Today, we are happy to have Silvia Ecomm Hero – an Amazon global expert, speaker, 7 Figure Seller and a head coach at E-commHero Academy, step-by-step Amazon FBA online training program.
Contents:
- Silvia’s story;
- secrets and tricks for top circle of students;
- what is needed to start a business on Amazon;
- Amazon trends;
…and much more!
Speaker1: [00:00:02] Hello everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Sellerboard Show Podcast. Today we have a very special guest. I was looking forward to this discussion for some time today. We have Silvia from Ecom Hero Academy and Silvia is the head coach and the founder of the Ecom Hero Academy. Welcome, Silvia.
Speaker2: [00:00:25] Thank you so much for having us and having me actually speak plural, but for the whole team. But yes, I’m so excited. We have been using cyber for so many years and I’m honestly honored to to be here and hopefully to inspire, even if we can help and inspire one person. It’s a super win for me.
Speaker3: [00:00:43] Sure.
Speaker1: [00:00:44] Sure. I also am looking forward to this because, you know, there’s the knowledge then then you can share. Then there’s the inspiration you can share. So I’m pretty sure that we are going to spark some minds today together. And really quick, if you don’t know what Ecom Hero Academy is, and I’m reading this from your website, so Ecom Hero Academy is a bespoke step by step Amazon FBA online training program. So we’re going to talk about Ecom Hero today. But first of all, I would like to know more about you. I already know that you are originally from Italy and also I already knew that you have a degree or two degrees that you university degrees that you had in Italy and they’re not in any way related to e-commerce or commerce in general in business. And I also know that then you moved to the UK where you are currently located, and then you also got a degree in UK and at some point you decided to make the switch to e-commerce and you started doing Amazon with a newborn on your hands. Can you please tell us more about that? I would really love to know you.
Speaker2: [00:02:01] Are so prepared. Alex. You’re very prepared. Love that. Yeah. So I you’re right. My degree is in Italy. Definitely. Um, I’ve always been someone who believes that knowledge is power, and so I just wanted to study. I love studying. I’m very, very curious. Human. And I’ve been wanting to. I’ve known that there is something else for me aside from, you know, a 9 to 5 job since when I was probably 16 years old and I was just trying to look around and trying to explore what can give me that freedom. You know what? How can I be in charge of my own time? And back then I could never imagine to be a business owner. I come from a very poor mindset background where money doesn’t grow on tree and all those beliefs that were just holding me back so badly. Um, I don’t come from a family of business owners. Um, just literally nothing thing was built for me to start this and be successful. I had to work my way up literally. And when I moved to to London, I literally left a career in, you know, marketing and, um, helping with red carpets for 20th Century Fox, Italy. So work with Steven Spielberg, people like that. And. And when I came here, I had to start over. I was paid £5 an hour, more or less. That was the minimum wage back then.
Speaker2: [00:03:34] I’ve been in London nine years and a half now. And just to say, guys, it’s absolutely insane. If you really put your mind into something how ten years of your life can truly, truly transform everything for you and for your family. Um, I could have never imagined anything like this, but I’ve visualized it a lot. And then I came here. I won an award and a scholarship as talented individual and literally got a scholarship for my business. Master graduated with merit while I was working like crazy because, again, I had to pay the rest the other part of it. And then I started working in events. I was the only woman in so many environments, the only event woman at Chelsea Football Club, the only restaurant manager at, you know, all of these very male driven like Amazon environment. Um. And I started in 2017 with £700 because I was so scared of everything. And I started with eBay and the first thing I sold was used by David Bowie, paid well for £6.50. And literally Alex, I got so excited, something switched in my brain. I was like, like a huge thunder in my brain. I was like, What are you telling me that I don’t have to be in one place in my money can multiply for me? And I never looked back. Once with eBay, I reached the same salary.
Speaker2: [00:05:13] I was like, You know what? Bye, guys. I’m out. Left everything again and started and I knew I wanted to do Amazon. There was something about FBA, you know, that was just like, Can I travel? Does it mean I can be anywhere in the world, can be at home with my family and and do this? You know, I was working 70 hours plus a week. I was slave I was a slave. I was I wanted to have a kid. I was like, I can’t have a baby. I’m going to have a baby. I have no family. Where do I put the baby? My salary is going to go in childcare like so many people get into Amazon thinking Lambo, I’m going to be rich. I’m going to live the lifestyle for we don’t often don’t remember for so many is just like, if I can just have Amazon to pay off my mortgage, if I can just have a better life for my kids, if I can. Just working from home and just, you know, be able to pick them up from school. Like these are luxuries, guys like having your time back. That’s what really this is about. And and then I in 2018, I was like, that’s it. I’m so tired to go around London with trying to find you stuff. Could never find enough stock.
