This is Mike and welcome to Episode 320 of the Ecomcrew Podcast! So glad to have you with us today. In today's episode, we've got a treat for you guys because we're joined by a dynamic duo who have been in the ecommerce industry for almost as long as I have. Ken, Kasey, welcome to the Ecomcrew podcast! Ken and Kasey have started and exited their fair share of businesses; running a site for the trucking niche, the Yoga Space, and even in Tutoring so it's safe to say that these guys are definitely experienced in their entrepreneurship. After their latest exit, Ken and Kasey ventured into the Tennis niche — something that they both have a passion for and put their ten thousand hours in, and started Hit Happy Tennis. So in today's podcast, we'll be helping them in figuring out solutions to their struggles in Cash Flow Optimisation, Supplier Diversification, and Increasing their Product Catalogue in higher prices. Ken and Kasey still have a long way to go in Hit Happy Tennis, but I definitely believe that these strategies will be able to really help them move the needle in growing their business. For all you guys out there, today's podcast is definitely packed with value. You'll learn why you shouldn't be afraid of selling higher priced items, how to protect yourself when making custom made products, and the dangers of diversifying into a niche that you're not passionate for.  

E320: Why You Should NOT Diversify From Your Niche

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Dana Jaunzemis joins the EcomCrew podcast today to talk about how she evaluated businesses before purchasing them, why she chose to sell her businesses, and ultimately chose to retire.    Dana Jaunzemis and I met for the first time years ago during my eCommerce speaking circuit and has since become a great friend of mine. She's the killer combination of having a really interesting background, while also being incredibly intellectual business-wise and philosophically too.    She's been a good friend that's always been helpful when I've run into troubles of my own, especially those regarding burnout, identity and the end goal as an entrepreneur.    Today, I wanted to pick her brains on the podcast about what it's like to have been recently retired from eCommerce, how she still finds a sense of fulfilment and the factors she considers before buying a business, which may or may not have been on my mind lately.    "E-commerce, while easy, is the highest risk type of business [in my opinion]." - Dana Jaunzemis    Timestamps:   0:00 - Podcast Start 0:31 - Introduction 2:49 - Dana's Career Timeline 4:54 - The Appeal of E-Commerce for Introverts 6:28 - Is E-Commerce Difficult?  9:19 - The Difference Between Successful and Failing Businesses 11:44 - How lessons in life can apply to your future 15:40 - Factors to Consider When Buying A Business 16:31 - Factor #1: Profitability 16:46 - Factor #2: Where Your Skillset Fits In 24:24 - Why Dana chose to sell her business 30:01 - Risks of e-commerce 31:41 - Factor #3: Inventory Costs  34:19 - Finding Fulfilment in Retirement 38:14 - Knowing when 'enough' is enough 41:53 - Moving Goalposts  46:30 - What was it like buying a business with friends?     Dana, thank you for accepting the invite to record a podcast together. I really appreciate it, and I look forward to seeing you again in the next events.    If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com.    Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well! We would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes.    Thanks for listening!   

E547: Finding Fulfilment in Retirement with Dana Jaunzemis

John Di Giacomo joins us on the podcast today to talk about the most common lawsuit claims that he's personally seen in the past few years in the ecommerce industry, and how you can avoid them.    John Di Giacomo is the founding partner of Revision Legal, a law firm with expertise in Internet law, copyright & trademark law, and related areas.    Today, he's on the podcast to talk about the most common cases that have been on the rise recently. Specifically, we'll be talking about ADA Cases and CIPA claims, and how ecommerce sellers can protect themselves from these claims.    The big takeaway here is to make sure that you're protected from these false claims.    Because it's not a matter of if it happens, but a matter of when it happens. The best way to protect yourselves is to take preventive action before these claims ultimately kill your business, because it can definitely happen.    John, thanks for coming on the podcast! It was nice having you back on after several years since your last episode and I hope to hear good news from you in the future.    If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com.    Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well! We would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes.    Thanks for listening!

