Transcription
You arrived in the United States with $300 and in less than 12 months you sold over $370,000 on the Amazon platform. In Cuba, the limitations are too many. It's not just what you are capable of doing, but what they allow you to do. Honestly, $00 is enough to [music] start this business. When I started, I sold many products for less than $. And do you care about the product you sell, or do you care about [music] what you earn? I have products in my catalog that sell thousands of units a month, and I have products in my catalog that sell six units a month. The blessing I have had after discovering Amazon, I would repeat the whole journey again. And in the apartment, well, I imagine it quickly became another warehouse too. My son played on top of the bed because he didn't have space. What did you tell yourself the day you opened your company and your Amazon account? I literally hallucinated and said, "Wow, an entrepreneur in the United States, and I hadn't earned half a peso." I mean, I knew, as I tell you, the goal, but I didn't even remotely think I was going to reach it and within a month I would open a company in the United States. [music] If today you had $500, okay, and 2 hours a day, okay? How would you start this business? You arrived in the United States with $300 and in less than 12 months you sold over $370,000 on the Awel platform. What was the first step that changed your life? Well, I would tell you that what mainly helped me was, number one, the person who taught me the business and taught it to me the right way, and secondly, that this same person served as the only contact I had in this world because he was also involved in e-commerce. So I had the possibility not only with the $300 I started with, which is what I took out of my pocket, but I had the possibility to buy on installments with some wholesalers with whom he had open accounts. And that's what boosted sales, because it's impossible for you to multiply in a year with $300 without some kind of injection. In my case, it wasn't capital, in my case it was an injection of products that I could pay for after I had already sold them. You were very strategic in finding payment terms with suppliers from the beginning, and that's too cool. Correct. The first month, for example, I sold uh $8,000. Wow. And it wasn't obviously with that $300 investment, but rather I was able to get a lot of merchandise that, after analyzing it, I knew the return I was going to get. And the other thing is that I did a lot of FBM. With FBM, the turnover is much faster because you ship the product from the moment you have it in your hands. So, after 15 days, you have that money back, which allowed me to pay the supplier before 30 days. So, that's what boosted those $8,000 in sales in that first month. In fact, the second month I sold approximately $6,000, and I said, "Okay, I sold less, but I understand that the turnover wouldn't be the same." So, it was part of the initial process. I would tell you that fundamentally that, the relationship I had, meaning the relationships. Uh, and secondly, first, my instructor, my tutor, and secondly, having the relationships to be able to execute that business. Who was Mari before Amazon and what did she dream of when she arrived in the United States? Look, when I arrived in the United States with my two children, I had no idea where to start. I knew what I wanted to achieve. What I didn't know was the map, the route to get there. So, I've always been very entrepreneurial. Uh, honestly, I'm a person who likes to earn my income from always. In Cuba, I did business, but businesses that weren't very common, let's say. For example, one day I sat in Cuba, an hour of internet cost 450, and I would arrive and pay 450. Yes, yes, yes. an hour of connection, and you had to go to a public place, and then, for example, to give you an idea of the type of businesses I did, where I lived was a very touristy area, so there were many rental houses, and one day while browsing the internet, I was looking for a way to earn income, and what I did was I came across Airbnb. I didn't know Airbnb existed. In fact, I started exploring the platform without knowing what it was. This, what year was that approximately? This was around 2016, more or less, 2015. Okay. So, uh, when I explored it, I said, "Okay, I don't have a rental house, my house wasn't the prettiest by any means, nor did I have a license, but I made business cards for those rental houses, which was my business at that time, it generated about $200 approximately, which is super good in Cuba." So, what I did was I contacted those rental owners and said, "Do you want me to put your house online?" and they said, "Yes, of course." And so what I did was I earned $5 per room per night from each client I sent them. Wow. That obviously doubled the income I had in Cuba at that time. So, I've always been very restless in terms of how I generate income to feel comfortable and for my children and my parents to be comfortable. So, basically now, obviously my life in Cuba wasn't a bed of roses, not by a long shot. Uh, I had a childhood like everyone else, with its deficiencies, with its general problems, but I always had that spark of "how do I get ahead and how do I achieve much more than I have now?" But what did you dream of when you arrived in the United States? I mean, what did you want to do when you got here? Obviously, it's understood that Cuba isn't easy, but you dreamed of something better. Definitely, I think every Cuban, not just me, but we dream of freedom. Freedom not only of movement, but of action. So, in Cuba, the limitations are too many. It's not just what you are capable of doing, but what they allow you to do. So, everything related to freedom is the dream of any Cuban. So, I think that was my dream, and I know that entrepreneurship was going to give me that freedom. Now, obviously, considering my characteristics as a person, I was always going to seek financial freedom, above all. So, basically looking for the possibility of me being able to generate income without having to do too many things, not doing nothing, because I'm the type of person who on Sundays is already anxious for Monday to come, uh, because I have to be doing something. In fact, when I started delegating all the warehouse preparation, then I started focusing on creating content, because I created content long before Amazon, and I think it's something I'm passionate about. So, I started creating content precisely because I had a lot of free time. So, that freedom, I think, summarizes everything I was looking for, and honestly, I feel that at this moment I