Speaker2: [00:06:32] And I was like, This is the time for me to jump on Amazon. Granny Trolley Public Transport was sharing a house with other nine people in London, and I started everything from my bedroom. It was a hell of a busy bedroom. I’m telling you, started with a granny trolley. Uber when it was too big, too many carts full of toys, retail arbitrage and online arbitrage. I scale this to six figures in six months, and I literally went like, Bye, guys. You know, like, that’s it. I live also the part, part part time that I had. And then I retired. My husband, my husband got into this. We dive deep and we moved to online arbitrage 90%. And then I was like, Something is coming. When you run a business, when you run e-commerce, you kind of sensed that something was coming. I was like. I’m not going to be able to have a kid and run around. I don’t have enough opportunity to buy stock on our online arbitrage. Very frustrating with price tankers. Very frustrating with always have to start over. You know take took so long to find a good product and then it’s not an offer anymore. Things like that. Yeah. So we moved to wholesale. And the pandemic hit. And I was like, Jeez, I think I was right. We sensed something was going to happen.
Speaker1: [00:08:05] Sorry, Silvia. Sorry for interrupting you.
Speaker2: [00:08:07] So I took a lot of Italians.
Speaker1: [00:08:08] No, no, no, no. It’s okay. Totally. So this is why I ask you, actually, why I invited you? Because I really want to know this, but I have a question right here. So there’s this point when you said when you started doing Amazon, so and you said that you got to six figures in six months. Did I get that correct? So I really I’m not an Amazon seller. I already told you. So for me, these are really big numbers. I don’t know how it’s in reality. What do you think was behind your ability to get to six numbers in only six months? I mean, what what was your secret sauce or maybe what was the, you know, the context for this? So why did you manage to do it?
Speaker2: [00:08:52] Oh, that is such a great question, Alex. And this is exactly what I stand for in the academy, actually, with my clients and why I pick and choose manually who I really think I can help. Because the truth is, I was super hungry. I didn’t leave my family, my friends, my country, my sky, my food, everything and everyone to be here. And just kind of go half pregnant. I just was like, you know what? Like, I didn’t do all of it to be here and be on benefits and sit on my ass. Yeah, like that would have never, ever happened. I was hungry. To succeed. And I actually invested in my first business mentor. So I attended from Tony by Tony Robbins, Unleash the Power Within. You might have heard about it. I’ve attended the millionaire mindset by T Banker in London and I paid VIP when I didn’t have the money to invest in VIP, and I invested in my coaches when I think I didn’t have the money to invest in my coaches and they are the one who helped me switch the mindset and get to my first hundred K And then from then I never go more than three six months, even less without having a great coach. Whenever I want to do something and I want to really do it the right way, the fastest way I invest in someone who has done it, been there, show me the right way. I save money. I save time because out of those six figures in six months, I made so many expensive mistakes. And if I had someone close to me, I’d be like, If I don’t do that, don’t buy that. Why are you going to buy that? Why are you going on a trolley? Let’s do this instead. Yeah, I would have been in a completely different position. Very, very short time.
Speaker1: [00:10:53] Got it? Got it. So now this is what? This is a very good point, actually, because you can hear from many sources that you can only grow so much when you’re doing something alone or, you know, doing your own mistakes when you’re doing your own studies. And if you really want to go faster, you need someone to follow, you know? So if you have people that are really successful in the thing that you are doing, it doesn’t matter. It’s be be it e-commerce or any other discipline or maybe any other domain. If you have someone that has the experience and you can be close to him and see what he’s doing and learn. So this is really helpful. So it’s exciting that.
Speaker3: [00:11:34] Yeah.
Speaker2: [00:11:34] Do you think Michael Jordan would have been Michael Jordan without a great coach? He would have been a mediocre kind of Michael Jordan. Doesn’t matter how many hours he was going to train. Now, at the same time, would Michael Jordan would have been Michael Jordan if he had a great coach and cities asked in front of Netflix? Probably not. It’s the same thing with Amazon. It’s the same thing with with business, you know, And that’s why we don’t believe in Get Rich Quick, get the Lambo tomorrow and stuff like that. I still have to see it. Let me know if you get someone who is done it and I will pay him for Show me how you know.
Speaker1: [00:12:13] All right. So I’m learning today and I really hope that some of our viewers also I’ve made already two remarks for myself. So you need hunger and you need the coach. So for now, we have two elements that combine together. They can kind of give you some results. Amazing. I love where this is going. Sorry. So now thank you for for the response. I interrupted you. At some point you stopped where you already passed this six figure and now the pandemic hit. So tell us more about that. What happened for you?
