Start Yours

10 Easy Growth Hacks to Master TikTok Mar 07, 2021

In the world of TikTok, genuine content reigns supreme. Unlike other social media platforms, users often favor raw and engaging videos over highly edited and curated posts. This stark difference in content is what makes TikTok special, and gives creators a connection to their audience that would be hard to find anywhere else. Many businesses are thriving on TikTok and their posts are leading to ongoing sales. In this episode of Start Yours, Aleisha is joined by Oberlo TikTok master Neal Chauhan who shares a helpful update on how you can use TikTok to build your business. The biggest creators all started from the same place you did, and over time, we're able to amass an incredible following. Nothing happens overnight, but slow and steady growth can work miracles. To get you started, listen to the episode and take note of ten of Neal's favourite growth hacks to master TikTok.

From Side-Hustle to a $20M a Year Business Feb 28, 2021

In this episode of Start Yours, Aleisha speaks with Bryan Clayton, founder of GreenPal. Bryan built his lawn mowing business from the age of 16 to a $10M a year business before a successful exit. Then after a brief retirement, he decided there was more to do and decided to convert his experience and passion for business into a whole new company. Bryan went on to launch GreenPal, a $20M a year business that connects homeowners with local lawn care professionals. GreenPal has been called the "Uber for lawn care” by Entrepreneur magazine and has over 100,000 active users completing thousands of transactions per day. Bryan‘s interest and expertise are related to entrepreneurialism, small business growth, marketing and bootstrapping businesses from zero revenue to profitability and exit.

The Money Mindset Difference - How to Plan For Success Feb 21, 2021

Taking the leap to start your own business can be exciting, scary and a new challenge for many budding entrepreneurs but how much money do you need to earn before you ditch your day job? How do we plan for success (while also embracing the possibility of failure?) and what a healthy risks when it comes to launching and sustaining a business? In this episode of Start Yours, Alesha is joined by Certified Financial Planner, Fiona, aka The Millennial Money Woman, who shares her insights and tips about how you can plan for your financial future as an entrepreneur while still feeling spontaneous with your business choices and ensuring that you have a plan and a financial runway to help boost your chances of success and reducing financial and mental stress.

Dropshipping Marketing On Any Budget With Kamil Sattar - Ecom King Feb 14, 2021

Kamil Sattar went from failing grades and working two retail jobs to making 7-figures with dropshipping. Now he runs a successful Youtube channel, Ecom King, where he helps aspiring entrepreneurs build successful e-commerce businesses. In this podcast, Kamil shares his expert advice for dropshipping on any budget. Whether you’ve got a few hundred dollars saved up, are bootstrapping it with no budget, or are ready to invest a few thousand dollars. Keep listening to learn how to find a marketing strategy that works for your budget, how many hours a day each strategy will take, and how to make sure you don’t waste your investment.

Mindful Marketing- Less B/S Equals More Sales Feb 08, 2021

How do the stories that we tell in our advertising and marketing copy lead to sales? Does putting pressure on our customers by making them feel like they must buy now, actually work against our success? How do we create a brand that has integrity and is profitable? On this episode of Start Yours, Aleisha speaks with marketing expert Amie Finlayson, an online business strategist and host of the Good Authority Podcast. Amie shares her thoughts on growing an online business that doesn't have to compromise your values or manipulate your audience and how to structure your business in a feel-good way with the tools to make your marketing ethical, effortless and effective.

The Multitasking Myth - How to be more productive and get stuff done Jan 31, 2021

We're always being told that we should be multitasking to get things done but really is doing 50 tasks at once helping us or dragging us down? In this episode of Start Yours, Aleisha is joined by renowned productivity expert, speaker and best-selling author, Dave Crenshaw. Dave provides a solution for the chaos of distraction that multitasking creates―and a way to combat the temptation to constantly switch between tasks. We talk about remote work and the befits of strategic procrastination, how to harness our attention and Dave provides us with easy-to-follow instructions to start practising better habits...now! A winning episode of the show, no matter your working situation.

How To Launch Your Digital Product Business - with Dan Henry Jan 24, 2021

If you have ever considered launching a digital product (or an add on product that boosts your physical products sales), then this is the episode of Start Yours for you. Our guest, Dan Henry went from a broke college dropout who delivered pizza to creating a 10 million dollar online business. Now he is an 8 figure earner and a Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and USA Today Bestselling Author. During his early business journey, Dan accumulated $250k in IRS debt which in turn motivated him to create his first education program in an effort to pay off the debt but ended up earning 15 million from that business. In this episode, we'll share how to create a digital product, how to choose a price point and how to scale.

The Pathway from Full-time Work to Your Own Dropshipping Business Jan 18, 2021

In late 2019 one of Emma Cunningham's close friends convinced her to start a dropshipping store. Working full-time for the Australian Government, Emma was unsure if the move from working 9-5 and managing her dropshipping store was sustainable but a few months in, as the sales started to jump, she took the leap, left her job and focused entirely on her new business. Emma is a standout in the industry, committed to sharing her experiences so far and is already moving into creating a new white-label eCommerce business. This episode is a great way to kick off 2021 and Season 4 of Start Yours! Be sure to check out oberlo.com for all of our show notes and links.

How To Launch a Profitable Print on Demand Store Dec 27, 2020

Our most listened to episode of 2020...so good we wanted to play it again! In this episode of Start Yours, we delve into the ins and outs of print on demand, from production to product sourcing, customer service to making sure that your products arrive on time to your customer. Done right, print on demand can be a great way to run an e-commerce business without having stock on hand. Aleisha's guest is Sarah Chrisp the founder of the very popular Youtube channel, Wholesale Ted. Her content focuses on case studies on successful eCommerce stores, tutorials, product sourcing strategies and focuses on lots of hints to launch your own enterprise. She’s an absolute gun when it comes to print on demand and in this episode, she shares everything you need to know to start or improve your print on demand store.

Discovering Your Zone Of Genius with Mike Zeller Dec 20, 2020

This episode of Start Yours, Aleisha speaks with Mike Zeller — a business architect who strategizes with entrepreneurs on finding your zone of genius, creating an irresistible Offer and how to fuel your momentum. Mike works with his clients to pinpoint their deepest purposes, greatest gifts, and highest potential to serve and influence the world and in this interview, Mike shares how you can tap into your very own zone of to build a sustainable, highly-successful business while removing unconscious emotional blocks that may sabotage progress. By the end of this episode, you will be searching for a mastermind group to join and reflecting on who you surround yourself with and how that could affect the success of your business goals.

21 Winning Niches to Start Selling for 2021 Dec 17, 2020

2021 is right around the corner and you're ready to start your eCommerce empire. But, what kind of Shopify store should you build and what should you sell? Some of the best eCommerce business owners swear by the branded-niche model: A Shopify store that sells products in one niche and caters all of it's branding and content to one audience. That's why in this episode of Start Yours you’ll learn about 21 high-potential niches to start selling for 2021.

How Two Friends Built their Dropshipping Empire to $10 Million Dec 13, 2020

It took Andreas Koenig and Alexander Pecka three tries before they finally found success with dropshipping and boy did they find success! Their online pet business has just hit an annual turnover of $10 million. In this episode of Start Yours, Alexander and Andreas share their secrets to scaling, how they work together as a team and what it takes to build a dropshipping business and brand from scratch that is now a big player in their niche.

