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Well, if we had to start a high-ticket UK dropshipping store again right now, the very first thing we'd lock in before anything else is most people looking five or ten years ahead already know that something has to change.
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But they keep starting in the wrong order and then once the foundations are solid, the next step that decides whether you actually make it is ever looked five or ten years ahead towards the future of your life and you have that strong feeling inside that something has to change about the path and the direction that you're traveling down.
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But you find that every time you try and figure something out and build something for yourself, you get overwhelmed by all of the conflicting advice that's out there and another year just disappears.
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Well, to fix this, Lewis and I are going to walk through the exact order that we would do, we would follow if we were to start a high-ticket UK e-commerce business today, if we were beginning beginning from scratch.
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So, Lewis, let's start right at the beginning.
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What is the first thing that we would lock in before we even started to think about products we're selling or the store that we need to build?
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Yeah, there's something deeper than all of that stuff, I believe, that will dictate whether or not later on, when you hit roadblock or a hurdle along the way, whatever you want to call it, there will be many of them in business.
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And it's the mindset piece.
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Now we talk about this a lot on the podcast, but it's something that I wanted to dive into a little bit deeper today and be a bit more tactical about what we mean by that.
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So having some very clear personal goals that dictate the real reason and clarify for you and crystallize for you what the real reason is behind why you're building this business.
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Now, when I say personal reasons, they don't have to be self-serving personal reasons.
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They could be for the benefit of someone else, for the benefit of your family, for the for the benefit of your parents, for the benefit of your children, for the benefit of the community that you want to give back to, but they have to be something that is your personal driver, that is your, that will that will calibrate your mindset so that every time when you come back to like having to muster up the willpower to like go and call another supplier or launch another ad campaign or do something to grow the business, you remember why you're doing it in the first place.
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And that really is the fuel that ignites and can continue to power this engine of business as we go.
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So mindset is um is key.
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And actually going into it with the mindset before you do anything of knowing that this is a proper business.
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This isn't some like side project, side hustle that we're just gonna, you know, have a go at on the side of uh a job.
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It's it's something that, like, no, I'm I'm going to treat this like an income-replacing vehicle, like a an actual business that will pay me and replace my salary and and can fund my lifestyle.
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Because if you don't treat it like that and give it the time and respect that it deserves, and how are you ever expecting it to actually become one of those things?
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You have to build it in that sense uh from the outset, is my view.
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So those are probably the things to answer your question, James, that I would do before any tactical stuff.
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And then at the beginning of the process of like building the business, once you're, I mean, we can dive into like niche selection and things like that.
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I'd probably start to look at getting some structures in place initially when when first starting out.
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So, like, for example, setting up a limited company, business bank account, getting those things ready so that when I do start to incur some business expenses, I've got you know the accounting set up correctly that I can run everything through a limited company.
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That's a very straightforward, simple thing to do.
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But it just makes things easier from a financial management standpoint later.
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You're not trying to like put back in personal expenses that were really business expenses, and you're getting your personal finances all muddled muddied with your business expenses.
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So that's a nice clear separation to have.
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That's quite a tactical thing to do.
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But the the mindset piece comes first because without that, you'll have nothing to fall back on when times get tough.
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Brilliant.
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Yeah, that's a great mix of the mindset and then also the tactical things to make sure you follow the steps in the right order.
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If you do were to type in how to start an e-commerce business into YouTube, and you'll start getting thrown videos your way about an ad campaign to set up, about a Shopify store to build, and it all disregards the fundamental thing that is why you're doing it in the first place.
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What is the reason that's going to give you the motivation and emphasis to actually wake up and put some work towards your business, especially if you're doing it alongside the other commitments that you've got, full-time job, family to look after, etc., etc.
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And so you have to start with that.
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Just to go personal for a second, for me, I was looking into the future in my current career path before I started my e-commerce business.
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And I thought, okay, if I carry on down this path for five to ten years, and if I don't make a change, I'm going to be leading a life that I've just fallen into more so than actually just designed or decided that I wanted to live.
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I had got a job in a local housing association in my hometown.
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I was surveying bathrooms in people's properties, and it was a job that got me by, but it certainly didn't excite me, and it certainly didn't excite me the prospect that that was leading towards uh having no autonomy over how I spent my time, have no autonomy about where I was in the world, and ultimately having no autonomy about the finances that I could really scale up to enhance my lifestyle.
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So I felt trapped by that situation, realized I needed to use that energy, get really clear on what did I actually want to have, what what lifestyle did I actually want to lead?
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And that's super personal for everyone.
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Once you have that, you have this ultimate source of energy and motivation to go down the path that we're going to describe now because you yeah, because you know exactly what it is that you want and you feel very strongly about that desire.
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So once you've got those foundations, Lewis, I mean, maybe dive back into your story to say the next parts that you followed.
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What was it for you that gave you that strength?
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And then what what did you do with that energy once you knew you were going to build an online income stream?
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Yeah, it's fascinating to hear your your story and your your kind of transition into the this entrepreneurial space.
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And I guess thankfully, yeah, that that this vehicle was a good solution for you that that gave you that um that autonomy.
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So I think that was true because you treated it as a business from the outset and you knew that this wasn't just some side project that you were gonna give a little bit of attention to.
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Like you saw this as your route out of that world, and that's why you gave it the focus and attention that you did.
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So it's not then a coincidence that you succeeded and went on to do millions with your business, is because you you treated it like that from the outset.
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And I think I was very similar.
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I um yeah, I was in a medical um sales role.
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I was like traveling around the London region, but used to have to kind of go get trains up to the north of the country and to the south and like go around hospitals all around the United Kingdom.
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And yeah, it was um it was hard work.
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And again, I'd look at people like years ahead of where I was in that profession and just think like, okay, so I mean, they've got more responsibility, so probably more stress.
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They're not, I mean, that yeah, they were on higher pay, but not like huge multiples higher.
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It was just like a kind of an incremental scale.
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And I just saw that and thought, I'm probably gonna end up having less free time at that point, more stress, more responsibility, see probably less of my kids for not that much extra money.
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And I think it's very easy to not even question that uh ladder that you're climbing and question the route that you're on when everybody who you are surrounded by is also in the hamster wheel chasing that same next promotion or that next pay rise.
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And it's not until you see something different from me, the thing that sparked it was the audiobook The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris and just listening to that.
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And just I describe it because I was the only way I really could at the time as someone like just drawing back the curtain on this other version of life that was happening that all these other this like secret society and this other club of people had been privy to that I hadn't, and just showing that, like, oh by the way, these guys over here are like running their businesses from laptops in Bali and uh going to rally talks in the book about like waking up in Buenos Aires and going and out for an amazing lunch and then flying off to Thailand and running his business from wherever.
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And I was just like, what?
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Like those are places you go on holiday to, maybe if you're lucky, once a year.
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They're not places that you like live and can wake up in and work from if you're you know based here in the UK.
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And so to me, it just it almost didn't compute.
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Like I just couldn't see how how is that possible?
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But bear in mind, this is going back to like 2017.
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So this is before the world kind of fully opened up digitally, I would say, where it became almost like the norm to work online.
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This was like, you know, I was in a corporate company, corporate nine to five type role, and it was quite weird the thought of like going to become a digital nomad and being able to work from anywhere.
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That term wasn't really known back then.
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And so, yeah, when I took it really seriously and decided I'm really gonna lock in, I mean, there were there are several things to get tactical that I think are really key to making this work.
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The first was I I I made the mistake initially of picking a niche based on what I thought might be popular and didn't really question it.
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I did it more on like just, am I passionate about like seeing the thing take off?
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And do I think that it would work?
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Do I kind of and there's a place in business for that instinct.
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I don't want to say like it has to be a tote, like that you can't rely on your instincts.
