Podcasts about brand accelerator live

Sagi Shrieber on The Commit First Podcast Presents:How to Take Action on Your Dreams (w/ Scott Voelker)SUBSCRIBE HERE:http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=sagishrieberYou can also find the show in audio, on your favorite podcasting app:- Spotify: http://sagishrieber.com/spotify​​- on iTunes: http://sagishrieber.com/itunes​​- Stitcher: http://sagishrieber.com/stitcher​​Check out the Commit First Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/commit.first​​If you want to stay up to date with my posts and values, follow my Instagram account too: https://www.instagram.com/commit.first​​/sagishrieber------------------------********Episode 98 - How to Take Action on Your Dreams (w/ Scott Voelker) *******The 100th episode is on the horizon, and to celebrate it, we'll be featuring 3 iconic episodes from the show's past releases! A second re-release down, here's episode no. 59 with Scott Voelker. "I am all about taking the risk."We all carry a certain vision in our minds that we want to turn into reality. This vision is often fueled by passion, and we could have had this passion for most of our lives. Perhaps it's a passion you found early on in your younger days, or perhaps it's something new that you've just found love for. Regardless of whether it's old or new, dreams are the vision people have for themselves, a goal that they want to work towards for the rest of their lives. It's a great thing to have the perfect visualization of yourself in your mind, and to know where you want to be. But do you know how to get yourself from here to there? A dream- as powerful of a fuse it is in igniting the explosion we call success- is just like potential energy. Sure, it's got the kick to take you places, but it won't go anywhere without the right starter. It won't take you anywhere if you don't take action. How do you take action, exactly?Taking action on your dreams is like making a leap of faith into the uncertainty that the future holds. Comfort zones are often within your space, and you need to get out of THAT space. You have to get to where you want to go, and where you want to go isn't where you are right now. As you watch this episode, you'll realize that taking action is taking risks. When you want to act on your dreams, you'll eventually have to make a gamble and expose yourself to a little risk, with the better chance of growth.On this release, we'll be recalling the topics I covered with Scott Voelker about how we can take the right set of actions and turn our dreams into reality. Tune in as we cover a portion of his book, the "Take Action Effect," which talks about the elaborate plan he devised to help himself and other entrepreneurs find success. Scott emphasizes the importance of mindset and how taking out "Mental trash"- which hinders you from finally working on your goals- is very important. Have you stopped making excuses, and finally started working on goals that you only used to talk about WANTING to work on?Now a father of 3 kids and a loving husband to his wife for the past 25 years and counting, Scott Voelker decided one day that he didn't want to keep swinging hammers for the rest of his life. Right after graduating high school, Scott was pushed into the life of a construction worker. He changed his mind somewhere down the line, and finally decided to take the reins. He steered himself towards the direction of success, building his own company known as "The Brand Creators." With The Brand Creators, Scott has helped thousands of people unlock their true potential by helping then TAKE ACTION. With his guidance, many entrepreneurs have found success he calls their "ultimate freedom business." Scott has proven to be a great brand builder through his work, developing the skills of his clients to turn them into confident, resilient, and future proof entrepreneurs. ********Topics discussed on the show:********IntroductionKnowing Your NumbersMaking That LeapTaking Action = Taking RiskThe Take Action EffectChanging Plans for OpportunitiesRecognizing Your AchievementsGetting Through Mental TrashHow to Create a Future Proof YouThe Shiny Object SyndromeThe PlanPutting It Out ThereAttracting the Right PeopleFind Your "Why"Niche Down"Take Action" Moments********Links Mentioned:********Rock Your Brand: ttps://www.brandcreators.com/category/podcast/Brand Accelerator Live: https://learn.brandcreators.com/brand-accelerator-liveThe Take Action Effect - Scott Voelker: https://www.amazon.com/Take-Action-Effect-Future-Proof-Business-ebook/dp/B07WSYBN2T********Where to find Scott:********His Website: https://www.brandcreators.com/His Email: scott@theamazingseller.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottvoelker/ (@scottvoelker)LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-voelker-8b604325/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scott.voelker.9********

Today’s guest is a husband, father, and successful ecommerce brand owner. And he’s also the mastermind behind planning the extraordinary event where I was a keynote speaker last year, Brand Accelerator Live! I’m so excited to share with you my interview with Kevin Sanderson from Maximizing Ecommerce! Kevin is a full-time ecommerce seller who also helps others grow their businesses. He is the host of the Maximizing Ecommerce podcast and YouTube channel, as well as the event planner behind Brand Accelerator Live, our good friend, Scott Voelker’s conference with 200 attendees. We cover so much in this episode about Kevin’s journey -- from growing his ecommerce business on the side of his day job to going out on his own full-time, and we also dive deep into how he and Scott created Scott’s first ever large-scale live event. And at the end of the interview, I reveal some exciting news coming later this year! In this episode, you’ll learn: How Kevin leveraged his corporate career experience when he made the transition to working for himself How he pitched Brand Accelerator Live to Scott -- and made it happen! How Kevin keeps shiny object syndrome at bay You can find all of the links and resources that I mention in today’s episode at MonicaLouie.com/45.

This is it - episode #800!!  Through all the ups and downs, you’ve journeyed with Scott to (or you just joined us for) another milestone in the life of The Amazing Seller! To mark this special occasion, Scott is taking a moment to take a look back at the journey so far. On this episode, you’ll hear Scott as he explains how he went from the Amazon guy to brand building coach, speaker, and author!  It’s worth it after all of the hard work it takes to reach a milestone to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what the plan is going forward. Pay close attention, you don’t want to miss a minute of this powerful and celebratory episode!  KISS Have you heard of that old saying, KISS? It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid.  While that saying doesn’t’ sound very nice, it does cut to the heart of what Scott is trying to do with the TAS brand. For too long, Scott saw sellers like you get really excited about the prospect of becoming their own bosses and starting their own businesses only to have their hopes dashed when they saw how complicated it would be. Following his passion to help average people like him, Scott started TAS to take people on a journey as he started a brand selling products on Amazon. Before long, TAS took off and has since produced workshops, meetups, live events, and so much more. Unfortunately, with growth complexity often comes around to tag along.  Getting down to what really matters TAS soon went through a growth phase, offering solution after solution by meeting the needs of the growing seller community. While Scott loved helping sellers improve their businesses with the podcast and other tools, what he really enjoyed was getting to know people and helping them up close. While he never thought he would ever host a conference, Scott did just that in 2019 with the Brand Accelerator Live event. Scratching this itch also involved writing a book, “The Take Action Effect” and launching a new program to help brand creators.  Five helpful tips from Scott As you can tell, Scott’s been on quite the journey over the years. Keeping with the spirit of The Amazing Seller and all the wonderful tools he’s developed over the years, Scott also wanted to give you five helpful tips he learned that will help you succeed.  Figure out your “Why” - what is it that keeps you motivated in life and business?  Be open to adapt and change. Don’t be afraid to make a pivot! Don’t compare yourself to others!  The core principles of building a business don’t change.  Keep things simple and always remember you “Why!” There you have it! After all of these years and all these 800 episodes of value Scott wanted to take a good look back in the rearview mirror. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon and neither should you! There are a ton of more helpful episodes and resources just around the corner. Learn more about Scott’s journey over the years by listening to this inspiring episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [5:00] Celebrating a milestone and making an impact. [12:00] Getting known as the “Amazon guy.”  [16:00] Monetizing the brand and shifting toward branding building.  [25:10] Creating Brand Accelerator Live.  [28:15] Simplifying the TAS Brand.  [31:30] Revisiting the “Why.”  [33:40] Scott shares five helpful lessons he has learned over the years.  [38:30] Closing thoughts.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.takeactioneffect.com www.theamazingseller.com/js www.brandcreators.com

What is one of the surest paths to substantial wealth? Grow and sell a business. Today's episode is all about Joe's book project, “The Exitpreneurs Playbook.” Joe has over 8000 stories to tell about what it's like to buy, what it is like to sell, and ways to outsmart the typical entrepreneur process. Mark is interviewing Joe about this upcoming project, his motivations behind creating it, and how getting to the writing process carried its share of challenges. Joe believes that an exitpreneur should have the tools in hand to start, run, and grow their business for better decision making later on. He is not telling anyone to sell, he is offering them the strategies they need in order to be ready if they do. Episode Highlights: Joe's idea and the process of putting it into book format. Why he wanted to write the book. Reasons exit planning can be challenging for the business owner. The differences between an entrepreneur who is considering a sale versus one who has actually prepared an exit. How businesses often outgrow the founder and smart moves to make before that happens. The importance of reverse engineering to the goal for a better exit strategy. The difference between the entrepreneur and an exitpreneur. How Joe came up with the book title. Transcription: Mark: So Joe I was at an event recently in Salt Lake City and it was in just general kind of a conference meeting room for about 50 people or so and they had a lot of books in this place. And I was intrigued to just kind of look around and see what was there and you'll never guess what book was up on the shelf. Actually, do you want to guess? Joe: Yeah I want to guess. I'm looking around my office, Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss? Mark: You know what? It actually was in there. Joe: It was in there. Mark: Not the one I'm referring to. Joe: The ONE Thing by John Keller? Now, wait let's call out one of our friends; Superfans by Pat Flynn? Mark: You know I don't know. There were a lot of entrepreneurial focused books so maybe that one was there; I don't know. Joe: Okay. Buy Then Build by Walker Deibel? Mark: Buy Then Build by Walker Deibel; yeah absolutely, that was on the shelf. In fact, they had multiple copies of it. They were giving that book away. And today; what is it? It's February 11th so we're a little bit past a year since Walker launched that book and it spent a year as number one on Amazon Bestseller in this category which is pretty fantastic. I mean obviously, we're super happy for Walker. He won an award for being the thought leader of the year through a major alliance of mergers and acquisition advisors. Joe: Huge. Mark: That is huge. He's had professors from Ivy League colleges come up and talk to him about the book. All of this leads me to something beyond just the accolades and that is the information that's out there in this space about what it's like to sell, what it's like to buy. Walker is talking on specifically which is the buy-side and how to use this as an investment vehicle, how to outsmart the Startup Game as he says and reduce some of that risk. But there's also a whole on the sell-side as well where people don't really know that their business is sellable or they don't think about it. But just yesterday I was reading something on the fastest way to build wealth; what is the fastest way to build wealth? And the conclusion that they had is the fastest way to build wealth is through building a business and selling it. This is one of the quickest ways to actually building wealth. And I know you've had guests on the podcast here who have talked about this process or you call it your Incredible Exits series. I'm really, really excited that you're writing a book on this and you're not calling it Incredible Exits despite everybody else's opinions that you should but it's these stories behind the scenes. Joe: Yeah I'm excited to be writing it finally. I sat down with some friends a year ago probably around a fire pit; maybe a year and a half ago because it was summertime. We're recording this in February of 2020 and I said look I'm making an announcement, I'm writing a book, I'm telling you guys to call me out on it and then I didn't do anything but I tried. I tried to write it. I tried to outline chapters. I tried to follow up… Mark: Hold on one second. You made this promise right on a fire pit with friends? Joe: Yes. Mark: How much did you consume before you made this promise? Joe: I'm a 2-drink maximum kind of guy, that's just the way I am. Mark: Okay. Joe: It's like giving myself an injection of the flu when I have more so it wasn't much. But I didn't get it done. It's a lot of work. So I followed the original book in a box method and didn't get it done at the scheduled time. I was at Brand Accelerator Live with our friend Scott Voelker last September and one of big Scott's announcements was that he actually wrote a book. And it is also here on my desk somewhere; where is it Scott? It's the Take Action Effect. I just turned my head away from the microphone, sorry folks. And I met his scribe; a young lady by the name of Brennan and I connected with her during the event and talked with her and said okay this is it I'm done. I'm hiring a scribe and I'm going to write the book. And I've talked to a number of people about it and let me just cover the process and then answer the question as to why the heck I'm doing this because it's a massive undertaking. The process is instead of actually writing a book myself with written words and a keyboard I get interviewed for I think it was 8 2-hour sessions; so 16 hours in interviews. First, we outlined the chapters and go through the whole process and instead of talking about; I mean writing an article or a chapter on seller's discretionary earnings and add-backs and the three levels of add-backs and all the different things that we talk about on a regular basis Brennan interviewed me. She transcribes the entire interview through UberConference and Rev.com for those that really want great transcription services. And now we're in the sort of lull between all of those interviews and me getting my first draft. They're going to give it to me in thirds. So the first one I will get will probably be I want to say mid to late March and then they'll drip it out in thirds every week for 3 weeks. They want to overwhelm me in terms of reviewing and editing. I still have a lot of technical stuff to add to it but it's really kicked the process into high gear. It's not cheap, let me tell you that. It's an expensive undertaking but I think given what we do for a living and how many people we're trying to help I think it's well worth it. Why am I writing a book? Walker's been an inspiration, very successful with Buy Then Build and the amount of people that he's been able to reach and help on the buy-side. We work with sell-side brokers or sell-side clients for the most part and I've done the math Mark, does it sound inconceivable that I've talked to 8,000 entrepreneurs over the last 8 years? Mark: Not at all. Joe: Yeah and that's probably a conservative number. I'm not saying I've had an in-depth evaluation with 8,000 of them but I have without a doubt talked to 8,000 and that does not count standing in front of a room with 3, 4, 500 people. And the challenge has been we've got to reach them one by one and I know that Walker's book has been as you said best seller. I think it's probably sold over 10,000 copies at this point. Mark: It's over 15 at least. Joe: 15,000 copies? Mark: Yeah, I actually talked to Walker about it a while ago. Joe: I think he told me something like 99% of books sells less than a hundred copies that are published. Now Walker, correct me if I'm wrong but it's pretty impressive. So to get what we share on those valuation calls into somebodies hands before, during, and after they have a valuation call and when they're in an audience that will give them every possible detail that we've developed over the last 8 plus years of doing what we do and sharing that in writing so that they can essentially change their mindset. And that's the goal of the book, it's to change their mindset from reaching out to us when they're sick and tired of running their business or they've had a bump where things get tougher and they say Gosh how can I sell this business? A buddy of mine told me I can get X multiple. I'm going to call Mark and say Mark how much can I sell my business for? I want to change people's mindsets. Instead of saying how much can I sell my business or more often they say how much is my business worth, I want them to say I want to build wealth like you said at the beginning and I want to sell my business for X dollars. I want to do that in 4 years. In order to do that, they need to understand where they are today. And the book is going to help them reverse engineer the path from where they are today to that exit so that they can do a partial valuation, get comfortable with brokers, and drive that path. I had a conversation with Mike Jackness recently and Mike talked about the fact that about what we do sometimes entrepreneurs just don't want to hear it because the idea of exit planning is so beyond what they're trying to do when they're just trying to keep the wheels on the bus, right? They're running out of inventory, they've got competitors coming at them from every angle, they're trying to do cash flow planning and it's just so hard that they can't see out the front window. The objective of the book is to sort of clear that window, have a clear path to an exit that they understand and it's a much better ride. I've been through it myself personally. You did it for me back in 2010. I could see nothing, understood nothing, we had a call, we had several calls and the light bulbs went off and I knew exactly the path to take and I'll tell you what operating my business became a lot more fun and exciting even though I was sick and tired of it after 5 years. Mark: You know the more I experience the business and grow as an entrepreneur the more I'm learning. With anything dealing with a goal really the best way to achieve these things is what you've said, reverse engineer it. Rather than just kind of impulsively decide that I'm going to do something figure out where you want to be and then reverse engineer. But in order to reverse engineer it, you need to understand the mechanisms that are going on to create that value. You're trying with this book to create a shift in the mindset of entrepreneurs, right? By the way, folks if you haven't figured this out we don't have a guest; Joe is the guest. I'm going to interview Joe about the book and maybe we'll talk a little bit about what it is like to do what Joe and I've been doing and everyone else at Quiet Light. Joe: Right, we're co-guests. We're co-hosts and co-guests today because I want to grill you too. Mark: Very good. Alright, I want to start out by saying okay let's talk about your experience. You've been doing this for 8 years. You've done literally tens of millions of dollars of transactions on your own within Quiet Light Brokerage. Joe: I'm fastly closing in on 100 million. Mark: That's right you are. You are; absolutely. Joe: Inaudible[0:11:17.8] 12 to 18 months; pretty shocking. That's amazing. Mark: Absolutely amazing. Talk to me about the mindset that you often see or most naturally see in an entrepreneur that comes to us to sell versus those rare cases of somebody who has planned to sell and what is the difference in the actual process value and stress levels I would say for everyone involved. Joe: Yeah. Look all the success stories that you guys hear about on the Incredible Exits for the most part those are people that had the mindset that they wanted to determine and plan out their exit. They got an education, they figured out what their exit goal was and they called Mark, myself, Jason, Amanda, Chuck, anyone of us and reverse engineer the path to that. They didn't call and say what's your fee, okay I want to list. It was this how does this whole thing work and then we worked with them over a 6, 12, or 18 month period sometimes even more. Those are the success stories that you're hearing about. The people you're not hearing about never sell their business because they call. They might have a call like this or I was just at eCommerceFuel last week as an event and kudos to Andrew Youderian and all the guests and all the people that are there; brilliant, so many smart folks. But even with that high level of entrepreneurial success and drive I still get e-mails like I've gotten this week which is a great chat last week, great presentation. I did a presentation with Mike about the sales of ColorIt. You've really inspired me to sort of try this path to an exit. And then I said okay well this is what I need. Yeah, I don't know I'm so busy with adding SKUs and I'm not really there yet. I'm not ready to sell yet. I'm not ready to think about selling yet. Whereas the yet it should be now regardless of where you are in the business. These people are already doing; the 2 that I'm thinking about where I got the e-mails like the one I don't know his growth. Well, I could do the math on his growth but the discretionary stands out that he's close to 600,000 in discretionary earnings and it is 5 to 6 times more than he ever made in his prior day job. And so he's trying to work towards an exit and retirement. The other was doing nearly 10 million in revenue and had a 25% decline. He's young, he's under 30 years old. And neither of these guys are really ready to exit. Of course, they're not ready to exit but I want them to set a financial goal. I don't care if it's 3 to 5 years from now. Set that goal. I need to exit for X in order to exit. And then figure out where they are, get the education, and work towards that. In 5 years if they're not ready to sell then move the goal post, move it 6 years down the road or 7 years down the road. That is as you said at the beginning the surest way to real financial wealth. But we're not talking about them yet because they're pausing, they're hesitating, they're not going to do it. Those are the stories that I talk about a little bit in the book. There's somebody that was my first million-dollar listing back in the day at Quiet Light. I remember it well. I'm not going to name names. We'll call him Big Mike. That's not his name but we'll call him Big Mike. He had no financials; none whatsoever. And I remember sitting over Christmas break taking all of his bank statements and I actually created the profit and loss statement myself. That is a no-no. We do not do that anymore. No. But I did it. I got it all detailed and accurate and listed the business for 1.1 million. I got an offer for 800 from the gentleman that you sold his business once upon a time. It was actually a good offer because the revenue trends were in decline. And Big Mike said to me well why would I accept it all I have to do is XYZ over the next 12 months and I'll make a quarter of a million dollars and then we can sell the business for 1.2, 1.3 million. And I had a great deal of experience in paid advertising at the time as you know because I just sold my business. This was probably 2012 or early '13. And so we walked through all the possibilities, what to do and how to do it and off he went. The problem was that Big Mike's heart was not in it anymore. He had run up all of his personal debt and personal expenses; his overhead was very high. He lived the life of a very, very successful entrepreneur and his business was no longer trending that way so money was getting tight. He didn't have the ability to pull money from the business and put it into the ad spend that he needed to to reverse it. And so every year for the following 3 years I got any mail from Big Mike that said something along the lines of hey my revenue and profit is at XYZ, can we sell the business for this? And each year it went from that offer from Tony of 800 to the value really was in about 600 the next year. And then the next year he sent me an e-mail it was really based upon what he had given me, about 500. The last time he sent me an e-mail it was about 400. Every single time I replied with based upon what you've given me which is just an email with numbers and I'd say your business value was probably X. Please run a profit and loss statement out of Quickbooks or Xero and export it to Excel with a monthly view. Silence, nothing for 12 more months because he didn't take the necessary steps to do what you have to do in protecting your most valuable asset, in his case his business. And so he's probably got a job, unfortunately. And that's the path unfortunately too many people go down or they learn from the mistakes and they hang up their hat on this particular business. They can't sell it and they move on to another one and hopefully learn from that mistake but it's a painful one. I just want to see people learn from that and therefore the painful process of writing a book. Mark: You know it's great to focus on the success stories. We like success stories. I like talking about success stories that make me happy. But for all these success stories that you have shared so far through the podcast that you'll be sharing through this book we also have the stories like that. And I could probably rattle off a number as well. Maybe I'll start a new podcast or write a book called Unincredible Exits or Nasty Exits or something like that. It will be real depressing and no one will ever want to read it. But you're absolutely right in; that example is really good. That example shows what we see so often from entrepreneurs where they're running; they're used to the hustle, they're used to the grind, they're used to being able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps to be able to correct something but sometimes when a business gets mature especially after you've run it for a while doing that can be really, really difficult. I also think it's; I want to re-emphasize something you said which is the picking number, reverse engineering, and getting to that number doesn't mean that you have to sell at that point. We've been pretty public and I will continue to be public by saying that the best scenario for you is to create a business that you can own for your life, right? Because it's difficult to start a business; the cash flow that they build is great, the value that is in them as assets is also fantastic. So I'm a big believer in building and holding or buying and holding and growing but that doesn't mean that exiting shouldn't be an option. And so when you hit that number, if you're not ready to sell you can always move the goalposts as you suggested or create a new goal. But something that I know you've told me in an email where we were discussing this book is you said one of the goals is to not allow the business to outgrow its founder. And boy this is an issue that comes up time and time again that we see and that is business owners were really good at starting, really good at founding something and even growing it to a certain extent getting to a point where making that next shift is difficult. I always describe that the growth path of a business is a series of climbs and plateaus. You climb to a point and it starts to plateau and then you have to change the business a little bit. Maybe you have to add new people; maybe you have to add a different structure to the business. And once you do then hopefully you start climbing again and then you hit another plateau and then it's another shift or another restructuring of the company or maybe a new initiative. What point and is there any examples that you've seen where somebody has hit that point where business is just about to outgrow them and they were smart enough to be able to not let it do that? Joe: Yeah the climbing the plateaus, by the way, let's not forget the valleys, right? Yes, my name is Joe Valley but… Mark: Don't forget the valley. Joe: There are two valleys here, right? It's a climb, it's a plateau, and then boom there's a really nasty valley right there and you're in it. You got to climb out of it. That's why I think it's important to actually do something that you like; something that you enjoy a little bit. It could be something that you're passionate about because when those tough times come and as an entrepreneur they will unless I'm unique and nobody else has tough times. I don't think I'm unique. You're going to have to fight and climb back out of that valley and on the other side there's a mountain, a peak; not a plateau hopefully. And those are great success stories to tell and very sellable businesses. But the idea of a business outgrowing the founder is not original, right? I mean this is something I've seen throughout my own entrepreneurial life where I used to do radio advertising. I owned a radio direct response media buying agency back when there were 800 numbers associated with 60-second spot ads. I could have held that business and grown it but it would have required more and more overhead in terms of people. I don't like managing a lot of people. I tell you what your job is and how to do it and I expect that you're going to work hard and do the best you can. If you don't I'm kind of blunt unfortunately and fortunately in some ways. So if you're in a situation and I see this a lot where buyers sometimes naively say well if it's so great why are they selling it? And it is because the business more often than not has outgrown them. They wanted to live the 4-hour workweek. It turned into 30 and that's okay. And they've got 5 VA's and that's okay. But in order to take it beyond just a SaaS business that's doing 2 million in revenue, they need to hire 3 more developers. They don't want to go through the headache and hassle of that. Or to take it off of Amazon they need to learn SEO offline or email marketing or whatever it might be and that's not their skill set. Or it's hiring people and that's not their skill set. And they learned that one of the greatest ways to earn wealth is to sell a business. Now people that buy Walker's book have learned that they can; a different breed, a different mentality of an entrepreneur comes in. They're not the startup entrepreneurs. They come in and they take over where that startup entrepreneur left off. The business has outgrown them and they hand it off to somebody like Matt Howeth who can. He comes from the corporate world. He's always had lots of travel, lots of staff, and lots of hours. He gets it. He can take it and bring that business in and have a team of employees, a team of VA's and manage it and take it up to the next level because that's his passion. That's what he does. He gets it. The startup is not his passion. It's not his skill set. So one of the things that I think is critically important and sometimes this only comes with age and mistakes and failures and successes and that is to figure out who the hell you are. What kind of entrepreneur are you? Mark: That brings in mind 2 clients I've worked with in the past 14 years now. And one of them; I've quoted this story before but he came to me with a business, I've never talked to him about sharing his story so I won't say what he was selling. But he was selling a physical product. He had initially acquired this business for 5 figures, like a mid-5 figure level and immediately grew the business significantly to the point where it was doing 7 figures in top-line revenue, mid-6 figures in discretionary earnings and so when he gave it to me to sell one of my very first questions was why are you selling? You've been growing year over year, you're only adding value to the business, this looks like a fantastic business, you've got great rankings, great positioning great pricing; all these things working in your favor and he said well right now I store all of the inventory in an external garage on my property. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, my son and I go out and we fill orders. It's really nice. It's like I don't have any more room for inventory and if I wanted to get another space I'm going to have to hire somebody and then I'm going to have to hire more people to handle the marketing. I just don't want to do that. I would rather cash out and move on. Meanwhile, another entrepreneur that I've dealt with, he was a CPA by trade and loved being on the buy-side and what he really, really enjoyed was taking a business that was somewhat complex, somewhat messy, somewhat inefficient in the way it was run and simplifying it. And I love; I've sold a couple of businesses for him, I love taking a look at where his businesses started. Their P&Ls were these super long crazy messes and by the time that he was ready to sell they were consolidated down into less than 30 lines because he simplified these businesses, really focused on this principle of 80:20 and said I'm going to just focus on what really makes sense and I'm going to get rid of all the rest of it. For him the act of cleaning it up was great but he would; unlike with Walker's book which is a lot of buy, build, and grow, his was I'm going to buy make more efficient and then I'm going to sell. And he did this several times and it was really fun to watch because he knew who he was. That first seller that I had, he knew who he was. He knew he didn't want to have a staff he had done that and didn't want to do it again. He loved running the business with his son. The second entrepreneur, he was a buyer, he knew what he liked, he also didn't want to have a large staff. There are other people out there that do want to build that team. There are people out there that say I want to have 100 million dollar exit so I'm going to buy a bunch of these businesses and build something or I'm going to acquire 15. They're all different types of entrepreneurs and everyone has different skill sets. Knowing who you are I think that right there is a great bit of advice but going back to what you were saying earlier Joe if you're so busy and in the weeds constantly and just running and hustling and hustling and hustling and never taking a moment to step back and to think about either the exit or about maybe this topic here of what type of entrepreneur are you, where do you want to see yourself in the next 5 years, what type of business operation do you want to have it's really hard to know where you're going and then your business drives you instead of driving your business and your career drives you instead of you driving your career. Joe: Yeah. Walker's book takes the mystery out of buying a business and the how-to and building it beyond that hence the title Buy Then Build or what he coined as acquisition entrepreneurship. My book The Exitpreneurs Playbook is going to take the mystery out of selling your business and setting those goals on what your exit is and reverse engineering a path to that. Now that I've said the title can we make fun of me in terms of predicting I don't know the future doom and gloom of this title because I did the opposite of what everybody told me to do? Mark: You know what? I like it. I remember doing this when I picked the Quiet Light Brokerage logo. I did 99 designs and I had everyone vote on different types and I hated what everybody chose. So I'm like well it's my business so I'm going to do my own thing. Joe: And you know it's a check, check, send something; I don't know, it must've been fall of last year and email out something about the Quiet Light logo and how it has stood the test of time so kudos to you. Yeah so I sent an e-mail out to a couple of dozen past clients that I sold their businesses and they're going to be part of the book. So part of the book is education and part inspiration; inspiration with them sharing some golden nuggets, wisdom, experience things that they wish they did differently. So I sent it out to them and then another say dozen of influencers that are in the space. People that we know well like Mike Jackness, Greg Mercer, Andrew Youderian, Ezra Firestone, things of that nature; people of that nature. And I think out of roughly 25 people Jason Yellowitz is the only one who said he liked Exitpreneur. Everyone else said Incredible Exits, Joe, it just rings, it rings. And there's been something about the term Exitpreneur that has stuck with me during the interview process and the more I said it out loud the more Brennan and I, and again she's my scribe, the more it just felt natural. Because that's what people are becoming when they sell their business, they're exitpreneurs. The difference between an entrepreneur and an exitpreneur is an entrepreneur is somebody that runs their own business but an exitpreneur is somebody that runs their own business and they have the knowledge and a plan. And I want to give them that knowledge in order to devise a plan and become one of those people that generate most of their wealth from an exit. So fingers crossed on that. Can I do a shameless plug right now for the Quiet Light Podcast where I think we're about 25 minutes in and just a little bit of a shameless plug? I have to tell you… Mark: I felt like this whole thing was a shameless plug for your upcoming book. Joe: I know but I don't even; I haven't even put up a website yet. There's no Facebook group. Really what it is, is a plug for education because part; in truth, I've said the same thing 8,000 times over and over. Maybe I'm just tired of saying it so I'm… Mark: With that Joe when I was on this trip recently I was in the airport and thinking about Mission, Vision, Values for Quiet Light Brokerage and I don't have the vision statement out yet but this component of education, if it's not part of our main vision it's definitely one of our core values and really something that I've built up. I was speaking to somebody just this morning before we recorded this about one of the goals or one of the mission; I'm sorry one of the core values of Quiet Light is to give entrepreneurs the right education and the right set of tools to be able to make good informed decisions. Because when I sold my business I didn't feel like I had that. I felt like I was misled. I felt like I was put in a position where somebody wanted to get me in an exclusive contract, promised me big bucks, and then when I went to go sell I was completely unprepared. I didn't know what was happening and so when I started Quiet Light the goal has been from day one not to tell anyone to sell but to give them the tools so that they know what their business is worth today, what it could be worth in the future, what's driving its value so that you can just make a good decision. That's your decision. So the education piece and I joke about this being a shameless plug; the reason that I'm excited about this, and I genuinely am excited that you're writing this book is because that education piece needs to be out there. And I love the idea; more than the idea, love the opportunity that we have to educate entrepreneurs of what's available to them if they transition from an entrepreneur to exitpreneur, understanding that, the bulk of the wealth that you build in your lifetime for most entrepreneurs will be at that exit. That might be 2 years from now, that might be 20 years from now, either case it's fine but having that plan to maximize that value and keeping the process smooth is important. Sorry, I totally cut you off of that but I want to emphasize that the education piece is really what I'm super excited about. Joe: Now we were going to do 2 parts of this podcast, a little bit on the book and a little bit about the philosophy behind Quiet Light's foundation and how you built the company and the entrepreneurial approach. So let's do a; I think we should do an entire podcast on this business and how it's built with entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs just to educate people more about who we are, what we do, and why we do it because I think it's necessary and you've done an incredible job with the model. But in terms of the education, I got a voicemail yesterday and this is the type of thing I want everybody out there that thinks they don't have time to do it and they're just keeping the wheels on the bus so to speak, take the time to make time for planning your exit using the educational tools that we provide whether it's this podcast or articles or Walker's book on my eventual book or having a conversation because that's an education tool. Have a conversation with an adviser at Quiet Light. Really do it. But I got a voicemail from somebody who I sold businesses for, very, very well off financially, runs a family office now, bought a business from Walker for around 8 million dollars in 2019. And he heard the podcast on product innovation, product development with Zack at Gembah. And he just left a voicemail yesterday saying hey man I just want to let you know on the way back home from Austin I got a chance to meet with Zack and we're going to go ahead and do some product innovation, product expansion, adding a number of new SKUs and accessories to the brand. I really appreciate it. I don't know if enough people tell you that we actually use the tools that you share so thank you. It's great to hear that. So thank you sir; I'm not going to say your first name, for reaching out and letting us know. For the rest of us this is the shameless plug part and I've said this, I said this at Blue Ribbon Mastermind and I said it in eCommerceFuel, Mark you and I have done now I think it was 114; I checked this morning, podcasts. So that's how many are up on iTunes. We've got a total of 31 reviews. They're all huge close to 5-star reviews. Thank you, everyone, who has given us reviews. I wasn't aware that we had any at all because we hardly ever plug it. And so I was at Blue Ribbon Mastermind talking to David Wood who will be a guest on the podcast in a few weeks. He's a personal coach and a good friend of Ezra's and he said something about he was on 70 podcasts last year and he chose which ones to go on based upon the number of reviews. So I checked ours. We have 31; pleasantly surprised. I checked the EcomCrew, Mike Jackness and he's got 81. So I stood on stage at Blue Ribbon Mastermind and I said everybody come on now Mike's not here, I want one more reviews than Mike has. He's been doing; I think he's done 3 times as many podcasts as us so we're doing okay. But please if you enjoy the podcast, if you like the podcast take a minute and go to iTunes or Stitcher or wherever you're listening and pop in a review. We greatly appreciate it and share the information and wealth with all the others that need it. Mark: Yeah. There's a video out there and I don't know if we're going to be posting it on our YouTube channel but there's a video out there of you making this plug at Blue Ribbon Mastermind and Ezra is standing there with you and he's thinking this is what you're using the stage time for? Like you have the opportunity to talk about what Quiet Light does and all you're doing is trying to beat Mike Jackness and like absolutely I'm trying to beat Mike Jackness that's it. Joe: We won't be sharing that video. That's not ours to share but I shared it with the team and had a good laugh at myself because of it so no doubt about it. Mike's a great guy. Ezra is a great guy. We don't mention people that we don't like obviously so if we've never mentioned you oh boy that's a long list; oh no, I can't say that. Let's just say thanks; final thanks, Mike Nuñez. Thank you, Mike. Mark: Yeah, Mike Nuñez, absolutely. I think that's a great way to end up this episode here. Let's do one in the future about the building of Quiet Light Brokerage and I'd also love to get feedback from people that have listened this far through this episode and are listening right now. Are there topics that you'd like to hear us talk about outside of bringing guests in? And we can bring on people within Quiet Light Brokerage, bring in Walker on the podcast again or Chuck or Brad or any of the many entrepreneurs that are working with Quiet Light Brokerage. Anything you want us to talk about specifically when it comes to buying or selling? We'd love to know, we want to produce content that you guys wanted to hear so feel free to hit me up Mark@QuietLightBrokerage or Inquiries@QuietLightBrokerage as well. Joe: Awesome. Thanks, everyone. Links and Resources: Quiet Light Brokerage