15 Easy Ways to Make Your First Sale for Free Dec 09, 2020

You’ve heard the saying, “you need to spend money to make money.” Is it true? Not today! In this episode of Start Yours, you’re going to learn 15 ways to make your first sale without spending a single penny on marketing or advertising. Facebook ads are the gold standard when it comes to advertising for dropshippers. But advertising on Facebook is hard to learn and costs a lot of money. As a new dropshipper, you’re just looking to get a taste of success before you dive into hour-long Facebook ad courses. That’s why in this episode, Magda and Jessica will share a bunch of ways for you to learn how to use viral Tweets, Facebook groups, TikTok compilations and more to get your first sale for free without any marketing experience.

How To Design and Manufacture Your Own Products Dec 06, 2020

Creating your own product is a big goal for many ecommerce and dropshipping merchants but where and how do you begin to speak with manufacturers to ensure that you are creating a quality product that will sell. On this episode of Start Yours, Aleisha is joined by Kian Golzari, who is one of the world’s leading product development and sourcing experts. Kian has personally sourced over 2,500 products for global brands such as Bed, Bath & Beyond, Tesco, Argos, Aldi, and the list goes on. The relationships Kian built while living in China led him to manufacture products for Proctor & Gamble, Visa, Panasonic, United Nations, Google, and far too many others to list. He was also awarded the 2012 Olympic Games contract to design, produce, and supply official merchandise. Kian shares his best tips for good supplier communication, ensuring you are purchasing a quality product that your customers will love and how to properly vet suppliers on Alibaba to ensure that you are welcoming true experts in your field to work with your business.

Five Easy tasks You Should Delegate Immediately Dec 02, 2020

Being an entrepreneur means that often in the early stages of running our businesses, we have to wear a lot of job hats. We find ourselves doing everything from social media management, to product photography, customer service outreach to website design. It’s great to have skills and use them but also, so many of us find ourselves stressed and overwhelmed by menial tasks when we should be focusing on important aspects of the business like scaling and product sourcing. In this episode of Start Yours, Aleisha shares 4 easy tasks that can be affordably delegated and will give you extra breathing (and creating time) and help to make sure that you are focused on the tasks and jobs that matter the most.

Hottest New Products To Sell Before The Holidays Nov 29, 2020

What products are the fastest moving, most popular dropshipping items on the Oberlo App? Start Yours host Aleisha presents the top 5 products for the holidays as presented by Oberlo.com team members Magda and Gurj. Is one of these products going to be your viral winner? We hope so! We also talk about white labelling and knowing when the best time to connect with a product manager/manufacturer to build your own brand. Here's the list of winning products we discussed in this episode. #1: Lotus Bracelet (https://bit.ly/3kYWWl5) #2: Silicone pet bath brush (https://bit.ly/3l3qWMR) #3: Fleece Owl Scarf (https://bit.ly/3l9Owrv). #4: Modern Crystal Glasses (https://bit.ly/3fGy5ln) #5: Mini Fishing Pen (https://bit.ly/33dgGLI)

Using Facebook to Source Winning Products Nov 25, 2020

Did you know that you can use Facebook as a search engine to source winning dropshipping and ecommerce products? In this episode of Start Yours, we share the easy steps to using Facebook to search for hot products and then we share three easy tips to help improve your advertising listings, that you can update and change your current advertising today, to make a BIG difference. All that and more on Oberlo's Start Yours!

The Secret to Dropshipping Profit? Consistency Nov 22, 2020

The path to dropshipping success and profits is not always clear and for many merchants who are new to the business, it can feel overwhelming, especially when there are so many 'get rich quick' messages out there that promise easy wins but then often disappoint. Our guest today is Daecian Sparkes-Young, a successful Australian dropshipper who is passionate about educating new dropshippers and helping to change some of the attitudes towards dropshipping and the industry. Daecian shares his philosophy about consistency and how to increase sales, his commitment to building a reputable brand and how his devotion to building a business that he is truly proud of (and that has longevity) is far more positive to him that quick wins.

10 Dropshipping Myths That Need To Be Debunked For Good Nov 18, 2020

There are a lot of myths about dropshipping out there. These dropshipping myths can leave people feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and disappointed once they take action. In this episode of Start Yours, we’re going to debunk the dropshipping myths and lay out all the facts so that you know what you’re actually signing up for in running an ecommerce or dropshipping business. So let’s find out if dropshipping is right for you and bust some of the most common myths.

The Secret To Hitting the Magic $1 Million Mark Nov 15, 2020

Many people think starting an ecommerce business has to be a full-time gig. Sure, there are many things you have to do to get it up and running and even more to maintain it after it's launched. But that doesn't necessarily mean having to ditch your day job. Sometimes, starting small can have its benefits. In today's episode of Start Yours, we're joined by David Gaylord. David's one of the three founding members of Bushbalm.com, a highly successful daily skincare and ingrown hair prevention product line, as well as a Shopify employee on the operations team. David and his partners started small and set up systems and automated where they could. And as you'll hear, there are advantages to their strategy. Last year, they hit their very first million in sales and are hoping to repeat this feat in 2020. If you have a winning idea, are thinking about developing your own product, or maybe white labelling something that's working for you, then this is the episode to listen to because we'll be diving into all of that and getting juicy tips and insights from David. We hope you'll consider subscribing to our podcast and don't forget to check out the Oberlo blog for more content.

How This Entrepreneur Immigrant Built a Million Dollar Store To Support His Family Nov 09, 2020

Back in 2015, Pierre Emmanuel leaped into the unknown when he and his wife relocated from France to the United States. After discovering some of his clients were dropshipping using Oberlo and Shopify, Pierre decided to try it out for himself. It was a match made in heaven. Over the next few years, Pierre built his store, which is in the problem-solving niche, to the point of making over $1.6 million in revenue. The success has allowed him to provide a more comfortable lifestyle for his wife and his young son. In this episode of Start Yours, we dig into some of his biggest dropshipping challenges, the techniques he used to grow his store, and how he finds his winning products.

Avoiding the Most Common Mistakes Made by New Dropshippers Nov 08, 2020

We're going to be straight with you: Starting an online store is not easy. Expect mistakes, frustration, more mistakes, and more frustration. But the good news is, if you can persevere through it and, success will be greeting you at the end of that tunnel. Having spoken to our fair share of successful merchants and heard their stories, we know just how hard it can be. While there's no easy road to success, there are mistakes you can avoid. In this episode, we're joined by Oberlo's very own social care advisor, Gurj Singh. Gurj has collated a list of the most common things to avoid when you are launching a new brand. Together, we dive into sourcing products, creating a website, customer care, and the importance of transparency and communication. If you're just starting out or aspiring to become an ecommerce business owner, this will be a knowledge-filled and practical episode for you so definitely tune in. We have plenty more of such episodes and if you're interested, subscribe to Start Yours so you never miss a single one.

