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– A sellers focus- A sellers focus

– Should I Pay Sales Taxes in all states?

– Am I spending to much on advertising?

– Profitable Unique Products

– Things That can Kill Your Business

– The Race To The Bottom

– Wholesale and Private Label

Jeff Allen:	Do you have your arms around the money aspects of your business? Are you sure you do? Well, our guest today is going to bring you up to speed on some things that you need to know as an Amazon seller, in order to keep more of your money, or at least get you thinking along the lines of, “Hey, this is something I need to pay a little bit more attention to.”
	From the West Coast to the world, this is FBA Millionaires.
[00:00:30][00:01:00]	Welcome to FBA Millionaires. So glad you could make it back in. This is Jeff Allen and, uh, we’re looking forward to a great program today, as we always do. And once again, you know, this program is really geared toward working with Amazon professional sellers to help you take your businesses to the ultimate level. For those who aspire to generate those six and seven figure incomes, and for those of you who may just be starting in your Amazon career walk, we welcome you too. We’re certain that we can help you learn a few things along the way.
	I’m going to goa ahead now and welcome in, our good buddy to the North, while I’m here in Southern California. In Northern California, my partner in crime, Mr. Will Moffett. Will, how are you? It’s good to talk to you as always.
Will Moffett:	Hey, Jeff! I’m wonderful, man. I am doing good. How are you?
Jeff Allen: [00:01:30]	I’m doing fine, Will. Thanks so much. And I know that you’re pumped up about this guest in particular. You been looking forward to having him on for quite some time.
Will Moffett:	Oh, yes. Um, because, you know, the- the- the magic is in the numbers.
Jeff Allen:	That’s right.
Will Moffett:	And your accountant should know, should know the, uh, the good stuff, the sweet spots. We- we should be hitting them to make that profit. So, we got, uh, Jake.
Jeff Allen:	Jake Jaquint, is that right?
Jake Jaquint:	That’s correct. How you guys doing today?
Jeff Allen: [00:02:00]	Jake, we’re doing fine, man. It’s nice to have you in and, Will, again, uh, I have to commend you. I don’t know how you source these guests. I know many of these, uh, folks that you’ve had a chance to meet in the past. And from all indications, from the notes and from all of the- the- the conversations you and I have had, Jake is going to be among one of those guests on our list of guests that really we should consider, and I hope that all of our listeners consider, is a, uh, do not miss, a can’t miss guest on this program.
[00:02:30] Will Moffett:	Definitely. Yeah. Jake has been our accountant for some time. And Jake, uh, it’s always a pleasure to speak with you and definitely, right now, get to, uh, hear your insight and share it with the world.
Jake Jaquint:	Well, I’m excited, uh, to be on the podcast today, guys. And, um, I- I look forward to, uh, sharing some of my experience with, uh, your listeners.
Will Moffett:	Well, let’s dig right into it. Tell us a little bit about your accounting career and your experience with helping Amazon sellers.
[00:03:00] Jake Jaquint:[00:03:30]	Yeah, so, um, I started off around 12 years ago, now, back in 2005, and, um, my company is called Cash Is King CNY. And it’s funny as Jeff was talking about the introduction and as you were alluding to, Will, at the end of the day, it’s all about how much money are we putting in our pockets. And when people ask me, “What is Cash Is King mean?” I always say, “Would you rather have cash or would you rather have your inventory names on warehouse?” Well, I think we’d all say, “We’d like to have cash in our pockets, right?”
Jeff Allen:	Well, that’s- that’s stinkin’ right, that’s for sure. (laughs)
Will Moffett:	(laughs) Love it.
Jake Jaquint:	So, you know, for people who are financial gurus, they’ve heard that term before, so I said, you know, “This is perfect. This is what my business is about here.” About helping people actually not only sell a lot, have a lot of revenue like Jake … Jeff said, but actually make money at the end of the day. Money that we can put into our pocket and spend on ourselves and our families.
[00:04:00]	So, uh, started off around 12 years ago, and the focus at that time, as it is now, is really geared toward online sellers. Obviously, Amazon’s been around for, geez, what … 20 years now.
Jeff Allen:	Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Jake Jaquint:	Um, and has continued to grow and I’m a happy Amazon shareholder as well, by the way.
Will Moffett:	(laughs) [inaudible 00:04:21] early, uh, Jake.
Jake Jaquint:	Well, I’ll- I’ll tell you why … Not that early-
Will Moffett:	(laughs).
[00:04:30] Jake Jaquint:[00:05:00]	… but I’m very happy with its performance, and very happy with my clients in turn. So, um, my business has been geared around about 80% of my business is based on e-commerce sellers. And, obviously, in the e-commerce world, uh, if you’re not selling on Amazon, you know, it’s a, it’s a rarity. So, most of my clients are selling on Amazon, and, uh, I try to help them look at their numbers and understand, hey, where are they spending their money? Where can they make more money? How to deal with issues like taxes and- and- and FDA fees, and- and advertising fees on Amazon. So, this is what I do, all day, every day, and I love it.
