414 : Rachel Goodlad – Use social competitiveness to create a marketplace

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Ready to sell on your own marketplace? If you though it was impossible to create your own marketplace for YOUR stuff to sell, you are wrong. BUT Rachel will tell you it is not easy. Simple but not easy is really the secret to selling online today. You must have things people want to buy and you must have to have a way to sell to them. Simple. However, everyone else also wants to sell to them and that’s where the not easy comes in. Follow the herd or create your own path? Rachel will show you how she has created hers and she can help you too.

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Here is transcript- It is automated so it is not perfect but it does seem to get better over time.

Rachel:                                 [00:00:00]               Be that for you it can be, you know, any level of success is still a success. So what do you want? And then how can we help you get there? I, I really am not into everybody trying to be like everybody. I mean that’s how you’re not going to be successful anyway. You can try it. Yeah.

Cool voice guy:                  [00:00:14]               Welcome to the e-commerce momentum podcast where we focus on the people, the products, and the process of eCommerce selling today. Here’s your host Stephen Peterson.

Stephen:                             [00:00:28]               As I was putting this, uh, episode together, I’ve thought about it. Wait, Q4 is here. It’s not coming. It’s here. It’s knee deep. Your inventory should be in a Amazon said by November 6th to really, you know, to ensure that your stuff can sell. So at this point, it’s really kind of a reset for the new year. You should have your inventory and you should be repricing. Like all of us are a pricing many times a day if you’re not using an auto repricer. So at this point, the other thing I suggest you do is go back and look at your year. How’s it gone? Did it get to where you expected it to go to? Were you disappointed? I know a little bit. I think we were disappointed in a couple things that didn’t, I call them doubles. We hit a few doubles. Um, but we’re trying to hit home runs, you know, so we’ve reset our business and I’m suggesting you reset yours.

Stephen:                             [00:01:14]               And one way I offer it to you is through one of my sponsors paid sponsor and they pay me for this. So always be clear with that. But I respect him so much. It’s Gaye Lisby and Gary Ray. Um, they’re part of amazing freedom, which is Andy Simons, Nate Simons and Lee Ron Hirshhorn. Amazing group of very special people because they are all teachers. Um, every single one of them are teachers, Gaye and Gary specifically have a group. Um, and it’s a tribe. Um, it is a tribe. It’s a group where you can learn how to fish, you can learn how, what it takes, um, to be successful, um, in online arbitrage specifically. But then they do coaching too. And the coaching has been probably the biggest surprise. And it, I guess it shouldn’t surprise me, but when you see teachers teach and students receive because they all have that same heart, they all have that same goal.

Stephen:                             [00:02:09]               Um, that’s when you see their gifts come forward. And I’ve seen it and it blows my mind. Um, I’m so fortunate to be part of it. I do not take it for granted and I wouldn’t be sitting here telling you this if I didn’t believe it in my heart of hearts. And I absolutely do. I’ve seen so many examples of it. So I suggest you join their group. It’s free. But if you’re interested in getting started, a amazing freedom.com, forward slash momentum, hyphen arbitrage, momentum, hyphen arbitrage, you get 14 days of their Oh lists. They come out every day and there’s some routines to it, a couple of days of holidays and stuff, but 14 days free. So try it for 14 days. Look to see if you can buy a couple things that’ll pay for your list and then look to buy an additional thing and say, these are the changes I want to make to my business.

Stephen:                             [00:02:57]               I want to make a change this year. I want to use an hour a week or two hours a week. And that’s the way you should segment your life two hours a week working on this and give it, you know, a few months and then go back and evaluate and look at what it’s done for your business. So if you’re looking to grow $1,000 a month, what effort does it take? Right? It’s going to take effort. Do you want to scan more in stores or do you want to learn how to build a reel? I always call them building block is segmented a part of your business. So you can count on, Hey, two hours a week is going to bring me that thousand dollars a month. Therefore I’m going to invest in that. So again, it’s moment amazing. freedom.com, forward slash momentum dash arbitrage. Um, I think it’s phenomenal. And again, I wouldn’t be saying if I didn’t believe it in my heart of hearts, welcome back to the e-commerce momentum podcast.

Stephen:                             [00:03:45]               This is episode 414. Rachel, good lad. Um, get ready for a very, very cool story. Um, one that you’re going to sit back and you’ve gotta I think this is one of those things you gotta sit back, kinda get away from your distractions and take it all in and then try to picture what Rachael’s building. Um, and she’ll be honest and tell you that, you know, she starts and then the blocks fall over in the, she has to put the blocks up somewhere else and start there and the build and then pull back a little bit and adjust and tweak. But she’s clearly building something and each one of the things that she’s building, when you listen to it, you can hear earlier in the conversation how she’s building the blocks. Like she didn’t know where she was going yet. She was doing something related to it all along.

Stephen:                             [00:04:32]               Learning all the way along. I would say that anyone selling is doing the exact same thing. So where you are isn’t going to be where you’re going to be, uh, in the future. Right? So you’re building something, everything you learned, you’re learning skills, right? And then you just figure out your lane, um, and how to apply them. And I think Rachel’s done a very, very good job. I’m so smart. Great interview. Let’s get into the podcast and welcome back to the eCommerce women and podcast excited about today’s guest. Um, interesting. She surprised I reached out to her. Um, because I think sometimes you know, you’re too close to your own success or you know, you don’t see the spark that you are the glare or the sparkle. Maybe like the right, the glistening that you let go and she didn’t see it. I say it, it was so obvious to me and I’m very excited to have her on Rachel Goodlett.

Stephen:                             [00:05:23]               Welcome, Rachel. Thank you so much. It’s true that listener first time caller. But it’s true though, when you’re so close to your, I mean, this is normal for you. You don’t see yourself doing anything special. Fair. Right. Well, and I also think that that anybody can do this and so, so why do you need to listen to me? That’s a bold statement. Anybody? Yeah, I mean, think about that. That’s anybody. You’ve met a lot of your, anybody’s look at your family, all right, you’ve got it. Brother-in-law, a cousin or a nephew that there’s no chance they have enough ambition. Well that’s true. You have to

Rachel:                                 [00:05:58]               put it in the work. And that’s the, that’s the top thing that I see missing is, is that they want it to happen too fast or don’t realize how much, how many hours it takes to, to have something happen.

Stephen:                             [00:06:09]               You, you’ve been training people and so, I mean, when you look at the failures and it may be, are the non successes, maybe we’ll say it that way. Would you say that that’s the thing, it’s not abilities or brains or anything. It’s inaction.

Rachel:                                 [00:06:25]               Yeah. Yeah. I think that that people just don’t want to put in the work. They see that they see the success picture that people post on social media and they want to start there. They want to have the flexibility and, and, and not put in the work and, and just already be at that level and not realize that there’s a lot of pictures that people aren’t showing of the, the long nights. And the missing things and making sacrifices that goes in when you’re trying to figure stuff out at the beginning and you know, you’re spending your quarter four in stores and you know, maybe not, not doing all the things that it looks like, you know, maybe it looks like we’re on trips and going to conferences and things all the time when that’s, that wasn’t really the case at the beginning. We were all trying to figure it out.

Stephen:                             [00:07:08]               Mm. When, uh, when, when you go back to where you started, did you envision where you are or did you, to be honest, would you, did you think you were going to be 10 times further ahead?

Speaker 4:                           [00:07:20]               Oh

Rachel:                                 [00:07:21]               Hmm. Um, you know, when I first started I, I was just trying to do side hustles. I was just trying to do something on the side that was successful. And so I don’t know that I thought that it would be like this. As I grew it and I saw other people, other people’s success, I thought, okay, I can do that. And, um, I haven’t gotten as far as maybe I, I thought that I would now, but at the very beginning I was just trying to make it, you know, just pay extra bills or do something smaller that was successful. So I was always doing something.

