James’ Story From 9-5 To £1M Business Owner (Episode 57)

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🗣 Lewis Smith and James Eardley take a deep dive into James' remarkable journey from a conventional 9-5 job to becoming a successful business owner with a turnover surpassing £1 million. 

This episode isn't just about James' success story; it's a testament to the transformative power of entrepreneurship and a guide for anyone seeking to break free from the constraints of traditional employment and pursue their dreams of financial independence.

👉 Prefer to watch this on YouTube? Check it out here  ➡️ https://youtu.be/-2bFayWKlCA

Topics Discussed:

★ Breaking Free from the 9-5 Grind: James shares his experiences of feeling unfulfilled in traditional employment and the gradual realization that entrepreneurship offered a path to greater freedom and fulfilment.

★ Overcoming Fear and Uncertainty: James discusses the pivotal moments and mindset shifts that propelled him to take action and pursue his entrepreneurial dreams.

★ From Naive Beginnings to Strategic Pivots: James recounts his initial foray into dropshipping, the challenges he encountered, and the strategic pivots.

Links and Resources Mentioned:

James’ previous episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QgXLbcXE-Q 

Get Shopify for £1 a month for 3 months: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/shopify 

Get a free trial with a professional phone line: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/circle 

Key Takeaways:

★ Challenging the Status Quo: James shares his journey from average school grades to feeling trapped in a corporate 9-5 job.

★ Embracing Entrepreneurship: Despite the initial fear and uncertainty, James recognized that success and freedom required taking proactive steps towards entrepreneurship.

★ The Power of Mentorship and Community: James reflects on the pivotal role of mentorship and structured guidance in his entrepreneurial journey.

FOLLOW:

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• Twitter: https://twitter.com/DropshipUnlockd
• LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/dropship-unlocked
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/dropshipunlockedlewissmith
• Website: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com

Thank you for listening to the Dropship Unlocked Podcast!

Transcript

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James Eardley: 0:00

I've now recently hit over a million pounds in revenue since starting my businesses, you could see people further up the ladder on the path that

Lewis Smith: 0:08

you were on at the nine to five. And you realize the stress the long hours that they were working just wasn't the ladder, you want it to be climbing, right?

James Eardley: 0:16

The closest point I could say to being like enough is enough point

Lewis Smith: 0:20

was applied success coach and got a successful business or multiple businesses. Now it's fascinating to hear the journey that you took, and I think,

James Eardley: 0:30

I wish I'd never checked my emails. Last thing on that Friday, I realized that the whole business was sort of collapsing around me

Lewis Smith: 0:37

to take lessons from other parts of your life. And then say, like I got through that, I figured that I knew it would make me stronger as a result of it is

James Eardley: 0:45

scary, really how fast and how far you can get once you put in work, and just set your sights on becoming a little bit better every day.

Lewis Smith: 1:04

Welcome to the dropship unlocked Podcast. I'm Louis Smith, the founder of dropship unlocked and with me is our Client Success Coach James Adly. Now when we're not recording the podcast episodes, we're running our own e commerce businesses and helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch their own high ticket drop shipping businesses, keen to build your own six or even seven figure business. My book, the home turf advantage is your blueprint for launching a profitable online store, grab your copy at HTA books.com to date. And let's get you started. Now sit back, relax. And let's unlock your potential with the dropship unlocked Podcast. Today, we have got an incredibly inspiring story that's very close to home for us at dropship. Unlock is about someone who sat exactly where you might be sitting right now in a nine to five job, dreaming of more freedom, more control and more financial independence, the things that we were all seeking at one point. And that person is our very own client success coach dropship, unload and co host of the dropship Alex podcast, James is here with us today. And he's here to share his incredible journey from being tied to a desk right through to building a business that's not just survived, but thrived and has recently crossed the 1 million mark in turnover. So this will be a story of success. There'll be a roadmap for anyone looking to break free from the norm and chase their entrepreneurial dreams right through from the initial way that he heard about dropshipping through to getting a business that's now up and running, and has just hit seven figures in revenue. So have you ever wondered whether it's really possible to transform your life with a high ticket dropshipping business and you're gonna want to listen closely to today's episode, because James is going to take us back to his life during the nine to five grind. So James, maybe take us back in time, if you can, what was your life like during the nine to five grind? And what was your daily routine? What sparked the realization that you wanted something a bit different from the norm? Sure.

James Eardley: 2:59

Yeah. Thank you, Louis. I'm excited to share my story today. And I think my story does start going into an E commerce business about 10 years ago when I when I left school. And I'll start from that we'll go right through my journey, my story today to where I am today, because it's yeah, lots of ups and downs along the way, which I'm sure we'll dive into. And I think an update is a little bit overdue. And we first sat down and had a chat together about 18 months ago when I first joined the dropship on NOC T. And a lot has changed since then for me in my life. And I can see clearly how I got from that position to where I am today. And I want to share that. So hopefully listeners can relate and get a lot out of it. So they can achieve the same level of success and go beyond as well. So a few years back, as I say when I when I left school, I learned a few really important lessons that have stayed with me and have been part of my belief system ever since. And one of those was, you know, 16. In the UK, we get our GCSE results. And for me, that was an incredibly disappointing day. So I looked at my sheet of paper. I was on my bed, actually when I opened up the papers on my own. And I looked at that results. And they were very average. And it was very disappointing for me to realize that I hadn't taken it seriously enough. And I was now staring back at this piece of paper that was telling me if you don't put in a lot, you won't get much out. And it also taught me that there is a chance in life that you won't achieve the potential that you've got my actual grades were below the expected grades that you get given earlier in the year. And it taught me that there is a real chance in life, lots of people do it, where they have this potential that they can achieve. And you don't get there because you don't put the time and don't take things seriously. And since then I think it's really taught me a fear in a healthy way. A fear of not meeting expectations, a fear of letting myself down. And that came from that early formative years that we learned so much around that time. I've also surrounded by my parents with with high expectations for me and my twin brother whose high achieving twin brother And so there's that concoction of competition, as well as wanting to achieve my own potential. And that really taught me some lessons. Now at the time, I wouldn't have been able to give the language to explain that I wouldn't have been able to explain it. That's how I was feeling. But it definitely sparked a fire in me. And it sparks a fear that stayed with me of not meeting my potential. And it's not something that keeps me up at night, of course, but it's something that I use as fuel to go on to achieve what I want to achieve and go after the six that success that I want to achieve as well. And so I taught Toby some great lessons at that point. So I knew that ultimately, if I wanted to carve out my own path in life, it was going to be up to me, it was going to be up to what I put in to my life. Because ultimately, what you get out of life is what you put in. And I knew that if I was going to get out why wanting to get out? No, there was a chance that I might not meet my potential if I don't go for it, if I don't put a lot into it. So that realization was coming about that what I did after that point, it wasn't overnight, it wasn't instant, because there's a hell of a lot of uncertainty at that time in your life. And I was one of those people that I had no idea what it was I was going to do when I grew up. And when people asked me at that age, what do you want to do? Where do you want to be when you're older? I had that feeling in my stomach and it felt tight chested, almost because I didn't want to be asked that question, I had no idea and it was uncomfortable to be put on the spot and asked about where you wanted to be. So instead, I just knew that I needed to get a job. And that my first job actually was just laboring on building sites, I was given an opportunity by my girlfriend's dad, I'm so grateful for the opportunity just to have some work. And so I was behind a wheelbarrow pushing dirt around, I was helping put cement mix together, holding up plaster boards, just work ethic in general dealing with customers, that sort of thing. From there, because I was in the construction industry. I then thought well, how can I turn this into a more of a long term career. So I got into a job at a housing association. So in my local town, so I grew up in Shrewsbury, which is in Shropshire, went into working at a housing association. And then suddenly, I had this corporate nine to five job where I sat behind the desk, and I really got the the flavor, I got the realization of what life looks like for a lot of people, which is Monday to Friday, nine to five, head down each day looks kind of similar, didn't feel particularly challenged, didn't feel like I was really going after my goals. didn't feel like I was on the right path. But I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was that I wanted. I just knew that the path that I'd been taken on so far, which was sort of the path that I was expected to take in a corporate type of job. It wasn't going to be for me, sort of blindly led myself down that path. But I couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly they wanted at that time. Yeah, that's an

