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Proven Ecommerce Marketplaces to Boost Your Sales Today · The Ecommerce Revolution Podcast

• 0:01
  Welcome to today's episode of the e-commerce revolution podcast
• 0:04
  where we dive into
• 0:05
  the dynamic world of e-commerce and uncover the tools and
• 0:08
  tactics that empower
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: today's emerging entrepreneurs.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Our podcast is part of our community with the same name.
• 0:15
  The community is geared to providing emerging e-commerce
• 0:18
  entrepreneurs with courses,
• 0:19
  content and coaching to help you all launch and grow successful businesses.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Check us out at ecomrevolution.co.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get things started.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome, everybody.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: We have a great topic for you today.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Today,
• 0:40
  we're learning all about e-commerce marketplaces and how you
• 0:44
  can leverage them in
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: your e-commerce strategy.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: E-commerce marketplaces have been around for a long time.
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  SPEAKER_00: That is in internet years, of course.
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  SPEAKER_00: The first online e-commerce marketplace is widely considered to be eBay,
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  SPEAKER_00: which launched in 1995,
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  SPEAKER_00: originally under the name AuctionWeb,
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: for any of you who want to look that up.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And Amazon,
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  SPEAKER_00: which originally just started out as an online retailer selling books,
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  allowed third-party sellers to start selling products on its
• 1:12
  platform in 2000.
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  SPEAKER_00: From Amazon to Etsy to niche marketplaces you may not have even heard of,
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  SPEAKER_00: marketplaces are as hot as ever.
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  SPEAKER_00: In some ways,
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  they are one of the best ways for an emerging e-commerce
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  entrepreneur to launch a brand.
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  SPEAKER_00: Think about it,
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  SPEAKER_00: no major upfront costs,
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  SPEAKER_00: and in most cases,
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  SPEAKER_00: a built-in audience to sell your products to,
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  SPEAKER_00: which can reduce your marketing costs.
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  SPEAKER_00: I realize I'm simplifying things a bit, but you get the point.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Our guest today is a bonafide expert on the topic of marketplaces,
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  SPEAKER_00: from making and selling hair bows at local farmer's markets in 2012,
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  SPEAKER_00: to transitioning to sell on Amazon Marketplace,
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  SPEAKER_00: to eventually recognizing the need to create a local online marketplace
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  SPEAKER_00: And launching her own platform,
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  SPEAKER_00: our guest has touched so many sides of the Marketplace business model.
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  SPEAKER_00: So,
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  SPEAKER_00: without any further ado,
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  SPEAKER_00: please welcome Sherry Edelson,
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  SPEAKER_00: the CEO of Member Marketplace to the Ecommerce Revolution podcast.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sherry, great to have you here today.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Amine.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Good to see you again.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yes, of course, of course.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: something you gave us in your intake notes,
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  which I've heard this story because I've been on webinars with
• 2:26
  you in the past,
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: was a snowy day in Iowa.
• 2:30
  Tell me about that snowy day in Iowa at that local farmer's
• 2:33
  market that kind of
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: opened your eyes to the need of building an online marketplace platform.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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  So if you've been to Iowa in the winter,
• 2:44
  you never know what you're going to get.
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  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's 70 degrees.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then the next day, it is a blistery winter day.
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  SPEAKER_01: You can't get out of your driveway.
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  SPEAKER_01: And I had done a craft fair, signed up for a craft fair at the school.
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  SPEAKER_01: So it's about three blocks away from me.
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  SPEAKER_01: And they wanted to have a fair for kids to be able to buy a
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  SPEAKER_01: gifts for their siblings for Christmas.
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  SPEAKER_01: So I had a bunch of product left over from Summer Farmer's Market.
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  I thought this was a good way to get rid of like inventory that
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  didn't sell.
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  SPEAKER_01: Everything had to be five or $10.
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  SPEAKER_01: And I wouldn't set up the night before, got my booth ready.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then it snowed a whole bunch that night.
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  SPEAKER_01: And like, you couldn't get out of your driveway kind of snow.
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  SPEAKER_01: So I had,
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  SPEAKER_01: I took my minivan and I bustled through the three blocks because like,
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  SPEAKER_01: it's not that far.
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  SPEAKER_01: Got to the school,
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  SPEAKER_01: and waited for customers to come through.
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  And it took an hour before we saw somebody walk through the
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  door and it came for
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  SPEAKER_01: one of the other vendors.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then within the next hour,
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  SPEAKER_01: and literally,
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  I think that was the only person that had come through the
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  whole entire piece.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it was just somebody who was affiliated with another vendor there.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so it was about two hours
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  two three hours into that four hour market i think it's four
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  hours i called my
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  husband and i said put the boots on the kids we have four they
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  were little at the
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  time and i said i don't care if they're still in their jammies
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  just bring them over
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  to this market we're going to shop from these businesses
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  because i have been to
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  many a farmer's market craft fair something where you're there
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  and you're just
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  SPEAKER_01: waiting around all day for customers to come and that you're
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  SPEAKER_01: built a lot in inventory,
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  SPEAKER_01: prepared ahead of time,
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  SPEAKER_01: you bought extra product,
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  SPEAKER_01: maybe you stayed up a light night making or baking things.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then just to have nothing happen, it's just such a disappointment.
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  SPEAKER_01: You're wasting the time with your family,
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  SPEAKER_01: all of the stuff that you might not be able to reuse again.
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  And so we went over there and bought Christmas gifts that year
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  for all of our family.
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  SPEAKER_01: This is for this grandma, this is for this grandma, this is for whoever.
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  SPEAKER_01: And got to know the businesses as we were talking to them,
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  SPEAKER_01: like,
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  SPEAKER_01: oh my gosh,
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  SPEAKER_01: listen to this product,
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  SPEAKER_01: listen to their story about how they created this.
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  SPEAKER_01: And it was just a...
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  It felt really good to be able to shop from these businesses to
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  support them.
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  But then we thought there's got to be a better way than just
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  relying on these one
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  day craft fairs in these farmers markets where lightning would
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  hit my tent before
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  SPEAKER_01: and a product,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: grain ruined your product.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so we left there.
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  We green out if there was a way that we could help these craft businesses.
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  SPEAKER_01: sell online.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so I was already selling online through my own website.
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  SPEAKER_01: My husband was a web developer.
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  SPEAKER_01: He had built it for me in my very first month or two.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then I was dabbled in some like Etsy and some of those,
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  SPEAKER_01: and then also was selling pretty well on Amazon,
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  SPEAKER_01: had other avenues.
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  SPEAKER_01: So we thought, can we help these businesses learn how to sell online?
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  SPEAKER_01: Again, this was it.
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  SPEAKER_01: Late 2016, early 2017, when we were first trying to help businesses.
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  SPEAKER_01: So before pandemic,
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  SPEAKER_01: before businesses eventually realized they needed to get online,
• 5:29
  we were teaching them what goes into a product description and
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  what is SEO and how
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  to take product photos and all of those things and trying to
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  help these small local
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  businesses get online together and make it easy to shop and
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  discover who exists
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  SPEAKER_01: already in your own community.
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  SPEAKER_00: I love that story.
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  SPEAKER_00: Each time you tell it,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
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  SPEAKER_00: I kind of think about,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
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  what it's like to be an entrepreneur and you really do anything
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  you can to help not only,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
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  SPEAKER_00: yourself,
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  SPEAKER_00: but those who are,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
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  SPEAKER_00: in your community and those who are around you,
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  SPEAKER_00: you know,
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  SPEAKER_00: it's just a very helping situation because you want to win,
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  SPEAKER_00: right?
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  SPEAKER_00: You want to get to the finish line.
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  SPEAKER_00: How many marketplaces, because it started out with one in Iowa.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, how many marketplaces are there around the country?
