself. - Earnest Epps
When he came across an article forecasting the growth of online sales that convinced him to try and get himself a piece of the pie. Earnest set his mind towards succeeding online and began by focusing to get his first customer.
When dropshipping is discussed, it's usually around super low-end stuff but Earnest took a different route. To hear the rest of his journey, download and listen to the episode.
Connect with Earnest Epps
EarnestEpps.com
Facebook
Twitter
Email
LinkedIn
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed Earnest Epps on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
Nathan Hirsh is a veteran Amazon seller with over 25 million in sales. He's currently the founder and CEO of FreeeUp an online outsourcing company.
Ever Evolving E-commerce
When Nathan started it was him and two other people on every listing. Sometimes there wasn't anyone else to compete with. Today, that's unheard of.
Nathan's business model is drop-shipping which has become harder and harder to do through Amazon. Sellers must do it by creating their own stores and driving traffic to it.
"Turnover is expensive. Once you find the people that are the core parts of your business, figure out how you keep them." - Nathan Hirsch on the importance of each position within a company
He didn't even know what private label was until about six years into selling on Amazon. Today, that's where everyone gets started and you have all of the gurus who sell massive volumes on Facebook and social media.
Amazon's Rule Changes
This is probably the biggest change to e-commerce. When Nathan started it was your cancellation rate and your refund rate. Now, it seems as if a new metric is added every six months.
"I've always looked at everything as a ticking time-bomb and what is the window." - Nathan Hirsch on new opportunities
Because of all the changes, reviews are harder to obtain, it's harder to follow Amazon's FBA price changes and now you have sales tax. All of the rule changes have changed the dynamic of selling on Amazon.
Nathan Hirsch Textbook Reseller
Nathan made his first sales with textbooks. During his college career, at the end of each semester, he would buy up textbooks.
"What am I the best at and how do I spend my time doing that? - Nathan Hirsch on outsourcing
Initially, he sold on Book Scouter where they would compare prices between Amazon and every other bookstore online. Nathan would sell his books to the highest paying retail for them to resell. Because of Amazon's improvements, he opened his first online store to sell directly to the open market.
Baby Product Niche
Due to his success selling books, Nathan was hooked on selling products online and the inherent opportunities. He tried his hand at several items like video games and failed miserably. Just because he failed did not mean he would give up.
While still in college, Nathan stumbled upon a baby product opportunity and was soon listing products online during his classes. Before he knew it, at 20 years old, he was running a multi-million dollar baby product business.
"With all of Amazon's changes, it felt like we were treading water, we were not growing." - Nathan Hirsch on his decision to move on from Amazon
When Nathan started selling his products there were no keywords, he was just posting items and seeing what would stick. His profits were doubling each year until mass competition moved in. They were still making money but they were not growing.
To hear the rest of Nathan's story and the outsourcing he's doing now, download and listen to the episode!
Connect with Nathan Hirsch
FreeeUp
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed Nathan Hirsch on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
Nate Lind is a successful online seller that doesn't just focus on Amazon. He has created relationships with affiliates to continue to push his products. Nate is insightful as a seller, a coach and entrepreneur. He's here to share his knowledge with Jonathan on today's episode of the Private Label Podcast.
Nate Lind Working for the Man
While Nate was pursuing his degree in media art and animation he discovered he enjoyed the pursuit of obtaining the business much more than the website development and production. he not only really enjoyed it, but he was also really good at it.
After graduation, Nate worked for the FAA in D.C. He had the most hellacious commute to work and he likens it to a soul-sucking experience. During this time he read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and it changed his life.
"I wanted to own my own business. I wanted to have passive income." - Nate Lind
The book inspired him to get out of the blood-sucking quadrant of 'employee' to owning his own business and enjoy passive investment income. Nate went from graphics and websites and video production to flipping houses.
The Apprentice
Nate went online and joined the Rich Dad forum at the time to network with other entrepreneurs. he found a group of investors that had money but no time. As a young guy, Nate had time but no money.
"I want something with mass appeal...is lightweight and can ship easily around the world...and I can create a story and brand around." Nate Lind
The investors were his mentors and he was the apprentice. Nate worked really hard for the investment group. He was literally knocking on doors to see if people would want to sell their house. Amazingly to Nate, they did. He had learned to leverage other people's money to benefit both sides and to scale.
