Michael Spencer's Blog/Lessons I learned from failing for 15 years

Lessons I learned from failing for 15 years

Tuesday, April 09, 2024

This is a copy of a response I posted to a girl in my SKOOL community when she asked about a recent successful product launches on Amazon.

I hope you get some value from it:

___________________________________________________

Hi there. I'm sorry this response is so late.

I've been working on a response to you for a while, so it is helpful.

I will assume that this is your first venture into the business world. If I'm wrong, I apologize, but my response is geared toward that assumption.

I've been selling on Amazon for 12 years. I sold my primary company last year, which took us 12 years to build. It took me about seven years to get to $5K/mo. because I didn't really have much of a guide to show me what to do. At the end of that 12 years, we were doing $500K/year in sales. It took us 12 years to get to that point.

This time, I'm doing it Tim's way, and within two weeks, we're already on pace to have a $6,000 first month. Keep in mind that it took me seven years when I didn't do it Tim's way.

I do have a lot of experience with Amazon, but I would probably have been able to get up to speed (through Tim's program) in three months, whereas before, it took me years.

Long story short, I think you've made a good decision…if you actually do the stuff he teaches.

If you don't, then it was a waste.

The issue isn't the program. The program doesn't make you successful. It accelerates what you already could do on your own…if you follow the program and don't try to get creative.

I've spent SOOOO much money on programs and groups over the years and started SOOO many businesses. I'll give you the big lesson I learned from all of that:

"Any of them would have worked if I'd simply taken imperfect action and not gotten distracted."

My first venture selling ukuleles online would have worked if I'd stuck with it. Affiliate marketing, software, real estate, etc., would also have worked if I'd stopped second-guessing myself, done the work, and become an expert.

A lot of my problems were caused by my desire to ensure that I was doing it correctly. So, I'd spend a lot of time researching and learning skills so that I could launch and do great.

During that time, I'd lose steam, get overwhelmed, and find something else that looked easier and more promising…only to repeat that process repeatedly. I did this for years.

Unfortunately, for me at least, this was a lesson I chose to learn on my own. I watched hundreds of teachers and other business people tell me this same thing over the years…but I didn't listen for whatever reason and kept jumping around.

Here are some other lessons I've learned (through experience, unfortunately…I should have listened:)

  • Stop learning. Doing is the only thing that matters. Learn enough to take the next step, and then stop learning and go and do that step. Once that step is done, turn back on the video and learn the next thing.
  • Only have one mentor at a time. If you're in Tim's program, do not watch ANY OTHER videos, programs, or anything else anywhere. Your world is Tim and nothing else. There are lots of people on YouTube, etc. that make things look easier, but I'm telling you, they aren't. They only look easier until you do them. Then you've spent more money and wasted three months. Eventually, you'll progress to the point where Tim will no longer be your mentor, and you can pick someone else. When you get to that point, go all in on what they're saying. This strategy will save you years and tens of thousands of dollars.
  • You will fail. That's just how it goes. Maybe your first product bombs. Maybe the launch is terrible, or the supplier screws you…whatever. Just because IT fails doesn't mean that YOU'RE a failure. If something fails, cut your losses early and try again. Most businesses/products fail. But the ones that work make up for all the losses plus a ton. It's crucial during this process to be frugal so that if something fails, you can try again without putting your family at risk.
  • Only do one thing at a time. Do not try to have multiple businesses at the same time. This will distract you and divide your focus, making both likely to fail. Successful people usually have multiple businesses, but they didn't have multiple businesses when they were getting their start. They went all in on the one thing. Once that was successful, they added to it.
  • It's more important to learn the process than to make money in the beginning. I'm on track to sell $6K in the first month for this new product on Amazon. I'll probably profit about $500 from that personally. That sounds almost pointless. But if it's profitable, it's usually scalable, and going from $500 to $5,000 usually doesn't take 10X longer.
  • A scarcity/desperate mindset will likely kill anything you're doing. Be cautious of any decisions you're trying to make when you feel desperate.
  • ​Read "Profit First" and "Profit First for E-commerce Sellers" and follow them to the letter.

This is already too long, and I hope it's helpful. If it's not, just forget all of this.

​​I hope all's well and that you find every success.

Podcasts

  • EP 1. UNVEILING SUCCESS WITH MIKE​​ SPENCER
  • EP 2. THE JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
  • ​​​EP 2. UNDERSTANDING GDP AND ​SLOW ECONOMIC GROWTH

FREE Facebook Ads
​Training

Learn to develop effective Facebook campaigns and maximize your Facebook Ads

Michael Spencer's Blog/Lessons I learned from failing for 15 years

Lessons I learned from failing for 15 years

Tuesday, April 09, 2024

This is a copy of a response I posted to a girl in my SKOOL community when she asked about a recent successful product launches on Amazon.