Speaker2: [00:12:46] That basically 2019 I got pregnant with my little one. She is three and a half now, and literally now I could get the timing a little bit different. But when she was born, then literally February, March, the the first total lockdown hit Italy, we got on the last flight to come back to London. Literally, they closed down Venice Airport. It was super scary. Alex It was it was crazy having to be far away from your family here. Nobody believed still in the pandemic. Everybody was kind of having a joke about it. And I was trying to alert everyone that I was serious, look like an apocalyptic movie. You know, it was crazy. And we came here and the feeling of, you know, the postpartum, which was so hard and having no help whatsoever and also like a deal breaker. Right. Because during the pandemic, so many companies went legs up. They went bankrupt, you know, like people were struggling as well. So many people went on on were helped by the government to pay the rent, literally. And we had family. We had family back then and friends who were like, we’re here stuck in London. And they had family in Spain, family in Italy, family in Russia. And literally in a couple of days their parents were gone. And it was terrifying. So I was working with like, I put myself so much into work to try to again, don’t think and survive. So I had a little one, a newborn I had wholesale going on and tried to learn and navigate that. And we ended up that year with plus 103% in turnover.
Speaker1: [00:14:37] Wow. Wow. Amazing. That’s amazing. That’s really impressive. With all of that that you mentioned, you must have been really hungry because you needed something to drive you through all of this. So if you were driving on hunger, then you have probably been really hungry about it. Yeah, that’s an amazing story, Silvia. Thank you. So, um, yeah, I have some questions also. Go for it. I have prepared. Um, I want to talk about the Ecom Hero Academy, so I would really love to know what do you teach at the Academy? So who are your students? And maybe just to give an impression for me personally, like someone who doesn’t sell on Amazon, if I would like to start, I mean, what would be the first steps and what would be my journey at Ecom Hero Academy like?
Speaker2: [00:15:31] So yeah, absolutely. So thank you for asking that. Alex So I personally get on a call with every single potential client and I always give my $0.02. Either we work together or we don’t work together. And you can book a call with me, you know, just be in touch at Silvia, underscore Ecom hero on Instagram, send me a DM, say sell aboard and I send you the link so you can speak with me and. I My clients are incredible humans and very hard working people who want a bit more. Who wants more for themselves? Who wants more for their families? Who wants to keep their 9 to 5 and build something? So then at some point they can go part time and then they can go full time with their business. They are tired of working for someone else. They want to, you know, feel. That sparkle again and they can bring their family on holiday with extra money or they want to retire their partner from the job they hate. And there are this is who my clients are. Just, you know, people that know that business requires work. Most of our clients stay with us for 12 to 22, 18 months. That’s the average permanence in the academy because they see the results and they want more. They see they are building, they want more support. And we give 1 to 1 level of care and support to them. This is a high ticket program and they get 1 to 1 time with me. They get me live, so they can always reach out seven days a week to ask all their questions and. Um, I must say that I’m so proud of them because most of them have. So according to my business master, just to be bragging about it, I mean, I have to do something with this master’s degree, right? Bragging.
Speaker1: [00:17:46] Please. Please do.
Speaker3: [00:17:47] Okay.
Speaker2: [00:17:48] So according to the statistics, about 85% of companies starting this year are not going to be around next year. So the question that I ask them is like, what are you going to do to ensure you’re hungry enough to be in that 15% next year? This is the truth of running businesses. You might not be around next year, so don’t worry about my competition. They might not be around next year, right? They might win the Barcelona product, but they never get to win the war against me because I’m hungrier than them. That’s the main thing I have.
Speaker1: [00:18:23] Sorry for interrupting. I must ask you. What? Are you still hungry right now?
Speaker2: [00:18:30] Um. The the thing is that I never. Uh, that’s a great question. It’s never. It’s about being better than yesterday. Yeah, it’s about still, um, challenging and fighting against that poor mindset. So when I scale to ten K, it’s like, can an immigrant with a very low credit score and just £700. Yeah. Can achieve six figures. Can achieve seven figures. Can I raise a toddler? Why I run the seven figure business and build to rent properties. Can I, while I do that, also build an academy and helping and inspiring others to do the same Because it is possible if you’re hungry enough to learn how to do it, to bring this to another six figure. And we did. And then like, can I bring it to this seven figures? Always really, truly helping where my clients never become a random number, they can reach out to us.
Speaker3: [00:19:40] Okay.