Lewis Smith: 7:45

incredible journey. I think it like explaining how that fire was initially lit, when it sounds like you're first, maybe mismatch between expectations. And then what life delivered was that GCSE results day. And I you know, I think we can all remember that vividly, like, however we felt is a real high pressure day, isn't it? And we're very young, it's like, you're not really that equipped to deal with that kind of news, especially if it's not good news. And I think that the fact that you've channeled that and use that to drive you even to this day is incredible. And actually, it sounds like that was probably one of the biggest advantages for you early on. If you'd have got amazing grades, maybe you'd have ended up being a bit more, you know, complacent throughout life. And perhaps you wouldn't have had that same drive and fire that's got you to a seven figure, ecommerce business owner that you are today. So I think these things will happen for a reason, don't they? And your story about being surrounded by a high achieving family, a high achieving twin brother, that's that's difficult, you know, when you're, you've got such a close relative and they're, they're on a great trajectory. And, you know, it's tough and it sounds like you've experienced all kinds of work leading up to everything from like the laboring job, like you said, very manual, very hands on right through to, to the nine to five at the Housing Association, you experienced that that sounds like you knew something was missing. And yeah, like you say, being blindly led down that path. Not many people question it. Not many people do. It's just something that we we often feel like that is just the way to continue through life. And that's it. You don't argue that you don't change it, you can't do anything about it. But can you share a moment or an event that pushed you to consider entrepreneurship as your path to freedom from that nine to five role at the Housing Association? Like? Was there a certain point along the journey where you just thought, Okay, that's enough is enough, I'm doing this.

James Eardley: 9:29

Yeah, it was more of a gradual wearing down and a realization for me, instead of like, enough is enough point. You know, I could probably point it a few different moments along that journey. But overall, it was that feeling. And hopefully, I'm painting a picture of knowing that something wasn't quite right, being in a nine to five job, which was what was expected of me, and I was following that path. And if I had followed that path, you know, maybe in 4050 years time when I was 50 6070 years old, maybe I'd be a director, maybe I'd be ahead of service and housing is Association. But it just didn't sit right with me, I could see the people that were in that position, and had been in nine to five jobs and had followed the ladder. And they weren't fulfilled. And I could see the type of jobs they were doing. I could see the stress they were under, I could see the hours that they're working. And I knew that that wasn't the right direction. So I didn't know what was the right direction for me, I knew that wasn't it. So then it had to become a bit of a gradual realization of, Okay, if that's not the right direction, then what is, and that led me down a rabbit hole of trying to work out what success would look like for me. And I think it's important to define success. So I define success for myself as freedom to success is freedom. For me, it means that you're free to do what you want, when you want, from wherever in the world you want. And it you know, sounds like it potentially is a selfish pursuit. But when you're successful, and when you're free, you can then do a lot more for other people around you. And that's what I ultimately wanted to do. And I knew I wasn't heading in that direction of freedom down that particular route. But it wasn't a quick and easy decision. So it did take time for me to get the courage up and find out where I wanted to go. The closest point I could say to being like enough, is enough point was in 2020, when I was given the opportunity to see what a different life looks like. And it was in 2020, I was stuck in this nine to five job I'd been there for a couple of years. And I was getting where down. I thought, well, I want to adventure, I want to see the world. So I went traveling, and I went with my girlfriend, still my girlfriend today, we went to New Zealand, and really, really fortunate to go out there. But what I could see, while I was out there was people that were there for an indefinite amount of time. Whereas we always had that return trip booked, there was always a date, there was always something in the mind, you know, we weren't earning any money out there while we were there. So I realized that there was always going to be an end date. And I was very envious of the people that could make money while they were there. So they could continue that journey. And of course, because the the events of 2020, we went in February. So in March, we were still there, and the world was shutting down around us. And we got the news by looking on my phone, that all the airports are starting to close. And travel was going to be impossible very soon. So we quickly had to hop on a flight and get out and get home as quickly as we could. And we left New Zealand on the Saturday, and they closed all of the airports in New Zealand on the Monday. So we really did have to scramble and get out of the country before we would have been stuck there for a little while. But what that did, again, similar with the GCSE results that you picked up on Lewis at the time, it's an incredibly disappointing moment, that trip was meant to last six months. And it lasted about three and a half weeks. But in hindsight, what it actually meant was that I always had that bug still inside me to travel, my ear was cut short. And I don't know if I'd ever had that trip, whether that would have satisfied that urge for me to explore and travel. And I didn't there if I were still had that fire inside me that urge for freedom. And I had from that trip suddenly worked out that there were people out there that were able to live and travel while earning money. And that stayed with me. And I knew that I just had to figure out how I could also do that for the long term.

Lewis Smith: 13:19

Yeah, there's a real recurring theme there isn't there where you You seem to react best in a way, when you get hit with a disappointment about an event that mismatched what your expectation was, like when reality didn't match up to the expectation you didn't hit your GCSE result or you didn't get to travel for six months, suddenly, you're like, hang on a second, I need to fix this because I don't want something taken away from me, they say that we'll work a lot harder to get something back that is taken away from us than we will to just go after something in the first place. It's quite nice that you can use that taste of freedom that you had to be like, Okay, I had this cut short. And it was really bad timing, like, you know, is terrible timing with going traveling at the time that you did, obviously the whole world, like when does that happen? Right? But I think again, these things happen for a reason. Because if you'd had this cushty traveling experience, and you'd stayed in hostels and come back, and then everyone hits you with those lions like, oh, it's back to real life. Now back to reality, you'd have probably bought into that myth, right of, you know, we're just like everyone else who goes on a holiday, we did a gap here. And now we're, we're back to the nine to five grind, but you like no, I saw people there who were digital nomads who had that permanent freedom, who didn't have to rush back because they were settled. They could make their income from there. And I think the fact that you late you said it didn't happen overnight for you. There wasn't a specific moment, but it was that gradual shift. And you could see people further up the ladder on the path that you were on at the nine to five, and you realize the stress the long hours that they were working just wasn't the ladder you want it to be climbing right. And so it's a very astute observation to see that success isn't necessarily always linked to finances. Of course it's part of it, but seeing success as freedom, autonomy control and And realizing that that allows you to then be able to give back more to people later on in life once you're completely free. Such a freeing and liberating realization, so fantastic that you made that. Now, obviously, that's a great thing to realize. But then beginning that journey towards owning your, your business for the first time must have been pretty daunting because you'd never run a business before. Right? So how did that feel?