Jeff Allen:	Hey, Jake. You know, you talk about 80% of your business is really being, uh, e-commerce in that space. Have you experience other industries generating the kind of cash flow that Amazon-based businesses do?
Jake Jaquint: [00:05:30][00:06:00]	You know, uh, there are some that are out there, but really what it is with Amazon, is they’ve allowed the individual to jump in at a very low cost, to get into the industry of selling something, um, so they’ve been very unique, Jeff, in allowing just, almost anybody. And really, when you talk to my clients, they- they start off with an idea of one or two products and that was it, and then they just suddenly blossomed. In some cases, in the good cases, they blossomed into the people that are, are the listeners of this podcast, the people who want to become the FBA Millionaire, who are netting, you know, six, seven figures a year. Um, so, it’s very rare, Jeff, that there’s other industries that allow people to get on board and up and selling and making money as quickly as Amazon allows people to do.
[00:06:30]	Now, there’s some cost with that, obviously, to do business with Amazon, but, uh, they’ve made it easy for people to get in and stuck to those people, those, uh, FBA-ers out there, to make of it what they will.
Will Moffett:	Got it. And I’m- I’m just curious, I’m very curious, Jake, and, um, what is the next best thing, you would say? Um, next to Amazon.
Jake Jaquint:	(laughs).
Will Moffett:	We all want to know. We’re always searching.
Jake Jaquint:	In terms of e-commerce, Will?
Will Moffett: [00:07:00]	Whether e-commerce or anything that, uh, that- that- that could be done that is just as, um, lucrative to get in, um, as Amazon.
Jake Jaquint:	You know, it- it- it, that’s (laughs)-
Will Moffett:	(laughs).
Jake Jaquint:	That’s tough. You know, it’s-
Will Moffett:	Spill the beans, Jake. Come on. No, I’m playing. (laughs)
Jake Jaquint: [00:07:30]	(laughs) Listen, unless you’ve got some great patented idea out there, you’ve got to have a lot of capital, a lot of cash, and- and the start-up to get into a, uh, let’s just say a run of the mill business, where you’re either a brick and mortar or you’re trying to sell online by yourself, it’s tough. You know, you gotta go to someone like an Ebay, or a Walmart, or Jet, but to, it’s difficult. Amazon really does make it the easiest out of all of them, and it is quick. So, if you want to get into business tomorrow, you can on Amazon. That’s the great part about it. I think that’s what allures a lot of my clients to Amazon.
Will Moffett:[00:08:00]	Makes total, total sense, and I know out of all the businesses I’ve started, (laughs) I would have to say Amazon was the fastest, cheapest, easiest to en- enter into. So, I guess, to piggy-back on that, out of your experience, how many Amazon sellers would you say are actually failing versus the ones that are actually making a profit?
Jake Jaquint:[00:08:30] [00:09:00]	That’s a great, great question., and, uh, I think it’s important. And I consider making money as, “an you actually support yourself from your Amazon business,” not just, “Are you breaking even and, you know, your spouse or your significant is flipping the bills for your, for your house?” So, for the people who are really making a living and this is their sole source of income, I’d say it’s probably 50% and that might seem low, but a lot of people get in there, and they start up, and they’re doing real well in sales, but they’re just not generating enough net income, money that they can put into their pocket to actually support themselves out there. And that’s where, you know, a lot of people come to me and say, “Hey, I’ve been selling on Amazon. I sell, you know, $500,000 a year on Amazon, but I’m not making any money. Can you help me identify why?” And, um, yeah, I’d say it’s- it’s around 50/50 out there. It’s those who understand their cost structure, make a great success of themselves.
Jeff Allen: [00:09:30][00:10:00]	I, you know, and- and- and to that point, Jake, you know, this is kind of that point of the program, where the rubber meets the road a little bit here. You know, you talk … You threw a number out, $500,000, generating $500,000 in revenue, and that could be just a hypothetical, but, I mean, do you run into situations where … You know, the $500,000 for most people in- in America, that’s pretty good money, but when you think about it in terms of revenue, you’re not thinking about it in terms of actual profit. When you see stuff like that and someone says, “I’m just not making any money,” and they’re bringing $500,000 in, is this a common problem and is there something that people can, or things that people can usually do to take and turn that situation into a profitable one?
Jake Jaquint:	Yeah, it is a common problem, and yes, typically, when they come on board and I’m working with them, I can help them identify where they’re … the missteps they’re taking-
Jeff Allen:	Yeah.
Jake Jaquint:	… let’s put it that way, Jeff. The missteps that they’re taking and that it’s not a lot allowing them to make money at that point, net income, money they put in their pocket.
Jeff Allen:	Right.
