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Amazon business building has been a hot topic for 3-4 years now. For good reason. It is possible to grow a profitable business fast. However, there are a number of myths about business building on the Amazon platform that often get circulated by over-optimistic course promoters. Here we examine the truths behind the myths.
Business Building Myth 1. “One size fits all”
Most courses gave a one-size-fits-all course. Simplifying is understandable and necessary. But they didn’t allow for differing levels of risk aversion and experience in incoming students. Or allow for developing the necessary skills.
That’s why our PLP course allows for this by offering different starting points depending on the level of skill, money and risk-tolerance of students.
Business Building Myth 2: “Our business model is like a franchise”
If you buy a franchise with Starbucks, you get exclusive rights to the territory! Plus you get the marketing backup and the right to use logos and other brand marketing that is supported by major brand recognition, in turn supported by brand advertising.
No Amazon course on building a business can really offer you that, even though a couple seem to. However, what you can get is proven business systems aka SOPs. Those are definitely worth having – but just be realistic that you’ll need to bring your own individual spin to the party.
Business Building Myth 3: “You can just construct your own business model from free content.” (YouTube, podcasts, FaceBook groups, etc.)
Of course there are a ton of Amazon tactics out in the Youtube world. Some mechanics like opening an Amazon seller central account, are well served by that. What you won’t get is the order and sequence that is critical to real business building. Or strategic thinking.
Of course you can still build a business from scratch. But it’s usually easier and quicker to model what works, then add your own spin. Reinventing the wheel costs time when building a business and opportunity cost is the highest cost. If you are months slower than you need, and miss out on $10s of thousands of lost sales, what does it matter that you saved yourself a few hundred pounds or dollars by not buying training?
That’s why most intelligent entrepreneurs start by modelling an Amazon business building process that works and then tweaking and personalising that.
Business Building Myth 4. “This requires no experience or skill”.
This is both true and untrue.
In reality, there is no substitute for experience or skill. Sure, you can hire IT support services to get you up and running or model your business on the competition’s to get things off the ground, but that will only get you so far before you need some experience of your own.
Now, if you said “no previous experience or pre-existing skill” required, we’re starting to get there.
A good course will make sure you acquire that skill and experience.
This is why we’ve developed the system in the PLP course to make sure our entrepreneurs gain experience one step at a time. [the PLP course is currently unavailable while we update it – we will be making a modernised version avaliable soon]
Which brings me to another key hole in this approach…
Business Building Myth 5: “You must abandon your background knowledge/experience “
If have inside knowledge – even if just as an avid user of certain categories of products – then that can help you get an edge. As Ash Ali says https://theunfairadvantage.co.uk you should always be looking for an “unfair advantage”. Graphic design background? SEO background? Member of a target market? Use it!
Business Building Myth 6: “You should leap tall buildings in one bound”
Here’s the kicker.
The traditional model was one “simple” set of projects from “research” straight into “spend several $1000 on a product as your first ever physical products purchase before you’ve made a single dollar online…”
(That’s not, of course, how they put it. But it was the reality).
Sound wise to you?
Me neither.
Superman can jump a building in a single bound.
The rest of us have to take the stairs.
One step at time.
Takes longer but it works. It just takes time and effort.
So What’s the Solution?
Here’s ours: BASS
Basics (Phase zero) –
learn how to sell on Amazon and navigate Seller Central
Assess
Assess a market, order product and test out whether your hypothesis is correct with a test launch.
Sell
Take working products and scale them into private label full scale launch
Stabilise
Learn to deal with daily and weekly maintenance and learn when to restock.
Then it’s a question of rinse and repeat!
So we have two awkward truths that apparently don’t seem to co-exist:
It all came down to that tricky word, “Simple”. And its close relatives. Let me explain…
Read more about our philosophy here
Business Building Myth 7. “This is a simple business”.
In essence, that is true.
As we put it, it’s fundamentally 3 steps: Niche – Source -Launch.
Or:
Step 1. Find out what they want;
Step 2. Go get it;
Step 3. Give it to them.
However, the trick is to know how to do this most effectively.
In a complex world, the simple has an understandable attraction. Even seductiveness.
Does it, however, have commercial value?
To simplify the complex is an art. That’s important. I’ve sweated to do that.
Simplistic is, however, not wise in a complex world.
(Definitions are by the Oxford English Dictionary, by the way. I like to use reliable references.)
What you need is a clear overall model for business building that is simple in essence. But you also need all the detailed steps you need to make it REAL.
That’s not easy to achieve (but we believe we’ve finally done it)
Business Building Myth 8. You can survive well in isolation
Loners are the exception; most successful people need community.
The most powerful combo is the 3 C’s:
Course; Community; Coach.
I personally use all three as an entrepreneur – and I recommend to everyone who can afford to do so to do the same.
The Amazing FBA PLP Course is launching early Oct. 2018.
To find out more, go to: www.amazingfba.com/PLP
To get a VIP Launch place – with special bonuses for the first 20 people only, click here:
