"Sometimes you have to do something that makes you uncomfortable to further your career and your life and I really believe that." - Mike Jackness on speaking at the Global Sources Summit
This episode is a play-by-play report of my entire trip to Asia, covering the Global Sources Summit, the Canton Fair, meeting with our Philippines team -- basically everything my team and I did while we were in Asia from early October through early November.
If you're like me who doesn't like following someone's life abroad on an hour-by-hour basis, then this episode probably isn't for you. But if you are in ecommerce and have never been to these events in Asia before (or you're just curious about what we do there), this will give you a pretty good overview of what it's like to be on the road, traveling back and forth between cities to attend fairs and meet people, things you might need to do if you are serious in growing your importing business.
These are the highlights of my nearly month-long trip:
My wife Michelle, our Director of Ecommerce Jacqueline, and I crammed so many activities during our time in Asia that when we arrived back in San Diego we were all absolutely drained. These trips are very productive and rewarding, but be warned -- it can also be terribly exhausting.
Nevertheless, trips like this are very valuable for entrepreneurs looking for serious growth. The trick is laying out what you want to accomplish while you're there, which for me, are three things: meeting as many like-minded people/entrepreneurs as possible, touring as many factories as possible, and building as many relationships as you can with the people you already work with.
Resources mentioned:
Thanks for listening to this episode! If you can, please leave an honest feedback on iTunes and reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com. Until next episode, happy selling!
"I loved my job when I worked as a VA for Mike and he really made me feel like I was part of the company even though I was here in the Philippines. So I guess what I'm trying to say is to have a Mia and to have a team like what we have in Cebu, you need to be a Mike." - Mia Pamisa, Philippines Team Manager, Terran
If you've been listening to our podcast for a while now you know that we run multiple brands simultaneously and it's no secret that a vital part of our growth and keeping things together is our Philippines team. I've been mentioning them on the podcast and we get asked a lot how we put together such a great team. If you're serious about developing a virtual team, this episode is for you.
During our trip to China, we went over to the Philippines to personally meet with our team there. This episode was recorded with me, my wife Michelle, our Director of Ecommerce Jacqueline, and the entire team in one room. It's refreshing to be able talk to them in person and not just on Skype.
We went around the room and introduced every single member of the team and what they do for us. We also talked about a bunch of other things including:
I always joke that anyone who wants to build a remote team absolutely needs a Mia. She was our first hire and everything single hire was made possible because of her. She is sort of the rock in our team and finding her was a crucial part of our strategy. You can't have a Mia on Day 1 though. What you can do is get the best general VA you can find, build rapport and trust, and gradually train them. Invest a lot on training them -- it will pay off many times over.
If you don't have a VA helping you run your business, I highly suggest you get one now. VAs significantly reduce the amount of time you spend on trivial tasks and save you the mental and physical energy you need to focus on business growth strategies and decision-making.
If you're unsure which tasks you can assign to a VA, we made a list of 25 things we outsource to our VAs and 7 things we do ourselves. Get it here for FREE!
Resources mentioned:
AsiaInspection
Stamped.io
Tactical.com
ColorIt.com
Onlinejobs.ph
Digital Marketer Training
Thanks for tuning in this Monday and expect a fresh new episode on Thursday. Please leave us an honest review on iTunes and send comments/questions/suggestions our way at support@ecomcrew.com. Happy selling!
"Part of the hard part of selling a business is not just all the mechanics behind the scene, but finding a good buyer who is honest, and who has money, and who isn't pulling your chain and can actually close the deal. And is reasonable. Those are not inconsequential things to find in a buyer."
-Andrew Youderian, eCommerceFuel founder
I have an exciting episode today as I am interviewing one of the most awesome people I know, not just in ecommerce but in life in general.
Andrew Youderian is the founder of eCommerceFuel, a vetted community of high 6 and 7 figure ecommerce store owners who help each other grow their ecommerce businesses. The community hosts the annual eCommerceFuel Live event where members get to meet each other in person and share tips and actionable advice on how to successfully run their businesses.
It's one of the events I absolutely love attending and it seems I'm not the only one who shares this sentiment -- event tickets sold out hours after the event was publicly announced.
