Mason’s Journey from Footballer to £70K Ecommerce Success (Episode 107)

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🗣 In this episode, Lewis Smith and James Eardley sit down with Mason, a former professional footballer turned successful e-commerce entrepreneur. 

Mason shares his remarkable journey of going from the football field to generating over £70,000 in sales within just five months through his dropshipping business. This episode is a deep dive into the mindset, discipline, and strategies Mason applied to create life-changing results in such a short time.

👉 Prefer to watch this on YouTube? Check it out here ➡️https://youtu.be/lNFcyn7kJBQ

Learn More From Mason:
Mason's Youtube ➡️  https://youtube.com/@infiniteentrepreneur?si=tHwVEooFOUWKnAyo
Mason's Instagram ➡️ https://www.instagram.com/infiniteentrepreneur/?next=%2F

Topics Discussed: 

★ Mason's Transition from Football to E-Commerce: How Mason pivoted from a career in football to building a thriving online business.
★ Mindset for Success: How Mason used discipline and delayed gratification to drive his growth.
★ Reaching £70,000 in Sales: The steps Mason took to generate consistent sales and grow his business.
★ Outsourcing and Automation: Mason’s thoughts on scaling his business and hiring virtual assistants to free up his time.
★ Overcoming Self-Doubt: How Mason navigated feelings of doubt and used the Dropship Unlocked community for support.

Links and Resources Mentioned:

Watch Lewis build a new store from scratch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHo4XdRN3dc
Pick up a copy of Lewis’ book: https://dropshipunlocked.com/book
Get Shopify for £1 a month for 3 months: https://dropshipunlocked.com/shopify
Get a free trial with a professional phone line: https://dropshipunlocked.com/circle

Key Takeaways: 

★ Delayed Gratification: Success takes time. Mason emphasizes the importance of building a sustainable business with a long-term vision.
★ Consistency is Key: Mason’s consistent action led him from zero to £70,000 in sales in just five months.
★ Community is Crucial: Surrounding yourself with a supportive network helps you stay motivated and inspired.
★ Mindset Matters: Staying positive and focused on the process will help overcome challenges and achieve results.

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Website: https://www.dropshipunlocked.com/

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Transcript

0:00

This particular episode was one of my favorites. Think we just passed 70,000 pounds in sales. Yeah, the average order value at the moment is about 700 pounds in was it four to five months? He's made 70,000 pounds in sales since starting like he is not messing around. People really die with regrets that they risks or buy too many things, too ambitious, that they were too bold. I think it's the these real conversations make it really come to life. It's amazing to hear how individuals like Mason kind of navigate the challenges early on and then eventually make a success of their business and change their life with it and create freedom. If you've been wondering whether investing in mentorship will pay off, or starting an E commerce business is going to be worth it for you, then Mason's story is sure to inspire you today. You Lewis, welcome to the dropship unlocked Podcast. I'm Lewis Smith, the founder of dropship unlocked and with me today is our Client Success Coach James Eardley, when we're not recording podcast episodes or running our own e commerce businesses, you'll find us helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch their own I ticket drop shipping stores. If you're ready to build your own six or even seven figure online business, head over to dropship unlocked.com, forward slash accelerator and sign up for your 14 day trial inside the accelerator, you'll gain access to exclusive training, live coaching calls and a thriving community of like minded entrepreneurs. Plus, when you join today, you'll also get a free copy of my book, the home turf advantage. Now sit back, relax, and let's unlock your potential with the dropship unlocked podcast. In today's episode, we are excited to bring you another incredible success story of a dropship unlocked master class member. Today we are chatting with Mason, who has transformed his E commerce journey in just a very short time. So if you've been wondering whether investing in mentorship will pay off, or starting an E commerce business is going to be worth it for you, then Mason's story is sure to inspire you today. Yeah, absolutely. I love these interview episodes because they really allow us to connect with real entrepreneurs, our members, and find out their unique journeys, their experiences. What were they doing before they came across the program? How did they make their first sale? Where were they? You know, these, these real conversations make it really come to life. It's amazing to hear how individuals like Mason kind of navigate the challenges early on and then eventually make a success of their business and change their life with it and create freedom. So this particular episode was one of my favorites. Mason's ability to see the end goal, to enjoy the journey, to exercise delayed gratification, like his mindset, the way he thinks, the way he's optimistic, he's action oriented. He absorbs all of this and all at such a young age. There's so much to learn from this episode. There's so much inspiration that you'll be able to glean from it. So really looking forward to diving into this one absolutely. I mean, diving into Mason's story was fascinating, especially hearing about his mindset, and I think that's a big part of the success that he's seen. He also talks about how he was able to start from a position of having no e commerce business experience, and take that all the way through to the position he's in today. So I won't spoil the numbers, because they are exciting, and he goes into depth with his success since joining the program. So I know that this episode is going to resonate with you. If you're a newcomer and you're just thinking about getting started, or if you've actually got a business started and set up, and you're looking for inspiration about what is possible with the E commerce business model. Absolutely. Yeah. Throughout this episode you're you want to pay close attention to the way that Mason makes decisions, his persistence and dedication, and the the way that he considers his options before moving ahead, and then when he decides to move ahead, how much action he takes and how quickly, all of which are crucial to the extremely successful results that he's had in such a short space of time. So so many great clues that he's left throughout this episode, so many good strategies, tips, valuable lessons, so much good advice. He is on a seriously fast trajectory, and it's definitely one you'll want to have a pen and paper to hand for to take some notes. So get ready to be inspired by Mason's incredible journey and the pivotal moments that have defined his experience so far. Let's jump right into the interview. So Mason, before joining dropship, unlock them. What would you say was your biggest herd? Or that you're dealing with in trying to start your E commerce business. Just in general, there's a lot of E commerce courses out there that I could really see building a sustainable business around. I feel like a lot of them were kind of, you know, here, today, gone, tomorrow and and nothing that I could really imagine building a sustainable business around. It's something that I could scale and grow into an actual business, rather than just like I said, Here today, gone tomorrow. So I think just trying to find a course or a mentorship that was really based around the sustainability aspect of an actual business from people that have actually done it. So I'd say that was that was probably the biggest challenge. So what was your background? Mason before jumping into the program. What were you doing? Where were you in life? What was your day to day routine? Were you a student? Were you working? What was your background? Actually got the course when I was 18. I was playing professional football then. And yeah, I've always been interested in business. Always been, had other ventures on the side, and whilst at football, had other business ventures that I was trying but so that's when I initially brought the