If there is a business that made a mark on entrepreneurship, it is Amazon. Bezos took the startup from practically an online library to a company worth $1.86 trillion. This figure is gigantic by all means. At this time, Apple sits at the top with a market cap of $2.38 trillion. So, you can see how close that is to how Amazon was. Hence, when one thinks of a side hustle, an Amazon side hustle is just reasonable to think of.
Recently, we worked with a client who had the idea of starting a shirt printing business and selling on Amazon. That was in 2021. Printing on shirts was not a hot topic. However, what boosted his sales to an annual six figures is the one and only Amazon. Even though they took quite a good amount of his profit, it was extremely worth it.
So let’s talk about how you, the reader, can create a killer business plan for an Amazon side hustle.
First of all, you probably need a business plan.
The client above did not create a business plan before starting. His business plan was more of a practical application of his knowledge. However, creating a business plan is always a smart approach. Over-planning, however, is not.
Hence, aim to create a business plan but not make your life revolve around it.
Let’s do this!
Amazon Side Hustle Business Plan
Contents
- Researching
- Market
- Competitors
- Planning
- Business Model
- Operations
- Team
- Financials
- Timeline
Brief – What Amazon Side Hustle?
Alright, now that you are almost ready, grab a cup of coffee, a pen, and a piece of paper.
I’ll wait…
Okay, so creating a business on Amazon could be your gateway to a six or even seven-figure. However, you need to know what you really want to do. That does not mean you shouldn’t experiment. It’s the internet world, experiment as you wish.
Amazon has tons of ways you can monetize from. You can do as our client above and sell your product with your own rules (more or less.)
You could also use one of Amazon’s other business models like:
- Amazon KDP – Do you want to write books and sell them on kindles? That’s your way to go.
- Amazon Flex – Use your vehicle to deliver packages if you have time.
- Amazon MTurk – You can join this crowdsourcing marketplace to connect with others who need help with their business in specific repetitive departments.
- Amazon FBA – This is similar to our client above. Alternatively, you can just sell other people’s products for a higher price.
- Amazon ACX – If you’re interested in tapping into the audio world.
- Amazon Associates Program – If you want to recommend other products and earn a 10% commission, for example.
- Amazon Handmade – It’s quite clear. You craft a handmade product and sell it.
- Amazon Trade-In Program – Sell your used items.
- AWS Marketplace – If you’d like to sell your software.
- Merch by Amazon – You just put your design on a shirt, for example, and when it sells, they handle everything.
So the first step is to determine what you are really interested in when thinking of an Amazon side hustle. The iterations of what types of businesses you could create are numerous from the above.
For instance, you can sell handmade Japanese mugs. You could later make other products in-house and use FBA to sell your products. Additionally, you could write a book(s) about it and earn. Whatever it is, feel free to experiment! But first, let’s do the initial planning.
Researching – The perfect Amazon side hustle.
It’s the initial step of any project in life. Firstly, you need to do your homework to better understand what’s yet to come. With that in mind, it’s important to start doing your research. There are several ways you can do this.
You can start by using Google Trends and other search engines to get an idea of what’s trending. Then, you can look at Amazon’s bestsellers in various categories; they usually list top sellers per category listed on the website. These two steps will give you an idea of what is popular among customers right now and what trends are currently hot.
Market
Once you have a general idea of what’s popular in the current market, it’s time for you to do some research. This means looking at specific niches, comparing products against each other, and seeing what people think about them.
Thereby, you should also look into trends and how they’re developing over time. It’s important to keep an eye on what competitors are doing so that you can better understand their strategy and how they’re selling their products.
Competitors
This research is one of the most important tools you can use to learn how to sell on Amazon. They can show you what’s working and what isn’t, which products are popular, and how they sell them. If there are any gaps in your understanding of the market, you’ll probably find them by looking at competitor strategies.
Planning the ultimate Amazon side hustle
In order to make sure that you’re going about this in the most effective way possible, it’s important to plan out your strategy. This means knowing what products you want to sell on Amazon and why they’re a good fit for the marketplace. It also means knowing how much money you want to make from the business.
Business Model – Which Amazon side hustle are you going with?
Knowing how you plan to make money with your Amazon store is important. We’ve already mentioned a lot of options above. Hence, you need to decide on it and pin the option that you prefer.
- Are you selling products directly on Amazon or through a third party?
- Will you be managing the inventory yourself or outsourcing that aspect of the business?
- How will customers be able to find your product listings on Amazon, and what are some of the ways sellers can drive traffic there?
Operations – How will you run your Amazon side hustle?
Once you’ve decided on a business model, it’s time to start thinking about the operations side of things. As an Amazon seller, you’ll need to be able to fulfill orders quickly and efficiently. There are plenty of tools out there that can help with this aspect of running your online store.
Team
In order to run a successful online store, you’ll need the right team in place. At a minimum, this means having someone behind the scenes managing your inventory and shipping orders. You’ll also want someone who can handle customer support and marketing, preferably someone with experience selling on Amazon.
Financials & Legal
You’ll also want to think about the financial side of things. You’ll need to set up a business account and get your taxes in order. As an Amazon seller, you’ll have many different expenses unique to selling online. For example, if you’re using Amazon FBA, storage fees and other costs are associated with storing inventory at an Amazon fulfillment center.
The most important questions to not miss out on are:
- How much will this Amazon Side Hustle cost me?
- How much will I make in 5 years?
Timeline – How will you start your Amazon side hustle right now?
Finally, this is what I deem the most vital. Many people read similar articles and ended up closing the tab only to forget about this amazon side hustle of theirs. You need to create an exact time plan. For instance, you will start your market research tomorrow, then your competitor analysis after tomorrow. A week later, you will decide on your products, etc.
Create the most reasonable time plan that’s achievable in order actually to achieve what you’re looking for.
Investment?
If you’re low on cash and you think that you could agree with a friend or a family member on starting this Amazon Side Hustle, then that person asks for a pitch deck. Then you ought to create one that’s simple and to the point. I’d recommend this one – Airbnb Pitch Deck.
Finally, if you’re out of time and would like a consultant like me to help you plan this, here’s how long it usually takes me. Yet, we will have to communicate via email to ensure I have the time for it.
As a take-home message, whatever you put your mind to, you can achieve it. We’ve seen this with tons of clients. So go for it!
This will include a business plan focused on the above topics. However, I might get into further topics like future growth plans and marketing strategies. The full table of contents will be constructed via email beforehand.
Note: The financial model is not included, yet I can work with my analyst on creating that as well.
| Timeframe | 15 days | |
| Budget | $1000 | |
| Design | Included | |
| Questions? |
The Freelancer Behind This Service
Being in the business world, it’s not easy to understand the market. Hence, experts from all over the world are mistaken every single day. The truth is everyone is trying to understand the world of business.
Hi, I am Sabry, and I’ve closed work with companies that are valued at over $10m+ in various sectors.
You can easily contact me through my email for any questions: sabry@albusi.com
Finally, if you are looking for a different consultant, I would recommend you check this page.
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