Timeline — 2023-Q3

~67 posts. See [[../archive/pre-2025/_index]] for full text.

Key events this quarter

• 2023-07-03 — Store still down; started planning content creation (photos and videos for homepage, ads, social media)
• 2023-07-04 — Store back online; plan to finalize and launch together on LIVE
• 2023-07-05 — Offered one-on-one e-commerce mentorship: "prices start from 1,000 EUR up"
• 2023-07-05 — Content creation week: finishing homepage, shooting first content next week; "content is the king"
• 2023-07-06 — Final product arrived for the challenge brand
• 2023-07-07 — Addressed tough question about CPA, VAT, COGs profitability: advertising phase coming soon after setup complete
• 2023-07-12 — Responded to skeptic asking about past brands: "I haven't built from 0 any brand but helped scale existing brands!" -- cited velosock.com growth from ~4,000 to ~220,000 EUR/month in under a year
• 2023-07-17 — Filming day for content; ad scripts prepared; products for dogs revealed (pet niche)
• 2023-07-17 — Discovered one of four products is not good; will sell only three products
• 2023-07-18 — Instagram post from content day; announced LIVE about content creation secrets
• 2023-07-20 — Episode 5 LIVE: content creation for e-commerce; shared ad creation process and customer psychology insights
• 2023-07-20 — "We will launch next week finally with a homepage with ads" -- behind schedule but pushing forward
• 2023-07-24 — Plan for the week: finally launch the store and ads and start selling
• 2023-07-27 — "Today I filmed the best e-commerce masterclass in my life"
• 2023-07-30 — Attended a Shamanic ritual: didn't eat or drink for 36 hours, spent night in forest without sleeping; shared gratitude insights
• 2023-07-31 — Reflection on gratitude from Shamanic experience: "The biggest things in your life come when you have this gratitude"
• 2023-08-01 — Reviewed Shopify Summer 2023 edition; bullish on Shopify as platform
• 2023-08-01 — Announced email marketing setup coming (Klaviyo mentioned); teaching how to do it properly
• 2023-08-02 — Shared ads script formulas Google Doc from previous episode
• 2023-08-02 — Philosophy: "I like to focus on making more than spending less"
• 2023-08-09 — Apologized for delays: "some internal stuff" holding back the challenge; promised to return soon
• 2023-08-10 — Discovered huge Amazon/eBay demand for chosen products; decided to launch on marketplaces too (not just own store)
• 2023-08-10 — Hosted podcast with Ahmad Samhan: "From 717 USD in the pocket to serving 4,000 clients monthly"
• 2023-08-13 — Investment Fund announced: "We are searching for one e-commerce brand already selling tens of thousands a month... we have money and we have the team which can do all the scaling work"
• 2023-08-18 — Found a brand for the Investment Fund doing ~5,000/month; plan to scale to 100,000 in four months
• 2023-08-21 — Brand name revealed: Pawfinds; decided to launch on amazon.de; opening German account takes ~3 months
• 2023-08-21 — Mindset shift: "You can go after demand, not only create it" -- pivoting from creating demand to using existing marketplace demand
• 2023-08-29 — One main product failed quality testing: "if you sell something, test it!"; ordered new sample from a different supplier
• 2023-08-29 — Dropped CJ Dropshipping due to pricing issues; found new supplier with WhatsApp support from China
• 2023-08-29 — Strategy: one main product + 2-3 upsells; biggest challenge is AOV (average order value)
• 2023-08-31 — LinkedIn post seeking a partner for the business
• 2023-09-04 — Reflection: "There are 3 reasons WHY people are not happy: regret about the past, not being grateful for now, worrying about the future. I'm really stuck in third"
• 2023-09-05 — On mental health: meditation, morning walks with dog, basketball; "just live the moment"
• 2023-09-05 — On multiple income sources: "The first goal for everyone is at least one income source where you are not fully in... make it as a system"
• 2023-09-13 — New product sample arrived
• 2023-09-18 — Hosted Tax Strategy Webinar for E-Commerce Owners; learned need for VAT number in Germany
• 2023-09-19 — Shipping strategy revealed: dropship from China until 10 orders/day, then 3PL in Germany with bulk stock (cuts COGs by ~20%); mentioned swotzy.com for small-volume shipping
• 2023-09-19 — Shared logistics expertise: at 300 orders/day, FedEx made significant concessions; "they are fighting for every client in our region"