What I learned from 2+ Years of Dropshipping Full-Time

What's up, guys? We're here in the hot tub. It just snowed today, so I felt like, you know, why not shoot a video in here? But basically, this video, I'm going to be trying to give you guys some of my experience over these last three years where, you know, I went from someone working at Chipotle, someone working at a pizza place, someone who now runs a seven figure business online and lives, you know, a pretty cool life. And there's a lot of stuff that I've learned and I'm still learning a lot as well. And I want to make sure that you guys know that, like, I am not a master at this. I am not perfect. I definitely, definitely, definitely have like so much to learn. So I'm very excited about it. But yeah, let's get into the video. So the first, I have a few talking points I'm gonna go over. But the first one is, in my experience, experience is better than information. And what I mean by this is, like, if you go out and get the reps yourself, rather than, you know, paying someone for like their experience and stuff, it is so much more valuable one because everyone's experience is a bit different and they have different circumstances, different, you know, obstacles that they go through. And your own personal experience, you just learn a lot more from it. And like, let's say if you were to buy someone's course or something and you're, you know, trying to get all this knowledge from that, like, sure, you'll get like the facts, you'll get like the strategies and stuff, but you're not gonna get any of that character development that you would have gotten from actually doing those things yourself. So that's why it's so important to take action and actually do things yourself. And, you know, just understand that, like, you can make anything happen. I know a lot of people don't have that belief, but that is a core belief that you should have. Like, you live in an infinite, like, universe that anything can happen, anything is possible, so you can achieve whatever you want as long as you stay consistent and work hard. And this one's a little more E Comm specific, but creatives are like 80% of the success in e comm. Like, seriously, like 80% of the game is creative. And what I mean by creative is like ads, you know, whether it's picture ads or video ads. And they're like the core thing behind these businesses. If you can do have a crappy landing page and amazing creatives, you will always do better than someone who has crappy Creatives and amazing landing page. Like, it's just, it's just well known at this point. I've seen some people's funnels that are like super bare bones. They're still on like the Sense theme and Shopify and they're still like doing like, you know, hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. So, you know, just keep that in mind. Don't oversess of, like, don't obsess over branding and stuff. Like, I don't know, you don't need to do that when you're first starting out. Really, you can just get started and get good at creatives. Another thing that I've really learned this year is how powerful outsourcing is. So before this year, I used to be like, I had like a couple of editors, but that was basically it, like editors and then customer, you know, virtual assistants. But this year I've really expanded, you know, the payroll and the, the people have working under me. So now I have like, you know, a landing page guy. I have a guy who can make picture ads. I have a guy who manages the, the editors, a creative strategist who comes up with the ideas and like a couple of other vas. I have a whole customer support team now. And it's honestly crazy how much more time you have. Like before, like running the one brand would basically take up all my time. And I didn't really have, you know, much free time to even think about other ideas. But now I'm able to start these other things and like focus on, you know, things. Things like this YouTube even, which I have figured out is very valuable, which I'll talk about later, but it just frees up so much more of your time. And like, you guys know the concept that everyone talks about. You know, work on the business, not in the business. That's what you want to get to. And when you're starting out and you don't have a lot of cash flow and you don't have a lot of money, like it's not really that possible. You're not to do things yourself. But once you can and you get that comfortable amount, whatever that is, I definitely think it's worth it. Next is going to be. Subscriptions are amazing. So currently I do have a subscription brand and I'll talk a little bit more about that in this video as well. But it is crazy how powerful subscriptions are. They really. They made it to where I was like, okay, I need to have a two row as now I'm like, I can have a 1.2 and still like that's a good day for me, which is crazy. But it's all about ltv. And if you guys know what LTV is, it's lifetime value of your customer. And if you look at any of the big brands out there, like any of the huge like nine figure DTC brands, this is what they're optimizing for. They don't care about real as up front really. They don't care about, you know, first purchase profitability. They care about lifetime value because they know that it's hard to maintain a very low CPA once you're scaling super high. Like CPAs always go up. And so what you can do, I mean you could try to like put a bunch of creatives into stuff and really make your, really trying to make, you know, your CPA drop. But that is so much