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  SPEAKER_01: We started out with one just here in our own town.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then we thought, gosh, we could do this in other communities.
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  SPEAKER_01: So at the time, we didn't know what a startup was.
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  SPEAKER_01: grow something.
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  SPEAKER_01: We're just trying to help these businesses in our community.
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  And then there was a startup accelerator that we ended up
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  joining and started
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  working with like chambers of commerce and main streets and
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  eventually SBDCs.
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  SPEAKER_01: Um,
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  SPEAKER_01: so we've operated over,
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  SPEAKER_01: I think 50 marketplaces across the U S.
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  So some were just pandemic wide and they happened just during
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  that timeframe as we
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  SPEAKER_01: were helping certain businesses get online.
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  SPEAKER_01: Some have continued,
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  SPEAKER_01: you know,
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  SPEAKER_01: since that time,
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  we have some that have started in our very first year that are
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  still going now.
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  SPEAKER_01: So, um,
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  really trying to help whichever communities in the partner that
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  we're looking for
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  SPEAKER_01: to help their small businesses get online together.
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  And if I'm an e-commerce entrepreneur and I want to get on one
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  of your marketplace platforms,
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  SPEAKER_00: how do I do it?
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  SPEAKER_00: Where do I go?
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  SPEAKER_01: So go to Member Marketplace, Inc.
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  SPEAKER_01: On there, we have listed our e-commerce sites, what communities we're in.
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  SPEAKER_01: Right now, you have to belong to whichever community you're in.
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  SPEAKER_01: So if we're in North Dakota,
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  SPEAKER_01: you can go and join Shop North Dakota,
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  but you also will become a member of the SBDC at that time or a
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  client of the SBDC.
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  SPEAKER_01: We're also working on a new one, though, where...
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  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we don't want to wait for a partner in that community.
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  SPEAKER_01: Can we do a local one?
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  SPEAKER_01: So coming soon,
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  SPEAKER_01: there will be a direct to business one,
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  SPEAKER_01: too,
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  that maybe doesn't have to rely on a partner in that community
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  before we can start
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  SPEAKER_01: helping those businesses.
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  SPEAKER_01: So next month or so, you'll see on that.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's fantastic.
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, we'll definitely put the link to Member Marketplace, Inc.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: in the show notes so everybody who's interested can click on it.
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  So are you ready to dive into the world of e-commerce
• 7:45
  marketplaces and talk about
• 7:47
  the details and help some of these emerging e-commerce
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  entrepreneurs that are part
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  SPEAKER_00: of our community really understand what it is?
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's start with that, first of all.
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  SPEAKER_00: What is a true definition of a marketplace?
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  SPEAKER_01: Oh, gosh.
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  I use the farmer's market example because I think it's a
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  tangible version and
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  SPEAKER_01: that's my background and my history.
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  SPEAKER_01: But if you think about a farmer's market,
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  SPEAKER_01: you have multiple different businesses,
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  SPEAKER_01: tons of different types.
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  SPEAKER_01: You might have a Haribo seller,
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  SPEAKER_01: you might have vegetables,
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  SPEAKER_01: you might have a craft maker,
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  SPEAKER_01: beer,
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  SPEAKER_01: whoever are coming down and descending on that market from 7 a.m.
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  SPEAKER_01: till noon.
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  And customers are coming because they can come and shop from
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  multiple different
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  SPEAKER_01: businesses at one time,
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  SPEAKER_01: one location and leave with all of their goods in that same day.
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  SPEAKER_01: And so an e-commerce marketplace is just that plaza online 24 seven,
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  SPEAKER_01: where it's whatever the platform is,
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  SPEAKER_01: whether they're all uniquely identified,
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  SPEAKER_01: maybe it's a local version like we're running,
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  SPEAKER_01: maybe it's Amazon or Etsy or eBay,
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  SPEAKER_01: some of these other larger marketplaces.
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  SPEAKER_01: Poshmark of these individual ones,
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  SPEAKER_01: but it's one platform to be able to go shop,
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  discover and buy for multiple different businesses with one car
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  checkout and really
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_01: provide that ease of use for the end consumer.
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  SPEAKER_01: They don't have to go to multiple different websites to shop.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's interesting.
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  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
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  the word marketplace tends to get thrown around a lot as
• 9:05
  different things,
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  SPEAKER_00: but that's a perfect definition of what it is.
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  SPEAKER_00: Why do you think marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy,
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  SPEAKER_00: and I mentioned that there's an ease of launch,
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: I guess,
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  SPEAKER_00: in some ways.
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  SPEAKER_00: In your opinion, what makes them so popular?
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  SPEAKER_00: It's been so long since they've been around.
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  SPEAKER_00: What makes them still so popular?
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  SPEAKER_01: It's the consumer convenience, I think.
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  SPEAKER_01: It's a lot of effort,
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  SPEAKER_01: whether you're going into one individual store,
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  SPEAKER_01: physical,
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  SPEAKER_01: and then walking down your main street.
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  Think how many times you have to go through that physical store
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  and you're shopping
• 9:37
  around and you're looking through there and you find one or two
• 9:40
  goods there.
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  SPEAKER_01: Then you walk to the next store,
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  SPEAKER_01: you find two or three goods,
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  SPEAKER_01: check out again,
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  SPEAKER_01: walk to the next store.
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  SPEAKER_01: That's a lot of effort.
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  SPEAKER_01: And then the same token,
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: even if you're at home and online,
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  SPEAKER_01: doing that from multiple different businesses,
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: websites,
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  SPEAKER_01: that's still a lot of effort.
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  SPEAKER_01: And especially in our side,
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: as we talk about shopping and supporting local businesses,
• 9:57
  a lot of times they're putting the onus back on the consumer to
• 10:00
  go and shop local
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  SPEAKER_01: and support local.
• 10:02
  But it's still difficult to do because there's so many
• 10:04
  different websites and
• 10:05
  there's so many different physical stores and you don't know
• 10:07
  what they have ahead
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: of time.
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  SPEAKER_01: So how do we help make it even easier for consumers?
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  SPEAKER_01: That's what marketplaces offer.
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  SPEAKER_01: One site,
• 10:13
  browse from a larger product expansion that you maybe wouldn't
• 10:16
  have if you're going
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  SPEAKER_01: to one physical or one website and buy easier with more convenience.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's interesting.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: The big ones, right?
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: The Amazons, the Etsys, the Ebays, some of those out there.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: But I mentioned a lot of these niche marketplaces,
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: such as what your approach is considered a niche,
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: and there are many other niche.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you think that's happening?
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  SPEAKER_00: Is it a backlash against the big players out there?
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Is it just because that's just the...
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: how things happen.
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  SPEAKER_00: They go from big to niching down a little bit.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: What's your opinion on that?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's a little bit of all of that.
• 10:57
  So I think there is a little bit of a backlash against the
• 11:00
  larger players.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: We just as consumers in general,
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: or even small businesses,
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: we realize that the bigger something gets,
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: the more it's taking commissions out of yours,
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: the more you're getting diluted in your sales,
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: the harder it is to find your products.
• 11:13
  And then consumers,
• 11:14
  too,
• 11:14
  is that you don't always feel this intrinsic good.
• 11:18
  Sometimes when you're shopping on Amazon,
• 11:20
  you do it because it's out of need.
• 11:21
  But it's like,
• 11:21
  is it making you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside when you're
• 11:24
  doing it?
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: No, but you need whatever you want by Tuesday versus Saturday.
• 11:29
  um and some of these niche marketplaces are really identifying
• 11:32
  with the customer so
• 11:33
  you'll see sustainable product marketplaces where they're all
• 11:35
  built around the
• 11:36
  sustainability of product and that's important to you that's a
• 11:39
  marketplace you
• 11:39
  might choose to go and shop and discover your products if it's
• 11:42
  important to you to
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: to support local communities and the businesses that are helping to
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: grow and keep your towns unique and vibrant,
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: then you might choose to shop on a local marketplace.