Have you reached the end of your rope when it comes to expanding your product sales? What will it take to get your brand to stand out from all the others on the marketplace? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he welcomes back, Kevin Sanderson. In his conversation with Scott, Kevin opens up about the status of his business, what he has learned about international selling, tips for sellers like you, and so much more. Make sure to have pen and paper ready - you don’t want to miss a minute of Kevin and Scott’s helpful conversation!  Selling internationally  Does the idea of selling internationally get you excited or do you find the idea intimidating? Have you started looking into what it takes to sell your product on the international marketplace? Thankfully, Scott has a friend who’s done a lot of leg work when it comes to selling internationally. Kevin has built his brand here in the US and he’s expanded it to international marketplaces. What can you learn from Kevin’s journey? Is it a good idea for you to invest your efforts into selling internationally? Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear Kevin’s answer and so much more!  Action steps  If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long you know that Scott is all about taking action. Remember - taking action and moving your business along doesn’t come naturally - you’ve got to put time and effort in if you want to succeed. Kevin and Scott have some helpful action steps that sellers like you can use to get the momentum started with selling your products internationally.  See if products like yours are selling in a country near you, like Canada!  Try sending a few of your units to the Canadian marketplace.  Take advantage of Kevin’s awesome tools and resources for international sellers!  What action step will you take for your ecommerce business? Are you prepared to do what it takes to make your business succeed? For more helpful insights and action steps, make sure to catch this episode of The Amazing Seller featuring Kevin Sanderson! Special bonus gift!  While Scott is quick to point out that nothing worth having comes easy - the same isn’t always true when it comes to helpful resources. Over the years, Scott has made a name for himself by resourcing and equipping sellers like you and he’s still doing it! Even as Kevin has put together a helpful video course for potential international sellers like you - Scott wanted to sweeten the pot. Not only can you get Kevin’s workshop for international sellers, but you can also get his Brand Accelerator Live session for FREE! Learn more about these awesome resources made for sellers like you by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:00] Scott welcomes back Kevin Sanderson as he gives an update on his business.  [5:00] How easy it is to sell your product internationally.  [11:30] Kevin explains how to get access to a special web-class he’s offering.  [15:00] Why it’s a good idea to test your products in Canada.  [18:00] Helping other sellers succeed.  [20:00] Kevin shares some action steps you can take.  [25:30] Closing thoughts from Scott and Kevin - plus a bonus gift!  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.maximizingecommerce.com/class  www.brandacceleratorlive.com www.theamazingseller.com/js

There truly is a power in connecting with other like-minded people.  In this episode, I am excited to have on Athena Severi who is great at networking and helping others connect with each other. She is the co-founder of Seller Events and China Magic, and we met at Brand Accelerator Live.  Since we both have event planning (specifically ecommerce events), I brought Athena on to discuss a wide variety of topics including events, time management, masterminds, connecting with like minded people, and what separates the successful from the unsuccessful. Enjoy our conversation! People & Resources Mentioned Seller Events China Magic Brand Accelerator Live Connect With Athena Severi Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Connect With Kevin Sanderson https://www.instagram.com/maximizingecommerce/ https://www.youtube.com/maximizingecommerce https://www.facebook.com/maximizingecommerce https://twitter.com/maxecom     Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

What kind of special sessions and exclusive access did Brand Accelerator Live attendees enjoy back in September? Was the event worthwhile for those who attended? Good news - you get a special peek at the helpful sessions that were featured at BAL 2019. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he introduces a session with Chris Schaffer. From helpful calls to action to stories that really illustrate his point - Chris has it all. Make sure you have pen and paper ready - you are going to need it for this special episode!  Just send something What good does an email list do if you don’t send them an email? No good - you are just wasting resources! What would it look like if you reached out to your email list today? What if you don’t know what to say? Just send something! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Chris Schaffer as he shares a relevant and engaging story about his experience helping a big brand engage their email list. Tune into this episode to learn from Chris’ helpful story and how sellers like you can build on the concepts presented.  Sell the open Why do film studios go through all of the effort to put together an engaging movie trailer? They want to get you hooked on their movie by making the best first impression possible. Did you know that most people form their opinion of someone or something new in the first three seconds? It’s true! If you can’t grab your audience’s attention with an engaging subject line and opening sentence - they probably won’t keep reading or open your email in the first place. Go deeper with this critical topic and much more by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Make a connection Time and time again, Scott and Chris hear from sellers like you who don’t know how to engage with their audience. From worrying about saying the wrong thing to sending too many emails, sellers like you are frozen in place with fear. Don’t let fear rule your life and business! Engage your target audience as you would your friend - make it personal and tell them what you want them to know. Making a connection with your email list subscribers doesn’t have to be as scary as it seems.  Three calls to action that work  If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about giving sellers like you helpful calls to action that you can use right away. In his special BAL presentation, Chris Schaffer went over three calls to action that you can use in your emails to your target audience.  Click here to read!  Click here to get 50% off!  Hybrid - a mixture of options one and two.  What have you been using as a call to action with your email list? Learn more about how to engage your audience and more by listening to this informative episode of The Amazing Seller!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [5:00] Chris begins his talk from Brand Accelerator Live.  [8:00] Just send something! [19:30] Sell the open.  [23:20] Don’t overcomplicate it - just connect with people.  [30:00] Give a call to action.  [35:30] Three calls to action that actually work.  [43:30] Chris starts taking questions from the audience. [57:30] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.brandacceleratorlive.com www.brandcreators.com Hello Bar

What does it take to go out there and grab a piece of the marketplace and call it your own? Is it possible to grow a brand based on a following you’ve cultivated? What role should your Amazon seller’s account play? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he introduces a Brand Accelerator Live session featuring Alex from Travel Fashion Girl. In her session, Alex talks about how she grew her brand from the ground up, why she decided to partner with other influencers, what it took to monetize her brand, challenges she faced along the way, and so much more. You’ll want to have pen and paper ready as Alex drops some helpful tips on this episode!  Why you should trust Alex  While you may never have met Scott, hearing from him week in and week out may feel like you’ve grown to know him and trust him. Scott wants you to extend that same level of trust to Alex from Travel Fashion Girl - and she’s earned it!  Alex started TravelFashionGirl.com because she was frustrated by the lack of information for women available when she began traveling. In 2008, most packing tips were based around two pairs of trousers, four t-shirts, and three pairs of underwear – a packing list more suitable for a man as most were written by men. Recognizing the need for a resource that offered women a more precise and visual idea about what they needed to pack consisting of practical items with a feminine point of view - Alex went to work. To create accurate, relevant content, Alex spent over a year interviewing other travelers on the road before launching Travel Fashion Girl in August 2012. As you can tell, Alex has been around the ecommerce community for some time now. You’ll notice that Alex uses much of the same brand-building strategies that Scott champions. Pay close attention to how Alex has created a growth strategy unique to her brand! The right mindset matters! How well do you handle adversity? Do you find yourself often frustrated and overwhelmed when things don’t go your way? Or do you keep your cool and find a solution that will work for all parties? The truth is, not everyone has the right mindset and skillsets to become a successful small business owner - but they can be acquired along the way! A successful ecommerce business leader will be ready to adapt to any situation that arises; they have to be flexible and eager to find a solution not quick to point out mistakes. To learn more about adopting the right mindset to succeed in business, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Building blocks  What are the essential things you need to get your business started on the right foot? Most people would say a pile of cash and good connections - while that would certainly help, you need the right approach! Each phase of building your business doesn’t have to be perfect; you just need to be ready to course-correct and learn from your mistakes. Think of each phase of your business as grades in school; each year builds on what you’ve learned so far - the same is true in business! Discover how Alex’s approach changed and adapted over the years and how she evolved into an expert business leader by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [5:00] Alex’s session at Brand Accelerator Live.  [9:30] How did Alex start her blog?  [14:00] Monetizing the brand.  [16:00] Creating relevant content.  [20:00] Using SEO to grow your brand.  [22:20] Leveraging the data you’ve gathered.  [32:00] How Alex is selling her own ecommerce products.  [38:00] Connecting with social media influencers.  [43:00] The mindset that has helped Alex build her brand.  [46:00] Alex takes questions from the audience.  [52:00] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.brandcreators.com www.brandcreatorsacademy.com Travel Fashion Girl AdThrive Rev

In a world where so many businesses are competing for attention, you must create a connection with customers to stand out. You may offer a similar product or service, but what you do to brand yourself and connect will make a difference. This episode is all about connection, marketing, and how to stand out from the crowd. Chris Shaffer—an expert in customer relationships and branding—joins Kevin in this episode of Maximizing Ecommerce. They worked closely together to put on Brand Accelerator Live with Scott Voelker. He’s an absolute whiz in ecommerce and here to share his expertise. Don’t miss this episode!  Outline of This Episode [2:55] Cultivating relationships with customers [4:50] Kevin introduces Chris Shaffer [5:55] Background in Ecommerce [11:55] Baseline Budgeting [13:30] Strategy and optimization [15:35] How to start building a list [17:30] Learn your target market [20:20] Facebook has a group for everything [24:30] Content - how do you pick where to start? [26:50] The power of Facebook groups [34:00] Market, message, match. [42:20] Learn how to communicate with your list [51:30] How to track how your emails are performing [57:20] How to connect with Chris If someone wrote you a blank check, what would you do?  If you were offered unlimited resources to grow your business, what would you do? Chris points out that it can be fun and allows you to be creative with marketing. You can experiment without the fear of an idea failing. In reality most of use don’t have an open-ended budget, but what if you attempted to innovate as if you did?  Many companies follow a strategy labeled “baseline budgeting”. In simplistic terms, if they don’t spend their complete marketing budget they run the risk of being stuck with a lower budget for the upcoming year. This drives the marketing team to spend money wastefully—and why you’ll often see CPC driven upwards towards the end of the year.  They’re spending upwards of $10,000 a month when they could get the job done with $6,000. Chris believes this type of budgeting system needs to be phased out. It penalizes a team for doing great work on a lower budget. Chris and Kevin continue to talk strategy and figuring out your target market, so keep listening.  Offer value where your audience lives If you understand your target market, you need to begin to learn where they “live”. Is your customer on Facebook? YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest? Start where others in your market have found success. Once you build an audience, you can transfer it to any platform you prefer. Scott Voelker and Chris met because they had booth joined ecommerce Facebook groups and were answering questions. They quickly became the go-to experts in the group because they offered value. It was one of the catalysts that led to the success of the Amazing Seller podcast.  They were involved in the community and leading with value. When the podcast was launched, a linked was dropped in the Facebook group. It took off. People in the group downloaded the podcast, and chatter about it spread to other Facebook groups. What could you do to boost your business if you simply placed the needs of your customers first?  Market. Message. Match. List-building is a strategy that everyone everywhere recommends, and for good reason. It allows you to directly market to people who want to hear from you. It pulls traffic to your website. But how do you get people on your list? According to Chris, one of the easiest things you can do—and the hardest to mess up—is a product giveaway. Don’t do something crazy like an iPad. Everyone wants one and you won’t convert true followers. You’ll end up with a lot of people who hit “unsubscribe” after the getaway.  Instead, offer a package that plays off of your target market and meshes with your product. Chris’s favorite way to do this is to offer a “newbie” giveaway and an “expert” giveaway. It speaks to both sides of the spectrum of customers. Whatever you do, make sure to always remember: does the product you're offering match the market you’re offering it to? Chris summarizes the principle as “market, message, match”.  A connection with customers can’t be an algorithm Chris points out that your #1 competitor is a nameless and faceless brand on Amazon. Email marketing can be one of the easiest ways to cultivate a connection and relationship with customers. That connection allows you to transcend the platform—and separates you from the lowest priced offer on Amazon. How do you create that connection? Treat them like your friends.  Make your emails conversational. Treat people like people, not an algorithm that you’re trying to figure out. Allow people to learn to hear your voice in your writing. The way you read a message from a friend is a different, deeper connection. It’s not always about the call-to-action. Start by piquing their interest, offering something of value, and building the relationship.  Chris and Kevin talk about how to incorporate a call-to-action, how often to include one in your emails, and how to track how they’re performing. If you’re looking to connect with your customer on a deeper level and ready to build a loyal following for your brand, this is a can’t-miss episode! Resources & People Mentioned The Amazing Seller Podcast The GaryVee Audio Experience The Amazing Seller on YouTube Connect with Chris Shaffer The Amazing Seller Facebook Group Connect With Kevin Sanderson www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce www.Twitter.com/maxecom Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

Today I’m thrilled to have my buddy Scott Voelker back on the show. Scott was my partner in crime for the 5 Minute Pitch and I recently spoke at his conference at Brand Accelerator Live. As entrepreneurs, our biggest problem often lies in our own heads. In this episode, Scott and I break down the Take Action Effect, how to overcome your excuses and make progress with your business. Be sure to check out his new book! What You’ll Learn Key takeaways from Brand Accelerator Live Why Scott decided to write a book about the Take Action Effect How to […] The post 281: Scott Voelker On How To Get Out Of Your Own Head And Take Action appeared first on MyWifeQuitHerJob.com.

Scott Voelker of the Amazing Seller podcast holds nothing back on this first guest episode on Masters of Marketplace podcast. Scott is one of the most authentic, genuine and influential ecommerce experts and hosts a top rated marketing podcast. In this episode, Scott shares his entrepreneurial journey and how his business has evolved over the years, along with his recommendations on how to get started selling online, the true costs of starting a brand online and how to get started even if you don't have much money to invest initially. Scott gives his expert recommendations on how to build your brand outside of Amazon, the importance of mindset and he talks about how taking action made amazing things happen for him, like his podcast, his live event Brand Accelerator Live and his new book The Take Action Effect. Can you still make money on Amazon? How can you earn money right away? What if you are just starting selling online today? All this and more as this special guest shares a real and proven strategy on how to create different streams of revenue and built a legitimate business of our own. So let’s dive in!  Show notes can be found at: https://www.mastersofmarketplace.com/9