harder than just increasing your lifetime value by adding, you know, subscriptions or like other products. Cross sells different stuff like that. So that's a huge one that I've learned this year and something I still need to do low key for some of my brands. Protect your attention is probably the most important thing I could tell anyone when it comes to trying to like actually make it in any online business or just do anything that you know, is it doom scrolling I guess or video games? Like your attention is so valuable and that is why all these huge companies in the world, all these monopolies are trying to steal your attention from you. Because your attention is valuable. Your attention makes them so much money. And so if you can figure that out, realize that and then turn your attention, it's something that's making money for you. Like it just gives you all the power back. And so recently I've like tried and I've started to like on the weekdays just deleting Instagram, deleting TikTok. Like I do like posting TikToks, I like posting Instagram stuff but like it's just not worth it because I just feel this like overwhelming brain fog throughout the week. So that is something that I've also learned and something I'm, you know, continuously having to battle. But it's definitely something that is super valuable. Another thing is E commerce in my opinion is the best business model. And if you look at the other online business models, like I'm trying to think of the other ones that are even good. Like you have trading, you have, you have like a agency of some sort, you have all these other ones. But E commerce, like running your own brand and like creating your own brand one is like way More fulfilling than, in my opinion, than trading. Way more fulfilling than being an agency. Because in those brands you're working for someone else, not trading. You're like just trading stocks and just trying to make like a profit. But for the other one, you know, for agencies, you're working for someone else. And so you don't really have this, you know, creativity that goes into it and this fulfillment from actually creating something from scratch. Like the feeling I get from literally finding a product, making ads on it from scratch, making a landing page from scratch and then testing it and it actually working is probably one of the coolest things in the world. Because I feel like for my whole life I never thought that, you know, people could just create things like this. Like it's. You have this limiting mindset based on where you grow up. And so just hearing that and just experiencing that was super, super transformational for me. So that is one thing. And then also E Comm is like so good for exits. And what I mean by exits is selling your business. If you've run a brand for a year and it's doing well and it's profitable, like, you can exit that. Usually it's not as much as like other brands or if it's like more of a, you know, a brand, we have your own stock and stuff, which I want to talk about as well. But the exiting potential, like making like real money, like 10 figures plus, like it's really possible with E Comm, especially long term if you stick to it. Next thing that I've really learned this year is cash flow is like super important. I might have touched on this for a second, but cash flow is like super, super important. Because if you don't have cash flow and you don't manage it well, you will run into a lot of issues. You probably run into some debt. And it's something that I've kind of flirted with before. And you know, before I really made it, like I didn't have that much money in the bank and I was trying to start these businesses and stuff. And eventually it worked out. I did go into a little bit of debt. But now I realize how important it is to have cash on hand. And personally, I don't do a ton of like investing in anything right now. And the reason is because I know the leverage I have in ECOM is much bigger and much more in my control than any leverage I have really anywhere else. Whether it be crypto, whether it be stocks, like, I'm really just, you know, betting on a coin there or betting on A group of people that I think will perform rather than betting on myself. And I'd rather take that bet like 10 times, you know, 10 days a week. So that is super huge for me and something that's cool. USA Fulfillment is key. This is something I've learned recently. So this brand I'm running right now that subscriptions I do have USA Fulfillment. And the reason why I have USA Fulfillment is because, well, once I'll tell you, like I started doing subscriptions on this brand, right, and you're shipping from China and because of the tariffs and everything, the shipping was like three to four weeks. Sometimes like the worst, like best case scenario, maybe two weeks. And that's like really bad because the customer will get their first product right two weeks after the order and then they get billed another two weeks later for their next product like, yo, what the heck? And so especially if you're running like a subscription brand, I highly, highly recommend you try to get USA Fulfillment. I'll make another video about like how I do this and like the supplier I use and stuff because I do really recommend them. But it changes like your LTV a lot. It keeps people lows, your churn rate customers are just more satisfied because now my customers are getting products like every three to six days rather than, you know, two weeks, which is a huge difference. So definitely, definitely the play