Andrew launched and sold numerous successful drop shipping ecommerce stores over the years. In this episode we talk about two stores he sold -- TrollingMotors.net and Right Channel Radios -- and a behind-the-scenes conversation about possibly the most interesting ecommerce store sale he made.
Other things we talked about:
We hope you enjoy this episode. If you own a store with a minimum of $250K in annual revenue and want access to a treasure trove of information to help grow your business, apply for eCommerceFuel membership here!
Resources mentioned today:
eCommerceFuel
eCommerceFuel Live
Stamped.io
AsiaInspection
How to Sell a Business: The Open-Book Sale of My $600K Store (With Complete Financials)
You'll notice we have a different podcast format -- it's just one of the changes we are adopting moving forward. We've committed to release two episodes per week, plus we will be bring you a weekly news roundup so you don't miss anything important in ecommerce land.
Thanks for listening to Episode 95! Please leave us an honest review on iTunes; it will really help us out. You can also reach out to us at support@ecomcrew.com for any comments or suggestions. Happy selling!
Many of you might have read or at least heard of Tim Ferriss' famous 4 Hour Workweek. It might seem like a crazy idea, but you've probably seen many people pull it off, quitting their day jobs and "living the dream" -- sipping margaritas on a beach somewhere in the Pacific while money continues to flow into their pockets. But for us running ecommerce businesses and probably with a family to take care of, is it even possible?
In this episode Dave and I interview an ecommerce entrepreneur who was able to make such a lifestyle possible. David Couillard (yes, that's two Daves in one episode) has been on the road for 4 years now with his wife and kid, with another one on the way, while managing his ecommerce business from his RV. He has been hanging out with us here in Hong Kong and we got a chance to ask him about how he was able pull it off.
Here are the highlights of our conversation:
It's true that such a lifestyle is not for everyone, but many of us dream of having lots of time to spend with family and maybe even to travel the world. We now have more ways than ever to automate our businesses and run it with fewer hours on our end. If you can do it now, why wait?
Resources Mentioned:
This episode is released on a Monday and we have another episode coming out on Thursday. That's right, we're upping the podcast to twice per week with new episodes released every Monday and Thursday.
Please leave us a review on iTunes and send us your thoughts over at support@ecomcrew.com; we'd love to hear from you. Thanks for listening!
This week's episode is a special one, as it's one of the few episodes where I get to have Dave on the show. Better yet, we are sitting in the same room in Hong Kong, just a couple of days after the Global Sources Summit where we both had a blast. Hopefully videos of the talks will be released soon for those who were not able to attend the event.
We have many takeaways from our time in Hong Kong but one of the most eye-opening is just how much Chinese sellers are invading the Amazon market. They've grown comfortable using Amazon FBA and have become sophisticated in their marketing techniques. Adding to this is the fact that more and more of these sellers are using downright black-hat techniques to try to win more sales.
This topic is just one of the 5 key takeaways Dave and I will talk about in this episode.
Here are other conversation points:
With Chinese sellers getting on the Amazon train and recent factory crackdowns, we might be facing a challenging time ahead. You might be tempted to attempt black-hat techniques like other sellers are doing to stay on top, but keep in mind that the dire consequences make it hardly worth doing. We highly encourage you to stay on Amazon's good side.
Resources mentioned:
Global Sources
ams.amazon.com
Stamped.io
AsiaInspection
We hope you enjoy Episode 93 of the EcomCrew Podcast. If you want to reach us, just email us at support@ecomcrew.com. Thanks for listening!
My guest today is Brian Johnson of the software company PPC Scope and online course Sponsor Products Academy. Brian has been selling online for a number of years now and has really found his stride on Amazon. On today’s episode, Brian talks about his selling background and explains why he dove into PPC advertising. This a really meaty episode and there is a lot of information crammed into it.
If you are an established Amazon seller or just getting started this episode will offer some golden advice to make your business grow.