Speaker1: [00:19:40] All right. That’s a very great answer. So you kind of reminded me of my wife’s mindset because she is really never satisfied. She knows that there’s always more. There’s always more. No matter how much you get or what you get, there is always more so. And when you think about it and when you, you know, kind of project it towards yourself and you know that you’re only pushing yourself to new boundaries, that’s really inspiring.
Speaker3: [00:20:08] I love that.
Speaker2: [00:20:10] My why are you, your wife and me can be definitely go out for coffee.
Speaker3: [00:20:15] Yeah.
Speaker1: [00:20:16] If we all ever, ever get to London together, I’m going to give you a call.
Speaker3: [00:20:19] Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker1: [00:20:21] All right, Silvia, thank you. Now, I would like to ask you, really, from a imagine that I am a student of yours from a student standpoint, so I know nothing about, let’s say, selling on Amazon. I do not know nothing about the model that you are teaching and what they learned from your website. Is it called Niching down? Did I read it correct?
Speaker3: [00:20:44] Yes, correct.
Speaker1: [00:20:45] Uh, what are the exact or maybe, uh, the the steps that you would take me through when I will become a part or a student in the academy? Will you teach me how to source? Will you teach me how to price? Or maybe just on a very top level, you know, what will I go through and what will I learn with you?
Speaker2: [00:21:05] So I love that. So everything we do is 100% bespoke. Number one, we teach you how to be that 15%. That’s going to be around next year. And that part of that 5 to 3% that is going to make profit year one. Because again, that’s just the reality of running businesses, not an Amazon business, businesses worldwide. Now, in order for you to be the 1% that the 3%, how are you going to be different if you use a software for sourcing and you don’t do manual sourcing, guess what? The software is going to show you what everyone else is buying. Yeah, If you go where everyone else is going to buy, guess what’s going to happen. You’re going to end up finding and buying what everyone else is buying. The truth is riches are in the niches for a reason, and what we believe in is that everything starts with you. Number one, we’re going to show you how to slay the beast and be in control. Running your Amazon store with as little as 15 minutes every single day. But Alex didn’t have the time. I had a newborn, right? I had multiple businesses. I had a newborn. Total lockdown. I had to find a smart way. So I did it. And now I have a blueprint for my clients. That’s number one. Cut out anything that doesn’t make you money, number one. All right. Number two, once you’re in full control, everything starts with product. Sourcing is not about the suppliers. The suppliers will come. It’s like a Tetris, guys. So everything is about we focus on wholesale within your own marketplace because I’ve done it all. I’ve been buying from China, blah, blah, blah.
Speaker2: [00:22:50] It’s a mess. I get to speak every week with people who have burned so much money in private label because they just thought they could do it all and they chose to not invest in themselves and do the trial and error. And then they get stuck in a hole of just losses and they couldn’t. It’s like when you feel like you invested so much in something, you’re like, I need to keep going, but then you’re going to just keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. It doesn’t work. So what we coach our clients is like what everyone else is looking at Lego. There are a ton of brands that just because the masses and the masses of sellers don’t know about doesn’t mean they don’t actually sell hundreds of thousands of pounds in dollars every single year or month on Amazon. So we coach on how to be the 1%, how to think different, how to do your manual product sourcing. So you’re not going to need a VA for sourcing. You’re like and that’s profit in your pockets already. So everything is about you being in full control of your business and then outsource the maintenance stuff. The stuff that doesn’t bring you income. Product sourcing is like giving away your power. If I give product sourcing to a VA, I’m giving away my power. Everything that can make money to my company, to someone doesn’t. It’s not me. It’s never going to work. So you have to know how to do product sourcing. Once you get to that product that we call the door is that idea. That product will get you to your competitors. And then we start from there.
Speaker1: [00:24:41] Got it. Got it. So the, the node that I took here right now so I called it be the difference. So if everyone is doing something because they are taught to or the software tells them to, so you have to be the difference just to make it, you know, to this 3 to 5%. How many did you say? But there’s something unique in your approach that needs to be done in order for you to to be not as everyone else. 85%. Got it. I love it. Thank you. Okay. Okay. So then another question, a very practical one. So. Let’s say, the resources that I would need to start. Okay, so you already said that. You would eventually your students would eventually get to the point where they wouldn’t need more than what you said 15 or maybe, let’s say half an hour, an hour a day or.
Speaker3: [00:25:37] Yeah, 15.
Speaker2: [00:25:38] Minutes just to be in full control of their store.
Speaker1: [00:25:41] Amazing. And now the second part financially. How much money would they need to invest just to start I mean, just to to get to that door as you said.
