EP 043: 4 Businesses I Would Start Today

My very first business was an eBay store.
I loved the simplicity of it.

All I had to do was sell things for more than I paid for them.
Seems simple right?

In a nutshell, here is how I did that on eBay…

I would look on eBay Australia for high-demand branded products.
Let’s say… men’s shaving products.

I would then compare what products are sold for on AUS eBay VS USA eBay.

Hoping to find a spread.

A pack of shaver blades might sell for $25 on eBay in Australia.
But… they were $10 on eBay USA.

I would then contact a few store owners in the USA and ask for a bulk deal sent to Australia.

They might sell me all their stock for $8 each.
Leaving me with a 50% + margin.

The store owners were thrilled to have someone making big orders.

They would often email me asking when I wanted more.

They were making money.
I was making money.

It was a nice little arbitrage business.

Until it wasn’t…

What I didn’t realise at the time and only learnt painfully later.

The only reason my business worked was that eBay USA sellers couldn’t directly sell into eBay AUS.

eBay stores could only sell in the country they were in.

When that policy changed, my business was over.

All the USA stores started selling in AUS.

No one wanted to sell me stock when they could make more selling direct to consumers.

To make things worse.

All the stock I had was now being sold on eBay cheaper than I paid for it.

It was a truly painful experience.

I threw in the towel and sold my eBay store to a competitor.

I learned many powerful lessons from this experience, and I want to share 1 with you today.

When the environment changes, so must you.

The mistake I made when the policy change came in…

Trying to make the same business work post the international selling changes.

I should have been innovating forward instead of trying to get something old to work again.

I feel like we are going through something similar today.
A lot has changed in recent years.

I see a lot of business owners stuck in a “going back” mentality.
…There is no going back.

The smart business owners I know are moving forward.

The good news? 

There has never been a better time to be looking forward.

All the changes in the world have presented new and wildly profitable opportunities for business owners.

In this week’s podcast, I wanted to share with you some of the best opportunities I have seen.

In fact: 4 businesses that I would start today.

Honestly, some of these opportunities are so big I have contemplated shutting down my current business to get after them.

I suspect someone out there will start the businesses mentioned in the podcast and will do incredibly well from them.

Anyhow, that’s it from me for this episode.



DISCLAIMER:
All information we share is NOT financial or investment advice and is purely intended for entertainment and educational purposes only. Always seek professional advice before acting on any financial decision.