Identifying and capitalizing on opportunities in the wild world of e-commerce. Built multiple operations on Shopify, eBay, Etsy, and other niche marketplaces such as Grailed. Sold various kinds of product profitably including clothing, jewelry, home goods and consumables. Reaching customers through a mix of SEO, Paid Ads and Organic Social Media, including Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterest. Communicating with various suppliers and manufacturers to ensure customers receive items on time and are overall satisfied. Maximizing revenue by focusing on delivering the highest quality service, incentivizing referrals and keeping customers informed with the help of E-Mail and SMS tools. Managing cash flow in a way that mitigates risk and prioritizes growth, while navigating the ocean of problems tied to online payment processors. I’ve found minor success by being attentive and capitalizing on trends but the goal is to build niche brands with unique product offerings that can be sold wholesale B2B along with D2C on native stores and Amazon. I am very thankful to have learned so many valuable lessons and marketable skills on my e-commerce journey. I will always maintain a student mentality and continue searching for new strategies and tools that can increase reach and improve the customer experience. Within the next 10 years I will build what will one day become a 9-figure brand and if nothing else, the products I develop will solve real problems and make people happy.

Luke’s Laundry happened by accident. I was interested in streetwear fashion and had been reselling luxury items. The market got very competitive due to bots and prices increased, making it difficult for me to buy the items I wanted for personal use, let alone to make a profit. I learned how to sew my own clothes, mainly from upcycled materials I got at thrift stores. I often wore the clothes I made to college and also created a portfolio of my creations on social media. Within just a few months of learning how to sew people started asking to purchase the items I made, or requesting a custom order. My excitement was unmatched as initially I had no expectation of creating a business and was just having fun making what I considered “wearable art.” I asked a friend to make me a Shopify store and over the next year I worked tirelessly to keep up with the demand while growing my presence on social media, with some of my posts reaching hundreds of thousands of eyes. Magazines and celebrity stylists reached out. On this unexpected journey I developed skills in product photography, graphic design, and organic social media marketing. I also learned to navigate building professional relationships for the first time, and got a look inside the fashion industry - having my designs copied by big brands and getting custom orders from notable artists. I was working on scaling my project to new heights by starting bulk manufacturing when COVID happened, destroying my supply chain and plans for expansion. I kept taking custom orders and releasing made-to-order drops that I fulfilled in house. At a certain point the work load - which encompassed virtually all of my waking hours each week led to burn out and I reflected on why I started making garments in the first place. I simply wanted to learn to make my own unique clothes and have a creative outlet. I closed my store and now make things for myself, taking on the occasional custom order. My mind is at peace and ready for the future.

Perk Industries is a manufacturer and reseller of consumer goods including Cannabis, Kratom, and Libido Boosters. My position involved performing cold outreach (cold calling and email) to retail businesses - mainly regional distributors, smoke shops and novelty stores. The sales process required first identifying the person who had purchasing power. It would often take multiple calls to get this individual on the phone and once that connection was made we would discuss their inventory and best sellers. Finally, I would pitch our product line accordingly, highlighting what made our offerings unique and explaining why my catalog would be popular with their customers. Oftentimes people were hesitant especially since our company did not offer free samples and they may have had similar offerings. The key messages I had to get across to the buyer (oftentimes the business owner) was what made us unique and that if they bought my products, they would make more money and have more happy customers. I excelled at this role and was able to build a significant book of business that generated our enterprise over 6-figures per month. The most rewarding part of this position was building a relationship with my clients and hearing the success they were having selling the items I put in their store. There were multiple instances where I first spoke to someone and they told me their business was struggling, but were willing to take a chance on a small order. Seeing those same clients increase their order value and hearing that their situation had improved partially thanks to our products success was incredibly rewarding. I hope to do more work selling B2B in the future.

Vision Solar is a residential solar energy provider. I was responsible for lead generation in our company. My responsibilities included; having detailed knowledge on our product and the solar industry as a whole, and relaying the singularity of our products via phone calls with prospective customers. The job required following a simple script to qualify leads while on an auto-dialer. I then set appointments for the sales reps and was tasked with following up if the customer canceled or no-showed. The biggest challenge was definitely handling objections, and staying motivated after making 500+ calls daily. While at the company I learned to cold call, handle objections, manage a CRM (Salesforce) and even built a color-coded spreadsheet for our canvasser appointments that all of the other setters started using at the request of management. After a few months I was assigned the privilege of receiving inbound calls in the evenings that were produced by our door-to-door canvassing team. Our appointment setting team in the office had a weekly leaderboard based on appointments generated, and the percentage of scheduled appointments that actually showed up. I often held the top spot in our team, and rarely fell below 3rd place, with an average of 30-40 appointments booked each week. I left the organization due because it became clear they were not following through on our promise and customers I had assisted were very unhappy because their systems had not been installed multiple months after the deadline. Managements response to the feedback from these people who had spent their hard earned money with us was hostile and pompous, which I felt was as a serious conflict with my personal morals. Much to my manager’s dismay I chose to leave the company. I was making great money, enjoyed my co-workers and was on track to move into leadership due to my performance, but I could not look past the companies lack of morals. I had lost faith in what I was selling and needed a change.