153 Lesley Hensell: How to Become an Online Retailer

Learning from Smart People

Rob Oliver chats with Lesley Hensell about how to become an online retailer in this episode of the Learning from Smart People Podcast. Lesley is the cofounder of Riverbend Consulting, a company that helps sellers on Amazon and other e-commerce platforms. She has years of experience and a great back story about why she decided to do this.

Welcome to the Thanksgiving episode!

Here are some of the topics covered as Rob Oliver and Lesley Hensell talk about how to become an online retailer:

· Lesley’s backstory of why she got into the online retail business
· The art of retail arbitrage
· Why it is important to know your numbers (and what numbers to know)
· An understanding of FBA (fulfillment by Amazon)
· Check out Matt Sulava’s episode
· Different options for how to model your online business
· You can sell items on Amazon even if you have only 1 of them
· How to set up your business from the beginning
· Understanding the rules and regulations of Amazon
· Differences between Amazon selling and eBay selling
· You can sell used items on Amazon but it has to follow their guidelines
· The nightmare of writing descriptions for items on eBay
· Comparing the fee structure of Amazon and eBay
· Utilizing the fee calculators to have a better understanding of profits
· Money is made when you buy the item, not when you sell it
· The importance of understanding the competitive marketplace
· Looking at the tools of the trade
· You will not be able to succeed if you don’t know your numbers!
· The difference between doing FBA and self-fulfillment
· There are different guidelines for different categories, check them out!
· Set up your business to fit with your lifestyle
· Suggestions for where you can get started easily and inexpensively

You can learn more about Lesley Hensell and Riverbend Consulting through their website and social media links:

Website: https://riverbendconsulting.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiverbendConsul
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiverbendConsultingLLC/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riverbendconsulting/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesleyhensell/

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