• 11:50
  If you really want vegan items and you're looking for vegan
• 11:56
  baked goods or whatever
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: the process,
• 11:58
  you might go to a vegan baked goods marketplace where you can
• 12:00
  still have a wider
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: variety of offerings,
• 12:03
  but it's really speaking to who that customer is and it's
• 12:05
  identifying with that
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: customer a little bit more.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's fascinating.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, I love it.
• 12:11
  And I think there's,
• 12:12
  I like to call it the love-hate relationship with Amazon.
• 12:15
  You love it as a consumer because you can have it here by Tuesday,
• 12:19
  as you mentioned.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: But as an e-commerce entrepreneur,
• 12:23
  there are definitely some frustrating elements because it is so
• 12:25
  big and so rigid.
• 12:27
  Sometimes looking to these niche marketplaces and also finding
• 12:30
  your ideal customer
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: in those niche marketplaces is definitely an area.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:36
  So if I'm an e-commerce entrepreneur and somebody who's just
• 12:39
  starting out,
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm emerging,
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm ready to build out my launch strategy.
• 12:44
  What kind of factors in this day and age should I consider when
• 12:48
  getting myself set
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: up on a marketplace?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And we won't even say any specific marketplace.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a game plan that you can put in place today?
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: So if we're not talking about a predictor marketplace,
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: but I would say in general,
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: you can have a different customer base for the most part,
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: who they're speaking to and what kind of products you have.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: So if you have,
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: we have even on the one we've worked on together,
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_01: but other of our marketplaces,
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: we have a lot of vintage product-based businesses.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: You might work better on eBay.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: If you've got handcrafted items,
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: you might work better on Etsy or some of these local crafted ones.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: If you're looking to sell some products,
• 13:25
  old apparel that you used to wear maybe poshmark or something
• 13:28
  is good for you so
• 13:28
  just really identifying who's going to buy your products what
• 13:30
  marketplace to start
• 13:31
  on if you've never done it before but then some of the ins and
• 13:34
  outs like what does
• 13:35
  the pricing strategy look like how much does it cost for you to
• 13:38
  get set up some of
• 13:39
  these have an upfront fee some have an every item listing fee
• 13:42
  so how much is it
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: going to cost you to get initially set up as well um
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_01: And then from there, it is just devising what products you want to sell.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: We recommend on our side,
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: sometimes you work with a brand new business,
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: what items do you have the most inventory of?
• 13:58
  If you've got one product and one item,
• 14:00
  it takes you a really long time to describe it.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_01: And it's got a very niche customer base.
• 14:04
  are you going to have to wait for the seo to to come in and
• 14:06
  somebody to find your
• 14:07
  particular product to go to that marketplace then to go find it
• 14:10
  or do you have you
• 14:12
  know 30 or more of a particular item that has a good customer
• 14:15
  base or you know that
• 14:16
  there's a target customer that's looking for it um i would say
• 14:19
  start with one you
• 14:19
  have more inventory of and higher customer base versus this
• 14:21
  more niche product and
• 14:23
  then there's just some basics and that's really where our
• 14:25
  platform where we go
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: through it's
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: establishing a base because whatever you learn through our platform,
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: you can take and apply to your own web store.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Should you be able to do that to another marketplace?
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's the basics on your product title,
• 14:38
  your product photography,
• 14:39
  your description,
• 14:41
  picking a category and your price.
• 14:42
  Like that's the,
• 14:43
  that's the basics of the meat and potatoes that you really need
• 14:46
  to understand.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: And then it's like building those out a little bit more.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: So your title, why is that important?
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's, it's one of the factors that impacts SEO.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: And when somebody is looking for that,
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_01: even when they're in the marketplace and they see your title,
• 14:56
  does it make them want to click on it is identify with the
• 14:58
  product itself.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I always hate an example.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a blue shirt, like,
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: There's tons of blue shirts out there.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: What kind of blue shirt is it?
• 15:06
  Is it a women's blouse that's blue and white striped with three
• 15:09
  buttons and a tie?
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Is it just getting more descriptive in your title,
• 15:12
  helping people understand what it is that goes along with that
• 15:15
  photo that they'll
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: see right away?
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: Building out your...
• 15:20
  product description having maybe a short paragraph some bullet
• 15:23
  points you can go
• 15:24
  into a bigger description further we talk about if you need to
• 15:27
  making sure it's in
• 15:28
  the right category so somebody's looking for shirts it's in the
• 15:31
  women's apparel
• 15:31
  shirt category versus you know some other one um and then that
• 15:35
  price making sure
• 15:36
  your price is kind of right based on the other products that
• 15:38
  are out there and
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_01: where yours fits in that that realm
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, in many ways, there's lots of crossover.
• 15:45
  I would assume you would agree on just what you do on your own
• 15:48
  online store.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: But then there are these other things that you have to pay attention.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of distraction on these marketplaces when you're on there.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: You're there for a product,
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: but you've got things flying at you on the right-hand side,
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_00: left-hand side,
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: up at the top,
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: really trying to get you to these other parts of the platform.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: And if you can keep people focused,
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think we share this common notion that photography really does matter.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: I know Amazon, for example, puts a lot of pressure on photography.
• 16:17
  They don't just let you come on and put something,
• 16:20
  whatever you want up there.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: That first image has to be the white background.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's so important.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: In this day and age, with a cell phone, you can take a very good picture.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not an editing expert, hire a very good editor online.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_00: And get something out there.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: So that's good.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: Really focusing in on those things you have control over, right?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: Really is essentially what you're saying.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now,
• 16:45
  something that always comes up when I work with e-commerce
• 16:49
  entrepreneurs is when
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: they're launching their own store,
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: should I expect a sale?
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: How quickly am I going to make money?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: On a marketplace, on average, what would you say?
• 17:02
  Should they expect sales right away or should they expect this
• 17:06
  to build it and they
• 17:06
  will not come because they're going to have to put in that
• 17:08
  extra effort of
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_00: marketing and pushing that product out there on social,
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: things like that?
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: What's your thought on that?
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's really a mix of both.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: And then it also depends on the platform.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, maybe I'll just give a few examples.
• 17:24
  I think Amazon,
• 17:25
  when I first got on Amazon,
• 17:27
  I think I had my first sale the next,
• 17:29
  day and i was like oh this is amazing look at this and it was a
• 17:33
  it was a girl's
• 17:34
  cheer hair bow um well i think i don't remember which one it
• 17:37
  was but my my cheer
• 17:38
  hair bows at that time they were always like school colors so
• 17:41
  people were looking
• 17:42
  for a school color hair bow so whether it's red and white
• 17:44
  stripes red and white paw
• 17:46
  print so if there's a school that had a paw print logo and was
• 17:49
  also red and white
• 17:49
  that spoke to them um trademark stuff it'll go into maybe later
• 17:54
  but that's a whole
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_01: other ball game and people need to be aware of
• 17:58
  But just maybe really having a product that identified with a
• 18:00
  certain target market.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so whether you have a product that identifies with nurses or whoever,
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_01: like if people are looking for that item and your item speaks to them,
• 18:09
  the image goes well and there's not a ton of overwhelming
• 18:13
  traffic that's already
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: going to it,
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: you can probably expect a sale pretty soon on a larger marketplace.
• 18:19
  And it's important to understand your pricing and what you'll
• 18:22
  get at the end of
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: that because that's a whole separate one.
• 18:25
  Some of our marketplaces that we're working on are newer and
• 18:28
  we're working with
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: newer entrepreneurs who are just getting online for the first time.
• 18:31
  And we're trying to teach everybody at the same time and get
• 18:33
  them up and going.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_01: And so our marketplaces.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: are typically either free or very low cost to businesses.