Scott Voelker, the amazing seller himself, is back on the podcast today with a new book that will guide entrepreneurs on a path to financial freedom. Scott has transformed from someone who dabbled in e-commerce into a seven figure business owner, author, and host of one of the most popular e-commerce podcasts out there. Now he is sharing his tips with other entrepreneurs, offering sets of specific steps to follow to create a business that will allow freedom and flexibility. From the construction career he left at an early age to starting and building a successful photography business, Scott has built on his entrepreneurial nature for over two decades. In 2008 he started selling photography products online and soon realized it could become a full time income. Fast forward a few more years and he started to hear more about Amazon FBA model and how some people were making good money using the platform. He started researching and listening to any valuable information he could garner then used all the know-how he'd gathered and applied it to his product listings. Episode Highlights: How Scott and his wife got their start building a business from the ground up. Scott discusses the path he took and how the book delves into his future plans. Whether he finds the pathway to the end goal more difficult than five to ten years ago. How Scott is evolving from being “The Amazon Guy.” Helping others with the book and the action steps he outlines. Scott addresses the question of finding time to start a side hustle. Learning how to schedule downtime once success allows for less work time. Tips for finding that future-proof opportunity. Taking the affiliate marketing path as an opportunity to learn your market. Using channel diversification as a building block. Transcription: Mark: Joe recently I sent you a book through Amazon that I was hoping you would read and I'm assuming that's the next book on your reading list, right? Joe: No. Sorry. Mark: I'm not going to buy you any more gifts. Joe: No. Now you sent it to me via Amazon and I think I have to download it onto my Kindle app. Mark: You haven't even downloaded it? Joe: I haven't even downloaded it. Mark: Oh my goodness. Joe: You're just trying me. See the reason I haven't is because it's a productivity book and you're trying to get me to be more productive but I haven't read it yet so I'm not as productive as I could be. Do you see an excuse thing going on here? Mark: Productivity is one of those things that I'm sure everybody's like Joe is terrible at getting stuff done. Joe: This book I'm holding out for those that are on the YouTube channel. Thank you for being on the YouTube channel, by the way, you're awesome. This is the book I'm currently reading it's called the Take Action effect By Scott Voelker; a friend of ours and we just had him on the podcast. And that's what the book is all about. It's a combination of, and this is why I'm not reading the book you sent me. And I have one more in front of that by the way but this one is amazing it's really telling Scott's story. Scott as lot of people know has a podcast called The Amazing Seller podcast. With the audience he has every month he could fill up the Bank of America Stadium here in Charlotte and I think that's like 25, 30,000 people. He started out just telling his story building an Amazon business and everything he was going through. He just laid it all out on the line. He's really transferred himself or transformed himself into someone that is first and foremost helping people take action in their lives and he talks about this in the book and how he did certain things in his life and what an impact it had and what it led to next and next and next and now where he's at running a 7 figure business with the lifestyle that he wants. It's still one of the most important things about Scott and the book and the action steps that he shows people how to take is to run a business, set your own goals, how to set goals properly with vision boards and different things but with a lifestyle that you want. This is not a get rich quick scheme it's a book to build the life that you want; how to take certain steps and actions and if you want to run a 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 million dollar business great. These will help and there are some examples of that; of people that are doing that. But if you want to just earn an extra couple of thousand dollars on the side and build the business slowly there are absolutely some steps in there for those folks as well; people that are listening now that still have full time jobs that don't dare buy a business this allows them to take certain steps and actions to do that and build a safe business that's going to be relatively passive that they could do part-time as they build that up and eventually quit your day job work and sell it through Quiet Light. Mark: One of the things I like about this is the idea of having a purpose to what you're doing. And I think there is this tendency to chase success, chase success, chase success, and we put in our minds that success is a certain business goal while we ignore the other aspects of our life. And I know over the past 13 years running Quiet Light Brokerage I've run across so many successful entrepreneurs who have built amazing businesses but frankly are somewhat miserable because they've built prisons for themselves. And we talk about why are people selling. Sometimes it's just because they've built that prison of a business and they need to get out. And they realize that they need to readjust their life priorities. I love when we meet people like Scott, like Ezra Firestone, and some of these other guys that have reached certain levels of success and now what they're doing is they're really trying to just be helpful and really contribute to that entrepreneurial community with some of the lessons they've learned. And I love the focus of this book. I love that it's a system out there to help you identify what's really important and have everything else flow into that, set the real goals out there and build that system including the business that fits those goals. Joe: And it's just that Scott is a real guy giving real-life examples of things that he's done and the path that he's taken and he's giving real advice here that is action-oriented. And it's a mindset. It's inspiration. And they're steps to take as well. It's one of the best books I've read in 2019. I highly recommend everybody take a listen to the podcast and at the end and in the show notes here you can go to take action effect and download or buy the book. It's available. He went further than our very own Walker Deibel, he made it available in the audio version as well. Mark: Walker needs to step his game up and start a recording. No. Fantastic. Let's get to this episode here. I love introducing our audience to people that we find to be good friends of Quiet Light because they share some of our mission and purpose. So I'm excited to share this episode with everybody. Joe: Let's get to it. Joe: Hey folks Joe Valley here from the Quiet Light Podcast and today I have a guest that is back on. But this time he is a published author on his way I'm sure to being a best-selling author. Scott Volker, welcome to the Quiet Light Podcast. Scott: What's going on Joe? Thanks so much for having me. Joe: Welcome back I should say. I just saw you a couple of weeks ago at Brand Accelerator Live; a fantastic event where you launched the book, a big hit and my goodness I'm looking at some of the reviews and they're fantastic. And I'm reading it myself of course. And let's get into that but first for those folks that don't actually know who you are why don't you tell us all about Scott Voelker? Scott: Yeah. Well to kind of sum it up I've been at this basically creating businesses that allow me to have the flexibility, the freedom, that's always my first and foremost. Back when I was like 21 years old I was working for my father's construction company and from there I thought I was going to own that company one day and then that partnership and son in law that was stealing and some craziness I soon saw that that wasn't the path that I was going to take. But I wanted to still be able to work for myself and my wife and I started a photography business, learned the ropes through good old trial and error, and built that into a business that allowed us to take our kids to school and home from school and all of that stuff. And it's really important me to watch my kids grow up and I've got 3 kids ages now 11, 21, and 24. But I've been at this for over 18 years and really building businesses hasn't really changed just the platforms have changed. And so when I wrote this book I wanted to go through and tell the story of myself. Someone that didn't have a college degree and felt a long time ago that I kind of felt to myself like I wasn't smart because I didn't go to college. But then after kind of building some businesses and watching other people go to their 60 plus hour a week job and then seeing myself not have to do that I was like well wait a minute I'm going to give myself a little bit more credit. I've done okay. And so it in a nutshell that's what I do. I just love building businesses. But I like more about just building a business it's more about the freedom and the flexibility, stability and all that stuff. Joe: And that is what you talk about in the book. Let me just; I don't think I said what the name of the book is. It's called The Take Action Effect. Scott: Yeah. Joe: Proven Steps To Build a Future Proof Business And Create Your Ultimate Freedom. I'll hold it up here for those folks that are on the podcast; I'm sorry on the YouTube channel. Scott: Yeah. Joe: One of the things that you talk about in the book really hit home with me and that is that your wife had that first idea for you to go off and on your own. Scott: Yeah. Joe: And it's and it's continued in your relationship. You guys work through all of your business opportunities and ideas together, right? Scott: Yeah, 100%. I mean she was my take action moment as I talk about in the book a lot. I think we all have these moments in our life that something happens; like a decision happens that we make either because we're forced to and then we see the result from it or we choose to, we take that leap. And I was frustrated with my job and I thought I was going to own this company and then found out that it wasn't going to probably happen and we needed to figure out another way. And then that's when my wife had said maybe we should start a photography business which at the time we didn't have digital it was all film based not YouTube videos to go out there and educate yourself. So Scott that wasn't a good student in school had to figure out how to go through and teach myself Photoshop and just how to run a studio and we did that. But yes she was the one with the idea and still to this day she's always the one kind of nudging me a little bit and saying like you should probably listen to this. Even the podcast The Amazing Seller Podcast that was because she said that you should; I had the idea but she was likey should probably lean into that a little bit and here we are. Joe: That's funny you know my wife usually has the idea and then I have to go out and do it. It's a running joke in 20 plus years of marriage. I was going to I think our wives are very similar. Our marriages are very similar but it sounds like there's one distinct difference is that my wife comes up with the idea and I have to execute. So you're taking a lot of past so it's interesting from a construction worker to entrepreneur in the photography space before really the online world existed and then discovering it through eBay and then Amazon and then The Amazing Seller podcast. Scott: Yeah. Joe: Can you just talk about that path a little bit and talk about what the Part 2 of this business about this book talks about? Scott: Yeah. So like I said the photography business being brick and mortar I learned a lot about how to get clients in the door. And a lot of people say like Scott when you start a business should it be your passion. And if it could be then yes that would be amazing because then you would love to work on it every day. But I wasn't passionate about photography. I was passionate about getting out of my job. So my wife was passionate about photography but then I started to develop these passions and that was marketing and that was Photoshop and video editing. And the way that it kind of led me to really the online space and e-commerce really was my wife was looking for props on eBay. So in our business, we always were unique in the way that we had props. We had certain sets and we had like a lot of backgrounds that cost us 2 or $3,000 and people would pay just to come in because we had this hand-painted backdrop. So my wife was looking for this cedar bridge that she had seen somewhere else and she found one on eBay. It was like 130 bucks it was a little 4-foot little wooden cedar bridge. And so then as she was looking at one of the other stores that she shops at she's seen the same bridge for 30 bucks and she's like it's selling for 130. I bought one for 130 maybe we should try to sell this thing. I said okay. So then that's where we got the idea and we started selling those. Actually, we took the minivan over to the store and we loaded it up and we packed that thing and that money actually paid for our kids tuition for a private school. And so that opened my eyes to eBay and like what else could I sell, right? And even though I had a business I'm still thinking to myself as an entrepreneur like well that wasn't that hard. Maybe I should try to find more things to sell. So then we actually started a video business on the side of our photography business; they kind of work too, you know one of the same. And then I started building these projectors to transfer old 8-millimeter film. So the old 8-millimeter film that we use to have grown up as kids it was a lot of times silent film but there was some sound when it got; I think it was Super 8 and then I found a machine that was modified to transfer the film. And so when I got that I kind of looked at it and being in the construction world I'm like this is just a modified projector. Let me go ahead and reverse engineer what they did here and I did that and I started selling them on eBay for about 800 bucks. I was selling one or two of them a week. Joe: Wow. Scott: Yeah, so I made about 100,000 on just old projectors that I modified for film transfer and that's kind of what got my wheels spinning about this online stuff. Joe: And it never would have happened if you didn't; I'm going say this so many times, taken some action, right? Entrepreneurs are special people. They come up with an idea and they don't think about it and think about it and think about it and think about it. They've got to do some planning, of course, the more complex world we live in you've got to do some planning especially when you're going to spend some dollars. But I think maybe Scott back then when you and I didn't have any gray hair we were able to take action a little simpler and a little quicker, right? I would just with that whole ready aim fire or ready fire aim what is it? Scott: Yeah. Joe: Those things, right? And I just take my path and hustle and work hard and get it done and figure out the road to that end goal which I knew what the end goal was. I just didn't know the road or the path. Scott: Yeah. Joe: Are you finding now given that you've; I mean you've done all this for 20 years an entrepreneur in many, many different past and you've coached thousands of people through The Amazing Seller podcast and many of them 6, 7, 8, 10 figure exit eventually. Scott: Yeah. Joe: Are you finding that the pathway to that end goal whether it's an eventual exit of a business or just a one of a lifestyle where you can drive your kids to work every day and spend more time with your spouse and you take family vacations, is it more difficult than it used to be in your opinion? Scott: I think it depends on what your final outcome is. I think for a lot of people it's not about building an 8 figure business just to say you built an 8 figure business; to some people it is. It's like bragging rights but for a lot of people; and I know you told me a story about a guy he was a stay at home dad I think and he built his company in 2 years without pulling a dime out of it so they could cash it out and then live off of that and live the life that they wanted. So I think for a lot of people it is that. So for me personally I think it is I don't want to say easy; it's simple. Nothing is easy. Like everything that I've ever done, there's always been struggles and issues that you have to overcome; whatever like that's business. You just have to learn how to adapt, how to move, and adjust. But I think it is actually easier nowadays to build a business that you can potentially exit. And actually getting to know you more, getting to know the team over at Quiet Light has actually got my wheels spinning once again at looking at this as an opportunity for me to build something maybe from scratch, get it to a certain level, and then sell it, and then you just repeat that process. Like I could build a team to just help me do that. So again my wheels are always spinning. And the more I talk to you and I start hearing these stories I'm like that seems like a pretty straightway to go. But the principles and the concepts are pretty much the same. They haven't really changed. And that's what is in the book is really these pillars; these core things that make up a market, make up products, make up traffic; like all of that stuff hasn't really changed. The platforms change but the principles never change. Joe: You addressed some of the approaches in Part 2 of the book about building your future proof business. Scott: Yeah. Joe: You started out as an Amazon guy, right? You were selling on Amazon telling your story in the podcast but you've evolved quite a bit. Can you address that and then we'll talk about how the book addresses it as well? Scott: Well yeah but the book itself actually is my pivot. So we talk about pivoting all the time. So when I started the podcast you're right I was getting into the Amazon game just like everyone else was. It's just I was kind of doing it and other people were just kind of consuming information and saying like I'll wait until we have all the pieces that are working or all of the answers, right? Joe: You were telling your story whether it was a success or a failure and everybody was listening. Scott: Exactly. And so as I started to do that I also started to see how the market was shifting. So when the podcast was started it was Scott the Amazon guy. And then after I started to kind of see that the market was changing, more competition was coming, and it was getting a little bit riskier I'm like I don't want to go down that road. Now that doesn't mean it can't work. I just don't want the headaches of constantly just worrying that my accounts are going to get shut down or whatever. So I'm like I'm going to go back to basics build a business from skill sets that I've built and I talk a lot about that in the book like everything we've done we've built skill sets that we can then leverage in the future. So for me to really go down that road of like okay where was I van and where am I now, it's all about evolving; all about growing. I mean I think we're all doing that as we learn more things like even like when I first started I didn't think about having a brand that I could exit. And now I'm thinking; a lot of times I'm thinking to myself could this brand be sold, what would it take to sell this business? So a lot of times I'm thinking more along those lines now. But like I said people are always kind of like thinking of me as the Amazon guy and I don't want to be known; I don't want to 20 years from now be Scott the Amazon guy. I want to be the guy that helped people build a business that allowed them the life that they want and that they deserve. Joe: That's what I'm seeing with the people that I've met that have listened to your podcast and then to your events and are connected with you in any way. Whether it's Brand Accelerator Live, your inner circle Mastermind group, or The Amazing Seller podcast; they're not just building Amazon businesses, they're building businesses that will allow them to live the life that they choose to first and foremost. Scott: Right. Joe: Some of them that's all about building value and exiting and others it's all about taking care of others. Rachel; I had a conversation with one of your followers, listeners, attendees, whatever you want to call them, Rachel we don't use the last name but an amazing story. She's building a business so that she can help others. Scott: Yes. Joe: She's going to make money off the business but that's not the focus. The goal is to be able to use that money to help others foster children charities and things of that nature; really good people. You're building good humans which I think is terrific. You're surrounding yourself with them as well. Scott: It's pretty awesome. It's funny Joe I was just listening to the Ask Scott session that we recorded there live at Brand Accelerator and it just happened that the one lady came up and was telling us about her problem and her problem was is that she was wondering how she was going to keep up with the amount of scale. And I said that's a real bad problem to have. And I knew you were in there; I thought you were in there and I called you out and I go I think this is a question for Joe later kind of let him help you on that. But it's really; it's pretty rewarding to sit there and think to yourself I had something to do just because I showed up, pressed record, and started helping people. That right there that will; to me that surpasses any amount of money that I can make from a podcast is hearing other people's stories and how they're set up now to really live the life or maybe donate to their charity. That's like again the effect of the take action is the effects of that we're able to do the ripple effect on other people but also on your life and your business. So it's really about the ripple effect all the way through. Joe: Yeah, not necessarily about just building that business and exiting it. It's everybody involved along the way. Scott: 100%. Joe: That lady was Karen by the way and she did have some good problems, right? People wish to have her problems. Scott: Growth every year, year after year, and I don't know… Joe: Yeah. How do I keep up with buying more inventory? One of the things that you talked about which I think is really, really important both in the book and on stage and I'm going to just summarize for anybody listening. This book really encapsulates everything Scott's done in his life and what you've done in your life, Scott. But then it also gives a pathway to taking action and seeing what the impact and effect of that action is. But someone said look I'm busy I've got a full-time job. I'm trying to do this. How did you find the time for that? How do you find the time for this if you; you're an advocate of don't quit your day job if you have one do a little side hustle and build this over time until it's safe to exit. How would you address that question but Scott I just don't have time? Scott: Yeah and I actually I address this on stage when I came to that point because I shared my story that I was working 60 plus hours a week for my father's company running I think was like 13, 14 guys at one time that were underneath me making sure that those jobs got done. So I was always the first one there and the last one to leave like always. On the side, I was building a house from scratch. I was like 25 years old. Joe: That took a little time. Scott: It took me 11 months. And I remember Joe my mother in law lived up on the Hill. She lived probably I don't know maybe 500 or 1,000 feet. She was up on a hill though and she could look down and see the property. We had two acres. And I remember one night I wanted to get this one spot on the house done outside. It was up in the peak. I had a 30-foot ladder up against the house and I had floodlights out there at 2 o'clock in the morning because I wanted to finish. She couldn't sleep because she was worried about me going to fall and I'm up there nailing up my siding because I wanted to get that peak done because I didn't want to come back to it the next day and do it. And then I got up at 6x o'clock and I went to work. So when people say I don't have time I don't have sympathy for that because you probably have time you just are not really wanting it bad enough in my eyes. You know what you're watching your TV show or maybe you're taking an extended lunch break or maybe you're just oh I need my 8 hours of sleep you know like get 6 for a month, right? I mean it's not going to kill you but if you really want it bad enough you will find the time. And I've done it. My photography business when I was learning that when I was getting ready to leave my job I was up till 2 o'clock in the morning figuring out Photoshop. I was figuring out how we were going to do billing for our customers. Like I was figuring out all that stuff late at night and then I'd get up and I'd go to my job because I wanted it so bad. And I was so interested in it because I wanted it so bad. Joe: Yeah you are preaching to the choir if I'm the choir right now because yeah look the thing that I see consistently I mean I've done this in my life you and I have been self-employed for about the same amount of time and it's always started with a side hustle and then work like crazy. As you are building that business you're not really making a whole lot of money. You're not taking anything out and oddly enough when you're making the most money is actually when you're not working as hard in my experience. Scott: Right. Joe: You get it up to that level and it starts to just; it's a scalable business. And with that scale, it's starting to generate enough revenue to kick off and then you can quit your day job and then you can live that lifestyle that you want. It's hard though when you're a hard worker and a hustler like yourself and like so many people that are listening. How do you shift from that I'm used to working, I love working, I'm going to work, I'm going to work, I'm going to work to I'm going to sit down and I'm going to have coffee and breakfast with my wife every day by the pool at 8 o'clock? Do you have the discipline to really reschedule your downtime? Scott: You definitely have to schedule it for sure. You have to schedule it and I'm getting better with that like I'm still not perfect Joe. I have to make sure that at 6 o'clock at night that's my cutoff. I'm not going to do anymore posting and I'm not going to do any more answering. It's hard because we can work as long as we want. And when you start to see momentum you want to work more because you want [inaudible 00:24:18.18]. But I've made it very, very clear in my life that I want to have that time. I literally wrote out a vision board and really I created a video years ago that I wanted to see come true. It wasn't like you know the woo-woo stuff but it was like what am I working towards. And one of them was having a coffee and breakfast with my wife. And so here we are many years later and literally, I just got in now. I mean I started my day today at 10 o'clock in the morning. I had a first interview at 10:00. I dropped my daughter off the school at about 7:45. My wife and I got back here. We went out to the pool. I had coffee. I was out there with the dogs. I had my laptop. I was answering a few emails; doing stuff. I'm out there chillin' with my wife hanging out. And that's what I want my life to be. Now could I be doing other things to try to make the Amazing Seller bigger or my e-commerce businesses bigger? Yes, I could but I choose to; like that's kind of like my time. You know what I mean? Joe: Right? Scott: And I do think it's hard. You have to be disciplined. A lot of people say Scott I could never do it. I would never get any work done. Then maybe you do need a job. Joe: I've heard that often. I couldn't work from home I could never get any work and that's just discipline. It's focus and discipline. Scott: 100%. Joe: We've gone from how do you find the time to do this extra side business and side hustle and grow it to how do you schedule your downtime so that you could work. You don't need to as much but scheduling your personal life to make sure that you're there for your family and things of that nature. My kids are older than you. Well, not actually mine are 16 and 18 right. You've got 21? Scott: 21, 14, and 11, yeah, Joe: So I've driven my kids to school from kindergarten right up until last year when my oldest got his license and it's an honor, right? It's a privilege and an honor to be able to do that. And when they look back someday that's what they're going to remember. They're not going to remember that Dad was making more money or something like that. So from finding time to scheduling time; your book specifically talks about all of that in your life and creating the mindset of action and everything you've done in your life. But can you address like a little bit of the how to's in terms of building that future proof business and the steps that you go through with the folks that are listening. Scott: Yeah. To me, it's very, very simple and even if you're looking at this because I know people listening here are probably looking to possibly buy a business or sell a business. Here's the deal. Like whenever you're looking at an opportunity you want to first see if there's a market already there. Like a lot of people say I want to invent a market. That's risky because we don't know; I mean if you ever listen to Shark Tank they always say has the market validated the product? No I don't have any sales it's in pre, or we're kind of building this thing out, it's in pre-production, or we're in like the pre-stage and they're like come back to us when you have sales that the market actually voted and said we actually want and need this. So the market is critical. You have to have a market. Now I'd like it to also be a submarket. So we could talk about like and I always talk about the bass fishing. So if we went like fishing we would niche it down into bass fishing. If we wanted to go one level deeper we could go kayak bass fishing. And then we can really own that category and then we can also build out of that category to serve a wider part of the market. But I always like to look at the market first. Then from there, I want to see what's the potential in the market? And that could be going to Amazon and seeing how the products are selling using a tool like Jungle Scout or whatever tool you want. We have these tools that let us know the market's buying these products. Now we can either sell those products ourselves as our own brand or we can affiliate market those products. We can do all kinds of things. So I want to validate that there are actually sales being made there. Joe: Let me just stop you for a second because some of the language you're using I don't know if everybody knows it. Talk about the affiliate marketing aspect of it because it's a brilliant path that you educate people on taking. Scott: And I'm going to be doing more of it Joe; I got to be honest with you. I was just thinking about this this morning I'm like man there's so many things that I could cover just for getting back from Brand Accelerator Live. People get stuck at the I've got to launch products or I've got to grow mine. If you bought a business; right now if you bought a business and you're thinking I don't want to launch a whole bunch of products because it's something a whole bunch of capital. Why not take the content side of things. Build out traffic and start putting out products that are related to your product as an affiliate bringing some revenue but also get them to vote that the products that you're putting out there from them they want to buy then you can private label them. So I think it's an easier way to get started. If you're just listening to this and you're getting started, the easiest ways to start looking at the market and how much traffic the market has. And then from there can you get in front of the market by getting attention by posting content, building an email list, like getting attention with influencer, whatever. Then you can start to say okay all these products I'm not going to private label all these it's going to cost me a small fortune. I'm going to start putting products out there like a kayak bass fishing boat. Like I might do that but I'm not going to sell it as my own but I might do an affiliate offer for it. So basically on Amazon, we can use their whole catalog. We can become an associate for them. And it's not going to be a ton of money it's 4%, 8%, depending on where your bracket is; the category but it's a nice easy way anyone can get started. It's not going to cost you hardly anything to set up a website and to start posting content. You can write it yourself or have someone else write it and then just start building that over time. Joe: It's a great way to go back to discovering your market as well because as you niche it down people are going to buy certain things and you can say okay well that one's much more popular than the other. Scott: 100%. Joe: The tools like Jungle Scout do that very, very well. But this is an action you've got proof in your own bank account which ones they like more. What about the multiple channels. You and I have talked about this before. We talked about channel diversification. That's something you talk about quite a bit here as well. Scott: Yeah. Well, I think again there's a lot of businesses that are very successful and you sell these businesses just Amazon FBA. We got someone in my inner circle that bought I think 3 businesses from you guys already. Joe: 3. Scott: Big businesses too; crazy amounts. I mean one of them is doing like 6,000 units a day like insane. Joe: Yeah. Scott: And you know what I mean? So it's massive. So the potential there is huge but also I look at like there's a little bit of risk there because if that channel decides to go away or they shut your account down there is a potential. So I want to build a back end support there in some kind. So I want to start building content. I want to start getting my own traffic so that way there I could lead people over to my Shopify store or I could leave people over to my channel if something shall happen. Now if it doesn't; great, keep using that. And I don't; I never tell anyone not to use the channel. Use the channel. Leverage the heck out of it. Drive traffic to Amazon. Build up your rankings. Do all of that stuff. But I do think that having your own email list is a must. I think having your own content, your own home base I call it; your own blog, your web site so this way you control that asset. And to be honest with you Joe like I'm really interested lately and I think I talked to you about it, content sites to me are never going anywhere. We're always going to have content sites. We're always going to have information that people are going to be searching for. So for me what I'm looking at doing is starting something and building it over the course of 12 to 18 months. Now listen to what I just said there over 12 to 18 months not 3 days or 30 days. It's going to take time for the search engines to kind of pick it up and get it indexed and all that stuff. And if I can build that piece of property like I used to do in the construction days; I find a piece of property, I build a house on it, I get some revenue coming in by renting it out, and then I might want to sell it. That's kind of what I'm thinking about. And there's ways you can do that without even having to launch a physical product until you get to the 12, 18th month. Then you can decide what you want to do. But you can start getting revenue coming in from affiliate offers, from AdThrive, Mediavine, any of these other networks just from the content coming in. So for people that say I can't get started because I don't have the capital, I don't have the know-how, I don't have the time, do something like even if it's just building out a content site over the next 12 months do that. Just do that. Joe: Yeah I think again taking action, right? Scott: Yeah. Joe: We just got to say that whole lot here; the take action effect. This book as I've read it and as I've talked to you, you are an interesting mix of inspiration and how-to; and you are the book. That's what emanates. You call it a pivot I call it it is what you are, you're inspiring people to go beyond their current capabilities or to get started and take some action but you're also teaching them how to do it. So it's a nice blend of both and was that the main objective of the book itself? Scott: It was actually a little bit difficult and to be honest with you Joe because I didn't want to just be let me show you how to start a business. I wanted it to be for someone also that has a 7 figure business right now that are 100% dependent on Amazon they read the book and they go oh I can do all of these other things and then probably bring in more revenue, bring in more traffic, get a better multiple when I go to Joe Valley and Quiet Light. So I was looking at two different paths. So as you're reading the book you're going to hear me talk about if you're feeling stuck at your corporate job right now and you feel like you can't get out of it here's what you could do but if you already have a business you should do this too. So it's kind of like you're serving two camps. And it was kind of hard when I was going down that path because I wanted to really talk to both people not just the person starting. Joe: Yeah and I think it's an important message for both. For those that have bought a business that want to diversify beyond Amazon and those that are listening to their spouse and that spouse is saying honey we've got a great gig here you've got health insurance and a retirement plan are you crazy you're going to buy an Amazon business and [inaudible 00:34:05.8]. No, you teach them how to do something on the side as a side hustle and let it grow and take less risk but still have that that additional income down the road or a decent exit as well which boosts the retirement plan. Right, Scott? The book itself again folks it's called The Take Action Effect; Mr. Scott Voelker from The Amazing Seller and beyond. The beyond card is you just do so many other things. How do people find the book; where can they go, what do they need to do to get this in their hands and learn everything you've talked about? Scott: Yeah, just go to TakeActionEffect.com and there's just a simple page there. It'll tell you a little bit more about the book and it'll lead you over to most likely Amazon you get paperback hardcover or the Kindle; pretty affordable to be able to take this information. I don't think people are taking the value in a book is much as they should. It is a way for you to really understand me and my story but also who I've helped and who I want to help. And it allows us to start that relationship because I'm all about relationships. And I want to be able to build a relationship with you way before you would ever hire me or come to one of my workshops or inner circle or whatever. And this book is a way to do it. It's a really, really small investment to be able to really get you thinking differently because the way I look at it Joe is we're installing the Take Action mindset. We're taking this to where you think you know what I don't think I can do this and by the time you get done with even the first; probably quarter of the book you're going to feel like you're going to conquer the world. And that's what it's really all about. Now, Joe, before I do end this I'm going to ask you a question. Joe: Yes? Scott: I want to know one of your take action moments. Joe: Okay. Scott: What's something that you can recall that you're like if that never happened my life would be totally different. Joe: Let's see. Well going back to your vision board I did something very similar once upon a time and it was a Tony Robbins program writing down my goals and envisioning what they are. And I literally; and this is I described my life; I put it all down from the lifestyle that I wanted to live and the type of woman I wanted to marry. Lo, and behold within 6 months I met her. Scott: Wow. Joe: I showed her the list maybe 18 months later and it described her to a T. So that is a Take Action moment for me in terms of writing that list down. Now it changed over the years in terms of my goals. At one point I wanted to have the boat in the harbor in Portland Maine. Well, I live in North Carolina right now that's not really going to happen. And I didn't want it once I had kids. I couldn't really spend much time with them on a boat in that situation. The other one Scott when I'm at Brand Accelerator Live is; I mentioned it before we started recording, is that I have taken action on moving forward with my book as well. We're not going to talk too much about it. I'm going to drop a little hint in here and then I'll be quiet for 12 months. But it's something that I've talked about for many years and I've tried and I've tried and I just haven't gotten it done. And you've inspired me to get it done. And some of your tips in the book itself have allowed me to sort of bullet point what I need to do to take more action and get it done; so two impacts right there and I think is going to make a huge difference for me. But again it's not always; like Rachel says it's not always about me or her. It's about how you can help others as well. And I think you're doing that. You're helping others first and it's benefiting you. And I think it's the best way to go about it. So thank you, Scott, for being my friend, for being my colleague, for being on the Quiet Light podcast. I hope to see you on it again. Scott: Thank you so much, Joe. I appreciate it, man.   Links and Resources: The Take Action Effect Scott's Website Scott's Podcast Scott's YouTube Channel

Do you have a plan figured out for taking your business to the next level of growth? Could you use a helpful jolt of inspiration to get you headed in the right direction? You’ve come to the right place! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he welcomes a TAS listener like you for a coaching call. In his conversation with Todd, Scott analyzes his business model explains where Todd can make improvements, and a whole lot more. You don’t want to miss a minute of this informative episode with Todd! Making the right connections If you’ve been part of the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about live events and getting business leaders to collaborate. What steps have you taken to follow Scott’s advice? Are you planning on attending any live events this year as an investment in your business? Following Scott’s advice, Todd took the leap and bought a ticket for Brand Accelerator Live, but he didn’t stop there - Todd went a step further and started a mastermind! To hear Todd explain when he decided to start a mastermind and more, make sure to tune in to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Beginning with the end in mind Too often, business leaders get so focused on building their fledgling startup that they fail to keep the end goal in mind. Let’s face it; every business leader is going to exit their business one day - the only question is - will it be planned or unplanned? Even at the start of his business, Todd is taking Scott’s lessons to heart, and he’s doing the work to put his business in a good position for a future sale. Wether it’s following Todd’s approach or passing on the business to a family member - you need to have an idea of what you’ll do with your business in the future. Listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear more insights like this!  Are you ready to put in the work?  Scott has heard from a ton of TAS followers like you that the coaching call sessions are extremely valuable. While Scott loves to take the time and dive into the weeds of a business to find what will make it work even better - there is only so much that he can do! It’s like that old saying - you can lead a man to water, but you can’t make him drink. Don’t be content to gather and collect all the great lessons and insights from the best ecommerce business owners if you don’t plan to put in the work. If you are a take action type of person - this episode is for you!  Don’t give up! Remember that old saying - slow and steady wins the race? It’s true! While the naysayers will always be there and get quick rich folks will try to sell you on an easier way - the truth is - it all comes down to hard work and persistence! Facing rejection after rejection should have caused Todd to thrown in the towel, but he kept asking social media influencers to give his product a try and feature it on their channel. Todd’s effort paid off, and he finally got some influencers to give him a shot! The lesson here is simple - it’s only a failure if you give up! Make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear more from Scott!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [5:30] Todd joins Scott on the podcast and gives his Brand Accelerator Live feedback.  [7:10] What led Todd to create a mastermind.  [10:30] Todd shares his background and where his business is today.  [15:00] Scott talks to Todd about selling his business.  [17:00] Expanding the business and building up the private label brand.  [20:20] Todd explains where he is with content creation, Scott breaks it down.  [33:00] Affiliate sales and SEO optimization.  [35:40] Todd talks about his email list and how the engagement process is going.  [48:00] You have to put in the work!  [51:20] Todd runs a business partnership idea past Scott.  [59:30] A parting tip from Todd.  [1:06:00] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.takeactioneffect.com www.entrepreneuradventure.com www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.ubersuggest.com www.longtailpro.com

TAS crew, you are in for a real treat for this episode! Continuing his drive to bring sellers like you helpful insights and lessons from the ecommerce world and beyond, Scott welcomed his friend, Greg Mercer from Jungle Scout back to the podcast. In his conversation with Scott, Greg opens up about product listing optimization, how to use data to beat your competition, what it takes to navigate PPC costs, and much more. You don’t want to miss a minute of this powerful episode of The Amazing Seller featuring Greg and Jungle Scout!  Follow the data Have you ever met someone who tried to convince others that they had a sixth sense when it came to business? Did you believe them, or do you feel like they were full of it? On this episode, you’ll hear from business leader and data analyst, Greg Mercer. Greg doesn’t just leave the ins and outs of his business up to guesswork - he follows the data, and so should you! Feelings and intuition and only get you so far; there comes a time when you need to hunker down and follow the direction the data is taking you. To hear more about this vital topic from Scott and Greg, make sure to tune in to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Tools designed with you in mind Do you have a favorite tool that you like to use each day that makes your job easier? Some professionals love to have an expensive chair to be comfortable at their desk; others invest in a nice car that they have to use as a road warrior. As you advance in your career, the more critical it will be for you to have the right tools that empower you to accomplish your goals. Greg Mercer founded Jungle Scout in 2014 as the solution to finding great products to sell on Amazon. Since launching as the first Amazon product research tool on the market, they have carved their place as the go-to tool for novices and power-sellers alike. Learn more about Jungle Scout by listening to this episode featuring Greg’s story!  Optimizing your product listing  Let’s face it, as an ecommerce seller you need every advantage you can get your hands on to stay in front of your competition. Did you know that something as simple as optimizing your product listing could take your brand to the next level of growth? It’s true! From producing the right product pictures to choosing the best keywords in the title - there are things big and small that you can do right now to up your game! What do you have to lose? Take the time to hear Greg Mercer out and learn what Jungle Scout has to offer - you won’t regret it!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:00] Greg Mercer joins Scott and shares his Brand Accelerator Live impressions.  [8:20] How to compete in a crowded market.  [14:15] Scott and Greg talk about the suite of tools that Jungle Scout offers.  [21:00] How do you navigate PPC costs?  [25:00] The benefit of using keyword research.  [27:10] Tips for optimizing your product listing.  [34:30] Greg talks about split testing a product.  [38:00] Closing thoughts from Greg.  [43:00] Parting words from Scott.    www.theamazingseller.com/js www.theamazingseller.com/splitly

Do you have critical questions about your business that you’ve been dying to get an answer to? Maybe there is an answer to a question that a fellow TAS follower asks that could unlock your brand’s potential for growth? Good news, you’ve come to the right place! It’s time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller! On this episode, you’ll hear an extra special version of Ask Scott recorded LIVE at Brand Accelerator Live. You’ll want to pay close attention to all the questions asked and to Scott’s helpful answers - grab pen and paper - you are going to need it!  Start giving it away  Let’s face it; life as a small business owner is not easy. What can sellers like you do to cut through the complexity and zero in on a more productive path? According to Scott, it all comes down to giving roles and responsibilities away. Too often, small business owners get so invested in their business that they fail to build a team and free up their time to focus on other priorities in the business. Scott encourages sellers like you to start thinking of ways you can pass off your responsibilities in your brand to virtual assistants. To hear more about this crucial topic, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Why customer service is key What do you do when your product listing has over 400 reviews with a large majority of those reviews being negative? Do you shut everything down and try to start over? Is there any wisdom in reaching out to those buyers to make things work? Scott says that the best ways to put your business in a position for long term growth is to make customer service a high priority. Don’t fall for the temptation to do things the easy way - do the hard thing and go above and beyond - it makes a difference! How do I get more money out of my brand?  As a business leader, the one thing you want to see more of is profit. How can sellers like you up your game and increase your profit margin? Just walk away. Seriously! If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about helping sellers like you build a thriving and successful brand. Part of the brand-building process is planning for the end! Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott explains how sellers like you can lay the groundwork now to a successful business sale in the future! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [1:10] Todd’s question: When should I switch from sending traffic to Amazon?  [4:00] Dave’s question: How do I expand my team and free up my time?  [8:00] Ava’s question: What does it take to cut through the overwhelm?  [10:50] Rowan's question: How do I deal with the Chinese tariff challenges? [14:00] Dan’s question: What do I do when I have negative reviews on my listing?  [18:50] Question: How do I make a profit with my brand?  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Hello Bar

How in the world does something go from just a good idea to become a bankable business brand? If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is making a shift in his approach to helping business leaders like you build a future-proof brand. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he introduces a coaching call he aired earlier this year. In his conversation with Chris, Scott explains the value of building an email list, how to create content for your audience, how to establish credibility, and much more. You’ll want to pay close attention to this informative and helpful episode of The Amazing Seller!  The value of LIVE events  As an ecommerce business leader, chances are you working hard to save or invest every penny you earn back into your business. While some sellers are wary about putting in the money to attend live events – Scott has gone all in! Not only does Scott attend live events – he hosts them too. From informal meetups and workshops to the very first official Brand Accelerator Live event that he hosted last month – Scott believes that live events can make all the difference. If you are on the fence about attending a live event – this is the episode for you!  Email list building is the future  If you’ve heard it once here at TAS, you’ve heard it a million times – you need to grow your email list. Seriously! There are SO many applications and ways you can leverage your direct connection with your email list audience. So what are you waiting for? If you don’t have an email list – get started! If you do have an email list – make sure you have a plan to keep that list warm and engaged. Too often Scott hears from sellers like you who have built an email list but have failed to utilize it. Find out why email lists are still relevant by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Leverage your knowledge! Do you have specialized knowledge or passion for a niche topic? Is there a way you can leverage your expertise to serve a wider audience? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he explains how Chris can leverage his wife’s skillset to build a brand. Chris’ wife works with children who need speech therapy – Scott then walked Chris through how they could leverage her authority and credibility in this field to the marketplace. To learn more about this process and how you can apply it to your unique skill set – make sure to listen to this episode! Why you need action steps  It’s gut-check time! What are your action steps for the next quarter? How about the next month? Peter Drucker once said, “What gets measured, gets managed.” At the heart of that quote is the point that if you fail to give attention and focus to something you need to change - chances are not suitable for that change to take place. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and take action; your business depends on it! To get some helpful action steps and more insights, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:00] Revisiting a coaching call session.  [6:10] Chris shares his perspective and why he decided to meet Scott.  [10:10] What does Chris’ wife’s career look like?  [14:20] Tips for creating engaging video content.  [20:30] Planning out content creation. [28:50] Why you need to focus on building an email list.  [32:30] How to get your audience to self-identify.  [35:50] Establishing credibility.  [39:40] Scott gives Chris some helpful action steps.  [49:00] What it would look like to take Chris’ brand to the next level.  [53:50] How using a Facebook pixel works.  [59:20] Scott and Chris wrap up their conversation.  [1:01:30] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.takeactioneffect.com www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingseller.com/freeup Sellers Summit Rev Temi Hello Bar Right Message Convert Kit