Top 5 Best Products to Start Selling Right Now! Nov 04, 2020

Sourcing products for your e-commerce and dropshipping store can be tricky and sometimes even overwhelming. Each week, Jessica and Magda host a live broadcast on Oberlo's Youtube channel were they share their top 5 product recommendations and which trends you need to keep your eyes on. We've packaged up their hot tips in this episode of Start Yours and shared the links to all of their recommendations below. LED Plant Lamp $100k GMV, $12-25 average price https://app.oberlo.com/product-sources/459/products/1005001273687503 Walnut Cutting Board $70k GMV, $25 average price (each) https://app.oberlo.com/product-sources/459/products/4000329558074 Massage Gun $5k GMV, $50 average price https://app.oberlo.com/product-sources/459/products/4000416562381 Velvet Leggings $3k GMV, $12 average price https://app.oberlo.com/product-sources/459/products/32840348991 LED Humidifier $100k GMV, $15 average price https://app.oberlo.com/product-sources/459/products/4000402889944 Oberlo 101: http://learn.oberlo.com Podcast: https://www.oberlo.com/podcast Success stories: https://www.oberlo.com/success-stories

How To Bootstrap Your Marketing And Become An Established Brand Nov 01, 2020

How do I start marketing my business? Is Facebook or Google a better platform? What about influencer marketing? How much do I need to spend? Whether you already have an ecommerce business set up or are looking to start one, you will have asked these questions at one point or another. In this episode of Start Yours, we go full-on into marketing and cover everything from the basics to influencer marketing and building trust. And to do that, we're joined by Erik Huberman, a premium marketer and the man behind Hawke Media, the fastest-growing marketing consultancy in the US that's been valued at over $75 million. He's got some big names in his clientele list, as well as start-ups and everything in between, including ecommerce businesses. Keen to grow your business? Then tune in now for Erik's marketing tips and information. If you enjoy the podcast, we hope you'll consider subscribing. Also, don't forget to hop on over to our blog for more ecommerce and entrepreneurship content.

How Harry Grew His Million Dollar Businesses Oct 28, 2020

Some people are born with a love for the #hustle but like a lot of us dropshippers, Harry Coleman has worked really hard to hit the highs of ecommerce success. In this episode of Start Yours, Aleisha shares Harry's story, from working a day job as well as building his empire (and taking naps in his car at lunch to survive) to becoming the owner of three stores, and the manager of up to 10 staff. His stores combined to generate over $5 million revenue in 2018! Listen to learn Harry's tips for million dollar success and check out the accompanying blog.

Winning Marketing Tips for the Black Friday And Holiday Season Oct 25, 2020

The holiday shopping season may not be for another month, but as an ecommerce business owner, whether you have it as a side hustle or are running it full-time, this is the time of the year you definitely do not want to miss out on. To guide you through that, we're joined by Oberlo's very own Magda Kuzminski, a marketing expert on our team. Magda is going to go through, step-by-step, what you need to do to successfully prepare for your Black Friday marketing campaign. She will be dropping valuable, insightful, and practical knowledge bombs so if you're looking to boost those sales, this is one episode you want to tune into. Enjoying our podcast? Do subscribe so you never miss out on the latest episodes.

Our Test Store Experiment - Can We Make $10,000 in One Month? Oct 21, 2020

Oberlo has already helped dropshipping merchants find and sell over 85 million products around the world. One of those merchants is Tim Kock. We set Tim the challenge of building a dropshipping store from scratch and making $10,000 in the first month. In this episode of Start Yours, David joins Tim to talk about his journey: from how he selected his product to the biggest challenges he faced and how he overcame them to get his first sale. And then a whole bunch of sales after that. How I Made $8,873 In 31 Days Selling Sunglasses: Check out the accompanying Case Study blog and be sure to subscribe to Start Yours to hear all of our episodes and catch up on the back catalogue.

How Instagram Niche Pages Helped Make $30,000 Oct 18, 2020

When most people think about marketing on Instagram, they think about ads or influencers. But not Kamron and Varun. The high school friends and business partners leveraged Instagram in a lesser-known, different way to run their business to success: niche pages. The teenage duo joins us in this episode of Start Yours to tell us how they made $30,000 of revenue in three months using Instagram niche pages. Despite their young age (year 11 and 12 of high school), they have a bunch of entrepreneurial experience under their belts and dropped plenty of knowledge bombs during our chat. The fact that they did it all while juggling school makes it all the more impressive. If you're looking for tips on how to buy, build, and use Instagram niche pages to grow your ecommerce business, then this episode for you. It's also full of entrepreneurial inspiration as Kamron and Varun also talk about their motivations and mistakes made along the way. We hope you'll enjoy this episode and that you'll consider subscribing to our podcast.

Using Video To Connect With Your Audience and Build Your Brand Oct 12, 2020

Thinking about getting in on the trend of video and live streaming for your business and not quite sure how and where to begin? If you've got questions like what you need to start and what video content you should put out swirling around your head, then you've come to the right place. In this episode of Start Yours, we welcome back our very own video guru, Neal Chauhan, the brains and face of Oberlo's TikTok channel. Together, we dive into the potential of video content for your business, production values, what platform you should be on, the gear you need, and some tricks and hacks to get you started with producing videos to grow your business. If you enjoy our podcast, we hope you'll consider subscribing. Our Oberlo blog is also full of valuable insights and information you need to start and supercharge your business so hop on over and check it out.

Freelancing - Making Money From Your Niche Skills Oct 05, 2020

A recent report by freelancer.com shows a 41 percent year-over-year increase in freelancing – both in people hiring and those looking to become one – in the second quarter of 2020. With the surging demand and popularity, now is as good a time as any to begin freelancing. But although opportunities abound, there are things to keep in mind as you start and establish yourself. In this episode of Start Yours, we'll hear from our hosts, David and Aleisha, both of whom have not only extensive experience in freelancing but also in hiring freelancers, as they share their expertise and tips from both sides of the equation. If you're looking to get started with freelancing, whether as a side hustle or as a full-time venture, you'll want to tune in to this value-filled episode. We hope you'll consider subscribing to the podcast and don't forget to check out the Oberlo blog, where we have loads more information on entrepreneurship.

Finding Success With a Niche Product Sep 28, 2020

After a couple of false starts creating a dropshipping store, this episode's guest, Tze Chan, stumbled upon a winning dropshipping product niche and has been riding the wave of success ever since. Tze shares how he sourced his product, how he knew he was on to a winning niche and the step he took to make his store stand out, including writing winning copy and tweaking his product photography.

Should You Be Building An Email List? Sep 24, 2020

If you are starting a business or ecommerce store, do you need an email list? How do you go about building a list and what is an email funnel? In this episode of Start Yours, we speak to Andrew Roach who manages Oberlo.com's email communications about email best practices, offers and most importantly ensuring that your email communication with potential customers provides value to their experience and customer journey that makes them want to invest in your product or service. .

Easy Ways To Use TikTok to Build An Audience And Make More Sales Sep 21, 2020

There's no denying TikTok has taken over the social media scene (and teenagers' lives) by storm. As an ecommerce business owner, you should already be on the platform and taking advantage of everything it has to offer because, well, tick-tock, time is passing you by and every second you're not on it is wasted potential. But what makes TikTok stand out from other social media sites and how should you market on it? To answer these questions and more, we're joined by Oberlo's very own TikTok master (@Oberlo) Neal Chauhan, who will let us in on some trade secrets of his. If you're looking to understand this latest social media phenomenon, you're going to want to tune in to this episode. We hope you enjoy the podcast and if so, do subscribe!