have achieved it, not in its entirety, but in great abundance. And when did you arrive at Amazon? I mean, you arrive from Cuba, you start working, what was your first job, and then, when did you arrive at Amazon? Look, I arrived in the United States in November 2020. Now, the person who taught me is a friend of mine from many years ago, and since I was in Cuba, he used to tell me, "You know what? I do this. Explore a little." He would send me videos from some channels that existed at the time that weren't focused on the business model I do today and that I did from the beginning, but they gave you an idea of what he was referring to. And with Cuba's internet, I would download those videos and watch them later. So, honestly, when I arrived here and faced the reality, as it's a different business model, well, completely different, if you'll pardon the redundancy. What videos did you watch? I mean, what? I watched videos related to private label, but the person told me, "Don't focus on the business model, focus on the concept and the values. For example, the fees, the fees are the same for everyone, no matter what business model you do, the type of management that was done at that time, for example, the Small and L program that existed at that time too. So, there were many small details that I was learning even before arriving here, and honestly, I didn't understand anything. Honestly, as I tell you, in November 2020, when I arrived, I didn't even know what priority mail was. In fact, I thought that First Class, which is how USPS labeled it at the time, I thought that was what arrived fastest. I said, "First Class, hey, be careful." But it really wasn't like that. I didn't know what a box was, let's say, cubic measurement. Uh, I didn't understand any of that. I simply put on, let's say, blinders, and all I did was listen to what he told me and what I did. And I arrived in November 2020, around December 8th or 9th, I created the company, and by the 20th of December, I was already selling on Amazon. You arrived and within a month you were selling. Yes, correct. And I started selling on Ross. So, you bought from Ross, retail arbitrage, right? I did wholesale from day one because remember that I was buying from distributors from the minute zero. Right. You asked for payment terms. Correct. Exactly. So, you started working at Ross, at the Ross store, to generate income. That's where my first income came from, those $300, the famous $00 came from Ross after working at Ross for a week. Because when you arrive in the United States, you arrive with how much? With nothing. I mean, I basically sold everything that was in my house in Cuba to be able to come because I arrived during the pandemic. So, in fact, the humanitarian flight we took was organized between a girl who organized the people and me, who contacted the representative of Caribbean Airlines. So, between us, we created that humanitarian flight to be able to leave because our visas had expired, because the pandemic caught us in Cuba. So, we had to go back to Guyana and from there do all the renewal process and from there come here. Wow. So, it was a bit complicated, that whole process, but in the middle of the pandemic, let's say everything was more complicated, so I guess I was already adapted to that. What were those biggest fears when you arrived in the United States? Everything. What, I mean, but what did you feel? Look, I'll be honest with you. I was afraid of everything, but I was ready to face everything. I mean, I had, as I tell you, I had my goal clear, I didn't know how I was going to achieve it, and this was the model, the business model, and the business that presented itself to me first, and I said, "Okay, I'll try this way." And I trusted the person who taught me, and I went directly down that path. So, yes, I had fears because I came with children, I mean, I was afraid of not being able to generate enough income. My son was 3 years old at the time. In fact, I put my son in a daycare, which wasn't the closest one, but it was $10 cheaper and it was good too. So, I had to limit myself. I was without a car for the first 6 months living in the United States. And how did you do wholesale without a car? No, and FBM. Besides, the post office was super far away. My cousin took me to the post office every day. In fact, on social media, I have a photo of the bags of packages and a giant one, as we call it in Cuba, it didn't fit in the back, in the trunk of her car, and sometimes we had to make two trips. So, that was, I would tell you, a complicated beginning, but I think there are people who have it much more complicated because the blessing I have had after discovering Amazon, I would definitely repeat the whole journey. Of course. And when you say there are people who have it more complicated, what do you mean? Because I hear your story, and without a car, without money, mm, without anything. Well, that's what I'm telling you. I think I'm so grateful for what I have today that I would go through that whole journey again. So, let's say at the time I started the business, I started so blindly, I didn't understand anything, that I would tell you I felt it as part of the journey. I had, obviously, nights of crying, nights of feeling frustration, but for example, right now, I immediately have students who have thousands of things blocked. Of course. And at that time, unblocking wasn't so complicated. Of course. A distributor invoice, there was no problem unblocking things. So, if I had what I could sell, and also had the possibility at that time to find a company that would give me products on installments, that's why I say it wasn't, it's not as complicated as I've seen other things. What were those pieces of advice your friend gave you when you arrived in the United States? How did he teach you to sell on Amazon? Because clearly, I'm sure those listening want to know the exact step-by-step you were given. The step-by-step was very simple. I mean, this product sells because this BCR, in fact, I didn't have a team until 2 years after selling on Amazon. I mean, I didn't use a team, I didn't use tools because I didn't have money to pay for them, basically. Later I had money, but I didn't see it as necessary because I got used to doing business that way. So, I would tell you that the most valuable thing was that he taught me to do business manually. I do everything manually, in fact, I still check price lists manually. You don't use any tools, any scanners, anything, nothing. I check it manually. But have you used them or not? No, in fact, I tried one once, but, I don't remember because that was like 3 years