If you want to be a successful business leader, you need to know how to overcome both professional and personal challenges that come your way. Learning the skill set to problem solve and improvise is key to the effectiveness of any business leader. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he provides some helpful takeaways from Brand Accelerator Live, what he learned about himself over the last year, the value of mapping your growth, and much more! Have pen and paper ready; you don’t want to miss a minute of this fascinating episode!  Overcoming doubts Don’t you hate it when you start doubting yourself and your abilities to build an ecommerce business? Even some of the most successful business leaders still struggle with reoccurring thoughts of doubt and insecurity. From the early days of planning his book and Brand Accelerator Live, Scott experiences an intense amount of doubt creeping in. Instead of letting that doubt and insecurity about the book and the event fester, Scott took a positive step in the right direction and got an outside perspective. Once he connected with his book coach and his TAS team - Scott was back on the right track. What can you learn from Scott’s story? Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear more!  Map your growth!  When was the last time you stopped and took a moment to appreciate how far you’ve come? Let’s face it; most people are terrible at marking positive moments of growth. We are far more likely to point out our failure and setbacks than we are to celebrate small wins we’ve made along the way. If you want to have a healthy mindset and a positive outlook in life and business, you need to start mapping your growth. Why not grab a notebook or a calendar and start jotting down the positive steps you’ve made? Before you know it, that notebook will be filled with notes of inspiration!  Leverage your skill sets Do you ever find yourself wondering if all this ecommerce brand building will really be worth it? What if you pour all this time and energy into your business and it fails? At the end of the day, no matter how hard you fall - you can learn from it. Scott’s life isn’t filled with perfect steps and zero setbacks - at times, it has been a real struggle. One of the things that sets Scott apart from most business leaders is his commitment to keep learning and leveraging his skills. You’ll often hear Scott say that he can use and adapt almost any of his skills he has picked up along the way. Make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear more helpful lessons from Scott! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [5:45] A personal story from Scott about overcoming self-doubts.  [9:45] Make sure to map your growth!  [13:00] Why Scott was so happy to sign copies of his book.  [16:00] Know your story and leverage your skill set.  [19:00] Closing thoughts.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/728 www.takeactioneffect.com

Did you catch Monday's exciting news? Scott's a published author now! As you can imagine, Scott was thrilled at the response to his announcement at Brand Accelerator Live and from TAS followers who sent a message of support following Monday's announcement. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you'll hear from Scott and Chris as they dive into the behind the scenes process and inspiration for Project Take Action Effect. You'll want to pay close attention to this one - Scott and Chris drop some helpful insights that you don't want to miss!  Why write a book?  With all of the options to reach a following out there, why did Scott decide to publish a book? This might come as a shock to you but - authors don't make very much money from writing a book! Scott didn't write a book to get more money - he wrote his book to make a connection with leaders like you. If you haven't yet - make sure to grab your copy of "The Take Action Effect" - you can find the link to order your copy in the resources section at the end of this post.  The end goal  If you've been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about helping sellers like you take your business to the next level of growth. While much of Scott's insights and lessons revolve around how to improve your ecommerce business - lately he's been focusing on the bigger picture. Don't let yourself get so caught up in the next tip or hack - take some time to zoom out for a minute! You can learn more from Scott and what he's trying to accomplish with his new book by tuning into this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Helping others get "Unstuck"  Let's face it - no one likes to get stuck anywhere. You get stuck at work; you get stuck in traffic, rarely do you get stuck doing something fun. What if you could go from stuck in your business and life to unstuck? What would that mean for you and your family? Scott's passion in this next phase of his career is to help leaders like you get unstuck. Drawing on his own experience of successes and setbacks - Scott encourages you to learn the lessons he had to learn the hard way.  Don't be afraid to ask for help!  Let's face it - business leaders are often a stubborn bunch. How do you get someone so focused on building something from the ground up to reach out and ask for help when they need it? Scott came to the point where he wanted to expand his message and get his unique perspective out to a broader audience. Then the doubt started to creep in. He was so sold on this idea to write a book to help others that he decided to do the hard thing and reach out to a book editor who could help him reach his goal. Learn more about Scott's book writing process and more by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [1:45] Why did Scott write his book?  [7:40] It’s not about the money, it’s about making a connection.  [10:45] Are you working on your business or in your business?  [17:15] Why Scott chose to work with a book coach.  [22:00] Helping people get “Unstuck.”  [33:00] The take action moments that took Scott this far.  [44:20] Closing thoughts.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.takeactioneffect.com www.ecombizbook.com

After a week of staying put, here I am back on the road and going through Reno on the way to Las Vegas. I was in Dallas for Scott Voelker’s first-ever Brand Accelerator Live event. It was a slightly different crowd than what I was normally used to. But, I still got to hang out with some old friends and even some EcomCrew Premium members. All our big podcast fans out there would know that I try to do my part and give back to the community by investing in up-and-coming ecommerce brands. And I do it on KickFuther.com. In fact, we did an entire episode on them a few weeks back. And on today’s podcast, I get to chat with the owner of one of those businesses I’ve helped out. John Castrano has had years of experience in the beauty and grooming industry before starting Tame the Beast, a men’s grooming line. But getting the business to where it's at now has been quite the journey. Listen as John recounts he got started in ecommerce and give a glimpse at how the business is doing some five years later. As always, here’s a list of timestamps so you can jump right into the good parts. How the Beast brand started (9:28) Early struggles to get the business up (15:43) Finding investors (18:11) Post-accelerator phase (22:58) Breaking down the numbers (32:31) Take part in our free Importing from China webinar on October 8, 10 AM PST. Reserve your spot now! And if you want to try out Kickfurther for yourself, head over to ecomcrew.com/kickfurther. Questions or comments?  Feel free to leave them below.  Finally, if you enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a review on iTunes. Until next time, happy selling!

This is it - the moment that Scott has been building up to for the last year. He's been tirelessly working to put a project into the world that is consistent with who he is and what he wants to accomplish. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you'll hear from Scott as he gives a background story for context, explains how his story has impacted the lives of others, and of course - the big reveal! You'll want to pay extra close attention to this exciting and special episode coming to you on the heels of Brand Accelerator Live!  Setting the stage  If you've been part of the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott has quite the compelling story. From his days working construction with his father to his early days selling on Ebay - Scott's story has been anything but boring. Through all of Scott's successes and challenges - one thing stood out from all the rest - family. Scott's family was the motivator that got him into and then later out of the construction business. He wanted to provide for his family, and he wanted to spend time with his family - these two things are at odds with each other - right? Wrong! Scott soon created a path that would allow him to spend time with his family and provide a comfortable life for them at the same time.  Growing in confidence While Scott knew he was a competent construction worker - he realized that he did not want to spend 60 hours or more at the job site each week. Scott's skill set he built while working with his father was the key to give Scott the confidence he needed to go out on a limb and try something new. Something new started as a photography business that Scott created with his wife, Lisa. The company grew for a while and then Scott discovered new opportunities to make an income that would provide for his family - ecommerce.  The Amazon Guy As many of you know - Scott learned the ins and outs of the ecommerce world over several years of retail arbitrage and selling on Amazon and Ebay. Before long, Scott decided to take the insights and lessons he learned from his own experience and offer them to the rest of the ecommerce industry. After several years of The Amazing Seller podcast, Scott became known as "The Amazon Guy." While Scott is proud of the work he's done with TAS - he started to kind of chafe against getting pegged as "The Amazon Guy." He knew that his story had so much more potential to impact people beyond the scope of the ecommerce industry.  The next chapter  All of the backstory and building has come to this - the big reveal! Listening to the audio, you really get the sense that Scott is BEYOND excited to share this news and the next chapter with the TAS community.  Scott is now an AUTHOR! He is happy to announce the launch of his new book, "The Take Action Effect: Proven Steps to Build a Future-Proof Business & Create Your Ultimate Freedom."  In this book, Scott shows you how to discover the path to freedom. You'll learn how to break through the limitations of your job, read the stories of people like you who have gotten themselves unstuck, and discover the action plan that will bring you the freedom and flexibility you've been looking for. You can learn more about Scott's book and how to grab your copy by visiting the link in the resources section at the end of this post.  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:50] A backstory from Scott about opportunity, loss, and taking action. [18:00] Building a business from the ground up.  [20:20] Confidence is power!  [25:00] Bad news and copyright challenges.  [30:00] Learning through failure.  [35:30] Scott’s big reveal!  [39:00] Scott’s editor, Branan joins him on stage.  [44:00] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.takeactioneffect.com

When most people think of an Amazon business they think about a fulfilled by Amazon model—not an Amazon FBM (fulfilled by merchant). Michael has gone against the grain and built an Amazon business fulfilling orders himself. It was born out of a desire to fuel his passion. Listen as we chat about how he got started, the ‘why’ behind his business, and why he chose the path he did. Outline of This Episode [3:15] Diving into Brand Accelerator Live [5:30] Kevin introduces his guest, Michael Barnhill [7:50] How Michael got started in ecommerce [10:00] Scaling the business [14:15] Make people happy and earn customers for life [17:20] Choose a role that fits your strengths [22:30] Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) model [27:35] The seller based Prime discussion [32:45] Are you an entrepreneur, manager, or an artist? [37:40] Getting a product to perform better [42:50] We all deserve to prioritize ourselves first He started an Amazon FBM business to fuel his passion Michael and his brother purchased a recording studio with money they had received from their father. It was something they were passionate about but expensive to operate. To keep it afloat, they started selling musical instruments on eBay. They sold the product, picked it up from a local distributor, and shipped it themselves. They were doing drop-shipping before it really became a means of selling.  They had zero clue what they were doing but were fueled by a passion to just keep their recording studio open. So they started reading books about business. They tracked their sales and realized that their best selling product was an office supply item. So they began putting all of their effort into this product. Now they own 3 fulfillment warehouses.  Keep people happy and you earn customers for life The #1 thing Michael has learned is that you need to keep your customers happy. If you do whatever it takes to keep people happy, your business will grow and people will talk about you.  If your customer complains they didn’t receive their order? Ship them a new one. Was the product damaged or didn’t arrive in the condition expected? Send them a new one. Sure, there may be people who abuse the system, but it’s rare. Most of the time, people have legitimate issues with the product that you can fix. Michael allows his team to fix whatever they can up to $50—no need to ask him for permission because his baseline is client happiness.  After all, do you want to be right, or have a customer for life? Why the FBM versus FBA strategy? Michael started as a distributor and now manufactures many products in-house for his customers. He and his brother decided early on to market to people looking for something unique. When you corner the market on the few people looking for specific things, you can still make a significant profit as opposed to those trying to sell one product to many. Their warehouses allow them to hold stock for all of these unique items in different colors and sizes. Even if the demand isn’t strong, the demand still exists. Michael and his team do utilize Amazon FBA in some instances—with products that perform in their top 20%. They see a bump in sales, and it’s easier for them to fulfill the rest of their products out of their warehouses.  Kevin and Michael talk about their shipping methods and how they stay competitive—so keep listening! Michael is the creative voice for his business Michael learned early on that he was not an operations guy. Managing people was just not his thing. He decided that he was going to focus on being an artist. He allowed himself to be innovative and imaginative. It’s what he’s passionate about. When he shifted into that role in his business, things changed for the better. It’s okay to hire people to fill whatever roles you do not enjoy yourself.  If your focus is where you are most gifted you can allow others to excel where they are gifted. Michael now focuses on product development, revamping old products, visually displaying the products in the best way, and so much more. Listen to the rest of the episode as they cover enhancing the customer experience, getting a product to sell, self-care, and more.  Resources & People Mentioned Brand Accelerator Live Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh DHL eCommerce Logistics Good to Great by Jim Collins Connect with Michael Barnhill Michael on Facebook Michael on Twitter Connect With Kevin Sanderson www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce www.Twitter.com/maxecom Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM

What would it mean for your ecommerce business if you received a clear blueprint that explains how to set up a sustainable brand? Does that sound too good to be true? It’s not! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he gives an update on Brand Accelerator Live, goes over the PACE method, helpful questions you can ask yourself, and much more. Don’t leave your brand-building efforts up to guesswork - learn from someone who had been there before! Tune into this episode as Scott shares some helpful information that you don’t want to miss!  Asking the right questions Did you know that one of the best ways to get to the heart of a situation is to ask questions? Any good councillor or investigator knows that asking questions is a valuable tool. Have you honed your question asking abilities? If you want to keep a close tab on your business - get in the habit of asking yourself tough questions. Why not set a time each quarter or year where you take a deep dive into your business, asking tough questions in the process? Make sure to catch this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott gives several helpful questions you can address in your business!  PACE recap What is the story behind the PACE method? Why is Scott so convinced that this method works so well? The PACE method isn’t just theory - it’s a method that Scott developed and utilized in a brand he built from the ground up. Here is a brief recap of what PACE stands for:  P - Preparation and Foundation A - Attention in your market C - Cultivation to connect with your market E - Expansion to grow and scale your business You can catch Scott expand on each stage of PACE and provide questions specific to each stage by tuning into this episode of The Amazing Seller. You don’t want to miss it!  Brand Accelerator Live If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is pumped up about Brand Accelerator Live! He has poured a lot of time and energy into Brand Accelerator Live, and he wants to give everyone an opportunity to learn from the high-quality content that is shared there. You can check out the resources section at the end of this post to learn more about Brand Accelerator Live, future events, and how to get recorded sessions. As always - don’t forget to drop Scott a line and leave a review for the show wherever you listen to your podcasts!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:00] The preparation and foundation stage.  [7:00] How to grab your target audience’s attention.  [9:45] Cultivating your relationship with your audience.  [12:00] Expanding your brand.  [15:00] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.BALtickets.com www.brandacceleratorlive.com www.ecombizbook.com www.theamazingseller.com/pace www.theamazingseller.com/boost

Are you fired up and ready to attack the weekend? What are your plans to move your ecommerce business forward? Have you identified areas that need your attention? If you need a little push to get things going - you’ve come to the right place! It’s time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller! On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares an update about Brand Accelerator Live, answers a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Make sure to pay attention - Scott covers some helpful information that you don’t want to miss!  Do you have a Facebook page set up?  If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about helping sellers like you grow your following. One of the best ways to grow your following is to create a Facebook page for your brand. Too often, sellers get really excited and set up a Facebook group, but they don’t take the extra step to set up a Facebook page. You need a Facebook page because that tool allows you to run ads to grow your following. Learn more about the value of creating a Facebook page by tuning into this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Don’t forget to follow up!  Did you know that you could be leaving money on the table when it comes to your ecommerce business? It’s true! You might be surprised at the number of ecommerce business leaders who fail to take the time to follow up with people. Remember what Scott always says - customer service is critical! If you want your email list to grow, you’ve got to do everything you can to give people opportunities to join your contest or giveaway. Just because they didn’t sign up for the first round of giveaways doesn’t mean they aren’t interested! What do you have to lose? Create a follow-up method and see what happens!  People connect with people, not brands When was the last time you felt like a brand really cared about you? If you are like most people, the answer to that question is, never! Do you think that your brand will be any different? If you want to create a following that will fuel the growth of your brand, you’ve got to be willing to engage people on a human level! If you ask a question to your email list - don’t give them canned responses - reply like a human. Little tips like this one can make all the difference. If you are ready to put in the work - listen to this episode to learn more from Scott! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [7:00] Question: What do I post in my FB group to get them on my email list?  [10:45] Why you need a Facebook page for your brand.  [14:15] Don’t forget to follow up!  [16:20] How to keep the conversation going.  [21:15] Closing thoughts.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingseller.com/story www.BALtickets.com www.theamazingseller.com/boost www.theamazingseller.com/buildlist

Have you ever had a moment of clarity in your life where everything that seemed important suddenly loses its value and your mindset shifts? How did that moment affect you personally and professionally? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares a personal story, gives an update on what to expect at Brand Accelerator Live, explains why email is not dead, the value of knowing your “Why,” and much more. Pay attention - this is an episode you don’t want to miss!  The day everything came into focus  When life doesn’t go as you planned, you have two options - resist it or adapt. Are you part of the resist crowd or are you part of the adapt crowd? Scott had built a career working construction with his dad and saw that as his future until life threw him and his family a curve ball. One day, coming home from work - Scott was greeted with the news that his mother had passed away. As you can imagine this news - was quite a shock and impacted the whole family. Scott decided from that moment that his life would be different - he was going to adapt to the challenges that life threw his way.  Sharing your story  If Scott’s story about the death of his mother pulled at your heartstrings - you aren’t alone! Scott as bold enough to share that story with his email list and it made a huge connection with his followers. For those who believe that email engagment is no longer effective - it’s likeky because they aren’t doing it right. You can’t just fire off an email and hope it connects - you need to put your personality - your heart and soul into the emails you are sending. To hear more about the power of using email to connect with your followers - make sure to listen to this powerful epsiode of The Amazing Seller!  Brand Accelerator Live  Are you ready for a fantastic time at Brand Accelerator Live? You have heard the hype and the hints that Scott has been sharing for months now - this is the month and the day is quickly approaching! If all goes as planned - this event in September is just the start. Scott will be unveiling new areas and projects that he has been working on that will take the TAS experience in a new direction. Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear from Scott and catch a bit of his enthusiasm - if you haven’t purchased a ticket yet - click the link in the resources section! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:20] Why Brand Accelerator Live is going to ROCK.  [6:00] Scott’s moment of clarity.  [12:00] Your brand can help people find a solution and enjoy their life.  [16:20] What was the turning point in your life?  [19:00] Know your “Why!”  [21:20] Email stories can be powerful.  [24:10] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Brand Accelerator Live Death Wish Coffee Bulletproof Coffee www.theamazingseller.com/buildlist www.BALTickets.com

Do you think your business is in good shape to handle whatever challenges come your way? Don’t be so quick to say, yes - there are likely key steps you are missing! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he welcomes his guest, Robert Wright. In his conversation with Scott, Robert explains how he got his start as a lawyer, what it takes to protect your ecommerce business, why he’s excited to participate in Brand Accelerator Live and much more. Have pen and paper ready - you don’t want to miss a minute of this informative episode featuring Robert!  Protect yourself If you received a notice in the mail that you were violating the copyright of another person’s business, would you know how to respond? Better yet - would your business be protected if they decided to sue you for all you are worth? Chances are the answer to that question is no. Thankfully, there are amazing leaders like Robert Wright, who have put together easy to use solutions that sellers like you can use. The first step Robert stresses are to make sure you have a solid wall between you and your business - you can do this with an LLC. Don’t assume everything is fine if you’ve filed all the right paperwork though! You can learn more about this process from Robert by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Bulletproof your brand Beyond preparing an LLC for your business - you also need to make sure you register your brand name as a trademark. Too often, business leaders will look up a domain name or file their LLC and think everything is good to go - don’t let that happen to you! Do you have your brand name registered as a trademark? If not - you need to make that your action step ASAP. If you are ready to dive deeper into the topic of trademarks and bulletproofing your brand - tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller to learn more from Robert’s expert perspective! Weaponize your work  If you buy it, you own it, right? Not so fast! Don’t assume that just because you hired someone to take pictures of your product that you own the copywrite to that work. If you want to set up your brand for longterm success, you’ve got to be willing to weaponize your work. If you are dealing with freelancers, you need to have a “Work for hire” agreement. Don’t open your business up to unnecessary risk - heed Robert’s advice! Listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller as Robert expands on this topic and much more in his conversation with Scott.  Safeguard your sales Are your sales safeguarded? How do you know? If you don’t have a plan to safeguard your sales - you are opening yourself up to way too much risk! Do not assume that all of your bases are covered - one of the worst things you can do according to Robert is to set your plan in place and forget about it. If you want to succeed as a business leader - you need to make sure that you are regularly coming back to your strategy and re-evaluating it. Hear more about safeguarding your sales and other helpful insights from Robert by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [5:30] Scott welcomes his guest, Robert Wright.  [8:00] What led Robert to his career as a lawyer?  [18:20] Business is WAR.  [20:00] Why you need to create a wall between you and your business.  [26:20] It’s not too late to course correct!  [29:20] Making your business bulletproof.  [44:00] If you buy it, you own it, right?  [50:00] What it takes to safeguard your sales.  [55:00] Closing thoughts and how to connect with Robert.  [57:20] Final thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.BALtickets.com www.PrivateLabelProtection.com USDA Trademark Legal Zoom

It's that time of the week again! Get your weekly dose of energy and passion as Scott takes on questions from followers like you. It's time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller! On this episode, you'll hear from Scott as he gives a Brand Accelerator Live update, shares a Big Announcement, goes over his thought of the week, and so much more. You'll want to pay attention to this episode - have pen and paper ready!  Big Announcement If you 'vee been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about helping sellers like you learn from the best strategies and leaders. Delivering on his promise to make Brand Accelerator Live a worthwhile event, Scott is happy to announce that business coach and personal friend Jamie Masters will be joining the stage for Brand Accelerator Live in September! Jamie will bring her signature insights and unique perspective that will help sellers like you take your brand to the next level of growth. To hear more about this exciting development, make sure to tune in to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Trust your gut As a business leader, you are likely consuming all the leadership and business books that you can get your hands on. If you are really fortunate - you also have taken the opportunity to attend events like Brand Accelerator Live! As good as books and live events are - they are no replacement for your gut instinct. Too often, business leaders forge ahead ignoring their gut feeling to go in a different direction. Don't let that happen to you and your business! Learn to listen to and recognize your gut feelings and weight them with solid advice from leaders you trust. Make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear from Scott about trusting your gut.  How to reduce abandoned carts Have you ever wondered what it would take to convert abandoned carts to product sales? Is there some magic formula that only high-level brands know about? No! With some simple steps - you can put your brand on track to turning abandoned carts into sales! According to Scott, there are a few things you can do to boost buyers confidence in your checkout process.  Send email follow-ups to your abandon carts.  List your phone number on the checkout page.  Feature testimonies from your customers.  Get legitimate badges that showcase your credibility and safety.  You can hear Scott launch into his full breakdown, describing what it will take to get prospective buyers to follow through and purchase by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:00] Big Brand Accelerator Live Announcement!  [7:45] Scott’s thought of the week. Trust your gut.  [10:40] Question: How do I convert abandoned carts into sales?  [14:00] How to establish credibility and reduce abandoned carts.  [16:50] Email follow-ups work!  [19:30] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.BALtickets.com www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingseller.com/buildlist

What does it take to create compelling content that keeps people coming back to your site? Can you imagine how consistent traffic to your site would impact your business? Good News! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he welcomes his guest, Toni Anderson. In her conversation with Scott, Toni opens up about how she got started in ecommerce, what led her to focus on developing a blog, how she kept up with content creation, plans for the future, and much more! Have pen and paper ready - you don’t want to miss a minute of this fascinating episode featuring Toni’s story!  Getting started on Ebay If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott got his ecommerce start on Ebay in the early 2000s. Come to find out, back in the day - Toni Anderson also got her ecommerce start selling on Ebay. As they reminisced about selling on Ebay - Scott and Toni realize how that early experience really impacted their growth as entrepreneurs and brand builders. To hear more about the lessons Scott and Toni learned from selling on Ebay, make sure to tune in to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Find your niche! Have you found your brand’s niche yet? Don’t get stuck spreading yourself too thin and never specializing in any specific market. Chances are if you think you’ve niched down far enough - you still have some room to go! You’ve likely heard Scott talk about finding your niche time and time again - this time he’s got back up! Toni is also convinced that niching down is the best approach for ecommerce sellers and bloggers. Make sure to hear the full conversation between Scott and Tomi by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Create at a sustainable pace Writing for a blog is a little different these days; then it was several years ago. Gone are the days where you need to push out a new piece of content every day - now the name of the game is quality over quantity. This is good news for bloggers and their readers! If the blogging medium is for you - take Toni’s advice and create posts at a sustainable pace that keeps you engaged in the process. Learn more helpful tips like this one from Toni as she joins Scott on this informative episode of The Amazing Seller!  Take action!  You’ve heard Scott exclaim the all-important call at the end of every TAS episode to - “Take Action!” Where are you at on your journey? Have you taken action and moved your business forward? If you haven’t taken action yet - it’s not too late. Toni is a huge fan of Scott’s call to action, and she encourages sellers like you to heed Scott’s call. Listen to Toni explain why caused her to take action in her business - let it inspire you!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:00] Toni Anderson joins Scott on the podcast.  [6:10] How did Toni get involved with ecommerce and blogging?  [9:45] Scott and Toni talk about how they got their start on Ebay.  [16:00] Toni explains her approach to blogging.  [20:00] Toni’s content creation tips.  [23:00] Why niching down is so important.  [27:15] How often should you put out content as a blogger?  [29:00] If you don’t like creating content - try something else - like video!  [33:50] How did Toni monetize her blog?  [37:00] What is it like going through a blog audit?  [46:45] Toni teases the topic she is speaking on at Brand Accelerator Live.  [49:40] Closing thoughts from Toni.  [51:30] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Sellers Summit  Brand Accelerator Live BAL Tickets

Are you fired up and ready to attack the obstacles that stand in the way of your business’ growth? What steps are you working on to take it to the next level and move past your competitors? If you are looking for solid advice to jumpstart your weekend - you’ve come to the right place! It’s time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller! On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares his thought of the week, gives an update about Brand Accelerator Live, answers a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Have pen and paper ready - you don’t want to miss a minute of this helpful episode!  The ripple effect Did you catch the emotional and gripping voicemail that a TAS follower left for Scott a few weeks ago? In episode 711, Scott featured a really touching message from a TAS follower who has been significantly impacted by Scott’s insights and advice. After sharing that message on episode 711, Scott has seen a ripple effect through the TAS community. Person after person has reached out to express how much that message meant to them and reflected their experience with Scott’s material. This goes to show you that people resonate with you when you take the time to get real with them! To hear more from Scott about his take on the ripple effect, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Relationships matter If you are considering going into a business partnership, there is one, crucial thing that you need to consider - a healthy relationship. If you have any doubts that your relationship will endure even in the most challenging times - STOP! Seriously - relationships are more important than making a buck and building a business. You don’t want to end up with a dysfunctional relationship and a failing business - you’ll get both without a healthy relationship! Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott expands on what it takes to build a good business partnership.  Find what works for you If you feel like your partnership can go the distance and thrive while you build an ecommerce business together - excellent! Next comes the complicated issues of figuring out who will invest what, how you’ll divide the roles and tasks, and most importantly - the split on the profits. Unfortunately - there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to organizing a business partnership. Scott encourages sellers like you to keep open lines of communication and take it one step at a time - remember - you can always make adjustments along the way. Learn more helpful insights from Scott by listening to this OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:40] Thought of the week: the ripple effect. [8:05] Question: What is the best way to structure a business partnership?  [12:30] Do NOT move forward with a partnership if you don’t have a good relationship.  [15:50] Scott explains how he began his business partnership.  [22:45] It all comes down to trust.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask Brand Accelerator Live TAS 711 www.theamazingsller.com/story

What is the status of your ecommerce business? Are you reaching all of your goals for 2019 or do find yourself struggling? If you are looking for a group of like-minded business leaders - you've come to the right place! It's time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you'll hear from Scott as he gives a Brand Accelerator Live update, shares his thought of the week, answers a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. You'll need pen and paper ready for this episode - don't miss it!  Brand Accelerator Live If you've been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about helping sellers like you grow and transform into high-quality business leaders. While he has loved meeting up with TAS followers informally over the years - Scott is ready to try something different. With September's Brand Accelerator Live - you'll find an event designed from start to finish with sellers like you in mind. So what are you waiting for? Make sure to check out the link in the resources section at the end of this post.  Know what your customers want!  Let's face it - most business leaders aren't too focused on what their customers want - they'd rather tell them! While that approach may have worked twenty years ago - the market has changed. If you're going to be on the cutting edge of growing ecommerce businesses, then you've got to start paying attention to the desires of your target audience. Use their language, address their pain points, and incorporate their feedback! You'll be surprised to find that people respond positively when they feel like you've listened to them. To hear more from Scott on this critical topic, make sure to tune in to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  What should my AD say?  Have you tried marketing your ecommerce business yet? How did that effort go? Were you able to see the results you were hoping to reach? The truth is, ecommerce sellers like you are not very skilled at marketing and building a customer base. Scott wants to help sellers like you grow in your ability to market your brand to the right people. There are a ton of helpful resources that Scott has put together that can help you - you should also check out Brand Accelerator Live! Make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott delivers some valuable lessons! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:00] A Brand Accelerator Live update.  [7:00] Scott’s thought of the week.  [12:00] Question: What should my AD say to get attention? [20:20] Scott explains how he created the PACE method.  [24:30] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/711 www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingseller.com/story Brand Accelerator Live