Speaker2: [00:25:52] Mhm. So of course with Amazon, Amazon is a huge beast and is a cash flow eating machine. Right. It’s a cash printer. Once you really understand the systems, it’s like a very heavy machine that you need at the beginning is really heavy to push and once it gets momentum it becomes as passive as it can be. If you have replenishment items, of course, that’s what we focus on. So you end up at the beginning. You put in more time to learn to fill in the knowledge gap, to understand the strategies, to understand the software, to find your niche, to find the product. And so the first phase, it takes a little bit longer. And then once you do your test buy and you start to fly off the shelves, then that’s the phase when you scale. So we guide you with best buys for your test buy. You can have as little as 250 to $500 just to begin with. We never make you test buy one product. We why we make you go wide and broad to lower your risk of investment because we see within your own marketplace now you can just buy as little as 12 units per product. You don’t have to buy hundreds of the same product and then it doesn’t sell. You don’t need PPC money. So that’s off the table and you don’t need to, you know, pay someone to do the photographs.
Speaker2: [00:27:20] You don’t need any of that and you don’t need very expensive software, so you’re already saving a ton of money just because you go with a different strategy. So once you do the test by, of course, you see it works. You see that your competitors are decent human beings. You see that it’s all good with the brands you’re selling, then it’s time to scale because your products will go so fast that that’s where you want to reinvest. We always say don’t take off money off the business for the first year. Yeah, year, year and a half. Keep reinvesting and keep getting the momentum and the capital will keep multiplying for you. And so once you have done with the test Pi, which is 250 £500, then is the time for you to invest. You can invest with cash, credit cards, you can get business partner. There are like. Is never about resources is what Tony Robbins says. And I agree with him. It’s about being a resourceful person. Where there is a will, there is a way. Yeah, you know, just don’t reinvent the wheel. Someone has already done it for you. So just we use our competitors and we leverage the work they have done to your advantage, which is amazing.
Speaker1: [00:28:42] That’s smart. I like it. I like it. All right. So now that we’ve come to the point where you are beginning to share some of that knowledge that you share with the students at the academy, you are practicing wholesale, right? So, okay, I know that we have a lot of wholesale sellers as our clients seller board, and maybe there are some of them watching this or listening to this podcast right now. Can you share some tips or maybe some secrets that you share only with your top tier students? So just grant us this advantage right now since we’re talking.
Speaker2: [00:29:24] Whom do I want to share with everyone? My top client secret.
Speaker3: [00:29:30] Let’s say. Let’s say. Okay.
Speaker1: [00:29:32] Not. Not top three. Not top three. Let’s be one. Something that would come as a as a as a as a piece of advice, let’s say.
Speaker2: [00:29:41] Um. Niche. Niche. Okay then. Like. Start with wholesale. Find a niche. Dominate the niche. Will also allow you to, if you want to get into private label and be your own brand. To actually know what’s missing in the niche have been dominating selling other brands. So that opens the doors to what is the real opportunity. Instead of buying and selling everything you can eat, make some money, but it’s not time effective. It’s like getting into a Walmart and go like, you know, let me go and see the Lego one second and you just walk that way and you try to find something with the Lego. Then it’s like, Oh, hold on a second. I think there is a bath towel. Let me just go this way. It’s just time consuming and frustrating. And this is why so many decide to actually invest in sourcing Vas because they get frustrated and they give up.
Speaker3: [00:30:51] So.
Speaker2: [00:30:53] And then once you have dominated.
Speaker3: [00:30:57] The niche.
Speaker2: [00:30:58] You can go into your building, your own brand. For one Nike. There are thousands that didn’t even make the cut of the first year. So why if you go straight for you have no retail experience, you have no e-commerce experience, you have no advertisement experience, especially with PPC, which is a different beast. You have never sold a thing on Amazon, not even a used book or game. Why would you go in with no experience and very little money and try to build a brand like Nike? It just doesn’t make sense. It’s common sense, but common sense does not exist. And we live in a world where they make you think that just because you go on Alibaba, you can now get a massage gun and be a millionaire tomorrow. I mean, it’s common sense. But then the is this selling of the dream. I think that. Fascinates so many. No, we. We do hard work over here. Now, now, um, I work an average of 2 to 3 hours a week on Amazon. And my husband as a warehouse manager, he works about 10 to 15 hours a week. And then we take months of holidays from Amazon.