James Eardley: 15:23

100% Yeah, just incredibly daunting, really, I had no direct role models around me in my life, no family or friends that were entrepreneurial. So there's nobody to look at and really model and go after my immediate vicinity. So that leads to feeling obviously daunted by the challenge. But these lessons that I was learning was that you have to go after it in life is not going to be given to you. If I carried on passively like I was like, passively getting jobs that were sort of given to me or it looked like that was the right thing to do. If I carried on in that way, I was never going to get to where I wanted to get to. But what I realized I had to do for myself to get over that feeling of being daunted by the challenge ahead, was to create a mental pain for myself, I think we were trying to run away from pain a lot. But actually, we can use pain to our advantage if it's used in the right way. So for me, when I was looking at my options of staying where I was, versus starting a business that I've got no experience of and nobody around me had done, it was easy. If you look at it in the periphery, that the going after a new job is the more scary route. Because I had a cushy nine to five, I had a salary, I was looked after I had some savings, you have to really dive into to give yourself the motivation to go after something that's more uncomfortable. So I had to create that mentally for myself, you hear about some people were stories where they literally get grounded out to having nothing. So they don't need to create any mental pain, because they've already got a lot of pain in their life already, that spurs them on to success. But because I didn't have that I had a mediocre is comfortable mediocrity that I had, I had to create a mental pain. So the way I did that was to visualize myself in 4050 years time, even five years time, looking back at myself not being proud of how I'd spent my time I made like visualize that or use paper to write this down, visualize exactly how disappointed I'd be if that's where my life got to. And that created an incredible amount of pain in my mind that I could clearly feel, have not been proud of myself in the future. And that meant when I then compared the two options of staying where I was, and leading to that pain, versus starting a new job, it became easy, the easier path, the less painful path was to go after my near my dreams and started entrepreneur or business. And that became a lot less daunting then than staying down the same road. So I had to create that. And that really was a lot of motivation for me to go after what I wanted to do. And another thing that happened around that time, which I want to mention as well, because as I reflect on my story, I know there are a few pivotal moments at around that time, my life as only young still. And I lost my dog in a in a road accident, tragic road accident, and she was only two years old. And it was a it was horrible. I was there at the time. I was with her when she when she passed away. And really difficult time, it's still difficult to think about and talk about now. But again, a very formative experience to go through at a young age, because you realize that life can be cut short. And you do only get one chance. That was my first experience of loss. And I had that at a young age. And the lessons it taught me have been incredibly valuable to this day. So her character, anyone that has a dog knows that dogs have their own personalities. And she was somebody in a dog not a person, but she she her character was really full of life full of energy, enjoying everyday just present in the moment. And to see that taken away at just two years old much before her time was was really hard for me at a young age to go through. So looking back at it again, you can see the lessons that come from this, it taught me that you get one life, you don't know how short it can be. And now I've really formed a strong opinion that we really have to make the most of this one life that we that we get given. Yeah, that's really, really powerful

Lewis Smith: 19:20

and hearing how much that impacted you and what you took from it as well. I think just credit to you for you know, some people would just become extremely angry about an event like that, or, you know, hold real resentment that again, you used it to your advantage you use that and you know, you fondly remember your dog's personality to this day. But I think the most important lesson that could have come from that sunk in you know, so it wasn't in vain and you believe and realize now that you do have one life and you gotta make the most of it, you know, you've got to like it can it could be cut short at any moment. So absolutely. I think certainly growing up like you say having no business or entrepreneurial role models. If you You're just taking that passive approach, like you say, and just waiting to be handed the opportunity to go and live the life that you want, is often not going to happen. And so I think the most dangerous place to be is in the middle isn't it is that tolerable mediocrity? If you're at rock bottom might you say, and you've got a horrific set of circumstances and you like you have that buyer to escape it. Sometimes that's the most advantageous thing you can have to spur you on. But when you don't have that, you have to sometimes just create that and yourself. And so creating that mental pain and visualizing your regret in advance of like, looking back on what your life could look like, and how you'll think back and think, did I waste those opportunities? Did I not live that one life that I had to its fullest potential, such a fascinating way of thinking? And I think it's, it's a testament to where you're at today. So it's, it's fantastic. How did you go from that position, right? So you kind of made those realizations, you realize you only have one life, you want to make the most of it as you go from that position to starting your first business, like you must have faced some fairly big obstacles early on to get started.

James Eardley: 21:04

Yeah, 100%. So in the these lessons, were teaching me a lot about how I viewed my life and the values that I was creating, at the time. And 100%, I decided that was going to start a business, I knew from the very start, it was going to be full of ups and downs, and it didn't disappoint, it was certainly full of ups and downs, which are going to, but it will make the journey a lot more worthwhile in the long run. So yeah, so at that point, I got to this realization, I've got these really strong beliefs about needing to make the most of my life, not wanting to waste my potential, realizing that you get out what you put in, those sorts of things were going around my mind. And then I had that mental pain of staying where I was. And it all led to searching for businesses that I could run, and I could create for myself. And remember, I'd also realize what success meant to me. So success was freedom. So when I was looking at what opportunities could I take on to get myself to that success, there had to be opportunities that lead to freedom. And so you're presented with it, we're lucky, we're very fortunate in in this year, in today's day and age, there are lots of opportunities when you search for which businesses to start. So you have to have a bit of a filter of what type of businesses you want to start. So for me, the filters for me was that I needed to be a small initial financial investment, you know, just a few 1000 pounds I had in savings, it needed to be no previous business experience required. As I say, I had no experience that a job that couldn't be further away from any commerce business, and also needed it to be scalable. So I could reach all of my lifestyle goals that I had for myself. So that's how I got drawn to online business, firstly, because then you can make money from wherever you are in the world. And I had that bug from not finishing my traveling trip. And then from online business, I then got into realizing that E commerce, and it's it's presented to you as drop shipping, it was the best opportunity for me. So selling physical products meant that I could do it all from a laptop. And it would be a business that runs without the necessity of my time. But you know, because there are other online businesses that are very dependent on your time, you could be a freelancer or Upwork and Fiverr, you could do that, of course from anywhere in the world. But if you stopped working, you stopped early. So instead, I needed to get into a running a business that was going to be completely independent of my time. So that way I could have the freedom and the success that I'm looking for. So that I absolutely set dropshipping ecommerce businesses that's for me. And I started with the typical naive start into the world of E commerce. And I started with traditional dropshipping, which is not what we what we do now, Louis, and that was selling cheap products that come from Aliexpress or Alibaba. They're on the other side of the world, often in China. So it was like three or four week delivery time. And what that led to was lots of a ver of obstacles and upset straightaway that the obstacles came thick and fast. Initially, I had returns to deal with I had difficult supply communication. The products were poor quality, that impatient customers because delivery to be fair, was three or four weeks. The main obstacle though out of all this, that put it all to an end was that ultimately, it wasn't a profitable business. For me, I was investing more money in Facebook ads than that I was making back in sales. So that put it all to an end. So I realized that I needed to pivot this wasn't the right model for me. And it's done. You know, I'd lost, I'd lost like hundreds of panels up into the 1000s of, of spending in this venture. And I realized that I was going down the wrong path the whole time. So I knew that I had to pivot. I wasn't going to give up that easily. I learned a lot of lessons from doing that. But I knew that I would I would find a way I knew there would be a way and I knew that I would find out what that way is. So from that initial upset, knowing that I had to pivot but knowing that I was onto something, I then came across dropship and lot Louis and it was your face that came up or And then on the YouTube ads, and suddenly all of the issues that I could see I was experiencing with the type of business that I was growing at the time, were answered by the home turf advantage model that you that you presented, and you brought it to me, suddenly, I could see how I could sell products online. But there's gonna be good supplier communication, high quality products, fast delivery, and it was going to be a much more simple, not easy, but more simple business to run. And it still had all of the benefits of E commerce. So that's when I got started in a few weeks later with dropship and locked, started my business a couple months after getting into dropship or not. And then I was making high ticket sales to UK customers. And that was the start of its history. from there really?

Lewis Smith: 25:44

Yeah, what a journey is fascinating. And we should probably mention as well that you're obviously now a member of the team as well, you work with us as a client success coach and got a successful business or multiple businesses. Now it's fascinating to hear the journey that you took. And I think going from those initial, what stood out to me is the beliefs, the realizations, the mindset, we always talk about this as the foundation, I think sometimes people just sweep past it, because they assume that it's not critical to achieving the end result. But you from hearing your story. It was firmly built on solid foundations of belief mindset, you knew what you wanted to do, you had a clear definition of what success meant to you, which was freedom, time, freedom, financial freedom, you knew the goal. And I loved your rational approach of filtering that down, looking at all the opportunities that are out there, and then saying, okay, so I want something that's that I can stand behind that doesn't have huge financial capital outlay to get started. It's beginner friendly, it's scalable, it's remote, you know, so you're not going to like different rental properties and trying to like renovate houses and stuff like your you wanted to do it from a laptop so that you could go to New Zealand and run it from there just as easily as you could in the UK. And I think it's a very rational approach to take. And of course, we will go down that rabbit hole, don't we and we find an initial business model for you. Sounds like it was the the low ticket China dropshipping model that's made so popular with AliExpress. And you encountered the same issues that were the reason why we created dropship unlocked and the home turf advantage model, you hit all those returns the refunds there disappointed customers, and not to mention making no profit. So you know, you start to think is this even a business, but your tenacity and determination to stick with it and say, Well, I'm not accepting defeat here. This is just a learning milestone, this is a hurdle. And then pivoting and adopting the home turf advantage model, which has since taken you on to a million pounds is fascinating. And yeah, it's great. I mean, we're really at the beginning of your journey. Still, I feel like from hearing this. So it's great to dive in and hear this. And I'd love to do another one of these, you know, when you hit the first 5 million and 10 million, because I think you're just going to continue to grow at that, that exponential pace. But a lot of listeners to this are probably thinking, Okay, fine. You decided you wanted to do this, you jumped in you started the business, you followed a program, so you weren't wasting 1000s of your own money to try to figure it out the the hard way from trial and error. But when was the first turning point, like what was the major success that you encountered? It doesn't have to be major, but just like what was something that you saw? Oh, wow, this works like, I think I think I'm onto something here. I've achieved something here. And I'm going to stick with it. Sure.

James Eardley: 28:22

So yeah, I think my first sale and subsequently the sales that came later was that proof of concept that I was on the right track. And like you say, I went through that journey, where emotionally it was an emotional journey to start with because I had the right foundations in place that I was logical about it and took it from that emotional place to work out where I wanted to go. But even then you still need the proof of concept, you still need to see things work to know that you're on the right path. And that's what happened when I saw my phone. Because I didn't see it. I was like I got back to my phone, it was in my car for my first sale. And I looked at the Shopify notification that was for about 1000 pounds, it was the first sale from memory. And that's when it really started to sink in that I was doing something else at the time I was I was working in the nine to five job and I saw that sale notification. And it was just that realization that the work I'd put in was absolutely getting me to this moment where I've just made like 300 pounds profit for that one sale. And although I did all the work to get to this point to set the business up. At the time while that money was being generated, I was doing something completely different. So it could have been anything that I was doing at the time. And that's that showed me that I was on the right track. It showed me that those sales that were coming in and they started to come in then for 1000 pounds, 2000 pounds. It taught me that this is clearly something that is really going to be scalable, that I was on the right track. I was starting to generate some money for myself and for my business. And I knew that I could just build on that from that moment there. I knew to continue with the momentum. I knew that it was going to be important to celebrate those wins along the way. Your first sale it's a big moment. So I celebrated that. And each time I got a new sale or a new supplier on board, I celebrated those wins, because there's these highs and lows throughout the whole business journey. But it's important to give yourself the motivation to continue by patting yourself on the back, realizing when you've done something really, really cool, I started a new supplier or may give you a few sales. And it really taught me, you know that you need that motivation to keep you going. Then my first real major achievement with my business had to be a few months down the line where I was then able to leave my nine to five job. So it was from these high ticket sales that kept coming. They were they were coming at a faster rate, I was able to increase my ad spend. And I'd already always set it for myself that as soon as I had matched or beaten my income, from my nine to five job for at least three months in a row. That was the moment I knew I had the confidence to then hand in my notice at my nine to five job and go all in on my on my business. And I reached that just a few months after starting dropship unlocked. And suddenly I had that freedom. So you know talking about celebrating wins, the biggest win, no doubt after starting that the business was the first Monday morning when I had left my nine to five job. And suddenly it was Monday morning. And I knew that this was the start of a completely new chapter for the rest of my life. And I knew that I had done my last day in a nine to five job. And now I was the master of my own destiny, I could work on what I wanted to work on. And that was incredibly liberating freeing feeling. I was absolutely on the way to that that freedom and that, you know, success that I've defined before. So yeah, it was amazing. And I yeah, that the way I told my manager was is a good story. I remember pulling him to one side and saying that we need to have a one to one. And he said he just knew, as soon as, as soon as I said that he just knew that I was leaving, because I would never ever pull him to one side to ask for a one to one before. So I sat down with him in this meeting room. And I was able to say that I hadn't said at the time. But I've been creating this business alongside, it's going really well. And now I want that's the path I want to take it is nothing wrong with the job I was in at the time is just that I really wanted to pursue this business really take it seriously and go full time. Ever since that day. I've never looked back. Don't ever see myself working in a nine to five job again. And yeah, since then I've had much more control over my own life. So

Lewis Smith: 32:29

you can see in your phone in the car with that 1000 pound notification from Shopify from a sale and realizing I've just made 300 pounds profit here and realizing that how is that whilst that happened, you're in your job, trading your time for money, still in the nine to five, when you could have been anywhere in the world doing anything with your time and as you know, and said, your success for you is freedom. So it starts to again, it's very rational the way you think. And it's very kind of stage by stage. I like that you celebrated that first win, but you didn't get ahead of yourself and say I've made a sale, I'm hit I'm throwing in the towel on my day job. I'm quitting. You use that income to supplement it. You worked evenings, weekends on your business and got to the point where you'd like you said you'd matched or beaten your income for three months straight. And then said at that point, I'm going all in and I love it and hitting that that milestone a few months later, it must have been a great morning when you handed in your notice and said to your manager, I need that one to one the look on their face must have been like, what how have you how have you done this? Have you escaped to the golden handcuffs, the shackles that we're all kept in throughout life. And I think it's just liberating, isn't it at first Monday morning of freedom is a bit daunting. It's a bit like, Oh, what do I do now? Like there's no structure? There's no direction there's no boss, there's no you know, like I'm free. And then yeah, I guess since then, since building your business I'm sure that it hasn't been a straight path. I don't imagine you woke up on freedom Monday and then just said Alright, cool. And it was all smooth sailing up to a million pound business from there onwards. So maybe to add some some more kind of depth to this story in your journey around the the actual business itself. Were there any significant setbacks or failures that you've experienced along the way that listeners could learn from?

