Don't give up on dropshipping... My Story.

Do not give up, bro. Do not give up. I promise whatever you're going through right now when it comes to e-commerce, I was there. I was there at one point. And this is gonna— I want to tell you guys my exact story because I know so many of you guys are gonna relate to this. And so many guys have been or are even in this position that I was in. And so I wanted to give you guys some inspiration in this video and really understand like wherever you are, like I was too. So I'm gonna give you guys I'm gonna start when— so let's start when I was in high school, right? This was before I even like basically knew what dropshipping was or anything. But when I was growing up in high school, I like to— like I was always an ambitious person, I guess, but I wasn't very— I didn't have a work ethic. I was very lazy. It's cool, like every time I would go to class, every time I'd have homework, anything, I would try to find a way out of it. Or find a way to like literally cheat. And I did because I was just crafty in that way. And so I took a lot of shortcuts growing up and I didn't really have a work ethic. And so by the first time I heard about e-commerce, it was from YouTube. I just watched probably some sort of B has a YouTube video or something like that. And I remember hearing about it, I was like, dude, that sounds so sick. Like at the time I already was very skeptical of college because, you know, I heard these videos and saw these videos from people who were questioning it and I didn't really feel like there's any of those careers that I really wanted to take. And so I was open, very open-minded to, you know, different business models at that point. And when it actually came to me starting my first store, it was awful. Like, I don't even know when it was, it was probably in like 2019 or 2020. And I remember it was like these magnet chargers, like the worst product ever, the literally the worst product. I threw up a picture ad on Facebook and spent $10 on it and then was like, nope, this thing don't work. I spent the $10, didn't get a sale, like dropshipping doesn't work. Um, that was me back then. And then over the next couple years, I started to work on myself a little bit more. Actually, I got a job at Chipotle. I started to go to the gym and I started to build, you know, more work ethic, right? And these better beliefs and stuff. And at the same time, I started reading a little bit as well. I believe I read like, you know, the classics like Rich Dad Poor Dad. I'm trying to think what— it's probably some Napoleon Hill books and stuff like that, you know, 5-Hour Workweek, all that stuff, because I was so obsessed with becoming an entrepreneur. Like, I knew I didn't want to go to college at this point. I didn't know what I was going to do. I was like thinking like real estate or something like that. Like, I'd, you know, do one of those— I forgot. I don't even know what the loans are called anymore. FHA loan and buy a house and like that's going to make me rich. So honestly, hindsight, that was such a naive thing to think about. Um, but yeah, I just knew I had this, this feeling in my heart that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Not because I wanted to be an entrepreneur, because I wanted freedom, right? I really, really wanted freedom. And I would make— I started making vision boards and everything about this. And so eventually I started and tried an SMMA company, and that didn't work out. I remember my dad's actually a pastor And I ran ads for his church, I think one time, and actually ran pretty good because they weren't like ads to like to sell anything. They were just ads for engagement and to get people to show up. And it actually worked. I was like, huh, that's kind of interesting. But I tried to get a couple other businesses. I messaged them, I emailed people, never really cold called. I wasn't that into it. And so I just like, I was like, dude, I don't really want to cold call people. I don't like this business model either.. And so that is the time where I was like, okay, you know, SMMA, I kind of understand a little bit better what Facebook ads do now, like how this works, how advertising works, right? Like I see like it, you could actually get a result from it. So I was like, okay, I'm going to try to do dropshipping again. So that is when I tried to do dropshipping again, and that was probably in 2021, um, something like that, something around there. And at that time, the first thing I tested was one of those alarm clocks. I'll put it up on the screen. It was like a sunset alarm clock, right? And I was trying to do organic for it, and I was just making these TikTok videos hoping to get sales to my site, have the link in bio, etc. And it never worked. I never got any sales. My site was crap anyway, and it just didn't work out. And I kept trying organic for the next— I don't even know, man, like 4 months— until finally I was like, okay dude, like I have this job, right? I'm working. I want to try to actually do maybe something different. Like, I want to do paid ads. And for whatever reason, paid ads just stuck out to me. You know, it was scary because at the time, like, I didn't have a lot of money. I probably made like $2,000 a month, and then I paid rent and I had other bills to pay. Nothing crazy because I was living at home, but, um, I probably only had like $1,000-ish a month to spend on ads, which is not a lot. I was really, honestly, really scared and really worried about doing it, but I took the leap of faith and started testing products. Obviously, my first 5 products just totally flopped. I don't even remember what they were at the time. But then I remember one of my next products I hit, it was the dumbest thing in the world. It was a cat ball, literally an electric cat ball. I'll put it up on the screen. You press play., and then it like buzzes around and like rolls around the floor. And so I started making some