When most people think about starting an ecommerce business, they have a vision of selling some amazing product that will enable them the freedom to work on something they truly enjoy. But despite early enthusiasm, sometimes they end up not taking action.
So what happens to these people?
- They don’t have any idea of what to sell
- Worrying about failing prevents them from starting
- They have an idea but are not sure what to do next
Does that sound like you? Don’t worry. We’re going to show you some meaty and actionable stories of how two people were able to start their own ecommerce businesses without spending any money.
These two people are members of my How to Make a $1,000 a Month Business Course. We’ve helped over 3,000+ entrepreneurs and it’s been fascinating to see how these people started their businesses.Let’s get to it, enter Brian Pulliam of Backplane:
What problem were you facing?
I injured my back and realized the importance of having good posture during rehab. Since I sat in an office chair all day for engineering work, I decided to make a product for myself. When I realized it was helping me, I wanted to help others too.How did you determine people wanted to buy your product?
Simple. I validated the idea by asking people to buy before I started making them. Pre-sales is a powerful strategy that helps you ensure there's real demand for your product and minimizes financial risk. Also, I had faith in my product's ability to help people with their posture because I was the first client (which sounds very Hair Club for Men, but it's true).
Too many people spend too many hours scouring Alibaba, doing market research and wondering if people will buy the product they want to sell. Pre-sales helps reduce those assumptions and gets you moving forward faster with your business.
How did you create your first prototype once you validated it?
The hardest thing for me was actually creating the product. I had my idea in my head but had an "OK, now what?" moment. I shopped around on Google trying to find bottles and lids that I thought would work well. I got a few free samples to test different sizes and I used the whey protein that I normally use and put it in the bottles to try it out. I really liked how it worked so I placed a bigger order for bottles and lids and this was actually the first money I invested into this. However as I already had money from the people I pre-sold to I was able to use that to purchase the supplies I needed
The fulfillment of the product can be challenging but focus on making a basic budget (to ensure at least break-even) before you pre-sell and focus on keeping your solution to that problem as ghetto as possible at first.
What did you learn about yourself from starting this business?
Two things really stand out. As a naturally shy person pushing past my comfort zone and getting myself out there was a new experience. By doing so I learned that it really wasn't that hard or uncomfortable as I imagined.
A great way to practice overcoming fear is taking our “Coffee Challenge.” Go to Starbucks or any cafe and ask for a 10% discount. It’ll help you be less afraid asking for things in your own business.
The other thing I was able to implement was the validation of my product. I had 7 products sold before I had anything more than the idea in my head. No website, no business cards, not even the product yet! I had 7 people actually paying me for what was simply an idea, and because I was able to do that I knew I was on to something that would actually work. That was a much better solution than spending a bunch of money and time and energy building a product, website site, etc. before I knew if there was anyone else out there that would buy it and use it.
You can use Paypal, Shopify, Gumroad or eventbrite to pre-sell your idea at no cost to you.
What was the hardest part about setting up your store?
I have messed around with Shopify in the past using just a mock idea a friend of mine had. I never took it to production and just let the site die after I was done playing around with it. It’s easy to setup the store but the hard part is getting customers. Doing things in reverse and then setting up the store makes life much easier.
Once you get customers through a manual process a store like Shopify will save you significant time.
What were the most memorable moments from selling this product?
Definitely when I got my first customer to say that they liked my idea enough to invest $30 into it. Second time was when I placed my order for my bottle samples. It was a "Wow, I am really doing this" moment for me. Third was sending out my first shipments. It felt like a really big accomplishment (and I suppose it was!). And lastly when Noah himself told me he liked my product after trying it!!
It’s important to know who your ideal customers are so it makes your life easier to find out WHERE they are online / offline.
What did you learn about selling physical products?
I never really thought it was possible to sell a product without already having it. The idea that I could sell my idea first and then turn it into a product after I knew it would work was a major step turning from "wantrepreneur” to entrepreneur.
What do you recommend to other people who want to setup an ecommerce store?
Definitely validate your idea first before setting up a store. And you should be doing everything and anything manually until you have such a demand that you can't do it all yourself anymore. Keep it ghetto for as long as possible!
How much have you made from selling your product?
Not much yet. I am trying to reinvest any profits back into the product to make it better (labels for the bottles are on the top of my to do list!) Right now I am more focused on getting the word out there that I do have a great product, and I figure if I have enough people that know about my product and they are all satisfied with it, the money will naturally follow.
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