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You can absolutely factor them into the equation.
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But I also knew that I was going into this world fairly naive and quite blind to like all of the potential pitfalls and disasters that could lay ahead.
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So I wanted to learn from other people's mistakes.
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So going through the process of learning, like what's the how do I really validate a niche?
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How do I look at search demand for products?
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How do I say that not only do I think it's going to be popular, but also like people are looking for the types of products that I want to sell online?
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So let's say you want to sell barbecue grills as an example that we often use.
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Well, how many people in the UK are searching for barbecues to buy on Google every single month?
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And therefore we can kind of extrapolate that and say, well, if there's that many people searching, then there's probably roughly this many people buying.
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And of those people, if I just had this share of them, could I make a full-time income business from it?
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And so then once you've got that, you can kind of move on to other criteria.
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And it became a bit of a game of like making sure that everything checked, like it I wanted a series of green lights before I put my foot down and really went for it and started committing time and money, you know, into building the business.
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And of course, I made some mistakes at the beginning.
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We had a couple of false starts, a bit like you mentioned yourself as well, like selling some products from China and realizing like there was no profit in them.
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And it was just me marking up some really cheap products, and then everybody would would know that that was what we were doing, and it took ages to then have those products delivered to customers in the UK, which leads to poor reviews.
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And I just thought, well, that's not the kind of business that I want to run.
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But I couldn't help but think there's something in this dropshipping model, fulfillment model.
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And um, Tim Ferris talks about dropshipping in the book.
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He talks about, I think it's a supplement that he initially starts selling.
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I think it was Brain Quicken.
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I think that was the one.
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Uh perhaps I'd have to go back and look through it.
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But I'm pretty sure that's the one that he talks about initially dropshipping.
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Or he gives some examples, I think, at the end of the book about like listeners and readers of the book who've come back to report their stories to him, and one of them or a few of them talk about dropshipping.
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I was like, there's definitely something in this.
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So it was that an interesting um kind of intro into the space.
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But then, yeah, when you start looking at like, well, if I sell products at a higher price, then I can make more per sale.
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Maybe I need fewer sales overall to be able to generate the same amount of profit.
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I look at like, are they are the brands in the industry that I'm thinking of selling the type of brands that would work with me as a drop shipping retailer?
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And like various different criteria that you run through so that I then only move forward once the numbers and the structure actually make sense.
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And I've got that series of green lights there.
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So I say, right, now I'm gonna really move ahead with this.
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And so that gave me the confidence to do so.
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And I think that was probably the bit that allowed me to escape, not with a huge amount of like confidence necessarily, because I think going into the world of entrepreneurship, you you kind of just have to have that level of blind confidence.
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But it was data and it was like factual evidence that I was building this on, not just like, oh, I feel confident about this.
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It was like, no, the numbers stack up.
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I have a business case, um, it makes sense.
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And then, yeah, to sending out the email to like my former colleagues and telling them that like I'm leaving the company, I'm off to become a digital nomad.
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My wife and I are gonna move out to live in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and you know, go and uh travel the world.
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And the look of confusion on people's faces when when I said that back then, especially, was just um was really interesting because like it was just it broke the paradigm, I think, for some people in terms of like that they couldn't compute.
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They were like, well, which competitor has he gone to, or like which headhunter is has offered him a role, or like what is there is in Thailand?
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Is are his family in Thailand?
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And I was like trying to kind of explain that, like, well, I can run the business from anywhere.
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So like, why not there?
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It gives me a great runway, a great quality of life, super fast internet, amazing hikes up the mountains, yeah, a lower cost of living, great weather all year round.
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So it was that kind of that bit I think that allowed me to break free.
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But it was the fact that it was built on data that gave me the like the evidence to say, no, I can see how this would work and come together.
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Yeah, that's the key.
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Then you get to have those inspiring conversations that are good fun, actually, to be able to leave a job and say the reason why you're leaving a job is because you've built up your own income on the side that now allows you to generate more income than you were doing through the the business or the the the job that you had.
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So, yeah, very memorable conversation when you have that.
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Mine is a very similar story of confusion or not really understanding how you've built something up that allows you to go and live anywhere in the world and not be reliant on a nine to five income because people are in that world day to day speaking with only people that are in nine to five jobs as well.
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So it becomes very insulating.
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But what you've done there, Lewis, is you've just described exactly the point we're making in the first section, which was about the mindset, because you've described how we're not choosing products based on vibes, if you like, we're choosing products based on data.
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So we're going to cone through some data to make sure when we go into a niche, we we know it's gonna sell, we know it's proven to sell, and that we can go in and sell those products.
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And that kind of approach is predicated.
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It it needs to have the mindset that we talked about in the first part in order for you to do that.
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If you're just treating it not seriously, if you've not connected this type of business to your goals of leaving the job that you're currently not inspired by, then you'll never have the motivation you need to take it seriously to do the proper data validation.
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For me, before I got really clear on my goals, I just chose products based on, yeah, I want to get into business, I want to sell products, let's go with them.
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It's fine.
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And because I hadn't already connected to the goals, I hadn't connected to why I was doing this, I didn't take it seriously enough to get the results that I needed to get.
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So step one leads nice on to step two because you have to get really clear and confident and passionate about why you're doing this in the first place, which leads you on to step two, which is data validation, it's combing through data, it's things that you wouldn't choose to do necessarily in your evenings, but because you're doing it for such a strong reason, you you can do it.
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You can choose a date, uh a niche that's that's that's proven to work, and then you can get into the actual building phase.
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So once you've chosen the niche, you know the products you're gonna sell those, what would the next steps be that you'd take if you were starting again?
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Yeah, so it's really exciting hurdle to overcome uh deciding on a niche, because then you can really start the process of like building and figuring out the next series of problems that are gonna come.
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That's all entrepreneurship is, isn't it?
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It's like a series of problems that lay ahead that you have to just figure out and solve and become very good at solving.
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And so I think something I see a lot from it within our community is that like people initially, when they start researching their niche, they kind of they have all these different options and then they kind of they often post in the community and they're like, I've picked my niche as if it's like a line in the sand, and they're like, I'm moving forwards, I've I've selected my niche.
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And I always think the reason for that is because it's like a kind of a mental barrier for a lot of people, I think, before they have the kind of evidence and the data to rely on, that they think they've just got to like guess and they think it's a gamble.
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The way that we lay it out is very much looking for evidence of existing drop shipping retailers in that market so that you know those suppliers have a very high likelihood of working with you.
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You know those other retailers are making money, they're making sales.
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So, therefore, why can't you add value in some slightly unique way?
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It doesn't have to be totally revolutionary, you just have to add value in some, and that can even be just good customer service that allows you to then take a portion of those sales in an already huge market that can be a six-figure a year business.
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So I think it's really key.
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Once you get past that point of like saying, I have selected my niche, it's really fun because don't expect it to then just be a smooth sailing path into the sunset.
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It's like then the problems start to unfold and you just have to figure them out one by one.
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So then, for example, the first problem is like, well, I don't have a website to show anybody.
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Let's build a website, okay?
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So we go into Shopify usually as our platform of choice, and you build a professional, clean-looking store.
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Like we actually give you a dropship unlocked theme that you can use and just plug in your products to, or even like demo products, or you can even use Shopify Collective to pull some of those products in, like we talked about on a recent episode, to actually just get something to be able to take to suppliers and show them.
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So once you have a store that's focused on high-ticket products, it's aimed at the UK market, if that's where you're serving.
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You can offer next day delivery to customers or fast few working day delivery to them.
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You can then start to go and approach and onboard other UK suppliers who you've already validated from the previous research steps when you did your niche selection.
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Um, so you know they will be happy to drop ship for you.