The more a seller expands his net, the more buyers he can catch. Often on the Amazon seller revenue lines we see the lack of traction on the international side of the game. How can you get your brand safely and productively into other Amazon Markets? The truth is that Amazon UK or any other country off the .com grid are potential revenue streams and expansion opportunities if approached in the right way. Today's guest walks us through that expansion process step by step so that business owners and buyers can envision the opportunities to be had. Kevin Sanderson is a multiple six figure seller with over three years of experience on Amazon. When he started out simply selling on Amazon he had one item and very quickly turned that into about 80 skus. He learned that by expanding into the international marketplace he could target products that he could plug into that market successfully. He has a passion for helping others successfully sell on Amazon's International Marketplaces via his website and podcast and is here to tell you how you can succeed beyond dot com. Episode Highlights: Which products are best for which country and where to start in the sell. Reasons Kevin recommends starting in Canada to get your feet wet. Where to go next and how to get over the translation hurdle overseas. Why Germany stands out in the arena. The recommended steps and estimated time-frame for the expansion process. What Amazon offers by way of help. Differences in taxation in the international marketplaces. How to approach the customer service aspect in those markets. Services that Kevin offers for someone looking to expand internationally. The importance of attending ECommerce events for opening doors and connecting. Transcription: Mark: Joe welcome back from your vacation, you've been gone for a few weeks and Quiet Light Brokerage absolutely nothing happened because you aren't here. Joe: Did you missed me at all? I think I had an email reminder, a notification in there that said if you really need me find me on Whatsapp and no one needed me at all which is very humbling. The reality is that we think we're really important cogs of the wheel and if there's enough cogs you're not so nobody missed you at all. Mark: Well the truth is actually people would email you and then they would get my email and then I was home that they don't want to work with you they actually want to work with me so I've just been picking off all your potential clients. Joe: I love it, no, take all those 10 million dollar listings. Thanks, I appreciate that. Mark: Absolutely I appreciate it too, very much, and so does my wife. Anyways this week I want to talk about something that we've seen a lot of with Amazon Sellers. We look at these P&Ls and oftentimes what you see are these revenue lines on the P&Ls where it's your typical Amazon sales coming through and then you see this Amazon UK or Amazon Europe or something like that and you see some revenue kind of pop and then trail off after a while. And when you talk to the client or the seller about this the backstory is always the same. I thought about expanding to Europe and UK but I didn't really gain traction there and it was just a lot more work than I really anticipated so we've decided not to really do that. The fact is though Amazon UK, Amazon Europe, Amazon Canada, and some of these other countries are really, really good expansion opportunities but you have to go about it the right way and that's not always as straight forward as putting the product up and launching that store. You talked to somebody who we guess went over exactly in that process how do you actually expand into in other markets on Amazon. Joe: Yeah it's Kevin Sanderson from Maximizing Ecommerce. He's affiliated or associated with Scott Voelker who we enjoy from the Amazing Seller and Brand Accelerator Live. And Kevin talks about just that. Okay if you're going to expand start here then go there and then go there so that you're getting your feet wet and doing it in a way where you're learning without getting so frustrated you just throw your hands up and walk away which as he said I see too often. Interestingly enough yesterday I'm doing a valuation call and exactly what you talked about revenue line for Amazon.com and Amazon Europe overseas and there were 3 or 4 months of revenue starting to climb, climb, climb, and then nothing because that particular individual just got frustrated. She didn't think she was going to get a bang for a buck there because it was so complicated and confusing for her. But the reality is she took on too much all at once. Kevin's approach is more methodical and I like it. It's simple. It's clean. It's logical. It's not going to be earth-shattering for anybody listening. But what it is going to do is going to give them reinforcement to what they probably already know and what they should do and hopefully will do as well. Mark: Yeah fantastic topic we do have a shout out to give to somebody who guessed the right intro to one of our podcast and you got that email, Joe. Joe: I did it's from Westin Woodelf, I've got a cold after this vacation, Westin Woodelf, he  sent me an email actually while I was on vacation. It is one of the very few emails that I checked. He guessed The Founder which is the story of McDonald's the movie clip. So shout out to you Westin and thanks for listening. I appreciate all the kind words and I assure you we will get more people that bought e-commerce businesses or online businesses from us and we'll get them back on the podcast 6, 12 months after that something that he said he enjoys listening to Mark and wants to hear more of. Mark: Yeah and you know I went to a meetup; a shout out to the people that I met up with for the Rhodium Minneapolis Red Calibers meet up just a couple of weeks ago. I got some good feedback on the podcast there as well you know the point here being not to say guys you have to praise us because we need it for our egos more what do you want to hear. And I got some really good feedback on that. If you guys have stuff that you want to hear or a style of podcast that really stands out to you, let us know, send us an email. We do insist that we want to create content that's useful for you and helpful. And again keep guessing those movie titles that should be fun. The Founder is a great movie as well highly recommended for anyone that loves entrepreneurship. Joe: And we actually respond to emails. Its inquiries@quietlightbrokerage.com Mark and I get those personally. We also have our own personal email addresses which are really complicated joe@quietlightbrokerage.com or mark@quietlightbrokerage.com and Mark as a K, not a C. Mark: I spell it the right way. Joe: You do spell it the right way, sorry everybody else. Alright, let's get to this Kevin Sanderson, Maximizing Ecommerce, how to get your brand safely and productively in other Amazon markets. Joe: Hey folks Joe Valley here from Quiet Light Brokerage and today we've got Kevin Sanderson from Maximizing Ecommerce on the podcast. Kevin, how are you today? Kevin: I'm doing excellent. Thanks for having me. Joe: Where in the world are you? Kevin: I am in south-ish Florida, about 35 minutes north of West Palm Beach. Joe: Alright so we're recording at the end of July so you're definitely inside the house as always, right? Kevin: Oh yes, it's nice and humid. Joe: So as I said in the pre-call here that we don't do fancy intros so why don't you tell the audience a little bit about yourself and what your background is. Kevin: Sure. So I've been an e-commerce seller for about 4 years. I remember when I got into the whole thing I just happened to be looking at my phone podcasts and this podcast called the Amazing Seller podcast came up. I was like this sounds interesting so I listened to it. I was like this sounds like something I want to go towards and I went out to Walgreens and they were closing out the summer specials of like whatever they're going to close out to make room for back to school and I bought a bunch of those blue cooler thingy's you'd use in your cooler to keep your cans cooled in the freezer. Joe: Okay. Kevin: And I remember sending some of them off to Amazon with a few other things. And I got an e-mail that my stock had been checked in and I was playing with the app like most people do once you start doing this for a while. It keeps saying this 0 sales, 0 dollars, all this and then all of a sudden I refresh it and there's a 1. I was like hey someone bought it. It was like the day it got checked in. I was prepared like mentally that it might take weeks or whatever but this just like rush of adrenaline came over me. And I went running into the living room and my wife and was like you have to see this and I almost like threw the phone at her. I was so excited. But at first, she thought it was insane just kind of like where is my husband who is this person but then she realized I was just excited about it and then she kind of got it. And so from then on, I've been hooked on the whole e-commerce game. Joe: So it's that easy just go to Walmart, Walgreens, buy some stocked out items and put it on Amazon and you're in business. Everybody succeeds that way, right? Kevin: Yes I came to learn there's more steps in the process for that. It was like one of the things I learned very early on in my resale arbitrage career which is short-lived was that I didn't like having to keep finding stuff and bending it in. So at least what it did was it clicked the switch in my head that like okay this is possible. It's not just I'm hearing someone talking about it. I actually saw like the 0 go to a 1 and it became real to me. Like okay now let's go after building my own brand. And so the fall was coming up and at the time I was a high school football official and I decided to take a year's worth of earnings and put that off to the side to go towards my 1st product. And so from let's say February of the following year which would have been 2016 I put up my own branded products and then I kept reinvesting into it. And then back in December of 2018, I left my job and it was like I'm going to do all this full time. And I now have about 80 products that I sell. 80 different SKUs as well as…I sell mostly on Amazon but still try to diversify as much as possible. One of the things that's been very successful for me is selling internationally; so I sell in Canada, the 5 European marketplaces, Japan, and I'm about to launch in Australia and Mexico. Joe: Okay and that's what we're going to dig into today folks is how to expand beyond Amazon.com into these other marketplaces. You know I have multiple valuation calls a week talking to people that are looking to exit someday and just yesterday I talked to somebody that we have…she's a friend of Scott Voelker from The Amazing Seller who you're friends with as well. And she tried to expand to Europe and found that it was just too complex and complicated. So it's funny one of the growth areas that savvy; not savvy, that's the wrong word because this person is actually very savvy. One of the growth areas that people with a kind of international experience see is international. They'll look at an Amazon business it's US only and they can see where it may plug into one of the European markets or all of them. Whereas others they try it and they fail because it's just at a level of detail that is not good for them and their business and they stick to one; focus on the US. You set up a business for that where you're helping people expand beyond the US. So talk to me about A. which country because I have a couple in mind I want to see which countries are the best or if it's not that simple that different products are better for different countries. Kevin: Well there's a little bit of different products are the best for different countries. But one simple thing people can do is if their product is selling in the US and they just look up the keyword of how someone might find their product, so if they are selling garlic presses as our friend Scott would use or fishing lures they could look up garlic presses or fishing lures on Amazon.ca or Amazon.co.uk which are the Canadian and UK versions of Amazon and just go to Jungle scout and Jungle Scout will give you an idea. Now don't get caught up in the numbers but what I would say is if you are making sales in the US and similar products to yours are making some sales internationally in those international marketplaces it's at least worth evaluating. You should at least try. Now to your point, there are some hoops you have to jump through. One of the things I recommend to people if you're going to start off with go into Canada because logistically I personally find it easier. They have what's called GST, HST which is their goods and services tax, harmonized sales tax, it's all kind of the same thing but for the most part most people are just going to register with the federal government there and it works very similar to how sales tax work in the US except it's simpler for most people. And in most cases, they're going to have to file for that sales tax once per year. Joe: So do you do that just for the exercise of learning how to go international because it's easy because it is Canada, are you going to get your bang for your buck there, right? The population is 10% of the US so you can expect 10% of your US revenue in terms of Amazon. How do you; is it really worth it? And I think I know the answer. I think I know what you're going to say but I want to hear you say it. Is it really worth it in terms of dollars or is it a combination of dollars and revenue and the exercise of going international and getting comfortable with it? Kevin: I would say all of the above. So the way I look at it is you have a net and as widen that net in the sea of Amazon you're going to catch more fish. And some of those fish are exclusive to; and by fish I mean customers, some of those are exclusive to Canada or they're exclusive to the UK. And as you catch more of those fish you're going to get more sales. So the way I like to look at it is if you said I'm just going to go into all the international marketplaces if you try to do it all at once it's going to be too much. Canada is relatively simple. I think it's a good place to get your feet. So what I did was I went to Canada and then I went to the UK that which is their sales tax is a little more complex and there's more kind of like landmines you could go hit on that you don't want to. So it's best to start off with Canada going to the UK. And then you can go into other parts of Europe and use UK as a base of operations. And the nice thing is if you go into the other marketplaces in Europe you'll most likely have to translate your listings but at least if you're starting off in the UK and Canada you're talking about 2 English speaking countries. So that also lowers some of the barriers. Joe: Okay, so you're saying a little bit of everything going into Canada so I think it's a great idea that people start there. And if all you do; if you're doing $100,000 in discretionary earnings or profit and you expand to Canada and all it does is add $10,000 it's not hard. Kevin will talk about a little bit in terms of how to do it and can help people do it but that additional $10,000 in discretionary earnings if your business is worth a 3 time multiple you just added $30,000 a month to the overall value of your business if you decide to exit someday. But I like that baby-stepping it doing one country at a time starting with Canada and then another English speaking country being the UK. As far as VAT it is complicated. We've done podcasts on it with Avask accounting; the folks over there. Kevin: That's what I use. Joe: Great. Folks use them as well. I know Melanie they refer people back and forth to us. Anytime we've got someone buying a brand that's selling in the UK we always connect people with them because they're good. And for folks, that's AvaskAccounting.co.uk A-V-A-S-K. In terms of the next country so you're going to go Canada then you're going to go UK where do you go next? Kevin: I would say most likely Germany. Germany outside of the UK is going to have some of the best sales in Europe. Now you're starting to get into a different language but there's translation services out there. Amazon has translation services but there are some asterisks that you might not actually be eligible for kind of strange. Joe: I don't think the automated translation services work all that well and here's why. I was just in France and Switzerland and used Google Translate. It kind of worked. I'm literally driving down the highway from I think at the airport to Paris and I'm in the car with an Uber driver and he's got Google Translate up on his phone. I've got it up on mine. I say something and it spits it out in French. We're having this weird conversation but it didn't quite fully translate it properly. So I couldn't imagine using a translation service, an automated translation service like that. What kind of experience do you have with that if you're going to translate something to German? Do you hire individual people that are native speakers or do you use a translation service? Kevin: So I've tried all kinds of different things. I've had Amazon help me with translations and theirs is essentially machine in most cases. Joe: I got it. Kevin: The ones I've seen it's machine translated and then a person checks it. Now the issue is who's checking the checker? So if you're English speaking and you're trying to check whether or not German is correct it's got to be a regular translator. I found a German translator that I've had good luck with and I had someone else check it. So if you find one let's say on Upwork or Fiverr or something and you have someone translate something for you, see if you can hire someone else to critique it. Or if you know someone who speaks German or Spanish or whatever language you want to translate have someone else verify it for you and then you know okay now I've got someone good. I've got; actually oddly enough in the office building, I work out of there's a translation company down the hall that actually they've worked with American Translator Association translators. They have contracts with all the court systems and they've done stuff for GE and Disney and a bunch of other companies. So I've found them to be pretty reputable too. But if you're not 100% sure always have someone else check it. Even if you're hiring let's say on Fiverr and you give like a paragraph of stuff, you can hire 3 or 4 people and have them check against each other. And whoever's getting the best load out of everyone else is probably the one to go with. Joe: Awesome. I think that's a great idea. There's been times I've looked at Amazon listings and I could tell it's been written by somebody that does not speak English as their native tongue and it's obvious and I lose confidence and I don't necessarily want to buy that product. And I imagine it's the same somebody is in Germany thinking it. As far as the countries go, I know that one product is not going to be perfect for all countries but from a brokering standpoint and what I've seen over the last several years is that Germany stands out amongst all of the European countries as the one that seems to bring people that are exiting that have the most sizable business, sizable revenue. Why do you think that is? Is there something about the German marketplace that makes it stronger and larger than the other marketplaces? Is it population? Is it because of the affluent nature of the individuals in that country or is it just pure happenstance? Kevin: I think it's a combination of several different things. So I think as; to take a step back as you go outside of the US and you have more hoops to jump through fewer people want to take those hoops. And then as you start getting into other marketplaces that aren't English now that's another hoop that you have to jump through of getting it translated. So fewer and fewer sellers I think are willing to do that from what I found and so you have less competition. So then combine with I think the population size and the people in Germany; I still do better in the UK than I do in Germany. It could just be my product but I've heard people say the opposite. So it just depends and you never know until you test it. Joe: Okay, Alright so 1st step go to Canada, give it a shot, 2nd UK, and then 3rd another country; Germany. What services are out there? How do you expand? What steps do you recommend someone take in order to go through this process of expanding? And like how much time would you give it? We've talked about 3 countries here so far, what kind of timeframe would you give that in terms of checking those off and moving and expanding into these countries? Kevin: Well if you're doing it alone what you would do is you would 1st register with whatever governmental agency you need to register with. So if it's Canada you go to the Canadian Revenue Agency and register for what's called non-resident importer status and also a GST, HST number. It's all basically the same number, it's just the programs that you're under. Joe: Can all that be done through your Amazon accounts when you want to expand to different countries? Because they're always asking you to expand to different countries, are they offering those services or connections? Kevin: So Amazon will often times help you. Here's my take on Amazon. If they're calling you, answer the phone. It's the way I look at it. See what they have to say. Now I don't want to disparage Amazon but what I've come to find is the people at Amazon they're always very well-intentioned but they're siloed. So no one fully understands the whole journey as a seller that you're going to go through like another seller. So I'm happy to help walk people through that. If people have other friends that are doing it check with your friends and get some advice as well. Just because there are a lot of pieces that even some services like let's say you know I know that there's freight forwarders that will help you get registered in Canada or another country but they may be not getting you into all the programs that you really should be in because they're looking at it from their standpoint of like okay to get stuff across the border you need this but maybe you also need something else that they didn't register you for because that's not necessarily their focus. And then Amazon, their focus is really in my experience the folks who are calling you saying hey sign up in wherever country they're just trying to get you into that country and then from there it's okay go for it. Joe: Okay. First, do the research on that country and make sure that your products are selling or something similar is selling and you've got buyers there. Okay, and how are you dealing with the taxes and registrations? Can you cover that a little bit? We had Avask on the podcast talking about that. Can you talk briefly about the differences on how taxes work on products in the US versus over in Europe? Kevin: Okay. Well, I think the simplest way to look at it is you have 2 buckets of taxes. You have sales tax and you have income tax. So income tax you're still most likely as long as you're using your US-based entity you're going to still owe Uncle Sam assuming someone's from the US, but you're still going to owe Uncle Sam for income taxes or whatever country you live in. So then in that country, there's going to be some sort of tax on the sale; so whether it's a GST, and the VAT; whatever. Joe: What does GST stand for? Kevin: Oh sorry goods and services tax which is the sales tax of Canada. So the nice thing about Canada is in most cases and a disclaimer here is I'm not a tax preparer so please make sure that you check with an appropriate tax professional about your own situation. But what I found is for most people and in talking to people that do this in the tax world is that you're most likely going to in Canada register for the goods and services tax and the harmonized sales tax. It's all just the same thing. Basically, federal tax and you file once per year. It gets added onto the sale just like here in the US. So if they live in a province where let's just say it's 8% and it's $20 then now 1.60 is added on and then you'll remit and file and then you actually in Canada have a few ways that you can save money on what you're giving to the government because if you pay GST at the border or some other way that you're paying you can get credits back. And then it works kind of the same way with credits back in Europe. Now Europe is where it starts getting a little bit more complicated. So the simplest way to look at Europe is where is the inventory getting imported into and where is it being housed. So if it comes across a border you have the requirement to file for VAT or to register and file for VAT in that country. If it's being housed in that country you're required to register and file for that country. So I think the simplest way to do it in Europe is to go into the UK and then keep your inventory in just the UK and they'll allow you to do what's called the European fulfillment network and have your products shipped to the other 4 countries from the UK. Now a lot of times what some people might steer you towards is what's called the pan-European program. It's a little bit of savings but I don't think it's really worth it because you save about a Euro per fulfillment fee and so you think oh wow that's going to add up over time. So the going rate is probably about 7,200 euros per year to be tax compliant, to have somebody do all the tax filings for you and then you end up with like Amazon will put some of your stock in Poland and the Czech Republic those aren't even countries where they have market places but they just store them there. So again once it's stored in a country now you have a VAT requirement and you might have to file; they're filing monthly for you and you have to pay. So you might have to pay the equivalent of like $10or $8 some months to the Polish government and it's just; it's almost like a little nap on your side and it's just like why am I having to do this. Joe: Right. Kevin: So it's expensive and what I came to learn is well I would say the best thing for most people is in Europe you want to sign up for what's called the flat rate scheme. Now when we think of taxes and scheme we think about handcuffs and going to jail. But in Europe scheme just means calculation method. So in most cases, someone who's listening to this is most likely going to be an online retailer and basically, the way it works is if let's say they sell a product in let's say the UK for 12 pounds. The price is actually 10 pounds and 2 pounds of VAT is included in that because the thing that's different about Europe is the price includes the VAT. So just to walk through that math there so you would owe 2 pounds for that sale to the government minus whatever you paid in at the border and whatever other VAT credits you had. Now if you're on the flat rate scheme you don't have to keep all your receipts for everything else. You just file 7½ % so that; just to make the math simple there using that 12 pound product you really just, it's 10 pounds is what you're selling it for so you would owe 7.5% of that which would be 75 pence which is like their pennies over there instead of having to figure out all that other nonsense of like credits and all that. What I found and I could be completely wrong on this is my accountants, they told me, there's not a flat rate scheme currently in the other countries. So if their VAT is 22 or 23% you owe that full 22, 23% as opposed to; because basically, the way it works is instead of like in the US tax is based on, sales tax is based on where the customer lives, in Europe it's where is it being dispatched from; so where they're shipping it from. So if everything is being shipped from the UK you pay the equivalent VAT to the UK. Joe: So that's a pretty substantial saving. You're saving if you're doing penny you're saving a dollar or a euro but the percentages that you're talking about could be pretty substantial in terms of saving if you're shipping off from the UK. Kevin: Yes. Joe: Plus it sounds like your life's going to be a little simpler too. Kevin: Yes. Joe: And I think that's why a lot of people don't expand or expand to the UK and then pull back because it is a little complicated if you do too much too fast. So I like your simple approach here in terms of the flat rate scheme and sticking to the UK. What are you finding in terms of customer service and things of this nature? How do you handle that aspect of it when you're dealing with the European market place if you're in an English speaking native? Kevin: A great question, so there are services out there that will do customer service for you. I've had translators make templates for me because there's a variety of issues that may come up if you've been doing this a while you kind of know what questions people are going to ask you. But also you can do and this is not necessarily something you have to worry too much about because at the end of the day Amazon requires that there's customer service for that customer in the native language. If they're fulfilling it they look at it pretty much as they're handling the customer service. So you will get some emails from time to time that you have to respond to within 24 hours just like you do in the US. And so I sometimes will take the message put it in Google Translate see what it is in English and then I flip it around. So if I'm going back from English to let's say Italian, I then write my response copy and paste the Italian or whatever language I'm using, send it to the customer and I've not really had anyone write back and say I can't believe you just said that to me. Joe: Alright, so it does work in many cases. I did like it. It was an in-depth long conversation about soccer and kids and family with an Uber driver in France where it doesn't work. But I'm sure that in customer service it does work fairly well. Kevin: Yeah like my product didn't arrive, okay we'll send you a new one, usually that that type of thing works pretty well and you can figure out and they can figure out what you mean. Joe: Pretty simple. So, Kevin, you've gone from living in the corporate world to being an entrepreneur. Now you've got 80 different SKUs and you're also; you've got the Maximizing Ecommerce podcast, you are helping other people expand internationally as well. Are you doing that through Maximizing Ecommerce? How does anybody listening that maybe just bought a business and wants to expand internationally is it a service that you offer to help people go beyond the US? Kevin: Yes. So what they could do is if they wanted to go beyond the US actually for your listeners I'd be willing to do a free 30-minute strategy session; no obligation. They could just go to MaximizingEcommerce.com/quiet and it will take them to a page where they can schedule something with me. Just looking for people of course that have an existing business, if they're looking to get started I'll give them a free checklist on how to get their 1st product kind of like how I did. Joe: We'll put that in the show notes as well. Okay. Kevin: Yes and then also if they wanted to hear more live you and I will be hanging out together in September in Fort Worth at Brand Accelerator Live and I will be speaking about selling internationally and then Quiet Light will be there as a sponsor. And then you, I will plug you as well. You will be on stage speaking about how to maximize your sale if you're looking to sell your business one day. Joe: Yeah for folks listening that don't know some of the names we've talked about, Scott Voelker is an entrepreneur, an influencer, a speaker, a motivator, he's got the podcast the Amazing Seller. Scott's local to me sort of in South Carolina. He's got a place up here North Carolina. And Kevin's working with him on Brand Accelerator Live which is Scott's 1st big event. He's bringing in the best people in the marketplace; Greg Mercer from Jungle Scout,  Mike Jackness from eComCrew and a whole lot of other folks. And I'm sort of in a very, very low tier of those folks. Greg and Mike and the other folks like that are very, very well known. Kevin: We're really excited that you're going to be there. Joe: Well thank you. But it's a place where I've heard in terms of the Amazing Seller podcast and what you're doing with Scott it's a place where I've talked to so many people who get such value to grow; and this is the thing, grow their Amazon business but take it beyond Amazon as well and learn about how to market off of Amazon and Shopify and e-mail marketing and Facebook or things of that nature and in the affiliate world and blog world and all that stuff. So I think Scott's done an amazing job with that. I love that you're working with him on this 1st and then we're excited to be there. Anybody that hasn't looked it up yet it's Brand Accelerator Live, is that right? Kevin: Yeah Brand Accelerator Live. They can go to BrandAcceleratorLive.com and if someone is listening to this and is saying well I've never been to a live event before whether it's Brand Accelerator Live or something else if they're listening to this in the future go to something. You never know what's going to come out of it. Joe: I'm going to interrupt and say yes that's absolutely true. You know when I 1st started doing what I do here in Quiet Light I had to go to an event and I think the 1st one I went to was in New Orleans. I can't even remember it but it was a big event and I hated it. Because I didn't like; I'm a bit of an introvert. Doing this right now, talking, podcasts, it's great. It's easy. I'm a bit of an introvert but I was at an event I forget exactly where it was and I heard the name Mike Jackness and I said to myself I'm going to find Mike. And I went to be pre-party and I saw Mike sitting there on a couch. I sat down beside and said hello and now Mike and I are really good friends. I sold his business. We've done podcasts together. We've got a lot of relationships in terms of people we know together. And I think he's made an impact on my life and my business and I've hopefully made the same on his. And when you see people; you go to an event like this and you see people standing around in a circle talking to each other and you don't know who they are, your instant thought is oh they all know each other I don't want to step in there that's really awkward. The reality is that they don't know each other. They're just getting to know each other. And I've been in a situation where literally I'm standing around like that somebody walks up and just sort of shoulders their way and starts to nod their head up and down and says hello and we had all just met each other and he came in and met us as well. So it's a hard thing to do but I think in this e-commerce world, listening to podcasts like this is invaluable but the most important thing you can do is get out there and meet people face to face and shake their hand. And then you can connect with them directly about what they're doing in their business and what you're trying to do with yours; and in this case with you taking Amazon businesses beyond the US and into the other marketplaces in a strategic process and how to do that so that you're going to have a higher success rate. So anybody listening get out there and go to a Mastermind event, whatever it might be, Brand Accelerator Live is not going to be a large one; it's down in Fort Worth in September; what are the dates on it? Kevin: September 18th through 20th and then we also have a Mastermind for high-level sellers on the 21st and we still have a couple of slots available for those mastermind folks. But yeah I definitely recommend that you go to something. So to your point like sometimes you will have that feeling like oh gosh it's going to be hard connecting with people, I remember the 1st e-commerce event I went to and I walked into the opening reception and I go to the bar and kind of have that feeling like okay there's safety at the bar, the bartender is giving me the drink. Joe: Unless you're in Mexico or the Dominican Republic but yeah, okay. Kevin: Right exactly. So I turned around and I'm like okay not to go or I do have to like talk to someone. So there was this woman standing there and it was like hi I'm Kevin and then we just started talking and you know I still keep in contact with her to this day. And I started talking to some other people. And so just a random story here is that at this live event I got to know Scott Voelker and met him in another live event because there's that power in connection where you're meeting people live as opposed to even on the phone or messaging and Facebook groups or whatever case is and he was talking about how you wanted to do more to help people in the intermediate to advanced stage. And I like to think of the world as kind of like a puzzle with pieces that all have to come together that's why I do this international thing and then things to work in hotels and conventions. So I told them I think you should do a live event and I can help you with it because I had that experience. And I was thinking like he's going to say oh no [inaudible[00:37:19.2] whatever thank you graciously because he's a nice guy. But he actually said yes tell me more how would we do this. And so this has become an opportunity that's opened up doors for me because I talked to Scott. And I know all kinds of people, maybe it's not Scott Voelker that they're connected with someone who opened up some door connected them to a supplier, they found out some like I never knew about that service or that whatever and it opened up their mind to something else because they were having a conversation over drinks, breaking bread, or just talking or someone in between sessions at a live event because e-commerce sellers for the most part especially the ones that are doing it full time if they're at their house or whatever and they're just in front of a keyboard all day they want to connect with other people. Joe: Yeah. Kevin: Or if they're doing it as a; they have a full time job they are like I don't know anyone else that does this and so all of a sudden he's like surrounded by people that all do the same thing and most e-commerce sellers are not surrounded all day by other e-commerce sellers so it's like a treat being in the same room. Joe: And you'll be amazed when you connect with folks like that how you figure out after a time that there's a half a dozen people in my surrounding area and then you can have a mini sort of mastermind group where you just get together for drinks once a month or something like that. So I think really important number one thank you for your time and helping people figure out how to expand beyond Amazon.com because it is going to bring more value for their bank account and an eventual sale as well. It's going to bring more value. But for those folks that haven't done it get to a live event, meet people face to face, it will make a difference in your business and in your life in my opinion and experience. It's hard to do. I tell you it is hard to do. It's what I do now that I've got this drink in my hand? You turn around and you say hello to someone and just take your hand out. Kevin: Exactly. Joe: And you end up being amazed with value you didn't get in that situation. Again MaximizingEcommerce.com, BrandAcceleratorLive.com, Kevin you're a good man. I appreciate your time and I look forward to seeing you in September. Kevin: I'm excited for it. Thanks for having me. Links and Resources: Kevin's Website Kevin's Podcast Listener Promo from Kevin Brand Accelerator Live 2019