Here’s what we covered in today’s episode:
If you are wanting to get started in PPC advertising on Amazon, start with Brian’s Facebook group called Amazon PPC Troubleshooting. Then check out his software PPC Scope and sign up for his course called Sponsored Products Academy. Let Brian show you the most effective way to use this valuable tool!
Resources Mentioned Today:
Amazon PPC Troubleshooting Facebook Group
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Today’s episode is a pre-recorded episode. At the time of this podcast, Dave and I are attending Global Sources. These pre-recorded episodes are a great opportunity to interview some highly successful ecom business owners. My guest today is one of those highly successful ecommerce entrepreneurs.
Here are some of the points of our conversation:
A special thank you to Dana Jaunzemis for joining us today! She and I will both be attending EcommerceFuel Live in January. For more information on that event, check out the link below. We will be getting back to live episodes on Facebook soon, but at the moment Dave and I are traveling a lot, so please follow our page for updates.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Today, Dave and I talk about the tricks and tips we have found running our businesses that have helped our bottom lines. There are a total of ten tips and we share some personal insight with each tip. If you are running your own ecommerce business, then today’s episode could be a helpful resource for you.
Here’s what we covered during this episode:
Some of these topics are covered in our online course called, Build A $1,000,000 Private Label Business Importing Kickass Products From China. Check the link out below if you are interested in taking part in it. If you are planning to get into the importing business, we tried to build a course that will get you started on the right foot!
We hope this list was useful to you and we plan to be getting back to the live episodes soon. If you want to be part of our live episodes just look for our Facebook page. That’s www.facebook.com/ecomcrew and like our page. You will get notices about when we’re about to go live.
We also have two sponsors for this episode. Stamped.io, which is a great tool if you need to get some quality reviews for your Shopify store. As well as, AsiaInspection, both Dave and I use AsiaInspection when we have to inspect a shipment from China. Both of these sponsors are great partners and we’re happy to have a relationship with them.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
We get a lot of questions about what services and applications we use in our day to day business. Today I’m going to give our listeners a list of tools and services that really help us stay on top of our business. To begin with, we have four brands under the EcomCrew umbrella. The four brands are Colorit.com, Icewraps.com, Wild Baby, and Tactical.com. We use all these tools to run every brand and keep track of our customers’ needs.
Here is a list of those tools:
So there you have it, our list of tools and services that help us keep the EcomCrew machine humming.
I recently did some traveling on the east coast and I attended an EcommerceFuel meetup and met some great people. So hello, to all of you I met up with earlier!
We have also released our first course on EcomCrew.com! The course is called Build A $1,000,000 Private Label Business Importing Kickass Products From China, if you are interested in the importing business, check out the link below.
As a reminder, I will be speaking at Global Sources (discount code: ec350) during October 17-19 and I will be attending and speaking at EcomerceFuel Live during January 11-13. Please keep in mind that with all this travel the live Facebook shows will be postponed, but there will still be pre-recorded episodes.
In closing, we also have a second sponsor for this episode, AsiaInspection. Dave and I both use AsiaInspection for our overseas shipments. They provide a very important service for anyone needing to double check the quality of their shipments.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
On today’s episode, Dave and I speak with Joe Valley. Joe works for Quiet Light Brokerage and is the Director of Business Services for the company. He joined their ranks back in 2012 after being one of their customers. Since joining Quiet Light he has closed 35 million dollars in transactions.
One of the key things to keep in mind in business is nothing lasts forever. Eventually, you will have to sell your business. Joe is here today to tell us how to make a business valuable to a future buyer. Both Dave and I have been through the selling process, so we have some insight on this subject. Dave has worked with Joe before when he sold a past business. We sort of use that as a reference point in our conversation. If you are considering or planning to sell your business, today’s episode is a must listen!
Here are today’s conversation points:
We hope today’s episode was useful to you. If you want to get in touch with Joe you can email him at joe@quietlightbrokerage.com or you can check out the company at www.quietlightbrokerage.com.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Today’s episode covers a lot of information. I want to give our listeners updates on several contests, site launches, and other business-related topics. We have a lot going on and I tried to fit as much as I could into our runtime.
