Chris Wane is a highly successful Entrepreneur and Online Coach based in the UK. His start in the ecom space was fast and big as he made his first $15,000 in the first 6 weeks of launching his first ever product. After a few failed attempts at dropshipping he has now been able to generate over $700,000 from his stores. In an effort to spread his growing knowledge, Chris is also a successful educator with his own Advanced Dropshipping Academy Course. We are lucky to have Chris with us to do an interview for Sell The Trend.
STT: When did you start out in ecom?
CW: I first started about 4 years ago but I wasn’t really that focussed on it, it was just more of a side thing. It was just over 2 years ago when I really started to put all my effort into making it work and then 6 weeks later I hit my first $15,000.
STT: When did you have your first big success/winning product? what was the product?
CW: My first big success came with one of the first products I launched on my general store. It was with a pair of cycling glasses and I managed to generate over $180,000 with that one product.
STT: How much did you make on your first winning product?
CW: The cycling glasses generated $180,000 in sales over a 4 month period. After advertising and product costs my profit was around $43,200 (24%). It could have been a lot higher looking back because my knowledge of dropshipping and Facebook advertising has grown substantially since, I definitely left a lot of money on the table!
STT: Did you buy any toy/toys with your earnings?
CW: Over the entire time I’ve been dropshipping I’ve earnt enough to pay off my car and mortgage so I’m pretty happy with that but I’ve never really been someone who wants flashy toys as such. The most expensive thing I’ve bought myself was a 3 week road trip from New York to LA. It’s always been a dream of mine to do a coast to coast road trip so that was really the only thing I wanted to buy!
STT: Were there any hard moments/times before you made your breakthrough that you would like to share?
CW: Yeah, all the time! It took 5 failed stores attempts to even make my first sale but I was really passionate about making it work so I spent all my free time learning everything that I could so I could be successful with it. Even after I started making consistent profits I still made mistakes early on. I lost over $3,000 in one weekend because I did something wrong within Facebook. That mistake is one of the main reasons why I tell people to learn how to do this rather than try and figure it out on your own. Having a tutor who can show you how to advertise the right way can stop you making the same mistakes I did and save you thousands of dollars in the process.
STT: I saw the awesome video you did on Sell The Trend. What’s your favorite part or feature of our app?
CW: I really like how you can see the orders trend over time and also what the actual value of the sales are. The interest targeting suggestions are also really useful for people who are just getting started because knowing what to target is always tricky when you first start dropshipping.
STT: What is something that most people don’t know about you and they would be surprised to find out?
CW: I was recently travelling back from Budapest and my plane fell 24,000 feet in under two minutes and had to make an emergency landing because of engine issues. Funny thing is, I didn’t have a clue it was happening. I was watching Two and a Half Men on my phone with my headphones in and didn’t feel or notice the panic that was going on around me until we were about to land.
STT: What does a typical day in your week look like?
CW: A typical day for me would be to wake up around 8am, respond to any emails or messages from my students, check my stores, check my ad accounts, respond to any Youtube comments and generally just complete any business admin. I’ve usually finished for about 12pm so after that I’ll either be on a few coaching calls with my students, focusing on creating new content for my Advanced Dropshipping Academy or looking for new products to sell to grow my business even further.
STT: What do you like to do when you are not working?
CW: I like to do very little in my free time so I usually just sit around and watch TV series or play a few games of FIFA on the Playstation. I’m a firm believer in giving yourself time to recharge so you can be at your best when you need to be, so doing nothing is a perfect way for me to relax.
STT: What is the most important piece of advice you can give to new entrepreneurs starting out today?
CW: Make sure you fully understand everything you’re getting involved in before you do. It’s very easy to be drawn into the big numbers you see people talk about but behind the scenes there is a lot of work and a lot of effort that goes into making it work. If you’re still serious about making it work then make sure you get someone to show you how to do it properly, whether that’s by enrolling in my academy or someone else’s, because it will save you thousands of dollars in mistakes if you do.
STT: What are you plans for the next 2, 5, 10 years… what is your future vision for your business?
CW: My main focus will be launching a few stores that I can brand for longevity rather than focusing on quick wins. I’ll also be looking to grow my academy even further because there’s something strangely rewarding seeing other people become successful from techniques I’ve taught them! However, the ultimate goal will be to get to a point where I can retire early. I’m only 31 so if I can retire by the time I’m 40 I’ll be happy with that so the main focus is going to be trying to create as many independent income streams as I can so I can enjoy the rest of my life!
STT: Anything new you are working on that you are excited about?
CW: I’ve just launched version 2.0 of my Advanced Dropshipping Academy which brings the content in line with the current algorithms of Facebook as well as my own improved strategy when it comes to Facebook advertising. I’m also just about to launch a brand new one product store just in time for Q4 and the big holiday season so hopefully that will be a nice little earner in time for Christmas.
Thank you to Chris for taking the time to speak to us. Checkout other interviews and features he has done with Marketwatch.com and Shopify & Oberlo where he talks about the success of his dropshipping business and his awesome Advanced Dropshipping Academy Course.
