1. LEARNING & FINDING YOUR FIRST PRODUCT.
1.1. COURSE MATERIALS TO WATCH
1.1.1. Module 1 - The Beginning
1.1.2. Module 2 - Set Up
1.1.3. Module 3 - Products Research
1.1.4. Watch Bonus Modules
1.1.5. Watch the first 4 student Webinars
1.2. ADMIN TASKS
1.2.1. Join private Facebook group
1.2.2. Do some practice question searches on Facebook private to see the depth of support that is instantly available
1.2.2.1. See left hand column of Facebook page when you are looking at the private Facebook group
1.2.2.2. Watch Adam's video that is pinned to the top of the Facebook Group about appropriate behaviour in the group.
1.2.2.3. Read the Facebook policy guidelines. These are included under "Description" on the right hand side of the page.
1.2.3. Write down your "Reason Why" and your clear goals for your business
1.2.4. Open ZonGuru Account
1.2.4.1. You only need the basic plan to start with
1.2.4.2. Make sure you have Google Chrome as your browser so you use their plugin and get instant results
1.2.5. :heavy_dollar_sign: Get advice around legal entity in Module 2
1.2.5.1. Private name?
1.2.5.2. Company?
1.2.5.3. Partnership?
1.2.6. Open a bank account or OFX account to receive funds from Amazon
1.2.6.1. If you have settled on your legal entity (personal name, company etc), you will need to add a bank account to open your Seller Central account in order to receive funds from Amazon. If you live outside of the US, we recommend that you open an account with www.ofx.com - be sure to tell them that you are a Reliable Education student for a special rate on all of your transfers. It's free to open an account. As part of that account opening, you can get a USD denominated bank account. It is that bank account that you should add to Seller Central so that Amazon sends your funds there.
1.2.6.2. Having a US denominated account will mean that you can receive your USD from Amazon without it being exchanged into your local currency. This can help you avoid as much as 4% of your income being lost in the process. You can transfer funds from your USD account with OFX at any time to any bank account you choose, including suppliers (who almost always want to be paid in USD).
1.2.7. Open a Seller Central account (need entity information and bank account information from the previous steps first)
1.2.7.1. Download the Amazon Seller App from the App store so that you can view your sales and manage your Amazon business from your mobile phone.
1.2.7.2. :movie_camera: Watch Adam's interview with students in Module 2 called "Suspension Interviews" How to avoid them and what to do if it happens to you."
1.2.7.3. It's important to open your seller account now, long before you intend to sell, for the reasons mentioned in the video above. As Amazon continues to grow, getting approved can take several months if things go wrong - and they often do! Don't worry about the monthly fees that you will pay for your seller account even if it's not being used. A simple email to Amazon support AFTER your account is open will often result in them crediting your account fees back if you haven't been using the account. The last thing you want is to have stock on the water, on its way to America, and then you can't open your Amazon seller account to create labels and receive your inventory into Amazon's warehouse system.
1.2.8. Create a dummy listing on Amazon and create your first shipping label
1.2.8.1. It doesn't matter what it is
1.2.8.2. Upload headline, bullet points, description, photos
1.2.8.2.1. :movie_camera: Watch the lesson in Module 8, to learn how to do this.
1.2.8.3. Create your first shipping plan and shipping label
1.2.8.3.1. :movie_camera: Watch the lesson in Module 8, to learn how to do this.
1.2.8.4. Cancel the shipping plan
1.2.9. Join or form a MasterMind (see Bonus Modules in the course for training)
1.2.9.1. The #1 commonality between our most successful students is the fact that they are in a MasterMind that they love.
1.2.9.2. Don't skip this step. It is CRITICAL.
1.2.10. Finding your product
1.2.10.1. Take a few moments and read Amazon's restricted product warnings. This could save you a whole lot of heartache before you spend time and money developing products. Here is the link => https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/help.html?itemID=200301050&language=en_US&ref=efph_200301050_cont_G1801
1.2.10.2. Create a list of 20 ideas
1.2.10.3. Short list them to between 5 and 10 ideas
1.2.10.4. Create a simple business case for each product on your short list
1.2.10.4.1. None of these things are MUST HAVES. They are just things to think about. Every single product has it's own unique environment, nuances and competitors.
1.2.10.4.2. How will you differentiate?
1.2.10.4.3. Is there a STRONG and OBVIOUS, VISUAL element to the differentiation?
1.2.10.4.4. Is the price high enough? We suggest over $25.
1.2.10.4.5. Is that price achievable given the competition?
1.2.10.4.6. Is the market big enough? Are the average sales of page #1 competitors over $5,000/month? ZonGuru can tell you this.
1.2.10.4.7. Are there any complexities to the product that could make it difficult or risky? This can be a good thing as well - so long as you can overcome them!
1.2.10.4.8. Is it seasonal, fashionable or trend based?
1.2.10.4.9. Are there existing patents that you need to be aware of?
1.2.10.4.10. :warning: How competitive is the space? Can you get a foothold with low reviews?
1.2.10.4.11. Can you afford to develop that product and launch it successfully?
1.2.10.4.12. In short, how will you win in that market? Are you being 100% objective?
1.2.10.5. Claim the hot-seat at your mastermind and present your short list of ideas and their respective business cases.
1.2.10.6. Choose at least 1 idea
1.2.10.7. Order your top 3 competitors products from Amazon. If you don't live in the US, sign up with MyUS.com to have them shipped to you.
1.2.10.8. Sometimes Amazon restricts who can sell certain products on their platform, or they require certain certificates or registrations in place before you can list an item. Ingestible products, topical products or medical devices are just examples. If you have any doubt what-so-ever about whether or not there are limitations or restrictions around the product that you've chosen on Amazon, try to create a listing for a new product using one of the competitor's products for the data points. Your intention here is NOT to hijack your competitor or actually sell the product. You are simply going to attempt to create a new listing in that category to see if Amazon asks for any extra things like certifications, FDA registration numbers, or similar. It is MUCH better to find out about these things now, before you spend a bunch of money on your first order.
1.2.11. Find Sourcing Agent on UpWork to assist you with sourcing on the China side
1.2.11.1. Good English
1.2.11.2. Experienced at sourcing
1.2.11.3. Ask for examples of how they've been working with others
1.2.11.4. Give them a test product to source. See how the relationship works
1.2.12. Get your importing website setup
1.2.12.1. Just use your surname and "importing" as the domain (if available). So if Adam was doing it, www.hudsonimporting.com
1.2.12.2. This site has nothing to do with your eventual Amazon brand name. It is only going to be used to give you credibility when dealing with suppliers. You won't have to worry about designing it or hosting it. See below.
1.2.12.3. Register your domain. Go to CrazyDomains.com.au or GoDaddy.com or any name registrar that you use.
1.2.12.4. Order your importing website from Reliable Education support so you look professional when reaching out to suppliers. [email protected] They are inexpensive to setup and they'll get it done in a week or so.