Stephen:                             [00:07:52]               When I think about like where I thought I wanted to be, I’m glad I’m not there in some ways because the trade offs for me come at the cost of my example. Last night I was down in a, down by my grandkids and we went to an ice cream social. Um, you know, and you get that time, I mean, it’s an hour in change drive each way then, you know, going through all the grief in that, but that, those hours I’ll never get again. So for me, I’m so thankful. But the trade off I would have had to make, it’s Q4 Rachel, we should be working at 24, seven. Right. I mean, this isn’t quite right. Right, right. Yeah. No, it shouldn’t be, at least in my world, that Steve’s world, not necessarily anybody else’s. Right.

Rachel:                                 [00:08:32]               Yeah, no, I totally agree with that.

Stephen:                             [00:08:33]               When, when you’re coaching others, I mean, how does that discussion go? Because our, it, I mean when you talk to others, are you saying to them this is a great side hustle or are you saying to them this could be a lifestyle opportunity for you?

Rachel:                                 [00:08:48]               No, I really believe that everybody should make it what they want it to be. So whenever I’m talking to somebody else, I really try and figure out what they’re looking for and then try and show them how this can be that, I mean, it can be any of those things. It can be any of the levels that you would like it to be if you can put in the work. And so, um, I try and, and help them see what I’ve created. But also it doesn’t have to be that for you. It can be, you know, any level of success is still a success. So what do you want? And then how can we help you get there? I, I really am not into everybody trying to be like everybody. I mean, that’s how you’re not going to be successful anyway. You can try and do the same exact thing that I’m doing and it might look differently for you, and that’s okay.

Rachel:                                 [00:09:28]               You know, you, you can’t just put all the same ingredients in and get the same, same thing out. And so I think people really struggle with that because they, they try and copy what other people are doing and it doesn’t always turn out the same and then they feel like they’re failing when really you’re just putting your own spin on it. It’s you, it’s your life, it’s your time. And so it’s okay if it looks differently. And so I really try and get people to understand that first and then where should we go on your path and how should we build your dream or whatever instead of just seeing what other people have and just trying to get the same thing. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think it really sets people up for failure when they don’t get the same results because it wasn’t the same time with the same resources, with the same relationships. Like there’s just so many different variables that go into a person’s success that I think it’s very hard to copy. Exactly.

Stephen:                             [00:10:19]               My son and I were just talking about somebody doing online buying and we all know those people who can find a deal. They just, they’re just, it’s, it’s in their nature, right? They just have that, that I, and that curiosity may be, might be the right thing. They’re gifted in that, but that’s not everyone. But that, that other person they did, they didn’t fail. They could buy lists. Right? There are ways around all those things, right. To match your skill set

Rachel:                                 [00:10:43]               for sure. And I think when people just walk into a store the first time and they don’t have instant success, they feel like this isn’t for them. I did a coaching call yesterday and the, the ladies that I was speaking with said, um, okay, so this isn’t easy. You know, like there’s a lot of things to think about. And I said, I said, but you’ve never done this. Like you have a successful business. They have a retail store and they’re trying to get into online selling. And so I said there’s nothing wrong with not knowing this topic. Like this is something that you have never done before. And so people need to give themselves grace, I think sometimes to, to not know things that they don’t know and to be able to say that, I mean in today’s online age, people want to just say I’m an expert before they even know anything and and be a success before they’ve even started. And I think that part of my appeal to people is that I’m just very real and honest. I say when I mess up, I, I show, when I mess up, I give examples, I show how I’m a hot mess, mom. Just trying to keep it together because it’s real and everybody’s life is like that. It’s just that they’re sometimes too embarrassed to show what’s really happening. And then Instagram that that’s exactly, exactly.

Stephen:                             [00:11:52]               Well, there’s no that are going to admit that they don’t know it all. That’s just a given. I mean that’s against the rules. It’s not in the man book. I mean I have a copy and it’s not there. But to be fair. Well, are you attracting, I mean, when you look at the client base that you’ve had, are you attracting moms looking for something so they could give back to their kids’ lives, to their family? Let, maybe there are better ways to say to their families lives because, well, and this is my, my, uh, observation. When you take that big corporate job, both, uh, it, it really takes away from something else. And you know, when you have kids or, you know, it breaks my heart sometimes to see my grandkids, for example. Both my son and my daughter and I have big jobs and it just, it’s, it’s tough sometimes, you know, it’s me looking from the outside is, so are you attracting that kind of, I mean when you look at your client base is that seemed because of who you are?

Rachel:                                 [00:12:46]               Um, partly it’s that, but also just because I’m so, um, real with it and I’m very, um, I don’t try and sugarcoat anything. And so I’m just very direct about things. I think that people that are looking for the, for the realness, sometimes that’s who I attract. And just being able to ask any of those questions that they’re too embarrassed to ask other people.

Stephen:                             [00:13:07]               So it, it, you’re not giving them the, uh, Amway pitch, right? You know, Oh, this is an easy business. Right? Do you ever go to those meetings? And it’s like, what are they talking about? This is easy. All you have to do is, you know, get somebody else to buy it and, you know, uh, yeah, right?

Rachel:                                 [00:13:21]               Well, or there’s somebody that I would say, you know, I’m not the best person for you. Depending on what you’re trying to do, I’m going to connect you with somebody else. And I think a lot of times people are just, uh, nervous to say that. And I, it’s easy for me to say, you know, I’m actually not an expert in that, you know, that’s not my stick. And so let me connect you with somebody else.

Stephen:                             [00:13:39]               You fail, right? I mean, if you’re, if your goal is to help people and you don’t help them, then to be fair, you failed. Right? Um Hmm.

Rachel:                                 [00:13:48]               So I think they know that I’m not going to sell them something that isn’t what they need if I can’t help them, you know, and, and there’s no dumb question and I just come off as just very, um, just very direct and I’ll just tell you exactly how it is. And so I think that that puts them at ease sometimes. And so it’s people that are either nervous to ask for help or moms or people that are just like looking to make such a big change, they don’t even know where to start.

Stephen:                             [00:14:12]               Oh, okay. So they want to make a big change. Um, they’re saying, Hey, I need to contribute financially in addition to being a mom, you know, which is a big deal. Um, or a huge deal. They’re, they’re looking for something else. So going back to when you started, you said you were looking for a side hustle. Why?

Rachel:                                 [00:14:33]               Um, because I worked for the state, my background is in education. So I have a master’s in adult education. I worked at different universities and I was working my way up and I’m working for the state doesn’t pay a lot. And so I was just always looking for, I don’t know, other ways to, to create income that it was exciting to me. Both of my parents were entrepreneurs and so that was always something that I guess was in my blood but wasn’t what my career was in. And so I was just always looking for different things. I worked at a, I’m in Houston and so I worked at all of the different stadiums because I was really into sports and I couldn’t afford to go to like every single game for every single sport. So I just started, I got a security license and, and went and started working security at all of them just so, I don’t know.

Rachel:                                 [00:15:23]               But it was really cool for the Texans. They ended up putting me as the tunnel security guard to keep bands from the players and for the, for the visiting teams. And so I was like, this is amazing. I am the person. And so, um, anyway, I just was always looking for some kind of opportunity. I, when I was working at different universities, I was selling textbooks, so I started, you know, with half.com and, and selling on Amazon back when, um, you know, it was really only books and so I would sell for students or for my peers, the college textbooks, and I would be able to get more than the bookstore was going to offer them. And so that’s where I really started. So I have a super old Amazon account because of that. And it took me awhile to really think about, Oh I can do this with other things and not just books.