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So the whole thing is done in a very sequential order intentionally, so that later on you get to kind of go back to your prior research and pick out little pieces that you you left there intentionally so that you can then start to build the business up.
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So in this case, we'd be going back and picking out suppliers that we said, ah, yeah, we can see they already supply drop shipping sites like ours.
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So let's make sure we go back and approach them.
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And going back and approaching them with a functioning store that you can now show them is a great trust indicator to them to say, yeah, I'd be happy to work with them and let them sell our products.
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They can bring us a new source of revenue.
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And then once you have them signed, you have their products live on your store.
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Don't expect people to be queuing up at the door, you know, hypothetically, um, to purchase the products because that's your next problem to solve.
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It's like, right, now I have a store, where are all the customers at?
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We start running ads.
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So that's where paid traffic comes into the equation.
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And that's where we can pay per click to get customers to our website using primarily the Google Ads platform, which is our favorite because that's where people are already shopping online.
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They're looking for items like where do I buy a barbecue near me?
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Well, imagine someone types in that search query into their phone on Google, your ad now pops up at the top and it's got a photo of the barbecue, a price, it says that it's next day delivery, it's got five-star reviews from all your customers.
00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:49.680
They click that, they purchase the item and it arrives to them the next day.
00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:51.680
So that's how we can do that.
00:19:51.759 --> 00:20:08.720
Obviously, with our Google Ads campaigns, we like the performance max campaign type as an initial starting point because it's good at kind of learning where you'll get conversions, both from like which brands, which products, but also which platforms, Google Shopping, Display Network, Gmail, YouTube, it covers all bases pretty much.
00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:21.119
And you put in place a target to say, here's how much return on every pound of ad spend that I put into this Google Ads machine I need back for it to be profitable.
00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:29.200
So if it's like a five return on ad spend, that means every pound I put in, I'm getting five pounds back in value.
00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:37.680
Now we should we give you the calculators and stuff to show you how to calculate where your your break-even target is and then where your target profitable return on ad spend is.
00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:39.039
But that's then the key to it.
00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:45.920
Then it's a case of do the same again many, many times over, make lots and lots of those sales, and you've built a machine.
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:53.039
And it's, you know, then we can start talking about putting in place like virtual assistants and AI systems to answer calls and fulfill orders for you.
00:20:53.119 --> 00:21:10.640
And suddenly you are hands-off and you can then very quickly be doing the thing that Tim Ferris talks about in the book, which is having a business, traveling the world, logging in once a day to check everything on your laptop or your phone is running correctly, and suddenly you've broken free of the shackles of corporate life in the nine to five.
00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:30.640
And you look back and you think, wow, like if someone had never just shown me this behind the curtain, like I mentioned, of like this parallel universe of life that's existing, I would have just thought that I just had to work harder and harder and harder and give more of my time and energy into a job where my salary was capped, I could be let go at any moment.
00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:36.319
You know, a manager might leave and a new manager that I don't get on with joins, and then my life's a misery.
00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:42.079
You know, all these factors that just are out of your control and you may have never known that you had another option.
00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:47.759
That's why I think once you've tasted this kind of freedom and autonomy from this business, it's really hard to go back.
00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:56.079
I don't think I could ever go back and, you know, be a really obedient employee that doesn't ask questions and just gets on with things.
00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.599
Like I'm too curious now about like the world around me and what's possible, and I've seen.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.359
How it can come to fruition.
00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:01.839
Yeah.
00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:08.240
You never go back once you've seen what's possible to to take back control of your time and hours and location, yeah.
00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:10.160
You see people go back into that world.
00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:16.480
Once they've got their taste for it, you don't then decide to give that all away in order to get a you know a nine to five paycheck.
00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:20.640
So yeah, it's it's just exciting to watch to to go through that that path.
00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:24.880
That is a proven path that we've both followed to build successful e-commerce businesses.
00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:33.200
And something that really attracted me before I joined the dropship on lockmaster class myself was that I could see that it was a proven path.
00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:39.920
I could see that it wasn't going to be easy, it was never sugarcoated, it was never a get-rich quick scheme that was, you know, given or portrayed.
00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.079
But what it was was a simple path.
00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:53.759
It was a proven path that we can talk about and we can describe as we've just done, where we go through the the goals, then the foundations, then the niche, then the Shopify store, then your sign suppliers, and then you run out.
00:22:54.319 --> 00:23:00.240
It's six weeks of simple actions, one after another, and then you've got a business that's generating sales at the end of it.
00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:13.359
So what what I needed when I had that real pain, it was, it was a real desire to get out of the what felt like real handcuffs that I was in, that I was leading towards a life that I wasn't designing and wasn't excited for.
00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:28.000
To get out of that pain, I just needed to channel that energy into a system that was set out in a way that had been proven by others, that had been tested, and had and had been seen to pay off for hundreds of others or thousands of other people uh around the world.
00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:31.920
So I had to go into something that inspired me for a lifestyle that I wanted to build.
00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:34.160
And that's what the masterclass gave to me.
00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:50.079
Um now because you spoke about mindset so much, if you like understanding what really separates people from people that quit and people that succeed, I recommend episode 152 of the Dropship On Lock podcast for those people that want to hear about the mindset of our most successful members.
00:23:50.319 --> 00:24:02.400
In that episode, we speak to members and we've also condense what we've learned from speaking with lots of people building e-commerce businesses to find out what's common about uh the mindset of the people that get the most success.
00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:16.720
So, Lewis, if you were speaking now directly to the person who's been putting this off for years because they just didn't know the correct order to actually approach building a a UK e-commerce business or an online income stream, what is the one thing that you'd like to leave them with?
00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:19.599
Well, you you have a few different options if you want to do this.
00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:32.319
You can either try and learn everything through trial and error and hope that over the course of many, many years you don't make too many of those mistakes where it becomes impossible or irreversible to overcome them.
00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:50.480
Or you can just learn from all of the mistakes that both James and myself and the hundreds and hundreds of other people's people members that we've coached have made along the way that we've then laid out a path navigated to allow you to navigate around those pitfalls and avoid them, or at least absolutely minimize the risk of any of them happening.
00:24:50.720 --> 00:25:04.960
So there's a there's a reason, as I mentioned, why we have the steps laid out sequentially in a sequence, because the order matters and it allows you to avoid and eliminate the most expensive mistakes that people make along the way.
00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:17.279
And I mean expensive in the term or like in the in the sense of time that you have wasted, you've expended that time unnecessarily, and you now have to go back to the beginning, or financially as well.
00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:27.680
Um if you think it's expensive to work with a mentoring company like ours to build your business, try doing it without that advice and see how expensive it works out that way.
00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:36.319
That's that's my advice, really, is that there is a proven path here, and there are no medals to be won by trying to take the hard path and do it by trial and error.
00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:39.440
If you want to just take the fast track, then that is absolutely laid out for you.
00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:49.839
The front-loaded effort that you put in now, done in the right order, is the thing that later on gives you that leverage to be able to have that freedom.
00:25:50.079 --> 00:26:17.599
It's it's the very um unusual trait in modern society of being willing to do something difficult, time-consuming, hard, and seemingly fruitless now in exchange for the rewards of never having to work a job and having ultimate time, location, financial freedom later on to be there with your family and support them and enjoy life to its fullest.
00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:29.359
If you can get over that and say, I'm gonna do this and work really hard for the next three, six months until the business is up and running, then we've seen it time and time again from members in our community who've really committed to that.
00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:36.720
That on the other side of that, they look back and think, wow, I'm so glad I made that decision when I did and front loaded that work.
00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:49.599
So I just think that the longer you wait for the perfect moment, if if you're waiting for like that perfect time in life, the further those five to 10 year goals that you might have just slip away because that moment never comes.