Success Comes From Leaving Your Comfort Zone Sep 17, 2020

Before John Lee Dumas launched Entrepreneurs on Fire, he was… miserable. John had what from the outside looked like a nice shiny job in corporate finance, but on the inside, the whole scene was driving him nuts. He felt trapped, and to break free, he jumped into the deep end and started a business whose sole purpose was helping other people start their business. The first 13 months of this project were pretty underwhelming, as he’ll explain, but he kept at it, kept at it, and eventually… ka-ching. John now makes six figures a month from Entrepreneurs on Fire, and he joined us to talk about that success, sure, but also the self-doubt that used to haunt him, the morning routine that does religiously to keep his inner game in check, and how he knew it was time to ditch his steady, stable life and launch something of his own.

The Entrepreneur Who Left a Cushy Tech Job To Be His Own Boss Sep 14, 2020

When Vlad moved from Ukraine to the United States, his end goal was to start a business but the steep learning curve and time-consuming process meant he needed to secure a job to pay the bills while he worked it all out. So he did. He got a job at eBay, one of the biggest tech companies in the world. When he finally had enough money saved up, he quit – a decision that many thought was crazy – and launched his own business. Today, he's the proud owner of a business (not his first) that brought in over $200,000 in sales last year. But this success isn't without its ups and downs. Vlad joins us in this episode of Start Yours to share with us his journey to success and the lessons he's learned along the way. If you're just starting out and need some insights on finding dropshipping success, you should definitely tune in.

Top 10 Questions About Dropshipping Marketing Sep 10, 2020

In this episode of Start Yours, the top 10 questions about dropshipping marketing. Questions like, how much money should I spend on marketing? How much does Facebook Ads cost? How many products should I sell? We sourced these questions directly from you. From entrepreneurs, from dropshippers, from people who want to know more about how to market their businesses.

How 2 Best Friends Went From a Million Dollar Product Failure to #1 on Amazon Sep 08, 2020

Alex and Andrew, aka The Bizzy Boys, started making cold brew coffee out of true love of the product in their cramped apartment in 2013 after being fed up with paying $5 for a cup from a coffee shop. Like most at-home cold brewers, they started by using what they had on hand, a crummy grinder and some cheap coffee beans. They couldn’t understand why they couldn’t get the same smooth and sweet flavour that they were used to getting from their local coffee shop. With Andrew’s background in R&D Engineering and Alex’s background in Consumer Research, they set out on a mission to create the best tasting cold brew coffee in the world. @bizzycoffee has now become the #1 seller of cold brew coffee on Amazon and in this episode of Start Yours Alex shares some great information about how they took the leap to launch the business, how Amazon has become the powerhouse platform behind their sales and tips for working with friends.

Launching a Successful Online Business For Under $300 Sep 03, 2020

Today's guest, Chris Wane is proof that persistence pays off. It took him five failed ecommerce stores and hundreds of trialed products before he struck a winning formula. He battled through self-doubt and negativity from others around him, who laughed and dismissed his budding business as a “get rich quick scheme.” He began with rocky financial foundations, and came worryingly close to losing his entire budget. Less than two years later, his dropshipping store Big Red Gadgets has generated over $537,457 in revenue. With a profit margin of 20% bringing his take-home amount to over $100,000, Chris’ life has transformed before his eyes. Check out the oberlo.com blog featuring Chris and his successful general store.

How To Successfully Use Crowdsourcing To Launch Your Own product Sep 01, 2020

Launching a new project or business in the midst of the pandemic isn’t everyone’s idea of fun but serial entrepreneurs Shannah and Jeff Game saw it as their next big challenge, setting out to create the Money Mindset Journal - a journal to help cultivate a healthy money mindset, set intentional goals, and achieve your dreams. In this episode of Start Yours, we speak with Shannah, who is a Certified Financial Planner with an MBA and host of Millenial Money Podcast about launching a Kickstarter campaign to finding the right suppliers to make the product come to life. We guarantee that you will feel motivated and ready to take the leap into your dream project or business after hearing Shannah share her story and what is next for her business and products.

6 Tips From A Long-Time Dropshipper That All Beginners Should Hear Aug 25, 2020

Our guest this episode is British business owner Suhail Nurmohamed who began his e-commerce journey when he was just 16-years-old. A few years later, he’d made over £112,000 ($145,00 USD) in sales on his men’s wear store, AyWear. Suhail was featured recently on the Oberlo.com blog where he shared his top 6 tips that he thinks all aspiring e-commerce and dropshipping business owners should hear. We know that when you’re just getting started in eCommerce, it is not easy to know which steps to take and it isn’t as straightforward as learning one skill – you need to know all aspects of running a business to succeed. It’s no wonder that it overwhelms many beginners to the point of quitting, so this episode is all about simplifying the process and getting ahead of the game when it comes to being organised and focused. Check out the Oberlo.com blog about Suhail and his 6 tips.

One Couple’s Secret to Dropshipping Success (And It’s Nothing to Do With Products) Aug 20, 2020

When it comes to running their dropshipping business, Yuliya Chernykhovskaya and Mike Pavlou are committed to doing things differently. This entrepreneurial couple from New Jersey are the owners of an accessories ecommerce store, built using the dropshipping business model. While building their business, they’ve made a point to ignore much of the traditional advice for dropshippers. And the results so far? Pretty exceptional. They’re only a year in, but so far they’ve had over 10,000 orders and built a band of 40,000 loyal followers across their social profiles. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the $200,000 they’ve made in sales revenue. It’s clear that whatever Yuliya and Mike are doing, it’s working. We hope you enjoy the episode!

The Path to Launching a Million Dollar Store Aug 18, 2020

This episode's guest is hoping to graduate with his engineering degree in the near future, but study isn’t the only thing taking up 22-year-old, Cole's time. He’s also managing an ecommerce store that’s made over two million dollars in sales since March 2019. After hearing about ecommerce and dropshipping when he was just 18, Cole quickly became obsessed with learning how to sell online. But his multi million dollar store was no overnight success, it came after some big failures and lessons learned. Cole shares some of his winning techniques, the importance of mentorship and his plans for after graduation.

Tips For Scaling Your Dropshipping Business Aug 13, 2020

There probably aren’t many people in the world who have devoted more thought to dropshipping than this episode's guest, Mordechai Arba. In addition to running founding Ecomhunt.com, he is a serial store launcher, and he’s the first to admit that they’re not all home runs. Mordechai shares what makes his successful stores successful, and what makes his less successful stores, well... less successful. We also dig into what running Ecomhunt.com has taught him about finding winning products, how to scale a business and how to pick yourself up and keep going when things don't go as planned. Find more trending products to sell on our blog. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

Meet the Entrepreneur Who is Trying to Trade a Bobby Pin For a House Aug 11, 2020

This episode of Start Yours, we are bringing you the ultimate tale of bartering and exchange. Our guest is Demi Skipper from the @trademeproject. Demi started her quest to exchange a bobby pin for a house (!) in May and very quickly dominated TikTok and Instagram with her regular updates on some of the crazy exchanges that she has been making to reach her house goal. This is an evolving story that we look forward to following but as of the episodes air date in August 2020, Demi has made 16 trades which include margarita glasses, a camera, collectable sneakers, an iPhone and a car… this week she has a 15” MacBook Pro to trade and I can’t wait to see what she gets next! Check out the Oberlo blog all about Demi's journey so far - https://au.oberlo.com/blog/trade-me-project-tiktok

What Happens When you Make $500,000 In Sales But Can't Fulfill Orders Aug 06, 2020

When Emma Reid first got into ecommerce, it reminded her of one of her favorite pastimes – video games. It was addictive, exciting, competitive, and tons of fun. Especially the money: One of her stores generated $500,000 in revenue in just 1 year. But then things fell apart. Emma’s supplier botched hundreds of orders, she was slammed with angry emails, and over the course of a month she lost $10,000. After that she was fried, burnt-out, game over. She shut down the store and hit pause on the whole thing. She joins us on Start Yours to explain what went wrong, the lessons she learned, and what she’s doing differently now that she’s back to running another online store. We hope you enjoy the podcast. If you do, please consider subscribing.

