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In this episode of the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast, host Josh Hadley interviews Carlos Alvarez, CEO of Wizards of Ecom, the largest Amazon meetup group in the world. Carlos shares his journey as a nine-figure Amazon seller, discussing the importance of community building, both online and in-person, for e-commerce success. He reveals insights from launching and exiting 17 brands, managing 50+ businesses, and leading a team of 242 virtual assistants. Key takeaways include prioritizing profit over revenue, establishing clear partnership roles, and leveraging local communities to drive brand growth.
Timestamps:
Introduction to the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast (00:00:00)
Host Josh Hadley introduces the podcast, his consulting service, and today's guest, Carlos Alvarez, founder of Wizards of Ecom.
Carlos Alvarez's Introduction (00:01:59)
Carlos Alvarez joins the show, expressing his excitement to be featured alongside previous guests like Michael E. Gerber and Kevin King.
The Passion for Community Building (00:03:29)
Carlos explains his contrarian approach to business and how building in-real-life communities provides invaluable feedback and a competitive advantage.
Carlos's Diverse Business Ventures (00:06:18)
Carlos details his portfolio of over 50 businesses, including 17 exited e-commerce brands and his current live insects brand.
Using Community to Enter Retail (00:09:09)
Carlos shares a story about leveraging his local community to get his candied bacon product into brick-and-mortar retail stores.
Three Actionable Takeaways (00:11:44)
Josh summarizes three key lessons: prioritize profit over revenue, clarify partner roles early, and build a local, in-person community.
Most Influential Book (00:14:42)
Carlos names "Blue Ocean Strategy" as his most influential book for its approach to finding uncontested market space for products.
Favorite Productivity Tool (00:15:03)
Carlos recommends the Headspace app, which helps him transition between his professional and personal life as a father and husband.
Most Respected Person in E-commerce (00:15:55)
Carlos names Jeff Cohen, formerly of Seller Labs, as a person he highly admires for his wealth of knowledge.
How to Connect with Carlos (00:16:45)
Carlos shares his social media handle, a link to his Telegram chat, and his personal phone number for listeners.
Links and Mentions:
Tools and Websites
"Ecomm Breakthrough Consulting": "00:00:52"
"Wizards of Ecom": "00:01:59"
"Telegram Chat for Wizards of Ecom": "00:16:45"
Books
"The E-Myth Revisited": "00:02:10"
"The Founder's Dilemma": "00:13:05"
"Slicing Pie": "00:13:05"
"Blue Ocean Strategy": "00:14:42"
Productivity Tool
"Headspace": "00:15:03"
Influential Person
"Jeff Cohen": "00:15:55"
Contact Information
"Carlos Alvarez's Phone Number": "00:16:45"
Transcripts:
Josh Hadley 00:00:00 Welcome to the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast. I'm your host, Josh Hadley, where I interview the top business leaders in e-commerce. Past guests include Kevin King, Michael E Gerber, author of the E! Myth, and Howard Ty. Today, I'm speaking with Carlos Alvarez, the CEO and founder of Wizards of Ecom, and we are going to be talking a lot about building a community and a real brand. This episode is brought to you by Ecomm Breakthrough Consulting, where I help seven figure companies grow to eight figures and beyond. Listen, Carlos, I started my business back in 2015 and grew it to an eight figure brand in seven years, but I made a lot of mistakes along the way. That made the path of getting to eight figures take a lot longer than it needed to. There were times where I had a lot of self-doubt, whether I could lead a team of people, or whether my brand could actually survive in the marketplace, or if I could have the cash flow to continue to reinvest in new products.
Josh Hadley 00:00:52 I wish I would have had a guide or a mentor along the way that would have helped me overcome a lot of those stumbling blocks. And so to our listeners, those of you who who have hit similar plateaus and are looking for the next steps to take your brand to the next level, then go to E-comm Breakthrough Comm to learn more. And as a special bonus to my podcast listeners, this month I'm giving away one $10,000 comprehensive business strategy audit session at no cost. All you need to do is email me at Josh at Ecomm Breakthrough Comm and in your subject line say strategy audit and then plead your case as to why I should choose you and your business to work with this month. Today I am super excited to introduce you all to Carlos Alvarez. Carlos is the founder of the Wizards of Ecom, the largest Amazon meetup group in the world. He is a nine figure Amazon e-commerce seller who teaches business, teaches businesses and entrepreneurs like you how to leverage the power of Amazon for financial freedom through free to attend meetup events.
Josh Hadley 00:01:56 With that introduction. Welcome to the show, Carlos.
Carlos Alvarez 00:01:59 Absolutely. That's an amazing introduction. Also to be part of the intro with Kevin King, Howard Tie, Michael Gerber, we're talking about the Michael Gerber like is an e myth revisited Michael E Gerber.
Josh Hadley 00:02:10 Yes, sir.
Carlos Alvarez 00:02:11 I didn't know that episode existed. I'm going to go back and listen to it. I also didn't know I can plead my case or a strategic business audit. Like, surprise, surprise. I'm looking forward to pleading my case there.
Josh Hadley 00:02:22 There you go. So we're going to this conversation is going to go on for a while. and Carlos, I mean, we've we've chatted for a while now. I think we first we've met I, I originally met you at prosper back in 2021, attended one year workshops that you were presenting on and heard, like, I have 200 Vas and I was like blown away. I was like, how in the world is this guy doing it? and learned a lot from, you know, that class that you taught.
Josh Hadley 00:02:52 And then I had been following your podcast, since then. And it was a pleasure, you know, coming on your podcast earlier this year and since then we've been, in touch and, you know, developing a good relationship. But, Carlos, I admire everything that you've been able to do in the Amazon space and everything that you offer to the community as a whole. And, you know, I mean, that's going to be the topic of our conversation today. And I'm just curious, Carlos, why are you so passionate about, like, building this community of not only Amazon sellers and e-com sellers, but like, where did that stem from?
Carlos Alvarez 00:03:29 I feel like it stems from the exact answer, I don't know. I want to say it had to do with trying. I'm very contrarian. So people around me, competitors, colleagues, I'd see them doing it one way and I, I felt like there was an easier way to go about it. And an example would be a friend of mine was, this was a bazillion years ago, it feels was launching a mat, and I feel like a yoga mat should be same breadth as garlic.
Carlos Alvarez 00:03:58 Garlic press, real gloves. Like the thing that everyone kind of uses an example that you shouldn't launch and was struggling with it really bad. I was like, why don't you just open? And they were into yoga, by the way. And I was like, why don't yo...