ago, maybe. It was one of the first things I tried to test because it's tedious work. But what happens is that I saw the problem that they scan the UPC column, and you miss out on a lot of products that are opportunities. So, let's say, if they scan the UPC and the one that's anchored on Amazon is the pack of one, and then the pack of two, which might sell a lot too, it doesn't have a UPC, but rather it has a GTIN Exception, or it's listed under an incorrect UPC for the box, for example, then it won't show me those results. And honestly, I'm a bit meticulous about these things and I like to see all the options I have. In fact, I buy a product and I list all the options that I see viable for that product, even if I end up sending merchandise to only one or two listings. And you do that, well, what category do you focus on? Right now, I mainly sell OTC, everything that is over-the-counter medical products. Yes. And I also sell perfumes, and last year we started entering the gardening niche, everything related to fertilizers, seeds, that type of thing, which is a niche, I always say it's very curious because most people don't imagine the potential it has and how simple it is to prepare those products. I mean, basically, you take out, imagine a box of four fertilizers, you take them out, you label them, if you need protection, you put the lid on, if not, you don't put it on, you put it back in the box, you put it on the pallet, and you ship it. So, it's very simple to prepare those products. Now, I keep them separate from the rest of the products in a separate, much smaller space, like a storage unit, but in the warehouse, I have the rest, meaning the higher volume, OTC, for example, there are OTC products that are supplements that need a certain temperature, and when I know I'm going to receive those products, my warehouse is practically freezing, right? Air conditioning in the warehouse. Yes, I need it for those products because they are creams. When I went to choose the warehouse, that was one of the things that cost me the most to find, that it was as economical as possible and that it had air conditioning. I mean, it's not like this one, right? [laughs] In that sense, it's a bit smaller, it measures about 10,000 feet, more or less. Ah, but it is air-conditioned. Of course, of course. So, that type of product requires it. And I think Amazon, in part, also likes us to take care of the products. It happened to me once that I ordered a sunscreen, for example, and it's the sunscreen I always use for my face, and on one occasion it arrived watery. I know the texture of the product because I buy it all the time. So, the customer will also notice when a perfume arrives that doesn't smell the same. And sometimes it's not about the product being inauthentic, but rather that it was poorly stored, poorly processed, I mean, the location where you might have it. So, since I value that, well, as I said, I'm a bit meticulous about those details, and that's why I did it that way, but basically, those are the categories. And I don't mix the others, I put a tiny little label on them, basically because that's what I move the least volume of. So, basically, I keep it separate. Ex. Well, I think if you sell on Amazon and understand that the customer is Amazon's priority, you will do well, because at the end of the day, the majority of the challenges or problems I see many sellers facing is when they put their profit above Amazon's priorities, and, okay, that's fine, obviously we're going to make money, and that's the purpose of the business, but if you know that the customer is number one for Amazon, and you do everything possible to make money while treating the customer in the best possible way by selling them products in good condition, that aren't melted, that aren't expired, that are well-packaged, meaning that everything is good, you will do well, and Amazon won't suspend you, which is the, I mean, many people write to me, Ricardo, I was suspended for section 3, and you go back, not all, not all, there are specific cases where, look, Amazon, okay, in this case, they're not right, but in most cases, you can see errors that are like, okay, this was done very badly. In fact, I see that most of the account deactivations for section 3 can be due to violating any of Amazon's policies, you know that, it's not just authentication, but you notice that most of the ones we see, perhaps it happens to you, as you just told me, and to me too, is due to violation of the specific policy of authentic products. So, I would tell you, number one, perhaps it's where the product is purchased, number two is how you store and process that product, and number three is how the customer perceives the product, because as you just said, the customer is fundamental for everything to flow. So, if there's anything to take care of, it's precisely the customer, because the customer is the foundation of your business. Even if they are Amazon customers, you want to keep Amazon happy, and that's fine because you have to understand that they have created their business, structured it, and designed policies that we have to comply with, and we can make money. With these policies, all we have to do is comply with them. That's it. What did you tell yourself the day you opened your company and your Amazon account? I literally hallucinated, I mean, I hallucinated. I didn't even remotely think, I knew, as I tell you, the goal, but I didn't even remotely think I was going to reach it and within a month I would open a company in the United States. I said, "Wow, an entrepreneur in the United States, and I hadn't earned half a peso." I mean, [laughs] but yes, the excitement it generates is immense, and obviously the expectation it generates is also immense. So, I would tell you that the feeling was so gratifying that it gave me immense momentum, especially because I came with a great desire to build, to create, to develop things, to create the future I wanted. I think like every immigrant, 100%. What I don't understand sometimes is how, as an immigrant, you arrive with so much hunger, with so many dreams, because leaving your country and facing a new reality is difficult enough to end up extinguishing your dreams over time and falling into the monotony of daily life, into routine. That happens to most people. Yes, I would tell you that each person, in their own essence, carries within them how far they want to go and what they want to achieve. So, I can speak from my experience because that's how I am, but I understand what you just told me because it's very true, there are people who get used to their routines and are