Hustle and Hype, Thinking Outside The Box To Achieve Your Goals Aug 04, 2020

In this episode of Start Yours, David Vranicar looks at how to keep the momentum going when building on your goals and hustling, without feeling the pressure to get sucked into the world of fake gurus and get rich quick schemes that often over promise and under deliver. Our guest is Mario Nawfal who’s Instagram bio sums up his career in one sentence… ‘He has made and lost millions many times over’. Mario started his first e-commerce business when he was a finance student with $300 in his pocket in 2012. After going door to door selling blenders, he came up with the idea of ditching the in-person hustle and selling them online. From there, his first company, Froothie Australia was born. Mario propelled Froothie to $1m in year one and over $10m in year two, all bootstrapped! Mario has a lot to say about so-called e-commerce gurus and investing in programs that can cost you time and money but not propel you in the direction you want to be.

How Two Friends Built a Secret Six-Figure Business Jul 30, 2020

This episode of Start Yours features two friends from Vancouver, Rodney and Kory, who were initially embarrassed to be launching their own business. So much so, before they found success, they were tiptoeing around the topic with family and friends. They’d politely decline offers to hit the bars and instead spend their nights lurking on Reddit and consuming hours upon hours of YouTube tutorials learning all about how to start their own business. But now after launching their fantasy games store and clearing a couple hundred thousand in revenue, they’re not being secretive about their strategies and ideas anymore! In this episode, Rodney and Kory share their best dropshipping and ecommerce tips, from choosing the best niche, to deciding their target audience they walk us through how their entrepreneurial mindset made them different. You can read more about Rodney and Kory's journey on the Oberlo blog: https://au.oberlo.com/blog/business-no-one-expected There’s a lot to learn here, If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

Noah Kagan - How Taking Risks Made Him Millions Jul 28, 2020

How do you feel about risk? Are you a leap taker or do you teeter on the edge? And as you will hear on this week's episode of Start Yours, when you’ve started over 20 businesses, most of which have been profitable, you’ve probably got a bit to say about risk. Our guest is Noah Kagan, Co-Founder/Chief Sumo at Sumo.com and appsumo.com where he helps entrepreneurs kick more ass! Noah shares his idea development strategies and some great tips about how to overcome hesitation that can often cloud initial leaps into businesses and new projects. If you have an idea, business goal or side-hustle that you are keen to dive into but you don't know where to start, then be sure to subscribe to the show and catch up on past episodes of Start Yours.

The Secret To Ad-Free Six Figure Profits Jul 23, 2020

A pair of dropshippers from Utah, Mandie and Aubrey, joined us to explain how they’ve made six figures of revenue without spending a dime on advertising. The secret? Their Facebook group, which they’ve used to launch not one, but two successful businesses. They talk about how they keep their ad budget at $0, and how they get customers to keep coming back – even the ones who know their products are coming out of China. You can read more about Mandie and Aubrey on the Oberlo blog: http://bit.ly/2kI3BHp If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

How This Couple Created an $800k Business While Working Full-Time Jul 21, 2020

If there's one thing many entrepreneurs don't consider when building their business is the importance of failing faster. It may sound counterproductive, but as you'll find out in our latest podcast episode of Start Yours, it's anything but. It's the mentality that's propelled dropshipping mega couple, Shishir and Namrata, to creating a successful $800k business... while balancing a full-time job. In this podcast episode, they take us behind the scenes of their inspirational dropshipping success, share with us some tips, and present The Dropshipping Council. Whether you're a budding entrepreneur or a seasoned one, there are definitely handy takeaways for you so tune in now!

Should You Start a Business and Ditch College? Jul 17, 2020

We're sharing some of our favorite episodes from the Start Yours back catalog. A few years ago, Ryan Carroll was unemployed and living at home. Not ideal for an ambitious 20-year-old. But after a few fails, including an Amazon refund fiasco, Ryan stumbled across dropshipping – the first step toward launching a swimwear store that generated $300,000 in revenue. In this episode, Ryan talks with us about his dropshipping journey, including where he found the courage to ignore conventional wisdom – and ignore what he was hearing from his family – and choose entrepreneurship over college. You can read more about Ryan’s journey on the Oberlo blog: http://bit.ly/2kEE8i4. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

How To Launch a Profitable Print on Demand Store Jul 13, 2020

On this episode of Start Yours, we delve into the ins and outs of print on demand, from production to product sourcing, customer service to making sure that your products arrive on time to your customer. Done right, print on demand can be a great way to run an e-commerce business without having stock on hand. Today I am speaking to Sarah Chrisp the founder of the very popular Youtube channel, Wholesale Ted. Her content focuses on case studies on successful eCommerce stores, tutorials, product sourcing strategies and focuses on lots of hints to launch your own enterprise. She’s an absolute gun when it comes to print on demand and in this episode, she shares everything you need to know to start or improve your print on demand store.

Start Yours Trailer - Season 2 Jul 11, 2020

Start Yours is a podcast about what it’s like to start your own thing. Whether that's a side-hustle, an ecommerce store, a blog, or walking away from your day job! You'll hear from people who have done it themselves, and learn what to expect (and what to avoid) when you start yours.

How To Use Failures to Build a Successful Business Jul 06, 2020

You've probably heard the saying, "If at first, you don't succeed, try, try again." Well, William Edward Hickson wasn't talking about e-commerce or drop-shipping when he coined that expression, but it definitely still applies. As you'll hear in this week's episode of Start Yours, with each experience, or in this case, with each fail, your knowledge and understanding of what works and what doesn't work grows and grows each time. Our guest is Ahmed Hadi, who we have featured on the oberlo.com blog recently, joined us from his native Finland to explain how he built a successful online business from the rubble of a handful of unsuccessful ones. What's great about this chat is hearing Ahmed talk about the highs and the lows, the profits and the losses that come from launching new ventures. Wherever you may be at on your business or side-hustle journey, we know you'll be inspired by Ahmed's story. As always, if you enjoy the show, tell someone who you think might find it valuable. And if you have a question or a topic that you'd like us to cover, be sure to get in touch by shooting us a note at podcast@oberlo.com.

Pinterest – Pin Your Way to Profit Jun 30, 2020

With over 320 million monthly active users, Pinterest has the potential for helping both local and global companies build a big audience and get the clicks to make a sale. The problem for most business owners is that they just don’t have enough time to manage one more aspect of a business and yet another social media platform. Our guest in this episode of Start Yours is Pinterest expert and podcaster, Kate Ahl who has been helping small business owners grow their business using Pinterest. She teaches Pinterest marketing that helps business owners move forward successfully instead of feeling overwhelmed with the hugeness of Pinterest as a platform. In this interview, she shares how you can build an audience that is ready to buy using Pinterest marketing and how to format your images and copy to keep a potential customers attention and get them to take action. It's a must-listen for anyone who wants to take advantage of a platform that is filled with eager to buy customers.