long term character matters a lot more than skills. And this is something that I'm kind of starting to realize. And you start to see it if you, if you recognize patterns easily and you're someone who pays attention and can notice things. You kind of just see this throughout life. You see the people who make it and then don't have character and they always lose it. Like the people who make it, let's say they get lucky or they, they do well, but deep down inside they're not the person they want to be or they're insecure or they have some sort of issues that they're dealing with or they're just not a good person. Like they're bound to run into something that is going to trip them up because they're just susceptible to it. And so building your character, building your discipline, building your knowledge is one of the most important things. And I think it almost comes before starting a business. That's something that I did before I even started E Comm. I was at 18, like I was like a scrawny dude. Like I just played video games all day and I was like a normal kid, right? Didn't have that great of a character. Yet. And then through working out, through working my job, I began to build like worth work ethic, like gratitude and all these things that have really carried over into this business and made me successful in it. And so character is super, super important. Another thing is how fast your life can change. To put it into context, I grew up in a lower middle class family and you know, for the first, you know, 19, 20 years of my life, I never saw anything like super crazy. Like I never went to any ski resorts, we never really went on vacations. We never really like, I never had been in a nice car, I've never been in a crazy house or anything like that. I just didn't experience these things. And ever since I started E Comm. So like the past three or two years, whatever it is, I. I've experienced so much. Like the amount of things I've experienced is crazy. Like recently I just went on a private jet, which is like, I don't even like saying because it sounds kind of like, you know, guru or whatever, but it's like crazy how fast your life can change. And once you actually start to be in control and do things that work for you and really prioritize yourself, like, your life can change so fast. And in a year you're experiencing and living a life that you're already used to. And then you look back at your old life and you're like, I can't believe I used to live like that. Like, I'm so used to this abundance that I'm in now. And it's crazy and it really compounds too. And that's what I want to talk about in the next one is generosity compounds. And this is something that I've always, I feel like I've always had. I've always been a pretty generous person. Even when I didn't have that much money. I would always love, you know, buying nice gifts for people like for Christmas and you know, love just, you know, doing the extra mile for people. And I've carried that over into my business and specifically into tithing as well to my church. And I like, with the tithing right now, like it hasn't made much of a difference. But I have such a big faith in God that I know like with time I'm going to be blessed. Not necessarily because of the tithing, but more because of my faith. And tithing is like a product of faith, so but like generosity, like even with like the people who work under me, like my V.A. her name is Dana. She's a great V.A. she's worked for me for a few years, and she's just been a killer and been super, super helpful. And I think this coming or a couple months ago, she actually had a kid. And I just like, I don't. I'm not trying to say this to, like, brag or to like, make myself look better or anything like that. I'm just saying this to, like, inspire you guys to do it. Like, I sent her, like, just a thousand dollars because I was like, you know, she's about to have a kid. You know, she's done all this great work for me. I want to make sure she feels appreciated. And anytime I have any issue, anytime I need anything done, even if it's not like, her regular work, if I give her the task, she nails it and she goes above and beyond. And she is just an amazing worker. And it's honestly, I think part of it is because they've been so generous and obviously respectful as well. Another thing that I've learned, which is kind of like not super E comm related, but YouTube is very valuable, and having a platform is very valuable. But specifically YouTube is. And I think the reason why YouTube is valuable is because I'm in, like, obviously the ecom drop shipping niche, which for some reason has companies that pay a lot for, like, affiliate deals and stuff. And I've gotten reached out to a lot from different affiliates, like, like Autods and like, all these other guys that I don't use and I'll never take their deals. But, like, it's crazy to see how, like, you know, because of this YouTube channel, like, I got an opportunity to work with, you know, someone I've looked up to for a long time, Jordan Welch. Because of this YouTube channel, like, I got even a little bit of recognition from my roommates now to come live out here in this crazy mansion. And, like, YouTube does go a long way. And I definitely think if you have the time and if you have the, you know, obviously ambition to do it, YouTube is super, super valuable, especially in the E. Comm space. So documenting your life is super valuable, I think. And it's always cool to look back on. So I definitely recommend that we'll finish up