Shownotes
Yes we finally get to it. We also get to the reason why I have not had Ashlin on the show. Her name has come up many times but I had a reason and we get to it right up front. To be fair, Ashlin is my agent and does a great job for us. But…… (You will have to listen)
Mentioned:
New office photos
Sponsors:
Gaye’s Million Dollar Arbitrage List
Transcript: (note- this is a new tool I am trying out so it is not perfect- it does seem to be getting better)
Stephen: [00:00:00] I want to thank my sponsor today they really make the show happen. I just couldn’t do it without them. You know Siller labs in scope you’ve heard me talk about it a ton of times because I’ve used them so many times. The beauty is you know you have a product you want to put the right keywords because it’s all about keywords right when you know that the key word is what people are searching for. When you’re thinking of buying barbecue gloves what do you put in there. That’s what you want to figure out what are people searching for. Well school allows you to do that because you get to see the number one number two number three seller in that category in that group that are similar products you get to see what their words are. Well that’s the key. There’s no reinventing the wheel here.
Stephen: [00:00:40] You’re going to take advantage of this information that’s available that scope presents for you. Tool was very inexpensive. They’re going to give you a couple of free keywords you got to give it a shot. So labs dot com solar labs dot com forward slash school use the code momentum to save 50 bucks say 50 bucks. Give it a shot. Give it a trial. Get some free keywords and see what you can do. Remember I also use it on my wholesale accounts or if you do bundles even better because you could take the keywords for each of those products in the bundle. Figure out the best and put it together several labs dot com forward slash scope use the code word momentum when it say thank you to Karen Larcker from solutions for e-commerce prepaid and a great account manager.
Stephen: [00:01:26] Yes you’ve heard me say a bunch of times but I mean it because our Q4 was spectacular because of all the variations for a particular line we had that Karen entered. Seventy eight of them I believe and now I’m adding a bunch more because we’re not done. I mean it’s Tom a year going to sell right into January February and March. So she’s getting ready to add a bunch more. That’s the power of having that team member. That team works overnight. Quite frankly they work different hours than I do. She sends a file she’s XTI fill in these particular fields shoot it back to me and boom they get it done and you get it and fast. And it just as allowed us to grow. It’s that silent team member that don’t call of sick they just handle things solutions.
Stephen: [00:02:08] The number for e-commerce dot com slash momentum’s going to save you 50 bucks. And she’s going to do that all important inventory Health Report. She only does that for my listeners only through this deal. You’re going to save 50 bucks and you’re going to get that inventory Health Report solutions for e-commerce dot com slash momentum. Get ready for them too. Here now is the time. Very excited. Got. Hill coming up pretty soon. And she’s going to talk to you of why it’s so important to get ready for 2018. Hey Gala’s bees group. That was awesome this quarter of and I can’t believe the stuff that was posted in there I saw so many people have so much access and credit her group with having incredible success. Yes it’s still close. However they’re letting you get in through my link only my link.
Stephen: [00:02:55] And so I have a link out on this episode that will allow you to click through and get on the waiting list and guess what you’ll get right in. So it’s a special list. The other thing which is cool is there’s so many people learning because gays a teacher was a teacher still a teacher in this world now and we’re very lucky to have her. And so gateless group it’s awesome awesome group. Send her a note that I sent you. And you’re going to get in. And it’s just going to set you up for real success for 2018. I don’t want to miss Go Daddy because they’ve been so good to me. I just so excited that they’re a sponsor of the show because I put so many Mayne’s through them and it’s so cool.
Stephen: [00:03:31] So if you go to try go daddy dot com forward slash momentum. You’re going to save 30 percent off your purchase Go Daddy. I’m good. I want to go back and do my purchases over because I’d like to save that 30 percent. Hello. But I am getting ready to buy a couple more domains again. When I see a big idea or if I’m bringing a brand new market I’m buying that domain. You’d be a fool not to so try Go Daddy dot com forward slash momentum save 30 percent. Awesome. And finally today grasshopper the grasshopper is the app you put on your phone so you can run your business from your current cell phone. Don’t add a second cell phone appear larger when it’s put a low call vanity number if you want or a local 800 number to make you appear a little large on what you are.