Do you have a good idea on the direction the ecommerce industry is headed? What are the hot new trends? What are some common mistakes that sellers like you should avoid? Here to shed light on all these questions and more is Andrew Youderian! In his conversation with Scott, Andrew goes through some key findings in his ecommerce report and how sellers like you can put your brand in the best position to succeed. Have pen and paper ready - you don’t want to miss a minute of this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Providing value Why in the world would someone like Andrew go through all the effort to produce a report on the ecommerce industry? What does Andrew get out of it? It all comes down to the concept that Scott teaches ecommerce sellers time and time again - provide value! By creating a detailed and useful report to a niche group like ecommerce sellers - Andrew has shown up and delivered value! Do you think people are more likely or less likely to trust and turn to Andrew for more resources? By providing the ecommerce report - Andrew has a ton of trust built up with his followers - you can do something similar. Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear more!  Trends in ecommerce What trends should ecommerce sellers like you keep an eye out for in the second half of 2019? Are you missing out or are you right in the sweet spot? As it turns out, Amazon is facing a bit of a lag in new businesses starting, and business growth in general on its platform. Ecommerce brands that have built a following away from Amazon have grown a better rate than those who have relied solely on the platform giant. To hear Andrew expand on what this data means for sellers like you, make sure to catch his full conversation with Scott on this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Use Amazon Ads!  If you had to guess which marketing channel is the most effective one to use - which one would you identify? While Facebook Ads might be the most popular one that ecommerce businesses are using right now - it turns out that Amazon Ads deliver the most value for your investment. This finding goes to show you that following the crowds and doing what everyone else is doing is not always the best practice. Follow the data - not crowds! For more insight into how sellers like you can use your marketing efforts most effectively - make sure to listen to this episode with Andrew Youderian! Common challenges for ecommerce sellers  Do you ever feel like you are the only person struggling to get your ecommerce business off of the ground? Do you find yourself wondering if you are crazy because you just can’t build any momentum? You aren’t alone! Tons of ecommerce sellers just like you struggle with time management, wrapping their head around sales tax issues, supply chain struggles, and more. Thankfully, Andrew took a deep dive into the data to show that you aren’t crazy! Join Andrew as he unpacks his findings with Scott on this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:15] Scott welcomes his guest, Andrew Youderian.  [6:10] What has Scott learned from planning Brand Accelerator Live?  [9:00] Why does Andrew go through all the work to create his report on the state of ecommerce?  [10:40] Andrew shares some trends he observed from the report.  [19:00] What is the most effective marketing channel?  [23:00] Scott and Andrew talk about dealing with sales tax issues.  [27:00] Common struggles for ecommerce leaders.  [33:45] The benefit of using FBA with a robust brand.  [38:20] Closing thoughts from Andrew.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.ecommercefuel.com/2019-report Ecommerce Fuel Brand Accelerator Live

It’s Friday - has the week worn you out? Are you wiped from all the hard work you poured into your business this week or are you still trying to build up the courage to quit your day job? Here to help you dig deep and find the motivation you need to keep heading in the right direction is another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares his thought of the week, answers a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Have pen and paper ready - you are going to need it!  Deliver the goods! Do you remember the old line from that movie Kevin Cosner movie - “If you build it, they will come?” That line has some application when it comes to your business! Unfortunately, no, the equation isn’t that simple for business success, but one thing is true - you have to put in the effort and deliver the goods. If you can build a following and consistently show up and deliver value - people will keep coming! To hear how this perspective has played out for Scott and his success a business leader - make sure to tune into this episode!  Connect with influencers If you want to grow your business, but you don’t feel confident in your ability to connect with people in a personal and engaging way - try reaching out to influencers in your target market. You’ll be surprised at how much traction and success you can develop by reaching out to someone who has already built a following! Remember - you don’t have to reinvent the wheel - if there is a niche group out there and someone else has them engaged, why not create a win-win situation? Hear more about how this approach can help you succeed by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Expand your brand  There are so many ways you can build out and expand your business. From digital products and workshops to special sales and unique offers - the possibilities are endless! Don’t let a lack of imagination and innovation hold you back from a robust brand that can go the distance. Scott will be the first person to tell you that building an ecommerce business won’t be easy - but it’s worth it! What are you waiting for? Jump in, get your hands dirty, and learn from the challenges and roadblocks that come your way. Remember, the TAS community is right here to help you succeed!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:10] Why you need to attend Brand Accelerator Live.  [5:45] Scott’s thought of the week.  [8:40] Question: How can I use content strategy in a novelty business? [12:40] Connecting with influencers works!  [14:00] Make sure to build out your brand.  [16:00] Closing thoughts.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Brand Accelerator Live www.theamazingseller.com/ask Pat Flynn

Can you really take a dream like building a business focused on creating, marketing, and selling MMA bobble heads become a reality? Don’t you have to be some big shot business mastermind to make your dreams a reality? No! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he welcomes his guest, Dave Manley. In his conversation with Scott, Dave opens up about what led him to the world of MMA bobble heads, why he refuses to take no for an answer, what it was like participating in the 5-Minute Pitch, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this fascinating episode featuring Dave’s story!  5-Minute Pitch  If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about one of his latest endeavors - The 5-Minute Pitch. The 5-Minute Pitch is a show where 32 bootstrapped companies are selected to pitch Greg Mercer, Scott Voelker, Steve Chou, and Mike Jackess, along with a weekly guest judge for the chance to win $50,000. Dave Manley was a finalist on the first season of The 5-Minute Pitch, and he was kind enough to share his honest perspective with Scott as a participant. To get the full story - make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Refusing to take no for an answer Let’s face it - the journey from an idea to reality is a long one! When Dave was hooked by a plan to create and market bobble heads for MMA fighters - he knew that he was in for a long ride. Dave went to work, creating some prototypes and standing in long lines to meet MMA fighters to get the chance to pitch them his idea. Doors were slammed in Dave’s face time and time again, but he simply refused to give up and take no for an answer. Are you as committed to your business success as much as Dave is? Find out what kept Dave going and what eventually led to his first yes by listening to this episode!  Finally - a yes!  Facing rejection after rejection from small MMA stars and some of the biggest - Dave wouldn’t back down. He knew that at some point he’d get his idea to connect and he’d receive his first, “Yes!” The big moment came when Dave was able to make a pivotal connection through a few friends to Dan Henderson, an MMA legend. The artistry and care that Dave invested into his products impressed Dan so much so that he told Dave that he’d connect him to any MMA fighter he wanted to. Can you believe that? Persistence that paid off! Learn more about Dave’s story and how you can adopt some of his methods by listening to this episode!  How to market your idea Now that you have an idea about what led Dave to the critical moment in his career - the next question is - how do you market this great product? A great product doesn’t do you any good if you can’t get it in front of the right people! On the second part of this two-part interview, you’ll hear from Scott as he sits down with Dave to walk through marketing strategies he can use to take his business to the next level of growth. You’ll want to catch that episode as Scott drops some helpful nuggets of knowledge for sellers like you too! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:15] Don’t miss Brand Accelerator Live! [4:30] Scott welcomes his guest, Dave.  [9:00] Dave talks about appearing in The 5-Minute Pitch and how he got started selling bobble heads.  [20:30] Refusing to take no for an answer.  [25:00] Finally getting a yes!  [32:00] How do you market your great idea?  [34:30] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Brand Accelerator Live Steve Chou The 5-Minute Pitch

Are you fired up and ready to take on the weekend? Do you plan to put in some work on your ecommerce business or are you due a much-deserved break? Either case - you’ve come to the right place! It’s time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he gives an update about Brand Accelerator Live and answers a question from a TAS follower like you. Equal parts encouragement and action - it’s all here!  Brand Accelerator Live Do you have your ticket for Brand Accelerator Live yet? What are you waiting for? This is going to be the event that will set your business up for success as you enter the fourth quarter. From actionable steps to great network opportunities - Brand Accelerator Live is designed from the ground up with sellers like you in mind. Don’t sit on the sidelines - jump in and stretch yourself! You can get more details about the event by visiting the link in the resources section at the end of this post!  Physical products or niche content?  Time and time again - Scott gets asked by TAS followers like you if they should focus on building a brand around physical products or if they should make a niche content site. Scott’s answer? Yes! To clarify - Scott will always err on the side of taking action (Go figure!) He encourages sellers like you to avoid waiting around for the “Right time” to launch and to focus on low hanging fruit like building a home base. The truth is, it doesn’t take a lot of resources to create content that will start to bring in traffic - for ideas on how to get started - make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:30] Question: Should I do physical products or create a niche content site?  [6:20] Autofill is your friend!  [9:00] Creating a standard operating procedure.  [11:30] Closing thoughts.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingseller.com/story Brand Accelerator Live Travel Fashion Girl

Do you ever feel like your business is missing some key elements that could take it from good to great? What if there was a way to get some expert eyes on your business? Good news! On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he reviews an ecommerce website to offer his unique take and suggestions. From small tweaks to glaring mistakes - Scott goes all in. You can use Scott’s walkthrough as a way of evaluating your website - what do you have to lose? Make sure to have pen and paper ready - you’ll want to take notes!  Give your customers a reason to stay connected Too often, businesses miss an easy way to keep their customers connected to their brand - they don’t give an incentive to sign up for an email list! From a discount off of their next purchase or a promise of relevant information - you’ve got to make some effort to get them signed up. Also - make sure you don’t bury your email list sign-up. Make your sign up process easy and pleasant - just that little step can go a long way! To hear more about getting your customers connected to your brand, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Speak their language and provide relevant content! Once you’ve secured your customer’s email address - make sure you keep them engaged. Time and time again, Scott has seen sellers who build a massive email list only to let that email list grow cold! You don’t have to have a huge, robust strategy to keep your followers engaged - just provide relevant information they can use that is related to your niche market. A great way to find which content your followers are looking for is to ask them! Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear Scott expand on this topic and much more! Don’t be afraid to highlight other personalities and influencers.  If you don’t feel comfortable getting in front of the camera - you should consider connecting with an influencer in your niche market. Think of how much time and energy you could save by finding someone who has built a following and is passionate about your subject. Scott has taken this route before, and he’s seen some great results! For a deeper dive into what it takes to make your brand stand out from all the rest - make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller - you don’t want to miss it!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER  [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:00] Scott tells a fishing story.  [8:00] Diving deeper.  [10:30] Don’t hide your email list - entice them!  [13:00] Help your fans get better.  [15:00] Scott shares some “How to…” content ideas.  [23:00] How to sell your product without sounding like “Salesperson.”  [27:15] Reaching out to fans and influencers.  [30:00] Closing thoughts from Scott.   RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE  Brand Accelerator Live  Hello Bar Mystery Tackle Box www.theamazingseller.com/576

It’s HERE! The Amazing Seller has officially published 700 episodes! What an accomplishment - and it couldn’t have happened without listeners like you. Thank you for tuning in each week and taking the time to submit questions to Ask Scott and for your participation in the TAS community. Scott is thrilled that the podcast has made it this far and is still going strong. He doesn’t have any plans to stop podcasting - so onward to 800! On this episode - you’ll hear from Scott as he explains how sellers like you can make the most of attending LIVE events like Brand Accelerator Live.  Your stories matter! Did you know that your story matters to Scott? It’s true! As an entrepreneur - you know that this path is not for the faint of heart. If you want to go the distance, you’ve got to keep a clear eye on what fuels you and keeps you motivated. For Scott - stories from TAS followers keep him committed to the podcast and creating tools and resources for sellers like you. If you haven’t already - take the time to submit your story and let Scott know how much TAS is helping you on your journey. You can drop Scott a line by visiting the story link located in the resources section.  How to make the most of a LIVE event - CHECKLIST Your time is valuable, and you don’t want to waste it attending events that don’t make an impact on how you run your business. Should you swear off attending events altogether or is there a better way? According to Scott - if you follow this checklist - you’ll get a lot more value out of live events.  Answer this question - is this event right for you?  Have a plan going into the event. What is the one area you need help in?  Be part of the afterparty. Use it to network! Bring pen and paper - take notes.  Do a brain dump each evening to off-load all the information you absorbed.  Are you ready to give Scott’s checklist for live events a try? Why not give it a spin this September when you attend Brand Accelerator Live? You can learn more about that event by visiting the link in the resources section.  Bonus tips  Are you the type of person who goes above and beyond? Do you want to earn some extra credit? To enhance your experience at a live event even more - Scott has some bonus tips that leaders like you can use.  Meditate in the morning. Use an app like Headspace.  Eat good food and stay hydrated.  Make simple cards with your name and number.  Have an open mind and allow yourself to learn.  Have fun and try not to look at your business at the event.  Have you done any of these tips at a live event? What best practices do you have for attending a live event? To hear Scott go into detail with these tips and more - make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:10] THANK YOU! [5:55] Clearing the inbox.  [8:30] How to get the most out of attending a LIVE event.  [15:10] Have a plan going into the event! [18:15] Take notes and do a brain dump after each evening.  [20:10] Bonus tips.  [26:00] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/story www.theamazingseller.com/ask Brand Accelerator Live www.theamazingseller.com/699 Salesbacker Headspace

Are you fired up and ready to push yourself and your business? Or do you need a little rest from the grind? Either way - you’ve come to the right place! It is time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares his thought of the week, goes over an answer to a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. If you are ready to put in the time and effort it takes to build an ecommerce business that will last - this is the episode for you!  Product testimonials Do you ever find yourself scoffing at the goofy product testimonials that you see on infomercials? Why are those silly gimmicks still a thing in 2019? Easy answer - because they work! Seriously - when people see that other customers have taken a chance and vouch for your product - it makes a difference. You don’t have to go the goofy and gimmicky route - you can feature a customer testimonial in a way that is relevant and engaging. To hear more about how to use product testimonials effectively in your ecommerce business - make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Find the right people  What is your experience with attending Masterminds? Have you heard the term but never take the chance to check them out? Do you consider them a waste of time? Unfortunately, there are some really bad Masterminds out there that give the good ones a bad reputation. At the end of the day - you need to make sure that the Mastermind you are going to invest in is worth your time and energy - how do you do that? Scott suggests attending paid Masterminds and setting the right expectations. Too often, people get fired up about a Mastermind only to find that they aren’t getting the insights and accountability they had expected. Learn even more from Scott perspective on Masterminds by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Brand Accelerator Live Speaking of paid gathers that are worth your time - do you have your ticket to Brand Accelerator Live yet? If not - what are you waiting for? Yes, this event will be well worth your time, and you’ll walk away with actionable content! Remember - attending live events is a key aspect of investing not only in your business but also in your growth as a leader. You can learn more about Brand Accelerator Live and how to secure your spot by visiting the link in the resources section at the end of this post!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:50] Scott’s thought of the week.  [9:00] Question: Should I join a Mastermind?  [12:40] Scott explains what a Mastermind is.  [16:15] How to find the right Mastermind.  [24:00] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Brand Accelerator Live www.theamazingseller.com/ask

What does life look like after exiting a successful ecommerce business? How does an ecommerce seller pick the next professional chapter? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he welcomes his friend, Mike Jackness, to the podcast. In his conversation with Scott, Mike opens up about his experience selling his ecommerce business, why he made that decision, his plans for the future, lessons he has learned along the way, and much more. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch an inside look at Mike’s exciting story - catch the full conversation on this episode!  Selling your business As an ecommerce business owner - you know all of the hard work and headache that goes into building a business in 2019. Can you imagine what it would be like to sell something you’ve poured your heart and soul into? While Mike loved to work on his ecommerce business, he’s had a feeling over the last year or so that it was time for a change. That’s when he reached out to the guys over at Quiet Light Brokerage to start the process of selling his ecommerce business. To hear about Mike’s experience with Quiet Light, make sure to listen to this fascinating episode of The Amazing Seller - you don’t want to miss it! Attention is the new currency Did you know that with the right amount of attention, you can sell almost anything? Just take a look at the Apple Watch - it’s dipped a lot in popularity over the years, but when it first came out Apple raked in the earnings because they grabbed people’s attention! If you can focus on building a following of dedicated and loyal fans based on the content you deliver - selling a product will be the easy part. You don’t have to go it alone to figure out how to grab attention in your niche market - Scott and his team have developed systems and processes that are tried and tested. To learn more about getting attention for your ecommerce business, listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Find your niche and use it! What is that one thing that you are an expert in or that you are passionate about? Are you using it to build an audience and launch your ecommerce brand? If not - what are you waiting for? Time and time again, Scott has explained how sellers like you can leverage your personal passion or interests to grow your following. Remember, you don’t have to know everything - you can bring your followers along as you investigate and learn with them. Mike is considering several different directions to take his new ecommerce venture - one thing is for certain - it will be based on what he’s passionate about. Learn more about leveraging your personal passion to build your brand by listening to this episode!  Why attending live events is so important  If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about helping sellers like you understand the value of attending live events. If it weren’t for live events, Scott wouldn’t have the friendships he has today with Mike Jackness, Steve Chu, and many others. If you’ve been hesitant about attending a live event this year - consider checking out Brand Accelerator Live - it’s been designed from the ground up for sellers like you! Don’t worry about wasting your time with vague lessons and pie in the sky rhetoric - Brand Accelerator Live is built with actionable content in mind. Grab your ticket for September’s event by visiting the link the resources section at the end of this post!  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:00] Mike Jackness joins Scott on the podcast.  [6:20] What was it like to sell an ecommerce business?  [13:15] Why Mike is making a shift in his business approach.  [17:20] Once you have people’s attention - you can sell anything.  [24:30] Why digital content is a great way to make money.  [27:30] Find your niche interest and use it to build your business!  [38:00] Why you should attend Brand Accelerator Live.  [43:20] Closing thoughts.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Mike Jackness Quiet Light Brokerage 5 Minute Pitch Sellers Summit Brand Accelerator Live Who Moved My Cheese Travel Fashion Girl

  Many people view blogging as a project that requires a specific set of skills and years of writing experience. Both of these certainly help but they're not a prerequisite to getting started. As Jennifer Garza attests, it's more important to just start writing.  In 2011, the mompreneur iSaveA2Z.com, a platform where she could conveniently share tips on how to save money. The website got so much traction that it now has a million monthly views on average. Along the way, Jennifer went through a lifestyle change. She discovered and fell in love with the keto diet. So much so that she created another website around it, Low Carb Inspirations. In a span of a year, she's landed a cookbook deal and is now the proud author of Keto Friendly Recipes: Easy Keto for Busy People. In this episode, you'll learn: How being frugal led to blogging (5:34) How she achieved success as a blogger (6:25) The journey that led to her second website, Low Carb Inspirations (9:38) The true key to her success (20:51) Her ecommerce plans (30:59) I hope this episode inspires all our listeners out there to pursue blogging, whether as a jumpoff point to ecommerce or to supplement existing marketing efforts for your brand. As Scott once said in this podcast, “Attention is the new currency.”  And putting the word out is certainly one way to get more eyeballs on your product. This episode is part of our Women's Month celebration. We'd love to see more women in the ecommerce industry, so if you are a female business owner, head over to www.ecomcrew.com/underthehood and tell us your story. We'd love to feature you on the podcast. Connect with amazing people like Jennifer at ecommerce events like Scott Voelker's Brand Accelerator Live. Get tickets. Finally, if you enjoyed listening and think this episode has been useful to you, please take a moment to leave us a review on iTunes. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Happy selling!

Why isn’t your product listing taking off like you thought it would? What can you do to increase your traffic and sales for your ecommerce product? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he welcomes his guest, Greg Mercer. In his conversation with Scott, Greg opens up about how to widen your net, what it takes to optimize your listing on Amazon, tips he has for using PPC effectively, why live events are worth it, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this helpful episode featuring Greg!  Use your product photos wisely  Did you know that one of the best assets you have to convert clicks to sales is your product images? It’s true! While Amazon’s TOS stipulates that you need to have the product pictured behind a pure white background with no additional graphics - that’s just the featured image! You can use the remaining seven images to highlight what makes your product stand out from the competition. Consider using comparison shots to show how your product is made from a better quality than your competitors. To hear Scott and Greg expand on this topic, make sure to catch this episode of The Amazing Seller!  Why you need to master PPC If you want to really up to your game as an ecommerce business - you should learn to master PPC. If you’ve been part of the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is always talking about the value of knowing how to navigate PPC. It turns out that PPC isn’t just Scott’s soapbox, but Greg also encourages sellers like you to learn and master PPC. If you are struggling to hone your product listing on Amazon, this might be the best place for you to start! Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear Scott and Greg go even further with this topic!  Brand Accelerator Live Is it really worth all of the time and energy it requires to attend a live event? Wouldn’t you be better off if you just purchased a few workshops or read a few business books? According to Scott and Greg, the answer is a resounding - NO! While the guys weren’t sold on the value of live events early on in their career - they’ve since changed their tune. As they’ve developed as ecommerce leaders - Scott and Greg point to attending live events as a key aspect of their personal and professional growth. These guys are ready to put their money where their mouth is by organizing Brand Accelerator Live - this is the event where you can connect with like-minded sellers and get the insights you need to take your business to the next level. Learn more about Brand Accelerator Live and how to grab your ticket by visiting the link in the resources section at the end of this post.  OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:00] Scott welcomes his friend, Greg Mercer to the podcast.  [6:00] How to start widening your net.  [10:30] Greg gives a great example of how to optimize your product listing.  [14:10] Why you need to become a PPC master.  [17:00] Greg shares his PPC keyword strategy.  [24:45] Are conferences and live events worth it?  [29:15] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Brand Accelerator Live Greg Mercer www.theamazingseller.com/56 www.theamazingseller.com/js Five Minute Pitch

How in the world do you get an ecommerce business off of the ground in 2019? Is there some secret formula that you need to follow? Are there special hacks you can use to go from zero to 60 overnight? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he sits down at the lake house with Joel, Chris, and Angel. In their conversation - the group takes a look at what makes successful ecommerce sellers tick and how they are preparing to grow their businesses in 2019. If you are ready to up your game and take your business to the next level - this is the episode for you!  Why not connect with an influencer?  Did you know that one of the best ways to validate an idea and start making a profit is by connecting with a social media influencer? It’s true! From YouTube stars to Instagram personalities - social media is the place to be for brands and products to make an impact. If you want to get your special line of fishing lures to sell - connecting with an individual who is making popular videos on YouTube is a no brainer! To get a full rundown on what it would take to connect with an influencer in your niche market - make sure to listen to this helpful episode of The Amazing Seller!  Don’t give up! Every day small businesses all over the country close up shop. What can ecommerce sellers like you do to ensure that you aren’t just another one of this static? It might sound simple, but the key difference between the businesses that make it and the ones that fail is throwing in the towel. Even if you launch a product and it bombs - it’s not a failure unless you give up! Throughout his ecommerce journey - Scott has had missteps and setbacks, but he’s used those experiences as lessons to make his approach even better. You can do that too! Learn more about this important perspective from Scott by listening to this episode!  Do you know your “Why?”  One of the most important things you need to know as an ecommerce seller operating in today’s environment is your “Why.” Do you know your “Why?” Your “Why” is that one thing that keeps you going when things get tough - because they will get tough! You need to have this one thing at the front of your mind - consider writing it down and putting it on your mirror or refrigerator. If you just want to make money - that’s great! If you want to have deeper and more complicated goals - that’s great too. The truth is - you’ll never get anywhere if you don’t have this clearly defined end goal in mind. Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear more about knowing your “Why.” Cultivate a healthy mindset What have you done recently to invest in your mindset? Have you read good leadership and business books? Have you attended a live event to connect with like-minded individuals? If you neglect the health of your mindset - your business will suffer. Scott and his team have been hard at work, creating a unique and valuable experience with Brand Accelerator Live - this even is your opportunity to invest in your mindset and the future of your business. What are you waiting for? Brand Accelerator Live is just a few short months away - check out the link in the resources section to grab your spot! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:30] Joel and Chris talk about the value of connecting with influencers.  [7:30] What if your product fails?  [9:30] Scott explains how to 10X your sales & what it’s like to partner with an influencer.  [16:00] Stirring the pot and highlighting your product.  [24:30] Know your “Why” and other mindset insights from Joel. [27:15] You need like-minded people in your corner.  [32:10] Chris talks about the danger of going it alone.  [35:15] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Brand Accelerator Live

How is your ecommerce brand performing? Are you at the top of your game, or do you need a helpful little push in the right direction? If you need some fresh insight and a little dose of energy - you’ve come to the right place! It is time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller! On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he gives his thought of the week, answers a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. You don’t want to miss a minute of this engaging episode!  Your brand needs superfans! Does your brand have raving fans who will sing your praises? Chances are - you aren’t there yet. Do you have a plan to get there? Your customers are your top resource - you can empower and engage them, or you can take them for granted. The businesses that go the distance and stand out in the marketplace are the ones who harness the power of their people! You don’t have to reinvent the wheel on this one - just take the time to learn from brands who are doing it well. To hear more about this important topic from Scott’s perspective, make sure to catch this episode of The Amazing Seller!  International selling  Do you find yourself wondering what it would be like to take your brand to the international marketplace? Sooner or later, you’ll need to face that question as an ecommerce business leader. Too often, sellers get intimidated by the prospect of selling their products internationally - and for a good reason - it can seem complicated. Thankfully, there are ecommerce leaders out there who are willing to show you the way. If you are ready to take your brand to an international marketplace - reach out, Scott’s friend - Kevin Sanderson. Kevin’s contact info is located in the resources section at the end of this post.  Brand Accelerator Live When was the last time you invested in the long term growth of your business? Let’s face it, there are a ton of issues that keep an ecommerce sellers attention focused on the here and now but you need to start thinking ahead. One of the best ways to invest in your business is by attending live events! Scott and his team have pulled together a substantial event filled with valuable insights that will help sellers like you. Brand Accelerator Live is just a few short months away - what are you waiting for? Grab your ticket! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:00] Scott’s thought of the week.  [9:50] Question: I’m ready to move into the international marketplace, where do I start?  [18:00] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.yoursuperfans.com www.theamazingseller.com/story Sellers Summit Brand Accelerator Live Kevin Sanderson - Maximizing Ecommerce Kevin[at]maximizingecommerce.com  www.theamazingseller.com/js

How do you feel about fear? It sounds like a strange question, but the answer has HUGE implications for your ecommerce business! If you let fear run your life - you’ll be miserable. Why not learn how to embrace fear and use it help you achieve your goals? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott and Joel as they explain how sellers like you can understand the fear you have and how to use it positively. You don’t want to miss a minute of this informative and helpful episode! Where does your fear come from? Take a minute and consider the fear or anxiety that you have about your business. Where does that fear come from? Are you worried it is all going to come crashing down around you? The truth is - your fear comes from a place of preservation. Fear is a natural reaction to change and risk in our lives. Guess what? You aren’t in danger! Fear told your ancestors when to go into self-preservation mode, but you don’t have to have the same reaction. To hear Joel and Scott expand on the root causes of fear - make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Why the right people in your corner can make all the difference As an entrepreneur, you are likely used to going it alone and figuring out problems without anyone's help, right? What if you’ve been going about it the wrong way? Did you know that you can actually go further and faster when you connect with like-minded people? It’s true! According to Scott, spending time with other entrepreneurs have had a huge positive impact on his mindset and the trajectory of his business. To hear Scott and Joel explain the importance of connecting with other leaders, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Use your fear! What if you could not just defeat the power of fear in your life but USE it as fuel? Does that sound too good to be true? It doesn’t have to be! Instead of letting all that nervous energy and worrying rob you of the joy and drive you need to succeed - use it! Do you want to be in the same boat you are in a year from now? If you don’t - use that fear of complacency to make some positive changes in your life and business! At the end of the day - you can’t expect everything to come easy. If you want real and lasting change in your business - you’ve got to fight for it. Learn more about using fear to your advantage by listening to this episode with Scott and Joel - you don’t want to miss it! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:00] What is the root cause of your fear? [9:00] The worst-case scenario. [13:30] You’ve got to surround yourself with the right people. [21:50] Scott talks about the fear he had with the lake house. [25:00] Make sure to check out Brand Accelerator Live! [28:15] Use your fear as motivation! [30:30] Closing thoughts. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE SpeakPipe www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamzingseller.com/live

