Have you ever wanted to just go into work one day and resign, live in Italy for three months and gain your Leveraged Lifestyle through an online e-commerce site? Well, listen to the entrepreneur who did just that, Emma Dalton. In this episode, Catherine speaks with Emma Dalton who quit her London job to set up an eBay reselling site dedicated to vintage women's fashion. They talk through her journey into business, how you could get into e-commerce and of course what a leveraged lifestyle looks like for Emma. If you have been wanted to take the plunge and quit your job for more freedom listen how you can do it with a e-commerce site in this episode?
Key Takeaways
What would you call yourself? By definition I think I am an entrepreneur, I think I’m an accidental entrepreneur. I know you’ve talked a little about mumpreneur before but I think an entrepreneur has become a little bit of a buzzword, its an umbrella term. Fundamentally I’m a business person and the focus should be on making a great business not being a celebrity entrepreneur.
I still don’t have it all figured. I have a bit of an imposter syndrome. I have massive wobbles about what I do next. Some people have the next 20 years planned out but I have lots of dynamic plans. Your values or circumstance might change so your plan has to change. I’m still very new to this business. It would be odd to have it all figured out.
What was the decision that made you set up your business? I used to be a project manager, I didn't hate my job, it was a good job. There was a lot of elements that challenged me. There was no massive single moment. I literally went in on a Tuesday in May and in the morning I didn't know I was going to quit. I was a conference call and came to realise that I just don’t care enough. I had no plan. I had no side hustle. I just resigned.
What happened next? I agreed to do a five months notice period which was a full months salary. I knew I was going to Italy for the summer. I had a month to get a plan together, and then take the summer to plan a bit more on how I will earn money in the long term. I lived in London so going to Italy meant that I could sublet my house. It saved me some money and bought me some time. I sold a lot of things on eBay and earned some money to pay for Italy.
Why eBay? It was a google search. I didn't have a lot of money to invest in a business. I had a fear of high costs outlay. It seemed like a safer option and I’d sold on eBay previously, it didn’t feel so scary. We have to make it work. You will find a way if you really want it.
You take everything in life and add it to your business. So much of what I do I took from my previous job. I 100% acknowledge that its not wasted time. I really focus on turnover and profit margin. Without the profit margin, it's not anything really. Turnover can still be a loss. I like my growth, month on month. Things can get over-complicated. I need to be making a certain amount a month and needs to grow a small amount a month.
Was there a point where you felt that you were earning enough from the business? I came to that number quite quickly. I moved in with my partner and it meant my income was halved. I was flying by the seat of my pants. Sometimes I think if I had planned too much I think I might have planned myself out of it. Actually just going for it, you can’t go too wrong.
What did you need to start? I shopped online, in charity shops, I sell women's fashion clothing. I think I went out with £50. I wasn’t confident, it wasn’t something I had done before. I didn’t have anything special, photography-wise. I used my phone to take pictures. To start out- I think it’s such a big interest to people to have a side hustle. You’re never touching new money until you have sold your listings. Keeping your outlay low. It gives you an opportunity to get in for relatively small amounts of money. You can only learn so much until you do it in practice.
Are there any rules that you stick by for your business? It’s definitely developed quite recently. It’s important to know your brand. Because the nature is arbitrage, each item is an individual. So each item has to be a good profit margin of 60% to 70% profit margin. I try to not accept a value profit margin of £25. When I was starting out there was a £5 profit. The percentage in line with the value of the profit.
How do you make eBay work for you in terms of leverage? I’m in the process of doing this. In the last 6 months have been a big turning point in the business. A really important thing, I have taken out all the personal life stuff like cleaning, and cooking. When I do have my own time it's all for me. I’ve taken down by business to three days a week. In that time I’ve increased my income by 3 times. That’s all about processes. I am planning in the next 6 months I am getting some office space, to employ someone to do the things to now. I wanted my time to be efficient. I made a conscious decision to focus on the processes. I knew I wanted a structure in place. Even when you are a small business, implement processes like your a big business. Don’t wait until your ready, because you will never feel ready.
How are you taking what have you learn from your Ebay business to your other businesses? I’ve been aware of Epsy, and I know a lot of people sell things on both. It’s in a similar area. I’ve been more aware of my values. For some people, money is really a big motivation for them. I think doing Epsy, doing art prints has tapped into the creative side of it. It really speaks to me. I find it really fulfilling. It came not from artistic reasons but because I think there is a market for it. I have three days on Ebay, and two days on Epsy. I look forward to those two days so much. I want them both to grow exponentially. It’s definitely going to get a lot of my focus this year.