course, knowing that this is probably something that I'm going to want to do in the future, but just focusing on the other ventures then and then, I actually started the course when I was 21 probably about eight months ago. Now, whilst just working on other ventures, working on other businesses, I felt like it was a good time to really dive into something more e commerce based and drop shipping based. So, yeah, that's when I that's when I jumped into it. All Awesome. Yeah, it's super impressive to start at such a young, a young age. I'm interested you obviously left it a few years from when you first joined the program to when you really started to implement the teaching. What was the difference? What changed in your life between when you first joined and when you decided that you were going to go all in on the business, the time that I had in the opportunities that I was working on, I was working on a few other business ventures at the time and building those up so I just didn't really have the time that I would have wanted to dedicate to it. I looked at a few videos here and there. But when I want to do something, I want to do it very all in and really give my all to it and focus on it as much as I can. So it was just more of a timing thing once I'd built up the other businesses. And it was a opportunity where things were a little bit more more running sustainably and running, um, more automated. I felt like it was a good time to dive into this and and really dedicate some time, time to this. So, yeah, more of a timing thing than anything. Yeah, makes sense. You gotta be you gotta find the right time to dive into it. And if you're gonna go for it, go all in. I think we're, we're very much the same on that front. So since starting the program, since you actually did dive into it, and you made the decision to commit, what's been the most surprising or impactful change for you so far, I just think how quickly it's grown, how quickly I've gone from, you know, going through all of the steps in the course, building the website, contacting suppliers, to generating consistent sales, and how quickly it's turned from something that feels like a very online course to something that feels very real life business, and how quickly it's it's grown into a sustainable business and a scalable business that I can really see, see the path of growth and how quickly I Think I've, I've progressed to a point now where staff looking for optimization with the business. So just, I'd say what surprised me the most is how quickly it's it's turned into what it is now. The speed of it amazing. It's impressive to see how far you've come in the eight months. And we're going to get really deep into that as we speak today, before we get into how much progress you've seen, though, I'm keen to ask you a little bit more about your drive. And you're clearly a very driven individual at a young age, through getting into professional football and then business ventures, and now really hitting it off with your E commerce business, I'm keen to hear about in your own words, what do you think is that drive? What? What is it that you're really pushing towards? What is your your goal that you're driving towards with these business ventures? Just, I've always wanted a level of, you know, I feel like freedom and is kind of dictated by as many, how many choices you can make, and the more choices you can make about your life, obviously, the freer you are to a certain extent. So I've always wanted to be able to make choices about my life, whether that's what I'm doing on this day, whether that's where I am in the world. So yeah, of course, the basic things like financial freedom and location freedom's always been something important to me. I feel like I've always had the role models of my parents, them both, you know, work hard and show me that drive. So I just feel like that's been something that's kind of always naturally been instilled in me, so like it comes very naturally to work on these ventures. Yeah, fantastic. You've obviously got really good people around you. I can tell that from the way. That you speak so well and you get your point across very clearly. So that drive for freedom, which is inside so much of us, especially when you start to get pushed down into a career that starts to take freedom away. Whether that's a nine to five job or even in a professional football it's still a career that takes freedom away. So what specifically drew you towards drop shipping in order for you to gain more freedom over your life, like I mentioned before, the location freedom was something that's really important to me. I feel like E commerce is a great space, and there's so many different ways you can do it, and so many different different paths and avenues to take. But one thing that I like about dropshipping, of course, not having to take any stock, and being able to really just scale it from what you have now. You know you don't need to put any huge, crazy first investments down for a building or or property or stocking. You know you can really build it as it goes. And once you get that proof of concept, you know you can grow it as as you grow, and as the profits grow, the sales grow, it becomes, it becomes very easy to grow it. So I think what drew me most to drop shipping is, is that that location freedom, it's something that I feel like I can scale from anywhere in the world and scale, yeah, in in that sustainable way. Yeah, that makes sense. And you're clearly someone who thought very consciously about the business model that you wanted to enter. So I imagine you're also somebody who did their due diligence when it comes to which options you took for the education around getting that up and running, like you say, rather than potentially wasting a lot of time and money getting it wrong. So as you mentioned, there are many of these Here today, gone tomorrow. Type actors out there on Instagram, Tiktok vlogging, cheap courses that you know kind of have outdated information. What made you feel that the dropship, unlocked mentorship program was worth the investment for you, especially at such a young age, it's just really the the care and effort you could see that had been put into the actual course, and the information, I think what I got straight away, I'd say, I'm quite a person who likes to, like to know the full details, and likes to do things, do things properly and to the best of my ability. And I feel like that was always something that I got from the courses, how, how well it was laid out, and how ability. I'm going to be using that word a lot, I'm sure, but I think it is so important. You know, the foundations of any business really set it up for what it's going to become, and building on on foundations that are not sustainable. Ultimately, it may see temporary success, but what I was interested in creating, and what I've always been interested in creating with my other ventures, is sustainability and things that are going to last the test of time. You know, not be here for six months a year, but, but be here, you know, for for years to come. So I think just the of the way in which the program was presented, the way in which it was broken down, all made it very appealing to me and and once I'd, once I'd come across it, and I'd done more research, it became pretty much a no brainer. Yeah, it sounds like the course resonates with your values of building something that's meant to last for the long term, so that you don't have to be constantly spinning the wheel to find new products. And, you know, new business models, as soon as you put one business model together properly, then it will pay you for years to come, and that's what you're well in the process of doing. Now you mentioned a big part of the program that helped you to learn was the fact it's a live coaching program, and it's not just a course, and you just get left to your own devices. How did you make the most or what do you find most valuable about the live coaching element of dropship, or not. I think the live, live element is probably one of the most valuable elements, because it's it's always updating. You know, if you've got a course that's created three years ago, there's some things that are going to be just as relevant today, but there's some things you know, whether that's with Google ads, whether that's with certain things about the domain, platform that are going to are going to be slightly tweaked. So I think having that live element gives it a constant chance to to update to with the latest information, obviously, since the date when it was created, to now there's things that will have changed. It was live, live three and eight calls that are twice a week, just so, so valuable. Because once again, you've got that opportunity to speak to someone who's been there, who's done that, who's built it up from the exact same point you are, and ask them questions that they would have been through. So yeah, I think, I think it always being up to date, always being current, is only going to aid the growth of of the business that you're working on right now. Yeah, I completely agree with you, Mason on that one, I think that the live element brings it to life. It makes it real, doesn't it? It's because otherwise you just watch videos on YouTube and everyone would have a successful business if it was as easy as just watching some information and absorbing and actioning it. It's, I think it's the the application of the information that makes the difference. And sometimes that's not a linear path. It's not straight. Forward. It's like, Well, depends what niche you're in, it depends what your suppliers say. It depends what you know, website theme you're using, stuff like that. So we wanted to take that live element to the next level, and you'll know this as one of our members. But one of the unique aspects of dropship unlock is our in person meetups that we do every quarter. So I know we were together recently at the last one we did. How has meeting other members face to face? So at these meetups we do every single quarter, how is meeting them face to face, connecting with other members in the community who are on the same path as you doing what you're doing, building businesses like you who also aspire for that same freedom that you do. How would you say that's impacted your journey so far? I think it's once again, been being so valuable. You know, meeting meeting people face to face as well. Of course, you're you're connecting on the community, real face to face interaction. Speaking to someone who's on the same journey as you often aligns with a lot of the values that you align with, refreshing and I think it just can help to give that motivator to continue to push in. And you meet, you meet some great people all in different stages of the journey. You've got people just starting, people who have scaled for years now. So So I think meeting people at all levels of the spectrum, it really helps. And you know, you can find help, and you can also be that help for someone else. But I think, yeah, the live connection is just, is just something that's really, really helpful to just kind of continue to give you that motivation, continue to to make you want to, want to carry on and know that, you know, there's, there's a bunch of people out here that are on the same path, and, yeah, there's definitely power in numbers when it comes to stuff like that. Yeah, it really does make it real. It brings it to life. And I imagine it's like, when you were playing football, you know, if you were, if you were told every single morning you had to go and just train on a field, on your own, in the cold, in the rain, and you never had teammates around you, there would be like, there's no camaraderie, there's no team spirit, there's no like, competitiveness. It's just like, Well, I'm just on my own. I'm just relying on Soul willpower. And I think if you bring that into entrepreneurship, you're like, standing there working on a desert island on your own. Is it can be incredibly lonely. You second guess yourself constantly. And I think, yeah, your example there of actually not just getting inspired by others, but you helping others who maybe are on their first step, and you're passing down the ladder and showing them, hey, look, here's how I did those steps. And before you know it, they're making sales too. They're up and running. So talking of making sales, getting your business up and running. But let's dive into some numbers if we can. So from when you started taking action on the program and you actually started following the dropship unlocked program, how long did it take you to make your first sale? And what was that moment like? Talk us through it. So, so since properly working on the business from scratch, I've done little bits here and there, like I said, But, but I started completely again from, I'd say the beginning, the beginning of the year, maybe February is when I started, you know, properly dedicating time daily, putting it into my schedule. You know, once it's in the schedule, it's gonna, it's definitely gonna get done, and get done to a to a high level. So I think once I'd done that, it was about three months till my first sale. Yeah, so my ad campaign at the end of April, I think it was April 27 Yeah. So I launched the ad campaign. Set up everything I've been saying it up for about a week, just making tweaks here and there. And then our I actually got my first sale, yeah, which was, which I was very grateful for, obviously, that that first piece of the ads running, I was just expecting to to capture data. And you know, you know, you never, you never know what will come from these things. So not speculating too much, you know, just seeing what will come from it. And then, yeah, within that first hour, I got a sale, and then the next day, I got another sale, and it's been growing since then. So it's been, I'm very, very grateful for sales and for it coming so quickly. That's incredible. So within an hour of saying your ad campaign live, you made a sale. Can you talk us through what? What did that feel like? Was that the first time you'd made any money online? And talk us through, because that's a big jump for a lot of people who maybe don't think that this is real, and then an hour later, they're making money online, and have been ever since. Talk us through. What that felt like. Where were you? Um, I was just downstairs in my living room. It wasn't the first time that I made money online. But I think the thing that made this feel a bit more gratifying was the fact, you know, the the building process of it, the building of of an actual, an actual sustainable business, and making a sale on your own platform, compared to another E commerce platform like eBay or like Amazon, feels feels very different, because you feel like you've really gone out and got that sale driven that traffic, you've made that sale, and it feels a bit more real. But yeah, that that feeling, I think, is a feeling that will stay with me, that, I think, yeah, that first sale feeling, I don't think there's, there's a feeling like it, because you get, you get instantly, kind of that proof of concept that that can work, you know, during during that period of building and. Everything you know you're building things for 345, months and and it's, it's not the moment you know when, when you're making tweaks to the website. It's not that moment that you're, you're doing it all for. But you still have to find joy in doing that. You know, not every time you hit the stone can the stone break, you know. But you have to know that with each hit, you're, you're going, you're going somewhere. So you have to have faith in that, and be present in that, and enjoy that process as it is. I think that's one of the most important things, is enjoy the process and the and the exact step that you're at. It's so easy to look forward. And of course, you know you're going to look forward to the goals that you have. And I was looking forward when I'm calling supplier to that sale that they're going to make and uploading products, blah, blah, blah, but you have to still put your full effort and attention in that moment, because you'll think of your attention is always elsewhere. Then you never really give that moment the the dedication and the care that it it needs. And I think when you focus on that process, focus on that present moment, I think the outcome takes care of itself. So once I set the ad live, you know, I'm in the process of setting the ad live, of course, I'm thinking, What will this be? What? But it's all speculation. You know, you can add, you can end that month with no sales, you can end that month with 60 sales. You don't know. So I think speculation is, is great, but I think it's, it's best to just kind of be