Don’t you hate it when you run into a wall with your business? Everything seems to be moving along fine - then all of a sudden - you hit a wall! The wall you hit can take a bunch of different forms - lack of motivation - financial difficulties - the list could go on. What are you going to do about it? You have the power to change your situation! Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott and Chris explain how sellers like you can get the most out of your email list. You don’t want to miss a minute of this helpful episode! Brand Accelerator LIVE This is it - Brand Accelerator Live is just a few months away! Scott and Chris were down in Texas for this episode as they joined the TAS team to hammer out a few more details for this amazing event. Do you have your ticket yet? What are you waiting for? Remember - you need to invest in your business by investing in your growth as a leader! How else do you expect to learn new concepts and strategies? Don’t leave it all up to books and workshops - live events can do wonders for your business! Get more details about the event in the resources section at the end of this post. Just be a human! Do you ever get beautiful branded emails from the big box stores and feel intimidated? How can an ecommerce seller like you ever hope to compete with the resources of retail giants? While those polished and shiny emails look good - the truth is - people respond to a more humble approach! Time and time again, Scott and Chris have found that simple and straight forward emails get the best responses. That’s good news for sellers like you! You don’t have to imitate the big guys - just be yourself! To hear more about this critical topic from Scott and Chris - make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! The three email profit push Even with Scott and Chris’ encouragement - writing an email to get sales or even goodwill with your audience can be really hard. If you want to overcome that difficulty - you’ve got to be willing to put yourself out there. To help make that process a little easier - here is the three email profit push. Make an offer - tell them what it is and why they should care. Send a reminder email about the offer. Send a final email about the offer ending soon! You can send these emails in one day - or over the course of three days. Listen to Scott and Chris expand on this email strategy and much more by tuning into this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:00] Why you should get excited about Brand Accelerator LIVE! [5:30] Question: I’m stuck - what do I email my list to get sales? [7:15] There is no magic script - just be a human! [10:40] The one thing most sellers miss when sending emails. [15:00] How to “Sell” without “Selling.” [20:15] What is the three email profit push? RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/live www.tasclass.com Travel Fashion Girl

You know that sinking feeling you have when you go to log in to your Amazon account in the morning, and you see that dreaded red flag? It doesn’t have to be that way! More and more - Scott is hearing from ecommerce sellers like you who put way too many of their eggs into the Amazon basket. This isn’t an Amazon bashing episode - it’s a reminder that you need to think beyond Amazon. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares a horror story from one of his inner circle members - let it serve as a warning to build external assets for your brand! The HORROR story Imagine you are chugging along minding your own business when Amazon Shipping sends you an email and asks you to participate in a new Beta program. Wow - that sounds great! They offer to send you a printer to print out labels and make the whole process easier - even better! Then the other shoe drops - the printer won’t work with your computers. You reach out to Amazon and plead with them to help correct the problem and avoid delayed shipping on your account - all to no avail. Sounds like a nightmare - right? What would you do in this scenario? The solution Jim’s story is a great example of why sellers like you need to build out external assets like a home base (blog/website), email list, and social media channels! Don’t get caught with all of your eggs in the Amazon basket. Amazon is a great place to launch and grow your business, but you NEVER want to depend on a single channel outside of your direct control. While building out your own assets sounds complicated - it’s really not that difficult. To hear how sellers like you can get started and avoid a situation as Jim faced, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Check out the P.A.C.E method! If you haven’t already - you need to check out the PACE method that Scott has been developing over the last year. PACE is a formula that sellers like you can use to future-proof your brand. If you’ve already brushed up on PACE - make sure to attend the Brand Accelerator LIVE event in Septemeber to go even further with brand building strategies. If you want what you’ve never had - you’ve got to do what you’ve never done! Don’t get stuck doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different outcome. Learn a better way from Scott and the TAS team. You can learn more about PACE and the Brand Accelerator LIVE event in the resources section. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:40] Jim’s voice message - an Amazon horror story. [7:30] Scott reacts to Jim’s story. [9:15] You’ve got to build your own assets! [11:30] Check out the P.A.C.E method. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Voxer www.theamazingseller.com/pace www.theamazingseller.com/live

Do you ever find yourself struggling to build momentum with your ecommerce business? If so - you aren’t alone! Many sellers go to events or masterminds only to struggle with implementing new strategies once they get home. On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott and Joel as they explain how sellers like you can get the most out of events, what makes Brand Accelerator Live so unique, how to break out of the norm and take action, and much more. This episode is designed to encourage sellers like you - don’t miss it! Brand Accelerator LIVE Update Scott’s got some great news to share regarding the TAS Brand Accelerator Live event! As you know - Scott has been hard at work, making sure sellers like you get a unique and rewarding experience at the upcoming Brand Accelerator Live event. Part of making it a great event is getting the right person to MC and make sure the whole experience goes smoothly. Here’s the good news - the MC will be a familiar voice - Joel Bower has agreed to fill this vital role, and he is READY for it. Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott and Joel give more updates on this fast approaching event! An event created for sellers like YOU! Scott and the crew planning the Brand Accelerator Live event get it - they know that these type of events can feel pretty cookie-cutter. If you’ve been to one marketing or ecommerce event - it feels like you’ve been to them all, right? What does it take to stand out from the rest of the pack? How will Brand Accelerator Live be any different? The TAS crew wants this event to be the ONE event you go to this year. With that approach in mind, they promise that they won’t waste your time. Scott and his team know what it means to come up with the cash to attend an event like this and want to make it a good return on your investment. Hear more about how they’ve crafted this event with sellers like you in mind by listening to this episode! Get the most out of attending events. Truthfully - you really only get out of events and masterminds what you plan on contributing. Yes, these are events that you attend and absorb, BUT there are things you can do to set yourself up for success! According to Joel and Scott, it all comes down to application and follow through. These guys get it - when you attend events it can feel like you are drinking out of a fire hydrant - that’s normal! What you need to do is create a sperate sheet or document during the event and make a list of action steps. When the event is over, and you are on the airplane heading back home - pick two action steps that that whole list you created. When you focus on JUST two action steps, you increase the likelihood of actually following through! You’ve got to get out of the house! From time to time - Scott gets push back from TAS followers like you who argue that attending an event is a waste of time. Do you find yourself falling for that line of thinking? There are two key reasons why you should attend an event like Brand Accelerator Live. Attending an event gets you out of your house and out of your regular routine. Don’t ignore or gloss over this point! Sometimes a little break from the same old - same old can make a HUGE difference. You never know who you will meet and how that connection can change the course of your business. Scott has made some many great connections over the years by simply showing up to an event and taking the time to get to know fellow sellers. What are you waiting for? Do you really think you can get those amazing benefits sitting at home? Try something new and see if you can get some helpful insights that will help you take your business to the next level of growth! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:15] Why you should attend live events or masterminds. [12:00] How to get the most out of an event. What is the action you want to take? [17:20] Why the TAS crowd is the BEST. [23:40] Special Announcement about Brand Accelerator LIVE. [26:40] Brand Accelerator LIVE was created for sellers like YOU! [30:10] How the right connections can make all the difference. [34:20] Don’t shortcut your education as a business leader. [36:50] Closing thoughts. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/live www.theamazingseller.com/pace www.theamazingseller.com/fb

Growing an Ecommerce business is still one of the best ways to build something that can financially serve you and your family long-term, but it has never been more difficult. That’s why you should take advantage of the knowledge and experience of those who have done it in the past and are still doing it today, even with all the changes that have happened in the Ecommerce space. This episode of Maximizing Ecommerce features Scott Voelker, Kevin’s long-time mentor and friend, a super successful Ecommerce seller, and host of “The Amazing Seller” podcast. Scott shares his story, how the Ecommerce industry has changed over the last few years, and how you can get involved in building your own brand, investing your time, energy, and resources wisely, and establishing a long-term revenue stream (or two, or three) that makes all the effort worth it. You can grow a successful Ecommerce business today! Listen to hear how Scott and Kevin advise you go about it. Outline of This Episode [0:30] How the Ecommerce world is constantly changing - and what doesn’t [1:30] Introducing Kevin’s friend and mentor, Scott Voelker [3:09] The backstory behind Kevin and Scott’s friendship [8:09] Why the things that worked in the past don’t work as well in 2019 [21:01] Content is a huge part of building a brand. Scott shares how to do it well [20:31] What to expect from your content marketing efforts [37:90] How product sales can pivot into digital products [42:44] Relationships with others who are building brands are valuable [47:12] Scott’s parting advice for those looking to grow and Ecommerce business Private label sales: Not as simple as picking a product that is selling well It wasn’t too long ago that private label sellers were able to research popular items selling on Amazon, create their own version of the product, and begin selling it (and making money). Back then, if you ran out of inventory due to rapid sales, you typically had time to reorder and get back in the game. But today that is not the case. By the time you reorder and resupply your initial stock at Amazon, 3 to 5 new sellers are likely to have copied what you’re doing and will be raking in the sales in your place. It's also likely that one of those suppliers will have taken over the product listing you worked so hard to build and you won’t have a chance of regaining your place at the top. What’s the solution? In this episode, Scott and Kevin talk about the options you have for growing an Ecommerce business in 2019. You could… Sell varied products as cash-flow opportunities (and constantly be shifting what you sell) Build a brand of your own around the same niche area of interest Which is better? Does one have greater benefits for you as a seller than the other? Listen to this great conversation between two experienced Amazon sellers to get the answers. Two options for growing an Ecommerce business you should consider Consider this scenario: You find products that are selling well and begin supplying products of your own in that market. They sell well at first, but it isn’t long before the market fills up with look-alike products and suppliers. You have to pivot and wind up selecting a different product to add to what you sell. You experience the same sort of success at first - but the niche is quickly saturated again. OR, you could do this: Once you’ve found a product that both sells well and that you enjoy, you decide to double-down on that market. You work to differentiate your product by adding new features. You brand your product with your particular logo and mark, you customize the packaging, you add additional products that complement the ones you already sell. All of that leads to buyers having a good feeling about your brand - and customer experience turns into customer loyalty. Which would YOU prefer? Scott Voelker, Kevin’s guest on this episode has seen and experienced both scenarios and he’s convinced the later of the two is the best long-term gain, for many reasons. Listen to this episode to hear how he advises to do it in 2019. Step one for building an Ecommerce brand in 2019 There are people out there who are selling products on Amazon who don’t want to build a brand. The brainwork and nuance required to make things cohesive is not attractive to them - and perhaps they enjoy the “hunt” of finding new products and making them rise to the top of the Amazon search. If that is you, what does Scott recommend you do? First - Scott recommends you figure out a specific market and find and develop a variety of products in the same niche. It’s easier to research and provide products that are related, and each of them can point buyers to the other products you sell. If you do go about things in that way, Scott recommends you start investing your profits in other things that are completely unrelated to your product and your Amazon efforts. That’s because you want your income diversified so that if Amazon changes its algorithms or policies, you don’t lose everything. Isn’t that smart? A huge part of growing an Ecommerce business depends on Content Marketing Do you understand the term “Content Marketing?” It’s the process of producing valuable, free content for those who are interested in what you are selling so that you can build a following ("Bass Fishing" is one of Scott’s favorite illustrations). You’ve likely benefited from this kind of marketing yourself and didn’t even realize it was marketing. This podcast is one example of content marketing. When you do this, follow these two principles… Provide value - don’t make content just to make content. Truly help people Be consistent - content marketing is a long game, but a very effective one As you do this, you are able to connect with people who are truly interested in what you have to offer by building an email list. You can then sell your products to them through emails, place advertisements on your website that takes advantage of the traffic you're getting, create digital products that relate to your physical products, make sales through affiliate links you provide, and more. This episode is full of great information about how to build a brand, how to use it to its fullest potential through content marketing, and how to diversify your income streams so that you can be protected from the ups and downs of Amazon sales. As a BONUS, Scotts shares how to build relationships with others in the Ecommerce space for the possibility of joint ventures and new opportunities - like the Brand Accelerator Live event Scott and Kevin are putting on this year. Listen to get all the details! Resources & People Mentioned Scott and Kevin’s event: Brand Accelerator Live Mike Jackness: Sold his business for 7 figures Clickbank Connect with Scott Voelker Scott’s podcast: The Amazing Seller Scott’s website: www.TheAmazingSeller.com The TAS Facebook group Connect With Kevin Sanderson www.YouTube.com/maximizingecommerce www.Facebook.com/maximizingecommerce www.Twitter.com/maxecom Subscribe to Maximizing Ecommerce onApple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM   Tweets Learn the steps to successfully growing an #ecommerce business in 2019, with @ScottVoelker, on this episode of #MaximizingEcommerce. #PrivateLabel #Amazon #ProductSales #PrivateLabel sales: Its not as simple as picking a product that is selling well. Learn how the game has changed from @ScottVoelker, on this episode of #MaximizingEcommerce. #Amazon #ProductSales Here are 2 options for growing an #Ecommerce business you should consider. Learn from an experienced seller, @ScottVoelker, on this episode of #MaximizingEcommerce. #PrivateLabel #Amazon #ProductSales Step one for building an #Ecommerce brand in 2019 - a valuable tip from @ScottVoelker, on this episode of #MaximizingEcommerce. #PrivateLabel #Amazon #ProductSales A huge part of growing an #Ecommerce business depends on #ContentMarketing. Get tips for doing it right from @ScottVoelker, on this episode of #MaximizingEcommerce. #PrivateLabel #Amazon #ProductSales

Do you ever struggle with staying on task and achieving your personal and professional goals? Have you tried to find solutions only to end up frustrated and at the end of your rope? If so, you aren’t alone! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he sits down with Joel Bower. In his conversation with Scott, Joel talks about the practices that have helped him be more productive, challenges he has faced along the way, how to avoid burnout, and much more. Have pen and paper ready; you don’t want to miss a minute of this helpful episode! Do you know your “Why?” What is the number one reason you are building your ecommerce business? Do you want to spend more time with your family? Are you trying to get out of that dead-end job you hate? Whatever the reason is, you’ve got to have it front and center in your mind, and it’s got to be something that will sustain you when things get tough - because they will! To hear more about identifying your “Why” and making sure you stay laser-focused on it, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller with Scott and Joel! Start racking up the wins. Let’s face it; no one likes incremental change - especially when they’ve decided that where they are is no longer a good place to be. When the house is burning, it doesn’t feel like progress to go from the kitchen to the living room; it only feels like progress when you are out of the burning building! The truth is, if you want to make big changes in your life, you’ve got to be willing to make small changes that add up. You can’t go from no business to a thriving business overnight; it takes work and a ton of small steps. What small wins are you celebrating this week? Chime in and let the TAS crew know by visiting the link in the resources section at the end of this post! How to avoid burnout. Building something from scratch is no small feat - from business to buildings, slow and steady wins the race. Part of the process of building something from nothing is learning along the way, pausing to get advice, and taking time to evaluate your direction. If business leaders just ploughed through and built whatever they wanted to build without pausing for rest and reflection, the result would be something that collapses before too long. Don’t let that happen to you and your business! You can avoid burnout by taking the time to zero in on your “Why,” reflecting on your progress, and surrounding yourself with people who are rooting for you. Are you part of the TAS community on Facebook? Have you booked your ticket to Brand Accelerator Live? What are you waiting for? Discover more helpful insights from Scott and Joel as they discuss burnout and much more on this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:00] Why you need to attend Brand Accelerator Live. [4:00] If you struggle with productivity, you aren’t alone! [6:00] Do you know your “Why?” [14:00] Scott explains how he decided to start his own business. [16:20] Start racking up the “Wins.” [20:45] How to start moving in the right direction. [24:30] Scott recaps the productivity tips covered so far. [31:00] How to avoid burnout. [40:00] Closing thoughts from Scott and Joel. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/live www.ecombizbook.com Tony Robbins The Alter Ego Effect www.theamazingseller.com/why

Are you fired up and ready to take on the weekend or are you hoping to get some much-needed rest? If you want a little push in the right direction with insights and advice you can use to advance your ecommerce business, you’ve come to the right place! It is time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares his thought of the week, an answer to a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this helpful and engaging episode! Focus on finding a solution. Let’s face it; people are more likely to focus on problems rather than solutions - that’s just human nature. But where does only focusing on problems get you? Down in the dumps! Yes, you are allowed to get upset and frustrated when things don’t go your way, but you can’t stay there if you want to be successful. Leaders who are ready to take their business to the next level give themselves space to get angry and then they pivot to find a solution. Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott expands on this valuable lesson! Create your own bundles. As an ecommerce seller, you need every trick, tip, and tool in your toolbox if you have any hope to beat the competition. Did you know that one of the best tools you have is an easy option to bundle your products or variations? It’s true! Why not manually package a few of your products and variations and list them to see how they perform - what do you have to lose? Get the full run down from Scott on what it will take to make this experiment work by listening to this informative episode of The Amazing Seller - you don’t want to miss it! Brand Accelerator Live! When was the last time you were really encouraged on your entrepreneurial journey? It doesn’t happen too often, does it? If you find yourself struggling to stay focused and positive - you aren’t alone! Why not take the time to invest in your growth as a leader and connect with like-minded leaders? Scott has poured a ton of time and energy into Septemeber’s Brand Accelerator Live event. He’s attended a ton of ecommerce events, and he wants this one to stand out from all the rest. Learn more about what will be featured and how to get a great price by visiting the link to the event in the resources section at the end of this post. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:00] Scott’s thought of the week, focus on the solution. [4:45] Question: How and can I create bundles on Amazon and be profitable? [9:00] Why you should try a test bundle. [15:00] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/666 www.theamazingseller.com/live www.ecombizbook.com

If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott loves to share his thoughts and viewpoints on life and to build a business. Lately, he’s been having these “Real Talk” sessions where he explains his perspective in a very matter of fact way. Good news! It’s time for another Real Talk session with Scott! On this episode, you’ll hear Scott stress the value of creating your own goals and avoiding the comparison trap. Have pen and paper ready; you don’t want to miss a minute of this helpful episode! Chunk it down. Do you ever find yourself wondering if you’ll ever really make it to the level of success you’ve been dreaming about? Does it seem like all the stars would have to align for your business to get off of the ground? While it’s no small feat to start a business from scratch, the truth is, it can be done! If you find yourself overwhelmed by the big goal, do what Scott teaches - chunk it down! Break up the steps you need to succeed in small tangible goals that you can measure along the way. To hear more about setting goals and achieving them, make sure to catch this episode! Watch out for the comparison trap! Did you know that one of the biggest enemies of success is getting stuck in the comparison trap? It’s true! Time and time again good business leaders get sidetracked from their ultimate goal because they were too busy paying attention to the grass on the other side of the fence. By all means, learn from successful leaders like Scott but don’t measure your progress based on what they’ve achieved. Tune into this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott expands on this important lesson! TAS tools to help you succeed. It can be so frustrating to have all the drive and desire to build a business, but you don’t have access to the tools you need to succeed. Years ago when Scott first got started in the ecommerce industry he didn’t have a community like TAS that he could learn from so he started documenting the process and invited people like you along for the ride. Now, Scott has the resources and the experience to help sellers reach the level of success he’s enjoyed. If you are ready to put in the time and learn what you need to do for your business to thrive - make sure to check out Scott’s, “Ecommerce Business Formula” ebook and the Brand Accelerator Live event. These tools were created with you in mind - you can find more details by visiting the links in the resources section at the end of this post. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [7:00] Scott breaks down some success numbers. [12:00] How passive income and external traffic can help sustain your business. [16:00] There is no one size fits all solution. [18:00] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.ecombizbook.com www.theamazingseller.com/live

Are you fired up and ready to push the envelope in your ecommerce business? What is keeping you fired up and on the attack? If you find yourself a little sluggish and struggling to muster up the drive to keep going, you’ve come to the right place! It is time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller! On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares his thought of the week, an answer to a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this helpful episode featuring Scott’s valuable perspective! Surround yourself with like minded people! Have you ever walked into a room and felt your attitude and energy just change like someone flipped a light switch on or off? You know the feeling when you go into a room with happy people, and you soon find yourself feeling happy, or you walk into a room with angry people, and you feel automatically on edge? The fact of the matter is, who you surround yourself with daily matters! Are the people in your life supportive and encouraging or are they a drain? If you have any hope for long term success in your business, you’ve got to have like-minded people in your corner rooting for you. To hear more about this critical topic, make sure to listen to this episode! Scott’s tips for making the most of an event. Have you made an effort to travel to an ecommerce event yet? What is holding you back? If you have attended one, what did you like about it? Many business leaders are rightly hesitant to put in the time and energy necessary to attend an event, are they even worth it? Scott knows this feeling all too well, and he’s put together a few tips to help leaders like you get the most out of attending an event. Be open to learning from new perspectives. Network with people at the event. Take notes! Stay at the hotel where the event is hosted. Don’t go to an event without any preparation! If you want to get the most value out of your time, pay attention to these tips from Scott. To hear Scott expand on each of these tips, make sure to listen to this informative episode of The Amazing Seller! How Brand Accelerator Live will be different. Do you ever feel like if you’ve been to one ecommerce event that you’ve been to all of them? If you’ve felt that way, good news - you're not alone! Scott has been to some awesome events and some terrible ones over the course of his career. Now he’s leveraging all those experiences to bring sellers like you an event that is a cut above all the rest. At Brand Accelerator Live, you can expect an environment built from the ground up with your experience in mind. You’ll get practical tools and resources you can use to get your ecommerce business to the next level of growth. To learn more about what sets Brand Accelerator Live apart from all the other events, make sure to check out the link located in the resources section! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [5:30] Scott’s thought of the week; surround yourself with like-minded people. [13:00] Question: What events should I attend to grow my business? [18:40] The event you should attend. [20:50] The pros of attending an event. [26:30] A few cons of attending events. [29:45] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/live https://10xgrowthcon.com/ Grant Cardone Sellers Summit Funnel Hacking Live Seller Labs

What would it mean for your ecommerce business if you had over 1,000 new subscribers to your email list before the end of next month? Does that sound too good to be true? It’s not! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he reveals his seven steps to get 1,000 new subscribers to your email list. This is your chance to learn from an industry leader and the strategies he has used to succeed, what are you waiting for? Have pen and paper ready; you don’t want to miss a minute of this helpful episode! 7 steps to build your email list If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is constantly looking for ways to help sellers like you build an email list. Scott isn’t putting in all of this effort into creating resources based on theory alone - he’s seen it work! Here are Scott’s seven steps to build an email list. Identify your market. Find out where your market spends their time (online.) What is your target market buying? Create a giveaway contest. Set up an auto-responder. Drive traffic. Follow up! Where do you need to start on the seven steps? Are you at the beginning with #1 or have you made your way, half-way to #4? To get the full rundown on each of Scott’s seven steps, make sure to check out this episode of The Amazing Seller! Know your audience! If you had to describe your target audience right now, could you? It might sound like a silly exercise, but it’s vital to the success of your business! Too often ecommerce leaders try to go big and make a splash with their marketing efforts only to find that they spend time and money reaching the wrong audience. Don’t let that happen to you! Make sure you know how to target and vet the right people for your brand by listening to this helpful episode of The Amazing Seller! Make sure to follow up. Don’t you hate it when you send an email or a text, and you never get a reply back? Any business that operates like that is designed to fail! What are you doing to make sure your ecommerce business is prepared to follow up and nurture a relationship with your customers? An easy way to look more professional and polished than you might be is to focus on providing consistent follow up with your customers. To hear what Scott does to drive this message home in his business, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Catch the Early Bird Special! As a business leader, you know how important it is to know exactly how much money is coming in and how much is going out of your business. Why let an opportunity to get a significant discount on an event slip by? You could use those savings to reinvest in your brand! Make sure to check out the early bird pricing available for Scott’s Brand Accelerator Live event in September. It might sound like a safe distance away, but the truth is - it’s almost May! You can grab a ticket to the event by going to the link located in the resources section at the end of this post. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:15] Make sure to check out Brand Accelerator Live. [9:10] Do you know who your market is? Have you niched down? Where do they hang out? [14:20] Tips on creating a contest to get more folks interested. [17:30] How an auto-responder can help your audience get connected. [21:00] What it takes to drive traffic to your contest. [26:30] Don’t forget about sending follow up emails! [29:30] Scott recaps all 7 steps to build your email list to 1,000 subscribers in 14 days. [36:40] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/live www.theamazingseller.com/buildlist www.theamazingseller.com/boost

Wouldn’t it be great to have passive income rolling into your bank account regularly? Of course! Is it really possible to leverage your email list and home base to bring in additional revenue? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he explains why email list building is so important, how to utilize a Facebook fan page, why you should attend Brand Accelerator Live, and much more. If you are ready to unleash the full potential of your ecommerce business, this is the episode for you! Your most important asset. What is the state of your email list? Do you have an email list big enough to drive traffic and sales for your ecommerce business? If not, you need to make expanding that list a top priority! As you build your business, remember what Scott always says, “Your email list is your most important asset.” If you find your brand is struggling to get the momentum you had hoped for, you might want to start investing in your email list. To hear more about this important topic, make sure to catch this helpful episode! Know your audience! Do you know your target audience inside and out? Where do they spend their time online? Are they more active on Facebook or Instagram? If you don’t know your audience, how do you expect to reach them? Scott has developed key practices that sellers like you can use to connect with and reach your audience. If you haven’t already, make sure to check out the Ecom Business Formula book that Scott has created for TAS followers like you! Learn more about reaching your target audience on this episode of The Amazing Seller - you don’t want to miss it! Brand Accelerator Live As a small business owner, you are used to investing a ton of resources into your fledgeling business but have you done much to invest in your personal development? When was the last time you finished a business book or a course to help you improve your leadership skills? One of the best ways to hone your skills and pick up a few new ones is by attending a live event. These are the type of events that give you insights you might have never considered - so what are you waiting for? Grab your ticket to Brand Accelerator Live by checking out the link in the resources section below! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [5:20] Email list building REALLY works. [9:20] Make sure to create a Facebook fan page and a homepage. [14:00] Scott explains how they’ve been able to convert traffic to income. [19:20] Do you know your audience? [21:40] Action steps you can use. [26:30] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/live www.theamazingseller.com/buildlist AdThrive www.ecombizbook.com

You made it through another week of building your ecommerce business or laying the groundwork, good job! Don’t pat yourself on the shoulder just yet; it’s time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares his thought of the week, an answer to a question from a TAS follower like you, plans for the Brand Accelerator Live event in September, and much more. This is the episode you need to keep you headed in the right direction, don’t miss it! Take care of your customers! If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that one of Scott many soapbox issues is customer service. It’s gut check time, how are you doing when it comes to customer service? More importantly, how would your customers say you are doing in that area? If you don’t get this critical aspect of your ecommerce business right, you’ll never stand out from all the other brands on the marketplace. What are you waiting for? Put together a customer service plan for your business today! Here more about this topic from Scott by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller. Launch a product on Kickstarter? Have you ever backed a project on Kickstarter? Just going to the site and browsing around can give even the least creative entrepreneur inspiration to become the next Thomas Eddison! What would it look like if you could leverage your brand to launch a successful product on Kickstarter or a similar crowdfunding platform? Thankfully, Pat Flynn over at Smart Passive Income has done just that! According to his experience and Scott’s assessment, launching a product by crowdfunding is a great way to get your product on the marketplace, but there are factors to consider. To get the full run down of his experience, make sure to check out the link to Pat’s podcast episode located in the resources section at the end of this post. Brand Accelerator LIVE Do you have all the tools you need to take your ecommerce business to the next level of growth? Sure, you could buy a few more books or take some courses online but imagine what it would be like to attend a live event with like-minded business leaders. Scott’s Brand Accelerator Live event was created with leaders like you in mind. It will feature sessions and workshops filled with material that you can use right away to improve your business. Make sure to check out the link to grab your ticket below! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:15] Scott’s thought of the week. Take care of your customers. [6:50] Question: How and can I launch a product on Kickstarter? [15:00] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingseller.com/live SwitchPod SPI 356: Everything Behind the Launch of My New Invention—the SwitchPod

We are in the throws of Spring where everything is blooming, is your ecommerce business doing the same? Are you thinking about taking it to the next level of growth? If so, you are in luck! It is time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares one of this thought of the week, answers a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Have pen and paper ready; you don’t want to miss a minute of this helpful episode! Waiting sucks! Remember when you were a kid, and you’d impatiently wait for Christmas day or your birthday? Do you ever get that impatient feeling when it comes to your ecommerce business? If you do, you aren’t alone! To this day, Scott finds himself impatient as they start and stop work on their lake house property. If you find yourself impatient, don’t let that get you down! You’ll get there, give yourself time to succeed, contrary to popular believe, success doesn’t happen overnight! To hear more about this important topic, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller. Should you create a second brand? What should you do if you are ready to expand your brand? Do you create a second brand through Amazon which will include new tax filings and separate bank accounts or is there another solution? According to Scott, the best option is to stay close to your original brand; you can branch out from it to an adjacent niche but not something completely different. If you take this approach, you can form a sub-brand. Go deeper with this subject, make sure to catch this engaging episode of The Amazing Seller! Brand Accelerator Live If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you’ve likely heard about the upcoming Brand Accelerator Live event in September. Do you have your ticket yet? This is going to be a wonderful event full of helpful resources and networking opportunities. While it might feel like Scott just announced this event yesterday, the truth is it is just around the corner! Remember this is an investment in your business, so see what you can do to find the funds, connect with your accountant if you have to! You don’t want to miss this informative and fun event! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:15] Make sure to grab your ticket for Brand Accelerator Live. [7:50] Scott’s thought of the week; waiting sucks! [15:00] Question: Should I create two Amazon Business Accounts? [24:15] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/live www.ecombizbook.com

