Is FBA worth it? Should I Start An FBA Private Label Business? - a podcast by Michael Veazey

“Should I start an FBA business?”
QuestionIf you have/had an Amazon business, I really need your HONEST opinion. I've been sitting on the side lines for 2 years researching what I can about the FBA business. I feel I understand the process now and am seriously considering jumping in and beginning the product research stage.

My dilemma is that I feel I may have waited too long to start. More and more posts are complaining of the increase in fees, rules, and competition. My worry is that I will find the next potato peeler or bike pump or whatever using the same software everyone else is using, thus only delaying the evitable competition.Now I totally get there will always be new competition, but it seems the increase in the FBA business model is at an all-time high. And there's more frustrated posts with how to even be visible in searches you have to run constant PPC now (not just during the initial launch anymore), thus leading to a lot more time and money to barely break even.

I can't be the only one who hasn't started because of similar thoughts, or worse, currently going through the struggles mentioned.
The poster's Questions
If youhad never started FBA (but with the knowledge you currently have from doing FBA), would you start it today?
What knowledge do you wish you had when you first started?What are the biggest pain points of FBA?
Finally, are you planning to continue with FBA for the foreseeable years, or are you planning on shifting your business model?If you are planning on staying, what are the keys to success in your opinion?

Thanks in advance!My answers
*If you had never started FBA (but with the knowledge you currently have from doing FBA), would you start it today? *Yes...BUT I would do so in a more mindful way.

First and foremost - I would only do it if I could find a customer type I really cared about; a problem I was obsessed with solving; and a product type that I was equally in love with. Half-hearted or half-arsed is a total waste of time in crowded, competitive markets. And rightly so, btw. Consumers don't owe you a living and Amazon doesn't owe you organic rankings. You need to be good or go home.

Yes, it will take time to home in on your perfect customer, to deep dive into their issues; and to perfect a product for them. But if you aren't really committed to all three, I would just not bother starting. Probably true for any business model ever in fact in any competitive space (read - MOST!) not just Amazon or PL.
Get enough capitalSecondly, I would only do so if I could capitalise it properly. In theory, you could start with a
few $1000. And I certainly don't advise you to spend all your money in one go. But if I couldn't at least set aside/budget at least $10,000+ PER PRODUCT LINE, preferably a lot more, I personally wouldn't bother.
People will be frothing at the mouth at this so I want to clarify 1 or 2 key phrases/words:NOTA BENE:
1."I personally"- lots of people would do differently.
Fine. Go ahead and good luck. I'm answering Russell's question.

2."budget/set aside"- I
didn't say"spend all at once".
you should work your way into spendingmore money on some product line once it's got at the very least traction, at best lots of profits.

However I truly think it's tragic when I see sellers find a product that can really take off profitably but they can't fund the expansion. Yes organic expansion is a thing - but let's say you grow sales organically 200% a year ...from
$20K a year...it's going to take YEARS to reach critical mass. Meanwhile your competition is funding it properly...do the math, as you say in the States.
*What knowledge do you wish you had when you first started?*How long have you got? The above points most importantly.
Also -proper training in importing from China
- a partner who cared about product dev- a peer group of people who knew what they were talking about

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