present in the moment, see what will come from it, and what will come from it will be and ask fortunate enough in that moment, you know you make the sale, but then you know it's done, and it's it's on to the next building phase. There's still a lot of work to do, but, but massively grateful and massively happy with with that first sale. But yeah, I just saw it as first of many, and let's keep pushing now, 100% Yeah, it's very, very wise words. Mason, you're right. That first sale moment is confirmation of the work that you put in to get to that point, but all of the work behind the scenes is what is really the journey to get to you to that first sale. And of course, you were driven committed as soon as you had the first sale, you're looking onwards to think, how can we make this consistent now? So I'm keen. After that first sale came through a few months ago, what are your total sales to date? As we talk today, we just passed 70,000 pounds. This once again, really, really grateful for for the growth it's seen. And yeah, that's amazing. And from that 70,000 pounds, then what's your What are your kind of typical average product prices like, if you got your An order came through today, what's it likely to be valued at? For you? Do you know your average order value? Sort of value at the moment? It's about 700 pounds. Amazing. 707 50. That's incredible. So 750 pounds on a single sale, just out of interest, if I said to you, you know, at the beginning and you were thinking about launching a drop shipping business, would it be harder to sell a product for 25 pounds on a Shopify store, or a product for 750 pounds? Would you have believed that it wouldn't take much difference for you, and that both of them would end up in a sale coming through, but one could be worth significantly more in profit. Is that, is that a concept that you kind of understood from the from the get go? Or did that take a little while to get your head around way in which it was explained in the course and the way in which the numbers were broke down? It makes sense. But I think before, when you're just initially hearing the numbers, of course. You know, it can be hard to believe that it requires a similar amount of effort, or or the same, same amount of effort to get to get those two cells with such a difference in in numbers, of course. So, yeah, I think it is definitely something that is quite surprising, and I think you can only really understand it once you've experienced it, and you go through it, and you, you know. And the course, I think, lays that out perfectly in the explanation of how, how it works, and how, how you can really optimize that, yeah, incredible work. It sounds like you hit the ground running with it, and you've got a great average order value, making great sales. I mean, that's where you're at now, in such a short space of time, you're someone who doesn't mess around and and you didn't have any business experience in E commerce before. I'm guessing this wasn't, this wasn't something that you'd done previously in this way, not not in this, in this model, as this sustainable I've had other other ventures, but not so much e commerce based. Okay, awesome. Well, looking ahead, then from now, what do you think the success of your E commerce business is going to change about things for you in everyday life, like, how's it? Because you mentioned one of your goals from this was freedom. So what is this going to enable you to do long term? How does this align with that goal for freedom? It's just another thing that can help to funnel, funnel that freedom and build, build other ventures and just continue to work on this. I think it's going to be Trinity, to be even, even busier with the business and focus on, focus on another thing, but once again, something that I'm hugely grateful for. The opportunity to be even able to be busy with the business. You know, it's, I think that's a it's an opportunity in itself, to be able to be busy and to be able to have things to do and have a long list of things that you need to do and delegate. What it's going to do for me is just to to continue to work on that business, and it's going to be able to help freedoms in different aspects of my life and and it's going to be able to help other, other ventures and other businesses. So, yeah, I think it's, it's gonna, it's gonna definitely be beneficial to all aspects 100% now something that comes across, Mason, I'm sure a lot of people will be very motivated and inspired listening to you speak about where you've come from to where you are now, having done 70,000 pounds in sales after running ads for about five months or so since the end of April, five or six months so you've you've come a long way, I guess, to pull out a bit more about how you've seen that success, how do you think, or what are those key things that you would point towards as reasons why you were able to achieve that success, whether That's your mindset, the training that you've come across, the particular niche you've gone into. There are a few things that come to mind, that things that you would put point at as reasons why you've seen that success in a short amount of time. I think, first of all, the course, you know, I think it's something that, of course, without without it, able to see the same success that I have. So I think the way in which it's laid out, the resources available, the Q and A calls, the live meetups, the community resource videos, all of those things I think are massive helpers. And I think without that, there would be no no business to build it on in the same way. So first of all, I think the course, you know, is obviously a no brainer. And then I think, yeah, I think mindset, the way in which you approach things, I think, is hugely, hugely important. You know, speculation of of, will it work, won't it work as a natural human response, but you're not going to get an answer, a definitive answer of the truth. You know, after speculating, will it work? Won't it work? You're only going to find that out by by really going through it. So, yeah, I think, think, like I said before, going through it with with a mindset of really enjoying the process of it, I think it's so easy to get caught up in, you know, what it's going to become. And, of course, that's, that's what you're aiming for. It's not, it's not to not have goals. I'm not saying not to have goals, not to strive things. I strive for a lot of things. And I strive for for, you know, 10,000 pounds in sales months and all of these things. But do what you can do in that very moment. There's a there's a long stage. You know, it's a delayed gratification when you're building when you're building the website, when you're contacting suppliers, when you're finding your niche, when you're going through all these steps, all the all the steps that feel like they're never ending. You, you is, can be easy, maybe to be unmotivated there, or to to not do it with the same passion as as you would when, when you're getting the sales. But the reality of it is, is it's going to be it's no different when you when you are making the sales. You know, there's still things to do. So I think just approaching it with with a mindset, I think, you know, optimism is, is a, you know, a no brainer, but I just feel like approaching anything. I don't think the way in which you approach a this should be any any different to how you approach anything else in your life. You know, optimism, with joy, with enthusiasm, and the results will be the results. But really enjoy the process and enjoy, enjoy getting stuck in and enjoy, enjoy the building phase. Absolutely love that mindset, Mason, that's fantastic. The the concept of enjoying the journey will get you so far. I think you're you're going to do really well in in E commerce long term with that mindset. Because, like you say, it is the art of exercising delayed gratification, which isn't something that comes naturally to people, especially in this day and age of instant gratification, where there's like that two second tick tock kind of dopamine hit that's coming at us, left, right and center from all social media platforms to have the patience to say, No, I'm not looking for a flash in the pan. I'm going to build something sustainable, something long term, something that builds a future of freedom for me, not just in six months, but over the course of the next 10 years. So