[00:10:30]Jake Jaquint:[00:11:00]	So, and- and- and it’s- it’s very typical. They get involved and, I think what happens is, is people start up and they start up quickly, like Will said this was very quick and easy to get into with Amazon. And they start selling and there’s so many people out there in the Amazon world, so to speak, offering their advice in these chat rooms, in these forums, and podcasts like this, where they’re getting advice one what they need to do. And what I find is a lot of people go out there and are subscribing to all these different groups, paying money to be involved. They get caught up in, you know, uh, uh, sponsored products advertising through Amazon. The next thing you know; they’re selling a lot; they feel great about themselves; but when they go to pay the bills, they’re like, “Where’s the money? It’s not in my bank account, today.” So, it’s a very common problem, um, that I see out there.
[00:11:30]	It’s really the number one problem. People start up; they’re not business savvy; they’re not accountants; they’re not really great with numbers; so they’re coming to- to Cash Is King for a reason, and- and typically that’s the reason. They get off the ground; they’re skyrocketing; they’re doing very well; but they just don’t realize how much money they’re spending; or that they’re not charging enough for their product. It is a, it’s a very common problem.
Jeff Allen:[00:12:00]	Well, that’s one of those things that it just, it would keep me up at night to think, “Wow! Look at this. I actually can generate, you know, I can generate, you know, five or six figures a month in sales, whatever the case may be, and yet, I’m not putting any of it in the bank. I’m just taking and paying bills, and paying for that inventory, and all the Amazon fees, and that’s all that there is to it.
	Jake Jaquint joins us today on FBA Millionaires with Will Moffett and, yours truly, Jeff Allen. And Jake is, uh, is- is an accountant who specializes in working with e-commerce businesses. What you feel, Jake, uh, that Amazon sellers need to focus on to grow their business?
Jake Jaquint:[00:12:30] [00:13:00]	You know, I think the biggest thing that they need to focus on, and this is difficult, and Will has a lot of experience in this as well, is finding the right products to sell. You know, one thing that people do is they get into this, they want to sell a product that they think is going to be quick and easy, and that everyone needs, but the more crowded that space is, meaning the more other Amazon sellers are selling a similar product, the tougher it becomes for you. You know, you gotta start lowering prices; you gotta start advertising more; so I always tell people that you got to find someway to find products that are in a less crowded arena, in which the more uniqueness to them, so to speak, because that’s where you’re really going to make money.
	I- I can tell you, my best selling … Well, let’s put it this way, my client who makes the most money at the end of the day, not in sales, but puts it in their pocket, they sell a product that they don’t advertise at all on Amazon.
Will Moffett:	Oh [crosstalk 00:13:22]-
Jake Jaquint:	A unique product, very unique.
Will Moffett:	That’s amazing. Amazing.
[00:13:30]Jake Jaquint:	And- and it just, all the money that they have just drops to the bottom line, where typically everyone else is spending all this money on advertising. But here it was, this one person found this unique product, Jeff-
Jeff Allen:	Yeah.
Jake Jaquint:	… and they’re, and they’re- they’re- they are a seven figure net income annually-
Jeff Allen:	Oh, that’s just a dream situation, Will. You know what I mean?
Will Moffett:[00:14:00]	Yeah. That is a dream situation. You know, you got me thinking, um, Jake, because I remember on- on one of our, uh, returns, we spent, I think, $60,000 on sponsored ads in one year, and I said, “Oh my god. (laughs) That is a lot of money.” But, you know, we were talking earlier, before you came on, about cutting off the sponsored ads. And sometimes, in many cases, you may be more profitable-
Jeff Allen:	(laughs)
Will Moffett:[00:14:30]	… by cutting off the sponsored ads. And in our mind, generally doesn’t say, “We’re going to be prof- profitable,” because we think that we always gotta be in front of people, we’ve got to have to eye balls on our listing and product, and this is the only way to do it. But as you said, um, if you have a very unique product and you’re not in competition with a bunch of folks, then you can actually be more profitable and be on the radar. So is it always good to be number one with the biggest product and the fastest inventory turn? Let’s … Maybe not, folks.
Jake Jaquint:[00:15:00]	Yeah, I think, um, what you said, Will. Psychologically, when you say, “Oh my god, if I stop advertising and sales go down, that’s a bad thing.” And that’s just human psyche; it’s natural for people to think that, but that’s where, I think, I spend the majority of my time with my clients on that exact question, because we look at, like you said, $60,000 and it goes what, $500 at a time, right, with Amazon [inaudible 00:15:20] products.
Will Moffett:	Right.
Jake Jaquint: [00:15:30]	It’s $500 at a time. So at the end of the day, you’re thinking it’s $500 and it ends up being 60 at the end of the year, so a lot of counseling that I do with- with my clients is, “All right, if your sales are going …” You know, I just had this last week. A great example. I was talking to a client, and I said, “How much do you think your sales would fall if you didn’t use sponsored products?” And they said, “Well, it’d probably fall by 40%.” And this is a client that’s actually losing money currently. And I said, “Well, guess what, if your sales fall 40%, you’ll actually make money now without sponsored products.