• 18:39
  And so there's not as much marketing pushed into them because
• 18:41
  we kind of work with
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: our partners and what they're doing.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: And we were looking for that marketplace effect.
• 18:46
  So every business going out and communicating with their
• 18:48
  consumers as well and saying,
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: hey,
• 18:49
  I'm online through this platform and kind of bringing in that
• 18:52
  shared aspect into there.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_01: So if everybody's helping to market and bring back consumers, then
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: ideally that customer base builds up over time on our marketplaces.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: But it depends if you currently have customers or if you don't.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_01: So if you don't have any customers yet,
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: you're not even really sure who your target market is,
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: how your product or description is speaking to consumers.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: That's where we start with.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, that's your first goal.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's figuring out
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: Who wants your product?
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's going to guide how you title your products.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: Going to title your photo or even the secondary photos.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: If your target customers see themselves in those photos,
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: in the description,
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: does it help them understand that?
• 19:29
  And then are we waiting for SEO to naturally build up and bring
• 19:32
  people back to that product?
• 19:33
  Are you going out and helping to do any promotion through
• 19:36
  social media or your own self?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: Or if the site has...
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_01: sponsored products or some of those too.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Can you help to get additional visibility in there?
• 19:44
  I know I got my first sales through Amazon,
• 19:45
  but they were kind of like teetering here and there.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe a sale here, a sale here.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a few sales a week.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: I had to eventually pay to get my products seen by consumers.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: So everybody else is sponsoring their products.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: And when everybody else starts to do that,
• 19:59
  you have to pay to get your product sponsors to get them pulled
• 20:02
  up higher in their
• 20:02
  search results because people are only going to go so far a lot
• 20:05
  of times in the
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: tabs to find what they want.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: So
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: just understanding your customer where they're at.
• 20:11
  And if you pay to,
• 20:13
  to get,
• 20:14
  or you're going to do some of that marketing on your own side.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 20:17
  I mean,
• 20:17
  it's an interesting concept there is that you really need to be
• 20:21
  involved too.
• 20:22
  And I think the marketplace wants you to be involved out there pushing,
• 20:25
  right?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Getting other people, pulling people back in.
• 20:29
  But speaking of advertising,
• 20:33
  all the big ones have launched ad platforms on there.
• 20:36
  And I think ad platforms account for a huge portion of their
• 20:40
  business as well.
• 20:40
  So now you're running ads to try to get traffic to your product
• 20:45
  on their platform.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: And they're taking a commission,
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_00: which I think maybe leads to some animosity maybe in that side of things.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: But it is part of a natural marketing game plan.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Advertising, however you do, it has to be done.
• 21:01
  I think it's safe to say,
• 21:03
  don't just put up a product these days and expect it to sell.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: You need to be either involved.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: or running ads and really pushing.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: But that's fascinating.
• 21:12
  I bet you were very excited that day when you saw that sale
• 21:15
  that got you going,
• 21:15
  right?
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, wow, there's an opportunity here.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 21:20
  yeah and for i use an example a lot of times as going back to
• 21:23
  farmers markets again
• 21:24
  i never did a farmer's market where i didn't tell my current
• 21:27
  consumers that i was
• 21:29
  going to a farmer's market even though it's online even though
• 21:31
  it's on amazon
• 21:33
  whichever channels i was on i told my consumers that i was
• 21:36
  there because maybe they
• 21:37
  were heading down saturday and they that was the reason that
• 21:39
  pushed them over
• 21:40
  because they had to find something for a wedding or an event
• 21:42
  coming up so just
• 21:44
  Letting even your current customers know where they can buy
• 21:46
  your products for
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: convenience or ease,
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's online,
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's in person,
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's down at the market,
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's on a marketplace,
• 21:52
  just giving them that information to be able to go and buy it
• 21:55
  however they want to.
• 21:56
  I think that you're speaking of simply just opening up an email
• 22:00
  and maybe putting
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: all your friends in a BCC and just say,
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 22:03
  I'm so excited to announce that I've launched on XYZ
• 22:07
  Marketplace and I would love
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: for you to just check out and support wherever you can.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: And something that simple or maybe post it on social media,
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: get the word out there,
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: get things rolling,
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: get that one sale,
• 22:18
  get that first sale in there and then you'll see how great you
• 22:21
  feel and then roll
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: with that into other sales,
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: hopefully.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: What about managing inventory?
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: How did you deal with,
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: managing inventory and what these days are,
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: are there really good tools that people can rely on?
• 22:36
  Let's say they're selling on Amazon and maybe Etsy and their
• 22:40
  own online store.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: What are, you know, how are people managing inventory?
• 22:46
  There are some good online tools and I don't have an exact recommendation,
• 22:48
  but Google them.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_01: There are some ones,
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: depending on what you're selling in through,
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: it can push your products to different marketplaces too.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_01: So like Shopify or even your own web stores,
• 22:58
  you can push them to different ones and it can manage that full
• 23:00
  backend inventory.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: On our marketplaces, we do have an integration with Shopify and Square.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: So we can pull in your inventory,
• 23:07
  we can sync it between there and if it pulled from your Shopify
• 23:10
  storefront or
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: reduce inventory in our marketplace.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that's really convenient for those who are selling in store,
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: who are selling at markets,
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: who are selling through a marketplace,
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: making sure that it can kind of manage your inventory for you.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: If you're not there yet, that's okay.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_01: We have some who are managing it with stickers on their product.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: So they put a sticker on it and they say, this I have on my online store.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: If somebody comes up to check it out, you remove that sticker there.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then later they go and drop it off online.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Myself,
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: when I used to do markets,
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: I would pause my Amazon inventory before I would go to a market.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so I paused that Friday night.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: I knew what I had.
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Then that Saturday morning, I would go and sell it.
• 23:47
  And then I'd come back and update my inventory on my website
• 23:49
  and Amazon after that
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: farmer's market with what I still had available.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_01: So there's ways to manually do it.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: Scrappy.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, there's so many tools for everything.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we all,
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_00: it's easy to get enamored by those tools and,
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: oh,
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: I need this software.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: I need that software.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, just launch.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: Just get the thing going and use some of these simple,
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: inventory management tactics that you're mentioning.
• 24:15
  Just get it going and you can add on complicated things and
• 24:18
  complex things down the road.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: How about customer service?
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: How is that handle?
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: I know Amazon has some very strict policies.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: You don't see an email address for the person.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: All the contact is through the platform.
• 24:34
  How much customer service time did you have to put into when
• 24:38
  you were on the marketplace?
• 24:39
  And I guess some of the entrepreneurs that are on your
• 24:43
  different platforms,
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: are they having to put in a lot of extra customer service time?
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: What I recommend is setting up your storefront well in the beginning,
• 24:51
  and that's less time you're gonna have to do on the customer
• 24:53
  service end later on.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: So whatever your policies are listed in there, be clear.
• 24:57
  So if you say you're gonna deliver your products within five
• 25:00
  days of ordering,
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: two days of ordering,
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: Do that.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_01: Package up your orders,
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: communicate with the customer,
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: send them the tracking notice,
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: allow them to be able to track that order and follow it.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: Because a lot of,
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: most customer service that we see on our side is a consumer saying,
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: hey,
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_01: I ordered this on X date.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't received an update yet.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: The customer, we always say put yourself in the customer's shoes.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: That's the basis of customer service when you're selling online.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: You wanna know when your order's coming.
• 25:23
  Maybe you're giving it for a gift or you have it for a party or
• 25:27
  whatever the reason is.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: You wanna know when it's coming so you can do X, Y, and Z with it.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: That's the very basis.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: Communicate that, share that packing number.
• 25:36
  If you clearly state that you're,
• 25:39
  it comes with X,
• 25:39
  Y,
• 25:40
  and Z,
• 25:40
  X,
• 25:40
  Y,
• 25:40
  and Z in the package.