What is the current status of your ecommerce business? Are you out there kicking butt and taking names or are you staling and searching for that one insight that will move the needle? If you find yourself in either camp or somewhere in between, you’ve come to the right place! It is time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares his thought of the week, his answer to a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this engaging episode! The power of questions. Have you ever had an amazing conversation with someone who just kept asking really good questions to try and get to know you on a deeper level? The ability to ask the right questions is an important and powerful tool you need to have in your toolbox. This ability will help you as you navigate the challenges of starting your business and as you try to problem solve issues as they arise. Listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott explains why questions are so powerful; you don’t want to miss it! Yes, Amazon is the best place to launch your brand. Many ecommerce sellers find themselves wondering why they should use Amazon to launch their products. That’s a great question to ask! A day may come when Amazon is not the best place to launch a product, but that is not the case right now. Still, Amazon is a good place to launch a product because they are a trusted brand in the public’s eye. When you direct people to buy directly from your website, you are asking them to trust you, and they won’t do that if you haven’t earned their trust. Let Amazon help you build your business as it gets off of the ground; you won’t regret it. To hear more about this important topic, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Sell your product without sounding like a salesperson. Let’s face it; no one enjoys getting the hard sell from a salesperson. The salesperson probably doesn’t like giving their hard sell either! What should sellers like you do to sell your product without sounding like a salesperson? Thankfully, Scott has created a helpful email template that you can use to cut through all the BS and get to the heart of your message. Scott’s approach emphasizes the value of connecting with your audience as you would with someone you know personally. Don’t feel like you have to reinvent the wheel! Use Scott’s sample email as a starting point and then make it your own! For more helpful tips and insights like this one, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:45] Why you should register for Brand Accelerator Live. [5:45] Scott’s thought of the week. [9:00] Question: What should I say in my email to sell my product? [11:45] Start off selling on Amazon it is the platform people trust. [14:30] Scott shares a sample email that he’d send to someone on his email list. [20:00] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/live www.theamazingseller.com/js www.freeeup.com Upwork

What strategies have been working for your ecommerce business? Have you tried anything different in the new year? Do you have questions that you’d like to send Scott’s way? You’ve come to the right place! It is time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he goes over why you should check out the Brand Accelerator Live event in September, his thought of the week, an answer to a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this informative episode! If you think it, you can do it. What is holding you back? Seriously! Take a moment and consider what thoughts or ideas that you’ve internalized over the years that might be holding you back from success. Everyone has some sort of limiting belief in their life, some have massive hangups that keep them from taking action, and some have smaller ones. Have you dealt with yours yet? Don’t put this on the back burner, this could be the one thing that is holding your ecommerce business back. To hear more about this important topic, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Build an email list, what are you waiting for? Is it a good idea to feature your product in a giveaway group? If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is encouraging sellers to move away from this strategy. Rather, he’d like to see more sellers invest in assets like an email list. If you want your ecommerce business to go the distance, you need tools like an email list that allows you to connect directly with your target market. So what are you waiting for? You don’t need to have a list with 15,000 email addresses tomorrow, but you’ve got to start somewhere. Listen to this episode of The Amazing Sellers as Scott expands on this vital topic! Why you should connect with an influencer. One of the most popular methods of growing an ecommerce brand is by connecting social media personalities and influencers who have taken the time to build a unique following. If you want to expand your brand’s reach, why not consider partnering with an influencer in your niche market? Scott has dabbled with this approach, and he’s had some great experiences. Find out how your brand can benefit from tapping into the audience of social media personalities by listening to this valuable episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:00] Scott shares his thought of the week; if you think it, you can do it. [6:45] Question: How do I launch a giveaway with variations? [11:45] Why you should build an email list or connect with an influencer. [17:00] Closing thoughts from Scott.  RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingseller.com/live

What does it take to put yourself and your livelihood on the line to see your dreams become a reality? Is it as scary as it sounds? Is the reward worth all the risk? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he sits down with Kevin Sanderson. In their conversation, Kevin opens up about what led him to fire his boss, how that moment felt, why he is convinced that writing out goals is worthwhile, advice for sellers who are just getting started, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this inspiring episode featuring Kevin’s story! If you want to make a change, write it down! Do you write out your goals and plans? Have you ever thought of an idea that you’d do whatever it would take to make it happen? Most people shuffle through a life filled with hopes and dreams, but many fail to act on them. If it were easy to accomplish your dreams, everyone would do it! Don’t make life harder than it already is, put yourself in a position to succeed. One of the best ways you can do this is by writing out your thoughts on paper. In today’s world that may sound “old school” but it works! Scott has been stressing the value of writing things down for quite some time and his guest, Kevin Sanderson agrees. Kevin points to this simple practice as giving him the fuel he needed to keep going while he built his ecommerce business. To hear more about Kevin’s story and how writing out his plans helped him succeed, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! From taking someone elses marching orders to FREEDOM. While writing out your goals is a good first step, the hardest part is acting on them. How do you move from a place of security and comfort to a place of opportunity and risk? Kevin Sanderson struggled with a foot in each camp for a long time; he wanted the security of his day job and the opportunity of his ecommerce business. He was able to manage this tension for a while, but eventually, he had to pick a direction and give it his full effort and attention. Would he shrink back from the challenge or would he walk into the unknown? The freedom of living life on his terms was too much for Kevin to walk away from so he fired his boss and hadn’t looked back. Could you make a move as bold as Kevin’s? What is holding you back? Listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller as Kevin shares more insights that helped him take action; you don’t want to miss it! You need people in your corner who will support you. Who do you have in your corner cheering you on as you build your ecommerce business? While it would be nice to have a supportive coach who guides you every step of the way, that is not realistic. You can surround yourself with family members who encourage you, and you can join groups who will help you keep your eye on the prize. Kevin has been a TAS follower just like you, he attended workshops and learned from Scott’s helpful lessons over the years. All of the support and encouragement that Kevin received from the TAS community played a huge role in helping him get his business off of the ground. As much as you’d like it to be true, you can’t do it all alone. Make sure you have the right people in your corner! To hear more about this important topic, listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [1:35] How did Kevin end up firing his boss? [9:15] Kevin describes the moment he quit his job. [17:00] How did Kevin’s wife react to his decision? [19:30] Why it is so valuable to write out your plans and goals. [23:15] Kevin talks about attending a TAS workshop. [26:30] Kevin’s advice to sellers who are just getting started. [31:00] Why you need to check out Brand Accelerator Live. [37:15] Life is too short, don’t spend it all at work! [39:15] Closing thoughts from Kevin. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE TAS episode #559 w/ Kevin TAS episode #503 w/ Kevin Kevin’s YouTube channel FreeeUp Upwork www.theamazingseller.com/live Sellers Summit

The new year has arrived, are you and your ecommerce business ready for it? Have you mapped out your plans and goals for this new year or are you still struggling to come up with a plan of attack? If you need a little push to get started, you’ve come to the right place! It is time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he provides his helpful thought of the week, answers a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this engaging episode! Celebrate growth! With the start of 2019, now is a great time to take a look back to celebrate your personal and professional growth. Many successful business leaders stress the value of taking time to practice gratitude, have you found it helpful? How will you mark significant milestones and achievements in your life and business? Don’t become so focused and driven that you fail to acknowledge how far you’ve come! Learn more from Scott about why celebrating your growth is so important by listening to this helpful episode of The Amazing Seller! Why you might need to clean up your PPC campaigns. Do you have a handle on your business and how it is running? Do you know how well your PPC spending is performing or has it been a while since you ducked in to take a look under the hood? According to Scott, you could be losing valuable resources if you haven't’ evaluated your PPC usage lately. Don’t let an easy fix and adjustment go unnoticed! Jump in and clean things up if you need to, what do you have to lose? To hear Scott expand on this critical subject, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller, you don’t want to miss it! Reserve your spot for Brand Accelerator Live! Have you secured your spot for Brand Accelerator Live yet? This is your chance to invest in your business and get the tools you need to take it to the next level of growth. If you are hesitant about committing to this event, you should know that Scott and his team have worked hard to ensure that sellers like you will receive tremendous value from attending. They’ve lined up some amazing guests, and you’ll get a chance to connect with fellow entrepreneurs who are in the same boat as you. Get more details about this exciting event by checking out the link in the resources section! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [5:30] Why you need to attend Brand Accelerator Live. [8:15] Make sure to celebrate your growth! [11:50] Question: Are my PPC campaigns competing against each other? [20:00] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/live www.theamazingseller.com/ignite

Is your ecommerce business set up for long-term success or are you just one Amazon policy change away from collapse? That might sound dramatic, but the truth is, it happens to sellers like you all the time! If you are the New Years resolution setting type person then consider making 2019 the year that you future-proof your business! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he runs through his ten-step process for future proofing your business. Make sure to have pen and paper ready for this episode; you are going to need it! Where are you focused? It’s gut check time and what a perfect point to do it, just as 2018 comes to a close. As you look ahead, what are you focused on for the coming year? Do you plan on making small changes or are you going for big ones? As Scott looks back on the progress he has made with TAS and his new brand, he’s convinced now, more than ever that the key to success in business is showing up. Are you committed to your business? Will you work toward it even if you run into roadblocks and challenges? If you are in it for the long haul, stick around, Scott has some valuable tips and insights for leaders like you! Get to know your market. The primary reason that many ecommerce brands fail is a lack of proper knowledge about their market. Too often a well-intentioned seller chooses a market and rushes in full steam ahead without conducting thorough market research. Don’t let that happen to you! Put in the time you need to know what your market needs and how to deliver it in a way that excites and engages your audience. If you find yourself struggling to come up with a strategy for researching your market, you’ve come to the right place! Listen to this episode as Scott provides several ways that sellers like you can get started, you don’t want to miss it! Create a home base for your brand. As your ecommerce business builds momentum, what is your vision for your brand? Do you expect to build it completely dependent on Amazon or do you dream of taking your brand away from Amazon once it reaches a certain point of profitability? According to Scott, it is not too early to start building your home base, a central location for your brand. Don’t assume that you have to have a fully fleshed out home base in mind; you can start small. For some helpful ideas on what this looks like, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Build your email list! If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long, you know that Scott is passionate about getting ecommerce sellers like you to build an email list. How is that going for you? Have you started building your list yet? An email list is one of the best assets that a seller can have in his rapidly changing ecommerce marketplace. If you own your list, you can weather any storm that might come your way. Future-proof your business by investing your time and energy into building a solid email list. Discover more about this important topic by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:35] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:15] The key in any business is showing up. [5:00] Make sure to check out Brand Accelerator Live! [8:00] You need to build assets for your business. [10:00] Niche down and know your market! [12:30] Conduct your product research. [16:00] Content research. What is your niche market consuming right now? [19:30] Build your brand’s home base. [21:30] Establish a social media presence. [24:45] Chose three to five products to potentially source. [26:40] Build your email list. [30:00] Publish content on a regular basis. [31:20] Expand your brand using each step covered. [34:00] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/live AdThrive Keywords Everywhere www.theamazingsellertv.com Alibaba Global Sourcing Sourcify

Is 2019 going to be the year that you take your ecommerce business to the next level of growth? What is currently holding your business back? Is it time to start investing in your development as a leader? If you are ready to do the hard work necessary, you’ve come to the right place! It’s time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he goes over how you can attend Brand Accelerator Live in 2019, his thought of the week, an answer to a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this engaging episode! Brand Accelerator Live! As you look back at 2018, can you honestly say that you have invested in your personal growth as a leader? Have you read any books or attended any events that really challenge your thinking and help you step outside of the box? If you’d like 2019 to be the year where you turn things around for your business, you’ve got to take advantage of Brand Accelerator Live! To find out how this event will set your brand up for success, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Think about long-term success. Have you ever felt like your business often takes two steps forward and one step backward? What will it take to get out of the constant short-term successes and really tackle those larger goals in life and business? According to Scott, your success is directly tied to your long-term strategy for your business. When was the last time you evaluated your strategy? If you are ready to up your game for 2019, this is an episode you don’t want to miss. Listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott dives deep into this critical topic for ecommerce sellers like you! How to make sure your PPC efforts are working on Amazon. Have you ever had an issue with your PPC efforts on Amazon? What was your solution? Have you made adjustments to your approach? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he goes over a question from a TAS follower like you who is having some hiccups with their PPC usage. Here are a few helpful places to start, according to Scott. Look at the category your product is listed in. It could be a mismatch. Is the category relevant to your keyword selection? Reach out to Amazon to get an answer. If you are having issues with your PPC strategy, you aren’t alone! To get a full breakdown of solutions you can try to get to the bottom of this issue, make sure to listen to this helpful episode! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:35] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:30] Scott’s thought of the week, think long-term. [8:00] Question: Why won’t Amazon spend money on PPC for my new product? [16:00] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/live AdThrive

Do you have a good plan in place for your business as 2019 looms over the horizon? Are your goals and plans achievable or are they too lofty? Are they challenging enough or too easy to obtain? On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he explains his approach to creating a business plan, why it's important to take action ASAP, and so much more. If you are ready to up your game and get the most of your efforts for the coming year, this is the episode for you! Have pen and paper ready; you are going to need it! Successful leaders make a plan. Have you ever found yourself wondering how certain business leaders get to the level of fame and fortune they enjoy? Did they inherit money? Were they lucky? Did they pull themselves up by their bootstraps? Each successful leader is going to have a different aspect of their story, but all leaders who continue to succeed do so because they’ve got a plan in place. Do you have your plan figured out? Have you written it out yet? Why not place it on the refrigerator door? If you have any hope of making it big with your ecommerce business, you’ve got to make sure your plan is front and center! Learn more about the value of planning from Scott on this episode of The Amazing Seller; you don’t want to miss it! Scott’s five step plan. Even if you have a plan in place, it is always helpful to review that plan and see if there are ways you can adjust it, so it fits in that sweet spot between challenging and attainable. To give you a good reference point, Scott has laid out his five steps for creating a business plan.  Identify your target for the year. What is your net profit goal? Work the numbers backward to come up with what you need to bring in each day. Come up with a plan. What can you do to get it done? Find 3 to 5 products with $10 profit margins. Launch three products in six months and three more products by the eight-month mark. This five-step plan from Scott is only a starting point. Make it your own, play with it, just get started! Don’t put it off or hope to get it done at some point, do it today! What do you have to lose? To hear more from Scott about this critical topic, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Don’t miss Brand Accelerator Live! Do you have your tickets for Brand Accelerator Live yet? What are you waiting for? This is the one ecommerce event that you’ve got to make time to attend in 2019! Don’t let excuses get in your way; you need to invest in your growth as a leader. Connecting with Scott’s content and the fantastic TAS community could be just the thing your brand needs to move past the competition. If you get on the ball and sign up right now, you’ll be able to catch the early bird pricing! Get more information in the resources section at the end of this post! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:35] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:45] Why you need to check out Brand Accelerator Live. [4:20] Scott launches into his 5 steps to creating your business plan. [14:30] What is your plan for 2019? [18:30] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/live

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to sidestep your competition and build a profitable ecommerce business? Good news, you can do just that! On this episode of The Amazing Seller, you’ll hear from Scott as he provides his take on building an ecommerce business with a niche market in mind. Don’t leave it all up to trial and error or guesswork, learn from the seasoned perspective that Scott provides! Make sure you have pen and paper ready, you are going to need it! Make sure to attend Brand Accelerator Live! Do you have your ticket for Brand Accelerator Live yet? What are you waiting for? Don’t be shy about investing in your growth as a business leader. This special TAS event is one you don’t want to miss out on! Scott and his team have worked hard to make this event worthwhile and valuable. If you want to grow as a business leader and innovator in 2019, this is the event you’ve got to attend. To hear more about Brand Accelerator Live and how to sign up, listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! A tried and tested approach. Let’s face it, gone are the days where you could find a random product on Amazon, source it yourself and then turn a massive profit. Does this signal the end of private label business viability? Not according to Scott! He remains convinced that there are plenty of opportunities available for the ecommerce seller who is willing to put in the work. Are you ready to take Scott’s seasoned advice? Are you willing to follow his tired and tested approach? Learn more about how to get your ecommerce business started the right way by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Four steps for niching down your target market. Where can start if you are ready to drill down in your target market? Is there a clear cut method you can follow to help you as you start this process? Yes! Scott has developed a four-step process you can follow that will get you well on your way to niching down in your target market. Use autofill on Amazon to give you suggests. Look at the frequently bought together suggestions. Conduct research using Jungle Scout. Analyze the sales that the products are bringing in. To get your ecommerce business started with the most targeted and niched down brand possible, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller for all key info you need! Niche down, then go even further! Do you think you’ve gone as far as you can with niching down your target market? Not so fast, think again! Did you know that you can increase your chances for profitability if you force yourself to niche down even further? The deeper you go drill down into your target market, the harder it will be for someone to hijack your listing or give you serious competition. To hear more about how to niche down your target market as far as possible, make sure to listen to this helpful episode of The Amazing Seller, you don’t want to miss it! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:35] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:30] Why you should check out Brand Accelerator Live. [7:30] How Scott has niched down in his target market. [9:20] Even if you’ve niched down, go further! [14:10] Scott walks through how you’d niche down your market. [24:00] Scott’s 4 steps for niching down your target market. [28:15] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/live www.theamazingseller.com/js

How is your ecommerce business stacking up against the competition? Are you hitting all the goals and benchmarks you’d hope to reach? Do you need a little push in the right direction? If so, you’ve come to the right place! It’s time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he gives his thought of the week on knowing your target audience and as he answers a question from a seller like you. Don’t miss a minute of this engaging and helpful episode! Make sure you know your target audience! Do you understand who your target audience is? Really? One of the worst things you can do as an ecommerce seller is to start creating content and marketing that content to the wrong audience for your product! Scott has developed a few questions that sellers like you can ask to make sure that you are connecting with the right audience. Who is your target market? What do they struggle with? What do they want? What gets their attention? What are they searching for online? All of these questions will help you form a picture of who your audience is and what they are concerned about. To hear Scott expand on this topic and more, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Are you ready for Brand Accelerator Live? If you are looking for a way to jump-start your ecommerce business, you need to consider attending the Brand Accelerator Live event next fall. This is the event for all your strategy and ecommerce planning needs. Scott and his team have worked hard to make sure that this event will be well worth your time to attend. They’ve prepared great guests and helpful tools that will empower sellers like you to take your brand to the next level. To hear more about this awesome event, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller, you don’t want to miss it! Getting your video to rank on YouTube. As an ecommerce seller, you’ve probably heard that video is a huge aspect of online branding these days. So what can seller like you do to utilize this popular tool to grow your business? Unfortunately, you can’t just create a good video, publish it on YouTube, and then expect the traffic to follow, it doesn't quite work that way. If you want your video to gain traction, you’ve got to prime it by sending people from your email list or Facebook group to the video and engage with it. To hear Scott explain all the ins and outs of getting your video the right amount of attention, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [3:00] Scott’s thought of the week, know your target market. [8:15] Question: How do I rank product videos on YouTube and get traffic? [15:30] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingseller.com/live

Are you fired up and ready to attack the 4th quarter? What areas of your ecommerce business do you need to focus on right now to finish the year strong? If you are looking for that one piece of advice or insight that can put you over the top, you’ve come to the right place! It’s time for another session of Ask Scott, here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares an update on how the recent hurricane impacted his area, his thought of the week, an answer to a question from a TAS listener, and much more! Don’t miss a minute of this engaging episode! Are you ready for Brand Accelerator Live? Have you factored in the TAS Brand Accelerator Live event into your plans for next year? What are you waiting for?! This is going to be the event that you need to attend for all your strategy and ecommerce planning needs. Scott and his team have worked hard to make sure that this event will be well worth your time to attend. They’ve prepared great guests and helpful tools that will empower sellers like you to take your brand to the next level. To hear more about this awesome event, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller, you don’t want to miss it! You need clarity in order to succeed! Did you know that one of the biggest enemies for a business leader is getting pulled in a thousand different directions? Look at all the plans and objectives you have to get to, it can be understandably overwhelming! According to Scott, the antidote is to cut through all of that noise and focus on clarity. What is the number one, most important thing that you need to tackle? Focus on that like a laser beam and get to work! To hear Scott expand on this important topic and other ways you can stay on an upward trajectory, make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller! Researching a good product in the 4th quarter. What should you do if you are in the product research phase for a new product during the 4th quarter? Should you just wait it out until the prices change and you can get a more accurate view? Scott says that you don’t have to do that! Rather, you can take advantage of some of the amazing ecommerce tools on the marketplace and comb through the data. To understand all the complexity and get to the heart of what will set you up for success, listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller featuring Scott’s seasoned advice! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [2:20] Scott gives an update about the hurricane that came through North Carolina. [6:00] One year out from Brand Accelerator Live! [7:20] Scott’s thought of the week. [13:45] Question: How to research products in 4th quarter. [18:30] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.tasinnercircle.com www.theamazingseller.com/live Tony Robbins Keepa CamelCamelCamel

What is the status of your ecommerce business? Are you exactly where you had on being at this point or are you looking for a way to jump-start your efforts? Either way, you’ll find value on this episode of The Amazing Seller! On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares his thought of the week, gives an update on TAS tools and resources, an answer to a question from a TAS follower like you, and much more! If you are ready to put in the work and apply these lesson then this episode is for you! 1st Impressions matter! Did you know that in business, one of the most important things to get right from the start is a first impression? It’s true! Just think about the last time that you had terrible customer service when you were visiting a business for the first time. Would you ever go back? Chances are, you answer is, “No!” Why should you give your patronage to a business that is unwilling to put time and energy into making a positive first impression? You shouldn’t, and that’s the point! If that’s how you wouldn’t like to be treated, don’t treat your customers that way. To hear more about the important role of first impressions, make sure to listen to this helpful episode of The Amazing Seller! Don’t leave easy money on the table. Let’s face it, building a successful ecommerce business from the ground up is not an easy task! Don’t make it harder on yourself by leaving easy money on the table. If you get a product or a line of products humming along and making you money, don’t up and abandon it just because you want to go in a new direction. Use that success and build off of it, let that project bankroll your ideal project! Make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott breaks down how sellers like you can make the most out of your less appealing products! What are you waiting for? Isn’t it time that you kicked your ecommerce business into high gear? What are you waiting for? Do you expect someone to come and take you by the hand and lead you every step of the way? Don’t count on it! If you really want to build something that will go the distance, you’ve got to commit to putting Scott’s tried and tested methods into practice! For you, the next step might be to review the PACE method or attend the Brand Accelerator Live event. Whatever your next step, don’t delay - take action today! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [4:20] Scott’s thought of the week, first impressions are everything! [8:20] Question: Should I relaunch an old product or start with something new? [15:00] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/live www.theamazingseller.com/pace www.theamazingseller.com/ask

What steps are you taking right now to move your ecommerce business forward? Are you in need of a little push in the right direction? Good news, you’ve come to the right place! It’s time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller. On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he shares why he is so fired up about the Brand Accelerator Live event, his thought of the week, why it’s so important to diversify your business, and of course - the answer to a question from a TAS follower like you! Don’t miss a minute of this helpful and engaging episode! Why you should sign up for Brand Accelerator Live. Let’s face it, running an ecommerce business and leading it to success is no small task. How do you plan to take your brand to the next level of growth? Why not consider investing in your future by attending the Brand Accelerator Live event next September? Brand Accelerator Live is the very first large-scale TAS event designed to help sellers like you break out from the rest of the competition and stand out! Don’t let the what every other competitor is doing set the pace for you and your business! Find out how you can reserve your spot for this special event by checking out the link in the resource section at the end of this post, you don't’ want to miss it! Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket! What would happen to your ecommerce business if Amazon decided to lock you out tomorrow? Do you have the means to make adjustments and keep going in an upward direction? If not, it might be time to consider diversifying your channels and your strategy. You’ve heard the phrase, don’t place all of your eggs in one basket, right? The same is true when it comes to ecommerce channels too! Heed Scott’s advice and learn how to create alternative methods that you can use in the event that your business needs to make a pivot. Learn more from Scott’s seasoned perspective by listening to this episode of The Amazing Seller! What you need to do to identify your niche market. Have you identified your niche market yet? Have you honed in on that one product or approach that will set you apart from all the other ecommerce sellers in your target market? What are you waiting for? If you want to succeed, you’ve got be willing to put in the work and outsmart your competitors! One great way to get a leg up on your competition is by researching their reviews and find out how their customers are using the product and what they don’t like about the product. With that information, you can go to work making a superior product! Hear more about this important subject by listening to this exciting episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [1:50] Why Scott is so fired up about the Brand Accelerator Live event. [4:30] Scott’s thought of the week. Are you putting all your eggs in one basket? [15:30] Marketing is a skill set that will serve you well as you build your brand! [17:00] Question: How do I identify my target market and my niche? [23:00] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingseller.com/live

It’s that time of the week again! This is where ecommerce sellers like you get to bring your tough questions to a guy who’s seen just about every scenario you could think of, it’s time for another session of Ask Scott here on The Amazing Seller! On this episode, you’ll hear from Scott as he goes over why you should take advantage of the new TAS event - Brand Acceleration Live, his thought of the week, and of course - the answer to a question from a TAS follower like you! Don't’ miss a minute of this helpful and engaging episode! Make sure to grab your ticket to Brand Accelerator Live! Do you have your ticket for Brand Accelerator Live yet? What are you waiting for? This is your opportunity to be a part of TAS history! Brand Accelerator Live is the very first large-scale TAS event and Scott wants you to do what you can show up. If you sign up for the event right now, you can secure access to the Early Bird discount. This event will we well worth the price, Scott has worked hard to make sure that it’s packed full of useful and actionable contest for sellers like you. Get more info on this event by checking out the link in the resources section below! Don’t procrastinate, plan ahead. Have you ever struggled with planning ahead? What about sticking to a schedule or a set of goals? One of the worst times to fall victim to procrastination for the ecommerce seller is right now! According to Scott, right now is the time when sellers like you should be preparing and laying the groundwork for a successful 4th quarter. Are you ready? Do you have a strategy to put your brand in the best position to succeed when 4th quarter rolls around? Make sure to listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller as Scott explains how sellers like you can avoid disaster! How to connect with your email list, effectively. If you’ve been around the TAS community for very long you know that Scott is passionate about helping ecommerce sellers understand why building an email list is so important. Once you’ve built that email list, what do you do? What is the best strategy for communicating with and marketing to your email list? Scott says that sellers need to focus on keeping the list warm by offering helpful tips and tools that show the audience that the brand is interested in providing value as much as making a sale. To hear Scott expand on this and other ways to keep your email list engaged with your brand, make sure to listen to this informative episode of The Amazing Seller! OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [1:30] Make sure to check out Brand Accelerator LIVE! [5:15] Scott’s thought of the week, plan ahead! [8:40] Question: What's the best way to send emails to my list? [15:45] Closing thoughts from Scott. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE www.theamazingseller.com/ask www.theamazingsellertv.com www.theamazingseller.com/559 www.theamazingseller.com/live Aweber Convert Kit

Have you ever been a part of an elaborate surprise party or had to keep a big secret? The anticipation and excitement can be excruciating! Finally, Scott is able to reveal his BIG NEWS! Working with his friend, Kevin Sanderson, Scott is ready to announce his new event, Brand Accelerator LIVE. This is going to be a special larger scale TAS event where sellers like you can come to get actionable content that you can use to expand your brand. Scott is pumped about this new phase for TAS. To get all the details, make sure to listen to this exciting episode of The Amazing Seller! Making the right connection. Isn’t it great when the timing works out and you meet the right person at the right time? Maybe for you, that person was a business connection or your spouse. Looking back at his professional career, Scott has had some amazing connections that occurred because he happened to be in the right room. His meeting with Kevin Sanderson was no exception. Kevin has been a TAS fan for a few years now and had the opportunity to meet Scott at some TAS meetups and other ecommerce events. Everything changed for Scott and Kevin when Kevin worked up the courage to propose a large scale TAS event that he could help Scott create. Learn more about how Scott and Kevin connected and how the whole idea for Brand Accelerator LIVE played out by listening to this episode! An event built around actionable content. Don’t you hate it when you fork over your hard earned money to attend these workshops, masterminds, or networking events only to walk away empty handed and no better off? What if there was a way to build an event from the ground up that existed solely to provide attendees with a solid action plan to execute the information learned? This idea won’t be a pipe dream any longer! Scott and Kevin are committed to providing their attendees with a thorough action plan that will empower them rather than drain them as they return home and to the day to day of their business. Listen to this episode as Scott and Kevin expand on their plans and much more! Get the Early Bird Special! If this exciting idea of attending an innovative and useful live event appeals to you, what’s your next step? Do you wait for an email from Scott or do you take the initiative? No! You’ve got to be proactive and sign you up for early access and get the Early Bird special pricing. As soon as there is a locked in date and location ready for the Brand Accelerator LIVE event, you’ll be the first to know! Don’t let this opportunity pass you by! Get all the details on Early Bird pricing by checking out the link located at the end of this post. OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER [0:03] Scott’s introduction to this episode of the podcast! [1:00] What is Brand Accelerator Live? Where did it come from? [5:00] Why you need to get good at marketing. [7:30] What brought Kevin Sanderson and Scott together? [17:00] Kevin talks about his skill set & how he plans to use it for Brand Accelerator Live. [20:00] Scott shares why he is so excited about this new venture. [24:00] Plans for some high-level guests and how to get on the Early Bird list. [28:20] Closing thoughts from Scott and Kevin. RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Seller’s Summit www.brandacceleratorlive.com www.theamazingseller.com/event Support[at]theamazingseller.com