James Eardley: 34:14

Absolutely, that there were plenty I don't want to paint a picture at all that that it's an easy route to go down but you wouldn't want it to be that way because it's so much more rewarding when you ultimately get to the success. You know, as you mentioned, I did work weekends when I was doing it alone with someone nine to five job I'd work a few hours on the weekend. I'll be working an hour before I started working I do some work in the evening as well. So there was work that goes into this is not get rich quick it absolutely means that you will put work in you have to sacrifice a few things. And I sacrifice you know, perhaps some some things that were you know, would have been nice, maybe watching Netflix or going out with friends. I sacrifice those things, knowing that it was all going to pay off in the long run. And it was hard and there were plenty of obstacles and difficulties. setbacks that I went through during the journey. Obviously, the wrong business model in the first place that that stung, because I felt like what I do with my life, it really hurt the first time. Some of the things that really sticks out with me, a big obstacle that I overcame initially was my, we're not this is very early on, actually probably just within the first month of actually running the business. But I had these emails that all came in, in tandem from my suppliers, that I just worked hard to sign up at about four or five at the time. And these emails all came in on a Friday afternoon, which by the way, is the worst time you want to see these emails, they came last thing on a Friday. And all our suppliers are just just told me, sorry, we're going to stop supplying you. We've had reports where we've had, we've had other retailers get in touch with us. And they've said that your website too closely resembles other their websites and other websites in the industry. And I was, you know, on a Friday afternoon reading this thinking all that work you've put in, you started to get some sales. And now suddenly, your suppliers who are the reason you're able to sell these products are turning around and saying that they're no longer able to supply because they've had complaints from other retailers. And that really stung because I was sat there, I couldn't sleep in Friday, Saturday, because I had to wait for Monday to really get in touch with the suppliers and overturn this. So it sticks with me that feeling and the fear that I had on that on that Friday evening. I wish I'd never checked my emails lasting on that Friday. And I realized that the whole business was sort of collapsing around me really difficult. But I overcame that by by being proactive. And the way I overcame it was by contacting them, explaining to them that that's never my intention to copy other websites. And look, these are all the changes I've made over the weekend. Because even though it wasn't my intention to copy, there were similarities. And so what was best for me was just to take control of the situation, really think hard about what my, what my brand was that I was building my first store, and, you know, differentiate myself. So again, you go through difficult times, and it actually taught me an amazing lesson. It taught me to think about what does my my store? What's it about? How can I differentiate myself, and make sure that you're you know, you're not taking inspiration from from other stores, because ultimately you can lose everything. So on the Monday I explained all this and all the suppliers apart from one all accepted that, you know, it was a it was a misunderstanding, and I've made these changes now happy to go on. So massive relief on that Monday afternoon that they were all okay with it. But I had to be proactive. And I again, I that any setbacks like that ended up being some of the best lessons that you get, because they taught me to think about what I was standing for what do I want to be as a brand that is the store I was building. And that's definitely led to tons more sales in the future. So one of the best things that could have possibly happened to me. So I learned this, this sort of way of thinking from from my dad, and realizing that difficult moments actually ended up being the best lessons, or the way I learned this is the way my dad reacted to a difficult moment that I went went through when I was younger. And this was on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition. So it's something in the UK where you got an expedition you go walking, it was a it was a gold expedition. So it's four days and three nights that you go camping and you walk miles every day. And on the second day of this expedition, we were in the mountains of Snowdonia, and the weather was terrible. And when the weather's terrible. Normally, it's even worse times 10 in in Snowdonia, which is a national park in Wales. And we were walking for what felt like hours and hours and hours in this pouring rain, howling wind, we're walking alongside this Long Lake, I can picture it now, walking alongside this lake with the mountains in front of us, normally a beautiful scene, but not when the weather was like it was the investment minus two degrees, the wind was going sideways. So the rain was was hitting us from the side. And we just kept walking along this late for what felt like hours and hours and hours. The first group of the group was about five or six of us initially, we were laughing about it, we had good morale, we could push through it. But after a few hours of getting really battered by the wind and rain, the fun had sort of been sapped from that experience. And I was looking around at the group that I was in and I was sort of the most senior out of the group. And I could start to see and tell that there were people that their lips were turning blue, they were going really pale and they're actually starting to slur their words when they were speaking, starting to look quite dazed. And we realized that they were actually the first sort of signs of hypothermia from within the group that we're walking with. So yeah, how does it had to make a decision? We initially called the the instructors that were not with us, but were able to call, but they didn't pick up the phone. So the next thing that we had to do because we had to act fast was to call search and rescue for Snowdonia, because we really felt like these hypothermia was getting across the group. So we just had to huddle together and wait for Search Rescue to come and find us in the terrible conditions and and take us off the mountain So, it very difficult to get across how difficult of an experience when when the weather is that bad. And when the morale was that low, it's very difficult experience. And I remember the whole story that I pulled from this was when I went home to my family and told them because we had to go back early, it all failed that the expedition, I was thinking, perhaps, oh, you know, my dad, or mum or dad or give me some sympathy. They'll explain that, they'll understand that it was a difficult time. Maybe there'll be proud. I'm sure they were. But I remember, my mum gave me loads of sympathy. Thank you, Mum. But my dad, she he was completely different about it. And the way he reacted to it was r&b just said, good. You so glad that that experience happened to me. And I remember being surprised at the time. But actually, that taught me a really valuable lesson. My dad understood that going through these difficult times, when things are really horrible and challenging. They're actually some of the best lessons and some of the best gifts that can happen to you. But in the moment, very, very difficult to see the benefits from these actions, that when you look back at difficult times, then you realize that actually, I'd now try and do them just as my dad does. And be good, be grateful for difficult times, because they ultimately become some of the best the best lessons that you that you learn. Yeah,

Lewis Smith: 41:18

what a powerful lesson that must have been it's it's a really, it sounds like a really traumatic time I was there with you on the mountain that as you were telling that story. And it makes you think that you're if when you can deal with that level of stress and that level of setback where it's like potentially life threatening, you can absolutely handle it later on in life when some jealous retailer tries to use, you know, dirty tactics to sabotage your business. And they always say that winners focus on winning, and losers focus on winners, right? So if you've got someone nipping at your heels, and someone who feels threatened and acts out of scarcity to try and bring you down, like happened with you, and this whole thing with retailers that you then are with your suppliers, sorry, that you then resolved. Usually, it's a sign that you're doing something right, because other people are watching and they're they're feeling scared that you know, you're taking it. So obviously, we don't operate out of that same scarcity mindset. But I think you being able to take lessons from other parts of your life, and then say, like I got through that, I figured that I knew it would make me stronger as a result of it. So when you get hit with something like this in a digital business, yes, of course it feels bad at first, isn't it, but you can rise above it. And you can start to see the big picture and realize the lesson that you'll learn from it, as you did is that you can even better differentiate yourself, you can make it so that there's no argument that anyone could say that you've taken anything from any of their business, because you've done things totally your own way. And so I'm sure that as a result of that differentiation exercise, you've probably increased your conversion rate your customers who buy from you probably buy into your brand, even more, your suppliers will love it because you've done something different to the rest of the market. And I just think that that's that's a great lesson to have learned. And I know that in terms of business, like there's one thing going out alone, but also collaborating with others mentorship, things like that can be game changers to try and make your business journey a success without you having to reinvent the wheel constantly. Did you have any mentors or significant partnerships that helped propel your business forward? And if so how did they come into your life? How did that work? Yeah, so

James Eardley: 43:24

we're building that first store, I certainly wouldn't have built it without the step by step guidance that I had for it from yourself, Louis and the dropship, or not mentorship program. It taught me what to do when I was completely stuck. And not only did it give me the tactical guidance to know exactly what steps to take next, to build one of these businesses, it was also the the the emotional guidance and getting the mindset right from the very start knowing that it's not a get rich, quick scheme, knowing that you're going to put work in and having that mindset was was invaluable. And also the access to the universe on the q&a calls, was amazing to ask you questions directly as soon as they came up. So collaborations and partnerships? Absolutely. I think my biggest mistake that I made when I first started my first business, was that I tried to do it all alone. And I thought that I could make it work by myself just with the power of him, you know, hard work. But what I really learned is to create anything valuable in the world, is you have to do it with brilliant people around you. And I've definitely learned that lesson. And that's what the mentorship program gave me. It gave me brilliant people around me immediately that I could call on that I could work with to get to my goals. I knew that I could put in the hard work. What I was lacking was structure. I had lots of energy. I was ready to give it my all. I was ready to start a business but I needed the structure. I needed the guidance to tell me what to do next. So I could actually channel all that energy channeled all that hard work into a path that was already proven. And that's what the guidance that dropship gave me So I knew that I'd put in the work. And the other end of the deal dropped a lot was giving me the support, and giving you the step by step guidance to get me to where I wanted to get to. Well, you