comfortable there. So, there are perhaps more restless people like you or me or those who are watching us who need a little more, meaning, we need that adrenaline, that desire to build, to create. As I just told you, I look forward to Sundays, I mean, I go out with my children on Saturdays, we share time on the weekend, but by Sunday afternoon, I'm already anxious for Monday to come because I love what I do. So, when you enjoy what you do, you get that satisfaction of "I'm doing it, and what I'm building is for my children, for me, for my family." Amen. And even more so, I'm helping to build the business of other people who can achieve that same purpose. Exactly. So, I would tell you that part of that dream when we arrive is to have that, to have that freedom, as I told you, but also to build something so big that allows you to spend more time with your loved ones, that allows you to do what you love to do, because sometimes we can build a business, but it's not necessarily the business of our dreams. In my case, yes, it satisfies me a lot, but there are people who, I understand, don't, that it's part of their process and that's not their goal, and that's okay. And that's okay too. The important thing is that in the end, they achieve that purpose of what fulfills them, what nourishes their life. In the end, this is a vehicle, a financial vehicle that can be the end or can be what leads you to what you want to do. That can often be the case as well. How did you get payment terms in the beginning? I know you mentioned it briefly before, but tell me about how you get payment terms from the start, and I'd like to elaborate further on how you leveraged payment terms to boost your revenue in the first year. Okay. In that case, the accounts with the distributors were not mine, meaning the financing was not for me, it was for my friend, the person who taught me. He's a great friend, a very, very good friend. So, uh, yes, of course. So, the financing was for him. Nobody knew me. I had no credit. In fact, I had to wait about 2 years to get my first credit cards responsibly, meaning with numbers. But also, if you're referring to leverage, it wasn't just that, because that was for the first few months. 5 months after I opened my Amazon account, as sales were increasing, Amazon gave me my first lending, and my first lending was for $16,000. Let me tell you, at that time I still didn't have a car. I could have bought a car then, and I didn't. Literally, I took the $16,100, which was the lending, and I invested it completely in products. That boosted things in a brutal way. So, all the leverage, everything I saw as an opportunity, as I was so limited, I didn't have my own credit. So, with that leverage, and then Amazon's lending, I was able to bypass a bit of the hassle, my friend, which isn't a hassle, I know, but yes, I could pay for the merchandise and not have the debt beforehand. So, for my first two years, I also did FBM, which made the turnover much faster. I would tell you that that beginning, that strategy of products on installments, meaning that I could sell and then pay for them, and then the lending, ended up boosting the business in such a way that everything flowed. And the other thing is product selection. If you select products with a low return on investment, which is something I hear a lot, they say in wholesale, the return on investment is super low. I work with a return on investment of 50-60%. Not because I look for products like that, but that's the average for the store. I mean, I have products where I earn 25%, but what happens is that these are products that have very high turnover, let's say, they sell 2,000 units a month. If by lowering my profit by 5%, I can achieve 100% of the buy box, or as close to it as possible, then I will sell 2,000 units. Of course. So, it could represent a profit difference of about $600 if there's someone who sells, I don't know, let's assume products where they earn the minimum, which is $1, for example, of $600. That's income I'm losing, but I have many products where I have a 70%, 80%, 90%, 100% return on investment. Those are cheaper products, it depends. Yes, they are cheaper, they are not high ticket, but for example, they could work for products of $ and you earn. I call cheap products anything less than $10 or less than $15. When it's more than $20, I consider it average. Okay. And I consider average up to, let's say, $60-70. When it costs me $80, $100, I consider them high ticket because they sell for $150 or something like that, which I don't handle much. I know you do. I don't handle high-ticket products much, I handle more average ones, but I also have many cheap products, and that was another thing. When I started, I sold many products for less than $10, but many. I mean, the majority, the majority were. And what happens is that first, the small and light were small products, and I used Small and Light. So, the profit was incredible, which made the capital I had invested multiply a lot. So, all of that together is what boosted very cheap products, the leverage with installment payments or terms, and Amazon's lending. Did you work at Ross? Yes. How long did you work there? Two months. And after those two months, you lived off Amazon. In fact, due to personal circumstances, around February, early February, I couldn't continue working at Ross. So, I said, "Okay, this has to work." And as I told you, the first month I had sold $8,000, then $6,000, then I picked up again to about $10,000, and basically I said, "This has to work." So, how about the products? I don't recommend you do it, okay? Because all cases are different. I recommend that people get advice before taking any step. In my case, I was forced to do it, and I had to stay home with my little son, and my daughter was going to school, but I found myself in that obligation. And sometimes I feel that life puts you in such a frustrating position because you feel like you have no options to choose from, but sometimes that's for a change that can be for the better. And in my case, it was. So, it hasn't been a bed of roses. I talk about the negative parts very, very little, because I don't focus on the negative things, I focus on what is built from there. So, I had to leave Ross, I had no other choice, and full steam ahead with Amazon, and to this day. The thing is, as I tell you, the products had a very high return, and my expenses were very low. I lived in an efficiency, meaning, I lived in an efficiency, I didn't have a car, I didn't have to pay for gas, my expenses were minimal. How much did the efficiency cost you? $500 because it wasn't an efficiency, it