Speaker1: [00:32:18] Amazing. I love it. I love it. Thank you, Silvia. All right. So, um, I also have this question. You said that the world makes you makes you think, makes you believe in dreams. And the truth is a bit. Otherwise you have to work hard. You need to find these approaches that will get you slowly but surely to the result. We are going to talk about what is happening in the world and the trends in a little bit. But before that, I would like to ask you, um, so, um, the Academy. Yeah. So what are your plans for the nearest plans with the Academy? Are you planning, you know, to scale or are you planning to, to grow? What, what, what are your plans on, on the academy right now?
Speaker2: [00:33:07] Oh, my God. I love it. And. For me. We’ve been thinking also with my business coaches what, what’s, what’s next? Right? And they are like, Silvia, you should really make a program very entry level, £600 like average on the market and with no support whatsoever. Another coach is like, get it down for like 1.5 K no support whatsoever. But I know that then I couldn’t not give the support if someone would. It’s so difficult for me because, um. But it’s getting to the point where it’s like I have a lot of, you know, high end clients and it’s a lot of 1 to 1 level of care and support. So, you know, if I get a thousand people at £600, I never see you, never talk to you. That’s definitely a nice chunk of money.
Speaker3: [00:34:04] Sure.
Speaker1: [00:34:05] Why not? Why not, Mom?
Speaker3: [00:34:07] You know.
Speaker2: [00:34:07] I always think like what’s best for my daughter. But I think first what’s best for my clients. So it’s very conflicting. But we are scaling, we are growing, my clients are achieving the results. We are one of the very few programs that actually have video case studies, video testimonials. Um, most have screenshots and we have videos and you can follow the journey of these people throughout the month. So it’s just brings me joy and we’re thinking about making it more accessible, affordable for so many. So we’re going to launch a beta for an income hero entry start up program. So if you’re interested, just hit me guys, If you want to know more.
Speaker1: [00:34:58] Yeah, yeah, definitely do that. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Silvia. So this is also an approach that we have at board, you know, that we have a very low entry price because this is one of the values that we have. We want to make the software as accessible as possible, you know, for the most of the people that will try to see if it fits their needs, it can be of any value for them. So this is something that we share. All right.
Speaker3: [00:35:23] And this view, you.
Speaker2: [00:35:25] Know, that’s you know, before getting into coaching, I was like, I was thinking about it. And then my mindset switched a lot and it was like, you know what? If I don’t sell my program, if I don’t sell you to be my client, I can’t really help you. So is about the value you give to others and it becomes a win win. And so I love that. I think it’s a beautiful way for me to switch my mindset into like, you know what? If I give, you know, a nice piece of a computer making it the best low entry offer you can get in the market because it’s full of love and caring information, then I can make it affordable, maybe for the ones that actually starting with £700 like I did. Yeah.
Speaker3: [00:36:16] Yeah.
Speaker1: [00:36:17] For maybe for not all of them that will start, but for some there will be, you know, a way up. Maybe they will one day ring your phone or your DMS and say, Silvia Okay, I passed that and now I need on one on one. I’m ready. I’m prepared right now. All right. All right. Thank you. So one more question. So as you you’ve mentioned that the world dictates a lot of stuff that we do and it makes us do that, do this. It’s changing very fast. And the Amazon scene is changing very fast also. So I would love to know what are your what is your vision on everything that’s happening right now? Maybe there are some trends that you see and how do you, you know, prepare for what’s coming or how do you adjust to what’s happening?
Speaker2: [00:37:02] So what we’re definitely seeing some trends. And I must say that sometimes, first of all, just because I coach in a certain way, imagine we started the Academy. I’ve been helping others and coaching since 2019, but I started the Academy really in 2021 with beta testing, and we are already at a computer of 5.1. I keep experimenting, I keep updating the program. I keep, you know, experimenting, making the expensive mistakes so then I can improve and let my clients have the knowledge so they don’t make the same mistakes I did with my pockets. So we see trends. I must say that I since 2016, I’ve heard people telling me the train on Amazon is gone, is a long time gone. You probably have heard it. It’s a long time gone.
Speaker1: [00:37:58] Every video on YouTube, the title of the video, if it’s related to Amazon every year is 2022 too late for Amazon? If is 2023 too late for Amazon? Yeah.