I hope you get some value from it:

___________________________________________________

Hi there. I'm sorry this response is so late.

I've been working on a response to you for a while, so it is helpful.

I will assume that this is your first venture into the business world. If I'm wrong, I apologize, but my response is geared toward that assumption.

I've been selling on Amazon for 12 years. I sold my primary company last year, which took us 12 years to build. It took me about seven years to get to $5K/mo. because I didn't really have much of a guide to show me what to do. At the end of that 12 years, we were doing $500K/year in sales. It took us 12 years to get to that point.

This time, I'm doing it Tim's way, and within two weeks, we're already on pace to have a $6,000 first month. Keep in mind that it took me seven years when I didn't do it Tim's way.

I do have a lot of experience with Amazon, but I would probably have been able to get up to speed (through Tim's program) in three months, whereas before, it took me years.

Long story short, I think you've made a good decision…if you actually do the stuff he teaches.

If you don't, then it was a waste.

The issue isn't the program. The program doesn't make you successful. It accelerates what you already could do on your own…if you follow the program and don't try to get creative.

I've spent SOOOO much money on programs and groups over the years and started SOOO many businesses. I'll give you the big lesson I learned from all of that:

"Any of them would have worked if I'd simply taken imperfect action and not gotten distracted."

My first venture selling ukuleles online would have worked if I'd stuck with it. Affiliate marketing, software, real estate, etc., would also have worked if I'd stopped second-guessing myself, done the work, and become an expert.

A lot of my problems were caused by my desire to ensure that I was doing it correctly. So, I'd spend a lot of time researching and learning skills so that I could launch and do great.

During that time, I'd lose steam, get overwhelmed, and find something else that looked easier and more promising…only to repeat that process repeatedly. I did this for years.

Unfortunately, for me at least, this was a lesson I chose to learn on my own. I watched hundreds of teachers and other business people tell me this same thing over the years…but I didn't listen for whatever reason and kept jumping around.

Here are some other lessons I've learned (through experience, unfortunately…I should have listened:)

  • Stop learning. Doing is the only thing that matters. Learn enough to take the next step, and then stop learning and go and do that step. Once that step is done, turn back on the video and learn the next thing.
  • Only have one mentor at a time. If you're in Tim's program, do not watch ANY OTHER videos, programs, or anything else anywhere. Your world is Tim and nothing else. There are lots of people on YouTube, etc. that make things look easier, but I'm telling you, they aren't. They only look easier until you do them. Then you've spent more money and wasted three months. Eventually, you'll progress to the point where Tim will no longer be your mentor, and you can pick someone else. When you get to that point, go all in on what they're saying. This strategy will save you years and tens of thousands of dollars.
  • You will fail. That's just how it goes. Maybe your first product bombs. Maybe the launch is terrible, or the supplier screws you…whatever. Just because IT fails doesn't mean that YOU'RE a failure. If something fails, cut your losses early and try again. Most businesses/products fail. But the ones that work make up for all the losses plus a ton. It's crucial during this process to be frugal so that if something fails, you can try again without putting your family at risk.
  • Only do one thing at a time. Do not try to have multiple businesses at the same time. This will distract you and divide your focus, making both likely to fail. Successful people usually have multiple businesses, but they didn't have multiple businesses when they were getting their start. They went all in on the one thing. Once that was successful, they added to it.
  • It's more important to learn the process than to make money in the beginning. I'm on track to sell $6K in the first month for this new product on Amazon. I'll probably profit about $500 from that personally. That sounds almost pointless. But if it's profitable, it's usually scalable, and going from $500 to $5,000 usually doesn't take 10X longer.
  • A scarcity/desperate mindset will likely kill anything you're doing. Be cautious of any decisions you're trying to make when you feel desperate.
  • ​Read "Profit First" and "Profit First for E-commerce Sellers" and follow them to the letter.

This is already too long, and I hope it's helpful. If it's not, just forget all of this.

​​I hope all's well and that you find every success.

Podcasts

  • EP 1. UNVEILING SUCCESS WITH MIKE​​ SPENCER
  • EP 2. THE JOURNEY TO SUCCESS
  • ​​​EP 2. UNDERSTANDING GDP AND ​SLOW ECONOMIC GROWTH

FREE Facebook Ads
​Training

Learn to develop effective Facebook campaigns and maximize your Facebook Ads

© 2024 Michael Spencer  |  Terms & Conditions ∙ Privacy Policy

© 2024 Michael Spencer   |  Terms & ConditionsPrivacy Policy