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: Over-communicate.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you for your order right away when you get it,
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: that communication notice,
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_01: and then set a follow-up.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, did you like your product?
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: Let me know what you liked about it.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: Is there anything that wasn't as expected?
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: Because that can change your policy.
• 25:53
  That can maybe help you iterate on your product that you didn't
• 25:55
  think was a problem,
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: but until they told you,
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: oh gosh,
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_01: the clip fell off.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: the first time I put on my daughter.
• 26:00
  That would make me send a new hair bow and adjust the glue that
• 26:03
  I'm using in the
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: back and understand like,
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: okay,
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: that didn't work.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: So asking for feedback,
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: being over communicative,
• 26:08
  I think is going to eliminate almost all of that customer
• 26:10
  service problems.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, it wasn't a big deal.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: And for businesses that are doing it really well,
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: we see them,
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: they're the ones that are over communicating.
• 26:17
  The ones that maybe are having more problems are the ones that
• 26:20
  put a timeline in
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: there and they didn't meet it.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: The customer reaches out to them and they don't reply.
• 26:25
  And then that's when you're going to come back in and get a
• 26:28
  negative review.
• 26:29
  That's when you might start to get kicked off marketplaces and
• 26:31
  some of those things too,
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_01: because the marketplace themselves wants customers to go to Amazon,
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: go to our website,
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: go to whichever marketplace and have a good experience.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_01: And if you have regular repeat,
• 26:40
  vendors or sellers who aren't meeting their own set
• 26:44
  expectations level in the marketplaces,
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_01: then you're likely to get dinged or kicked off there too.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: So just making sure that you're following through on what you say.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's part of just being a good person in general,
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: but being a good business person,
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think is that that basis.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: I love the fact that you're taking,
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: the idea of,
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: paying attention,
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: asking questions and learning from,
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: this is a very,
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: this is an area of fear for a lot of entrepreneurs is to ask questions,
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: what did you think of,
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: because the,
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: well,
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: it could be a negative answer that comes back,
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: but...
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: you're coming at it from the standpoint of,
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: boy,
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: the changes you can make to your product,
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: make your product even better by asking those questions.
• 27:22
  And listen,
• 27:23
  everybody loves to be asked,
• 27:24
  you know,
• 27:25
  on the other side,
• 27:26
  as a consumer,
• 27:28
  If a brand reached out to me and said,
• 27:30
  hey,
• 27:30
  listen,
• 27:32
  just want to get your opinion.
• 27:33
  We just launched that particular product that you purchased and
• 27:37
  we'd love to get a
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: little feedback.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I would love to be a part of that.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's almost like I'm part of their process of getting better.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I love it.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that you brought that up.
• 27:46
  And it's something that definitely entrepreneurs should do wherever,
• 27:50
  marketplaces,
• 27:51
  online store.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: In the early days, you have to ask questions.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: You have to.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me,
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: I look at this and I say,
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: the e-commerce,
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: e-commerce has leveled the playing field,
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: I think,
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: for the most part,
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: where small businesses can now compete with large businesses.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see that same thing happening?
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and I look at it a lot from a standpoint of an online store.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 28:14
  I can build an online store on Shopify with some of the same
• 28:18
  great technology that
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon has.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: I can source products.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: Do you see that same thing happening in the marketplaces?
• 28:23
  Can a small brand still make it when there are larger brands
• 28:28
  maybe selling something similar?
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, definitely.
• 28:34
  It goes with just business in general,
• 28:36
  but I think it takes having an idea.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: It takes doing it.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: It takes iterating on it.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_01: It takes listening to your consumers.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_01: It takes persistence.
• 28:44
  A lot of times the people that don't succeed or don't push
• 28:47
  through is just they
• 28:48
  either they started with a bad product and it wasn't maybe
• 28:51
  there was a niche for it.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: But a lot of times it's not.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: continue with it.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's, it's dabbling a little bit here.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that didn't work.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: Then dabble a little bit here.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that didn't work.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: And then dabble a little bit here.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_01: And like, Oh, that didn't work.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: And maybe finding blame.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's on Amazon or it's the, this marketplace or it's my website.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: I couldn't do it or cost too much.
• 29:08
  Just sticking with something and pushing it and trying to make
• 29:11
  it bigger and better
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: each day,
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: I think is,
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: is,
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: That battle, I think, is not quitting early on.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: But never in history has this been,
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 29:23
  this opportunity has been afforded to entrepreneurs to be able
• 29:26
  to do that.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you could launch tomorrow and take on, you know, the giants.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: You may not have the marketing budget to do it,
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: but,
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: the same marketing budget that they have.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, you could be scrappy.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: You can do some of these things that we're talking about today.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: You can do things that the big guys can't do too.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_01: Because they're not nimble.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: You can get on TikTok.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: You can find your direct customers.
• 29:48
  You can watch their videos and speak to their heart of what
• 29:51
  they're doing.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_01: You have some other advantages that maybe the big players don't have.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a great,
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: that's a great point because,
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: while the,
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: the,
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: the big players may be,
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 30:00
  they may have to have 10 meetings to figure out their TikTok
• 30:03
  strategy and who's
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: going to go on camera,
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: who's going to do what,
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: and we should hire this agency.
• 30:07
  You're already making the videos and already up there,
• 30:10
  you know,
• 30:10
  promoting.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um,
• 30:12
  So one thing we like to teach in the e-commerce revolution
• 30:15
  community is about this omni-channel.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you can't just be in one place, right?
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: You have to deal with it.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: You have to build.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: You have to go where your customers are.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: And,
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: a well-rounded,
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: whether you start,
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: let's say you start on a marketplace first.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_00: Let's say you start on Etsy.
• 30:33
  But eventually,
• 30:34
  you're probably going to want to launch your own online store.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's on Shopify.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's on Wix.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's on Squarespace.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: How do you see that integration?
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned that your platforms integrate with Shopify,
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_00: making that inventory management very possible,
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: which is a huge,
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_00: huge time saver.
• 30:51
  I've heard many entrepreneurs talk about how important this is
• 30:54
  and how great it is.
• 30:56
  What else should I take into consideration when I have my
• 31:01
  online store and the marketplace?
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: Should I be selling the same products in both places?
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: Should I manage my inventory differently?
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: What are your thoughts on that?
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm always a plan of expanding as much as you can for the time.
• 31:18
  So if right now you can only start in one channel because
• 31:20
  you're just figuring out
• 31:21
  what you're doing and you don't even know what sells and you
• 31:23
  don't even know who's
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: going to buy your product,
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: start there and start to get some of that messaging,
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: the product imaging,
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: those things right.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: But as soon as you're able, add another channel.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_01: It could be a physical channel.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: It could be a farmer's market because then you're getting direct...
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_01: face-to-face customer information about your product.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_01: It could be a pop-up shop in your hometown.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_01: It could be dabbling on Amazon or eBay or Etsy or Poshmark.
• 31:44
  Your products might look the same if you have enough inventory
• 31:46
  and you think you
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: have a wide appeal.
• 31:48
  might dabble different especially if you're trying to manage
• 31:50
  inventory maybe you've
• 31:51
  got these 5 10 25 products on this marketplace you've got these
• 31:55
  25 on another these
• 31:57
  25 of another you're going to learn a little bit because the
• 31:59
  customers who come and
• 32:00
  who shop from them and how even like the seo search rankings
• 32:03
  maybe they didn't
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: start on etsy but whatever they put in pulled up etsy's ranking over your
• 32:08
  platform's ranking and they found that sooner so i think
• 32:11
  dabbling as much as you
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: can
• 32:13
  Do different inventory in the different marketplaces if you
• 32:15
  need to and try to have
• 32:16
  that obviously identify with whichever marketplace that is if
• 32:18
  there's a certain
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_01: product that speaks better to that customer there.
