At one point or another, you’ll find yourself thinking of starting your own business. You might be sick of the routine 9 to 5 hours you have to spend working for someone else or you might be too tempted by the success stories you hear about all the aspiring entrepreneurs raising a 6-figure business from the ground up – or perhaps you’ll be driven by both reasons. All we know is that, when the time comes, you’ll have much better chances with starting an Amazon business than taking the long entrepreneurial road. While it’s true that Amazon businesses have huge profit potential, that still doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. After all, the number of people who quit their startup ventures is much higher than those who find success.
In order to set up your Amazon business for certain success, here are the steps you’ll need to take.
Do Your Research
The first step of any business is to come up with the idea and research the market. The best thing about starting an Amazon business is that you get to do both steps in one go. Whether you’ve already got a product in mind or you’re looking for new ideas, you can scout through the products on Amazon to get an idea about how they’re performing. During your research, you should be able to find well-selling products that are not highly competitive; it’s best to look through the Best Sellers in the high-ranking category ranking between 100 and 6,000.
Next, you’ll research your supply chain. Once you’ve narrowed your list of products, you should have an idea about the materials you’ll need to create these products. That’s when you’ll research marketplaces to find the manufacturers who can supply you with the materials. During this step, you’ll conduct cost-structure research as well to build a rough estimate of the cost of production and supply chain.
Set Up Your Supply Chain
Your supply chain will consist of manufacturers and shippers. Before finalizing the deal with manufacturers, you’ll want to order one or two samples and evaluate the quality of the products yourself. You may also order certain customization for a small to no cost. Once you’ve ensured the quality of products, you’ll be able to order the inventory.
Another great thing about Amazon is that you don’t necessarily have to manage the inventory yourself. Flow and Tim from Infinite FBA explain that, instead of dealing with the hassle of inventory yourself, you can sign up with the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program and outsource inventory alongside shipping to Amazon. By enrolling in this program, you’ll be able to order your shipment from the manufacturer to the warehouses of Amazon directly, after which they’ll handle the shipments, customer service, and returns. In exchange, they’ll get a percentage of the sales you make.
Establish Your Brand
Although you’ll be delegating the manufacturing process and logistics, you still need to establish your business. This starts with designing your brand, which will include your logo and branding guidelines. Luckily for you, most manufacturers will sell their products to you, giving you complete control of the items. As such, you’ll be able to white label these products under your brand’s name, but this requires the presence of a brand in the first place. Once you’ve established your brand, you can customize the packaging of the products according to your brand instead of the manufacturers’.
Launch Your Marketing Strategy
Establishing your brand is the first step of your marketing strategy, but your marketing doesn’t stop there. The sales of your products will be directly proportional to the success of your marketing strategy. You’ll want to create a website and social media profiles and learn the basics of marketing so you can reach your target audience. Meanwhile, don’t neglect Amazon ads and other paid advertising campaigns, like PPC and Facebook ads.
Stay Focused and Consistent
Most importantly, you should realize that starting an Amazon business is not a recipe for overnight success. Although it’s fairly simpler to start than other businesses, you’ll still be starting a new business from scratch. You’ll need to invest a lot of time, resources, and effort until you’re able to start making a profit.
Setting up an Amazon business is easier than most startup ventures. At first glance, all you’ll need to do is find the manufacturers and send your orders to the Amazon team to handle inventory, shipment, and customer service. However, you’ll still need to invest in your branding and marketing efforts to ensure the success of your new business. Even if you commit one or two hours daily, be sure to stay focused and consistent in your efforts.
