Work’s a drag.

So is it possible to earn full-time income on Amazon FBA, and kiss your 9-5 goodbye forever?

Yes! With the right strategy. 

Here’s a handful of pointers to help make the transition easier. 

Don’t Quit Your Day Job?

Despite what some Amazon “personalities” might tell you, earning profits from this business requires upfront work, time, patience, and learning.  

Don’t do what I did and quit your day job, then invest thousands in multiple failed products. So unless you’ve got multiple months of steady profits from your Amazon business (enough to replace your main income), I wouldn’t be so quick to tell off your boss. 

Here are a few factors to keep in mind. 

1. It typically takes 6 months to a year to start seeing profits from your first product.
2. Amazon product sales and profits can vary greatly depending on the time of year. 
3. Successful Amazon products will require sometimes costly ad campaigns
4. Your Amazon FBA business will not include benefits, time off, or health insurance. These will have to be factored in separately. 
5. Profits from your Amazon business will be subjected to taxes during tax season. 

Adopt a Growth Mindset

The fact that you’re reading a blog about entrepreneurship means that you’re already looking to explore untapped potential. Way to go! 

Having a growth mindset, or the understanding that effort, attitude, and devotion impacts your possibilities and outcomes, is a non-negotiable when selling on Amazon. 

And while a growth mindset might remind you of a high school guidance counselor, here’s why it’s actually very important to succeed on Amazon. 

1. Selling on Amazon is a continual-learning experience full of business curveballs. Expect the unexpected. 
2. Amazon is constantly changing its policies and guidelines. These can have unexpected impacts on your bottom line.
3. Many factors are out of sellers’ control (shipping times, supply-chain issues, account rejections, warehouse processing times, etc.). You’ll have to be flexible to adapt quickly and keep moving forward. 

Having the right mindset, and learning to deal with business struggles, is instrumental in succeeding on Amazon. 

Focus on Scalability

If you plan on your Amazon FBA business replacing your 9-5, you’re most likely going to invest in at least 3 products. So as you’re performing product research, it’s important to ask a few important questions about possible investments. 

Are there opportunities for growth within the niche or category?

How many competitor listings are there? Are they of quality? How many reviews does each listing have?

What does data say about historic sales of similar products?

Ideally, you’re able to grow and scale your business into a multiple-product brand, with each product producing profits. 

Luckily, this is easier to do with an e-commerce business than a typical brick and mortar, but will still require a strategic approach. I break down all aspects of building an Amazon FBA business into manageable chunks in my library of YouTube videos here. 

Get Brand Registered and Trademarked

Scaling products will be much easier if you’ve trademarked and registered your brand with Amazon. Registering your own brand separates you from generic competition and 

Learn more about the Brand Registry process, and why it’s important here and here.

Taking these steps will also unlock a variety of features that are otherwise off-limits for non-brand registered products, such as A+ Content and Amazon’s Vine Program. 

Read

I firmly believe that we could all benefit from a technology detox. So here are a few of my favorite ‘mindshift’ books that do a fantastic job at challenging the outdated idea of a 9-5 income, and provide motivation for throwing the rat race. 

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki: A classic read with a ton of value. Rich Dad Poor Dad is a case study between the views of an educated but poor parent and a non-educated but wealthy parent. It delves into their different mindsets, how they view money, finances and entrepreneurship. I highly recommend it to anyone dealing with entrepreneurial imposter syndrome. 

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris: This book literally changed my life and the way I approach business. In summary, it discusses ways to achieve maximum return with minimal effort. Ferris shows how 20% effort typically yields 80% of results. With this in mind, the book dives into ways to create a life of experiences and adventure while working 36 hours less than the typical American. 

The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau – This one dives into 50 case studies of bare-bones startups and how they were successful. An absolute great read for inspiration, especially in the e-commerce space. 

Brushing up on Amazon’s policies and guidelines is a good idea also. 

Outsource

One tenant of successful entrepreneurship (as mentioned in the above 4-Hour Workweek) is outsourcing tasks to free up time and allow for focus on higher-return tasks. There’s only so much time in the day, afterall. 

So as you start and grow your Amazon business, don’t hesitate to hire help for tasks that you simply don’t have the skills or time for. 

• Product photography
• Video editing for video ads
• Inspections
• Content creation 
• Virtual assistant for answering emails, scheduling, reviewing documents, etc. 

It may seem counterintuitive, but if you’ve reached the point of outsourcing, odds are you’re doing it right! So long as you’ve factored services into your margins, don’t hesitate to use them to your advantage. 

I always advocate hiring professionals for photography work, for example, as this is one of the most important elements for increased conversions on Amazon. 

Learn Shortcuts

The recent shake up in international supply chains has made the world of e-commerce a bit more unpredictable than in previous years. 

And many new sellers are surprised by the amount of work involved in running an Amazon business. 

Courses and mentorships exist that offer hands-on, one-on-one guidance to help streamline the Amazon selling process, cut back on costly mistakes, provide guidance, and ultimately increase the likelihood of success. 

Note: Not all Amazon FBA products are created the same. Make sure you do your homework, and make sure the product or service you’re thinking about investing in aligns to your specific Amazon FBA goals. 

Are You Ready to Start Selling on Amazon RISK FREE?

My Amazon Winners Academy (AWA) mentorship guides you through the entire Amazon FBA process and provides a community of support with others on the exact same journey. 

You’ll get hands-on support from experienced sellers with your same goals and aspirations. 

AWA gives you a much-needed safeguard from costly mistakes, dead ends, and failed product investments to efficiently reach your passive income goals. 

So whether it’s solving issues with your Seller Central account, creative approaches to product research, scaling to new markets and niches, validating product ideas, customer service issues, and more, we’ve got you covered with a risk-free guarantee. 
Learn more about it here.