Stephen: [00:04:14] Had the phone forwarded to your current cell phone how it forwarded to voicemail habit forwarded to your reps work in other countries for your UVAs you have all those options and it’s just try grasshopper dot com forward slash momenta and you’re going to save 50 bucks. Try grasshopper dot com slash momentum.
Cool voice guy: [00:04:34] Welcome to the e-commerce momentum blog where we focus on the people the products and the process of commerce selling your host Stephen Peters then welcome back to the e-commerce column in a podcast. This
Stephen: [00:04:50] is episode 261 Ash. Linda had Ashlyn had an insurance agency.
Stephen: [00:04:58] They had an insurance agency is my insurance agency that is who we use for our e-commerce liability insurance and we’ve had nothing but great dealings with them. We’ve had billing questions and boom they get a response. We’ve had to change our insurance because we have inventory in our location so we get a response and they handle it. We’ve had to. We’re moving location so we now we have two locations ensured we’re in that transition and boom it gets handled. You know that’s really what you need is someone who is responsive and I must admit Ashland’s been great. What’s cool about it too is she’s very approachable you could sit down have a drink with her at a lot of events because she goes to most of them so she’s there you get to see her and you can say hey what if I decide to do this.
Stephen: [00:05:49] How would you handle this. What can you do for this. And she’s been great to deal with. She understands our business and I think that’s one of the biggest challenges. So I’ve been very pleased. This isn’t a national and commercial although it most certainly don’t benefit in any way. I don’t get any better prices. She’s not an affiliate she’s not a sponsor or any of that kind of jazz just she happens to be my insurance agent who I haven’t had on and I’ve gotten a lot of questions. Why. Well explain that in the beginning of this episode.
Stephen: [00:06:16] Let’s get into the podcast. Welcome back to the e-commerce. I’m in a podcast very excited about today’s guest because it’s a long time coming. I’ve gotten asked a bunch of times why have not had Ashlynn had not been welcome Ashlynn thank you so much for having me. Finally finally well we haven’t talked. And let’s let’s put it out there because I’d like to start it off this way because I’m an honest guy you’re an honest person. So the reason I didn’t have Ashlynn on is I wanted to wait to see how the insurance for getting suspended would play out because I was very I mean you know I haven’t done risk management for so long in my previous life. I just didn’t understand. I mean I remember saying well let’s see if you can get it underwritten and then you are like check. Steve got that and then I was like Alright I want to see somebody get paid out.
Ashlin: [00:07:06] And it took a long long long long time.
Stephen: [00:07:11] And somebody did get paid. In fact I know two people who were personally paid out. However you don’t currently sell it anymore is that correct. That is correct. OK. So you know I think the concept was good. You put a tremendous amount of leg work and you lost a tremendous amount of money. I know you do. But do you think you’re smarter for knowing that now you know knowing what you know now. Would you go and try and do it again.
Ashlin: [00:07:40] Yes I am but I’m looking for more of a local carrier or somebody here more in the market. Somebody that is already working with e-commerce dollars and knows a little bit more about their risks instead of kind of starting you know where we were we went with this carrier to begin with they really hadn’t been in the e-commerce world they didn’t know anything they didn’t know the risk and we really were shooting blind. We did a lot of legwork like you said with my Sollers and my clients and trying to get you know really what you guys were looking for. And the company we went with which is a very big company and things really just didn’t perform the way that my expectations were for my clients. So I am trying to get we’re going to we’re going to try to stick more local carriers and be a little bit smaller in already really knows this field. So we’re going to try again.
Stephen: [00:08:39] Well what did you like a little bit more control now. Yeah I get that. So I mean let’s talk about that what did you learn through that process.
Ashlin: [00:08:46] Yes so the biggest thing I learned is to not let them kind of not walk all over me. You know a little bit of when we first started I came with the idea of you know this is what it needs to look like and I let them kind of adapt it to what they felt.
Stephen: [00:09:05] So and So what you were originally your vision got spread out so far and then they’re right they wouldn’t fulfill it. And that’s one of the big challenges right. I
Stephen: [00:09:14] mean you know when you when you put out like a contract or a request for bid and you’re very specific and then all of a sudden they like. Yeah but here’s what we can do you know that kind of thing you almost you almost settle. Right. I mean I almost settle. Do you feel like you had to settle to get it done.