you mentioned that the elements of the training have really helped you and guided you to get your business up and running. But regarding the community, because, as you know, there's hundreds of other people in the dropship unlocked online community, not to mention the live elements and the live calls, but the the community platform that we have is an extremely supportive place to be. There's hundreds of other people who, just like you, have invested in their future, are building businesses that create that freedom for you, Mason, what would you say has been the most valuable part of being a part of the dropship I'm not community energy in there where everyone really wants to help each other, everyone really wants to support each other, because everyone being on that same journey, or on that same journey, so they know how difficult it can be at times, the the slight tweaks, whether that's with ads, whether that's with the website, you know, just small, small things here and there. But I think just the. The way in which everyone really supports each other. It's not always easy, but I don't think you should expect it to be easy. Why would it be easy? You're trying to build something which, you know, not not many people build. You're trying to build a business. You're trying to build a stream of income which which can be incredibly difficult to do. So it's not going to be easy, but having the community, there of other people who have been through maybe that similar time, where, where it's it's more difficult, and have come through the other side and so so I just think the of people in there to help, the willingness to share what, what they've done, how that's helped them, I feel like there's a really openness to to understand it. You know, we're all on the same journey, and I feel like it's a no brainer to just kind of help people with that, because, you know, you may need help with with something along the line and, and, yeah, no, that leading with value is been embodied by Mason. I know you put a great post together for the community when you reached about 40,000 pounds in sales, and you provided lots of guidance about, you know, how you got to that position, and the mindset that you you approached it with, which is the sort of thing that helps people so much, especially when they're getting started. Because naturally, people are skeptical when they get started. They want to know if it, if their hard work is going to pay off. So I want to know from from you as well, did you feel skeptical before you started the program and what made you become an action taker and really go for it, even if you were feeling skeptical. You know when, when investing in anything you're going to you're going to weigh up the pros and cons. You're going to weigh up the risk and rewards. But for me, just the potential rewards outweigh any risk. You know that I could think of. You know, the biggest risk at that time was losing an initial investment of an amount of money. And of course, no one wants to lose money, but I think that the potential rewards outweighed that risk massively. I think the diligence that I saw from from the program, from the information that I'd already gained without even being in the program. It was a pretty easy decision for me to make, you know, those those those doubts or those thoughts, once again, you just have to weigh up the pros and cons, way up. You know, I saw the testimonials. I saw people making it work. So, yeah, I was, I was really just happy to, happy to dive in and go for that and and, you know, find out the result of what that was going to be. And once again, really grateful that the results have been been what they have so far. Yeah, it's a really mature approach to take to it and to just look at it and say, Well, yeah, of course there's a risk. But I think there's a risk with any business, isn't there? There's, there's a risk with anything, but it's the biggest risk of all is if you do nothing, you end up with nothing. You end up on the same path that you were on before, and if you weren't happy with that, then you've got to do something, right? So the biggest risk of all is inaction. Think people really die with regrets that they took too many risks, or did they try too many things, that they were too ambitious, that they were too bold. I think it's the exact opposite. I think, you know, people are skillful to take that risk, and understandably so, to a certain extent. But I think the for me, the opposite of not taking that risk, the risk of not taking risk, for me, was was far worse than the risk of of investing in a course. And maybe it doesn't go, go well, but to be honest, once again, I think the way in which you approach it is so important, because when you approach it with sense of fear, with a real sense of pessimism, it can only go in that way because you know you're when when you approach it with optimism, doesn't mean it's going to go swimmingly and everything's going to be perfect, but it means that you're going to be able to navigate things easier. It means that you're going to be able to navigate things with a more rational level head, and really just, you know, go through the program sustainable way, rather than necessarily, like a high highs and low lows, and you're motivated. One day you're not motivated, you know. So I think just, yeah, just remaining, remaining level headed, and just going through it with a with a collective mindset. Love that, yeah, an open mind and a tilt to optimism instead of pessimism, makes all the difference. Because I think a lot of people would come into the concept of, okay, I'm learning an online business. Maybe I haven't met the person that I'm going to be learning from in person. There's this inherent fear of like, you know, what? What if it doesn't work? What if it's not real? And I think if you come in like you say, with that tunnel vision pessimism, you it's a self fulfilling prophecy, isn't it? It becomes what you created in your mind. But the the flip side of that, like you say, is totally true as well. When you come in as like a sponge, ready to absorb everything, yeah, there might be some stuff that actually you think, wow, that's not that relevant for me, but because your mind is porous, because you're open to new ideas, suddenly you're seeing things from like, not just from us, but from all over, like you're out on the high street and you see something, and you think, could that be a good niche, or you see a website, and you think, I could be doing that, and suddenly you've got this influx of new information and ideas that you wouldn't have been over. Happened to or receptive before, because you'd have just glazed past it, thinking, Oh, it doesn't work. So I think it's all about the mindset, isn't it? When you're curious, I think being curious is so important, like you said, with the open mind, you know, be curious to what it will create. Be curious to what what can come from it really leading with that, massively beneficial to how things then go from there, yeah. So as you keep moving forward with your business, Mason, I mean, what are you most excited about in the next phase of your E commerce journey? Think you know still relatively well, very, very young as a business. So I'm just excited to to build it and scale it, more staff on board. Get point where it's running more independently, and just being able to take myself out of the business more to make some of those, you know, do the things that only I can do in the business most. Looking forward to just making it more autonomous, getting more staff on board, and then just, you know, the same things, with more suppliers, more products, optimizing out of this. There's so much to do, and there's always going to be so much to be so much to do, but I think, you know, that's kind of the beauty of it. It's, it's, you know, there's always things to be be optimizing, always things to be working on. So I'm just, I'm just excited for for that and the next steps, good, yeah, you're sort of optimizing towards enjoying the journey itself, rather than looking at these big goals in the future, it's more so just enjoying getting better by 1% every day, another mindset that's going to serve you very well going forward. No doubt, you mentioned getting staff on board is going to be a big part of giving you that freedom and taking you away from the day to day work. And how close are