Speaker2: [00:38:11] Imagine if I was to actually listen. Let those voices convince me it was too late and the train is gone and Amazon is saturated. No, Amazon is not saturated. Um, Amazon has products and lines that are saturated. Private label for sure has changed a lot. So either you’re ready and I will be brutally honest. I know a lot of people is going to hate me for this, but I’m used to it. I just say speak my truth always, no matter if you like me or not, and is unless you’re ready to invest and burn and burn 30 to 50 K. Do not start private label. That’s just harsh truth. Yeah. Can you be lucky? Maybe did Nike was lucky. Maybe they had some moment in time where they were lucky. But Lucky doesn’t make millionaires and billionaires. So, um, definitely. I start to see more the trends of fake brands showing up and changing the brand name to switch. Products like, for example. Um, let’s see. I have this pen, and the pen is a zebra, right? It’s a big pink. Whatever. It’s a zebra. And so I’ve been selling the product. I’m on there like other wholesalers, like wholesale sellers. And then at some point, the Zebra brand becomes Silvia store. And I send you acquisitions for counterfeit because you’re selling a silver store pen. Yeah. So I hope, like always, Amazon will open their eyes and address this matter very, very urgently. Otherwise, we’re going to try, like always, our best to make them open their eyes about this. So my concern not really, but at the same time because when you go within like. I have knowledge. I know how to do private label. I know how to create incredible listings. I know how to use the software. So worst case scenario, I can always do something with it, you know? But until when? Wholesale pay the salaries. Pay the bills. Pay the lifestyle. Let’s go. You know, have you seen any particular trends so far that you are concerned about? Alex, Is anyone share anything like me?
Speaker3: [00:40:43] Yeah.
Speaker1: [00:40:44] Well, first of all, thank you for for your vision on that and what I was recently looking and listening about and for it’s about Amazon switching its focus to advertising and the payments that they I mean, the amount of money that they get from advertising from PPC. So they’re Yeah. Oh yeah. There’s this saying that someone said, I don’t really remember who this was, but I really liked it and remembered it that it’s Amazon is becoming totally a pay to play game. So if you want to get in front of the customers, if you want to have sales, you really need to invest heavily in your advertising.
Speaker3: [00:41:24] So unless you.
Speaker2: [00:41:25] Have a niche.
Speaker3: [00:41:27] Product that has.
Speaker2: [00:41:28] Zero to no competition. People are organically looking for it. Yes. Otherwise, I’ve the game has changed a lot. And. Before it was easier to organically get in front of. I want to say page one. Who has a page of page one. You know, if you are have a product that can make the cut to page three and make sales, you know, like whatever. But definitely, definitely PPC. I? Of course. Isn’t it in their interest?
Speaker1: [00:42:09] Of course. Of course. So.
Speaker3: [00:42:11] Like Facebook? Yeah. Google YouTube.
Speaker1: [00:42:15] Um, that’s. That’s probably it. Regarding regarding the, the trends, that was my question. I really loved your answer. Thank you. Um, so let’s before before I get to the final question, I have one and I ask this all, everyone. But before we get to that, um, since we are doing profit analytics, uh, let’s one, just one, one, one question, I promise in your work that you do, what is the role of profit analytics? I mean, you’ve told me many times that you have been using it since it became available on the market, and we really appreciate that and love it and thank you for that. You’re very great promoter. Uh, so please tell us what I mean. What metrics do you use to analyze or maybe how do you use your profit analytics? I don’t really want to make the question, you know, too narrow for you. I just really want to know how what what role profit analytics plays in what you teach and what you do.
Speaker3: [00:43:18] Okay. Put it that way.
Speaker2: [00:43:19] I mean, I love selling board and I love the customer support and I will never recommend anything that we don’t use ourselves, you know? So we are actually one of the probably I wouldn’t say the only, but one of the very few coaches and programs that actually not only show you how to make sales, because I mean, let’s be honest here. Like always, I would make a great marketing for me, right, to have you pay me, make you make a lot of sales you not knowing what’s really behind your numbers. I have my screenshots, I have my testimonials and then who cares if you’re going to make any money in the long run, right? That’s not how we roll here. So I coach and require my clients to actually install and get seller board. Um. So then they can be in control. Because let me tell you something. Amazon will overcharge you all the time. So the main thing we use it for is forecast. So we in my business at the beginning, you can think about sales. What’s my sales target with Amazon? Our target are profits. So this month I’m done this. I know that I need this amount for me to keep the lights on, pay the salaries, etcetera. Now what is my profit target for September, December, etcetera. And we actually give our clients a profit challenge. It’s not just a sales challenge. It’s sales target. It’s a profit challenge. And for example, one of my clients, Sara, she literally was a staying at home mom of a toddler. And she decided after starting with us to actually go get a part time job, she works so hard.