Stephen:                             [00:16:15]               Hmm. When I, I’m interested to know your parents were both entreprenuers, were they steering you that way and then you chose to go the academic, uh, uh, safe route, right, with the, that safe degree, uh, degrees, um, or were they steering you in, you just were doing your own thing cause you wanted security and if so, was it because they were insecure because they’re in the highs and the lows of entrepreneurs which are high and low. Every day.

Rachel:                                 [00:16:43]               Right. Um, I have an interesting dynamic. My dad is from England and their education system is just different. Like they can finish at 16 and then they have different levels that they can go on past that. And so, um, my dad was, was kind of like, you’re done, right? Like, you know, then you can go start and you can go do all the things. And he was definitely pushing me to, to either join the business or start a business or do something just because his background in England is just different. And, um, my mom was definitely pushing me to go to school and thought that school was important, but I watched them with the highs and lows and, and so while I thought it was cool and I definitely picked up on creating your own way, um, I always had in my head that I would go to college and, um, I was planning on going to law school.

Rachel:                                 [00:17:29]               I actually, uh, deferred for a year when I started Amazon and then I let them know I wasn’t coming because Amazon took off so much. Um, whenever I really started diving into it. And so, um, that was kind of my path that I thought I was going to go on. And then it just, it just didn’t take from there. But my parents had, they have a, they had a store together, but they had an eBay account and when beanie babies were super hot, because my dad is from England, he was able to get, like there was a princess Diana beanie baby and [inaudible] and one that you could only buy in Ireland and all these things. And so he has had them shipped over to him by people that he knew over there. And the lines were just ridiculous that people around the corner waiting and they did, you know, tickets and drawings and all that kind of stuff.

Rachel:                                 [00:18:12]               And so that, you know, there were hard to find ones. And so as I don’t remember how old I was, maybe like 12 or 13 or something. And I started selling lists of all of the stores that you could find the hard to find beanie babies at and, and when their shipments were coming in and all the different places because people knew that they wanted to buy them, but they weren’t sure of all the different places that could find them. And so I think my mind was just brought up in a way that I could see different opportunities like that and realize that even though I didn’t have any beanie babies, I had some information that people wanted and I could capitalize on that. And so even as a, as a young kid, I was still like finding different opportunities. And so that was just always kind of embedded in me. So

Stephen:                             [00:18:54]               I, I’d say it’s impressive note because it leads perfectly into your, your current story. So to me, recognizing opportunity, it sounds to me like you saw opportunity everywhere. Is that still, you know, you just have to choose, you have to choose which one you want. Is that the way your mind works?

Rachel:                                 [00:19:11]               Yes. And it’s really hard to know. It’s just hard to stick to. So what you’re on, you know, and, um, the, the girls that work for me, I’ll say that they’re just trying to keep up because I’ll come in and say, okay, I have an idea. And they’re like, Oh, okay.

Stephen:                             [00:19:25]               Oh, here we go. Yeah. Yeah. Um, well let’s talk about that. So, so you, you start selling on Amazon, you have success. It now becomes, I mean, w did it turn into a full time gig for you at that point?

Rachel:                                 [00:19:38]               Yes, very quickly. Very quickly. That’s good. So it is, uh, so I’m, I’m married to an engineer and he is, um, very numbers driven. And so after like two months, maybe I was making more than my full time job and I wanted to quit. And he was like, okay, we’re going to need some more data points, you know, like, you have to give me more than two. I have to make a chart, you know, all the things. And so, um, so he finally was okay with me quitting after six months and I hired somebody almost immediately. And so it took me from when I started seriously with products on Amazon, it took me a year in six weeks to sell a million. Um, and I was just like super grinding it out, just like trying to figure all the things at a quick pace. And so, um, so I, I quit within six months and then that has been my, my full time thing since then and that was 2012

Stephen:                             [00:20:30]               so it’s been a long time full time seller. Um, and it’s always been easy. Right. Hey, let me ask you first before we get to the easy side, cause I, I know I’m being facetious when I say that, but, but about your first hire, why was that important too? Cause you said you hired immediately. Well

Rachel:                                 [00:20:48]               I hired immediately when I was by myself because I knew that there was opportunity there and I, I’m looking at where I can use my time best to grow is something that I’m really passionate about other people doing. Um, that’s one of the first things that I talk to them about is just looking at where they’re spending their time and how you can use other people to help you maximize your time to focus on how to grow. So I just knew that there was, even if they were just helping me pack up the boxes so that I can buy more or there was just opportunity there and if I just had an extra set of hands, it was gonna be, you know, super helpful. So

Stephen:                             [00:21:23]               you weren’t intimidated or nervous or because you had certainty, did you, did you have a level of success before you pulled the trigger? I mean like, you know, this is a hockey stick and boom, I need somebody now.

Rachel:                                 [00:21:36]               I mean I was, it was going really well, but also the, I hired my sister and um, she wasn’t, she was very flexible. So I think that there was some security there and that, um, like if the, if I ended up not needing it or if the hours needed to increase or decrease, it was easy for her to be able to do that. It wasn’t, that is a very strong tip. So somebody that was very flexible and that’s how I, that’s how I hired and people at the beginning, because I didn’t want the pressure. So right now I feel pressure with the team that I have because, um, I know their stories and that they, you know, they’re relying on this job. So at the right, so at the beginning, um, and I came from higher education like I said, and so I actually supervised like hundreds of college students at the university of Houston.

Rachel:                                 [00:22:23]               So I actually had a super awesome way to just like reach out to some of them and say, Hey, I have some more hours over here and I’ll pay you a little bit more than that than the school’s paying you if you want to come over here. And so I actually hired quite a few college students when I, um, when I could expand past my sister. And they were super flexible and they were looking for things that gave them flexibility. And so it was actually perfect because if I needed them I could call them. And if I didn’t, there weren’t any hard feelings. And so I just really tried to hire people that, that weren’t depending on it because that just took the pressure off of me, um, when I was still trying to figure it out. And so I think that that’s the best way when you’re first starting out, unless you’re just so sure. But for somebody to be depending on you, it just adds a, another level of pressure because you’re already depending on yourself and you’re already trying to make it work. So I really liked that flexibility at the beginning.

Stephen:                             [00:23:13]               Blankets are really smart. But one more thing I want to ask you about, um, this, this retail store person that you’re coaching, um, how, how did they come into your life? I mean, you know, is this somebody who your friends, I mean, I assume this is Steve’s assumption is probably dangerous to assume this, that they’re probably struggling because they see the transition to online and so they’re like, Hmm, is there another way to help move this inventory? Um, or they’re just younger and they just know I buy everything online. So therefore, why wouldn’t, you know? Yeah. So the people

Rachel:                                 [00:23:46]               that I was coaching yesterday are actually older and they’ve had a really successful retail store, but like the overall landscape, it’s declining. And so they were just, um, they’re trying, they’re seeing the writing on the wall that they needed to diversify. And so while that was a non there re regional, you know, plan, they think that that’s what they need to do and they’re just trying to figure it out. So um, they found me because I was speaking at a convention and it was to a retail store owners and it was about the opportunities that they have online. And I wasn’t just speaking about Amazon, I just flew out to the Poshmark convention a few weeks ago on Poshmark had me as a consultant there. And so I was able to speak about multiple marketplaces and just with the opportunity is there and hiring virtual assistants and different things like that. And so it was just kind of, if you are not in that space, all of that talk is just a little bit mind blowing. Yeah. If you don’t, if you don’t know about hiring virtual assistance and just how much they can, they can help you and the different marketplaces that are even available, it’s just a little bit overwhelming. And so, um, so after that, some of them reached out to me to get individual help on their specific situation. Right.

