Learn how Raj Jana created JavaPresse, a side hustle selling coffee grinders on Amazon from a business that had 90% refunds in the first two months, to selling 150k products and $2.3M in sales.
Topics Discussed in this Episode:
- [01:28] What made Raj decide to get into entrepreneurship
- [07:56] Some of the first steps Raj took to figure out what kind of product he wanted to create
- [16:00] Raj’s financial situation at the time when he started the company
- [19:08] How they got to $23,000 in sales that first year
- [22:15] The strategies they used to get reviews for the product
- [24:15] What happened when they started having problems with their product
- [30:57] How they scaled the business even higher and built a brand that people wanted to be around
Key Takeaways:
- You shouldn’t just follow your passions when it comes to picking niches. There needs to be a marriage between what you want to do and who needs the help.
- Having a full-time job is really underrated when you’re starting a company. Not only does it give you the cash flow but it allows you to be bold and gives you the ability to take risks without being scared of survival.
- The mistake that people make when they’re scaling physical products is diversifying too early. When you’re scaling physical products especially from five figures to six figures and from six figures to seven, it’s a lot easier to streamline one product’s life cycle than it is for you to launch 50 new products.
- One of the reasons why Kickstarter works so well is that you’re building a product with somebody, and they feel connected to it and they want to be the first to give their feedback. In this way, you’re like creating the perfect customer who is amped and excited to be a part of your story from the get-go.
- “Focus on the customer and doing right by the customer and not what’s right by you” gave JavaPresse a competitive edge and allowed them to scale Amazon from six figures a month to seven figures.
- One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they’re starting out a company is running out of stock. The second you run out of stock is the second that you lose the opportunity to capitalize on immediate, impromptu, hot purchases that now happen in the digital age.
Action Steps:
- Invest in taking courses to learn what you can and to grow your business.
- Use tools like Google Trends, Google AdWords or Google Keyword Planner to verify the niches that continuously grow.
- Do a market research to find out which product is a winner and invest in more inventory and more marketing for that one product, and take that product to the highest level possible in that one market space.
- Have a good follow-up sequence that nurtures sales and adds value to the product.
- Leverage your friends and family and networks especially when you’re just starting out. Bring them on board and ask for help.
- Build an audience, through a list or a community, around your niche or product launch.
- Invest in content and build a solid lead magnet.
Raj said:
“When you’re a new entrepreneur, not having funding is a blessing because it forces you to get very resourceful.”
“When you have only one product and you do everything right, you create this super highway to scaling and growth because you’re essentially pouring more money on a machine that’s churning out faster than you can run.”
More from Raj Jana:
Raj’s Email: [email protected]
Raj’s Twitter: @rajer_thatt
Resources mentioned:
Evolved Enterprise by Yanik Silver
Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller
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