In this FINAL PIECE TALK episode, Augustas Kligys and Olav Vannik talk about what do you need to start selling on Amazon. We talk about places where you can incorporate the US companies and the mindset you need to set before committing to this journey.
Resources mentioned in the video
- Legal Zoom
- MyCompanyWorks
- Book: “The Power of Broke” by Daymond John
Show notes
In the second video of the Final Piece talk, we are again talking to Olav about how to start selling on Amazon and what tools, steps or mentality are being required to be successful.
Olav is sharing his experience of how he started selling out on Amazon. As he was living in the US at that time, he has registered his business in the US too. He was using the help of Legal Zoom to register it and after he received his documents and opened up a bank account, he was pretty much set to go. Olav also mentioned that not necessarily you need to have a business to start selling on Amazon, not at all. But when you are doing it, it’s a norm to have a business running behind because people will eventually start asking your business name.
To a question, if it is better to start a company in Europe or the US for EU citizens, Olav replies with advice: it is much easier to get a loan from Amazon after a successful selling for one year as a US company than European. This is due to the fact that Amazon is not that big in many European countries so it would be harder to get a loan for this kind of business. While in US Amazon offers a loan themselves and it can be done if few clicks for loans as high as $50,000 USD.
Augustas also shares his experience starting a company in the US, he was using MyCompanyWorks.com website to register his company and was very satisfied with their service and price. So starting a company in the US is not that difficult, but one thing that people can see as an obstacle is opening a bank account in the US. Olav was lucky to reside in the US at that time and could easily open a personal account. But a business account requires an ITIN number or to have a co-signer for your business who lives in the US. He also thinks that there are some companies that are offering the service of opening a bank account, you just have to find them. In general, Olav is sure that people get stuck just because of misbelieving that this is possible. Everyone can do it, he argues.
Augustas also agrees that people sometimes fall too much into overthinking things, especially this step. They think that opening a business or opening a bank account is the most important thing and therefore they do not start doing anything. He suggests going with the first option. Before you have any kind of money, he says, it’s not necessary to think too many levels up. Olav also argues that the first thing people should think about is to making money. And once you are making money, you can then pay someone else to take care of taxes or any other duties you need to do in order to run the business.
Guys also share a tip that helps other people to get through the documentation process. The tip is really simple: please make sure your names and addresses are matching on various forms of documents. Augustas has seen examples of seller accounts getting suspended just because the address is not consistent through documentation. So you have to make sure that the address on your utility bill, bank statements, Amazon account, and other documents match exactly. The same goes with your name. If all documents that Amazon is asking are provided correctly, you have an account set.
Another obstacle people are facing is finance. As Olav says, you can start out with $500 USD and he is that example, but not everyone believes it is possible. For this kind of people, Olav strongly recommends reading a book by Daymond John, a guy who started Fubu (clothing brand), “The Power of Broke”. The reason he mentions this book is very simple, it is people’s mindset and what you can achieve when you don’t have much money, but you really want it. When you have a limited amount of capital, for example, $500 USD, then you have to plan every step. You will have to do everything to make this business work, Olav says. When you do whatever it takes to implement the power of broke, even if you do have money, try to think this way, then you will always be successful. A man who’s going to achieve, it’s not the guy who has $1 and thinks what’s the least amount of value that I can offer for $1. The guy who is going to succeed is the guy who is thinking, what’s the most amount of value that I can offer for $1. You always have to think of what is the most you can do with the limited amount of capital you have.
Olav shares his friends experience on Amazon and how different people’s mindset can be. And because of that, they get to different results. There are people who are trying to sell on Amazon for 3 years and are still not successful. When you ask them you find out that they are trying to push one same product. You need to launch new products and you need to try different things to make it work, Olav says. You have to listen to feedback, you have to try and change something if you can see that this doesn’t work. You have to see the big picture, Olav concludes.
Augustas also was wondering if Olav himself set any goals and he explained that yes he does, he sets long-term and short-term goals. But he is not very specific, he doesn’t set a goal to reach the exact amount of money, he leaves a bit of freedom and sets a goal for 6 figures or 7 figures, etc. He agrees that it is also important to have a coach or community from what you can learn from.
So, in conclusion, Olav excludes a few things that are important for a beginner: the right mindset, Seller Central account, and legal business. And… money which is also important. However, different amount works, because everything concludes in the mindset of yours!
About Olav Vannik
Olav Vannik is an entrepreneur who dropped out of university. He started his first e-commerce business when he was 24 years old and has never looked back since that. He successfully sold his first Amazon FBA business and is now building a new one.