[00:16:00]Jeff Allen:	Wow! ( laughs)
Jake Jaquint:[00:16:30]	Isn’t that … It was just, you know, it’s- it’s the way … It’s very hard to grasp though. Again, your psyche’s saying, “Geez, I dropped sales. How can I possible make more money?” But it’s all about managing your cost structure. In some cases, Amazon sponsored products is very good and you want it and you need it, and it helps you make money. In some cases, it is a hindrance, so you gotta find the, uh, the happy medium, so to speak. But, uh … and a lot of that is not only, uh, the advertising you do, but the product makes, the client is making the most money. They are selling, um, products that are no longer made anymore. So, they- they are buying up inventory of- of items that are no longer going to be made or manufactured, and they’re reselling it online, so they- they have a very limited, kind of, competition out there.
Will Moffett:	Mm-hmm (affirmative). Makes sense.
Jeff Allen:[00:17:00][00:17:30]	You know the fact is, Will and Jake, that the- the truth is in the numbers. The numbers don’t lie. They really don’t, so it- it- it’s important here, I think, at the end of the day, to get your arm around what those numbers are saying, or get your arms around, understand what they’re telling you, and realize that you may not necessarily have all the answers, that there may come a time when you have to call in a pro, like Jake. Jake went, for example, and keep in mind, this is not a commercial necessarily for Jake, but people like Jake. There are people out there like Jake who are there to help folks who are in, particularly in the e- e-commerce space, working in that area to help you with your business, because there is a lot going on. Those numbers are coming from a lot of different places, there’s a lot of outgoing, and there’s only, you know … sometimes, in some cases, you may not see the incoming, and that’s when you need to get in touch with a professional.
[00:18:00]	My name is Jeff Allen, along with Will Moffett, special guest Jake Jaquint. And he’s the man who’s really helping us kind of, uh, d- determine, tell us what these numbers are saying and kind of give us some clues about how we can grow our business by looking at what the numbers are telling us and how to improve from the inside out and give us that opportunity to not just keep more money, but to actually make more money, put it in our pockets, put it in our banks. And we’re continuing our conversation with him when FBA Millionaires returns right after this. (silence)
[00:18:30]	You know, one of the biggest mistakes Amazon sellers make is taking out loans with sky-high interest rates that eat up all their cash flow. Don’t fall into that trap. If you’re looking to borrow money to grow your business, do it the responsible, smart way with Upfront. See how much you qualify for in 30 seconds, by going to upfund.iup. That’s upfund.iup. (silence)
[00:19:00] [00:19:30]	Hey, don’t forget, as we like to say at this point in the program, the first thing you need to do after listening to FBA Millionaires is to join the FBA Millionaires’ Club, that way, you can stay connected with everything that Will and I are doing and saying and planning for upcoming editions of this show. Plus, you’re going to receive free expert tips and advice on, uh, you know, ways to help you take your Amazon business to the highest level possible, and be the first to, like I said, receive all those important show updates, as we mentioned. Uh, also, too, and by the way, that’s, uh, you know, no cost at all. All you have to do is just drop by FBAMillionaires.com and look for the announcement there, where to join is it’s a very brief short little form that you fill out and boom, click send, and you’re in the club, and then we, uh, we confirm all that later.
[00:20:00][00:20:30]	But I also want to do, Will, and this is very important to you and me, and to- to everybody we have on the program, and the future success of FBA Millionaires, if you’re listening on iTunes, do us a favor, even if you don’t listen to us on iTunes, you can stop by iTunes, and, uh, rate us. Give us a, give us a five stars, if you can, if you’re willing to do that and if you’re willing to give us less than five stars, well okay, we’ll listen to you. We want to know what it is that we can do better; we want to know how we can take and make this show even more valuable to you, for you, for those that you care about in helping you to grow your FBA business. Okay? We want to be able to cover the topics, all the subject matter, have the guests on that are important to you and your careers, so please let us know simply by dropping in at iTunes and, uh, rating us.
	Uh, again, this is Jeff Allen, Will Moffett, Jake Jaquint. Welcome back!
Will Moffett:[00:21:00]	Jake is dropping some, uh, serious knowledge bombs, and, uh, it has me rethinking a lot of things and I’m pretty sure a lot of people are on the road or, uh, sipping their coffee, and saying, “Um, let me turn off my sponsored ads and check this out.”
	Yeah, so there’s a big debate, um, and a lot of people are wondering should they pay state taxes or not. What’s your thoughts on that, Jake?
Jake Jaquint:	You’re right, Will. It’s a big, a very big debate, especially now as the states are cranking down and wanting to collect the sales tax from people buying online.
[00:21:30][00:22:00]	Here’s my opinion. Yes, every state has a different criteria on collecting sales tax, whether or not you have to file sales tax with them, and you should follow those closely. Here’s why. People always say, “Oh geez, is it that big of a deal? And I know my buddy John over here, he’s not paying taxes. He hasn’t run into any problems, so why should I?” Well, here’s why you should. Because, when the government catches up to you, which they most likely will, they are going to get into your books and they are going to go back to the beginning of your company, the beginning of time, when you started selling online, and they’re going to collect tax on all the sales.
