Thread by @kobegatsby

Difference between a hobby and a business, A Thread:

When I was 16, I posted two waterproof cases on eBay for $20 each, sold them, ordered the cases from dhgate to me, they sent to the customers.

$24 profit over the course of 2 weeks. I was ecstatic.

2. Soon after this I listed 20 cases to test, when I awoke I sold all 20.

$400 in revenue overnight. Product costs? $8 each.

I kept this process going for a few more days until I decided to list 40 a day. This is where things got interesting.

3. I listed 40 and they all sold within 12 hours. $800 in revenue. Product costs: now that I was ordering in higher bulk I began getting cases for a mere $4 each AND three day delivery to myself in the USA from China.

4. Keep in mind I was selling 40 a day and fulfilling all orders myself. Printing, packaging and having my dad take me to the post office.

I was also using flat rate mail, $6 flat, of it fits it ships. Knowing what I know now, this was awful pricing but hey I was 15 🤷🏽‍♂️.

5. I didn’t look into how to maximize my profits, I was content grossing $800 a day.

I didn’t take the time to research cheaper ways to ship, how to build a brand, how to get sales outside of eBay.

6. All I did was fulfill orders for 6 hours a day (I was homeschooled at this time) and spend hundreds of dollars at Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park.

I still had more money then I knew what to do with. My parents just encouraged me to save and had me buy my own meals eating out

7. At this time I was also getting into flipping sneakers for $100 to $200 profit every week. Life was good.

After a few weeks, the money stream dried up. Sellers on eBay began to hop on the trend and undercut me, the pricing game, a entrepreneurs worst nightmare.

8. I had no brand, no repeat customers, nothing to set me apart. I was just a seller with the best pricing at the time.

This is the worst type of business to have.

9. I didn’t even realize I was riding a trend, waterproof phone cases were huge at the time and the only company selling them in stores were charging $75+.

10. At this point I had built a large collection of sneakers in just a few weeks and started a sneaker customization business purely out of interest and fun again. “Young Kobe Customs” lol. This was a $1,000 per week venture but took much more work, still fun at the time.

11. Yes I made money, lots of it, but I still made so many mistakes. Perfect lessons for my future she where I am now.

12. Let’s touch on some of my former mistakes and lessons here:

- I created multiple businesses founded on trends. Trends come and go, no problem with riding them but make sure you can still float after by starting another business that won’t go out of style.

13.

- I was 15, no bills or obligations.. $100 to me was still a crap ton of money. I let the excitement of making money prevent me from thinking about the what-ifs after these trends passed.

Celebrate your wins but make sure you always remember there’s room to level up.

14.

- I didn’t try and maximize my profits, from existing revenue. Look into how to still deliver quality for less. Try different suppliers, shipping companies, packaging. Costs are not stuck in stone.

15.

- I got to the point where I was ordering 300 cases at a time and I still never messaged my supplier. Talk to your supplier, help them find new products to make, ask them for discounts etc. Leverage that relationship to the max.

16.

- I didn’t build on my own platform. I did a 12 month prediction spreadsheet and revenue at my consistent totals were going to be $172,000/yr... so I thought. Got banned off eBay.

🤦🏽‍♂️ Start wherever you need to but always move to your own platform ASAP.