00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:56.319
And before you know it, you're five, you're 10 years down the line, and suddenly it's like, we're still not really here, and there's always a reason not to do it.
00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:57.839
Sometimes you just need to do it.
00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:00.319
Um, so that's my advice if it's worth anything.
00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:18.240
If you're ready to stop guessing and you want to start taking the steps in the correct order, what you can do is head over to dropshipunlocked.com forward slash start, or we'll link that that link below this episode, and that's where we can show you the full road roadmap start to finish, so you can follow along with us.
00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:19.039
Fantastic.
00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:26.240
Yeah, and just to to uh back up the point you made there, Lewis, there will never be a perfect time to start.
00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:36.000
Um, and and it's easy to think that there's gonna be this window of opportunity that's gonna open, but for most people it it just is a time where you realize that I can't keep going down this path.
00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:41.519
Certainly it was for me, and it was like a almost like a gradual realization that this wasn't gonna improve by itself.
00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:45.039
I had to get into something that was gonna uh improve it for me.
00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:58.640
And because I knew that I could work eight hours a day really hard for someone else's business, I knew that I could work one to two hours of my day really hard on my own business in order to build something that gave me that long-term stability.
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:07.680
So, with that said, it's time now to answer a question that we've received from a listener that is somewhat connected, quite topical about what we've spoken today.
00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:25.680
And so remember, if you have a question that's come up in your mind while you've been listening to today's episode or watching it on YouTube, then all you need to do is comment your question on the YouTube video version of this episode, and we'll answer it in the comments, and we might just feature it on an upcoming episode as well, because we'd love to feature your questions.
00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:39.200
We've had a question in from Robbie R2478, and he has asked this question to you guys How much time will this take to build an e-commerce business alongside a full-time job?
00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:42.640
Yeah, it's a great question, Robbie, and uh it's not the first time we've been asked it.
00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:45.839
So, how long does it take to build an e-commerce business?
00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:50.400
I'd say the good news is that most of our members start this alongside a full-time job.
00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:52.480
So if that's your situation, you are not alone.
00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:55.039
In fact, that is the usual approach.
00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:59.119
It's the couple of hours you can find in the morning before you start work.
00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:17.279
It's the couple of hours here and there at the weekend that you can just lock yourself away in a room and just get through some things, or it's a few hours after work occasionally, not every day of the week, but like when you can carve out that time, like James said, when it's your own business and it really matters, you'd be surprised that like it doesn't feel like homework.
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:21.680
It doesn't feel like you're doing overtime for a boss because you it's for you, it's for your future.
00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:25.119
So it's almost like people pride themselves on finding this time.
00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:30.960
Even if it's just sitting in your car, you know, on your lunch break and just um getting your laptop out and working through it for a little bit.
00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:34.960
There are if it matters to you, you will find that time and you will carve out that time.
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:38.720
So I'd say consistency is key in that situation.
00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:43.759
Um, one to two hours a day is enough to be fully up and running, usually in around six weeks.
00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:51.839
If you follow the course to the letter and you're kind of going through the actions that we we set you as you go, but it doesn't matter if it takes you a little bit longer.
00:29:52.000 --> 00:30:00.960
No one ever looks back in three years' time when they're making millions with their business and says, like, I wish I'd done it in six weeks instead of 12 weeks, like that becomes completely insignificant.
00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:03.680
So don't worry about the time it takes you to get up and running.
00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:11.839
Worry about the consistency of you putting in those actions and know that if you want it badly enough, you will carve out and find that time.
00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:18.319
No matter how busy you are, you will make that time, even if it means having to take holiday or annual leave to find that time.
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:35.279
And that's why at the very beginning of this episode, we started with your reason why and your driver and the mindset, because that is what will dictate whether you prioritize this high enough to do it instead of watching Netflix in the evenings, or you put it off and it never gets done.
00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:39.039
It comes down to how badly you want that change and whether you'll protect that time.
00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:40.000
Yeah, exactly.
00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:44.400
Ultimately, it's about whether you're going to make that time rather than find the time.
00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:48.559
So if you want it enough, you're nicely wrapping up the episode in the way that we started.
00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:58.000
It's all about connecting to why you're doing it in the first place and using that as a source of energy to go through the steps that we've laid out today and build a successful online income stream.
00:30:58.240 --> 00:30:59.440
So I enjoyed this episode, James.
00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:00.000
Thanks for that one.
00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:04.799
It was uh it was nice to dive into some of the um stories from the past, our uh our nine to five worlds.
00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:18.559
Before we wrap up this one, if you found this type of episode valuable, if you enjoyed this type of um, I guess, story woven episodes talking about where we came from and and how we did it, we'd really appreciate your support if you can take a few seconds.
00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:27.680
Um if you're watching this on YouTube, just leave a comment with your biggest takeaway below this episode and make sure you hit the like button and subscribe to this channel as well, if you're not already.
00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:38.880
Or if you're listening to the audio version of this on your favorite podcast platform, whatever that might be, could you take just 20 seconds to leave us a quick five-star review on whichever platform you listen to the Dropship Unlocked podcast on?
00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:41.519
It makes a massive difference to the uh the podcast.
00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:47.279
And both James and I make sure we read every single review and we'll try and read out your review on an upcoming episode.
00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:54.240
It just allows more people who are ready to escape the nine to five to find us and hopefully build time freedom the right way.
00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:58.720
Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Dropship Unlocked podcast.
00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:04.000
We hope you are leaving with new insights and inspiration to fuel your entrepreneurial journey.
00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:09.119
To kickstart your e-commerce business, head over to dropshipunlocked.com.
00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:10.960
Forward slash start.
00:32:11.119 --> 00:32:17.200
It's the perfect place to start and get access to resources that will help you build your business from the ground up.
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:23.839
And don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more episodes with strategies, tips, and success stories.
00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:28.640
But if you enjoyed this episode today, a five-star review would mean the world to us.
00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:31.279
And you might even get a shout out for the next episode.
00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:33.920
Thank you for choosing to spend your time with us today.
00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:39.440
We can't wait to bring you more insight on the next episode of the Dropship Loft Podcast.
00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:15.279
Well, if we had to start a high-ticket UK dropshipping store again right now, the very first thing we'd lock in before anything else is most people looking five or ten years ahead already know that something has to change.
00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:43.280
But they keep starting in the wrong order and then once the foundations are solid, the next step that decides whether you actually make it is ever looked five or ten years ahead towards the future of your life and you have that strong feeling inside that something has to change about the path and the direction that you're traveling down.
00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:53.119
But you find that every time you try and figure something out and build something for yourself, you get overwhelmed by all of the conflicting advice that's out there and another year just disappears.
00:00:53.359 --> 00:01:05.040
Well, to fix this, Lewis and I are going to walk through the exact order that we would do, we would follow if we were to start a high-ticket UK e-commerce business today, if we were beginning beginning from scratch.
00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:07.200
So, Lewis, let's start right at the beginning.
00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:13.840
What is the first thing that we would lock in before we even started to think about products we're selling or the store that we need to build?
00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:26.079
Yeah, there's something deeper than all of that stuff, I believe, that will dictate whether or not later on, when you hit roadblock or a hurdle along the way, whatever you want to call it, there will be many of them in business.
00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:27.599
And it's the mindset piece.
00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:35.200
Now we talk about this a lot on the podcast, but it's something that I wanted to dive into a little bit deeper today and be a bit more tactical about what we mean by that.
00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:48.480
So having some very clear personal goals that dictate the real reason and clarify for you and crystallize for you what the real reason is behind why you're building this business.
00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:53.200
Now, when I say personal reasons, they don't have to be self-serving personal reasons.
