You Want to Sell on Amazon
May 05, 2022
Off-Farm Income
One of the hardest things about starting a small farm is the cash flow. When you have start-up expenses but no income what do you do? While we both still work off-farm anyway, we need to set up a revenue stream that can continue when we transition to full-time farming.
After searching for ideas I came across Amazon selling! I didn't even know that people selling on Amazon were small businesses, I thought Jeff Bezos was just a multi-trillionaire who owned everything on there. Silly me.
The vast majority of the sellers are small businesses, and while it is a learned skill, pretty much anyone can sell on Amazon.
So I start looking for courses to teach me how to sell on Amazon….. Whoa!
Preachers with Lamborghini's
There are literally thousands of courses out there to teach you how to sell on Amazon.
Headlines like “So, you want to sell on Amazon? Have you heard you can make money while you sleep?” With some stereotypical salesman leaning up against his Lamborghini.
The video is someone telling you how easy it would be right? Just sign up for their course? They’ll teach you everything and you’ll be a millionaire in no time.
I went through all that too. But some nagging words kept coming back to me, words I’ve heard all through my life.
“If it looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.”
I wasn’t afraid to do the hard work, I just wanted someone to show me how and as the budget was important I chose to go with Aussie Online Entrepreneurs.
Aussie Online Entrepreneurs
I looked at a lot of different courses and online learning groups.
Then the algorithms finally sent me something from Neil Asher about his group the Aussie Online Entrepreneurs. Seemed a weird name for some Pom to be running.
Anyway, they had some special on where you could sign up for a month for free, if you didn’t like it or think it was for you then you could simply leave, no questions asked. I figured I had nothing to lose. (I was actually on leave for a month due to an injury, the joys of working as a first responder, we get hurt.)
I started working my way through the “Amazon Domination Training”, and the whole time I’m really liking the structure of the Modules. I actually followed them step-by-step, doing what he suggested the whole way.
So, got my business name (kinda had that idea for a while) and I’m setting up social media, emails, and accounts with Alibaba! I’m on fire.
Neil is also such a good guy that he does offer affiliate links, it's his version of sharing the love! And really you be crazy not to join an affiliate program for something you know is working!
If you are interested I would love it if you used my affiliate link here.
Selling your first product on Amazon.
Selling was a massively steep learning curve for me having never worked in sales or marketing.
I actually feel odd when I say to people “oh I sell on Amazon as my side hustle” as it seems so unlike me.
But stepping out of our comfort zone is how we progress.
I would encourage anybody considering working from home to have a look at this as an option. It's certainly not what some of the gurus within Amazon will tell you that you make money while you sleep. That is simply not the case, however with hard work you can earn.
What this business amounts to is the same as every other business, you will get out of it what you put into it.
You absolutely can make money from home, and depending on where you live and sell, you can make money while you sleep.
However, you will need to put the hours into it and if you can only spend 2 hours a day compared to someone spending 5-6 hours a day then your rewards will be comparable.
Certainly, some of the full-time sellers within the Aussie Online Entrepreneurs are earning $50,000 plus a month. My goal is $20,000, as that would mean I could give up my job as a first responder to focus on the family and farm.
I am definitely a bit slower in learning however due to no experience in sales.
That said I am really enjoying learning sales and marketing and know that it will also come in handy as the farm becomes more commercial.
At the same time, I am terrified that I'm going to stuff this up.
My first product took me forever to source, I spent from February until July deciding what I was going to sell. However, when I did decide what to sell I was pretty happy with my decision.
When I first started Mojo Homestead it was always with the intention that I wanted to give back to the environment or that we wanted to produce products that would be good for the environment. And being a beekeeper already made the decision to sell beeswax wraps so much easier.
And of course, this means we will stick with environmentally friendly products, especially those that help reduce waste.
Mojo Homestead the retail business was born and I am super happy to go with products that didn't take from the environment. I wanted products my kids would be proud of in 50 years’ time.
If you want to check out my Beeswax Food Wraps you can see them here
End Result
I guess you all want to know the end result of my attempt at selling. Was it successful and have I quit my day job.
No, I have not quit the day job, but my products are selling. I am now looking for the next product to get listed on Amazon.
This process has never been a sprint for me, it will always be a marathon. I know 100% of businesses fail when the owner quits. So quitting this business is the one thing I won’t do.
My next question is which product to sell next, stainless steel pegs or canning equipment? Or….. what do you think?
Take Care
Ceejay