you at the moment to hiring a virtual assistant for your E commerce business? Close. I mean, I've been, been looking at a few applicants, and been been been working on a few things here and there. So, yeah, very, very close. I think once, once that that's on board, and we get that progress, then I think it's going to be something that's that's only going to help the business and be able to be able to grow it once. You know, when I was first launching and first starting, there were obviously day to day tasks, but in terms of dealing with customers, that was very minimal, but, but now it's at a point where we justify getting some stuff on board to to help with that and and letting that take its course absolutely. Yeah, you're just reaching that phase now where you put a lot of work into get the business rolling, and that snowball of momentum is firmly rolling now, without you needing to push it so much every day, and then when you bring in a virtual assistant, it was a massive moment for me to be able to step back from the day to day. And it's obviously it's allowed me now to have that freedom to live abroad, knowing that I'm not constantly required while working on the business. So I'm excited for you as you get to this stage, because where you are right now is where I was absolutely I was just so excited about getting a virtual assistant on board and really pushing it on from here. So how do you see a virtual assistant changing and evolving the business that you're running? Massively, I think what they'll be able to take away from the daily tasks, from me, you know, that energy and that time can be put into the real things that are going to move the needle with the business, and those key, key things that once I, once again, that only, only I'll be able to do, you know, whether that's, you know, contacting the suppliers, whether that's making changes with the ads. I think it will just free up a lot more time and energy, more importantly, to to be able to work on those, those key, key things for the business. So, yeah, I think it's going to be massive and and training them to to a high standard. And then, you know, I think once, once that gets on board, and then, you know, it's going to keep, keep spinning. And I think there's going to be more opportunities that come from more the time and energy than anything else that I'll be able to to work on other aspects. Yeah, fantastic. It's going to be a huge, huge relief for you, and you'll see a whole new level of freedom unlocked. So I'm really excited for you as well. We got some really in depth training inside the last week of the program, actually on that. So make sure you go through that really take out what you can from it, because we've learned from a lot of expensive and time consuming mistakes in the past of how not to hire, but also how to really streamline the process so that you just free up your time, which is the ultimate goal. So I just wanted to take a second to kind of imagine right now, it's yourself, Mason and the listener to this podcast. Maybe they're in the car, maybe they're driving to work, maybe sitting on the train, in the gym, out for a walk, walking the dog, whatever, right? Listening to it while they're having their morning coffee, and you're sitting next to them, and you are in the well, they're in the exact position that you were in before you made the decision to join dropship unlocked. So if someone's listening right now, and they're on the fence about doing this on the fence, about joining dropship or not. What would you say to them to help them make up their mind? Please say, go for it. I'd naturally say, you know, but, but I'd say, go for it, for for a lot of different, different ventures, because I feel like, yeah, the risks are definitely worth taking. But I'd also, you know, ask yourself, what. Type of person are you what? What do you want from, from your life experience? What do you want from the next 510, years? What are the most important things in life for you? And if they are, you know, building sustainable business, location freedom, financial freedom, things like this, then I don't think that there's a better opportunity than to then to join, but, but once again, I think you really get get out what you put in. So if you are going to join and be proactive and put your effort in and enjoy the process, then I I'm sure the outcome will take care of itself. You know, that's I'm a strong believer in process over outcome and and when you are really focus on the process. Like, I keep saying the outcome will take care of itself, but, but, yeah, I'd definitely say, say, go for it. Throw yourself in. Like, what is the absolute worst that can happen? Like, the absolute worst, worst case scenario, I still, in many aspects, think of failed entrepreneur is better than than not trying at all, because the the amount of skills that you learn, the amount of people that you'll be able to connect with that you may have never met. You know, the mindset shift that may take place in you. I think there's so many exciting things, and I think let that excitement and enthusiasm fuel you. Of course, weigh up in your life, whether it makes sense from a financial aspect, whether it makes sense from a time aspect. All of these things are so important, but, but once you, once you do know all your you're very sure, then then go for it, and go for it with a real sense of passion, with a real sense of excitement, and let that fuel you throughout because excitement and passion are really important. They're, they're great drivers, in my opinion. But I don't think they're the, they're not the things that really get you, get you over the line. You know passion and and excitement are good. Beyond that, there's something more important, which is the discipline of of knowing that, okay, I don't feel passionate today. I don't feel motivated today, but, but I understand, like we were talking about earlier, the delayed gratification, that I'm building something that's more important than than excitement right now. That's more important than what I'm doing right now, I'm building something bigger. So, so I'd say, go for it, and and there's, there's plenty of support as well. You know, it's not like you're diving into something and you don't get to speak to anyone. You know, you've done it. You're by yourself. There's support. You know, twice a week, there's Q and A calls, there's loads of people in the community talking. There's live events, there's extra resources. There's so many things to aid your success. The really important thing as to why, why I decided to join that? Yeah, I really think there's, it's a great opportunity. Absolutely, I had the same thoughts, you know, of should I go for it? Should I not go for it before I joined the master class? But hearing that, you know, hearing that and realizing that I had to think about what was more important, you know, the long term benefits or the short term risks. As soon as I shifted my mindset, as you did Mason, onto the long term benefits, it became a bit of a no brainer, because I knew that that was so much more valuable than than the small risk of the time and effort that I put into to go and build the business, something that we hear quite a lot from people that are thinking about starting Mason, is that, will it work? For me, I think there's a bit of a self doubt issue that a lot of people face. They're a bit unsure in their own ability to make it work. What would you say to those people that you know like self doubt and they're just sort of doubting their own ability to make it work. What would you say to those people? I think you know, those thoughts of self doubt, or will it work? Won't it work? Am I good enough? I think you know, they're thoughts that that nearly every human has about about one thing or the other. I think one thing that's really important is just remembering that that thought isn't isn't new, and not all thoughts are true. You know it's okay to have have self doubt in thoughts or or have these things, but I think just sometimes, it can be useful to create a bit of a gap between your thoughts and who you actually are. Just because you think something doesn't mean it's true, and just because you know your mind says while you're driving I'm not good enough. Does that mean that you're not good enough? Does that make it true because, because you thought it. I don't think