Here are the topics I covered today:
That is a lot to cover in a short time, but hopefully, I answered some of your questions and satisfied some curiosities. It’s been a busy year for EcomCrew and we’re looking forward to what the future holds.
I will be going over to China on October 11th - November 4th. Anybody who plans to come to Global Sources, I would love to meet you. If you are interested in attending Global Sources (October 17-19) this year we have a special discount code (3ec50) for our listeners that will take $50 off the ticket price! I will be speaking at the event, once on the 17th and once on the 19th.
We have some sponsors to thank as well. The first is Stamped.io, which is a great tool if you need to get some quality reviews for your Shopify store. The second is AsiaInspection, both Dave and I use AsiaInspection when we have to inspect a shipment from China. Both of these sponsors are great partners and we’re happy to have a relationship with them.
Resources Mentioned Today:
Color It Ultimate Jackpot Contest
If you want to be part of our live episodes just look for our Facebook page. That’s www.facebook.com/ecomcrew and like our page. You will get notices about when we’re about to go live.
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
My guest today is Cameron Walker, the president of the Gifts, Home, and Hardware division of Global Sources. I met Cameron last year and he is a great guy who can help you get your bearings if this is your first Global Sources. As a reminder, Global Sources Summit will be October 17-19.
We will discuss the upcoming speakers, events, and new subjects that an attendee can learn about during this year’s Global Sources Summit. I have mentioned several times that I will be speaking at the summit this year. A couple of my topics this year are “10 Sourcing Fails” and “10 Ways to Increase Profitability.” Cameron and I offer some friendly advice for getting your company ready to sell in China. We also have some travel tips you might find useful. Bottom line, there is a lot of helpful and practical information in today’s episode, so don’t miss it!
Here are today’s points:
If you are interested in attending Global Resource this year we have a special discount code (3ec50) for our listeners that will take $50 off the ticket price! However, this offer will expire on September 15th, so hurry over to the site for your tickets.
I will also be speaking at EcommerceFuel Live in Laguna Beach, CA January 11-13, 2018. I believe that event is sold out, so if you got your tickets ahead of time I’ll see you there!
We have some sponsors to thank as well. The first is Stamped.io, which is a great tool if you need to get some quality reviews for your Shopify store. The second is AsiaInspection, both Dave and I use AsiaInspection when we have to inspect a shipment from China. Both of these sponsors are great partners and we’re happy to have a relationship with them.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
My guest today is C.J. Rosenbaum, C.J. is a lawyer who specializes in helping Amazon sellers reinstate their accounts with Amazon. Having an issue with Amazon can be a real headache. Unfortunately, issues will come up for any seller at any time. It doesn’t matter how careful you are, there will be complaints that Amazon will have to address. That is where C.J. comes in to help you know your rights and basically give you someone in your corner.
On today’s episode, C.J. tells us about the 3 most common issues Amazon sellers deal with when their accounts are suspended. He also tells us how to fight back.
Here are today’s conversation points:
If you find yourself in need of C.J.’s services visit www.amazonsellerslawyer.com. His email is CJ@AmazonSellersLawyer.com or you can call the office at 1-877-9-SELLER.
Remember I will be speaking at Global Sources this year. Global Sources will be during October, and if you have plans to go, you will receive a discount on your ticket by using Ecom Crew’s special discount code (2ec50.)
Today’s episode is sponsored by Stamped.io, check out their services if you need help with your reviews in your Shopify store. We use them and have been very pleased with the results.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Recently Dave posted a blog post on the Ecom Crew website. The post is called Part 1: Rebuilding a $1 Million Ecommerce and Importing Business from Scratch. Getting your own brand up and running has its ups and downs and Dave and I explain the process of getting your products to the customer from start to finish.
Here are the points from our conversation:
If you found today’s episode interesting, then you are going to enjoy our course! Go to www.ecomcrew.com/course to get updates about our progress in that launch.
Dave and I are going to be attending Global Sources, October 17-19. I will be speaking at the event. If you are interested in attending we have a special discount code (3ec50) for our listeners that will take $50 off the ticket price!
Also, make sure you follow us on Facebook. We do live episodes on our page, so go like the Ecom Crew Facebook page and you will be notified when an episode is about to start.
