Episode # 145 – Starting out on Amazon – Kelly Rodriguez – Amazon Legends
09/15/22 Nick Uresin

Successfully selling on Amazon starts a long time before you launch your first product listing. Today’s guest has been there and is letting you know how to do it. Kelly Rodriguez is the creator of Gumbell and a fearless entrepreneur. Kelly shared some of the mistakes she made on Amazon in the beginning, how she developed her methodology for creating a product and selling it on Amazon, and her amazing entrepreneurial journey so far.
Takeaways:
- When you are selling a product that comes from a passion of yours, you can sell that product based on its story. You can use the title, pictures, videos, description, etc. to tell your brand’s story through the product listing itself.
- When testing a new product or a new market, you need to be very deliberate in your choices like the packaging and color for the test run. For example, some sellers prefer orange because it is seen as a very energizing color and may represent the brand well.
- It’s important to have a methodical approach to creating a new product, especially on Amazon. A big part of your methodology should be focused on clear goal setting and striving to hit those goals.
- In developing the packaging for your product, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If your competitors have already done the work to create functional packaging, you can follow their lead but find ways to make it your own, such as graphics.
- In the initial month of launching on Amazon, you should expect to be losing money on FBA fees and other costs, even though you might have $1 in sales for every $1 you spend on ads. By months 4-5, you should see $5 in sales per $1 in ads.
- As you begin selling on Amazon, it’s better to use FBA than FBM. Not only will Amazon take care of the fulfillment, process returns, and handle customer service, FBA is how you set up your company to scale.
- Your product has to be good quality if you are going to sell on Amazon. Just because something might sell well on Etsy or some other site does not mean it will succeed on Amazon, especially if it is poor quality.
Quote of the Show:
- “The product has to be quality if you are selling on Amazon” – Kelly Rodriguez
Links:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-rodriguez%F0%9F%92%AD-b46948113/
- Company website: https://thegumbell.com/
- Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/s?me=A2IUKP9AF44FQO&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Shout Outs:
- Helium 10
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