was like a small room with a bathroom and a closet. So, there I had like a small table where I had my slow cooker, the pot, we call it a "olla reina" in Cuba, the one that does everything, and a small stove to fry things. But and you, where did you prepare the Amazon merchandise? There. In fact, I have photos where, let's say, we walked, my children and I walked across the width of a slab, literally. I mean, we went to the bathroom across the width of a slab, we went to the room across the width of a slab, the closet was full of bubble wrap, of bubble wrap rolls, I had bubble wrap outside, on the little porch outside too. I mean, I couldn't stack the boxes too high, but I did stack them quite high, like, say, six or seven boxes high, and my son played on top of the bed because he had no space, and so it was complicated. That's what I'm telling you, I don't focus on the negative, it's part of the process. A lot of times when I look back, I say, I had nights of not sleeping, literally. I mean, I would cook at 8 PM, to give you a natural example. At 8 PM I would cook, at 9:30, 10 PM my children would go to sleep. I would stay up preparing packages because there were a hundred and something, 200 FBM packages, and I would pack all night. The next day, at 6 or 7 AM, I would send my daughter to school because I did pay for a bus for $30 a week because the school was far away, I wasn't going to make her walk. Of course, one always sacrifices for oneself, but not so much for the children. So, I paid for a bus because I didn't have a car, and from there I would dress the child, put him in his stroller, and walk a mile to Ross, leave him at his daycare which was on the way, and continue to Ross. And when I returned at 2 PM, I would sleep, I mean, I wouldn't pick up the child on the way back because I couldn't, I mean, I hadn't slept at all, and I would sleep from 2 to 4, and at 4:30 I would go out to pick him up walking because it was about 15 minutes to pick him up at 5. Wow. So, it was a process of about 6 months like that. So, when I could get a little ahead, I couldn't sleep, and when I slept, I was behind the next day. So, likewise, I feel that when I stopped working at Ross, I could sleep a little more, [laughs] basically. And I think the reward was seen in the end. And how long did you live in that efficiency? It was from November to September of the following year, 10 months. And in September, you took a leap? To an apartment. Of course. For yourself. Yes. Two rooms and everything. Wow. Because you wanted one room for work and one to be with the children. Of course. And was that your warehouse? Yes, in fact, when I was in the efficiency, almost at the end, for the last two months, I rented a small storage unit, 5x15, so, it was like this. But that relieved me a bit because I couldn't fit anything else. I mean, even with the efficiency full, I still couldn't fit everything because, as I told you, I couldn't stack more than six or seven boxes high because of the child, a box could fall or something, I had to be careful. So, I rented a very small storage unit, the most economical one, and and that's it, I had it there. Then I moved everything to the apartment. And in the apartment, well, I imagine it quickly became another warehouse too. 100%. But you know what? I had a little more control because the fact of having rented the storage unit showed me that I didn't have to be so bad off, okay? I didn't have to be so tight and uncomfortable. So, yes, I had the warehouse with many things, but basically it was the room where I was preparing the merchandise and part of the living room, but there was a lot of space. Of course. So, it was fine, and I had the storage unit. From there, I moved to a slightly larger storage unit, about 10x15, and I kind of migrated until I started moving pallets, which is another story. Tell us that story. Well, that story, the pallet thing, I didn't know many people here. Well, because you were shipping everything via US, UPS, at the time it was all FBM, or had you already transitioned to FBA? FBM. No, no, no, no. I started FBA 3 years ago. So, you've been selling for 5 years. 2 years after starting is when you started shipping via FBA. Exactly. In fact, in those two years of FBA, I think I sent maybe a few small bottles that were Hazmat, and it was a box of about 40 units, and that was the only Hazmat I sent, meaning, I sent FBA. After that, well, I realized the convenience of FBA logistics, and the transition wasn't easy for me because when you're used to the turnover that FBM allows and seeing boxes and packages, you feel like there's a void. You feel a void, and then you say, well, now [laughs] what do I do? Right? And then, but nothing, in the end, I did it because later I realized that it allowed me to have more free time, and that's what I told you at the beginning, freedom. When you have freedom, you have everything because you can do what you want. Of course. So, the story of the pallets is a bit curious because where I had the storage unit, there was a warehouse area nearby, so I used to say, "But I don't have a warehouse." The distributors I contacted were very good, with spectacular prices, and they asked for a commercial address to receive, and I didn't have a commercial address, let alone. So, I said, "I have to do something." They told me, "The only thing we need is the shipping address." And I took a risk, and with the first distributor, uh, that was later, I sent a commercial address, and I'll explain how I got that commercial address. I went and saw, I passed by the warehouse area, and there was a forklift like this one parked outside, and I said, "Hmm, I'll talk to someone here." [laughs] Completely unknown people. I didn't know them at all. And I passed by there, without lying, like twice, circling around to see how I would approach them, and I didn't know, I was embarrassed, but then I said, "No, what embarrassment, no embarrassment. I didn't come here to be embarrassed about anything." And I went in and asked to speak with the owner, and when the owner came out, I said, "I need you to help me." Those are the magic words with anything you want to do, I think. Because when you need help, ask for it. Asking for help isn't wrong, it's part of the process of learning something new or creating something new. So, I said, "I need your help." He said, "Of course, how can I help you?" The man had no idea what I was going to talk about. I said, "Look, I'm a small business, I sell online through Amazon." I told him the details, I said, "The only thing I need, I have distributors who are going to sell me merchandise, it's personal