Issue two

E-Commerce Product Testing.

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I'm a big believer in bootstrapping my e-commerce ventures. This approach allows me to grow at my own pace and take calculated financial risks.

Product testing cycle differs for solopreneurs like myself, compared to startups with access to funding who can afford a much faster growth rate.

In this post, I'll share strategies for keeping the financial aspects of your product testing cycle under control as a self-funded entrepreneur.

1. Calculate Minimum Costs.
2. Keep it Simple.
3. Inspire from Micro-Brands.
4. Track The Progress.

Here is how I would keep financial chaos in control for product testing cycle as a self-funded project.

1.Workout costs on a spreadsheet:

1. Shopify: $50 per month + Apps (you don't need paid apps just yet)Shopify offers 1 month of trial so for the first 30 days your cost is limited to $1 while you are setting the store up.
2. Ad spend (ROI): $50-$100 per week
3. Product Cost(COG): Depends on what you decide to sell.
4. Alternatively, find micro-influencers at Impact or similar platforms. Cost varies on who you hire and output you need from them.
5. Alternatively, find creators on TikTok (TikTok shop program is biggest opportunity for new brands in 2024)
6. Organic Reach only cost is your time to create content.

Although I don't use influencers for the new product testing phase but it can be a cost-effective way to reach thousands and millions of followers.

I prefer to run Ads for my product testing phases. Bu this is not only way.

Making content is way cheaper, your only cost is your time to shoot product-facing shorts and share across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. I have made a ton of content in the past. Some videos completely failing to make tens of thousands of views.

So within under $400 per month, I would test one or few product stores. If you are making content then cost is reduced more than 50%.

All of my projects were self-funded during 9-5 so instead of saving money I would experiment on products on Shopify, a specific niche or an idea.

Tracking your progress with a simple spreadsheet with all cost, sales, and net profits will keep you thinking in the right direction.

Once you start seeing sales, you want to keep the momentum going. So keep wins and losses on a spreadsheet, which also comes handy when you lodge a tax return.

PS: I used to spend 5-10K per month on a brand we grew to 7 figures using Google Ads. This started with a number of SKUs and $1000 monthly ad spend. As we scaled with better deals and products increased budget to anywhere between 5-10K. This took a team of 2 people fulltime back in 2016-2021.

2. Keep It Simple:

When I started my first Shopify store to test dropshipping in 2017, I would load up 1000s of dropshipping products with multiple niche.

Please don't do this.

This is a terrible strategy because you will spend a lot more time making the store look better than testing in the market.

Please keep it simple. 1-10 products. Fewer the better.

Test and validate the offer first.

PS: I don't think you need a fancy marketing at this stage. Content or Ads or Influencers. Pick one and run with it.

3. Take Inspiration from micro brands

Micro brands are all over social media, usually focused on niche categories and limited geo-targeted audiences.

Idea is to find a good product that has a higher probability to sell. To increase the probability for sales.

Once you are ready to order a sample. Make adjustment on products if needed.

Shoot great-quality pictures using your phone. (Many tips on product photography on YouTube using iPhone.)

If you are getting sales during testing cycle, then you can improve delivery time, branding, and packaging.

Here are some of the micro brands making online sales in 2024. (Australia Edition)

​https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-AU/inspiration​

These micro brands are examples of good branding. Solving a specific problem or offering customers a positive experience.

They did not invent a new product. Differentiated with branding and quality.

4. Consider tracking performance.

In the beginning, I used to open and close a Shopify store without going deeper into insights on Google Analytics to understand what didn't work/worked well. That was a mistake.

I was throwing away valuable data instead of learning from it.

Although, everyone should increase probability of 5-6-7 figure sales, having low sales or no sales is part of the journey.

When you get low sales or no sales, learn from it. If you are running ads, track click through rate on Ad creatives. Making content? see engagement rate, total view and all important matrics that drives action.

Watch Social Media, Google Analytics and Ads performance every second day. This is an ongoing practice to get better.

Learn what is happening in these tools to see where traffic is converting from. Plenty of good content on YouTube on understanding these tools.

Good luck!

P.S. If you might be interested watching a self-guided course, consider signing up for the waiting list.

E-Commerce OS

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