Chapters

Summary

Karl’s encounter with kombucha was through his ex-girlfriend. He visited her new employer, which was a kombucha company. It was his first time seeing the actual drink. During his visit, he learnt that the owner was previously a winemaker. Karl also used to work in the wine industry. He got an idea and thought of making his own kombucha business.

Karl’s friends knew that he wanted to be self-employed. They pushed his back, and Karl decided to make his ideas real. He started by learning how to brew kombucha. He found himself enjoying the drink.

The first idea was to sell the drink itself. Therefore, Karl started experimenting to find his original brew. After three months, someone gave him another proposal. They suggested selling the SCOBYs instead so people can brew their batch of kombucha. Karl took interest and tested this new plan. He arranged a simple kombucha kit and tried selling it on eBay. After two or three days, someone bought it.

He continued selling homemade kombucha kits on eBay for a year. It didn’t make much profit. Karl decided to move to the next step and sell on Shopify. He said it only took him four hours to prepare the website.

During the first few months, he didn’t raise any sales. Then, he came across Google Ads. At the time, they provided $100 free credit if you spent $25 on advertisements. Karl decided to try it. He consulted with a Google Ads agent and started running some ads. The number of sales had increased.

Simon asked for more detail about testing his products. How would someone know their product would sell in the market? Karl recommended trying new products on eBay. If it sells on eBay, it will also likely be successful on its website. Karl also said he made gradual changes, such as upgrading photos and building an online presence.

The next question was about the lessons learnt during product-to-market. Karl said he found that it is better to try many different methods. If you try multiple things, at least one of them will work. One of them for Karl was implementing product reviews. He saw a 20-30% increase in sales by placing reviews on his website.

Another lesson was to do your research behind product reviews services and Google Ads services. Karl worked with three different services in the past. Karl went in blindly for the second and third services. They did not fulfil their promises. Karl also said not to implement changes during the peak season.

Next, Simon asked about Karl’s overall experience as an ecommerce business owner. Karl said he liked how independent you can be running your online store. He didn’t have to worry about the orders as he entrusted them to a 3PL (KeepSpace). Karl was able to take leave during the busy Christmas season. He just took care of customer service through a few emails and calls.

However, there are some challenges. You have to keep your business profitable. It is easy to watch the money come in, but you should keep track of the money going out. Karl also shared some personal challenges. One of them was aiming for the Chinese marketplace. The market size is incomparable to Australia’s market size. It has full of potential. Plus, China likes Australia’s products that use natural ingredients.

Lastly, Simon asked for Karl’s call to action. He encouraged the listeners to try out new things. Don’t be afraid. However, try new things smartly. Research first, and implement your findings.