Jeff Allen:	Scary stuff.
Jake Jaquint:[00:22:30]	Some … Scary stuff, right? So I always say this, “Listen, if your tax liability is 5,000 a year, that’s tolerable. Pay that now, because if you wait 10 years, and you get audited, suddenly you’re going to owe 50,000 plus a fine. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t have $50,000 to spend today, not out of pocket.
Jeff Allen:	Right.
Will Moffett:	Yeah.
Jake Jaquint: [00:23:00]	So, I always tell people, “Look, the- the downfall later of having this big bill, your credibility out there, not only with people in- in the business world, but your community, is it worth it?” And I always say, “Probably not. And, um, you know, I would advise you not to get in there.” Now, can some people not pay it? Yes, they don’t, but, you know, one day they will probably come to regret that decision.
Will Moffett:	Yeah, I remember when we first started paying and I started seeing all these different states pinging these, uh, different sums of money from the bank account and I was like, “Ouch! Ooh! Ooh, California! Ouch, Arizona! Ouch!”
Jake Jaquint:	(laughs)
Jeff Allen:	(laughs)
Will Moffett:	(laughs) And so, you know what? I think after- after that day, uh, I pretty much forgot about it, so, you know-
[00:23:30] Jake Jaquint:	And that’s true, and there’s a lot of states out there, Will, that people don’t know about. Although, you might have this nexus, which means, you know, you’re either in an Amazon warehouse in the state or you have an employee in that state, the- the nexus is how they determine who pays sales tax, but if you look in there, if you- you- you get the someone who knows what they’re doing, the accountant firm that knows, uh, these sales tax laws, you’ll find out that in some of these states, you don’t have any liability, or your liability is so small that you don’t even have to pay it.
Will Moffett:	Mm-hmm (affirmative).
[00:24:00] Jake Jaquint:	So there’s a lot that people get all worked up inside over, and, uh, I tell them, “Go to bed. Sleep well. Uh, pay your sales tax. In some cases, you don’t even have to pay sales tax, because of your sales amount, and that way you don’t have to worry about the- the- the IRS and Uncle Sam coming after you in five years, and that’s when it really hurts.”
Jeff Allen:[00:24:30]	Well said. So, it’s pay me now or pay me later, and pay me later big time. And that’s something we should really try to- to avoid doing. And think about the long- term damage to your credit and any ability that you have later on too, whether it be buy a house or- or obtain funding for a- a, you know, college loan for your- your- your, uh, children. Whatever the case may be, you don’t want to put yourself in that situation.
[00:25:00]	Jake, what about international taxes? For a lot of FBA, uh, business owners, they are thinking about expanding or have expanded or are in the process of doing that, but maybe they don’t have all the information they need about international taxes and their obligations. Is that any area where you work in at all or have any kind of knowledge of?
Jake Jaquint:[00:25:30]	Yes, a lot. I do business with, uh, not only clients that sell internationally, but clients that are international themselves, who aren’t based in the US. And, yes, it’s the same thing. You know, it’s the same thing we- we have to be worried about, whether it’s, uh, you know, VAT tax over in Europe, or whether you’re dealing with the HSTGST up in Canada, it’s- it’s still the same. And my- my recommendations to you are still going to be the same, that you want to get in there, worry … Don’t- don’t let sales tax be what prevents you, uh, from having a successful business, so go ahead and register for that, and I can definitely help anyone out who is, you know, either based internationally or sells internationally. It’s still all the same, so follow the rules, is what I’d say.
Will Moffett:	Got it. So you can ac … Can you work with the VAT- VAT tax, um-
Jake Jaquint:	Yes.
Will Moffett:	You have ex … Oh, perfect! Um, very, very interesting. Um, so, what would you say … I think, I think that’s … Is that 20%?
[00:26:00] Jake Jaquint:	Yeah, it’s up there. Um, and- and- and everything’s always a little different [inaudible 00:26:08] you get out there, so you definitely want to talk to someone. You don’t want to forget about paying that.
Will Moffett:[00:26:30]	Yeah, so would you say, from your experience, um, I know that selling in Europe, you have that VAT- VAT tax; however, um, it’s less competition out there, so it would definitely be less on the sponsored ads; is it profitable? Losing that 20%, is it profitable over in the UK?
Jake Jaquint:[00:27:00]	You know, again, Will, I think that really goes back into, “Do you have the right product? Is your infrastructure set up to do that?” You know, getting the products out there, the shipping that is involved with that, um, the knowledge of what people want, is totally different. Right? I mean, our- our needs in the US and what consumers want are completely different in Europe, and so, you know, what works well here, may not really work well out there. So I have certain finds, in my experience, very few of them have been successful in taking the Amazon Euro or even Amazon Canada and making that really a profitable venture for them.
Will Moffett:	Gotcha.
Jake Jaquint:[00:27:30]	So, it’s one of those things where you gotta say, “Hey, I’m going to focus on this and I’m going to try to make it a winner.” But if you just go and post your products on there and hope you sell a few, don’t bother. It’s not going to be worth your time. I have many, may clients who went internationally and most of them don’t focus on it at all, and I can tell you, it’s probably not even worth having your products on the site at that point. So, either go in, you know, full force, or don’t go in at all.