so. So I think maybe just creating a bit of distance and observing, observing that that thought, you know it doesn't, it doesn't need to consume you. And you, ultimately, you know where your attention goes. Your energy flows. So when you give, give that thought your full attention, and you give it your full energy, and you give it, give it something that it's that it's not. You give it a truth and an identity that it's not. So I think those thoughts are completely normal, completely natural, especially in today's world. It's a it's a world that is is fueled by fear and fueled by those feelings, through a multitude of things. So, so yeah, I think just understanding that those those thoughts don't make it true, and those thoughts doesn't doesn't need to mean bad or good. It just is a thought that you've had, and then just kind of analyzing, is that a true thought? Where does that thought come from? Forward, you know, like that. But, yeah, I think they're completely normal and but. Once again, just doesn't mean it's true that you have that thought. So yeah, Mason, are there any interesting places or scenarios you've been in where you've made sales that have made you think, wow, I just earned money there, and I wasn't even thinking about business. Definitely, I think, you know, when I'm out and about, whether I'm in the gym or playing golf, and then I check my phone and I see that I've made a sale. I think it's, you know, so it's a great feeling, and it's a real feeling of fulfillment in that moment. And I think it just, just kind of highlights once again, you know, when you're really focusing on the process and the outcome, take care of it. Takes care of itself. You know, you don't need to, you know, at the start, you know, I'm refreshing the ads. You're you're checking things, but then, then after that, it's like, once you've built it, you kind of let it take care of itself, and trust that, that the ads are running, trust that everything that you've set up up until this point is gonna, is gonna run in the way it should. So, yeah, I think especially like when you're out and about and doing, you know, whether you're at dinner or something, and then, and then you, you, you make a sale, you make money. I think it's, it's always a great feeling. So, yeah, yeah, it's funny, isn't it? I remember my first sale. I always remember because I was at my job, and so it's kind of like a realization that I was doing nothing to do with the actual business that I'd grown. But you know, this money is coming through. You get a nice notification on your phone, which is confirmation of the work that you put in, but something a key theme that's really come across in the conversation today, Mason, is that delayed gratification and understanding that you know, you put work in and then you'll get the rewards as long as you're willing to wait. So do you think that's like a key theme that you'd like to drive home? Then in the conversation about delayed gratification and understanding that rewards are going to come after a period of work. Definitely, like Lewis touched on, I think, you know, we live in a world today where, you know, instant gratification is everywhere. You know, even take things like, you know, Amazon Prime. You can order something sometimes get even the same day, but definitely next day. So, so I think, you know, we live in a society where everything is very now, now, now, now. But I think it's really important to understand that things that that last the test of time, and things things that you want to build, I think it's important to ask yourself, what do you want to build? You know? And for me, it was very simple that I wanted to build something sustainable, something that could grow, that could scale, and those things take time. Four months is an incredibly short amount of time in the grand scheme of of business to build something. I've built ventures for a lot longer than that that haven't seen results in in the same way. So, so, yeah, I think just really, really being patient with with the process, and trusting that those, those rewards are going to come but, but it's going to take time, you know, you're trying to build something that not many people have built it. You're trying to build something that not many people will do. So, of course, it's not going to be easy all the time. It's not always going to be instant, but it's definitely going to be be worthwhile. And I think those, those things are so it's even more rewarding when you do make that sale, when it does start to go in, you know, it's like a mountain. You know, if someone just put you on top of a mountain, you'd enjoy the view. It would still be nice, but, but when you've had to climb that mountain, I think you have a whole different sense of appreciation for the top of it. Not saying that I'm anywhere near the top of my mountain. I'm still, you know, very much at the beginning, but climbing, enjoying those milestones along the way. Wow. Yeah, Mason, I've got to say, I'm blown away by the wisdom that you've shared today. You are I love the way you think. I love the way you take action. Your positivity is just radiates from you. It's fantastic to hear. I think your belief, your unwavering belief in yourself in the process, in knowing that things will work out if you put the right front loaded work and effort into it, with the right optimistic, open mind the fact that you're so your ability to enjoy the journey and not just focus on the end goal, which you know as an entrepreneur, is something that is almost like a mirage, and it never comes. So you have to enjoy the journey and the process. You are exactly the kind of member that we love having as part of dropship a lot. And in fact, that's the type of person that we would encourage to to work with this, because you're the person that we can help get best results. And I cannot wait to continue following your journey that you're going to do fantastically well. 70k in your first four or five months is amazing, and just continue that, that great work ethic, continue that work and really looking forward to continuing to support you and follow your journey as you go, Mason, thank you. Well, what an inspiring conversation that was with Mason. Great to listen back to, as well as being in the actual conversation as well. So many highlights of, you know, taking action and realizing his potential, um, on his journey to to building a successful e commerce business. So, yeah, just thoroughly enjoyed that conversation with Mason today. It was such a great conversation. Really enjoyed it. And to think, in what was it, four to five months, he's made 70. 1000 pounds in sales. That's starting like he is not messing around. He is moving quickly. And I just love the way he views the concept of risk. I just think it's such a mature approach. He's the way he evaluates risk, the way he does his due diligence, but then moves ahead and takes action in the direction that he's decided he's going in you can see it plays out in so many different parts and areas of his life. It's not just in business, but I think it set him up for long term success. So if Mason's story resonates with you and you're ready to take the plunge, remember, every successful journey starts with a single first step like Mason took, that's right, he was so keen to inspire people to take just one step and to follow your dreams rather than being held back by self doubt. So we make this as easy as possible with dropship unlocked, and you can actually get started on your own journey with just a seven pound trial for the dropship unlocked accelerator. So that's where we recommend you go if you're thinking, What should I do now? Now that I've been inspired by today's conversation with Mason. If you go over to HTA book.com you can get started with that trial for just seven pounds. Yeah, you're not only getting access to a free copy of my book when you get your trial to the dropship unlocked accelerator, but you're also entering into a supportive private community, which Mason talked about today has been so valuable in his own journey as well. It's your perfect way to get started and dip your toe into the water of E commerce. Are you enjoying the podcast? We'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment or a review, and we might feature it in an upcoming episode. And for detailed show notes and resources, visit dropship, unlock.com