TikToks, I was filling my own ads with it, and I actually started to get sales. I got like $18K in sales, maybe $3K in profit. And I remember I was like, dude, this is sick, like I can actually make money from this. Um, and at that time I was like, all I wanted dude was to make that first sale, because if I, if I could just make a sale, that shows me that this thing is actually possible. Because I knew at the time like I'm still just starting out, like I'm still a beginner. Like I— like maybe like one of you guys right now, like if you guys don't have your first sale, like all you care about is getting that first sale because it just, it just proves to you that it's possible. And so once I got that, I was like, okay, bang, got my first sale. Now I'm gonna go do this full time. Um, not full time as in like I still have my job. I only made $3K, so I wasn't gonna quit anything, but at that point I really understood that it could work out. And so I basically just started putting a lot and a lot more effort into it. And you know, that cat product died out. And then I didn't find another winning product for the next probably 5 months or something like that. I just kept testing, kept testing, and I even had a point— I had a point of rock bottom where I just thought about giving up because nothing was working. And I'm so lucky to this day, if you guys know him, Um, his name is Ant, Ant Dropshipping, um, Ant LaPieria or something like that. I mean, a number of boys know as well, but me and him were in the same Discord. We were in Rippy Club at the time, and I remember when he first started, he started like around the exact same time I did, and we were both trying, you know, different methods. And I even have like personal DMs with him on Discord, uh, texting him one-on-one And I remember going into Discord for whatever reason one day, and I just saw that he posted in the win column a $1K day, and that blew my mind. I was like, what? And then the next thing I see is him post a $100K month. I'm like, yo, what? Like, me and this guy are literally starting at the same time. Me and this guy literally were at the same skill level at the same time, and now he's doing $100K a month. And that like shook me. I was like, dude, like, if he can do it, I can do it. And so that really just gave me a ton of belief, and that gave me the momentum to start testing again. Um, and so I started testing and testing. I found a product, and it like kind of broke even all of December. But then when it came to January 4th, I remember it just started to absolutely print. And at this time, I was doing TikTok ads only. I wasn't doing Facebook. And I ended up scaling that product in that month to $78K in revenue and probably like $10K in profit.. And so that was huge for me. I've never even sniffed $10K in my life and I just made it in a month. Like, I was like, what is going on right now? And so I promised myself, and I think I told a couple of coworkers as well, uh, where I worked at the time, that if I make $1,000 in a day, I'm quitting my job and going all in. And I believe on one of the last days of the month, I made that $1,000 a day. I did like $7K in revenue and $1,000 in profit. And so I was like, all right, time to quit. At this time, that was not the smartest decision, and that was because my parents happened to be downsizing, right? Which meant that I had to find my own place to live. And so at the time, I got all these other things thrown at me. I had to get an apartment, which I found, and I had a roommate for, but it's still much higher expenses than I ever had. I had, you know, actual bills, I had car payments, I had an apartment. And so I had all these other expenses, right, along with the store just dying out because I didn't know what Chinese New Year was. And so I didn't have stock available or anything. And so that store, like, I had the profit and stuff, but the store just eventually just died. And so never, never got to run that product again. And it was more of a seasonal thing anyway. And so I had this $10K at least. I spent some of that on the down payment for the apartment. Spent some of it on furniture and stuff like that. And so I was probably down to actually like $7,000 or maybe $6,000 at this point. And I was like, okay, I just need to lock in and start testing more products. And so I did that. And for the next 4 months, I didn't find a single winning product. So 4 months of zero income, $700 or $800 in rent a month, and I had $5,000. As you guys can see, that is a gateway to debt. That was basically a gateway to debt, and it happened. Eventually, yeah, I did get in debt. Because I did find products that were doing well. Like, I found, um, I was like selling a dress or something at one point. I was making some profit from it, but it unfortunately— I've never sold clothing before, so I didn't know how important sizing was, and I completely messed it up. And from then on, I— yeah, I just got into debt. Like, I, I was using my Amexes at that point, and like, I was trying to pay for stuff and it just wasn't working. And I remember at my rock bottom, I had all these expenses, right? I had all this rent that was due. I had everything. I had $30 in my bank account and then $1,000 left to spend on a credit card. So probably $8,000 in debt on credit cards combined, plus $1,000 that I could spend with $30 in my bank account. So I had like, I was in debt. Like I was just like, just deadass, I was just in debt at that point. And for whatever reason, during that month— that was the month of July. So I quit my job in January. Now it's July. I haven't made any money since January, right? For whatever reason, with all the stress being on me, with all the pressure being on me, with me being like, dude, I'm going to have to get a job, like I'm literally going to have to get a job. And how embarrassing is that? When I walk into my old job, I literally quit on the spot because I made a K in a day, and then I have to go