care. I only need a commercial address to receive, and I don't have a warehouse." And he says, "And how do I help you?" I mean, what do I do? I said, "Look, the only thing I need is for you to allow me to use your address so they can send me the merchandise here." And without letting him finish speaking, I said, "Don't worry, I'll open every box for you so you can see it's nothing bad." Because logically, he might think it could be anything, anything. So, of course, of course. I said, "Uh, don't worry, I'll open every box for you so you can see it's nothing bad." He said, "Hey, it's not necessary, I believe you. Uh, no problem, bring me your company name, your name, your phone number." And that's what I did. I printed it on letter-size paper, laminated it at Office Depot, and took it to him. And he put it there at the entrance in case when the merchandise arrived, someone working there who wasn't him, because he's the owner, sometimes he's not there. Of course. Uh, they would call me. Wow. And that's how I was, I would say, for about a year. What happens is that when you start receiving, when you're receiving one pallet a month, it doesn't feel like much, but then it started to be two pallets a month, three pallets, four pallets, and when you start receiving more than five pallets a month, I felt the need to look for a warehouse, a commercial space for myself. And did he charge you for that or? Look, at first, I was the one who insisted, honestly. I feel like I have to pay you something. I can't not pay you anything, even if it's just what you spend on gas for the forklift. Yes. And at first, I told him, "You have no choice." I mean, you can't tell me no. And it was something very modest. I mean, it was, to give a number, like $25 per pallet, which I paid him, let's say, after three or four pallets, something like that. Of course, but I felt that I had to do something, and I told him, "This isn't about paying you nothing, this is about me needing to feel like I'm contributing something." Of course. So, uh, well, when about two or three months passed, he told me, "Look, do me a favor, I mean, please, don't make me feel bad." And then he didn't charge me anything anymore. As I said, it was an incredible thing, a spectacular Argentine, and I'm super grateful all the time, my whole life, to him, to
The person who taught me with him were fundamental parts of my process. It's just that it's very beautiful. There are several things I'm taking from each one. You, I mean, your form, your way, your motivation, your dedication, and what you said. I didn't come here to make excuses, I came here to to to do it. And I had excuses. [laughter] Many, believe me. Wow. But you did it, you did it, I mean, you went and spoke with the person, which is difficult. Very. I went twice, I passed by there, nothing. How do you turn it around? How do I reach them? What do I tell them? How do I introduce myself? Yes, [laughter] it's super difficult to take that step because you feel shame and you feel that maybe they might tell you no, and that fear of being told no sometimes holds us back in life. And sometimes the topic of conversation, as I did in that case, I tell my students, I mean, dare to, it could be your cousin who maybe, I have a student whose cousin has a car dealership and receives his merchandise at a car dealership, I mean, so it doesn't cost him. You can use a preparer, there are 1000 ways to do it, but sometimes you have them next to you, sometimes a place where you worked, let's say. Now a person comes and tells you, "Ricardo, I'm doing this." And they worked here with you and dedicated 3 years of their life or five, and they tell you, "I need this favor." You're going to say no. It's very unlikely. Of course. So, I, who did it with a stranger, which is the example I always give them, if you have someone you know, even if it's from where you worked, try it. The worst that can happen is they tell you no, and nothing happens, you leave, nothing happens. Yes, of course. That's very important. And the other thing that strikes me is that from the beginning you had the blessing of being able to be part of this business, right? And you never looked sideways, you just focused on your thing and so on. How long did you stop using your house as a warehouse? I would tell you that when I moved completely to the warehouse, then there, I mean, it wasn't like 3 years after having been selling on Amazon, 2 and a half years, three, around there, I don't remember. And was it worth using your house as a warehouse for 3 years? 100%. 100%. Keep in mind that what I did at that moment is what built me to be able to do everything I'm doing today. And not only for me, but impacting the lives of other people. There are people who work with me, for whom that is their salary, they live off of it. So, it not only impacts my life, but also the lives of the people who work around me, my family. I had the blessing that I arrived in 2020 and by 2022 my sister, my niece, and my mom were already here, two years later. So, it was all worth it. That's what I tell you, I would go through the same path again without even knowing that this would be the result. Have the suppliers you've worked with mostly been local or have you also leveraged suppliers from other places? At first, they were all local, all of them, because what I did was pick up the merchandise at their locations, and that allowed me not to need a commercial space. Ah, but then later, when I needed all this topic of conversation for the pallet and everything, it was because they were distributors from other states. What happens is that the amount they were charging me for certain products, the cost of the product was much lower than here. And when you buy, for example, from many distributors, more than $1,000, more than $2,000, there are even distributors with more than $500 who give you free shipping. So, obviously they are not the best, we have to be honest, but with those distributors I found at that time, who were out of state, for more than $4,000, $5,000, $6,000, shipping was already free. So, I completely transitioned, let's say, also to external suppliers here where we are. Right now, locally, I only have one distributor from whom I buy. The majority are from other states, and the merchandise arrives to you every month. Yes, because that's the other thing. Since I'm so restless, I'm always trying to get better prices on everything I sell. So, I've had distributors, for example, who give me a price on a product, and when I see another who has the same product, they give it to me for a better price. So, I buy from that other one for that