Turning Experience into a Job
In 2008 when the housing market crashed, due to forces out of Nate's control, he was out of a job. Now he's got a mortgage, a family and a kid on the way. He took jobs at various financial institutions to put food on the table.
"I always start with private labeling. I dont' want to be the first customer product of a strange niche." - Nate Lind
Drawing from his experiences working the housing market, he was able to craft resumes for himself that resonated with corporate employers. He went from $68,000.00/year to $125,000.00/year and work remotely and avoid the horrible commute by the age 0f 31.
The success he was having working for others again sparked his interest in investing. Nate started looking around to see what was available. His first investment was with a direct response campaign manager.
To hear the rest of Nate's story about success as an online seller and as an affiliate, download and listen to the episode!
Connect with Nate Lind
NateLind
Facebook Messenger
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed Nate Lind on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
When a young adult flies to the US with no support or family and only 150 bucks to his name, what does he do? On today’s episode, Chakra Yendapally walks us through the tale of how he became the 6-figure, soon-to-be 7-figure seller in Amazon. He also shares how he founded his own virtual bookkeeping company.
The Big Leap of Faith
Chakra wanted to get his education in the US and borrowed money for his flight. Landing with barely any money in his pocket, he had to work several odd jobs to get him through college. One of these included a NASA project.
He consulted for a manufacturing firm after graduation using his engineering degree. Chakra then enrolled in business school to learn finance, the spark of his future business ventures.
Discovering E-Commerce
With his background in finance, Chakra worked with a lot of companies including Johnson & Johnson. He spent about 16 years at J&J, which culminated with his own business venture.
Eventually, Chakra fell into e-commerce and put up a website to launch his product. When found it difficult to gain traction, he stumbled upon Amazon.
“I heard about Amazon and I started looking at it, and like wow... they're bringing people to you.” - Chakra Yendapally
Founding Jungle Books
Chakra quickly gained friends in the world of e-commerce. Because of those friendships, came the realization there was a need for help on the financial side of their businesses.
“As I talked to a lot of my e-commerce friends, I realized that's kind of a big pain point for people.” - Chakra Yendapally on bookkeeping
He initially helped his friends by straightening out their books. This led to his current business, Jungle Books. A virtual bookkeeping company.
“People work so hard to build their business but a lot of times they forget the real payday is when you sell the business.” - Chakra Yendapally
To hear how Chakra Yendapally topped 6-figures and how Jungle Books can help Amazon sellers, download and listen to the entire episode!
Junglebooks
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Mark Lewyn is a 6-figure Amazon seller and founder of Patently.io. He began his career a journalist and soon realized he needed to change directions as the technology and the internet grew. His software enables Amazon sellers to research patents to help them find new products to launch.
Hitting the Bullseye
Mark began investing with a few startups and over time found his way to the world of Amazon selling. In 2015, Mark launched his first product, darts, on Amazon.
His strategy was looking at the data and he was amazed at how many darts they sold on Amazon. He had never even played the game nor has he since.
You don't want to violate anyone's patent, ever. - Mark Lewyn
Research is King for Mark Lewyn
He took notice of the issues with darts and thought he could fix the problems. His first product was a significant success that gave him the encouragement to try it again and again and again.
Mark had been investing in startups and liked the idea of not having to go out and raise a lot of money. He's made a lot of mistakes along the way but he's been right more often than wrong.
Researching The Relative Cost of Products
For his product research, Mark uses Jungle Scout a lot. Once he narrows down a product he does a little bit of research for that specific product.
During his research, he's come across really high-priced products that were expensive relative to what they were. For instance, an airline seatbelt for kids. Essentially it was a glorified seatbelt for kids.
The seatbelt sold for $80.00 and they were selling a bunch because there was no competition. Mark Lewyn quickly figured out it was expensive because it had a patent on it.
The Power of Patents
There are two major types of patents...design...and utility patent. - Mark Lewyn
He looked at the patent and it was about to expire. He found a manufacturer that was selling the same thing for $5.00 on Ali Baba. If he would have taken the Ali Baba product and sold it on Amazon, it would have been a mess of trouble with patent lawsuits.
Timing is Everything
Mark launched his product on the day the patent expired. He was following the law and was able to capture a lot of the margin the guy who was selling it for $80.00 was capturing.