00:01:53.439 --> 00:02:23.840
They could be for the benefit of someone else, for the benefit of your family, for the for the benefit of your parents, for the benefit of your children, for the benefit of the community that you want to give back to, but they have to be something that is your personal driver, that is your, that will that will calibrate your mindset so that every time when you come back to like having to muster up the willpower to like go and call another supplier or launch another ad campaign or do something to grow the business, you remember why you're doing it in the first place.
00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:31.680
And that really is the fuel that ignites and can continue to power this engine of business as we go.
00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:33.919
So mindset is um is key.
00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:39.759
And actually going into it with the mindset before you do anything of knowing that this is a proper business.
00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:47.039
This isn't some like side project, side hustle that we're just gonna, you know, have a go at on the side of uh a job.
00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:57.039
It's it's something that, like, no, I'm I'm going to treat this like an income-replacing vehicle, like a an actual business that will pay me and replace my salary and and can fund my lifestyle.
00:02:57.199 --> 00:03:04.479
Because if you don't treat it like that and give it the time and respect that it deserves, and how are you ever expecting it to actually become one of those things?
00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:08.319
You have to build it in that sense uh from the outset, is my view.
00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:13.439
So those are probably the things to answer your question, James, that I would do before any tactical stuff.
00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:21.120
And then at the beginning of the process of like building the business, once you're, I mean, we can dive into like niche selection and things like that.
00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:25.360
I'd probably start to look at getting some structures in place initially when when first starting out.
00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:38.479
So, like, for example, setting up a limited company, business bank account, getting those things ready so that when I do start to incur some business expenses, I've got you know the accounting set up correctly that I can run everything through a limited company.
00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:40.639
That's a very straightforward, simple thing to do.
00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:44.560
But it just makes things easier from a financial management standpoint later.
00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:54.080
You're not trying to like put back in personal expenses that were really business expenses, and you're getting your personal finances all muddled muddied with your business expenses.
00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:56.159
So that's a nice clear separation to have.
00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:58.000
That's quite a tactical thing to do.
00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:04.000
But the the mindset piece comes first because without that, you'll have nothing to fall back on when times get tough.
00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:04.479
Brilliant.
00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:10.960
Yeah, that's a great mix of the mindset and then also the tactical things to make sure you follow the steps in the right order.
00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:24.800
If you do were to type in how to start an e-commerce business into YouTube, and you'll start getting thrown videos your way about an ad campaign to set up, about a Shopify store to build, and it all disregards the fundamental thing that is why you're doing it in the first place.
00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:37.519
What is the reason that's going to give you the motivation and emphasis to actually wake up and put some work towards your business, especially if you're doing it alongside the other commitments that you've got, full-time job, family to look after, etc., etc.
00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:39.519
And so you have to start with that.
00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:47.600
Just to go personal for a second, for me, I was looking into the future in my current career path before I started my e-commerce business.
00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:58.560
And I thought, okay, if I carry on down this path for five to ten years, and if I don't make a change, I'm going to be leading a life that I've just fallen into more so than actually just designed or decided that I wanted to live.
00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:02.079
I had got a job in a local housing association in my hometown.
00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:23.040
I was surveying bathrooms in people's properties, and it was a job that got me by, but it certainly didn't excite me, and it certainly didn't excite me the prospect that that was leading towards uh having no autonomy over how I spent my time, have no autonomy about where I was in the world, and ultimately having no autonomy about the finances that I could really scale up to enhance my lifestyle.
00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:31.279
So I felt trapped by that situation, realized I needed to use that energy, get really clear on what did I actually want to have, what what lifestyle did I actually want to lead?
00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:33.120
And that's super personal for everyone.
00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:44.639
Once you have that, you have this ultimate source of energy and motivation to go down the path that we're going to describe now because you yeah, because you know exactly what it is that you want and you feel very strongly about that desire.
00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:50.560
So once you've got those foundations, Lewis, I mean, maybe dive back into your story to say the next parts that you followed.
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What was it for you that gave you that strength?
00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:57.920
And then what what did you do with that energy once you knew you were going to build an online income stream?
00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:04.319
Yeah, it's fascinating to hear your your story and your your kind of transition into the this entrepreneurial space.
00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:11.199
And I guess thankfully, yeah, that that this vehicle was a good solution for you that that gave you that um that autonomy.
00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:21.120
So I think that was true because you treated it as a business from the outset and you knew that this wasn't just some side project that you were gonna give a little bit of attention to.
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Like you saw this as your route out of that world, and that's why you gave it the focus and attention that you did.
00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:34.720
So it's not then a coincidence that you succeeded and went on to do millions with your business, is because you you treated it like that from the outset.
00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:36.240
And I think I was very similar.
00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:40.399
I um yeah, I was in a medical um sales role.
00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:49.680
I was like traveling around the London region, but used to have to kind of go get trains up to the north of the country and to the south and like go around hospitals all around the United Kingdom.
00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:52.319
And yeah, it was um it was hard work.
00:06:52.560 --> 00:07:02.800
And again, I'd look at people like years ahead of where I was in that profession and just think like, okay, so I mean, they've got more responsibility, so probably more stress.
00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:08.480
They're not, I mean, that yeah, they were on higher pay, but not like huge multiples higher.
00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:11.199
It was just like a kind of an incremental scale.
00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:20.480
And I just saw that and thought, I'm probably gonna end up having less free time at that point, more stress, more responsibility, see probably less of my kids for not that much extra money.
00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:35.680
And I think it's very easy to not even question that uh ladder that you're climbing and question the route that you're on when everybody who you are surrounded by is also in the hamster wheel chasing that same next promotion or that next pay rise.
00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:43.680
And it's not until you see something different from me, the thing that sparked it was the audiobook The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris and just listening to that.
00:07:43.759 --> 00:08:16.079
And just I describe it because I was the only way I really could at the time as someone like just drawing back the curtain on this other version of life that was happening that all these other this like secret society and this other club of people had been privy to that I hadn't, and just showing that, like, oh by the way, these guys over here are like running their businesses from laptops in Bali and uh going to rally talks in the book about like waking up in Buenos Aires and going and out for an amazing lunch and then flying off to Thailand and running his business from wherever.
00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:17.680
And I was just like, what?
00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:21.600
Like those are places you go on holiday to, maybe if you're lucky, once a year.
00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:27.600
They're not places that you like live and can wake up in and work from if you're you know based here in the UK.
00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:30.639
And so to me, it just it almost didn't compute.
00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:32.720
Like I just couldn't see how how is that possible?
00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:35.279
But bear in mind, this is going back to like 2017.
00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:43.039
So this is before the world kind of fully opened up digitally, I would say, where it became almost like the norm to work online.
00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:55.120
This was like, you know, I was in a corporate company, corporate nine to five type role, and it was quite weird the thought of like going to become a digital nomad and being able to work from anywhere.
00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:56.960
That term wasn't really known back then.
00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:07.519
And so, yeah, when I took it really seriously and decided I'm really gonna lock in, I mean, there were there are several things to get tactical that I think are really key to making this work.
00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:17.039
The first was I I I made the mistake initially of picking a niche based on what I thought might be popular and didn't really question it.
00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:21.360
I did it more on like just, am I passionate about like seeing the thing take off?
00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:22.639
And do I think that it would work?
00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:26.000
Do I kind of and there's a place in business for that instinct.
00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:30.399
I don't want to say like it has to be a tote, like that you can't rely on your instincts.
00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:32.960
You can absolutely factor them into the equation.
00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:41.759
But I also knew that I was going into this world fairly naive and quite blind to like all of the potential pitfalls and disasters that could lay ahead.
00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:44.159
So I wanted to learn from other people's mistakes.
00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:49.039
So going through the process of learning, like what's the how do I really validate a niche?
00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:51.679
How do I look at search demand for products?