Lewis Smith: 45:09

definitely made the most of it. I remember those q&a calls very vividly and you turning up to every single one of them and taking it extremely seriously and asking all the right questions at the right point. And, you know, not being afraid to turn up and say, I'm stuck. This has stumped me. And I think sometimes people do think that, like, there's this myth that you think I just have to work extremely hard, the answers are out there. And I can piece it all together yourself to myself, and you possibly can, it might take months or even years of trial and error and failure to get there. So it's not just about hard work, like you say it's that structure and guidance, and then channeling that hard work into something that's proven to work and having the people around you to ask when you get stuck. I think people often come into our program thinking that the 30 plus hours of video tutorials is the bit that they need the most. And, of course, that's valuable, because that provides the structure, but what they often need is the arts is when they get stuck when things don't go to plan. And that's the community. It's the community that brings it to life. It's the q&a calls the life support sessions, that really helps the collaboration calls, we have the live meetups, you know. So I think you've really made the most of it, you definitely did that you channeled it. And that's why you're succeeding, as well as you are. And I know that you've transitioned from initially just single business owner to an owner of multiple ventures now and even a coach with as a drop shipper, like how did your daily life and mindset shift to go from that kind of solo entrepreneur through to starting to build out your empire? Like, what does what had to change for you? And what does a typical day look like now compared to your previous nine to five routine?

James Eardley: 46:43

It's completely different. Now. It's yeah, unrecognizable, because I have that autonomy over my time. And I still work very hard, of course, but it's on things that I want to work on. And I get a lot of reward a lot of value out of the work that I do now. And so that had to come from a shift in mindset. There's a lot of people that think, and I certainly had this myself was work equals bad is the mindset that perhaps you go into your career with. But I've overcome that now to see that you can really enjoy your work, especially when you're working on what's something things that you love to do. So now, as you mentioned earlier, in the podcast, I've now recently hit over a million pounds in revenue. Since starting my businesses, I've partnered with a business partner to open a second store. And the main thing that's really come out of all of that the numbers are great, the multiple businesses are great, the main thing is that control over my time that I have now. And I've got control over my location. So I can work from anywhere. And I can do my work on the times that suit me as well. And that was always super important to me from the start. And I've got myself to that position now. Absolutely. And the work that I do, I get to work on things that I love. And I get to be around people that have the same values as me. Whereas before the passive life, that the nine to five life, you're thrust into environments around people that you don't necessarily align with. But now I can really be around people with the same values. And that that's an incredible atmosphere to be around. And it's just going to continue to lift me up is the planet. So yeah, so the way I sort of set my, my, my days now is set up to suit me. And I've sort of learned how I how I operate best. I like to get up early and to exercise and then to get start working early. I'm more of a morning person than that deitel. So I can choose that to go up off to the gym at 630 in the morning, and we sat down ready to start working an hour later. He's the way that I like to work. And the way I do it is I sort of run my ecommerce businesses now as an owner, instead of a manager. So I'm not, you know, although I'm involved a little bit, I own those businesses. So they are like investments and their assets that pay me constant income every month. Whereas I don't need to be continually looking and working on those ecommerce businesses. I don't need to answer phone calls from customers don't need to answer live chats. So it doesn't require me to be on the business all the time. There. I've hired virtual assistants now. So those tasks are taken care of. And across the two stores that we've got. Now we've got multiple virtual assistants that are doing all those day to day jobs, so that those businesses are investments for me and their cash generating businesses, while I can choose where I work on to improve the businesses, and I can choose how I spend my time as well. So if I work on the business for a little bit every day, but now i i can structure my week so that I'm spending lots of time coaching others and helping others. Now with the dropship unlocked community. I'm around the community every day. I'm speaking with people on one to one calls, I'm speaking to them on q&a calls, and I'm able to help out others to generate their own cash generating machines. And these e commerce musicians They are. So as well as overseeing the running of the E commerce businesses. My days now are about recording podcast episodes with you, Louis. It's about thinking about how we can improve dropship unlocked, how can we can improve the community, as well as all the coaching calls that happen every week within the business?

Lewis Smith: 50:21

Yeah, very different week to how it used to look then with your nine to five. And I think what you say around your values and being around the people who now align with the same values as you and have the same values is so noticeable for me at dropship. And locked, because you bring in a, an energy with you that other people want to be around you, you help lift other people up, it's, you're such a fantastic addition and contribution not just to the company, but to the community and all of the members. And I know I'd speak for all of them who's ever had an interaction with you. And I because I hear it firsthand, you know, directly from in our community, where they say how helpful and supportive and positive and patient you've been. So it's great to see that you've, you've created, you've almost achieved where you have achieved what your definition of success was, you've achieved freedom, whether that's time freedom, because like you say, you now aren't in your own businesses, you've you've removed yourself from them, you've got location freedom, because you could do the podcast from anywhere in the world, right? You've got financial freedom, because you have to cash flow generating businesses now as well. And so it's great that you're able to now give back because as you kind of progress up the Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you get to that point where one of the most fulfilling things you can do is to give back and to help others and to, to almost elevate yourself to that level and achieve fulfillment. And the transition from manager of a store to owner is a big one, I know that that's something that holds people back, I see business owners who are in the hundreds of 1000s of pounds per month level with their ecommerce stores who still can't quite relinquish that control of like live chat or customer support emails. And I think once you do that, the headspace that you free up, like you said, is just so great, because you can then think about what you want to spend your time on. So you mentioned being a coach at dropship. I'm like What motivated you to start coaching and sharing your knowledge with others, then like how's this role of helping others guiding others? How is that enriching your entrepreneurial journey?

James Eardley: 52:19

Yeah, it's a question I get quite often. So I worked with dropship, I'm not for a few reasons. The main reason is, is because of how rewarding the nature of the work is. And I remember very well that hopefully, I've been able to articulate in this episode, that feeling of being stuck, and not knowing at all, where you want to be in life, just knowing that you've got this drive inside you that you want a better life for yourself and for your family. I remember that feeling. Now that I've run these businesses for a few years, I feel like I've got some knowledge, I've got some experiences that I can share with others. And it's very rewarding to see people in that position that I was in not too long ago, and to be able to help them build their own businesses. So they can escape that that rat race and escape that feeling of being stuck in the nine to five job. I've been now in a position where I can help and I want to make the most of that opportunity that I have. You know, the community that we've built with within the master class is incredible. And being a part of that community is amazing, especially when we do the live meetups, if the people that were around in the masterclass, they've signed up to dropship or not, because they've got the similar values to us. They want a better life for themselves. And these people we can resonate with and get on with so quickly, because they're so similar to us with the values that they have. So it's just a pleasure to be part of that community. And also, it means that I'm around business owners every day, and I work closely with you loose. So seeing how you operate and being around you has been a real gift. As part of the work of dropship unlocked as well. As well, teaching others has actually increased my rate of learning more than anything else. I'm confident that I learned more than I actually teach now even being a coach. It's, it's incredible on those q&a calls, I learned so much from other people's experiences. And that's just just helping and it's a it's a really good environment of sharing knowledge. And so being in that environment is fantastic. And I've learned so much since since joining. But the only reason I can do this and get the rewards and be around the community and be coaching others is because I've made it possible with E commerce businesses that I run in the style of business that I like to run, which is as I say it's as an owner instead of a manager. So without that, I wouldn't be able to do the coaching, I wouldn't be able to have the rewarding be around the community, because I have to get it to a point where it's half an hour per day. If that on the Commerce businesses, it is just checking in with the team, checking that we're reaching our potential checking that we're the performance is good, paying some invoices, that sort of thing. And because it's running that way, then I've got time that I can then help others and I can To help coach others with the content that we produce, but also in the coaching calls that I do. So yeah, it's so so rewarding. Again, people struggle, I think, to see how rewarding it is, if they're in that mindset of work equals bad, and you can't possibly enjoy work, but actually, once you've got, you know, I've got these cash generating businesses that pay me an income all the time, I've then got the choice of what how would I want to spend this extra time, and I can't think of a better way to grow as a person, or to get rewarding and and to be around people that I really value other than being coached and and do the things that I do now.