Survival Mode - Launching a Side-Hustle During A Life and World Crisis Jun 23, 2020

In this week's episode of Start Yours we bring you an amazing story of a couple who used their creativity and strength to launch two print on demand side-hustles in the hight of the COVID pandemic and also during an incredibly challenging time in their personal lives. Laura and Albert have 3 kids and 11 animals. In early 2020, just before the lockdown was declared, massage therapist Laura suffered a severe seizure, fell and broke her neck and back and had to be hospitalized. The family received a $30,000 medical bill. As well as being the sole carer for Laura and the kids, during the crisis, Albert also lost his job. They were at breaking point but instead of giving up, Albert decided that this was the opportune time to put his research and skills to the test and launch their first print on demand Shopify store. This is an incredible story of hustle and teamwork. Albert and Laura are optimistic and driven and share many great tips for launching a side-hustle and working and how to stay motivated during tough times.

Getting Funding, Changing Lives and Blowing Up On Twitter Jun 16, 2020

Creating memorable products and an impactful brand will not only keep your business top of mind for your customers but as you will hear in this episode of Start Yours it can change lives. Today’s guest, Yelitsa Jean-Charles, created Healthy Roots Dolls, a start-up toy company that was founded with a goal to make a new, positive beauty standard for young girls – especially for those with curly hair. A recent tweet that featured Yelitsa and an image of her Zoe doll went viral with over 900K likes! The success of the dolls means that they are currently sold out but they are accepting pre-orders. This is an incredible story about how one product can inspire and empower. Join us as we chat with Yelitsa and learn more about creating a meaningful brand and the early success of her business Healthy Roots Dolls.

Build Your Brand With Podcasts Jun 09, 2020

As an entrepreneur, podcasts can be a powerful medium to reach new listeners and customers, share stories and get your message to a wider audience. How hard is to start a podcast for your business and will it bring a return on investment? What gear do you need to host a podcast or be a guest on a podcast and what are some creative ways to market your product or brand via popular podcasts? Our guest this episode is Rachel Corbett, who was the Head of Podcasts for Mamamia, the largest women's podcast network in the world. She’s the founder of Podschool, a comprehensive course about starting a podcast and as you’ll hear in the show, what she doesn’t know about podcasts isn’t worth knowing. If you like what you hear, there are plenty more episodes waiting for you in the Start Yours back catalog, as well as new episodes dropping every week. We also got you covered for all things e-commerce, dropshipping, and entrepreneurship over at the Oberlo blog – oberlo.com/blog

Outsourcing Hacks To Save You Time and Money Jun 02, 2020

As a business owner, how do you decide when it is time to consider outsourcing tasks in your business or upping your skills and doing it yourself? In this episode of Start Yours, we share the best tips and advice from merchants, Shopify and Oberlo team members about taking the leap and investing in hiring experts that will help to increase sales and productivity and decrease stress. From social media to video content, our best practices for learning to value your time vs investing in freelancers, to hiring tips, this episode will inspire you to take the leap and explore how outsourcing can increase revenue and also help you see your business in a new light. If you enjoy the show, be sure to subscribe to not miss an episode and check out the blog oberlo.com/blog for more information about outsourcing and time management.

How One Store Made $70,000 in 30 Days During COVID May 26, 2020

Starting a dropshipping business with a friend during a pandemic is a challenge that many new entrepreneurs may avoid, but Australian teenager dropshippers, Lachie and Taylor, saw a chance to run a month-long dropshipping experiment during COVID lockdown. They chose to launch a store selling non-medical items that would be helpful to families during the lockdown and while doing so, use the time to test ad audiences, customer service techniques, as well as hitting their goals and embracing their failures along the way. In this episode of Start Yours, we talk bro-marketing, how to launch a store in an evening and what it takes to turn dropshipping from a hobby into a full-time career. As always, if you like the show, we’ve got a back catalogue full of episodes to listen to, so be sure to subscribe and check out Oberlo.com for blogs and updates.

Boost Your Sales With Better Product Photography May 18, 2020

"Good" product photography is the first step to getting a visitor to stay longer on your site, to click through, to learn more about what you do, and hopefully pull the trigger on a purchase. But what exactly is good photography, and how can you take professional images at home without investing in expensive gear? To answer that, we've invited photographer Ben Waugh, an Aussie who is now living the #vanlife dream, being his own boss, creating incredible visual content for major brands, and photographing some of the world's most scenic locations. Listen to this episode to hear Ben share what 'good' photography actually means, what to invest in when it comes to photography gear and how we can improve our product shots with lighting and a couple of sneaky little tricks that make more sales. As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast, and if you do, please consider subscribing. We also got you covered for all things ecommerce, dropshipping, and entrepreneurship over at the Oberlo blog – oberlo.com/blog

How To Dominate TikTok... Without Dancing May 12, 2020

This episode, we are talking with Jade Darmawangsa, an entrepreneur and digital strategist who started making Youtube videos in her garage when she was just 9 years old. Since then she dropped out of school, launched her own company and now her content exceeds 10 Million views via YouTube, Instagram and Tiktok…all of this and she’s only 19. Jade was an early content creator on TikTok, which has become one of the fastest growing social media platforms with over a 1 billion users. This is a huge HUGE landscape and as you’ll hear in today’s episode, it’s the wild west for companies and brands who want to stake their claim in the TikTok ether. Jade shares some incredible insights into how to win with the TikTok algorithm, how you can market your physical products on the platform and how NOT to stress about content creation and just... make it happen. As always we hope you enjoy the podcast and if you do, please consider subscribing. We also got you covered for all things ecommerce, dropshipping, and entrepreneurship over at the Oberlo blog – oberlo.com/blog.

Are digital nomads screwed? Well, not exactly. May 05, 2020

We are all about location independence here at Oberlo. And no doubt, plenty of Oberlo users double as digital nomads. Which is awesome. Dropshipping has always been the perfect digital nomad gig. Then came COVID-19. And as much as coronavirus has sucked for all of us, it is especially problematic for all the digital nomads out there. After all, coronavirus has made traveling more or less impossible. It has turned the economy upside-down. And it has put a massive spotlight on healthcare. And as any digital nomad could tell you, sometimes the best places for doing the nomad thing aren’t the best places for seeking medical attention. To break down what coronavirus means for digital nomads, we are going to talk with Amanda Gaid. Amanda has been freelancing and country-hopping since 2014, and she actually wrote an ebook about digital nomads for Oberlo last year, so she is an experienced, card-carrying member of the digital nomad community. She was in Mexico when COVID-19 erupted, which is where we caught up with her. Amanda explains how COVID-19 laid her personal plans to waste, and what it has done to the digital nomad community at large. As painful as it's been, though, Amanda insists all is not lost. Not only does she cherish the lifestyle, but she explains why changes happening because of coronavirus – like businesses moving online and relying more on freelancers – might actually be an advantage for anyone with a digital nomad skillset. If you want to reach out, shoot a note to podcast at oberlo dot com. If you want to check out Amanda's ebook on being digital nomad, here's the link: https://www.oberlo.com/ebooks/digital-nomad. As always, we hope you enjoy the podcast, and if you do, please consider subscribing.