00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:59.919
How do I say that not only do I think it's going to be popular, but also like people are looking for the types of products that I want to sell online?
00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:05.200
So let's say you want to sell barbecue grills as an example that we often use.
00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:11.519
Well, how many people in the UK are searching for barbecues to buy on Google every single month?
00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:17.440
And therefore we can kind of extrapolate that and say, well, if there's that many people searching, then there's probably roughly this many people buying.
00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:23.360
And of those people, if I just had this share of them, could I make a full-time income business from it?
00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:27.600
And so then once you've got that, you can kind of move on to other criteria.
00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:40.399
And it became a bit of a game of like making sure that everything checked, like it I wanted a series of green lights before I put my foot down and really went for it and started committing time and money, you know, into building the business.
00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:42.480
And of course, I made some mistakes at the beginning.
00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:49.360
We had a couple of false starts, a bit like you mentioned yourself as well, like selling some products from China and realizing like there was no profit in them.
00:10:49.440 --> 00:11:02.960
And it was just me marking up some really cheap products, and then everybody would would know that that was what we were doing, and it took ages to then have those products delivered to customers in the UK, which leads to poor reviews.
00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:05.919
And I just thought, well, that's not the kind of business that I want to run.
00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:11.919
But I couldn't help but think there's something in this dropshipping model, fulfillment model.
00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.960
And um, Tim Ferris talks about dropshipping in the book.
00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:19.200
He talks about, I think it's a supplement that he initially starts selling.
00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:20.720
I think it was Brain Quicken.
00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:22.159
I think that was the one.
00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:24.960
Uh perhaps I'd have to go back and look through it.
00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:28.399
But I'm pretty sure that's the one that he talks about initially dropshipping.
00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:38.320
Or he gives some examples, I think, at the end of the book about like listeners and readers of the book who've come back to report their stories to him, and one of them or a few of them talk about dropshipping.
00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:39.600
I was like, there's definitely something in this.
00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:44.000
So it was that an interesting um kind of intro into the space.
00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:50.320
But then, yeah, when you start looking at like, well, if I sell products at a higher price, then I can make more per sale.
00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:55.039
Maybe I need fewer sales overall to be able to generate the same amount of profit.
00:11:55.200 --> 00:12:03.840
I look at like, are they are the brands in the industry that I'm thinking of selling the type of brands that would work with me as a drop shipping retailer?
00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:12.159
And like various different criteria that you run through so that I then only move forward once the numbers and the structure actually make sense.
00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:14.639
And I've got that series of green lights there.
00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.200
So I say, right, now I'm gonna really move ahead with this.
00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:19.360
And so that gave me the confidence to do so.
00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:33.360
And I think that was probably the bit that allowed me to escape, not with a huge amount of like confidence necessarily, because I think going into the world of entrepreneurship, you you kind of just have to have that level of blind confidence.
00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:38.960
But it was data and it was like factual evidence that I was building this on, not just like, oh, I feel confident about this.
00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:40.639
It was like, no, the numbers stack up.
00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:43.440
I have a business case, um, it makes sense.
00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:50.480
And then, yeah, to sending out the email to like my former colleagues and telling them that like I'm leaving the company, I'm off to become a digital nomad.
00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:56.240
My wife and I are gonna move out to live in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand and you know, go and uh travel the world.
00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:10.480
And the look of confusion on people's faces when when I said that back then, especially, was just um was really interesting because like it was just it broke the paradigm, I think, for some people in terms of like that they couldn't compute.
00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:17.679
They were like, well, which competitor has he gone to, or like which headhunter is has offered him a role, or like what is there is in Thailand?
00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:19.200
Is are his family in Thailand?
00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:22.879
And I was like trying to kind of explain that, like, well, I can run the business from anywhere.
00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:23.919
So like, why not there?
00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:33.440
It gives me a great runway, a great quality of life, super fast internet, amazing hikes up the mountains, yeah, a lower cost of living, great weather all year round.
00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:37.279
So it was that kind of that bit I think that allowed me to break free.
00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:45.120
But it was the fact that it was built on data that gave me the like the evidence to say, no, I can see how this would work and come together.
00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:46.000
Yeah, that's the key.
00:13:46.159 --> 00:14:02.720
Then you get to have those inspiring conversations that are good fun, actually, to be able to leave a job and say the reason why you're leaving a job is because you've built up your own income on the side that now allows you to generate more income than you were doing through the the business or the the the job that you had.
00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:05.279
So, yeah, very memorable conversation when you have that.
00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:20.639
Mine is a very similar story of confusion or not really understanding how you've built something up that allows you to go and live anywhere in the world and not be reliant on a nine to five income because people are in that world day to day speaking with only people that are in nine to five jobs as well.
00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:22.320
So it becomes very insulating.
00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:36.399
But what you've done there, Lewis, is you've just described exactly the point we're making in the first section, which was about the mindset, because you've described how we're not choosing products based on vibes, if you like, we're choosing products based on data.
00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:44.480
So we're going to cone through some data to make sure when we go into a niche, we we know it's gonna sell, we know it's proven to sell, and that we can go in and sell those products.
00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:48.080
And that kind of approach is predicated.
00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:52.799
It it needs to have the mindset that we talked about in the first part in order for you to do that.
00:14:52.960 --> 00:15:06.320
If you're just treating it not seriously, if you've not connected this type of business to your goals of leaving the job that you're currently not inspired by, then you'll never have the motivation you need to take it seriously to do the proper data validation.
00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:14.879
For me, before I got really clear on my goals, I just chose products based on, yeah, I want to get into business, I want to sell products, let's go with them.
00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:15.600
It's fine.
00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:23.440
And because I hadn't already connected to the goals, I hadn't connected to why I was doing this, I didn't take it seriously enough to get the results that I needed to get.
00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:40.879
So step one leads nice on to step two because you have to get really clear and confident and passionate about why you're doing this in the first place, which leads you on to step two, which is data validation, it's combing through data, it's things that you wouldn't choose to do necessarily in your evenings, but because you're doing it for such a strong reason, you you can do it.
00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:46.639
You can choose a date, uh a niche that's that's that's proven to work, and then you can get into the actual building phase.
00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:52.799
So once you've chosen the niche, you know the products you're gonna sell those, what would the next steps be that you'd take if you were starting again?
00:15:52.960 --> 00:16:04.480
Yeah, so it's really exciting hurdle to overcome uh deciding on a niche, because then you can really start the process of like building and figuring out the next series of problems that are gonna come.
00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:06.159
That's all entrepreneurship is, isn't it?
00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:11.200
It's like a series of problems that lay ahead that you have to just figure out and solve and become very good at solving.
00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:29.679
And so I think something I see a lot from it within our community is that like people initially, when they start researching their niche, they kind of they have all these different options and then they kind of they often post in the community and they're like, I've picked my niche as if it's like a line in the sand, and they're like, I'm moving forwards, I've I've selected my niche.
00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:44.240
And I always think the reason for that is because it's like a kind of a mental barrier for a lot of people, I think, before they have the kind of evidence and the data to rely on, that they think they've just got to like guess and they think it's a gamble.
00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:53.600
The way that we lay it out is very much looking for evidence of existing drop shipping retailers in that market so that you know those suppliers have a very high likelihood of working with you.
00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:56.799
You know those other retailers are making money, they're making sales.
00:16:57.039 --> 00:17:01.360
So, therefore, why can't you add value in some slightly unique way?
00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:14.319
It doesn't have to be totally revolutionary, you just have to add value in some, and that can even be just good customer service that allows you to then take a portion of those sales in an already huge market that can be a six-figure a year business.
00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:16.079
So I think it's really key.
00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:25.599
Once you get past that point of like saying, I have selected my niche, it's really fun because don't expect it to then just be a smooth sailing path into the sunset.