forward slash podcast. If you found value in any episode of this podcast, please. Could you take just 10 seconds to leave us a quick five star review on your favorite podcast app? It helps us more than you can imagine, and who knows, you might just hear your comments read out on the show. Thanks for being a part of our community. Your support helps us keep delivering new episodes to you every week. Now is that part of the podcast where we will answer a question that we've had in from a listener. So remember, if you have a question after listening to today's episode, and you'd like to ask it to us, simply comment beneath the YouTube video version of this episode, and not only will it be answered in the YouTube comments, but also it might be featured on an upcoming podcast episode. So that's exactly what John M has done. So I'm going to ask this question to you now, Lewis, so John has asked, What are the current best selling drop shipping products? Thank you for your question, John, and I totally understand why you're asking it and but let me try and reframe the question or the answer for you so that you can truly understand the way to look at this. So if you've ever heard the expression, give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, but teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime. That is very true of picking products when it comes to drop shipping. If I just said to you, John, hey, this is the product that's selling right now. Well, firstly, it would be super saturated, because everyone listening to this podcast, 1000s of people, just go and immediately try. Just go and immediately try and sell that one product. But secondly, it would eventually become a non best selling product. It would eventually run dry up or run out, or go out of stock or whatever. And at that point, you wouldn't know what to do to then sell the next best selling product. You just have to ask someone again and hope that there's some wisdom there that they can share with you. So instead of that, what we like to do is use a timeless way, so timeless criteria to identify profitable products that consistently perform well, that will give you a sustainable long term business. And once you learn that framework for selecting the products to sell and the niche to go into. The benefit of that is down the line. If ever you want to repeat and replicate your business in a different market, you can use that criteria again. And it still works, because it's timeless. It's not locked in what is trending right now, and so it ensures that you don't have to constantly be searching for the next big trend, trying to ride that trend until it dies out, and then asking someone again. So when evaluating drop shipping products, try and consider a few different criteria, and we run through all of these on a extensive YouTube video, which we can link in the show notes of this video, where I go through the process in real time. But the first would be search demand. Who is looking for the products that you're thinking of selling, is there a steady search interest of people looking and searching online for these products? High search volumes, so lots of people looking for the product indicates that there's going to be a lot of market demand, which is great for you, because if you're advertising it, you only need a small slice of that demand to make a full time income from your business. You don't need to generate that demand by trying to convince people that they want the thing instead they already want the thing. Makes it so much easier. So reverse engineering that we can also look at price consistency and the average price as well. So we try and target products with a solid average price point that remains stable over time and across different retailers. Yeah, so that helps us maintain good profit margins per sale, but it also reduces the risk of price fluctuations. So it means that, for example, if we're selling a product that in the talk today with Mason was 700 pounds, 750 pounds, we're probably making 30% profit margin on that. So that might be, for example, 225, pounds in profit on a single sale. So one sale a day. 225, pounds profit, several sales per day, then multiples of that. Now the benefit of that is that if everybody else in the market, the other retailers, are also selling that product at the manufacturer's recommended retail price of 750 then you're not competing on price, because competitors are not coming in and just undercutting you. So everyone's selling the products at 750 so now it allows you to come in and stand out in different ways. By the way, 750 was just an example. We've got members of our program selling products for 4000 5000 others selling products for 500 so it's up to you, but that's the key. It's finding that price consistency and making sure that the average price of the products you're selling is high enough for it to be worthwhile and to earn a full time income from just making one sale per day. That's the home turf advantage model. The other thing we look at is supplier availability, making sure there's not too much competition, but that there is enough competition to warrant the idea of going into that niche. We don't want a market where there's no competition, because there's probably a reason why. So for a full breakdown of how we find profitable products, watch the series that I released on the dropship unlock to YouTube channel, which will link below this episode or in the show notes, where I built a new drop shipping store from scratch. Yes, thank you, Louis. It's a great question, and that is a much more valuable answer than just listing a list of products, because with that information about how to test your ideas for which products to sell, you have a constant process to continually identifying products that are absolutely working in today's market, no matter when you listen to this episode today. So we've got loads of great content on the channel to check out exactly how we break down our niche validation criteria to find winning products. But crucially, we don't want to have to do that over and over again. I've still got the same store that I started when I first joined the dropship or not program, which is now over three years ago, and that's because I chose products based on the criteria that are going to be in demand for the long term, and I'm going to keep spinning my wheel to to find new products all the time. Okay, so it's time now to highlight a recent review that we've had in for the podcast. And we love doing this because we want to highlight people that are sharing reviews because we love to read them, and it makes such a big difference to the podcast. So a big thank you to our man, Dan, who left a review for us on Apple podcasts and Al man. Dan said, great intro. Lewis and James are a couple of really good guys with extensive knowledge in the E commerce and direct to consumer space. Great introduction to the podcast and looking forward to more. Thank you so much for your review. Dan really appreciate that, and very glad to hear that you've been enjoying the podcast as well. Now, if this episode today with Mason resonated with you, perhaps you could return the favor. Share this episode with someone who you know would benefit from it. You sharing this episode helps us grow our community and continue delivering you valuable content. So a quick share could make a big difference to someone you know. Thank you for joining us on this episode of the drop ship unlocked podcast. We hope you are leaving with new insights and inspiration to fuel your entrepreneurial journey. Now, if you're looking to kick start or even accelerate your E commerce business, head over to dropship unlocked.com forward slash accelerator, and sign up for your 14 day trial of the dropship unlocked accelerator, not only will you receive a free copy of my book The home turf advantage, but you'll also get access to exclusive training, live coaching calls and our supportive and amazing community of entrepreneurs who are all building successful businesses just like you, don't forget to hit that subscribe button for more episodes packed with strategies, tips and success stories, plus, if you enjoyed this episode today, a five star review would mean the world to us, and you might even get a shout out on the next episode. Thank you for choosing 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. You.