Meditate now. Your business will thank you later. Apr 28, 2020

This episode is all about meditation. Not meditation as a spiritual practice. Not as a way to chill out. Nope – meditation as a business tool that can help you make more money. (And still be sane when it hits your account.) We have two awesome guests. First up is Cory Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of Wisdom Labs, followed by Bill Duane, who has helped bring mindfulness and meditation to Google. Cory and Bill offer up loads of insights. They’ve seen and experienced first-hand what burnout does to people, and they share ideas that you can start implementing today, including: What meditation has to do with running a business The science behind why mindfulness is helpful for entrepreneurs How you can overcome even your most stressful business moments You won't be able to levitate by the end of the episode. That said, meditation can be a vital hack for anyone launching or growing their own business. If you like what you hear, there are plenty more episodes. We also got you covered for all things ecommerce, dropshipping, and entrepreneurship over at the Oberlo blog – oberlo.com/blog.

The right way to grow a business today (spoiler: bigger isn’t always better) Apr 21, 2020

Two awesome guests joined us to explore how you can grow your business in this economy. First up is author Mike Michalowicz. Mike has written a handful of books about business and entrepreneurship, including Profit First, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, and The Pumpkin Plan. His newest book comes out next week – Fix This Next: Make the Vital Change That Will Level Up Your Business. Mike joined us to talk about what entrepreneurship looks like these days, with the economy seeming to kinda sorta be falling apart. We also dig into Fix This Next and Mike’s biggest tips for your business. As we hit on in the podcast, Mike is a big advocate of the idea that bigger is not always better when it come to the size of your business. And our second guest, Courtney White, is living proof of that. Courtney launched the beautiful ecommerce store Finer and Dandy, and she is living proof you don’t need to be making six figures a year on your store to have a thriving online business. She loves the community that has emerged around her brand, and she loves that she still has time to parent her three children and five (!) dogs. Courtney had a whole handful of side hustles before she landed on Finer and Dandy, we hit on those, we hit on her somewhat bizarre Instagram marketing strategy, and we also hit on how ecommerce has helped her find some confidence and some nerve that she didn’t know she had. You can visit Mike's website at mikemichalowicz.com/ and Courtney's website at www.fineranddandy.com/.

What's actually selling in the "new economy." Plus, what it's like to launch during a recession. Apr 14, 2020

This episode explains how to find products that will sell in the "new economy," and then takes a first-hand look at what it's like to launch a business in the middle of a recession. First up is Jessica, host of the online course Oberlo 101, who has been chatting with ecommerce entrepreneurs and digging into Oberlo data to see what's selling in this "new economy." She dishes out some awesome insights into emerging niches, talks about products to avoid, and gives tips on how to make sure your ad copy hits the marks in these weird times. Next up, we talk with Gina Locklear, founder of the beautiful sock store at zkano.com. We got Gina on the line to explain what it was like to launch Zkano in 2009, just after the financial crisis and Great Recession kicked off, and right in the middle of month after month after month of horrible, horrible economic news. Here we are, 10+ years later, and zkano.com is still home to some of coolest socks that you will ever see. Gina explains what new entrepreneurs should be ready for if they're launching now – in the midst of what appears to be a pretty dicey economic situation.

How to get the most out of every penny when you launch your store Apr 07, 2020

With such a crazy amount of uncertainty right now, we talk about what it’s like to get into ecommerce when you have no money, no safety net, no cushion to play with. For this one, we dialed up Chris Wane, who has stared down the same money headaches that lots of people are facing today. Chris does not sugarcoat his situation when he launched his online business. He. Was. Broke. Worse than broke, actually – he had 12,000 bucks in debt, and was, in his own words, in a pretty bad place. So bad, in fact, that the first day he turned a profit – a whopping five bucks – he was running around his apartment in ecstasy. Chris explains how you can be scrappy and how you can squeeze every last cent of return from each dollar you put in. And then he also talks about the stress involved with launching a business when your business funds count as the same pool of money that you need to buy food. All-in-all, it's a first-hand look at what it’s like to do what a lot of people are going to be doing over the coming months: getting into ecommerce not just because they want to try something new, but because they really, really need the money.

Business on hold because of coronavirus? In the meantime, do this. Mar 31, 2020

Things aren't normal anywhere right now. Plans are on hold – and so are lots of online businesses. So we created a list of 10 things that ecommerce store owners can start doing today to improve their stores, even if sales are slow. We realize that it is a weird, uncertain time. But… while we’re dealing with that, there are still tactics to implement so that when things do bounce back, whenever that is, our stores and our psyches are better than ever and we are ready to roll. In this episode, we hit on: Preparing for delays: This one has always been a headache, and never more so than now. Reach out to suppliers: Get your supplier on record about what shipping and inventory will look like over the coming weeks. Learn: Yeah, yeah... you've heard it before. But there has never been a better time to level up your mind. And we've got a freebie to do just that. Grow social media channels: Are you on social more than ever? So are your potential customers. Meet them there. Set up email marketing: Sometimes a forgotten channel, email is labor-intensive to launch and smooth sailing to maintain. Now's the time. Redo your website: The entrepreneurs we've talked to have gone all-in on redesigns that they had previously been procrastinating on. Budget: Create a budget. No, really. Fine new income streams: If the economy tanks a bit – and this looks increasingly likely – then scraping together extra funds will help you stay flexible. Create a healthy workspace: There are ways to make that kitchen table a productive spot. Stay sane: We discuss ways to make sure your psyche is still in one piece when this is all over.

Ecommerce during a pandemic - expert entrepreneurs share their experiences Mar 24, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned ecommerce upside-down. For entrepreneurs running online stores, coronavirus has created a whole new set of challenges. And for those sourcing products from China, it has been nearly two months of urgent questions – with very few clear answers. In the most recent episode of the Oberlo podcast, Start Yours, we talk with four ecommerce experts about their experiences navigating the coronavirus outbreak, and how they are holding their businesses (and sanity) together.

Rags to riches? How about scraps to sales Mar 17, 2020

In this episode, we break down exactly how you can sell trash. OK, not trash trash. More like trash in the sense of that old saying – one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That’s definitely the case for our guest, Adrien Taylor. Adrien joined us from New Zealand, where he runs a hat business, Offcut, that uses discarded materials to create really, really cool hats. Adrien walks us through how he first conceived of Offcut, how he launched the business with VERY limited resources and absolutely no knowledge of hats, clothing, or anything else that would suggest he launching a fashion brand was in his future.

Beating Stress as an Entrepreneur with Successful Ecommerce Master Ezra Firestone Mar 10, 2020

Ezra Firestone has been at the forefront of digital marketing for more than a decade – which is like a century in ecommerce years. We got Ezra on the line to break down Facebook ads, and this conversation turned into a lot more than that. Ezra digs into his Facebook ads secrets, no doubt, but he also talks about how anyone signing up for entrepreneurship better be ready to sign up for a whole bunch of stress, and better be ready to give up that nice, cozy sense of security that comes with a more conventional job. But fear not! He also talks about how to cope with that stress, and how to beat the ends and build yourself a successful online business. So, come for the tactics, stay for the psychology breakdown. Ezra is the CEO and co-founder of a massive cosmetics line called BOOM by Cindy Joseph, CEO and Co-Founder of Zipify Apps, which makes some awesome apps that you can use on your Shopify store, and he also founded Smart Marketer, which is an industry leader in digital marketer. So that’s the resume, and here are some numbers: He oversees Facebook ad campaigns that spend 5 figures a day, every day, and he expects his various businesses to generate $30 million in revenue this year alone. If you want to reach us at Start Yours, shoot a note to podcast@oberlo.com