product much cheaper. So, basically, I always say, "Don't stop looking, even if you're already working." I work with eight distributors right now. Of those eight, not all are monthly. I mean, there are some with whom I work every month, there are others with whom I work every 2 months, and others every 3 months, basically. So, that's why I say, don't stop looking because you can always have a better purchasing option with someone you discover. Amazon is already saturated. Not at all. That was the most famous phrase, I would say, that they told me when I told my family I was going to start selling on Amazon. Amazon is saturated, family, relatives, uncles, cousins, like that. Amazon is saturated, that doesn't work. You, who just arrived, I mean, what are you going to do? What are you going to build? And not at all. In fact, I think that the fact that Amazon is becoming more professional is hitting hard, but it also allows for more openness when you are doing things right. So, if you are doing things right, you have much more opportunity to create something. What do you think of people who invoice a lot and earn nothing? Very bad. [laughter] Very bad. I'll explain why. And sometimes I've had students who tell me, "I want to sell something, even if it's just something." I say, "It doesn't work like that." In business. Businesses are made to make money, to achieve a purpose. And if you lose money on this product that you're going to send, on your next purchase, where maybe you found a good distributor, you'll be short $20 for the order you want to place. So, it might take you 3 months to find a good distributor. Take the three months if you've waited how many years. Take the three months to find the distributor that allows you to have the profitability you want to achieve. I much prefer to earn more than to have more sales volume. And do you care about the product you sell or do you care about what you earn? I sell whatever sells. I sell, look, I have products in my catalog that sell thousands of units a month, and I have products in my catalog that sell six units a month. Where's the difference? Well, for the one that sells six units a month, it's nothing for me to tell the distributor, "Give me a small box of 12" and I have it there and I send it with the rest of the merchandise, and it has no competition, and 100% it has no competition, and many times the return on investment is much higher. So, imagine having 100 products that sell six units a month. That's 600 units a month and they generate, let's say, $10 profit, right? We're talking about $6,000 a month from products that sell six units a month. So, it's not ideal. I much prefer to move volume, honestly, but I have many products of that type. You said you didn't use any listing scanners. None. But what do you use? What Amazon software do you use? Okay, I use Kipa, 100% since I discovered it. In the first two years, I didn't use it. None, absolutely, not even a scanner, I mean, a calculator. Nothing. In fact, currently I use Amazon's free calculator. Yes. I don't use any paid calculators. In fact, I've tried them, read Z Inside, none. I've tried them and I don't like them. So, you got used to it? I got used to it. And the other thing is that when you do wholesale, you have the blessing that next month you're going to order the same product again. You always have to analyze it, guys. You always have to analyze it, even if you're tired of selling that product for 3 years, before placing the order again, review it. I mean, analyze it in Kipa, analyze your margins, the cost they might be giving you that it's the same, because you could make the mistake of entering a listing where maybe someone who associated directly with the brand entered and has better costs than yours, and you're left with maybe 500 units stuck for not having analyzed. So, I don't use any scanners, but what tools? If I use Kipa, I use Bicol as a repricer, it works perfectly for me. I'm very thrifty, [laughter] it's fine. I use Kipa, Bicol as a repricer, and I use Seller Board to see your profits. Profit view. Do you use Quickbooks? I don't use it, but I am studying it because I feel I need it. It's a next step. In fact, I'm studying it, I mean, I'm taking a course. I'm a consumer of courses too, I mean, I don't only sell my advice, but I also consume courses. When I wanted to learn how to make web pages, I bought a course from the person I thought was the best person who could teach me. And now with Quickbooks, it's the same, I'm studying it basically because I feel I need it, it's much more accurate. The direct connection also helps a lot. Ah, but basically that's it, Seller Board, Bicol, and Kipa is everything. And the good calculator, I use Amazon's. How do you organize yourself with your children? Very simply now. Now it's simple. Now it's very simple because I have the blessing that I can take them to school, I can pick them up from school. If they want to do an activity, I take them. That's how I see it as a blessing. So, it's very easy. In the morning I teach classes, in the afternoons I'm at the warehouse, and in the late afternoon/evening I'm with family at home. What was your worst day on Amazon? My worst day on Amazon. Ah, you mean like infractions or something like that, or in sales, in anything. I mean, a day where you said, "Look, I'm not going to keep doing this business." Or have you never said that? Honestly, I've never said that. You know, I'm trying to think, but no. I mean, things have come up. Amazon is a platform where you have to solve things all the time, but something that has led me to the point of even thinking about not doing it, no. I've never had a worse day on Amazon. Thank goodness. If today you had $0, okay, and 2 hours a day, okay? How would you start this business? I would buy from a local distributor. Would you do wholesale? No, arbitrage. I never recommend arbitrage, I'm sorry, but I don't recommend it. I know so many people who, due to authenticity and invoices, have had their accounts closed, and they have to start inventing to see under whose name they create accounts, that I think the most valuable thing we have is our Amazon account, and we have to take care of it. So, I would look for a local distributor who generally many don't even ask for a minimum, and I would look for the most profitable products. I mean, now the question comes because this also has a bit of a trick, and it is, how do you know which products are profitable? So, I would tell you that with $500, first I would educate myself by doing a bit of retrospection, because I had the blessing that I didn't have to choose which course to