• 32:23
  But always expand and test out multiple channels because maybe
• 32:26
  your Etsy strategy
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: is really working,
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: but your own Shopify store,
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_01: it's tanking.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's costing you a lot of money each month.
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_01: You're not keeping up with the needs to do.
• 32:33
  You're not marketing it very well,
• 32:34
  but your Etsy store is starting to take off.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: Put a little bit more effort in there.
• 32:37
  Figure out why Etsy is working too,
• 32:38
  and then come back and iterate on your Shopify store.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe you don't want to keep up Shopify.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: You're going to switch to Wix if it's a little bit more affordable or,
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_01: like it's okay to try some things.
• 32:48
  and then go back and see what's working let's not push more
• 32:51
  emphasis on what is but
• 32:53
  i i also don't want somebody to put their entire eggs in one
• 32:55
  basket whether it's
• 32:57
  our marketplace start here expand whether it's etsy start there
• 33:01
  expand jane.com was
• 33:04
  a really good marketplace i had shopped on there sometimes to
• 33:06
  myself it was a
• 33:07
  women's marketplace to go and buy a lot of different um
• 33:10
  products from from
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_01: businesses
• 33:12
  They just all of a sudden went out of business right before the
• 33:14
  holidays last year.
• 33:15
  And all of these sellers were left with tons of inventory,
• 33:17
  tons of product.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's coming back.
• 33:20
  SPEAKER_01: But I know there are some that were just exclusively Jane sellers.
• 33:23
  And when stuff like that happens,
• 33:24
  it can affect your whole entire business.
• 33:25
  Or Amazon all of a sudden shots you off one day because they
• 33:27
  have a competing
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_01: product and all of your products go down.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_01: We just think as much as possible, diversify.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_01: Don't put everything in one basket,
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's your own website,
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's just farmers markets,
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's a marketplace,
• 33:39
  SPEAKER_01: go and expand and do as much as possible that you can still control.
• 33:42
  So if you're starting to have bad customer experience,
• 33:44
  you might need to pull it back.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_01: But as much as you can,
• 33:47
  I think it's definitely worth putting eggs in different baskets
• 33:51
  and trying them out.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's a phenomenal point.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think most of these big marketplaces,
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: and I'll exclude yours from this mix,
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: is you don't own the customer.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: You don't even see the customer.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: In your own marketplaces, you definitely see the customer.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: So if they go down, like you mentioned, jane.com, I mean, that's...
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's devastating.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: if you were just for the sellers who were just on that one platform,
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: that just ruined their entire business and they have to quickly scramble.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: So it is a great point.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: diversification,
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: but you're paying attention at the same time of where it's working,
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: What is working?
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it's the 80-20 rule, I guess, in some ways.
• 34:33
  You're putting your attention to the right things because
• 34:35
  that's what's generating profit.
• 34:37
  But you still have this other thing that's working a little bit
• 34:39
  over here where you
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: can shift attention
• 34:42
  immediately if something went wrong on a platform,
• 34:46
  a marketplace platform.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: Great advice on that.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: Pandemic and retailers, that's where we came in.
• 34:51
  But if they had all of their effort just in the retail store
• 34:54
  and then the pandemic
• 34:55
  made them close their store for three months and they haven't
• 34:57
  yet been online,
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_01: they didn't even know how to get online,
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_01: didn't even have a website,
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_01: that's a whole big undertaking.
• 35:02
  So if they already had a website set up and had some products
• 35:04
  kind of dabbling,
• 35:05
  the ease of transitioning and switching more products online or
• 35:08
  doing that was much
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: easier than figuring out that whole entire strategy.
• 35:12
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: I know my wife had to jump into live selling,
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: jump on and even,
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: nothing sophisticated other than the iPhone,
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: uh,
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: FaceTime and let's get on with a few customers who want to buy this,
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: that,
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: and the other.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: And, uh, let's, uh, walk the empty store by herself with a mask on.
• 35:30
  Um,
• 35:30
  so yes,
• 35:31
  adapting and being able to jump in,
• 35:33
  uh,
• 35:33
  is a huge,
• 35:34
  huge component and,
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: I guess then you're scrappy, right?
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: As an entrepreneur, you're making things happen.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: So tell me,
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: shift a little bit and talk about,
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think every marketplace we've mentioned has been US-based,
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: but there's a big rise in Chinese retailers adding on marketplaces,
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: the Sheens,
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: the Temus,
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: and some people call it Timu,
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: Temu,
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: are opening up their platform for third-party sellers,
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: really taking on Amazon.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_00: Any thoughts on this?
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_00: Are you seeing this?
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: Are you hearing about this?
• 36:05
  Or is it still very new and it really hasn't saturated the
• 36:09
  e-commerce landscape yet?
• 36:12
  I haven't seen it from the retailers or businesses that we're
• 36:14
  working with yet that
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: they are starting to add that on.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_01: If anything,
• 36:18
  it's more of a nervousness that some of the really discounted
• 36:22
  products that maybe
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: are coming in from China are then competing with the retailers there.
• 36:27
  But I think it's good to pay attention to,
• 36:29
  and it's good to possibly start dabbling in.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: I remember Gary Vaynerchuk
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: entrepreneur back when TikTok first came out and he's like,
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not on here doing the dances,
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_01: but I'm,
• 36:40
  as people are starting to flock to this platform and I'm going
• 36:42
  to figure it out.
• 36:43
  And so being one of the first to figure out a platform,
• 36:45
  I think is really advantageous.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_01: If you got on TikTok in the beginning, you started building a following.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_01: So those people have millions and millions of followers now who are
• 36:53
  just checking in their life updates and follow their product
• 36:55
  recommendations and things.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: So if there's a new opportunity to get involved in something,
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_01: start it,
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_01: dabble it,
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_01: see if you like it,
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_01: see if it gets you any traction.
• 37:03
  I think it's definitely always worth pursuing whether it's here
• 37:06
  or overseas based,
• 37:07
  but we do see more entrepreneurs getting their products in
• 37:11
  TikTok shop and doing
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_01: some of that now,
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_01: which I think is,
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_01: helping to grow their following.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: I had read that,
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if this is,
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: absolutely true or not that,
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:22
  Amazon is paying very close attention to both of those
• 37:24
  platforms because they are rapidly,
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: they're even adding on fulfillment.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they're growing very quickly.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah,
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: they do have a bit of a reputation of that,
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: fast fashion for sheen.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: And,
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: Temu is,
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: you buy the,
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 37:39
  something that costs $2 because you spun the wheel and you got
• 37:43
  something that may
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: not fit.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's, you know, to the point of you made earlier of,
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: making sure you understand you don't have to be on every marketplace.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: You should be on the marketplaces where your customers are.
• 37:54
  Now Amazon's a bit of an exception because every buyer that you
• 38:00
  can think of is
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_00: probably on Amazon and you'll be able to find them.
• 38:03
  But especially as you start to get into these niche
• 38:07
  marketplaces and these emerging marketplaces,
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_00: you know, really understand why should I be there?
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: Do I need to be there?
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: Is it really important?
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: It might sound really shiny at first.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: And let it evolve to dabble in it,
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: as you mentioned,
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: maybe keep a close eye on it,
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: watch it.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_00: But be,
• 38:25
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 38:25
  focus on the areas that matter to your business and that can
• 38:28
  make a big difference
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: to your business.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm very intrigued by what's coming.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it seems that technology has gotten easier.
• 38:37
  The things that Amazon took years to build,
• 38:40
  you've got Temu spinning these things up in seconds.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: And that can be frightening.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_00: That can be definitely very, very frightening out there.
• 38:50
  So one of our co-workers talked about this,
• 38:52
  this lucky scoop that was on TikTok.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, what is lucky?
