I am going to be talking about something that, I think, doesn’t get talked about enough. That is the reality of what you’re dealing with in an Amazon business. I don’t want to be negative, this is a reality check and reality is not a negative thing if you deal with it in the right way. This can lead to a long-term, genuine, sustainable business. The key to that is dealing with reality and not a fantasy of what you would like to have.

Realism is Good for You Amazon Business

The first thing I want to mention is that it’s positive to be realistic. Some Amazon coaching can cast being realistic in a bad light. They are a little to happy, happy for my taste. Not that being positive, confident, and optimistic is a bad thing. Rather, it is important to face reality head on.

Caveats aside, Amazon is treating me well right now. I have several products doing well and I’ve sold almost 800 units in that past few weeks at a decent profit margin. I say that, because what I’m about to tell you may shock some people because they aren’t thinking clearly about what they’re doing. This has become clear to me after working in great detail with mentoring clients. I usually have about 6 - 8 clients and many of them are just starting out. Also, if that interests you, please take a look at my mentoring program. Many of these clients are well-experienced yet have some delusions about how Amazon works.. A couple have doctorates, some have been selling online for years, and some are in financial industries. Even they, don’t really get the nature of Amazon.

Business as Investments

Any investment and/or business is to get some kind of return. Whether you invest capital or your time, you are looking for a return on your investment. There is some sort of ratio between the return you expect and the risk you’re prepared to run. If you want low risk, low reward, you might look into government bonds. If you want a greater return, but are willingly to have more risk, the stock market is where you turn. Or you may decided to be a venture capitalist and invest in startups. These are very high risk investments, but if you do it right, it has very high rewards.

Now your Amazon business, a business that primarily depends on Amazon’s sales and marketing channel; how would you rate that in terms of risk/reward? Just because you’re building a business doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think of it as an invest-able asset. Likewise, for any investment you should treat it as a business and look at the underlying assets. If you are wanting to invest it Coca Cola, look at their business. Look at their competition. Consider legislation that is fighting against them, and any potential expansion possibilities.

Bringing it Back to Your Amazon Business

If a venture capitalist were to look at an Amazon business, one that has a proven market traction, they would see it as a very high risk, but a very high potential reward investment. Having a business with only one sales channel where Amazon is pretty fussy and can shut your account down over small things, is a very high risk thing. The rewards are very high, as I am seeing for myself, and they are real; just like the risks.

This has profound ramifications for how you deal with Amazon. For example: is running your own Amazon business a viable replacement for your full-time job? If you’re tired of your corporate job and want to strike out as an entrepreneur and spend more time with your family, is Amazon a good replacement for a paycheck? Often times it is advertised as such. My answer: NO.

Diversify Income

A paycheck, from a full-time job is relatively secure. It’s not completely secure, which is good to understand, since you can lose your job or whatnot. But I would never recommend trading a secure form of income for one as tumultuous and uncertain as Amazon.