Stephen:                             [00:24:56]               That’s smart. Such a great niche too because ultimately how cool would it be that business survives, right. And actually goes on, you know, to me, and I use this example, um, there’s a candy store in East Syracuse, New York. Um, and have you ever heard me talk about them? Hercules candy, you gotta go check them out on YouTube. They have a huge YouTube following and they make chocolate now handmade chocolates. That business should have closed. A long time ago they were selling it, you know, you could go buy and to think of all the chocolate you could buy, but because the son came back and helped them create a YouTube channel, he described it the other day. Basically he did a video on his vegan channel and people, that was the most popular video he did is the candy making. And people watch them for hours making handy and they banter back and forth.

Stephen:                             [00:25:42]               And when they put a product out, they put it on their website. It sells out immediately. I think she said 55 or 60% of their sales are all from YouTube online channel. They should have went out of business. So my point is the thing that you’re doing with that couple, if they survive and you know, evolve into a kind of a whatever boutique, because they sell in all these different places where it makes, they’re getting their customers wherever they can write their place. How cool was that for you, right? I mean, who gets to do that?

Rachel:                                 [00:26:14]               Yeah, no, I would love to. And part of the point that I made to everybody is that these huge companies like Amazon and eBay and Etsy and whoever insert your marketplace here, they’re not going away anytime soon. And so why wouldn’t you? You can be mad about it for sure. But why wouldn’t you try and take advantage of it? I mean, I’m, I’m seeing all kinds of commercials for all of them. I mean, racket 10 is putting commercials up now that they’ve bought Ebates and different things. And so why wouldn’t you take advantage of that as customers are going to them? Why wouldn’t you take advantage Poshmark putting all of their listings on Google and your item showing up in Google results? It’s free. I mean, you just throw it up there and if it doesn’t work okay, but it didn’t take that much of your time to put up some listings.

Rachel:                                 [00:26:54]               And so just to try it and have your products available to more customers. And one of the points that I like to make to them is that it’s not just about your loyal customers that you’re trying to reach out to. You’re also trying, especially in quarter four, you’re trying to reach out to the customers who buy for those customers and they’re probably on Amazon and they don’t know about your store. They’re just trying to find a gift that that person would like. And so if they can find that product on their, or if they give your customer an Amazon gift card and they can’t use it in your store, then you can tell them, okay, but I’m selling on Amazon. Go buy the products that you want on Amazon. And I think just turning your mind a little bit so that you can think, okay, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah. I do hate Amazon because they might be ruining my retail store a little bit, but I can use them to my advantage and, and get my stuff out there to more people. So that was kind of the point that I was trying to drive.

Stephen:                             [00:27:41]               I think it’s brilliant and you know, compare it to Walmart who came in and crushed all these small businesses in town and really don’t afford an opportunity. Yeah. You could sell on walmart.com good look. Yeah. Good luck. Yes. Yeah. It’s not the marketplace yet. Pick another one way for earlier. Um, but it’s true though. Yeah. The, at least Amazon is giving them an opportunity. I think that’s a valid point as to point out to say, Hey, look, you know what, you’re right. We’re going to affect your business because the world is moving that way. There’s obviously an a want for that. So therefore we’re saying, Hey, Rachel, you could come along. I think that’s such a great way to say it, to give me the chills. I love it. All right, let’s talk about this because one thing that was very attractive when I looked at your stuff is, uh, your, you have, uh, a retail location. So walk me through, I mean, who has, uh, come on, Rachel. Nobody has [inaudible] what are you doing? I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing most of the time.

Rachel:                                 [00:28:35]               The idea and I wanted to try it. Okay. So I was, I was selling on Amazon and I had returns or yes, sometimes people will return things. Spoiler alert. Yes. Um, or I had things that went restricted. So Amazon restricted, you know, they recently restricted DK and Y and that was a big thing among sellers where people were saying, okay, what’s everybody gonna do with their decay and why stuff. And so I was stuck with some stuff and I had a garage sale in my neighborhood and I was trying to sell all of the things. So some of it was new with tags and some of it, you know, maybe it was shoes that were missing the shoe box and um, I was uncomfortable sending them back in or it was stuff where, you know, there wasn’t really anything wrong with it, but I couldn’t sell it on Amazon again. And everybody looked at me like I was shady or scamming them or something because they weren’t sure why I had a garage sale with new stuff.

Stephen:                             [00:29:31]               Yeah, you’re Sharon counterfeit, right? You’re the guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

Rachel:                                 [00:29:34]               yes. Or they wanted to pay 25 cents for it. And I w yeah. And I wanted a little bit more that. Um, and so I was just like, man, what am I going to do with all this stuff? Like, I donate a lot, but that can’t be my business plan. And so then I thought, okay, what if I had a store where I put this stuff in there so people expect it to be stuff like this that they could buy and it’s, it’s very cheaply discounted. But then I can have, um, all of the workers shipping stuff to Amazon, maybe in the back or at the cash register so that if, if no one comes in, then it doesn’t matter because we were doing what we would have done anyway that day we were shipping stuff, the Amazon, we were working on on orders, we were whatever. But just a space where you’re allowed to come in and you could buy stuff. And I just thought, man, if they can just buy enough to pay the rent, I could get a free space.

Stephen:                             [00:30:26]               So I’m going to stop there a second because I think you gave a great description. Your goal was to pay your rent. You didn’t have this goal to build this huge retail chain. Cause I think this is where most people fail. You needed a warehouse operation kind of, right? Whatever. It doesn’t matter your warehouse to process your stuff and you’re like, man, if I can use this other line of backlog or a death piles as people call them to frame that, I mean that’s a realistic goal. Again, you’re back to what you described as your skill set, your realistic I like, yeah

Rachel:                                 [00:30:59]               and it’s powerful and even if it just paid half of rent that I wasn’t, I didn’t have something that could pay half of rent before. So really if it’s sold anything, it’s a win. And because my garage sale isn’t working and otherwise this stuff is just sitting there. So if I sell any of it, really it’s a win. So that’s how I started it. And so everything was, and then I started a thing where it was like 50 to 80% off retail and so I didn’t sell anything in there that wasn’t at least half off retail because that was part of my advertisement.

Stephen:                             [00:31:31]               That was your secret sauce. And, and because you have the skill set of buying again back to you realize that you have skills that others don’t have because you know what to buy or how to buy. You had the ability to buy it and still make money at half off. Correct.

Rachel:                                 [00:31:47]               Yeah. But sometimes I didn’t, but it was already, I think that sometimes people get caught up on losing money and you’re losing money by it sitting there. You know, you’re, you’re, yeah. Counting tone done. Yeah. And they, um, the lady, uh, Marie Kondo, you know, in her book, she, she talks about like the rent that, the rent space that like those manuals that you keep for the camcorder that you bought 12 years ago. Like why do you still have the box and the manual, like that’s taking up space that is, is costing me money even though you don’t think about it like that. And so that’s how I kind of think about this stuff. Like if I can move it at all, it’s clearing up the space. You know, I’ve already lost the money on it. And so I think sometimes people just get so wrapped up in, I can’t possibly lose money.

Rachel:                                 [00:32:31]               I mean that costs me $20 and it’s like, yeah, but how many times are you touching it or thinking about it or having it on to do list? Like just get it out of here and if you get anything back, you know, that’s good. So there were some things that I would lose money on by the Amazon return kind of thing. But I started to look at it like, man, this could be its own thing by itself. So then I started looking at liquidations and other wholesale opportunities. So I had a wholesale rep and they had a whole line of stuff that was like their, I don’t know what they called it, but it was like they’re discontinued things that they were just trying to get rid of that they dropped below wholesale costs. And so then I had the opportunity to sell that at half off retail and still making, you know, they were selling it to me for 80% off or whatever.