We have some sponsors to thank as well. The first is Stamped.io, which is a great tool if you need to get some quality reviews for your Shopify store. The second is AsiaInspection, both Dave and I use AsiaInspection when we have to inspect a shipment from China. Both of these sponsors are great partners and we’re happy to have a relationship with them.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Today I’m going to talk about a new avenue of marketing we have found here at Color It. As many Facebook users know, last year the platform pushed for Messenger to be its own stand alone app. We have found a great tool called ManyChat that creates a Facebook Messenger mailing list. This allows us to send marketing messages to potential customers through Facebook Messenger.
Now, there are some restrictions, but as long as we are paying Facebook for advertising, we can use Messenger as a marketing tool. The response to these messages has been overwhelmingly positive. We have done a couple of campaigns or “sequences” as ManyChat calls it on Facebook Messenger and I’m excited to share the surprising results from it!
Here are the points from today’s episode:
I have a couple of speaking engagements coming up:
Also, make sure you follow us on Facebook. We do live episodes on our page, so go like the Ecom Crew Facebook page and you will be notified when an episode is about to start.
We have some sponsors to thank as well. The first is Stamped.io, which is a great tool if you need to get some quality reviews for your Shopify store. The second is AsiaInspection, both Dave and I use AsiaInspection when we have to inspect a shipment from China. Both of these sponsors are great partners and we’re happy to have a relationship with them.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Dave joins me today for a debate. Is it better to have an office space for your company or not? We have slightly different views on this subject. I personally like the professionalism of an office space and warehouse. Dave likes the freedom of working remotely and outsourcing. We compare our reasons for why we have our preferences and give our listeners some pros and cons of both business styles.
There is nothing wrong with either business approach. We simply want to explore our personal work styles, so that maybe you can decide which one best fits your situation.
Here are some points from our conversation:
I would like to remind you that I have a couple of speaking engagements coming up:
We also have plans to launch a course on Importing soon. So, check out www.ecomcrew.com/course if you want to sign up for updates. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, so you can join us during the Facebook Live episodes each week.
Today’s episode was sponsored by Stamped.io. If you need to take your Shopify reviews to the next level, then Stamped.io can help.
We are also happy to announce, that have a new sponsor in AsiaInspection! AsiaInspection is a company Dave and I both use when we deal with our suppliers in China. AsiaInspection will represent you when you can’t go overseas to check your shipment yourself. They are both reliable companies and we are proud to be partnering with them.
Resources Mentioned Today
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Today I’m really excited to tell you about a domain name we have purchased and all the awesome plans we have coming down the pipe. We have just purchased Survivalfood.com. If you guys remember, we purchased Tatical.com a while back. If you go back and listen to episode 72, I talk about all our plans and some of our strategies for Tactical.com. However, today I’m going to share some of the plans we have for Survivalfood.com, which will be a sister property to Tactical.com.
Survivalfood.com will not be an ecommerce store, instead, we have plans to make it a content based site. The articles will be about food stockpiling, camping, backpacking, survivalism, and anything to do with disaster preparation. Hopefully, the content will create organic traffic and interest. I’m really excited about the possibilities because Survivalfood.com is a perfect compliment to Tactical.com! There are tons of opportunities for these two properties.
Here are some of the topics I covered today:
Ecommerce All Stars may be over, but I still have a couple speaking engagements coming up. I also have one to add to the list.
Global Sources -- Hong Kong, October 17-19.
EcommerceFuel Live -- Laguna Beach, CA, January 11-13, 2018.
Sellers’ Summit -- Fort Lauderdale, FL, May 3-5, 2018.
This episode is sponsored by Stamped.io. We have recently switched to Stamped.io, so we can get the most out of our reviews, and they have a really great product. We are proud to partner with them and there is a link below to check them out.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
On today’s episode I explain the process of incorporating a subscription into Color It. I also discuss tools and other opportunities our listeners might enjoy.
I developed a subscription model for Color It with the subscription fee of $4.99 for 30 drawings a month. The drawings are downloadable images that we have used in other books, so it is a cost effective way to repurpose our content. By offering this service, I am hoping to attract customers who normally may not engage with my other promotional emails. I’m really excited by the prospect!