Ashlin: [00:09:33] I do. And that’s on the first version of the first version was more of what I wanted and then they correct. OK well this isn’t working this is what we need to do and I should have just said nope version 1 we need to stick with version 1. But there were such in me that such a desire to have something like you know something’s better than nothing. And it’s not something that’s not better than nothing. No
Stephen: [00:09:59] I agree it needs to be perfect from the beginning and to be honest with the let’s be really fair the insurance company has to make money if they do not make money. Right. So they need to insure a thousand people and have three or four or six of them take the you know actually get a claim. And so the other thousand people support him at this time in the next year it’s somebody. I mean it’s just common right that’s not. That’s right.
Ashlin: [00:10:22] It’s not a charity right. Right. It’s
Stephen: [00:10:24] insurance right. And in fairness to them they need to make money however they need to be you know they need to hold up their into the bargain. So OK. So you know that now so when you go. There are some absolutes that are just this is the deal killer must be this way or else. Yep love it. Love it. I think that’s fair. And I think it’s good for you to say it. And most people wouldn’t they’d be blaming everybody else and you’re not. And I appreciate that. I respect that. So just everybody does.
Stephen: [00:10:55] No actually it is my insurance agent for she handles two lines for us she handles our liability for and we’re different than a lot of sellers because we have a warehouse so we have a lot of inventory that’s for sale because we have merchant for Shell a lot of stuff ourselves. So that inventory is insured. And so my premiums reflect it. Thank you very much. A
Stephen: [00:11:13] little high of a discount. I don’t get a discount. I don’t get paid for anything out of there. Yeah I like a discount.
Stephen: [00:11:20] Actually the only discount that I did get is we had our workman’s comp was through the state because we only have really two employees and you can exempt your executive if you don’t know that you should because they really are going to be taking workman’s comp No. So however premiums were whatever and then they tripled. And I’m like why. Well you know the story. So I met with Ashlynn and I saved a bunch of money and got some discounts and then the state didn’t like the discounts. But seems to be on the right path. Correct. Yep. So I appreciate it. You know I hope to never need it. Hope to never use it. However moving in a new warehouse and what was it guys first thing you saying hey you got insurance and you know we’re going to need a certificate named additional insured and all that kind of I’m like we’re covered.
Stephen: [00:12:11] So that’s really important if you’re going to expand out now. Somebody asked me how much I pay. I think I pay twenty seven hundred dollars a year for liability and content’s and we have content’s because again we have shelves full of inventory that’s worth something that we can document. I’ve seen not everybody will be that guy. Right. Right. And it’s high because of that. I mean I get it. But we get a lot of him into a lot. So therefore I’m worried about it. So that extra thousand or what have you the smallest premiums that you’ve seen out there for sellers.
Ashlin: [00:12:46] Yeah so is there a new Stallard just doing Arri 0 8 wholesaled. I mean the minimum premiums five hundred dollars. And I do wish you lots of new clients coming in that are that base. Five hundred dollars a year. Once of course you start selling more you start getting into private label adding on coverages. Of course it’s going to go up but the base policy where most newbies come in is between 500 and 600 dollars a year.
Stephen: [00:13:12] And so there’s really no excuse you got to build that right from day one because you’re exposed so much initially is going to give us some examples of some of the terrible stories that are out there because I think it’s not trying to scare people. The other thing you know as a seller it’s so unfair to me when somebody else doesn’t have it it’s like saying you know me how my supposed to compete you know to be fair. I mean I always say that there’s about a 70 percent net margin by the time you get done with all these fees. If you have your own warehouse and stuff and all that stuff it really gets down there. And so insurance is is probably that and payroll of course being most important but in taxes there. But insurance is probably one of the top two things you got to do.
Ashlin: [00:13:53] Right. And one of the big things that I hear all the time is I can’t afford five hundred dollars a month or 500 dollars a year I can afford a hundred dollars a year. And my response is always bad. Can you afford fifty thousand dollars to hire an attorney or can you hire or can you afford half a million dollars if you actually are found liable.
Ashlin: [00:14:12] So if you can’t afford five hundred dollars a month you shouldn’t be in this business because this is very...