Rachel:                                 [00:33:16]               And so then I could sell it at half off retail. And still make money and have a better selection of things in the store. So I, I quickly changed it to buying stuff specifically for the store. I’m powerful because, yeah. Yeah. I mean, isn’t that a different mindset? Like, you know, all of a sudden you’re totally, yes. All right. So talk about that a little bit. Okay. So the store was not awesome at first, so it was kind of draining and it’s still, yeah, it did hurt. And so, um, it wasn’t profitable, but it was never meant to be profitable. And so, um, so when my, my husband would look at the numbers, I mean, even this week he was like, okay, this is stressing me out a little bit. Just looking at some, some numbers of all of the different shipments that I’ve bought and, and those kinds of things.

Rachel:                                 [00:34:06]               But I have to remember where he’s coming from and what I’m looking at and you know, I’m looking further down the road and he’s looking at the picture, right. The second of all the different trucks that I have coming in and things like that. And so he’s always been nervous looking at the numbers. And so I’ve just always, um, I’ve always kind of kept that in my mind, um, of how to explain it to him of like where I’m going, but I, it wasn’t profitable. And so I decided, um, to close the store because a lot of people started asking me to ship their orders because of my location. Their parking was not awesome. It was in a, um, a historic shopping village. And so there just wasn’t a lot of parking. So the people that I have that just wanted to come by and run and pick up something that they got a great deal on, they weren’t able to just run by and pick up.

Rachel:                                 [00:34:54]               It was like a find a parking spot for 30 minutes situation and then come in. And so it was kind of annoying. So they started asking me to ship. Meanwhile, I had started another operation of, of Amazon because I outgrew my space. And so I got another warehouse. And so, um, I had other people shipping to Amazon in a separate location. I thought, okay, well this is getting kinda dumb. I just have people shipping in two different locations, so I should just combine those. And so I’ll just shut down my store and people can still, uh, by then I had a Facebook page so people can just buy through my Facebook page and I’ll just continue shipping to them. So I’m still keeping my idea of selling the Amazon returns and selling that. The other items that I bought specifically for the store, but it’s just more it going more online and about two weeks before, um, I was closing, so I’d already like sold my fixtures, done all the things, um, announced everybody that I’m closing, closing.

Rachel:                                 [00:35:51]               I had a Facebook group and one of my friends said, you know, if you just started a Facebook group and you put in the items that you had, that would be a lot easier for me. Then scrolling through different posts, I’d really like to see what you have, but I’m not going to come in. I don’t have the time. So if you could just post stuff in your Facebook group, that would be really easy for me to scroll through and see what you have that way. So I started this Facebook group and it went okay for a little bit and one of my workers, um, called out for the day and so I had to go work. No one else was available, whatever happened. So I’m sitting there and I said, man, this is some really good stuff and I can’t believe nobody’s bought this because it’s a really good price.

Rachel:                                 [00:36:26]               So I posted it in the Facebook group and it sold almost instantly. And so then I posted something else and somebody else bought it and I posted something else. And so I ended up spending the majority of the day just posting stuff and almost everything sold. This was on a Saturdays when the bells ring and the lights? The clouds? Yes. Yes. Okay. So then they said, when are you going to do this again? I said, well, tomorrow of course, because I don’t know what’s happening and I just feel like I need to keep going. So that was a Saturday. So Sunday morning I wake up and I don’t know why I thought of it, but I wanted to give people a better idea of the timeline that I would be posting. So on Saturday it was just every few minutes I would post something and it like dragged out all day.

Rachel:                                 [00:37:07]               And for me not having a lot of time, that’s pretty annoying because I’m not gonna sit there all day and, and look at things. So I said, how about this? I’m going to go online from six to nine tonight and I’m going to post a different item every minute. So I’m going to post 180 items tonight from six to [9:00] PM. And I just made it up while I was playing with my kids and I just thought of it and I thought, that doesn’t sound that hard. And so I announced it and everybody was like, great, we’ll see you then. And so I, um, I went to the shop, my mom, uh, works with me sometimes and so she came down there and it ended up that it was really hard because by then people knew that we were closing and so a ton of people were coming in the store to see what we had.

Rachel:                                 [00:37:47]               And I was trying to schedule posts all day and I didn’t finish. And so during the actual three hour time we started running around like crazy and I was like bringing more stuff. I need more items and my mom’s trying to run and bring me stuff. And so we’re posting everything. And again, almost everything sold out. So then I realized there was this like social competition factor of not, of not knowing what was coming and not knowing what was about to be posted and seeing that other people might get it before you did and that it’s a great deal that people were just sitting there waiting and waiting to see what was going to be posted next. And it was crazy to me because all of this stuff had been available in the store. Like, if you had just shown up at the store that day, you could have bought it all.

Rachel:                                 [00:38:33]               But because I’m presenting in this different format, it almost all sold out. And then I started having people come and pick up their orders and they said, I don’t even know what I got. I just saw that people were buying it and I just thought I had to have one. And they were like, so what is it? And I was like, are you serious? So you just bought something you don’t even know? Then I had one lady came in and she said, I didn’t want to miss anything. So my husband was spoon feeding me the dinner so that I didn’t take my fingers off the keyboard so that I could say sold, you know, quickly, because it’s whoever says it fast, you know, the fastest or whatever. And so, um, so then that just kind of spun out of control to where now every week, um, I still do the same thing now.

Rachel:                                 [00:39:12]               We post about two items a minute and every Sunday evening and my Facebook group and I have new products every week. And, um, I’ve narrowed it down a little bit to where every 30 minutes is a different category because I just thought, I’m definitely not my target customer. I would never sit through three hours of this. Um, but if, um, I thought if I knew that all of the kids’ stuff was going to be from seven to seven 30, maybe I would show up for that. And so now I give them a category for every 30 minutes. So all of the smalls will be during this 30 minutes, all of the plus size will be during this 30 minutes. The miscellaneous or the holiday will be then. And so then they know what to expect. So every week I announced what the schedule is going to be and then I post a new products and they, whoever says sold first gets it.

Rachel:                                 [00:40:00]               They don’t know how many I have. I might only have one. I might have hundreds. It just, you know, it depends on what, what our inventory is and then they can check out after that. So now I have created a thing. It is definitely a thing. People in this group. Yeah. Yeah. We’re about to hit 2,500 now and so fine. You created your real more. Yes, yes. And I now have a team of delivery drivers because I wanted to offer cheap shipping where I wanted to say, I didn’t want anybody to think about the shipping costs. I didn’t want that to be a reason that they didn’t buy something. And so I made it where shipping is $4 and then if you, if you buy a lot of items, it’s an extra dollar an item. But I wanted it to be cheap enough that you’d be like, yeah, that’s fine.

Rachel:                                 [00:40:48]               And so, but it was cheaper than actual shipping. So then I ran into a problem there because I’m losing money on shipping every time, but I didn’t. And everybody was like, well you should just charge real shipping. But how many times have you gone to check out with like a shirt and then you see what the real shipping is and you’re like, yeah, I didn’t need it that bad. So I didn’t want anybody to have that feeling. And so I worked out that it’s actually cheaper for me to hire delivery drivers at least locally in Houston and have them deliver all of the packages at an hourly rate than it would be for me to pay shipping for each of those packages. So now I have a team of delivery drivers. They call themselves the Moxie elves and um, and they go and deliver a few times a week.

