We’re still more than a week away from the new year, but it is never a bad idea to plan your year ahead. Okay, fine, a year may sound too big of a task for now. However, planning your Q1 right now would be a very smart move.
Q1 or the first quarter of the year runs from January to March. This is the perfect time for you to accomplish a lot of tasks. Tasks that you weren’t able to accomplish from last year’s Q4. It is also the best avenue for you to set your momentum for the rest of the year. It also goes without saying that here is where you could potentially start doing what you haven’t done yet in the past years.
Knowing what you can do at the start of the year can eventually positively impact your business. Whether you’re a seasoned, or a newbie Amazon seller, it is a huge help when you’re given an idea of what steps you should take next.
It’s like having a lightbulb moment!
Having said all of these, here in Online Sellers Circle, we aim to help sellers within the Amazon community as much as we can. Consider us as your fairy godmothers!
Because of that, we are giving you ideas on what you could do during the first quarter of the year as Amazon sellers.
Off we go!
Smart Reinvesting
To start our list, you should smartly reinvest your funds.
Supposing that you were able to prepare well for this year’s Q4, then most likely you earned quite a lot from it. Within the Amazon selling ecosystem, one thing is for sure - cash is king. So long as you have funds, your buying-and-selling cycle goes on.
The extra funds you earned from Q4 should then be smartly reinvested on products or services that could take your business further. You should ask yourself “How can I potentially scale up my business with the extra funds I have?”. You have to remember that successful business owners, whether Amazon or other ventures, reinvest their funds on things that they think would be helpful to them.
Here are some suggestions on where you can invest your extra Q4 income:
Sourcing tools
Prep Centres
Virtual Assistant/s
Sellable products from new categories
Spoil yourself a bit
Regarding the last one, yes, you read it right. Spoil yourself a bit. It’s called self-investment. Get that new laptop, or office chair. It will help you work better. Go on a vacation. It will refresh you so when you come back you have a clearer mind and you’re in a better disposition.
Explore Other Product Sourcing Methods
How many years have you been selling? In all those years have you tried to look at other product sourcing methods?
I’m pretty sure that most Amazon sellers focus on Online and Retail Arbitrage. However, if you have extra capital, and extra time, it wouldn’t hurt to look at other sourcing methods. I’m talking about Wholesale and Private Label.
This is not something that you must do, but more of something good to look at and consider.
Additionally, if you’ve been doing online arbitrage, you may want a product sourcing service that gives you deals 362 days a year. A service that gives you instant access to best quality deals from a wide range of categories. Check out FBA Deal Source for more details.
Learn New Things
Q1 sometimes dictates how your year will go. Whatever you do during these months, sometimes has a ripple effect with the rest of the year. What better way to have a positive Q1 than to learn new things.
New learning can range from more knowledge regarding Amazon selling to new tools that could help you in your business, or even more in-depth knowledge regarding tools that you’re already using.
Some new learning that you can endeavor are as follows:
Seller Tool Kit - a powerful tool that lets you manage and view all your business-related numbers
Keepa - a must have for Amazon sellers, but do you really know how to use it well?
Google Sheets
LucidChart - for mapping out your processes
HAZMAT - if you haven’t tried selling HAZMAT products yet, then it might be something to consider
Amazon Terminologies - not all sellers are aware with the language used within the Amazon selling ecosystem
There are a lot more, and the topics you can learn seem endless. However, you have to focus on a few topics at a time. Learn and master the ones that you’re currently studying before taking on another topic. This way, you don’t get overwhelmed with information.
Connect With Other Sellers
If you haven’t done this yet, then you’re missing out on a lot of valuable free information. Connecting with other sellers can also provide you with techniques and tips you may have never tried before.
It is always a great experience when you are a part of a community of like-minded individuals. Our community, the Online Sellers Circle is no exception. Here we provide valuable free contents for our members that could help them with their Amazon journey. Be sure to check us out so you don’t miss anything.
Think of it this way, communities like ours only want our members to succeed. Likewise, our members support each other and help in every way they can.
Hire A Virtual Assistant
All of the above-mentioned tips are only possible mainly if you have a lot of free time in your hands. Admit it, there are tasks in your business that you wish you could stop doing. However, if you stop doing these tasks, you know for a fact that it will affect your business.
The best route that you could take is to hire a Virtual Assistant or VAs.
Virtual Assistants or VAs, are remote workers that you hire to perform specific tasks within your business. They can either be regular employees, contractual or even project-based. Once you’ve hired a VA, they can do the tasks that you want to personally stop doing so you can focus more on high-valued tasks. There are different VA roles that you could hire for: Sourcing, Admin, Review and Purchasing to name a few.
And when it comes to hiring a Virtual Assistant, nothing beats the amazing service that Global VA Solutions provides. With Global VA Solutions, or GVAS for short, they will source, hire, onboard, and train your future VA. This all starts with a free, no strings attached consultation call.
Hiring a VA during the first quarter of the year is a great idea since you will be able to focus on tasks involved in scaling up your business, and systemising it too. Lastly, by the time that you hit Q4 again, your VA is already well-experienced, and is already fully equipped.
One last tip: Not A Bad Idea To Prepare For Valentine’s Day
As soon as January starts, it would be wise to start sourcing for Valentine-themed products. Products like candies, candles, decorations, and gifts. It is never a bad thing to have additional earnings from this occasion.
Final Thoughts
Make your Q1 count, but at the same time do not pressure yourself to finish everything by January. Remember, Q1 is from January to March. You have 3 months to fulfill whatever Q1 tasks you’ve thought of and decide on doing. Always do something that would help your business progress, one task and one day at a time.
Move with purpose.
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Need More Help? Here Are Some Additional Resources
Get Coaching: Want our help growing your eCom business? Apply for our Arbitrage Experts Academy Programme Here.
Free Training: How to start, systemise and scale your online business. Register Here.
Book a FREE Strategy Call: Get 1-2-1 support from the OSC Team to devise a tailor made plan you can follow to achieve scale. Click Here.
Get Expert Virtual Assistants: Want to build your team of transformational VAs and free your time? Learn more here.
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