E546: The Most Common Lawsuit Claims in Ecommerce and How to Avoid Them

Dave and I discuss the delays to the New "Low Inventory" fees, how you can be exempted from those fees, and the impending FTC Investigation into Amazon.   After months of complaints over the new fees, it seems like Amazon's heard (or read, in this case) the message that people aren't happy about being charged for having too little in FBA Warehouses. To gain some brownie points, they've decided to delay the effectivity date of these new fees. But what does this mean in the big picture?    We all know that Amazon's being investigated by the FTC for their monopolistic practices. With that being said, why would Amazon choose to apply new fees that effectively erodes profit margin from third party sellers?    We discuss that, and more in today's episode. Here's some timestamps below to get you started:   Intro - 0:00  Going to China and experiencing sandstorms - 0:31  The Great Wall of China - 1:53 Big Amazon News & Official Announcement - 2:46  Exceptions for AWD Users - 5:46  "There are nuances to every business..." - 6:55  Amazon's Monopoly - 8:59  Investigating Overseas Sellers on Amazon - 10:52  FTC's Investigation into Amazon - 13:03  Why would Amazon announce new fees while being investigated by the FTC? - 16:32  The FANG Companies vs. TikTok - 22:02 Making sure you're still profitable - 26:04  The big takeaway here is to make sure that you're still profitable.    Go into your Amazon account, check out how much you are going to be charged in April for these fees, and adjust your pricing accordingly to make sure that you're still having a healthy and profitable business.    If any listeners would like to have a discussion about this, let me know by emailing us directly at support@ecomcrew.com.    Also, if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can email us directly as well!   Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes.    Thanks for listening!  

E545: Amazon Announces Delays to New Low Inventory Fees

Neil Twa from High Voltage Business Builders joins us on the podcast to drop some massive value bombs. He breaks down how you can increase brand awareness on Amazon, his approaches to Product Development, and how you can restart the Honeymoon Period on Amazon. Listen in for some great lessons from Neil!    Amazon's only getting tougher and tougher.    It seems like the laundry list of things that you need to do to ensure success keeps getting longer and longer after each year, but what exactly are the things to do?    I've asked Neil Twa to join me on the podcast today to talk about this very topic. Neil has actually given me a lot of high value thoughts during this recording that I think you should probably listen to on repeat over and over, as there are some things that just come off as surprising.    Here are just a few:    Lesson #1: Below the $50 retail price point, you'll be competing against a lot of brands. There isn't as much increase in competition in the price point of $50 - $150 retail.    Lesson #2: Get more than 1 manufacturer just so you don't have all your eggs in one basket.    Lesson #3: Never get started with electronics.    If you want to skip to certain parts of today's episode, here are some timestamps!  0:00 - Intro 0:32 - Neil's Podcast  1:20 - What you need to do to be successful on Amazon  2:06 - Con #1: Platform Risk   2:56 - Con #2: Increased competition  4:38 - How to Increase Brand Awareness on Amazon 8:43 - How to approach Product Development  12:46 - Why oversized products have to be priced correctly 14:54 - Never start with electronics 15:45 - Neil's product rules  16:38 - How to increase your product's perceived value  24:03 - How to restart the Honeymoon Period  24:49 - Google Cosmo  29:15 - How would you start an ecommerce business today?    Neil, I can't thank you enough for coming on the podcast. It was great having you on and these lessons are surely going to be valuable for a ton of listeners.    If you guys want to hear more from Neil, check out the High Voltage Business Builders podcast!    Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes.    Thanks for listening!   

E544: What You Need to Do to Be Successful on Amazon in 2024

Steve Chou makes an appearance on today's episode to discuss some key takeaways he and Mike learned while attending EcommerceFuel Live 2024.    It's conference season for eCommerce!    I just got back from ECF Live 2024, which was a great experience where I got to meet old friends and discuss a few of the issues that's been going on in the industry like Amazon's new fees, the recent Google update, and the ever-eroding margins.    As always, I like to get someone who was at the conference with me to discuss some of the things that we've learned, and who else better than Steve Chou! Steve is a good friend of mine for several years now who runs My Wife Quit Her Job and is also hosting this year's Seller Summit, so we're live today to talk about the things we've learned.    We talk about the 4 key takeaways that we came away with, and how we can apply it to our businesses. Here's some timestamps to get you guys going:   Intro - 0:00  Catching up with Steve - 0:30  Mike's favorite time of the year - 1:15 Mike and Steve's ECF Live experience - 2:42  Steve's first takeaway #1: Google Update - 3:54 The future of Search and AI - 4:29  How fast things change - 9:25  Second takeaway #2: Tiktok Shop - 10:37  Third takeaway #3: Higher profit margins are the key to success - 15:11 Fourth takeaway #4: Amazon's New Fees - 18:01  What's happening in Seller Summit this year? - 23:06  Seller Summit's Mastermind Day - 23:45  Sign up for Seller's Summit - 27:07 Why Mike hates flying - 30:03    Steve, it was great recording with you as always! I really appreciate you coming on and doing this podcast with me. If you guys would like to learn more about Steve, check out MyWifeQuitHerJob to learn more about him!    Seller Summit is on May 13th and 14th this year, so get your tickets here and you can put in a special request to get Mike as your Mastermind Leader.    Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes if you enjoy our content. If you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to discuss on the podcast, you can now email us directly at support@ecomcrew.com! Also, we would really appreciate it if you would leave us a review on iTunes.    Thanks for listening!

E320: Why You Should NOT Diversify From Your Niche

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