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345 : Craig Soderdahl – Develop techniques to solve the inevitable problems that arise from running an ecommerce business
8th October 2018 • eCommerce Momentum Podcast • eCommerce Momentum Podcast
00:00:00 01:10:54

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Craig says it well: ” Build out your fear muscles to get past the next ecommerce hurdle”. (Pro tip: There will be one!) You see recognizing your limitations rather than ignoring them and the focusing on alternative approaches, true “b” options allow you to roll when you need to rather than curl up in a ball and suck your thumb.  Craig offers some great advice on how to create your own techniques.

 

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Transcript: (note- this is a new tool I am trying out so it is not perfect- it does seem to be getting better)

Craig:                                     [00:00:00]               That’s, that’s a really good question. I, something that has surprised me is I don’t think entrepreneurial self or entrepreneurialship is a contagious or it’s something that people like to do. So there are really, really bright and gifted people who just are super fearful and I’ve talked to multiple people who are way smarter than I am, but they’re like, I would never do what you’re doing yet. And yet they’re writing computer software programs from scratch for a mega mega organization. Okay.

Cool voice guy:                  [00:00:40]               Is your host Stephen Peterson?

Stephen:                             [00:00:47]               He wanted to talk a few moments about some sponsors scope from several labs. Um, when’s the last time you created a listing? Right? And when you create that listing, you’ve got to come up with the keywords, right? It’s all key word dependent. I don’t care if it’s a private label or wholesale. You’ve got to get it right. Well, what’s the best way to get it right? And if you’re selling a similar product that’s really successful, you go and you take and use their keywords and that’s what scope does for you. So phenomenal tool brought to you again by seller labs, the leaders in technology. When it comes to Amazon, right now, they are just crushing it with all their products, but scope allows you to get that listing right, get ranked for those key words as fast as possible. Therefore you get the sales, so go to seller labs.com, forward slash scope.

Stephen:                             [00:01:36]               Use the code word momentum, save a little bit of money, get some free key words to test, try it out and see if you see an improvement. If you don’t adjust, what’s cool about what I love about a seller labs is that you then message and say, Hey, I didn’t get this right tyler. Hey Jeff, this isn’t working right. What am I doing wrong? And Boom, you’re going to get the help you need and that’s what you’re going to get from solar lamps. And, and it’s a very special group that had been very. I’ve been very fortunate to be connected with them. And again, I look over time they’ve delivered every single time. You know, same thing I can say for Karen from solutions for ECOMMERCE. I mean, she’s been carrying my account for a couple years now and our account, my wife and I, and she really does handle things for us.

Stephen:                             [00:02:17]               Um, I mentioned, uh, just last week we created a new listing with, I forget how many variations, but again, all the flat files uploaded done as I needed. I pop in, so she’ll send me a template, I pop in some information and then boom, it’s handled, await. These pictures weren’t done right, blah, blah, blah. This UPC, Nita poom modified adjusted. And again, the communication’s been phenomenal too. I get an email back saying, hey, this was done or this, you’re missing this, Steve. Hey, you gotta do this. So, you know, we have those challenges too and that’s why I like working with somebody who’s been doing it. I’ve been doing it for a long time to do, you know, Karen also does listings for Ebay. Yep. Lots of them. So if you want to build out that channel, which of course you should, it’s q four. You should be selling everywhere.

Stephen:                             [00:03:01]               You can, um, Karen can help you with that too. So you gotTa tell her I’ve sent you, so you’re going to go to solutions four ecommerce forward slash momentum. You’re going to save 50 bucks every single month. You’ve got to save that $50. But more importantly, you’re going to get an inventory health report. Um, did you just get hit with monthly longterm storage fees? Well, guess what? If you haven’t, they’re coming. You want them to get that inventory right and she can help you with that. You’ve got to tell her I sent you again, solutions. The number for ecommerce forward slash momentum will get you into that. Save the 50 bucks. Get that inventory health report though. That’s really, really important. Get that going right away and I don’t want to miss my coach when it comes to retail arb or online or when I have a question and I do.

Stephen:                             [00:03:41]               Not that we don’t, we don’t really do much of it anymore, but when I do have a question, I go to Gaye Lisby because why? Because she’s really. She is a coach. I mean, she’s really phenomenal, but she also puts out a daily list and you’re going to get that list five days a week. You’re going to get tons of leads, the number of, uh, agreed to amount that you’re supposed to get. She least, she usually gets to those in the four days. And then the fifth day seems to be a bonus most of the time. Phenomenal Group, small amount of buyers where this list is going to end. The best thing is the nuggets that you learn. Hey, why is the red one better than the blue? One? Gaye can help you with those questions. I saw. Hey, I got a, I got to the dreaded letter about a brand.

Stephen:                             [00:04:20]               Here’s the, here’s the way you approach it. Hey, receipts, um, how do you, what’s the best practice? I saw her leading instructions, teaching me the accountant how to do a better job with it. And it’s phenomenal. So it’s Gaye Lisby’s, um, made a million dollars selling. I’ll have the link in here. You’ve got to use the link and it does help me. I don’t want to say it that way, but it’s part of amazing freedom with Andy, slam inslee, Ron Hirsch, corn, and nate’s lamins so you know you can trust. Okay, so come back to the website, take a look at it, and you will get a savings and you can get two weeks free right now only through my link. You get two weeks free. Try it. You don’t like it? I get it back off, but right now is the time to make money. Get cash flow going right now.