00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:30.400
It's like then the problems start to unfold and you just have to figure them out one by one.
00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:34.799
So then, for example, the first problem is like, well, I don't have a website to show anybody.
00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:36.079
Let's build a website, okay?
00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:42.079
So we go into Shopify usually as our platform of choice, and you build a professional, clean-looking store.
00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:58.079
Like we actually give you a dropship unlocked theme that you can use and just plug in your products to, or even like demo products, or you can even use Shopify Collective to pull some of those products in, like we talked about on a recent episode, to actually just get something to be able to take to suppliers and show them.
00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:04.400
So once you have a store that's focused on high-ticket products, it's aimed at the UK market, if that's where you're serving.
00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:09.440
You can offer next day delivery to customers or fast few working day delivery to them.
00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:18.480
You can then start to go and approach and onboard other UK suppliers who you've already validated from the previous research steps when you did your niche selection.
00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:21.519
Um, so you know they will be happy to drop ship for you.
00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:35.519
So the whole thing is done in a very sequential order intentionally, so that later on you get to kind of go back to your prior research and pick out little pieces that you you left there intentionally so that you can then start to build the business up.
00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:43.599
So in this case, we'd be going back and picking out suppliers that we said, ah, yeah, we can see they already supply drop shipping sites like ours.
00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.559
So let's make sure we go back and approach them.
00:18:46.799 --> 00:18:57.839
And going back and approaching them with a functioning store that you can now show them is a great trust indicator to them to say, yeah, I'd be happy to work with them and let them sell our products.
00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.000
They can bring us a new source of revenue.
00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:04.319
And then once you have them signed, you have their products live on your store.
00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:12.480
Don't expect people to be queuing up at the door, you know, hypothetically, um, to purchase the products because that's your next problem to solve.
00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:15.039
It's like, right, now I have a store, where are all the customers at?
00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:16.400
We start running ads.
00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:19.200
So that's where paid traffic comes into the equation.
00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:29.200
And that's where we can pay per click to get customers to our website using primarily the Google Ads platform, which is our favorite because that's where people are already shopping online.
00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:32.400
They're looking for items like where do I buy a barbecue near me?
00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:45.440
Well, imagine someone types in that search query into their phone on Google, your ad now pops up at the top and it's got a photo of the barbecue, a price, it says that it's next day delivery, it's got five-star reviews from all your customers.
00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:49.680
They click that, they purchase the item and it arrives to them the next day.
00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:51.680
So that's how we can do that.
00:19:51.759 --> 00:20:08.720
Obviously, with our Google Ads campaigns, we like the performance max campaign type as an initial starting point because it's good at kind of learning where you'll get conversions, both from like which brands, which products, but also which platforms, Google Shopping, Display Network, Gmail, YouTube, it covers all bases pretty much.
00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:21.119
And you put in place a target to say, here's how much return on every pound of ad spend that I put into this Google Ads machine I need back for it to be profitable.
00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:29.200
So if it's like a five return on ad spend, that means every pound I put in, I'm getting five pounds back in value.
00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:37.680
Now we should we give you the calculators and stuff to show you how to calculate where your your break-even target is and then where your target profitable return on ad spend is.
00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:39.039
But that's then the key to it.
00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:45.920
Then it's a case of do the same again many, many times over, make lots and lots of those sales, and you've built a machine.
00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:53.039
And it's, you know, then we can start talking about putting in place like virtual assistants and AI systems to answer calls and fulfill orders for you.
00:20:53.119 --> 00:21:10.640
And suddenly you are hands-off and you can then very quickly be doing the thing that Tim Ferris talks about in the book, which is having a business, traveling the world, logging in once a day to check everything on your laptop or your phone is running correctly, and suddenly you've broken free of the shackles of corporate life in the nine to five.
00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:30.640
And you look back and you think, wow, like if someone had never just shown me this behind the curtain, like I mentioned, of like this parallel universe of life that's existing, I would have just thought that I just had to work harder and harder and harder and give more of my time and energy into a job where my salary was capped, I could be let go at any moment.
00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:36.319
You know, a manager might leave and a new manager that I don't get on with joins, and then my life's a misery.
00:21:36.480 --> 00:21:42.079
You know, all these factors that just are out of your control and you may have never known that you had another option.
00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:47.759
That's why I think once you've tasted this kind of freedom and autonomy from this business, it's really hard to go back.
00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:56.079
I don't think I could ever go back and, you know, be a really obedient employee that doesn't ask questions and just gets on with things.
00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.599
Like I'm too curious now about like the world around me and what's possible, and I've seen.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.359
How it can come to fruition.
00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:01.839
Yeah.
00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:08.240
You never go back once you've seen what's possible to to take back control of your time and hours and location, yeah.
00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:10.160
You see people go back into that world.
00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:16.480
Once they've got their taste for it, you don't then decide to give that all away in order to get a you know a nine to five paycheck.
00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:20.640
So yeah, it's it's just exciting to watch to to go through that that path.
00:22:20.720 --> 00:22:24.880
That is a proven path that we've both followed to build successful e-commerce businesses.
00:22:25.039 --> 00:22:33.200
And something that really attracted me before I joined the dropship on lockmaster class myself was that I could see that it was a proven path.
00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:39.920
I could see that it wasn't going to be easy, it was never sugarcoated, it was never a get-rich quick scheme that was, you know, given or portrayed.
00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.079
But what it was was a simple path.
00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:53.759
It was a proven path that we can talk about and we can describe as we've just done, where we go through the the goals, then the foundations, then the niche, then the Shopify store, then your sign suppliers, and then you run out.
00:22:54.319 --> 00:23:00.240
It's six weeks of simple actions, one after another, and then you've got a business that's generating sales at the end of it.
00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:13.359
So what what I needed when I had that real pain, it was, it was a real desire to get out of the what felt like real handcuffs that I was in, that I was leading towards a life that I wasn't designing and wasn't excited for.
00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:28.000
To get out of that pain, I just needed to channel that energy into a system that was set out in a way that had been proven by others, that had been tested, and had and had been seen to pay off for hundreds of others or thousands of other people uh around the world.
00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:31.920
So I had to go into something that inspired me for a lifestyle that I wanted to build.
00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:34.160
And that's what the masterclass gave to me.
00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:50.079
Um now because you spoke about mindset so much, if you like understanding what really separates people from people that quit and people that succeed, I recommend episode 152 of the Dropship On Lock podcast for those people that want to hear about the mindset of our most successful members.
00:23:50.319 --> 00:24:02.400
In that episode, we speak to members and we've also condense what we've learned from speaking with lots of people building e-commerce businesses to find out what's common about uh the mindset of the people that get the most success.
00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:16.720
So, Lewis, if you were speaking now directly to the person who's been putting this off for years because they just didn't know the correct order to actually approach building a a UK e-commerce business or an online income stream, what is the one thing that you'd like to leave them with?
00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:19.599
Well, you you have a few different options if you want to do this.
00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:32.319
You can either try and learn everything through trial and error and hope that over the course of many, many years you don't make too many of those mistakes where it becomes impossible or irreversible to overcome them.
00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:50.480
Or you can just learn from all of the mistakes that both James and myself and the hundreds and hundreds of other people's people members that we've coached have made along the way that we've then laid out a path navigated to allow you to navigate around those pitfalls and avoid them, or at least absolutely minimize the risk of any of them happening.
00:24:50.720 --> 00:25:04.960
So there's a there's a reason, as I mentioned, why we have the steps laid out sequentially in a sequence, because the order matters and it allows you to avoid and eliminate the most expensive mistakes that people make along the way.
00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:17.279
And I mean expensive in the term or like in the in the sense of time that you have wasted, you've expended that time unnecessarily, and you now have to go back to the beginning, or financially as well.