Rachel:                                 [00:41:29]               Um, everybody’s packaging. And the really cool thing is I found, um, I found software to automate the Facebook group and a lot of people don’t talk about that in the Amazon world. So I didn’t have any experience with it and I just knew I was spending so much time doing invoices and it started to like kind of take over my time. And I’m a big advocate, like I said, of looking at how you’re spending your time and, and what you can do to outsource that. And so I found software that will automate my Facebook group. So as soon as somebody says sold it creates an invoice for them and they can go see where they are on the wait list. They can go see if it’s sold out. They can see that, you know, that’s why they didn’t get it. They can take things out of their cart.

Rachel:                                 [00:42:10]               It used to be so painful a few months ago when somebody would say, you know what, nevermind, I pass and then I’d have to go, okay, let me go take it out of your invoice. Oh, who’s next? Okay, Jessica snacks. Hey Jessica, would you still like this pair of shoes? I can add it to your invoice now. It like the time suck was so real. It was crazy. So now I have the software and the software company has over, it’s called comment sold and they have yes, and they, that’s what they do is they automate Facebook groups and it was a, it was a husband and wife who started their own and the wife was like, I am spending so much time on invoices. And the husband knew how to, how to write code and so he created this for her and now they have over 20 it’s, I think it’s geared towards boutiques.

Rachel:                                 [00:42:53]               And so when I’m talking to them, they said they don’t know anybody else who’s doing what I’m doing. And, and so that was very encouraging to me that they have over 20,000 clients and they don’t know anybody that’s doing things the way that I’m doing it. And then, um, Bloomingdale’s corporate office contacted me and I have bought stuff from them in the past. And so they contacted me to see what I’m doing. And when I told them that they had a staff meeting with all of their regional managers across the country, just ask them, do you know anybody else that’s doing this? And they came back and said, they don’t know anybody else that’s doing this. And so they asked if they could join the group. And so now I have, um, people from their corporate office in the group looking at what customers, like what kind of brands they like, what products they’re buying. And then they call me every week and say, we’ve put together a truck and we think that, you know, this is the kind of stuff that your group would like. We’re not going to release it to the public or anything like that until you let us know if you want it. And

Stephen:                             [00:43:51]               so wait, you get a chance to buy it or get paid a commission on it? Which one is it?

Rachel:                                 [00:43:57]               So I get a chance to buy it for the group.

Stephen:                             [00:43:59]               No kidding. So you could do a group buy and then you get a chance to look, wait it out. Wow. And then you get a chance though for them it’s a win because they get to see what it sells for. So they get to see what the, you know, what the market thinks of something. Right. They get to see what’s popular. Right. Beautiful research. I mean, that’s what it sounds like to me. For them.

Rachel:                                 [00:44:20]               Yeah, no, it’s definitely a win-win. So I mean, I’m getting, I’m giving my group awesome things that they want. Um, and then they’re getting my dollars and you know, they want to monopolize that if they can. And then I just signed a contract last week with, um, with a company that does all luxury goods. So like Dolce and Gabbana and Armani, I mean like, you know, $2,000 jackets and all that kind of stuff and they’re gonna liquidate to me. And so I, I’m going to just try that and see if the higher end stuff at a, um, at a discount would be good for the group. So now I’m just like trying different things. And so that’s when I come in and the girls are like, okay, what are, you know, what are we doing now? And so we have trucks coming in every week with, with products and we check them in and list them in the group.

Rachel:                                 [00:45:09]               I have virtual assistants that now schedule the posts in the group and um, and now it feels like it’s a thing. I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s gonna I keep waiting for everybody to get over it and, and think, okay, we’ve bought enough now. But so far if it feels like it’s still a thing. So you grew 566 members last week or last month. I mean that’s huge. I mean from your base, how are they finding you? Is it mostly word of mouth? Are you running edge or they, it would seem to me that, you know, buyer’s clubs, you know, spread like wildfire in Pinterest and those kinds of places. Right. So this one that actually is, it’s really hard to grow because um, I tell the members that they’re selfish, but um, but they are worried about other people getting their deals because I don’t have a lot of each items.

Rachel:                                 [00:46:00]               So sometimes I only have one something and it’s just whoever says it first. And so they don’t really like to tell a lot of people about it because they’re worried about them stealing the things that they want. So I’ve had the, I’ve had to really work with them about like, it’s okay, you can, I will always have new things you can tell your friends about it. Um, but it is somewhat word of mouth. The ads that I’ve drawn and haven’t really been successful. Um, I think it’s a little bit hard to explain and an ad. Um, and sometimes people are suspicious of still, it’s kinda like the garage sell effect. And so, um, word of mouth is definitely the best. Uh, people post in the group, they post pictures of their outfits every week and say what they got here and just how, yeah. And it’s, there’s just a community and there they call themselves maxillas now.

Rachel:                                 [00:46:45]               And, um, it’s just created a really cool vibe that everybody’s really into once they’re in it. And so I think whenever people ask them where they got their stuff or how they were able to get gifts or different things like that, then, um, then that’s how it grows. But it’s a lot of word of mouth and, um, and people that aren’t selfish telling their friends. And then this week I was at the, the international, um, quilt festival and they have a lot of embroidery machines. And so I bought one of those super expensive like professional embroidery machine and I’m gonna try and, um, start personalizing some of the stuff that I’m able to buy, like in, uh, in very large bolt. I’m gonna, um, I’m gonna start like embroidering names and doing all that and then that’ll give somebody else a job. So I really liked the ability that this is created to, to give people jobs, whether it’s delivering or, um, packing up orders or helping schedule posts or different things like that. It’s just really cool to see.

Stephen:                             [00:47:43]               I’m, I’m blown away because again, you created a marketplace, you created your own Amazon, you created your own, you took that sense of urgency. I love, uh, your comments, social competition, um, to create a marketplace. And that’s really what you’ve been able to do. Now, do you charge a fee, um, or have you thought about, you know, like a $99 a year membership fee and that gives you a free shipping or anything like that? Have you done any of that kind of stuff?

Rachel:                                 [00:48:06]               I’ve, yeah, I’ve thought about it, but I’m still trying to, it’s only a few months old right now. So I started it, I closed my store July 31st. Um, and so it’s only really since then that this is, um, this is blown up and I just opened another store so I was already closing and I was moving everything to a warehouse and then the Facebook group blew up that last week. And so, and everybody was like, but wait, how are we going to pick up our stuff? And I was like, you didn’t want to pick up your stuff. You were asking me to ship it. What do you mean? And everybody’s like, no, now that we know about this and we have the Facebook group, I want to pick up, I want to come try it on. I wanna you know, and so, so now I just opened up a new store in a different part of town and so, and I moved my warehouse over there.

Rachel:                                 [00:48:48]               So we’re doing everything all in one place again. But it’s a, it’s a better setup for what we’re doing. And, um, I’ve thought about definitely doing a membership fee, but right now I’m just, because it’s a little bit hard to grow because of, uh, everybody being scared about losing their stuff. I’m just trying to grow it. And then I’ve thought about that. And then the other thing that I’m working on is, um, there are a lot of people who want to start their own Poshmark business or their own, um, maybe even doing what I do. I do have people that, because I’m selling things so cheap, I have a core group of resellers who are buying from me to resell either on Facebook marketplace or in their own neighborhood or something like that. And so they buy a lot. And so they would like to buy the truckloads that I’m buying, but maybe, you know, I couldn’t have bought a whole truck whenever I started.