Student debt and starting a business: How to launch even if you're in debt (or better yet, how to avoid debt) Mar 03, 2020

Student debt has come up REPEATEDLY on Start Yours. Student debt actually came up on the very first episode we did, and it's been coming up ever since. And if all of these ecommerce wizards keep bringing up debt, we thought it was time to give this topic its due. That’s why we enlisted today’s guests – Vadim and Sergei Revzin. Vadim and Sergei know a thing or two about debt, especially college debt. They co-authored a big article for the Harvard Business Review called Student Debt is Stopping US Millennials from Becoming Entrepreneurs, and they have covered this topic on their own podcast, The Mentors. And no doubt, student debt is a phenomenon they have witnessed up close. Sergei is a Venture Investor at the New York University Innovation Venture Fund, and Vadim is an Entrepreneur in Residence at a non-profit called Ethos, as well as a professor at NYU and State University of New York. So they work with entrepreneurs, they work with students, and they see the intersection between debt and starting a business all the time. They joined us to break down how debt can get in the way of entrepreneurship, and on the flip side of that, how people can launch businesses to get OUT of debt. We hope you enjoy the podcast, and if you do, please consider subscribing.

Proof that you don’t need a beard to start a beard business Feb 25, 2020

Paul Lee’s first ecommerce idea flopped. The plan was to create an elixir to kickstart facial hair growth for dudes with weak beards. Yeah, that didn’t work. Paul was forced to pivot – but he stayed in beards. Instead of selling this magical formula to grow a beard, he took all the knowledge he’d accumulated about the beard world and turned his fire toward beard care products. His store took off, and before long Paul quit college and was doing ecommerce full time. Actually, it was more than full-time. He never took breaks, he was pulling 10-hour days, he got obsessed, and by the time he sold his beard store on Shopify Exchange for $80,000, he was thoroughly, thoroughly burnt out. Paul joined Start Yours to talk about the crappy college teacher that inspired him to finally drop out, the branding strategy that fuelled his success, his approach to product selection, his Facebook ads best practices and, first off, how someone who couldn’t grow a beard to save his life became a beard connoisseur. You can listen to Start Yours wherever you listen to podcasts, or join us at oberlo.com.

Ditching corporate life to start a business, with John Lee Dumas Feb 18, 2020

Before John Lee Dumas launched Entrepreneurs on Fire, he was... miserable. John had what from the outside looked like a nice shiny job in corporate finance, but on the inside, the whole scene was driving him nuts. He felt trapped, and to break free, he jumped into the deep end and started a business whose sole purpose was helping other people start their business. The first 13 months of this project were pretty underwhelming, as he’ll explain, but he kept at it, kept at it, and eventually… ka-ching. John now makes six figures a month from Entrepreneurs on Fire, and he joined us to talk about that success, sure, but also the self-doubt that used to haunt him, the morning routine that does religiously to keep his inner game in check, and how he knew it was time to ditch his steady, stable life and launch something of his own.

Your Top Ecommerce Questions Answered with Magda Kuzminski Jan 22, 2020

It's a monster of a show this week! We answer important ecommerce questions in this episode of Start Yours. Questions like how much money should I spend on marketing? How much does Facebook Ads cost? How many products should I sell? So join us as we hit on the 10 most frequently asked marketing questions. If you have more questions about marketing you can read more on our blog. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com.

Tomas Slimas on How Failure Led to The World's Most Popular Dropshipping App Dec 10, 2019

In this episode we talk with Oberlo co-founder Tomas Slimas. Before launching Oberlo, Tomas was a dropshipper and ecommerce entrepreneur himself, trying – and often failing – to make money online. He eventually got it figured out and generated $3 million in revenue on a single store in a single year. Tomas sold that business and then doubled down on dropshipping, founding Oberlo in the hopes that anyone could do what he had just done – build a successful online business without ever holding inventory. If you are interested in giving Oberlo a try, start your free trial today. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

Ecommerce is Like Video Games, With Emma Reid Dec 03, 2019

At first, ecommerce reminded Emma Reid of video games. It was addictive, exciting, competitive, and tons of fun. But then things fell apart. Her dropshipping supplier botched thousands of orders, she lost $10,000 in a month, and then the burnout set in. She joined us on Start Yours to explain what went wrong, the lessons she learned, and why she’s back in the game running another online store. Read more dropshipping stories on our blog. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

Entrepreneurial Mindset: Do Entrepreneurs Think Differently? Nov 26, 2019

"To explain that we're busy from the time that we wake up until the time that we go to bed – it's kind of difficult for people to comprehend when it's not a traditional job," Rodney explains. In this episode of Start Yours, Rodney and Kory – a pair of friends from Vancouver – explain exactly how they turned an interest in ecommerce into a job that has fuelled the lifestyle they always wanted. From choosing the best niche, to deciding their target audience they walk us through how their entrepreneurial mindset made them different Find out more about why entrepreneurs start their own businesses check out our blog. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

Six-Figure Sales With $0 on Ads? Yes, Please! Nov 19, 2019

Six figures of revenue with $0 spent on advertising? Yes, please! Mandie and Aubrey talk to us about how they’ve made six figures of revenue through monetizing Facebook Groups. We cover Facebook's algorithm, dropshipping, and so much more in this episode. Learn more about Mandie and Aubrey's journey on our blog. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

Dropshipping Questions: 10 FAQs Every Dropshipper Asks in 2020 Nov 12, 2019

Every successful dropshipping story starts with questions. Lots of them. So in this episode, we answer the most frequently asked questions about dropshipping. We sourced these questions directly from, well, you. From entrepreneurs, from dropshippers, from people who want to know more about how exactly this whole dropshipping thing works. How much money do you need to start dropshipping? What to do about Amazon? How come I have traffic to my store but no sales? Why do, like, 85 different suppliers all offer me the same product? We hit on it all. Find more FAQs on our blog. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

Finding Successful Products to Sell Online, with Ecomhunt Founder Mordechai Arba Nov 05, 2019

There aren’t many people in the world who have devoted more thought to dropshipping than Mordechai Arba. In this episode, Mordechai explains what makes his successful stores successful, and what makes his less successful stores, well, less successful. We're talking scaling your business, saturated markets, and so much more. Find more trending products to sell on our blog. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

How Email Marketing Helped Build a 7-Figure Dropshipping Store Oct 29, 2019

Yuliya and Mike didn’t know what dropshipping was until the weekend they launched their store. In the few years since, they’ve created a 7-figure business. They tell us all about that journey through ecommerce and dropshipping. Find out more about how to run a dropshipping store on our blog. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

Starting a business instead of going to college Oct 22, 2019

A few years ago, Ryan Carroll was unemployed and living at home. Not ideal for an ambitious 20-year-old. But after a few fails, including an Amazon refund fiasco, Ryan stumbled across dropshipping – the first step toward launching a swimwear store that generated $300,000 in revenue. In this episode, Ryan talks with us about his dropshipping journey, including where he found the courage to ignore conventional wisdom – and ignore what he was hearing from his family – and choose entrepreneurship over college. You can read more about Ryan’s journey on the Oberlo blog: http://bit.ly/2kEE8i4. If you want to reach out, shoot us a note at podcast@oberlo.com

Start Yours Season 1 Trailer Sep 27, 2019

Introducing Start Yours – a podcast from Oberlo about what it's like to start a business. Here's a preview of what's in store in Season 1.

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