Lewis Smith: 55:36

Yeah, I 100% can resonate with that, because I would feel lost, I think, and I did feel lost for a time when I moved out to Thailand and Vietnam and had my business is just generating cash. But then when you do remove yourself from an owner, you're like, What do I do next, where, and you realize that a lot of your fulfillment came from the challenge that build. And so there are other ways of finding that fulfillment through building another business, especially one that directly can help people kind of get onto that first rung of the ladder that helped you get to where you are, so that you're in the other country in the first place running your business. I totally resonate with that. And I get that question a lot as well. Like, why why run dropship unlocked? If you're, you know, running your business yourself already? And I think the answer to that is because it is almost like, just wait, and you'll see, just wait, wait till you're there, at that point at that first milestone where you have your business and you're like, Okay, I don't need to do this due to the finances anymore. Although, of course, other businesses bring in cash flow. So you know, if you're an entrepreneur, you tend to just continue to build and grow. But it's the, like you said, yeah, it's keeping your skills sharp, you know, the two businesses are very related to each other, right? Because one is teaching the concept that the other is effectively a case study for. So I love that. Yeah, the more you teach, the more you learn, because you have to, you're gonna get questions about what's changing right now what's happening, and we see those every day in our community. So it allows us at dropship a lot to keep at the forefront of what's happening in the world of E commerce and keep everyone updated. So it's a it's an exciting trajectory that you're on James is, I mean, with all the success that you've achieved so far, hitting that first million pound milestone, the question on my mind is what's next, like, what new heights are you aiming for to reach with your business and personally, as well,

James Eardley: 57:18

so for me, it's all about continued progress, and never ending learning. So just can keep continuing to develop myself. And the way I've found to develop myself is through entrepreneurial pursuits, you learn so much about yourself, you grow so much as a person, when you run businesses that they say you're either earning, or you're learning. And that's so true whenever you're building one of these businesses. So just continued learning really is the aim. And to do that, I'll scale the two ecommerce businesses that I running my my primary store at the moment, it's on track to do 100k Every month, revenue consistently this year. And then my second store is actually looking promising to to overtake that with the opportunities that we've come across so far. So yeah, really exciting. In terms of the E commerce businesses, I'll continue to scale those as for my work with dropship, or not, we're on a mission together There is to be the best in the UK, the best e commerce learning provider, I think we're in if we're not there, we're well on the way to doing that. And so through this podcast through the community that we're building, yeah, we want to, we want to do that and really give as many people as possible, the opportunity that I came across early in my journey, where a step by step guidance program is there for you, a community that genuinely cares about your success is there for you, if you are willing to put in the work. So I love being part of it. I love the values that you stand for Louis. So no big part of my life moving forward is going to be growing dropship a lot, and helping as many people as we can, through the coaching program that we that we provide. So yes, spending plenty of time running e commerce businesses, learning from my lessons that will inevitably come over the next few years of scaling those businesses, and feeding all of those lessons from running these seven figure businesses into the coaching that we can provide at dropship a lot. So we run a really big be the best in class trading, we want to be the best in class, e commerce learning an online business training provider. And the way we do that is to have the actual day to day experience that we're that we're experiencing every day by running these businesses. So that's what I want to do continue my learning, continue my growth, feeding all of that learning and growth into building this incredible community that we've got that we're growing so far. And I think that's that's what we're on track to do.

Lewis Smith: 59:33

Definitely, yeah. And the to work hand in hand, don't they? Like you say it's a real nice marriage of the two business models, it works really well. And I absolutely love running both types of the businesses. So it's great to hear it in terms of your like, if you will, going back to the previous version of James in the interview that where we first had when you first joined the program where we kind of asked you those very early questions, which we could probably link in the description below this episodes, couldn't we for anyone who hasn't seen that first interview? It's quite eye opening to go back and watch that one. And that if you if you could jump back now and jump on a zoom call with the with the earlier version of James and give him some advice. Are there any things that you might say? Because I think some of our listeners who are where you were then or maybe even earlier in their journey than where you were there, maybe they haven't even joined the program yet and started. And they're dreaming of a different life like you were when you were in the nine to five at the Housing Association. What kind of advice would you give?

James Eardley: 1:00:26

Yeah, so I keep my advice, simple. And it's just to take action, some form of action, I've taken a lot of wrong action along the way. And I will continue to do so I'm sure moving forward. But the key for me is that you're taking some form of action, because you'll learn from whatever you do. And so, you know, even if it's that even if you're starting a business model, and it's the wrong type of business model, you still will look back on it as being fantastic that you took some form of action, the alternative is that you just stay on the trajectory that you're on right now. And if you don't feel excited about where that trajectory is taking you, then that's motivation to to take some form of action. So think about creating that mental pain for yourself, if you need to give you give yourself that to to inspire you to a better future. And think about what action can you take them or how small it is, I think there's only so much preparation you can do before action ultimately takes over. There's only so many books you can read only so many podcasts you can listen to. But ultimately, there needs to be some form of action that teaches you a lot. It took a lot for me to start. So you know, I know that it's difficult. And I hopefully, you could tell that there was a time in my life where I knew something was wrong. But it took a lot of courage to actually take the first step. It's not easy, even even when you know you need to do something. But I think you just need to give yourself the confidence, I'd love to say this to my previous self, give me give myself the confidence that there is absolutely a way to what you want to achieve. And you will find it as long as you just take consistent action, try to get 1% better every day. And you'll be amazed at how far you can get within just a few short years, you know, consistency and compounding, it all takes over. Once you start doing little actions every day, the rest will take care of itself. Where you can be in a few years time is, is scary really how fast and how far you can get once you put in work, and just set your sights on becoming a little bit better every day. So that's what I'd really like to instill in my younger self. Because I wouldn't have been able to say all this when I was younger, you don't really understand the lessons you're learning along the way. If I could teach and speak to that person, I'd say no, give yourself a confident you'll find a way you just need to take action and learn from every lesson and pivot from all the difficult obstacles that come up along the way. Yeah, and don't delay, really, I think, knowing what I know now, the earlier you start, the better, really that the longer you delay, that the longer you're you're delaying your inevitable success. So don't hang around. I wish I'd started earlier. I wish I didn't wait so long. I wish I'd just taken some form of action no matter what it was quicker in my journey. And that would have served me very well. I'd be even further a lot a lot further if I just started a bit earlier in my journey. And yeah, I guess I tell myself, it will be tough. But you're strong enough to get through that. And as long as you've got a strong enough reason why, why you want to achieve, then you can achieve anything that you want. Anyone could achieve what I've achieved is nothing special about me. I've just taken what I've learned, I've had a very strong, clear reason why I needed to get to where I wanted to get to. And as long as you create that for yourself, you can achieve that as well, as has been my experience. So you know, I've said on my journey. I think when you listen to podcast interviews, it's easy to think that you're the finished article when you when you do like an interview like this, but I'm still on my own journey. And I always will be, I'll never be done. I'll always be constantly improving. But I'm gonna enjoy the journey along the way. And that's the most important thing, just focus on 1%. But make sure you enjoy the journey all the way towards your destination.