[00:28:00]Will Moffett:	Exactly. Um, ’cause the same, um, energy and time and passion and work ethic that it took to make it in the US, we would have to apply that same work ethic in other countries, and I- I don’t think people understand that. So, you know-
Jake Jaquint:	[crosstalk 00:28:10].
Will Moffett:	… if you want to do business there, do business.
Jake Jaquint:	You’re right, and it’s difficult because, you know, buying habits are different in different places of the world, so it might take even more time-
Will Moffett:	Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Jake Jaquint:	… to really develop a- a product showing in- in, uh, different countries.
Jeff Allen:[00:28:30][00:29:00]	Jake Jaquint is an accountant and he is with us today on FBA Millionaires to talk about ways that, um, in his experience really, in working with FBA store owners, Amazon business owners to help them get their arms around their accounting, their books to show them ways that they can save money and that they can actually take and improve, uh, their sales and their ability to retain more of the money they bring in as profit. Putting more money in the bank; that’s what it’s all about. Again, talking about the truth being behind the numbers; the numbers don’t lie and people like Jake are out there to help you, uh, improve your business and really grow your business at the end of the day. You’re with Jeff Allen and Will Moffett, FBA Millionaires.
	And, you know, Jake, are there any tools, special tools that you work with, or that you recommend your clients work with, to, um, help those Amazon sellers with their accounting, in order to keep more of their money?
Jake Jaquint:[00:29:30]	Absolutely, Jeff. And this is really where I, where I think my niche is, not only in my selling to e-commerce, but I use a lot of different software out there, so, you know, for me, this e-commerce thing really hits home, because I’m using software with my clients to help automate their accounting function. And not only accounting, but there is like inventory and payroll, so there- there’s a slew of different software that I recommend.
[00:30:00][00:30:30]	You know, a big one for Amazon sellers out there, what they’re trying to do is get their sales from Amazon’s website, or from Ebay, or from whoever else, but in this case it’s Amazon, and how do you get that into your accounting software. And for that, you’ll hear a lot of software names like Logility, who uses or uni-buy software out there, or-or a cloud card connector, uh, who uses their connect software, uh, to download information from Amazon into their books, so that’s a big one that Amazon users, uh, are into. But it’s also going down to the inventory. Hey, if- if they’re actually manufacturing product that they’re selling on Amazon, uh, you know, I’m guiding them into, “Hey, you may want to look at this software out there.” Or if they got, you know, the payroll on-hand, “Hey, here’s something that might help you out.” So, I’m a big fan of using software, Jeff, uh, that’s going to make your life easier. So, I’m always about the work smarter, not harder approach.
Jeff Allen:	Right. Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Jake Jaquint:[00:31:00]	Uh, and there’s a lot that’s out there. And the individual Amazon FBA guy doesn’t know about these softwares, because they don’t work with them. You know, that’s where someone, an accountant or a bookkeeper’s really going to help you out. Someone who’s got experience, that they’ve seen the software out there, they’re using it themselves, and that’s where you can really, where I tell people, “Yeah, you don’t want to spend the money for, to help you with your finances, but that’s really where they start paying off, because they’re going to guide you in a direction that’s gonna help you cut cost.”
Will Moffett:[00:31:30]	Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yup. I remember when we first started and, uh, I was using HUB doc and that’s what we were able to send in our receipts, and I didn’t know about that at the time when I was first, um, starting on Amazon. I was like, “Cool! You know, I don’t have to have a box full of receipts? I can just scan these, take a picture of it, scan it in, and be done?”
Jake Jaquint:	Oh, great.
Will Moffett:	So, things like that, you know, guys, um, something that Jake can really help you out with to make your life easier and, um, get you set up for success.
[00:32:00]	Um, so, yeah, and I have another question, Jake. Um, so what was the biggest financial mistake you’ve seen an Amazon business make? Um, something that it may be common, or it may be something that’s, uh, very unique, but, um, it can really, really tank a company and something that we may be able to prevent if somebody heard today.
Jake Jaquint:[00:32:30] [00:33:00]	Yeah. I- I think there’s really two. One is, is if you’re selling one product only, you can really open yourself up to- to hurting yourself. You know, we’ve all heard the stories where Amazon will de-list your product for a period of time, right? Or withhold money back from you. Um, and if you only have one product, it- it can greatly hurt you or competition can come in with one product and really take a business that you think is going along well. I had a client, actually earlier this year, she was selling one product and then Amazon came in and found some loophole where it needed to be registered with the government for it to happen and they suddenly just de-listed her product and her business literally went away. So that’s one thing that can really kill you.
	The second thing is, and we talked a little bit about this before is, is the, is the race to the bottom. Who can sell their product the cheapest.
Will Moffett:	(laughs)
Jeff Allen:	(laughs) Yeah!