00:25:17.440 --> 00:25:27.680
Um if you think it's expensive to work with a mentoring company like ours to build your business, try doing it without that advice and see how expensive it works out that way.
00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:36.319
That's that's my advice, really, is that there is a proven path here, and there are no medals to be won by trying to take the hard path and do it by trial and error.
00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:39.440
If you want to just take the fast track, then that is absolutely laid out for you.
00:25:39.680 --> 00:25:49.839
The front-loaded effort that you put in now, done in the right order, is the thing that later on gives you that leverage to be able to have that freedom.
00:25:50.079 --> 00:26:17.599
It's it's the very um unusual trait in modern society of being willing to do something difficult, time-consuming, hard, and seemingly fruitless now in exchange for the rewards of never having to work a job and having ultimate time, location, financial freedom later on to be there with your family and support them and enjoy life to its fullest.
00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:29.359
If you can get over that and say, I'm gonna do this and work really hard for the next three, six months until the business is up and running, then we've seen it time and time again from members in our community who've really committed to that.
00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:36.720
That on the other side of that, they look back and think, wow, I'm so glad I made that decision when I did and front loaded that work.
00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:49.599
So I just think that the longer you wait for the perfect moment, if if you're waiting for like that perfect time in life, the further those five to 10 year goals that you might have just slip away because that moment never comes.
00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:56.319
And before you know it, you're five, you're 10 years down the line, and suddenly it's like, we're still not really here, and there's always a reason not to do it.
00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:57.839
Sometimes you just need to do it.
00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:00.319
Um, so that's my advice if it's worth anything.
00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:18.240
If you're ready to stop guessing and you want to start taking the steps in the correct order, what you can do is head over to dropshipunlocked.com forward slash start, or we'll link that that link below this episode, and that's where we can show you the full road roadmap start to finish, so you can follow along with us.
00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:19.039
Fantastic.
00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:26.240
Yeah, and just to to uh back up the point you made there, Lewis, there will never be a perfect time to start.
00:27:26.400 --> 00:27:36.000
Um, and and it's easy to think that there's gonna be this window of opportunity that's gonna open, but for most people it it just is a time where you realize that I can't keep going down this path.
00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:41.519
Certainly it was for me, and it was like a almost like a gradual realization that this wasn't gonna improve by itself.
00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:45.039
I had to get into something that was gonna uh improve it for me.
00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:58.640
And because I knew that I could work eight hours a day really hard for someone else's business, I knew that I could work one to two hours of my day really hard on my own business in order to build something that gave me that long-term stability.
00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:07.680
So, with that said, it's time now to answer a question that we've received from a listener that is somewhat connected, quite topical about what we've spoken today.
00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:25.680
And so remember, if you have a question that's come up in your mind while you've been listening to today's episode or watching it on YouTube, then all you need to do is comment your question on the YouTube video version of this episode, and we'll answer it in the comments, and we might just feature it on an upcoming episode as well, because we'd love to feature your questions.
00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:39.200
We've had a question in from Robbie R2478, and he has asked this question to you guys How much time will this take to build an e-commerce business alongside a full-time job?
00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:42.640
Yeah, it's a great question, Robbie, and uh it's not the first time we've been asked it.
00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:45.839
So, how long does it take to build an e-commerce business?
00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:50.400
I'd say the good news is that most of our members start this alongside a full-time job.
00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:52.480
So if that's your situation, you are not alone.
00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:55.039
In fact, that is the usual approach.
00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:59.119
It's the couple of hours you can find in the morning before you start work.
00:28:59.200 --> 00:29:17.279
It's the couple of hours here and there at the weekend that you can just lock yourself away in a room and just get through some things, or it's a few hours after work occasionally, not every day of the week, but like when you can carve out that time, like James said, when it's your own business and it really matters, you'd be surprised that like it doesn't feel like homework.
00:29:17.359 --> 00:29:21.680
It doesn't feel like you're doing overtime for a boss because you it's for you, it's for your future.
00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:25.119
So it's almost like people pride themselves on finding this time.
00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:30.960
Even if it's just sitting in your car, you know, on your lunch break and just um getting your laptop out and working through it for a little bit.
00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:34.960
There are if it matters to you, you will find that time and you will carve out that time.
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:38.720
So I'd say consistency is key in that situation.
00:29:38.799 --> 00:29:43.759
Um, one to two hours a day is enough to be fully up and running, usually in around six weeks.
00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:51.839
If you follow the course to the letter and you're kind of going through the actions that we we set you as you go, but it doesn't matter if it takes you a little bit longer.
00:29:52.000 --> 00:30:00.960
No one ever looks back in three years' time when they're making millions with their business and says, like, I wish I'd done it in six weeks instead of 12 weeks, like that becomes completely insignificant.
00:30:01.039 --> 00:30:03.680
So don't worry about the time it takes you to get up and running.
00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:11.839
Worry about the consistency of you putting in those actions and know that if you want it badly enough, you will carve out and find that time.
00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:18.319
No matter how busy you are, you will make that time, even if it means having to take holiday or annual leave to find that time.
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:35.279
And that's why at the very beginning of this episode, we started with your reason why and your driver and the mindset, because that is what will dictate whether you prioritize this high enough to do it instead of watching Netflix in the evenings, or you put it off and it never gets done.
00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:39.039
It comes down to how badly you want that change and whether you'll protect that time.
00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:40.000
Yeah, exactly.
00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:44.400
Ultimately, it's about whether you're going to make that time rather than find the time.
00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:48.559
So if you want it enough, you're nicely wrapping up the episode in the way that we started.
00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:58.000
It's all about connecting to why you're doing it in the first place and using that as a source of energy to go through the steps that we've laid out today and build a successful online income stream.
00:30:58.240 --> 00:30:59.440
So I enjoyed this episode, James.
00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:00.000
Thanks for that one.
00:31:00.079 --> 00:31:04.799
It was uh it was nice to dive into some of the um stories from the past, our uh our nine to five worlds.
00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:18.559
Before we wrap up this one, if you found this type of episode valuable, if you enjoyed this type of um, I guess, story woven episodes talking about where we came from and and how we did it, we'd really appreciate your support if you can take a few seconds.
00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:27.680
Um if you're watching this on YouTube, just leave a comment with your biggest takeaway below this episode and make sure you hit the like button and subscribe to this channel as well, if you're not already.
00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:38.880
Or if you're listening to the audio version of this on your favorite podcast platform, whatever that might be, could you take just 20 seconds to leave us a quick five-star review on whichever platform you listen to the Dropship Unlocked podcast on?
00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:41.519
It makes a massive difference to the uh the podcast.
00:31:41.599 --> 00:31:47.279
And both James and I make sure we read every single review and we'll try and read out your review on an upcoming episode.
00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:54.240
It just allows more people who are ready to escape the nine to five to find us and hopefully build time freedom the right way.
00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:58.720
Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Dropship Unlocked podcast.
00:31:58.880 --> 00:32:04.000
We hope you are leaving with new insights and inspiration to fuel your entrepreneurial journey.
00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:09.119
To kickstart your e-commerce business, head over to dropshipunlocked.com.
00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:10.960
Forward slash start.
00:32:11.119 --> 00:32:17.200
It's the perfect place to start and get access to resources that will help you build your business from the ground up.
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:23.839
And don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more episodes with strategies, tips, and success stories.
00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:28.640
But if you enjoyed this episode today, a five-star review would mean the world to us.
00:32:28.720 --> 00:32:31.279
And you might even get a shout out for the next episode.
00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:33.920
Thank you for choosing to spend your time with us today.
00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:39.440
We can't wait to bring you more insight on the next episode of the Dropship Loft Podcast.