Lewis Smith: 1:04:02

Yeah, exactly. And those compounding that iterative process of always growing is so important. And it's difficult at the time when you're thinking about doing this. It's difficult to know how you will feel on the other side of it. Because it's like you're staring out into space into the unknown, the Abyss you think well, will it work? Will I become an entrepreneur? Will I be happy? Will I be successful? But like you say you pondered and you thought and you've convinced yourself to and then not to and then to again, to take the leap. But I mean, I'm personally so glad that you did not only for you and your success and your future, but also because we got to meet. And you know, I say the same for everybody else that I've met within our program. You know, how do you not joined and made that leap of faith and that decision would never have met, and perhaps you'd never be on the trajectory that you are now so it's such a looking back. It's such a great thing that you did such a great move that you made. And I just urge any other listeners out there right now who were maybe in the position that you were before If they're thinking about that leap, then you know, it's okay on the other side, like, it's fun. It's a great, it's a great experience. And like you say, we're not the finished article. But we've we've kind of got over that first hurdle. And if you're really deliberating on that first thing, that's scary moment of starting, and your life will be so much better because of it, if you are willing to ride the ups and the downs, and there will be bumps in the road. So just be aware of that. But it's so much better with other people around you who are also on that journey, too. So finally, James, for someone else who is listening right now maybe they're in the gym, maybe they're running, maybe they're out for a walk, they're in the car, they've got this podcast on and they're listening right now. And they're feeling inspired. And I don't know what debt to take, first, what specific, actionable advice would you give to someone who can start moving towards their dream of financial and time freedom today

James Eardley: 1:05:48

is just taking some form of action. After listening to this podcast episode, you will thank yourself for it for years to come. It's just about one small step it doesn't need to be suddenly leave your job and go and start this business. Not saying that at all. It's just one simple action. And then just continue to improve yourself every day. And you'll be amazed at how far you get. And Lewis, you've made it more simple than ever, for people to actually get started with with ecommerce businesses now. So actually, people can just pick up a book that you've written, and it gives them the step by step process, and it will give them access to the dropship Launchpad community, obviously, that the masterclass is there, if people really want the in depth, step by step videos, and they're really engaged community. But if you want to take just one form of action, there's a super low barrier to entry, you need to just get started with the simple but then that's where I'd recommend you start. And so your book is called the home turf advantage, Louis, and people can pick up that book today, a digital copy within five minutes. If you go to HDA book.com. Enjoying the podcast, we'd love to hear from you leave a comment or a review. And we might just feature it on an upcoming episode. Also, for detailed show notes and resources, head to dropship unlock.com. Forward slash podcast. If

Lewis Smith: 1:07:02

you found value from any episode of this podcast, please take just 10 seconds to leave us a quick five star review on your podcast app of choice. It helps us more than you could imagine. And who knows, you might just hear your comments on the show. Thanks for being part of our community. Your support helps us keep delivering a new episode every week. Okay,

James Eardley: 1:07:21

we're at that part of the episode now where we'll answer a question that's coming from a listener. So thank you, Tristan for asking your question. Remember, if you want to get your questions answered on the podcast, all you need to do is leave a comment underneath the YouTube version of this episode. So this week, the question has come in from Tristan. So Tristan has asked Louis, I've been I've been listening to your podcast for a while now. And I love the stories of success. But I still feel paralyzed by the fear of failure. So what if I invest my time and my money? And it doesn't work out? Yeah,

Lewis Smith: 1:07:54

it's a very topical question. Interesting. And thank you for asking it. You aren't the only one that feels that way. We all felt that way when we were staring out into the abyss. So it's great that you've asked that question, ready for today's episode? Because it's exactly what we talked about, right? Every entrepreneur on their journey will face setbacks, you might as well just accept it and embrace it. Because the key to success with this is not to avoid failure. But it's what you do when you hit that inevitable failure is how you learn from it, how you adapt from it. So think maybe reframing your your version, your thinking around what failure means what if it doesn't work, and seeing what every single setback that I encounter is just a setup for a comeback. Just listen to how James overcame the setbacks that he faced in today's chat that we had every single time that when you think about what eventually happened, it actually helped him. And if he hadn't have encountered that setback earlier in his journey, then perhaps he would have not reached the heights he's at perhaps there would have been some complacency there. So the key is to start small, try and manage the risks, try and manage how big those failures can be, and how far the pendulum swings, right. Because if you just dip your toes in, it's going to minimize your losses. And when you make those inevitable failures, they're not going to be huge and costly. James faced similar fears and took calculated steps along the way, you know, he said about either matching or exceeding his monthly income for at least three months before he went in, took the risk of or the risk of handing in his notice, and going into entrepreneurship full time. And because of that, that cautious optimism eventually got there. He got the proof of concept. And he it led to significant rewards. So it was great conversation and I think Tristan, maybe even three listening to today's conversation with that question in mind could really help you. Also, it's where you're surrounding yourself. If you're around other people who don't believe in what you're trying to do and they haven't made it work themselves. You're going to be fighting an uphill battle. But if you can surround yourself with a supportive community Have like minded entrepreneurs knowing that you're not alone, then a community like the one that dropship unlocked can give you not just the guidance and the support and the structure to help you channel that hard work into a model that is proven. So you're not reinventing the wheel and risking failure on that front. But also, you're surrounded by reassuring positive minded entrepreneurs. We've all got those same shared experiences that you had, and it will just make your journey to get there so much better. So don't be worried about failures, Tristan, be worried about how you react to them and what you take from. Thanks, Louis.

James Eardley: 1:10:33

Yeah, the power of communities is unbelievable. And it will change your mindset just being around people with a different mindset. So thank you for your question, Tristan, and now we're going to highlight a recent review that we've had in for the podcast. So a big thank you to Steve crew. 7882 That's the YouTube handles. Thank you for leaving your thoughts underneath a recent YouTube video. So leave a comment if you enjoyed the video today. So Steve crew said, As always a great session Lewis and James love the whole theme around just taking action, often hard when trying something new, but something you always look back on and wish you acted sooner.

Lewis Smith: 1:11:09

Thank you so much for your review. Steve. It means a lot and really glad to hear that you've been enjoying the podcast as well. Do you want a chance to join our elite masterclass community for free? If so, simply leave us a review for the podcast on your favorite podcast platform. check out episode 52 of the podcast for full details to enter that competition.

James Eardley: 1:11:32

Thanks for joining us on this episode of the dropship unlocked podcast.

Lewis Smith: 1:11:36

We hope you're walking away with insights and inspiration. to kickstart your E commerce journey. Grab a copy of my book The home of turf advantage at HT A book.com is a distilled guide based on real experience to help you build your E commerce venture.

James Eardley: 1:11:52

Don't forget to hit the subscribe button for more strategies and success stories.

Lewis Smith: 1:11:57

If you like what you heard a five star review would mean the world to us and you might just get a shout out on an upcoming episode. And finally, thank you for deciding to spend your time with us today. We can't wait to bring you more insights on the next episode of the dropship unlocked podcast.