Jake Jaquint:[00:33:30]	You know? We all feel this whole thing. It’s that whole thing of like, “Ah, if I miss this one sale! Lower it 10 cents.” And then tomorrow you lower it another 10 cents, and it just erodes your profitability. And again, like Jeff had said earlier, you know, at the beginning, I think, which is really important, you can, you can have a million dollars worth of sales, but if you’re not making any money, what’s the point? (laughs)
Jeff Allen:	Yeah.
Will Moffett:	Yeah.
Jake Jaquint:[00:34:00]	We’re- we’re not in business to sell a lot; we’re in business to make a lot. So those are the two things. One product can hurt you if you don’t have a lot of stability there and it’s easy to penetrate, and then the other one is, don’t be the lowest cost guy. It only gets lower and lower and lower and you’ll find yourself out of business real quick.
Jeff Allen:	And by the way that-
Will Moffett:	That’s so true.
Jeff Allen:	It- it- isn’t it, Will? You’ve … I mean, I know that you, you know, have kind of had direct experience with going up against others that- that just kind of want to nickel and dime you all the way down to the bottom.
Will Moffett: [00:34:30]	Yes. I remember, oh, we had a very successful product and, um, we were selling it … at one point it was 25.99 and, um … Actually, we were like the second. We were like 21.99 and then the biggest product that’s been there for like years … It seems like the category was just there for years, and it was untouched, and then when I found it, I was like one of- of- of the second, uh, products that was in the little niche. You know, we were doing 21.99; it was going good for about, I would say about a good eight months.
Jake Jaquint:	Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Will Moffett:[00:35:00][00:35:30]	And all of a sudden, one person came on and they were selling it for 19.99. Then another person came on, it was like 17.99. And then I, and then I started seeing products that was exactly like mine. So I called up the manufacturer and I said, “Hey, hey, hey! Like, you know, I- I see you’re selling the product to many sellers.” And I said, “Right now, you have to set a price that sellers cannot sell your product under, you know, a certain price.” And they were like, “Oh, well, you know, in order for us to do that, you’re going to have to buy X amount of more SKUs from us.” And I’m like, ” Oh my god!” I’m like, telling them, like, “You guys gotta understand that nobody is going to buy if (laughs) you guys don’t do this.” And they were like, “Well, we can’t do that.”
[00:36:00]	So, what ends up happening? The biggest seller, um, I think he had like 4,000 reviews also. He- he went from 24.99 down to 14.99. Of course that pushed me down to 11.99. (laughs) So, there- there’s no more product and I never ordered again. And, you know, it’s just-
Jake Jaquint:	(laughs)
Will Moffett:[00:36:30]	… people and their 9.99 and there’s really no profit. So, yeah. That race to the bottom is scary, so that’s why, you know, we talked with Kevin King and, uh, I remember we were saying, you know, he looks at it, um, you know, the way we … I look at it like stocks and we cannot, we cannot have the race to the bottom. That sucks for everybody and it can tank your business, especially if you have multiple products. So you gotta rotate those products in and out, in and out. New products and, uh, make it happen.
Jake Jaquint:	Yeah, I- I agree with him, Will. It’s- it’s the race to the bottom and it’s a quick race. Like, you experience there. You had a great selling product and I couldn’t believe it. I was like, “Holy cow! This is amazing.” And like you said, it … as quickly as it came, it goes, so …
Will Moffett:[00:37:00]	Yup! Yup. So we gotta bounce on new products at all times. There is never a point where we should kick back, relax, sip on some lemonade, and say, “I love this business.” Right?
Jake Jaquint:	(laughs)
Will Moffett:	It’s like, no, because that- that- that product can be gone at any moment, so you gotta have a second, third, fourth, fifth … as many products as you can get going when … with the cash you have.
Jake Jaquint:	Yeah.
Will Moffett:[00:37:30]	So, Jake, I have one last question for you. I know we’ve been taking up a lot of your time and you got a lot of clients to take care of. And I just wanted to see, as far as financials are concerned, who’s killing it? Is it the private labelers, the wholesalers, the retail albatross, is it the online albatross folks? I know it’s … a lot of people have strategies behind each and, uh, preferences, but at the end of the day, like you say, cash is king and it comes down to what’s coming in the pocket. From your experience with dealing with sellers, what do you feel is most profitable?
[00:38:00] Jake Jaquint:	You know, that’s a fantastic, fantastic question, Will. I- I’d say that the two categories that I see the most success out of are wholesalers and private labelers. The one I would tell you that I have not seen much success for, and when I say not much success, I’m not sure if I’ve seen too many people really make a living off is the retail albatross. So let’s talk a little bit about the wholesalers and the private labelers.
[00:38:30]	One thing that I tell everybody, and this kind of goes back to your strength and avoiding the race to the bottom, is if you can create a private label and create a brand around that, where people just insist on having your label, that’s the best case scenario. You get a private label cost, so hopefully your product’s cheaper, and then you can go out there and sell it, and you’re kind of limiting yourself through a tax from other people, because you’ve been able to build a following around the name of your product, that private label brand out there. So, that’s really, in my mind, one of the best case scenarios.