Speaker2: [00:45:09] Alex So it’s the contrary, you know, you might think so to start Amazon and tomorrow you leave your job. Now she went out there and get a part time job to invest money in learning and in her business. And now the business just keeps scaling and growing and she is getting to the point where her profit a month is exactly what she gets from her part time job. Now, once we get her to the next level and we doubled it up, she can be like, you know what? What do I want to do? Do I want to keep working part time so I can invest more money in the business and get to two K? Or I just leave the part time job and go part time with my business. So Amazon FBA is about not just selling, selling, selling, it’s about profit being in control. Don’t get overcharged by Amazon, which they will do. And so many people don’t understand the difference between an FBA calculator and a profit and loss tool. And you have so many hidden fees, so many storage fees, so many inbound fees, it’s impossible for you to understand any of it if you don’t actually have a software like seller board. Um, it helps you to be in full control of forecast forecasts of sales, forecast of profit. Again, you can get money back for all the damage and loss and double refunds that they send to the clients. And it’s so incredible. So we use it every day. My team use it every day. They do manual repricing, manual checking, manual requests for FBA overcharge fees.
Speaker3: [00:46:53] That’s amazing. Sorry guys.
Speaker1: [00:46:55] That’s amazing. Thank you. Thank you. I will take this part of the podcast and send it to my team straight just to say, Hey guys, if you have a bad day, just listen to this. Here’s Silvia just showing you what amazing work right here.
Speaker2: [00:47:07] Honestly, they love being in control because they can make decisions like this. Okay, This is making me sales, but it’s not worth my time. So they’re going to stop selling the product, you know, and buy something else. That’s it. Thanks, guys, for an incredible work.
Speaker3: [00:47:21] Sure.
Speaker1: [00:47:21] Thank you. Thank you. Also, um. All right. So we are getting here to the final question of our today’s podcast. And please tell me, what do you enjoy most the most in your work that you are doing? What drives you?
Speaker2: [00:47:40] Okay. So there are. There are two different levels, right? There is the Amazon game. And what I love is the hunt. They’re multiplying my money. Look, guys, I have some investment indexes and stuff. You wouldn’t believe, like, how much less money did. I was like, why did I put them there? I should have put them in Amazon, you know, like and people is like, Oh, £1 profit is not worth my time. Try to tell fidelity about it. Um, or your bank. So I love the hunt. I love when you have the right strategy. Product sourcing is not frustrating. It becomes like a money hunt. It’s exciting, it’s fun, and it can really be super profitable for you. And the other side is the Academy. And what I probably if you have if you get to check the case studies with my clients, I probably cry every single video I get. So they’re like my babies, you know, I just like I love them so much and I’m so proud of them. They are working so hard and they are focused. They never complain. They’re never victims. They are fighters and they want more. And they invested in me. They invested in themselves. There is no way I’m going to let them down.
Speaker1: [00:49:04] That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Celia, I really feel the empathy behind the words that you are saying. So you’re living. You’re living it. You’re not just saying it. I feel it. That’s amazing. All right, uh, thank you for the great talk. I really enjoyed it. I knew we were going to have a great episode together. Thank you for the great knowledge and for all the amazing inspiration that you gave us today. And I really hope that it really sparked some minds and some some people, you know, ignited them. The will, the hunger. I really want to go through the points. So the first thing you need is hunger. Also, you need someone to guide you. So you need a coach or maybe you need to become a hero. You need to understand what’s the difference between you and the other 85% and just build upon that be the difference that you want to have. And then the secret advice that Silvia gave us find the niche and so be there. Try to be the best in the niche that you will find.
Speaker3: [00:50:04] Consistent.
Speaker2: [00:50:05] As well. Guys, be consistent. The business is about consistency and never giving up.
Speaker1: [00:50:11] Great. All right. Anything else you want to share? Tell us where we can find you. Follow you, Where the people inspired by what you said today can can get more of it.
Speaker2: [00:50:22] Guys, get get in touch. I just have a beautiful, wonderful community of incredible humans. Just positive, you know, beautiful people. You can find me on Instagram. I’m very active there at Silvia. So Silvia underscore hero, send me a DM, send me a like and send some love. Let me know what you think. Let myself and Alex know in the comments what you think about the podcast. What is the point that really resonated with you the most? And then you can hit me with an email at info at Computer academy.com and we can get you on a free consultation call and let’s see if we can work together.
Speaker1: [00:51:04] That’s amazing. Silvia, Thank you once again. I wish you much luck. Just stay hungry. That’s not something I invented. That was a big man that invented that phrase. But I really want to repeat it. Stay hungry, keep the hunger, keep sparking and, you know, igniting this hunger and other people. There’s been an amazing episode. Thank you once.
Speaker3: [00:51:25] Again.
Speaker2: [00:51:25] Great question. Thank you.
Speaker1: [00:51:27] Bye bye. Bye.