Rachel:                                 [00:49:34]               I started with $100. And so that’s all I had at the time. And so if there’s a way that I can help those people by buying, you know, half of a pallet or a quarter of a pallet or something like that, and I’m able to buy my trucks like normal, but split it off into smaller lots, then that’s what I’m looking at doing now to help people grow their own, you know, marketplace a business and get this up. Because everything that I’m getting is, is brand new. It’s just overstock and, and so it’s all in the box, you know, with the tags, all that kind of stuff. Nothing’s wrong with it. So, um, that’s the next thing that I’m looking at doing. And so that one might have a membership, um, just to make sure it’s all serious people or whatever. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And because they, they don’t, they don’t know how to contact these companies. They don’t know how to do the contracts. They don’t know, and they can’t afford to buy the amount that you have to buy. And so there’s, there’s a really high barrier to entry there. And so I’m just trying to make it easier for those people to, to jump in by, um, putting it together. So that’s my next thing that I’m about to start working on.

Stephen:                             [00:50:38]               So this is the second time I’ve seen this, but you fixed a lot of the pain points. There’s a, I met a guy in an auction one time and he’s telling me he has a Facebook group. He sells all this stuff, brand new merchandise he’s buying. And he sells it in his Facebook group, but they have to go pick it up from him in a church parking lot on Fridays from noon till whenever. And I’m like, what? How do you get paid? And I mean it was all the complications that he was talking about. I’m thinking I sell food. I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t do that because it was like those were all pain points to me and he didn’t see it. They like, cause he’s thrilled he’s selling stuff. Right. But what here talking about this comment sold, um, and having to step, can you talk about how you process? So you know, you’ve got this merchandise coming in. I mean, I assume you can sell some of it online on, on Amazon or wherever else to on Poshmark or whatever. And then you say, no, this is going to go to the Facebook group. What’s your process of bringing it in and getting it ready for that Sunday night, half hour? Cause that’s gotta be, that’s gotta be a lot of work. That’s a lot.

Rachel:                                 [00:51:39]               It is a lot. So, um, so we have, uh, we have a flow, so I went to the, the Coughlin’s, I’m in San Antonio. I went to their conference about efficiency and flow. Yeah. Yeah. They’re my favorites. And um, and so we definitely have our flow going, but so the pallets come in, um, we check everything in first because there’s always, you know, something missing or whatever. So we check everything in first and then we check it to see if it’s in, um, in perfect condition. And if it is, then it can go to one of the marketplaces. That’s part of how the, the whole machine works is that I will sell some of the things for full price in different market places. So we decided what’s going to the group and what it’s going to other market places first. And we split it and we have a, we have the manifest in the spreadsheets and so we Mark it on there, what’s going to the group and what’s, what’s not. And then the virtual assistants will go through and schedule the post because they have everything that they need on the spreadsheet. They have photos, they have the cost and what we’re going to be selling it for. They have everything that [inaudible]

Stephen:                             [00:52:39]               you’re doing that there in house, right? So that gets developed. You take that manifest, you add the additional column columns and all the rest of that. What percentage of your sales, I mean if you don’t mind telling some of your secret sauce, what percentage of that that pallet that comes in, um, ends up on a stand alone marketplace, not yours. Um, versus going out on your Facebook group versus,

Rachel:                                 [00:53:05]               yeah, maybe half. And so, so now we’ve changed it where the retail store only has what didn’t sell out in the [inaudible].

Stephen:                             [00:53:12]               So this is ultimate liquidation at that point.

Rachel:                                 [00:53:15]               Yes. And so the, the group gets everything first and that’s part of the appeal. So people that are local have said, can I come in and shop in your, in your store? And there’s really no benefit shopping in the store unless you wanted to try on something that didn’t sell out and you don’t, you know, maybe you wouldn’t. That’s not an instant purchase because you need to really make sure that it fits or that you like it. But otherwise, because now we’re shipping nationwide and so it, I don’t want there to be any benefit to coming in in person. The group is where it’s at and I’m really trying to automate everything that I can and so, and taking away the pain points, like you said, I mean some of these people are getting same day delivery I want and I have people that are saying, I don’t go to Marshall’s anymore.

Rachel:                                 [00:53:54]               I don’t go to Nordstrom rack anymore. I only shop with you because I know that I’m going to get it faster. I don’t have to dig through racks. I don’t have to. You’re going to bring everything to me and you’re going to bring it to my house and they don’t pay you? No, there’s no delivery fee. It’s just in the shipping fee and it’s just my prerogative whether it makes more sense to me to pay the shipping or delivery. And so I think we’re really making a difference on the, on the service side, um, and giving some, giving them something that they didn’t have before. You don’t have to figure out how to take your kids in the cart and give them phone to watch while you go and dig through racks at any of those stores. You just have to, to pay attention on Sunday nights after they go to bed and, and say sold and then we’ll get it out to you the next day or within a few days or whatever.

Rachel:                                 [00:54:38]               And so I’m really trying to make it as easy as possible, but then my flow, I’m also trying to make super efficient so we ship up to around half of it out either to Amazon or different marketplaces, if it makes sense. If it’s totally perfect. A lot of it is still in the, because it’s overstocked. A lot of it is still on the manufacturer. Packaging like was never opened, was never out at a store, et cetera. And I was nervous about selling it on Amazon because of the IP complaints and different things like that and, and just being able to show the paperwork and the, um, the supply chain and all of that. But because I’ve created and cultivated these relationships, like I did get a complaint, um, from one of the, the brands and I called who I bought it from and they said, send me that email right now.

Rachel:                                 [00:55:24]               They should not have done that. I’m gonna take care of it right now. You know, we can’t have that happening to you, you know, blah, blah, blah. And I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I hadn’t had that relationship. And so, so knowing that I have those, I know that I, yeah, that I have something to stand on there. And so I feel more confident doing it. If I, if I was just starting out, I would not be selling any of that on Amazon because it’s too a, it would make me too nervous.

Stephen:                             [00:55:47]               No, it’s funny. I’m sitting here listening to you and I’m thinking about, you know how you’re like, wow, I don’t think I’m doing anything that’s special. I’m looking, anybody else listening? This is going to be like, are you kidding me? How did she pick you? This out you’ve created, you’re, you’re not supposed to be able to sell against Amazon. You’re not supposed to be able to compete with those people. It’s too hard to create a marketplace. It’s too hard to get customers. Rachel, who’s you’re supposed to learn that at some point you have to learn that.

Stephen:                             [00:56:16]               I don’t know that you stumbled into it. I think you’ve recognized the opportunity. You paid attention and you saw what your customers are doing you in. He acted on it. I mean that, that’s, those are all gifts. Everybody listening is going to sit there and say, those are all gifts. Um, so now, you know, fast forward, you are coaching others on how to do their lane. Not necessarily this complicated cause it says you got a lot of moving pieces and very complicated and each one of them is a learning point, right? Each one, it’s just like that comment sold, right? Not knowing how to write. Each one of these things are learning, selling on Facebook as opposed to buying merchandise as opposed to developing relationships as opposed to as opposed to as opposed to it. Right? So, so you’re coaching people on how to do this.

Stephen:                             [00:56:59]               I think it’s, it’s wonderful. Um, again, you’re demonstrating what it can be, right? Do you don’t have to be all those things. And I think that’s the, I hope people take this away. What she’s doing sounds awesome, but it’s complicated. It’s maybe it’s simple, but it’s not easy, right? It is. Maybe it is simple, but it’s clearly not easy. So be very cautious on that. But again, she’s expanding. You described people that can buy from you in bulk that can create a business. So again, find your lane. I love that. Love it. Love it. Love it.