There's always a bull market somewhere; there's always a new opportunity. - Jonathan Gabriel
He kept coming across products that were similar in that their patents were about to expire and began to build a database.
To hear how Mark Lewyn uses his database to increase his sales and expand his product line, download and listen to the episode.
Connect with Mark Lewyn. He's happy to chat and answer your questions!
Patently.io
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Thanks for tuning in and we hoped you enjoyed Mark Lewyn on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners, send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes. -
Many Amazon sellers consider selling overseas to increase their market. Today, John Cant of Rising Sun Commerce tells us why Japan is so great for Amazon sellers.
The Japanese Online Marketplace
John Cant lived in Japan for five years from 2005-2010. In terms of Amazon, Japan was books and music driven Recently it has really changed.
Japan is now third biggest behind the US, German and has just overtaken the UK in terms of Amazon sales. Rakuten used to be the largest online provider in Japan but now they are about on even grounds as Amazon outpaces Rakuten's growth.
Demographics Pushing Changes
Minimalism wins stateside and in the UK but in Japan the more information you can cram onto a site and the brighter the colors the better. Rakuten follows that design style.
John's friends in Japan say they like the 'calmer' look of Amazon and that's part of the push from Rakuten to Amazon.
Japan Naturally Lends Itself to Prime
Japan has always had a really good infrastructure. You can get around really quickly and now Amazon offers Prime Same-Day in many of the larger cities like Tokyo.
Because Amazon Japan is growing quickly, it's not a very saturated market. It's much easier to grow steadily and with less risk.
Packaging
Officially from Amazon you are supposed to have Japanese packaging. If you're new to the market and just testing it out, you can put in a Japanese flyer and still be ok.
The flyer provides a nice customer experience but at the same time, you are not having to re-design all of your packaging.
The buying decision is made on Amazon and from the customer's point of view. If the goods arrive as expected and as ordered on Amazon, they don't need packaging in their own language.
To hear the rest of what John Cant has to say about selling in Japan, download and listen to the episode!
Connect with John Cant
Rising Sun Commerce
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Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoyed John Cant on the Private Label Movement. We love hearing from our listeners so send us an email, follow us on LinkedIn, Join the Movement on Facebook and subscribe to the show on iTunes! -
What would you do if overnight, your profits went from millions to zero? This happened to Rob Kosberg. Rob ran a hundred-million-dollar real estate company when the recession hit and was forced to reinvent himself. Today, he's the founder and CEO of Best Seller Publishing and he's proud to say that he's found a way to leverage his expertise to positively impact others.
Rob Kosberg Hustling to Success
Rob was raised in Washington D.C. where his family owned Texaco gas stations on Pennsylvania Ave. He got his start as a car guy watching his dad and grandpa build and race cars out of the garages. It wasn't the traditional path to becoming an entrepreneur but it had planted the seed for Rob.
While working through college, Rob got his real estate license at the age of 18. He was on the phone all day hustling through the for sale by owners and expired listings. By the second month, he was the top agent and was questioning his path to law school.
"Don't write an autobiography or memoire, no one cares...put your story into the needs the pains the challenges of your ideal client" - Rob Kosberg
Like most entrepreneurs, Rob has never worked a single day in his degree. Because of his success in real estate, he did not attend law school and instead continued in real estate working for his dad from 18-22.
He made the leap to the largest mortgage lender in the country. Due to the leap, he was able to expand his opportunities and income. As an entrepreneur of sorts, he controlled his destiny but in essence, he was still working for someone else. That lead to opening his own real estate, title and mortgage company.
Economy Nose-Dive
Nobody anticipated a 60% drop in real estate values. Roughly 10 years later, South Florida still hasn't recovered. His company was crushed and he was pouring 100's of 1000's of his own money into the company to keep it afloat until the market turned around. The only loans at the time were government funded and Rob's company was doing none of that.
"The fun part for me is the engagement with people...wanting to get books to do something cool for their business...keeps me motivated and excited." - Rob Kosberg
He went from a 100-million-dollar a year company to zero. If it had only dropped half, Rob probably could have survived. The death knell was he could no longer finance loans.
To hear how Rob Kosberg reinvents himself, download and listen to the episode!
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