So how does a 21-year-old make $30,000 a month selling products on Amazon?
In a recent interview, I got the opportunity to sit down with Damian Law, founder of Effin’ Good Snacks. The story goes like this…
He came to Canada at the age of 15 from Hong Kong. When it was time to go to University, he was reluctant. But like any good kid, he listened to his parents.
The first week of school, he knew this wasn’t for him. So, he made a deal with his parents. If he made $30,000 per month on Amazon, he could drop out of school.
His parents laughed at him and agreed. So, he borrowed $1,000 from his parents and worked a job to save up $4,000. With that seed money, he started a yoga brand. A few months later, he reached $30K/month in sales as a kid.
That’s when he dropped out of school to focus on e-commerce full-time.
Now he’s got a new nickname - “Cookie Monster” - and is building Effin’ Good Snacks, a snack company focusing on late night treats with a healthy twist. So far they’ve done over $5,000 in sales and they’re only in pre-launch.
I sampled Damien’s cookies and absolutely loved the texture. It’s almost like they just came out of the oven… They were soft without that weird aftertaste that comes with many other “healthy” cookies on the market.
I sat down to interview him about his journey and plans for the future, so that you too can learn how to make $30,000 a month building your own business.
Why soft, healthy cookies?
With his yoga brand on Amazon, Damien quickly achieved the $30,000 per month mark. But, he didn’t do yoga and his heart wasn’t in the business. So, he sought to solve a problem that he experienced himself.
The real lightbulb moment came one evening in September of 2020 when Damien was watching Netflix, craving a chocolate chip cookie, and taking his daily supplements. Why not combine America’s favorite snacks with popular healthy ingredients?
With that seed idea, Damien set out to solve late night cravings in a healthier, more sleep-friendly way. While researching for Effin’ Good Snacks, Damien found that while there are better-for-you snack brands, no one is focused on late-night snacking as a category.
At the same time, $50 Billion in snacks are consumed between dinner and bedtime which presents a huge gap in the market.
He then surveyed friends and family: “Do you like hard and crunchy or soft and chewy?” With around 75% of people answering soft and chewy, Damien knew what to do.
“F*ck it, let’s do it” he said. Because it felt right, the opportunity was there, and he’s a health nut, Damien dove in to make Effin’ Good Snacks a reality.
Step 1: Build Demand
According to Damien, any business has three pillars:
- Your Audience
- Your Product
- Your Sales Channel
Many eCommerce sellers today focus primarily on the sales channel, which is typically Amazon. But he believes that more entrepreneurs should focus on perfecting their product and building their audience.
Damien knew he wanted to build an engaged audience before launching the product, so he immediately hired a social media manager to run the Instagram page. In its first couple months, the brand gained its first 500 followers by humanizing the account, posting memes and relatable content.
From there, they built a landing page featuring a video where folks could choose to receive email updates to follow along with the story and the launch.
This community also served as a great sounding board. Damien sought feedback on things he had trouble deciding, like which Keto-friendly alternatives to use: coconut sugar or sugar alcohol? This got future customers excited and helped Effin’ Good Snacks create the best possible product.
Now, Effin’ Good Products is focused on building relationships with influencers because he knows the power of a celebrity endorsement. People like Rihanna and Kylie Jenner have built billion dollar businesses on the backbone of their responsive audience.
His strategy?
Find an “anchor” influencer who is the most ideal person to work with, and then use Instagram’s suggested profiles feature to find similar accounts. From that list, he shoots for the easiest Yes by sending out personalized care packages to build for the long-term.
Step 2: Develop the Best Product
It’s one thing to have this idea and another to find a manufacturer to make it happen. Knowing that he wanted clean ingredients, Damien started researching Keto cookie manufacturers on Google. He contacted about 5 of them to see which one could support this dream with great communication skills. The manufacturer he ended up moving forward with helped Damien with product development, co packing, shipping, and Amazon.
He has placed an order of around $30,000, which is 150,000 individual mini cookies. This was the minimum purchase order from the manufacturer and ensured a good batch of inventory. Funds came from pre-orders and month saved up from his Amazon business.
Creating the product doesn’t come without its challenges. In early January, preorders launched to the email list and drove around 50 sales immediately. But then, a few main ingredients went out of stock. Effin’ Good Snacks was supposed to launch in March of 2021 and delivery has been delayed by 5 to 6 months.
Step 3: Prepare for Launch
At this stage, the manufacturer is sourcing all the necessary ingredients, which will have been a three month process. Once that is complete, production will only take about 7 days. The official launch of Effin’ Good Snacks is expected in Q4 of 2021, and they hope to see hockey stick growth with their email list of over 6,500 people and an influencer blast.
Post-launch, the traffic will slow down. So I wanted to know from Damien, “What is your plan to keep the traffic going?”
He will continue to spoil the brand’s customers as much as possible. For example, when someone pre-orders they currently receive a thank you note and a personalized video through an app on Shopify called Bonjourno. Practices like that will be the brand’s foundation for sustained growth.
Additionally, they plan to run Facebook ads that lead to a landing page that collects emails and directs people to Amazon for checkout. This allows Damien to get the customer’s information for future use while also utilizing Amazon’s fulfillment network and built-in audience.
Learning from Experience
I truly believe every “mistake” is an opportunity to get better. So I asked Damien… “Looking back, what are a few major things you’ve learned from your Amazon business and Effin’ Good Snacks so far?”
- Manage expectations. Effin’ Good Snacks has been completely honest with their 250+ pre-order customers with only 5 refunds issued. Like a lighthouse, as long as he keeps sharing stories, some people will naturally flock to the brand and others won’t.
- Believe in yourself. A lot of entrepreneurs seek outside validation for a business idea or a course of action. Once he shifted to believing that his own success is inevitable, it’s become easier to shrug off doubts and work through challenges.
- Go for what excites you. Selling $30K worth of yoga mats per month was great money, but it didn’t excite him. Selling sleep-enhancing cookies is fun, exciting, and awakes Damien’s passion, which helps him stay focused on growing the business.
- Focus on one thing at a time. Right now, Damien is focused on Amazon as one channel. Once that goes well, he may look to expand to retail. But he feels it’s really important to get this stage right before scattering his energy too thin.
All in all, Damien made the most of his saved $4,000 plus the $1,000 loan from his parents. It was the right product at the right time coupled with dedication to growing his own business.
eCommerce is only at its infancy, and Damien is one of many who are taking full advantage of the opportunity. I am excited to be part of his journey and I am invested in its success because of the strategy he’s taken. Cannot wait to see what the brand looks like in 6 months, 2 years, and 10 years.
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Best of luck out there,
Tom