buy. You had a friend who helped you. Exactly. But it's one of the most valuable things. I told you, I mentioned it to you. It's number one. If you don't know how to do something, if you're going to open a restaurant tomorrow and you don't know how to do it, the chances of failure are very high. Honestly, is that enough to start this business? Honestly, to start, yes. To be able to live off of it, it will take time. It takes a lot of time. How much do you think a person needs to have in inventory, more or less, to earn about $3,000 a month? Well, let me tell you something. I have a student who very recently, I'm telling you this because they are new accounts, and recently she invested $5,000, but of those $5,000 she invested, in the first 5 days she sold $5,000 and something. FBM, I'm not sure, but I think I think it was more FBA. she sold $5,000 and something. From that investment, because she sent me her Seller Board, the investment was about $1,700. Of those $5,000, those products corresponded to about 300, like $1,700, and from that she had about $1,100 in profit. So, if we apply the math a bit to have the $3,000, she would have to invest about $6,000 by choosing products very well. Of course, it's not just any product, it's not. So, I would tell you that around that, five, five or six, around there. I put it between five and ten, depending on the type of products. Between five and ten, you can expect about $3,000 monthly in profit. Exactly. More or less. Yes. If you choose them very well, like five or six, I would say six, something like that. If you don't choose them as well, or you have a slightly lower return on investment, you have to wait to have $10,000. More or less in sales, in investment it's much less, but but you have to start with that, right? Not at all. In fact, I never recommend it. I say, I tell people a lot, you can have $200,000 to invest tomorrow, you can't start like that because you don't first have the infrastructure to process that volume of merchandise. And number two, I don't recommend it either, I mean, starting with a lot of capital because that way you immerse yourself a bit in how the business works. It's always good if you have the possibility of having mentorship, a course like the one you have, which includes so many things, because I was checking it, which includes so many things and so many details, then maybe you have the possibility of I would tell you, of much less. Of course. And what would you say to close to a mom who has her children, a single mom who is thinking about maybe starting a business? Do it. Why? Because she has the motivation. If she has the motivation, everything else, the universe conspires for things to work out. When you have faith, determination, and hard work, the universe conspires for everything to work out for you. I am proof of that. It was worth it. 100%. Do your children thank you for it in any way or do they see it? I don't think they only thank me today, but they will thank me tomorrow. You have been a 100% present mom. It's just that they are a priority for me. My children are my priority, my business is my priority. So, when I am well, everything is well. So, 100% being a more present mom changes the lives not only of your children, but also of you, because you enjoy it more. I love it, I love it, Mari. You are truly an example, you are worthy of admiration, I love your story, and I hope, I hope more people give themselves that opportunity to believe in themselves so much, because really, often what's missing is that, believing in yourself that you can also do it, and you have achieved it. I mean, little by little you are scaling, you are building a family business, you are providing a livelihood for other families who also work with you today, and you have time to share with your family. I think that when a person realizes that they can achieve that, sometimes we transmit it or say it, and there is so much content out there that is not real that they don't believe us, and so in the end, it doesn't affect us, it affects the people who might be receiving the wrong message. As I always say, you can't know what you don't know. So, you receive a lot of bombardment of information, of advertising, but you don't know what to choose. And sometimes, most of the time, you choose poorly because you choose the one that sells best, I mean, the one that sells the idea best, right? And not the one that is telling you the truth, the one that is being honest with you. Yes, that's a message I also share, I truly share that. And and well, thanks to people like you, like Leo from Modo FBA, like this podcast, and like many others who also share the reality of this business, I think that's why they thank us so much, 100%. In fact, when I created my YouTube channel, I created it thinking about the channel I would have liked to find when I started, because remember, I started watching a lot of content, but it wasn't about this business, this specific model. So, I mean, you saw Paco, I imagine. Exactly. Paco, other channels that were active at the time, which are no longer active now. But fundamentally, that. I created the channel I would have liked to find when I started. I teach you, let's say, on YouTube, for free. Yes, yes. How to click where to click. I share my screen with you, where to do this. So, all content that is valuable is appreciated, but I think the community also feels grateful for that, and that's why, redundantly, they follow us or watch our content and thank us. Yes, yes, we are those people who are not showing the Lamborghini 100%, but are showing the business. And today, many of those who listen to us, I'm sure you are here, and comment on what you think about these videos, about what we share here, because I know you are looking for a better future for yourselves, for your families, and this is the type of content that at the end of the day motivates and inspires what you really need to do. It's not about having the Lamborghini tomorrow, it's about working hard, but with a reward that is worth it. Of course, 100%. Everyone has their priorities, and I think the priority of any entrepreneur is to build to have in the future that which they dream of. That's right, Mari, thank you very much for your time, for being here with us. I hope that Thank you very much to you, to your community. Of course. Yes. Follow her on her social media. How can they follow you? On YouTube, I'm "quiero emprender hoy" (I want to start today). Or you can put on any social network, put Mario Valdés, Amazon, and I should appear. Yes. Excellent. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Thank you. [music]