Rachel:                                 [00:57:31]               There are some people that are going to flea markets and you know, like that’s not my lane, but they have awesome success buying from me and then going to flea markets because that’s, that’s where they have found their success. Like that’s awesome. There’s room for all of us. My dad, um, told me once, you know, if you had to start today, you wouldn’t have been able to get all of these different tools that you have. You know, you have to remember when you’re starting out, like you can’t, you don’t get inventory lab and, and Abby goal or be goal or whatever. You don’t get all of those things right when you’re starting thing because it’s too much, you know, the, you have to just start, take your first step and then figure out where your lane is, comments old part of it is I’m trying to diversify as well.

Rachel:                                 [00:58:11]               And so I like what comments old is doing to now. I’ve reached the level in sales that they’re going to build me an app and um, went just crazy. And so there’s going to be a Moxies app, um, coming out. And so that, so that people will be able to buy from the app as well. And, and one of their points was, you know, when Facebook or Instagram goes down for the day, um, and I went, I heard somebody say this when they were talking about Facebook groups at Joy’s conference in Houston that she had, um, somebody was saying, you know, when Facebook goes down, I have my email list. And, and so it’s always about having something else. So if, if Amazon shut you down, you have some other marketplaces. If Facebook went down for the day, then in theory I would have an app where people would still be able to purchase.

Rachel:                                 [00:58:54]               But it’s just making sure the thing that scares my husband the most is me depending on anybody else. And so, you know, getting, I’ve been suspended before just like a ton of people have. And so, um, that’s really scary. And that’s a, that’s a hit to the gut when that happens, when you have people depending on you. And so if there’s a way that you can diversify and anything, no matter what you’re doing, if you could diversify, then you should try to do that so that you’re not just losing everything, um, when you get shut down or when something happens or it goes away or it’s not as popular anymore. So that’s, that’s part of where this comes from.

Stephen:                             [00:59:30]               I think it’s so smart. I, I had just had Jamie Swank on, she talked about her husband, Adam, who’s all their extra time and effort that they want to invest into a career is going into their business career, not his career. He’s deselected himself while he still has value and he loves his job in that and he’s still giving them everything. I think this is such a smart way to think about things. Invest. Um, Oh, give me the chills. Say, this is why I wanted you on Rachel. All right. So if somebody has a further questions or they want to reach out to you, what’s the best way to get in touch with you?

Rachel:                                 [01:00:03]               Uh, Facebook is the best way, so I have to think. Yeah, Facebook groups. I have, um, I have one where I just share random thoughts called build your side hustle with Rachel and, and then I have my Moxies group that’s Moxies VIP B. If you want to see the kind of products that I’m selling

Stephen:                             [01:00:20]               and you can buy and then Moxies VIP

Rachel:                                 [01:00:23]               and you can buy, but you could also just alert, there’s a lot of Amazon sellers in there that are just lurking because they’re trying to see if that’s something that they can create as well.

Stephen:                             [01:00:31]               Well, again, you’re, you’re addressing the pain points, which is the smart move. You’re working on your business, not in your business all the time, and you’ve got to work in your business. And we all do, right? I mean, that’s part of it, but when you’re working on it, that’s the secrets. There’s the advantage, right? Your big secret advantage, you’re working on it, right? You’re putting in the work as we started the conversation. All right, last thing, um, I always ask is, you know, how, how do you move past, you know, this question, how do you get past stuck? Because I guarantee you you almost gave this up dozens of time. Right. And you push past it. I am going to probably one day. Right. All right. So how do you, how, what’s your advice?

Rachel:                                 [01:01:09]               I really think if, if people look at where they’re spending their time, um, they would see they would get their own off aha moment. And so what I like to do when I start getting stuck is I do like a time map. There’s a lot of different words for it, but I just track my time for a day, a couple of days a week, and I see where I’m spending my time. And then I see is there anything that I can outsource? Is there something that I’m wasting my time doing? And maybe I, you know, if you’re applying the 80 20 rule that you shouldn’t be spending your time doing, um, but I really think just looking at your own time and how you’re spending, it gives you so many of the answers because you could be wasting your time on a process that isn’t efficient. You could be doing something that you could pay somebody a much lower wage than what your time is worth to take care of for you, whether it’s cleaning your house, you know, whatever.

Rachel:                                 [01:01:58]               We’ve talked about outsourcing on here a lot, but um, I really think looking at your time as is a good start for people that are stuck and just to see where could they go if they could, if you could take anything off of your to do list, how could you do that? And then I promise you there is somebody that could do that for you so that you can work on it. That’s true too. That’s true. And so I even saw that with my, with my team, they were taking so long to list items and we were really getting a bottleneck in there for the Sunday sale. And it’s because that’s not their, that’s not their gift. My virtual assistants who sit at a computer all day, that’s their gift. So I said, okay, let’s just take the pictures and you do what you have to do in person, which is take the pictures and give them everything else because let, uh, I’m a big, I’m a strength trainer.

Rachel:                                 [01:02:45]               There’s StrengthsFinder, it’s a book. And um, that’s part of the consulting that I do as well as like helping teams work within their strengths and the saying about do what you do best and outsource the rest is so true. Like you have to for each of your team members or for yourself. Like you have to figure out what you are best at and where your strengths lie and how you can have your team work more in their strengths because the benefits that you’re gonna see are just exponential versus if they’re working within their weaknesses and just struggling to, to be okay. So as long as, as much as you can, obviously when you’re just starting out, you have to do what you have to do. But if there is a way for you to outsource some of the things that you can do to look at where you’re spending your time and just maybe turn your phone off.

Rachel:                                 [01:03:29]               Um, Anthony buoy Tran, he talks about that sometimes where he just, yeah, yeah, he’s a Houston person, so I like him a lot. And um, he, uh, he’ll, you know, turn his phone on airplane mode or do whatever during the blocks of time just so he can focus and not be distracted by social media or whatever because he realized that that was chewing up his time. And so even if it’s small things like that, that could be the enough time to help you get unstuck. That could be the, the thing that helps you move forward is just probably realizing how much time you’re doing. There’s apps that you can download that’ll show you where you’re spending your time on your phone, but, but I, I really feel like there’s tweaks that everybody can make if they just really paid attention. Because where you think you spend your time is usually not accurate. Once you start tracking it,

Stephen:                             [01:04:10]               it’s just like the calorie. Oh, and they had a spoon yet. This spoon.

Rachel:                                 [01:04:12]               Exactly. Yes. Yes, yes. It’s the same thought. Yeah. Where they say track everything that goes in your mouth. Yes.

Stephen:                             [01:04:20]               Thank you so much. I wish you nothing but success. It’s awesome.

Rachel:                                 [01:04:23]               Thank you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

Stephen:                             [01:04:26]               How cool was that? Um, I just, it’s just so neat to watch. I’m so fortunate to be able to sit in my seat and get to talk to somebody like that who she doesn’t see it, you know how special what she’s doing is. Um, it seems so, you know, secondary to her yet. I sit back and I’m like in awe and I’m sitting back and saying, man, Oh man, what, what a smart person who is figuring it out and doing the real hard work. I mean, this is not easy stuff. She’s got a lot of moving pieces. I’m sure she, like she said, do you want to give up all the time? But she’s pushed past it. And so I would suggest you could too, and reach out to her if you, if you need, uh, you know, some helper more information. She has a coaching system and if you’re interested in it, I mean, you heard her, that’s somebody who you can get confident with. And if you connect, man, reach out to her. Um, I just, I’d love, uh, that she’s helping others find their way to sell

Cool voice guy:                  [01:05:18]               e-commerce, momentum.com e-commerce momentum.com take care. Thanks for listening to the e-commerce momentum podcast. All the links mentioned today can be found@incomersmomentum.com under this episode number, please remember to subscribe and like us on iTunes.

 

Stephen-Peterson

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