Stephen:                             [00:05:05]               And so join you. Get two weeks free. The only way you’re going to get the two weeks freeze. If you use my link, it’s on this episode. Come on out and give it a try. You will not be disappointed again. You’re going to see me in there. So reach out if I can help you too. Let’s get into the podcast. Welcome back to the ECOMMERCE momentum podcast. This is episode 345. Craig Soda Doll. I got that name right. Yes. You know, you want to be inspired, get ready because, uh, you know, we’re going to talk about building your fear muscle. That was a phrase he used and it just resonates with me so much. I connect with it because you know, it, we’ll talk about a weight loss thing, trying to gain strength and all that kind of jazz and it’s pushing through these difficult challenges, um, and they keep coming, right?

Stephen:                             [00:05:51]               And then you’re trying to lose weight or you’re trying to exercise and pushing past at. Building up those right is such a great analogy. And Craig talks about pushing past that when you’re stuck. And so in your ecommerce business, when it gets challenging, when Amazon changes of rule, right? We have one now that, that we’re working with a challenge, right? It’s a, uh, saying something, you know, hazardous or whatever and it’s not, but you’ve got to go through that pain, right? It’s like, oh, what about, you know, we got all this money tied up. Well guess what? We’re going to have to push through it because on the other side it’s so much better. And so your ability to get through that. Right. The other thing that I really take away from Craig is his optimism. When he looks at something, he’s looking at it first off.

Stephen:                             [00:06:35]               It’s all upside the degree of upside, man. When you’re looking at it, something from that perspective instead of going in, how much is it going to cost me? Well, no, how much is it gonna make me already. It’s already going to break even. Now I’m going to see what’s the upside of it. I think that perspective is, quite frankly one of the reason that he’s, you know, 10 exing and going to double and triple and waited. Here’s plans. I mean, it’s, it’s, there’s no doubt he’s going to do it. There’s absolutely no doubt. Very, very cool. Great Story. Let’s get into the podcast and welcome back to the ecommerce momentum podcast for excited about today’s guest because I think he has a lot of perspective to offer. Not that he’s old because I’m older, but he has perspective. Um, and I think, I think it’s always healthy when you get perspective for somebody who’s doing it, not just talking about doing it, not just saying, Hey, look at my instagram, you know, in my Lamborghini, now he’s doing it and his doing it for him is going to practices and doing, being involved yet being a very successful businessman and it’s, it’s very, very encouraging.

Stephen:                             [00:07:42]               Craig soder doll, how do they die? Last name. I got it. Oh my goodness. That’s tough duty. That’s the pressure right there. All right. We already have stuck it. I stuck the landing. All right, well, hey, thanks for coming on Craig. I really appreciate it. I appreciate what you do as a dad. I mean I appreciate the effort that you put in and it was one of the things I wanted to make sure we talk about is that because that’s not easy life life life happens to you too, doesn’t it?

Craig:                                     [00:08:14]               And my oldest actually just graduated this past year so we’re down to three boys in the house and kind of one of my priorities is making it to their events. Um, and so last year, because my boys are getting a little older, I have one in high school and then I have two in middle school, one’s a sixth grader, seventh grader, and then I have a sophomore and a freshman in college, but last year I was approaching that kind of season of life where your kids are kind of almost getting to that point of where they have teachers who coach them as part of the middle school program. So last year I decided to coach my kids, my younger two, I’m in football and in basketball. And then in La crosse coach for almost three months, three seasons straight, which was probably a little bit over commitment. Um, but it was just awesome being there, being with their friends.

Stephen:                             [00:09:13]               You’re developing young men from the point of view, not only as a dad, but as the second most influential person, a teacher in their lives at the most critical age. They say developmentally, it gives me the chills to think about it. That’s commitment.

Craig:                                     [00:09:30]               Yeah. It’s a lot of fun because I get to know these boys and they’re around my kids a lot, the other kids that I coach, so I just wanted to be there and talk about winning and losing and giving it your best and worst.

Stephen:                             [00:09:45]               Hang on to give them all trophies now. Right. There’s no winners right there. You just don’t get trophies. Right. They just participation trophies. Isn’t that the right way to do that now?

Craig:                                     [00:09:53]               Yeah. You know, I don’t know if we got participation. I was the head coach a Lacrosse team last year and I never played lacrosse. Uh, I’ve been coaching for three years now, so I’ve come a little bit smarter than the other Dads, but I’m not necessarily a great coach, but one of the things I used to work at a Christian camp for 18 years, a left that job this past February. But one of the things that we do there was we talk about something that we observed in them. So then we appreciated about each camper was what we did at camp. And so I ended the season this past year of just something that I appreciated that was unique and valuable that I saw in each kid, um, at the end of the season. So I pulled them up, stood right next to them, and we just talked about kind of just something that is unique that I loved about them and that they offered to the team and parents appreciate it because they can see that a coach gets to know their kid, um, and that there’s value in each person, but it’s valued in different sense, meaning not everybody gets a trophy, but someone gets recognized for something that’s unique about them.

Craig:                                     [00:10:56]               And I really appreciate that

Stephen:                             [00:11:00]               building foundations and people not giving them something they didn’t. Participation stuff. I mean the fact that they came, that’s cool, don’t get me wrong, but because showing up is a big piece of it, but you know, building them up so they’re ready when you go to work and it’s expected that you’re going to be here. Craig, I mean, you know, you work from eight to four. I don’t want to hear about your problems. I mean, you’re, you’re here at eight, right? And you’re right, I don’t want your challenge is don’t bring that stuff in. And so by giving them that strong foundation who gave me the chills second time today, I’ve got the chills from somebody, but it’s very cool to me again, because this is. Do you see when you’re looking at other coaches and, and I don’t condemn anybody, but do you

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