One opportunity being offered for our listeners is our course on importing from China. Just visit ecomcrew.com/course and sign-up to be notified when we are ready to move forward with it.
Another opportunity is some upcoming events. I will be traveling to Austin, TX this week to speak at Ecommerce All Stars. I have a handful of these speaking events lined up for the year, including:
If you are going to attend Ecommerce All Stars on August 4th and 5th, make sure you tell me hi!
Here are today’s topics:
This episode is sponsored by Stamped.io. We have recently switched to Stamped.io, so we can get the most out of our reviews, and they have a really great product. We are proud to partner with them and there is a link below to check them out.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
On today’s episode I want to tell you about the awesome time I had up in Alaska and just take a moment to really stress the importance of vacation time. My family and I went up to the Kesugi Ridge Trail and hiked 32 miles over the course of four days.
During my time away there were some issues with the business, but I have built a self-sufficient team, so I was still able to enjoy my trip. Hiking that trail showed me some parallels to running an e-commerce business. If you are interested in seeing some of the sights, then there is a link below to a video I took on the hike.
Here are today’s topics:
I would like to remind our listeners that I am still looking for a Director of Ecommerce. Episode 74 of the podcast outlines what I am looking for in that position. If you know somebody, or if you are that somebody, please email me at mike@terran.com.
Also, I will be speaking at some events this year,
We are back to doing live Facebook episodes again, so follow our Facebook page, and you’ll be notified when we do an episode.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Welcome to the second half of our doing business in and with China Q and A session. Today we talk about the mistakes we made when we started importing goods from China. We both have examples of things catching us off guard while waiting for our shipments. The issues ranged from a high duty fee on an order, to a major cultural blindside, like Chinese New Year shuts down the whole country for a month!
We also discuss how we handled those time and money crunches that made us want to pull our hair out of our skulls. Sometimes the money just isn’t coming in fast enough and sometimes an international incident will delay your product. We offer advice on how to plan ahead, so you aren’t stuck with too little or too much inventory.
This half of the Q and A is all about the things that could (and often will) go wrong in your business. Tune in if you want to know what it is really like ordering and shipping products from China. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Here are some of the topics we discussed today:
As a side note, keep in mind we are launching an Ecom Crew course around September. If you are interested in being part of that, then visit www.ecomcrew.com/course, if you sign-up we’ll let you know when the course is ready. The first few people to purchase the course will receive a 25% discount.
This episode is sponsored by Stamped.io. We have recently switched to Stamped.io, so we can get the most out of our reviews, and they have a really great product. We are proud to partner with them and there is a link below to check them out.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Hello, it’s Mike and Dave! This is our first official podcast together. We figured a good first episode was to compare notes about our experiences with doing business in and with China. Dave and I both import our products from China and for the most part, we’ve both had great results from it.
This topic will be a two-parter. Today we answer some questions about China. If you are thinking about getting into importing from China or any other foreign country, this two-part series will hopefully prepare you for what to expect.
Here are some of the points we discussed today:
Just a reminder, I am speaking at some events this year. Here is a list of those events.
Also, keep in mind we are launching an Ecom Crew course around September. If you are interested in being part of that visit www.ecomcrew.com/course, if you sign-up we’ll let you know when the course is ready. The first few people to purchase the course will receive a 25% discount.
This episode is sponsored by Stamped.io. We have recently switched to Stamped.io, so we can get the most out of our reviews, and they have a really great product. We are proud to partner with them and there is a link below to check them out.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
I’m sure our listeners have noticed that Grant hasn’t been on the podcast lately. The reason for this is Grant has moved on to do other things. We agreed that he should follow his new direction, so he has left the podcast. Our friendship remains strong.
However, I am happy to announce that Dave Bryant will be joining me on Ecom Crew!
Dave is the founder of chineseimporting.com, a blog for newcomers to the importing business. His focus is, of course, China, but his business is starting to shift to e-commerce. This change is something that we feel will be a good fit for Ecom Crew.