[00:39:00]	It’s also the most difficult. Okay? It’s very hard to go online and to- to build a brand, where people are going to come back and pick you over somebody else. But if you’re going to really make money longterm, that’s really what you need to do. You can do that through a private label brand or you can do that through your own brand.
[00:39:30]	Um, and then wholesalers as well. Um, again, th- they- they can make a lot of money, finding the right products. I think what you mentioned earlier, Will, is very important, that you can’t sit on your laurels. You can’t get relaxed, and a lot of the times, you’ll find, your number one product today is not going to be your number one product tomorrow. So, like you had said-
Will Moffett:	Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Jake Jaquint: [00:40:00]	… you gotta work in and outs. You always gotta be looking for another product, another line of revenue. Um, so that’s why I’ve been telling you, retail albatross haven’t seen a lot of success. Wholesalers, I see the most success in terms of numbers, but the people who are really killing it, Will, like you said, the people who are cash is king people, who are dropping that money to the bottom line, are the private labelers.
Will Moffett:	Nice.
Jeff Allen:	That makes perfect sense to me. And, uh, Will, see, man? It’s validation, my friend. Uh, you are the man. Will over there, he is killing it himself. Uh, he is already, uh, had tremendous success with that strategy.
[00:40:30]	And, uh, Jake, this has been a great, great program. And it’s been so nice to meet you. I know, Will has spoken volumes about the work that you do and all the help that you provided him, and you seem to be doing the same for, uh, many Amazon sellers across the country. And I want to thank you so much for agreeing to take some time out of your schedule to join us and talk about this today, and we hope to have you back on again in the future.
Jake Jaquint:	Oh, I appreciate it. This is, uh … It’s fun. I love talking about this stuff. Most people find numbers boring, I find them exciting, so anytime you need me, let me know.
Will Moffett:	Yeah, yeah!
Jeff Allen: [00:41:00]	I love the kind of numbers Will and Jake, that show up in my bank statement. That’s all I’m concerned about.
Will Moffett:	(laughs)
Jake Jaquint:	Absolutely.
Will Moffett:	I want to laugh to the bank.
Jake Jaquint:	(laughs)
Jeff Allen:	We’re very-
Jake Jaquint:	Cash is king.
Will Moffett:	So hey-
Jeff Allen:	Cash is king.
Will Moffett:[00:41:30]	If you guys want to get in touch with Jake, go to fbamillionaires.com/accounting. If you do that, we’ll be able to get you over to Ja, uh, Jake and he can hook you up, get your stuff right. If your stuff is messed up and you think you’re a seven figure seller or a six figure seller, but you’re really not quite, um, he is the man to talk to.
Jeff Allen:	Very good. Well, there you go. Jake, we appreciate it. We’ll talk to you soon!
Jake Jaquint:	Thank you, guys.
Will Moffett:	Thanks, Jake!
Jeff Allen:	Jake Jaquint is the man. Hey, Will, any final thoughts before we sign out of here today?
Will Moffett:[00:42:00]	Uh, no. I- I just was very excited about this show, because I know it’s all about the numbers, it’s all about the Benjamins, and it’s all about what you can take to the bank. And, um, I’m just so glad we were able to get Jake on. And, guys, remember, um, you know, there’s various strategies out there, but really take into consideration what Jake said today. He even said some things that kind of got me thinking, things that I- I’ve actually never even put into execution, so these are some things that can 10X your company, 20X your company, um, and set you up for a bigger, bigger profit margin, so-
[00:42:30]Jeff Allen:	That’s ri … No, that’s right. Absolutely. It’s all about the payday. And, uh, Will, great find. Thank you so much, man. Good talking to you as always. And that is going to put the brakes on this edition of FBA Millionaires. Thanks again to our guest, Jake Jaquint. And don’t forget to check out his website, once again, or better yet, as you mentioned, you can go ahead, uh, Will, and give me that web address again. It’s FBAMillionaires.com/ …
Will Moffett:	Accounting.
Jeff Allen:[00:43:00]	… accounting. Very good. And you can find some information about Jake there. Now, if you have any questions or comments for us about anything you’ve heard on today’s show, we’d love to hear from you. Shoot us an email and all you can do … all you need to do is simply visit our website, you’ll find instructions there how to get in touch with us. You can sign up for the FBA Millionaires’ Club, once again.
[00:43:30]	And if you like the show, if you enjoyed the show, in addition to giving us a rating on iTunes, share this program, won’t you, with somebody that you really like, that you care about, maybe this is somebody who, uh, is getting into, uh, selling on Amazon for the first time. We would appreciate it. Share the love and introduce somebody to our program. We would appreciate that, and who knows? Maybe we’ll help them with their Amazon careers as well.
	From Will Moffett … I am Jeff Allen, once again, thanks so much for joining us. We’re looking forward to talking to you again soon.
Will Moffett:	Let’s kill it, guys. (silence)