Yesterday I saw a great post on the Amazon Marketplace Facebook Page. They asked, “how much money do you actually need to start a business?”
And the answers varied, from just a few hundred dollars to a few thousand.
And it reminded me of Sue, a SellerEngine Spark Winner. We gave her $100 to work with and we last checked in with her a few months ago. I figured it was time to see how she’s been doing.
Since December she’s grown her initial $100 into nearly $5000 of pure profit in her pocket. And her profit would be even higher, but she’s been investing a portion of her profit into more inventory.
As of this writing, she has an additional 65 unsold inventory items that could be worth over $1000 in additional profit!
Some other amazing facts. A single $100 bill has ended up allowing her to buy nearly 350 pieces of inventory and her sales have had an average ROI of over 250%.
Sue’s fantastically dedicated and meticulous, tracking her profit down to the penny. But those are skills that I know anyone can develop.
And there’s no better way to learn these skills than to challenge yourself.
I’d encourage everyone reading this to start with $100 and see how far you can go. If this is something you’re interested in, post a comment here and if there’s enough interest maybe we can organize a fun contest!
And don’t forget about SCOE in Seattle from May 30-June 1. Use discount code SELLERENGINE to save $75 on your registration. Learn more about SCOE.
11 Responses
All I can say is that is awesome!
I read about Sue when she began her adventure. It was about the same time that I had heard about FBA. I have not opened my account yet, but I study FBA everyday. I am almost ready!
As a single Mom and a vision impaired Mom, finding ways to bring in money to supplement a limited income can be challenging. I think this is exactly what I need.
Congratulations Sue! You inspire me to keep moving forward. Maybe, just maybe, I can succeed too.
Jeanine Re
Thanks Jeanine!
Do you have Profit Bandit? I’d love to get you set up with a free copy that you can use!
-Paul
This is an amazing and inspirational story. I’m gathering the facts, learning about FBA and writing a business plan (of attack!). Hearing that it’s forseable for someone to start with $100 makes “How much do you really need to start a (FBA) business” even more compelling and encourages one to just jump-in!
It really is something that anyone can do! Success comes from dedication and hard work!
I love this!
I started off on Amazon in Jan 2012, and I was dead broke. I took $40.00 of xmas money and bought wholesale lots on eBay to sell on Amazon.
For Christmas 2012 I made $70,000 in profit, and my business is currently making $40,000 a month.
Starting without money forced me to find creative solutions instead of throwing money around. It also disciplined me to buy what would absolutely sell, NOT what I wanted to sell to stroke my ego or what caught my eye.
Katie – I love your story!!
How do I get Profit Bandit that is suitable for Amazon UK (i phone version)?
Hi Bertram,
The standard version of Profit Bandit works for Amazon UK, but you’ll have to be a Pro Merchant on Amazon.co.uk because of the way that Amazon’s authorization system is set up. Hope that helps!