Dave has made it clear that he won’t do the podcast every week, but he writes awesome content. We also have plans to launch a course in late August, maybe early September. There are some great ideas in the pipeline and we’re very excited about it!
Here are some of the points we discussed today:
Just a reminder, I will be speaking at some events this year. Here is a list of those events.
This episode is sponsored by Stamped.io. We have recently switched to Stamped.io, so we can get the most out of our reviews, and they have a really great product. We are proud to partner with them and there is a link below to check them out.
We also do live episodes on Facebook, but there won’t be a live episode for a couple of weeks. We do have some pre-recorded episodes done for you. To get in on the live episodes, just like our Facebook page.
Resources Mentioned Today:
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
On today’s episode, I discuss why you need to start planning for the holidays. It is easy to fall into the trap of assuming you have enough, and then underestimating your demand. A lack of inventory means a loss of sales. Don’t let it happen!
Here’s what I cover today:
We will be launching some Ecom Crew courses in August. If you are interested check out the link at www.ecomcrew.com/course. We will be doing these courses with Dave Bryant, so sign up at the link and we’ll send you more information later.
This episode is sponsored by Stamped.io. We have recently switched to Stamped.io, so we can get the most out of our reviews, and they have a really great product. We are proud to partner with them and there is a link below to check them out.
We also do live episodes on Facebook, but there won’t be a live episode for a couple of weeks. We do have some pre-recorded episodes done for you. To get in on the live episodes, just like our Facebook page.
Resources Mentioned Today:
The 12 Days of Christmas Promotion 2016
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast you can now email us directly at ecomcrew.com! Just send those emails to support@ecomcrew.com. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
Today I want to talk about the direction the company is taking and how I plan to keep up with it. We have really plateaued as a company, and part of that is because we don’t have the manpower. We need some new structure. I have decided to take a two-prong approach to restructuring things. The two sides of the business are:
Hopefully, this new structure will help us get to an eight figures status. If you know someone who is kind of a “techie” person, then contact me at mike@terran.com. I would like a resume or a letter telling me why you are the best fit for the company.
The things I’m looking for in a new hire are as follows:
I realize that nobody is going to have all the experience I am looking for, but what is important is the prospect’s willingness to learn. So if you know someone or you are a good fit for me, please let me know.
Just a reminder, I will be speaking at some events this year. Here is a list of those events.
Also if you go to www.ecomcrew.com/summit2017, you can download my slides from my presentation at Sellers’ Summit 2017. You will also get a discount code for $50 off the price of a virtual pass to all the great content from the summit.
Included in this package will be a free round table session with Scott Voelker, Greg Mercer, Jeff Cohen, Steve Chou, and myself. That round table will be June 26th at 2 pm Pacific time. If that’s something that interests you, then check out the link to sign up.
This episode is sponsored by Stamped.io. We have recently switched to Stamped.io, so we can get the most out of our reviews, and they have a really great product. We are proud to partner with them and there is a link below to check them out.
Resources Mentioned Today:
Don’t forget about our Facebook Live episodes. Just like our Facebook page and you will be notified when we do an episode.
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!
On today’s episode we welcome back Dave Bryant. Dave is here for a friendly little debate. We are going to trade views on Amazon. Dave tends to believe you should build your business completely on Amazon, and I disagree.This is a respectful discussion and we both make some really good points.
If you are just starting out in ecommerce, then maybe this episode will help you balance out which approach is best for you. Are you more comfortable basing your sales on Amazon? Or do you want to hedge your bet? There really isn’t a right or wrong answer here, it all boils down to where you want to take your business.
Here are some of the points we discussed:
As I stated earlier, we are both right, it’s just interesting to get a different point-of-view sometimes.
I want to give special thanks to Dave and our sponsor Stamped.io. We have recently switched to Stamped.io, so we can get the most out of our reviews, and they have a really great product. We are proud to partner with them and there is a link below to check them out.
Just a reminder, I will be speaking at some events this year. Here is a list of those events.
Resources Mentioned Today:
Don’t forget about our Facebook Live episodes. Just like our Facebook page and you will be notified when we do an episode.
If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also, we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!