and get another job in my same town. Like, people are going to see me. Like, people are going to, like, literally— like, I remember being— feeling so embarrassed. And I was like, wow. But for whatever reason, guys, I decided to be super grateful. I decided to give gratitude to God. I decided to— when I prayed, instead of praying for things to work out, for whatever reason, I thanked God for the predicament I was in. I thanked God for being in debt. I thanked God for having this pressure. I was like, God, I know it's going to form me into a better man. And guys, I kid you not, this is not an act. This is not something that just happens like this. I've never had this happen before in my life, and I've tested so many products, guys, even to now at my skill level. This doesn't happen when I needed it the most. When I needed it the absolute most. On August 1st, I tested a product and day 1 it had a 5x ROAS, a 5x ROAS, okay? And that wasn't a 5x ROAS at $100 spent, that was a 5x ROAS at $1,000 spent. I scaled it up to $1,000 that day and it made $5,000. Day one. That has never happened in my life at that point. To this point in my life, I've done $7 million in revenue. I've never had a day one like that. And so I truly believe my belief and my gratitude and my appreciation towards God, and not, you know, being upset at him or not, you know, being negative and just keeping positive and thanking him even though I was going through crap at the time. He rewarded me for that, and I went on to scale that product to $3 million in sales and completely changing my life. Literally completely changing my life. I don't live in my hometown anymore. I live in a, like, a mansion with my best friends who do e-com. Like, it completely changed my life, and it's insane to say that. And ever since then, like, I've started other stories that have done millions in revenue, right? And so, like, I don't want to get like too like crazy into this, but God was a huge part of my success. And yes, I did put in the work. Yes, I tested the products. Yes, I went through the failure, the struggle, and everything. But I praise— I give my praise to God because without him, like, there's no shot I would have made it through. If I didn't think there was a God, or if I didn't believe in God, or if I didn't know there was a God, I would have crumbled. I truly would have crumbled under the pressure. I would have been— right now I'd be working at a pizza place. Like, I'd be making pizzas for $20 an hour. So yeah, that's basically my story. And the last part, like, the last part where I like actually scaled to $3 mil and then I start this next store and it does, you know, another $3 mil, like, that stuff obviously I summed up, but that's not really you guys want to hear because you guys know Like the people— you who is watching this video right now, you're in the spots I was in, probably. Like you're, you're scared, you're struggling, you're worrying. But like all the best advice I can give to you right now is just to trust and be thankful. Be thankful for the work you're putting in, but also thankful that it's not happening like that because there's people out there who have their test, their first winning product. It happens. And it wins, and then they crumble, then they get into debt, and then they never try it again because they don't understand how to deal with failure. Now I've gone through all this stuff, all this crap, all this, you know, judgment from people, all this, like, everything, and it's built me into someone who can literally handle anything. Nothing gets thrown at me nowadays and it literally doesn't faze me. I swear to you, like, I do not get— like, obviously sometimes I might get a little stressed, but It takes a lot for me to get even stressed, to get anxiety, because I have such a strong belief and strong faith, and one that I'm protected by my Father above in heaven, but another that I can handle it because I've handled some really tough scenarios. And so hopefully this inspires some of you guys, and some of you guys who might be in these situations where you're in debt or where you don't know if it's going to work out or you, you fear judgment from others, like just keep going, bro. Keep going. Believe and be grateful. Gratitude, like, I stress that so much. Like, the people who I see who are trying and they're like— I can tell they're mentally down. I have a friend like this who's— I could tell he's just mentally down. I could tell he's just constantly doubting himself and he doesn't know it's gonna work out. Like, bro, just be grateful. Like, you, you are— you are in the game. That enough you should be proud of. Like, you should be proud of— just because you don't have the results, like, You've made it so far. Like, be proud of that. Most people don't even try. So like, yeah, that's basically what I want this video to be about. That's kind of my story up to this point. I know I summed up basically the entirety of my revenue into like, yeah, I just scaled a couple of stores to a million. You can take my word for that. I have videos on it. But I just want to share with you guys that story. And like, my life has completely changed. Completely changed. I'm literally just going to Hawaii in a couple days on a whim for 7 days to spend it with my girlfriend and to enjoy it. We're in a very nice place, we're gonna have a great time. And like, this past year I've traveled to Europe, I've traveled so many different places, I've met great people. My life has completely changed. And the one thing that I know got me to this is not the results It's not the money. It's not any of that. It's the character that God built in me. And that character would only be built if I went through the struggles. If I didn't go through the struggles, I would be a weak-ass man right now, but I'm not. And that's because I struggled. So yeah, for all you guys who are struggling, it's for a reason, and you guys should be grateful for it. Peace.