here. I got a couple more things. I have a lot more things, but I'll try not to make this video too long. Another thing I've learned, guesswork is never the answer. And this is kind of more for ads. A lot of people just like to throw things at a wall and see what sticks. But if you can be intentional, learn why things work, you're going to go so much further. And you're actually going to learn something. Every day, every week you're going to be learning and you're just going to become a much better entrepreneur, Ads runner, whatever, ads creator, whatever you want to call it. And so I highly, highly suggest not just guessing when you're doing stuff, not just ripping all the time, like actually do the work and try to create your own things, because those skills are what's going to, you know, when this product you, you know, if the next product doesn't work or something, those are the skills you can transfer. And if you don't build those skills now while you have the opportunity, then you're kind of going to be left in a weird spot. So definitely recommend that who you surround yourself really matters. And I've noticed this from living out here. Like, now I have the privilege of live with, you know, some really cool roommates, including my roommate Charlie, who's like, already exited a company. And just being around him and his energy and his, like, mindset and his ambition has completely changed how I think as well. And I'm starting to think a lot bigger and, you know, even think that I can do bigger things as well. And before, like, when I lived in Rochester, I didn't really have friends like this. Like, I didn't have friends that really believed in, like, you know, you could become successful in the way I did. And so just seeing that here, it's really had a good effect on me. And it definitely matters. Your internal self is more important than your external self. I think I talked about this already, but definitely do your internal work, do your meditation, do your reflecting, you know, read your Bible, whatever it is, and have that inner peace in you and it's going to flow through your life and it's going to be like a freaking seed planted in you that sprouts and everything in your life is going to reflect from your inner self. So I highly recommend taking care of that. That gratitude changes everything. I try to be super grateful. Now. I. Sometimes I'm not, I'll be honest, I'm not perfect, but I always try to reflect and see how far I've come and see the blessings that God has given me and like, the fact that I can even, like I can walk, like I could do, I can breathe, I can see. Like, these things are blessings that we never think about. And a lot of people take them for granted and a lot of people don't, you know, have these things and all they think about is like, man, I wish I could just walk I wish I could just see and we are just here, just existing and not even taking, you know, any gratitude towards these things. So I definitely recommend that routine equals freedom. I mean, everyone knows this now, but really, really having a routine or at least having a plan is how you don't drift. And if you're drifting, then you're just susceptible to whatever happens. Like you're just floating around through life. And that's not, that's not a way to pave your path. If you're paving your path, you're doing it with intention. You're placing those stones in front of you with intention. So make sure that you actually have the discipline to have a routine or at least have some sort of plan. And then work needs to be isolated. This is something that definitely is true if you at least for me, I don't know why this is. Actually, I know why this is. I just do my best work when I'm alone and when I'm kind of left alone. And so like, I'll like just put on my noise canceling headphones and just go in my little cubby and, and I'll just, you know, grind it out and I'm most productive then rather than working in, you know, groups of people and stuff, which I think can have value. But if you're trying to get deep work done, definitely find a space that's quiet and like limit your distractions. It's like always like if you have other distractions coming in and out, or if you have distractions popping up, like you're not going to be as focused, you're going to lose track of what you're supposed to be doing and it's going to affect you. And so that's basically it, guys. There's a lot in this list. This was like a almost a 20 minute video it seems like, but anyone could do this. Like, I am 22 years old and I did this. It started with nothing. Like I just worked a normal job, probably a couple hundred dollars in my bank account. But the biggest thing is I believed and I built that internal self and that really reflected in my life. And now I'm in this hot tub next to this crazy house. I have a beautiful girl right here, which I don't know if you guys can see her or not, but you know, working on yourself and your intentions and how you think is really the stuff that matters and it will reflect in your other life. And I've been into the spot where I had those intentions, I had those, you know, thoughts I thought good and stuff didn't really happen for me. But if you stick it out, I promise you, bro, you'll end up in a really sick place, in a sick life, doing things that no one in your family's ever done and really inspiring people, which I aim to do. So thank you guys for watching. Let me know if you want any more hot tub videos or you want me to expand on anything, of course. But, yeah, peace.