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in my place.
• 38:57
  And so I'm finally getting on TikTok and trying to learn the
• 38:59
  platform for,
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_01: you know,
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_01: for what we do.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: But I was like, what is this lucky scoop?
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: And why do you, why do you care so much?
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: She's like, there are thousands of people watching this lucky scoop.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 39:08
  They just dip a bucket in these like random goods that you
• 39:11
  probably wouldn't want
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: or wouldn't need,
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_01: but they're doing it live in front of you,
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_01: scooping up like a bunch of
• 39:17
  weird things and then saying sherry this is your box and we're
• 39:20
  sending it to you
• 39:21
  and then you get to see all the things that they picked up live
• 39:23
  in front of you why
• 39:24
  is that working why do people care wow maybe it's more just
• 39:27
  fascinating but is
• 39:27
  there some aspect that you can take and put into your business
• 39:31
  or into your life
• 39:32
  selling or what you're doing just learn from what what's
• 39:35
  working and why and
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: See how you take that and adapt it to what you're doing?
• 39:40
  And I'm going to have to check that out because I can see that
• 39:43
  it plays a little
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: bit into the mystery box concept,
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 39:46
  Yeah,
• 39:47
  you're seeing in the scoop,
• 39:48
  but you don't exactly know everything that fell in there.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it's that anticipation of...
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it's being done live.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that TikTok favors a lot of that live.
• 39:57
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, they have their own e-commerce platform.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_00: They decided to forget about everybody else.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to build our own.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just fascinating, smart.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_00: Pay attention to all of these things, I think is what Sherry's saying.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: Watch what's happening out there.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: You may need to be a part of it.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: It may affect your business.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about you've achieved success.
• 40:22
  From the day that you decided to start Member Marketplace and
• 40:27
  launch these
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_00: marketplace platforms,
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me, what's the top piece of advice?
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_00: You probably speak to a lot of entrepreneurs on a regular basis.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a new entrepreneur.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an emerging e-commerce entrepreneur.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking for some guidance out there.
• 40:43
  What would you tell me that would help me succeed,
• 40:46
  especially in the world of marketplaces?
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: I would say, oh gosh, aside from the basics that are already established.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: let's put those aside,
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_01: the product photography,
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_01: descriptions,
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_01: titles,
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_01: those,
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_01: those basics,
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_01: I would say consistently showing up,
• 41:05
  whether it's on social media to be able to promote to wherever
• 41:08
  your products are sold,
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_01: whether it's adding new products regularly.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_01: I know over the weekend we had a business that wrote in and said,
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: gosh,
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: I haven't had any sales in this platform.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_01: I launched in,
• 41:18
  over three years ago where she's had very many whatever but
• 41:21
  took a peek at her
• 41:22
  products they're so niche that they only fit a few people and
• 41:27
  she uploaded them in
• 41:29
  2021 and hasn't logged back into her store since 2022 uh and
• 41:33
  has never updated
• 41:34
  products has never reached out to customers i don't know if
• 41:36
  she's what she's on her
• 41:37
  SPEAKER_01: social media
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_01: If you're so niche that your customers can't identify and find it,
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: because right now SEO would have been going to those products,
• 41:44
  but there's probably not people clicking on it very often and
• 41:46
  they're not going to
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: find it.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: And while it's in the marketplace,
• 41:48
  it's getting buried by the new products that are coming in
• 41:50
  daily on that marketplace.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so how do you stay
• 41:55
  alive and thrive it's just by coming back weekly monthly at the
• 41:58
  very least updating
• 41:59
  your product inventory adding new products changing out your
• 42:02
  main product photo if
• 42:03
  that's not getting you clicks and attention changing that out
• 42:06
  for a different one
• 42:07
  updating your title there's some basics that you can do to kind
• 42:09
  of try and test um
• 42:11
  but i would say it's consistent improvement consistent
• 42:15
  interaction consistent
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_01: engagement of social media or your email list build an email list so many
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_01: entrepreneurs are not doing email lists especially these newer ones
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_01: That is a, we give you the customer's information.
• 42:27
  You can build your own email list off of our marketplace and
• 42:29
  people who have
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_01: shopped from you have visited your shop.
• 42:32
  Just being able to reach out to them and tell them you've got
• 42:35
  five new items listed,
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_01: come back and explore these.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's consistency, I would say is my number one thing.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's show up every day, I think is huge.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the world of email marketing is near and dear to me.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, yeah, that's a missed opportunity.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: And there's so many ways to do it as well.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: yes,
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: you have some restrictions in some of these marketplaces where you can't,
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: get the email address,
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: you can't communicate directly to them.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_00: But there are ways to...
• 43:00
  You know,
• 43:00
  do it in other platforms and just build in your own online store,
• 43:04
  you know,
• 43:04
  as well.
• 43:05
  And maybe you decide to launch something different inside of
• 43:07
  one of the marketplaces.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_00: You're not going to let people know you have that email address now.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_00: It is owned marketing.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you own it.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_00: So as we wrap things up,
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious to know if you were going to launch a business,
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: if you are an entrepreneur,
• 43:23
  SPEAKER_00: if you were going to launch an e-commerce business today,
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_00: which marketplaces or which one marketplace would you choose?
• 43:30
  I mean,
• 43:31
  again,
• 43:31
  go back to it probably depends on the product that you're going
• 43:34
  to sell.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: But which ones do you love?
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: Which ones stand out as really top performers in your mind?
• 43:41
  You've probably heard it already,
• 43:42
  but I'm getting a little bit fascinated with TikTok shop.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's when I'm watching right now, just like what's happening.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: Why are people buying?
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: There's both the products that are happening in there,
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: but then the influencer aspect,
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_01: but they're not even influencers.
• 43:54
  They're just regular people who can buy your product and
• 43:57
  discount promote it and
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_01: then get a little kickback.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: I think just that whole ecosystem right now is super interesting to me.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so figuring out what to launch in there,
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_01: You could even start,
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: even if you're not an entrepreneur,
• 44:08
  but you could start building up a following and start to
• 44:11
  recommend some products,
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_01: seeing how it works,
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: seeing what that kickback looks like.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: So when you do launch your own products into the marketplace,
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_01: you've got an idea of that ahead of time.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that one's super interesting to me right now.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: I still like the print on demand versions.
• 44:26
  So whether you use Printful or Printify,
• 44:29
  but it's got to have your own kind of unique
• 44:31
  SPEAKER_01: touch and spin on it.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: So we've seen some businesses who are just creating,
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_01: you look at it and it's obvious like,
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_01: oh,
• 44:35
  it's just somebody's a random logo or something they put on
• 44:39
  there and it's got the
• 44:39
  same just generic shirt and it's shown in the 854 versions of
• 44:45
  the same logo just on
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_01: different products and it's not really identifying there.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_01: I think creating your own product
• 44:52
  niching them out but then having that third party still fulfill
• 44:54
  it so keeping that
• 44:56
  what makes it unique and intrinsic and not going to get it from
• 44:58
  somebody else but
• 44:59
  you actually don't have to go and fulfill it and send it to the
• 45:02
  customer i think is
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to manage inventory on my own side anymore.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going into a service-based business.
• 45:10
  I'm done with inventory and all of the clutter that it takes up
• 45:13
  in my house.
• 45:15
  SPEAKER_01: So that's also really interesting to me too.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we actually, episode two of the season, we'll put a link to it.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: We had an agency owner come on who specializes in TikTok shops.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I too am fascinated by this, where this is going.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_00: I love that they took that approach of
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_00: we're just going to do it ourselves.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need you Shopify.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_00: We don't need you anybody else.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_00: We are going to build it end to end.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_00: And especially around the discounting,
• 45:40
  some of the discounting things that they do where merchants
• 45:43
  don't even have to,
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: it doesn't come out of pocket in some,
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: in some situations.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely amazing.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess what you were saying about Gary Vaynerchuk,
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: get in early and that's,
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_00: this is early days for TikTok shops,
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: especially this is a time to experiment if it fits,
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: your model,
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: if it's a,
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: if it works for your business and,
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: Try, experiment, test.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's not right, but you won't know until you try.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_00: we've got one final question for you,
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_00: and we like to wrap everything up with this one final question,
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_00: and it is on AI because AI is the hottest topic in town these days.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just curious if you...