Did you have the goal to reduce my hours and increase my income? It was planned, and I wanted to go down to three days and hopefully be more efficient. In my head, it was going to three days and doubling my profit, but I ended up x3 it. I have become more efficient by task blocking. As a business concept, you have to block your time. I am very structured on how I find my items, it’s from experience. Just go and do it, figure it out and then structure your time accordingly. Figuring out what will give you the best return on your time.
You have shared your journey on Youtube, what was the purpose of that, and where did you? It was originally was for my own accountability. It really is an easy way to make money, I want people to live the life they want. If me giving a little bit of information on YouTube helps me do that.
What would be the one thing that you would like to tell people form your journey? I think it would be to have a go, and don’t let thinking that you don’t know everything yet get in the way. You don’t have to know 100% in the future what you want to do. You might have a vague vision right in the future, just see the next ten metres in that journey like a cars headlights.
Do you have a vision or a bigger why? I’ve always wanted a flexible living lifestyle. I have always wanted to live in Italy. I love the idea of living in Costa Rica for three months, and three months in another country. I definitely don’t want to live in the UK. I want this flexibility and I think that my vision is difficult because of that.
What values do you hold dear? I have two, which is very much sustainability, and fair fashion. This aligns with my business. In every sense, i’m quite into sustainability. It’s important to me. The other value is that integrity and authenticity. I don’t want to be earning just enough and then doing another course. I want to have integrity in what I do.
Best and worst thing about working for yourself? Best thing is the flexibility, the worst thing is the lack of the social interaction which was a big thing in my previous job.
Is there any other people or things that inspire you? The thing that motivates me most is that fear of regret. You’ll never regret the things you don’t, you’ll only regret the things you don’t do.
Best advice you’ve received. The best advice is to surround yourself with the five people you want to be the average of. Surround yourself with positive people.
Worst Advice. You're not meant to love your job, at least try to love your job. Don’t just settle that’s the status quo.
What does leveraged Lifestyle meant to you? Creating the life that you want. Being honest with yourself, a self awareness and accept that. Don’t try and live someone else’s life, designing the life that you want.
Best Moments
‘I’m an accidental entrepreneur.’
‘Your values or circumstance might change so your plan has to change.
‘If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree then it will always fail.’
‘I have this overriding notion that things will work out.’
‘You either find a way or find an excuse.’
‘I love a spreadsheet.’
‘People overcomplicate things.’
The fundamentals are am I making profit now and what is my growth.’
‘The important figure is how much you need to live on.’
‘Sometimes you can get analysis-paralysis.’
‘I completely believe in investing in myself.’
‘Just start.’
‘Go and declutter and treat it as a business.’
‘Sort your processes out before you hire people.
‘When you are a small business, implement processes like your a big business.
’Dress for the job you want.’
’Build a business that an make a business and fulfill your creative side.’
‘Time blocking is great for efficiency in business.’
‘The hardest part of business is saying no.’
‘Although I call myself an accidental entrepreneur, I have always wanted to have freedom.’
‘Do what’s right for you. It’s ok if you like your employed job.’
‘You can completely different outlooks but you can be supportive of each other.’
‘Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have a really clear vision.’
ABOUT THE GUEST
Emma is a ecommerce fashion reseller. A self-confessed accidental entrepreneurship with a online eBay business which has grew in 18 months from a £50 start up. Emma has managed to grow her business to provide an income well above that of her previous corporate job in London. More recently Emma has opened an Etsy shop selling self designed prints as well.
CONTACT METHOD
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeJ3902ct5bQg_CgmaP-d6g
ABOUT THE HOST
Catherine Turner, your host of Leveraged Lifestyle
Catherine has been investing in Property since 2012, with her main strategy, now Serviced Accommodation which she, and now her team, have grown from 1 to 18 properties in less than 24 months.
Catherine is probably best known for her public speaking successfully training thousands of people how to create businesses that can be run from anywhere in the world on their own terms and becoming a world record holder in the process.
Catherine is the host of the podcast, Leveraged Lifestyle, which reached No. 1 in all Business in the iTunes podcast chart in less than 3 hours on launch. Leveraged Lifestyle is all about creating a lifestyle of freedom, through leverage, outsourcing and systemizing.
CONTACT METHOD
- Website: https://omny.fm/shows/leveraged-lifestyle/%20http://www.catherineaturner.com/