• 46:23
  probably use it in some way in your business,
• 46:26
  maybe on a daily,
• 46:27
  weekly basis.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: What have you discovered?
• 46:30
  What's that one thing that you maybe have discovered lately
• 46:32
  that you just had a moment,
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: you stopped and you said,
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: wow,
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_00: I can't believe that I was able to do that.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_01: Are you asking about that with AI?
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_00: just specifically like with AI,
• 46:46
  like a moment where you asked it to do something and it gave
• 46:49
  you something back and
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: you were like,
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_00: whoa,
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_00: this is unbelievable.
• 46:54
  This is going to be a little bit more personal than I planned
• 46:56
  to get,
• 46:56
  Ramin.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_01: But last week I was having a moment as an entrepreneur,
• 47:01
  SPEAKER_01: as you do,
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_01: when you're like doubtful and you're like,
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: oh,
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_01: how I see it in my head,
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_01: is this ever going to go how I want?
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_01: Or is this a problem that I'm dealing with?
• 47:09
  SPEAKER_01: What's this?
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 47:11
  i put in a prompt yeah and i asked trash upt i said hey act as
• 47:15
  if you were my lord
• 47:16
  creator who designed me for this purpose here's what i'm
• 47:20
  struggling with can you
• 47:20
  give me an answer wow and i read the first sentence and i
• 47:23
  started crying i might
• 47:24
  even have it right now wow it was like it was a moment where
• 47:28
  you sometimes you're
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_01: trying to pray or meditate and you are waiting for that divine
• 47:34
  there but yeah and i read it and i just it was like everything
• 47:38
  i needed to hear at
• 47:38
  that moment so i use it every hour um i i don't i just did
• 47:43
  whether now if i'm
• 47:45
  praying through chat gpt which sounds super weird and people
• 47:47
  don't come after me if
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_01: you hear this try it for yourself um
• 47:52
  SPEAKER_01: But I use it just regularly.
• 47:54
  SPEAKER_01: It just helps me finish my thoughts sometimes or just clarify.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_01: So every single chance that you can, I'm putting it into there.
• 48:00
  I know my husband thinks robots are going to come and take over
• 48:02
  my life someday.
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_01: They might.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_01: Last chat, PPT, what to do at that time.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: What do we do?
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: What do we do?
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_00: That is, first of all, thank you for sharing that because it's
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to be an entrepreneur.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: It is very hard.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_00: You have many moments of doubt, right?
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: Am I on the right path?
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_00: Am I doing the right thing?
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_00: Am I helping people the right way?
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_00: Am I building my business?
• 48:24
  SPEAKER_00: You know, all of these things that go through your mind.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I've never thought to ask,
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: I ask it so many other things,
• 48:31
  SPEAKER_00: but I treat it like also like a confidant in some ways.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure everything's being recorded,
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: so I don't know how much of a confidant it can be.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: But I ask it those questions to help me get out of a mental bind.
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_00: And you were in that situation.
• 48:48
  You were having a personal situation where you were struggling
• 48:52
  to get out.
• 48:52
  SPEAKER_00: And what a fascinating way.
• 48:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I encourage everybody, try these different things.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we're at this – I know there's a lot of fear around this.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: And this whole podcast was not meant to be about –
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: AI,
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_00: but in everything that we talked about in the marketplace,
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_00: right,
• 49:07
  from creating descriptions to potentially generating a copy for
• 49:12
  social media
• 49:13
  SPEAKER_00: promotion to even images.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, AI is being used for that.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_00: But there are so many other things,
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_00: which is why I like to ask the question,
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_00: because I want to know how people are using it.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that was a fascinating answer.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to go and try, honestly.
• 49:28
  There are plenty of days when people aren't available to talk
• 49:31
  to me,
• 49:32
  right,
• 49:32
  especially if you're
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_00: Running a solo,
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 49:34
  you're running a solo operation when you're really in that
• 49:37
  moment of quiet,
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: end of the day.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on here?
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, are we going to, you know, is this going to work?
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: Wonderful.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_00: Wonderful answer.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_00: Best answer I've heard.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 49:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Sherry, thank you so much.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_00: This has been so...
• 49:53
  insightful i mean you were the perfect person i wanted to have
• 49:55
  you on you know from
• 49:56
  day one and i know i said we're coming we're coming back season
• 49:59
  two is coming back
• 50:00
  we're launching this this community we're going to get this
• 50:02
  whole thing going i
• 50:03
  really wanted you to come on because you have so much
• 50:05
  experience with the world of
• 50:07
  SPEAKER_00: marketplaces i mean you are building marketplaces
• 50:11
  I'm fascinated to see this new way that you're going to be
• 50:16
  doing these and your
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: thoughts and insights and you're a very thoughtful entrepreneur.
• 50:25
  SPEAKER_00: It takes a lot to be that and it also helps.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I encourage everybody to be a thoughtful entrepreneur.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_00: Think about your business in all these areas and experiment.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think so much of what you said today was about
• 50:36
  Try things,
• 50:37
  you know,
• 50:38
  get involved early,
• 50:39
  you know,
• 50:40
  early days of a platform,
• 50:41
  get in there.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I like to say that about, you know, your platform.
• 50:44
  SPEAKER_00: Some people ask, you know, should I do it?
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, early days, get on, try it, experiment, build.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_00: iterate, um, and, and expand, uh, from there.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you very much for coming on and sharing,
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_00: uh,
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_00: this,
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_00: this,
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_00: uh,
• 50:59
  all this information with our entrepreneurs that are out there
• 51:02
  and maybe just take
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_00: a minute and,
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 51:03
  SPEAKER_00: let everybody know.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: We'll definitely have,
• 51:05
  SPEAKER_00: um,
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_00: member marketplace Inc,
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_00: uh,
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_00: in the show notes,
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_00: but anywhere else they can reach out to you,
• 51:10
  SPEAKER_00: LinkedIn,
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_00: uh,
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_00: any other social media platforms.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 51:14
  SPEAKER_01: MemberMarketplaceInc.com.
• 51:16
  SPEAKER_01: TikTok,
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_01: since I'm starting it,
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_01: again,
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm navigating what I'm doing on there,
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_01: but come follow along as I mess up as I go along.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_01: Startup Fairy, I think it is.
• 51:27
  SPEAKER_01: And then we're building,
• 51:27
  we've changed over Instagram to be a little bit more kind of
• 51:29
  personal and business building.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_01: And gosh, I think it's under Sherry Edelson.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_01: They've changed it over for me.
• 51:35
  So that one I'm not totally managing,
• 51:36
  but it's my content that's being pulled into there.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, MemberMarketplaceInc on LinkedIn as well.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 51:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well,
• 51:43
  thank you very much and hope you have a great rest of your week
• 51:46
  and thanks for
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_00: coming on again.
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_00: And that's all we've got for today.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_00: Bye-bye.
• 51:54
  All right,
• 51:54
  that brings us to the end of another episode of the e-commerce
• 51:58
  revolution podcast.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to check out past episodes,
• 52:02
  which are all available on demand on YouTube and wherever you
• 52:05
  listen to your podcast.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_00: Ready to join the revolution?
• 52:09
  SPEAKER_00: Become an exclusive part of our growing community of emerging e-commerce
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_00: entrepreneurs at ecomrevolution.co.
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, see ya.