Starting Over in Real Time with Aimee Allen

This week, we get into some real time moving updates.  From purging, to selling furniture, and making sure my luggage is within Emirates weight limits, there is a lot to do and 1 more week to go before the big move back to the US.

On top of that I did some research on US and UK trademarks and what I found out actually upset me.  I have to switch gears in my initial trademark plans. 

Lastly, if you are curious about what my Amazon listing looks like, click on the link here.  And if you end...

I am back!  I have accidently been out for almost a month.  It was not intentional, but I didn't have have a laptop for several weeks.  

There is a lot to catch you up on since the last episode.  This week we recap what has been going on for the last several weeks.  Between Amazon trademarks, recording content, and finishing my last day of work, there is a lot to catch you up on.   

This week I share with you my experience of buying my company's stock options that I was awarded by company.  I had no idea what I was doing at first, but I finally figured it out.  I explain that process to you.  Spoiler alert: it was kind of scary to go through it, but I am happy it's all done. 

I also have 2 more weeks left at work!! It's going to fly by and there are so many mixed emotions around leaving. 

Lastly, there are 2 big announcements this week!!  Let's get into it! 

In this episode, I had to make sure my beach bags were ready to be picked up by the courier!  He was scheduled to come pick up the beach bags on Saturday morning, so I had a deadline to meet.  This meant I had to make sure all the barcodes were added to each and every beach bags.  I had to make sure all the boxes had the correct number of beach bags. AND, I had to make sure to print the correct shipping labels for the boxes.  

The courier came to my apartment on time and took...

In this episode, I face payment errors in paying off my school loans.  Then it was time to get the beach bags ready to send to Amazon.  

First, I had to print UPS barcodes for each beach bag, then I had to figure out what the Amazon storage limits were.  Finally I was able to confirm a courier to come pick up my shipment to send to Amazon!!  

This week we go through my struggles of self motivation, and making sure I find balance in life.  Saying yes to balance gave me the opportunity to test out my beach bag with my friends.  

Also I finally submitted my product listing to Amazon.  Next step is to send the 200 beach bags to the Amazon warehouse.   

Stay tuned! 

This week I share with you the experience that I had when trying to get Amazon product images made from a freelancer I found on Fiverr.  It was not a good experience so I walk you through the entire thing.

I will also share with you on the Instagram page link below the different product images the freelancer sent me throughout the rounds of revisions he had to do.  

Lastly, I'm about to spend over $60,000. It's scary spending that kind of money but I guess this is what real adult thing looks like.

It is True!!!!  In 8 weeks I will no longer be working in my 9-5 job!  It is both exciting and scary at the same time.  

This week, I share with you the list of things I achieved which made it feel like I was ready to take the next step. 

Goals to achieve before I quit my job:

1- Get my 10 year- Golden Visa for Dubai.  CHECK!
2- Do egg freezing and have my work insurance pay for it.  CHECK!
3- Book and attend all my important doctor's appointments and regular sessio...

This could very well be my last time going to the annual kick off conference for my company.  Things are up in the air this year. 

After getting my finances and other life admin things organized while I was home in Austin, TX, it's time to head back to Dubai and get back to work.  I am not ready for that. 

This week, we had to get ready to fly to Atlanta in the US for a work conference. 

From trying to shop for wintery clothes, to having an appointment for my MRI, getting the dogs ready for me to be gone for 2 weeks, AND... almost missing my connecting flight from Houston to Atlanta, you will join me moment by moment.

Stay connected on IG, as well! 

With the stickers and thank you card finally ready for pick up from the print shop, it is finally time to get to work on these 200 beach bags. 

14 boxes worth of beach bags have been waiting for about 6 weeks for this moment.  This weekend I sit down on my living room floor and start unboxing, unwrapping, and repackaging 200 beach bags.  I never thought it would actually take this long. 

...I might need some help. 

This week, I was able to get my product photos professionally taken. Thank goodness, because me trying to do it on my own was a big flop.  Not everyone can be a professional photographer without any experience whatsoever.  And that is something I learned first hand. 

I now have professional product photos to go through and it's finally time to get my amazon product listing images created. Yay! 

This weekend was time to get my side hustle Saturday on... but somehow every time I sat down to work on something towards the side hustle, I got...

I have three more steps to finish before I can get my beach bags listed on Amazon:

1- Get my stickers and thank you cards printed and re-package 200 beach bags. This will cost me $191. 
2- Get professional product photos taken and have 10 product images edited.  This will cost me $109. 
3- Pay for a freelancer to create my Amazon product listing images, which includes infographics, lifestyle photos, etc.  This will cost me $158 dollars. 

After these 3 steps are all done, I will finally be able to official list my products on Amazon and ship them to th...

This week, it was time to take product photos!  I give it a good shot by creating my own mini photo shoot set up in my living room.  I think it would work out perfectly until the photos were not coming out like I thought they would. 

I reached out for help and the responses I got were surprising.  Feels like fate. 

Check out my IG page linked below to see my mini photoshoot set up!

Let me know your thoughts or if you have any advice. 

I went to 2 different print shops to get some quotes for the things I want to print as part of my packaging.  

I designed a thank you card that I will add to each and every beach bag.  I also want to use my logo and create a large sticker that I will use as part of my packaging. 

I will need to print 220 of these two items separately.  I didn't expect the cost to be cheap, but I got two crazy different prices from the two print shops I went to. 

The first...

There is something that arrived at my front door on Christmas Day!  It was the best Christmas present I have ever gotten myself. 

Now it's time to do the following: 
1- figure out my plans for packaging 
2- get quotes from a few suppliers
3- figure out how I want to design my thank you cards
4- get ready to take some product photos
5- find a freelancer to design my Amazon product listing images. (That is a skill!)

Keep following the journey of starting a side hustle in real time...

In this episode...
- my mom shares her feedback on my new beach bag design 
- we talk about what my next steps are 
- we talk shipping logistic options
- we compare selling on Amazon vs. selling on Etsy vs. selling independently 
- we brainstorm ways to best kick start her business idea 
and more! 

And of course, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!!! 

May your 2024 be your brightest year yet!

In this episode, my mom and I keep talking about her business idea, but for some reason, I start getting into the concept of capitalism and sustainability and can't seem to stop myself.  

It was during this conversation with my mom, that I start opening up about thoughts I have had recently, but have not been able to express them out loud until now.  

How do we merge the goals of being an entrepreneur and being sustainable?  How do we ensure our own goals and dreams do not leave a negative impact in this world in...

In this episode: 
- I got the flu!!!  I was struggling the last week, so much so that I didn't have any energy left in my body to publish an episode last week.  So last week I took a sick week of from posting!  BUT WE ARE BACK!  We are on the recovering side of the flu now! Thank God! 
- My mom share her business idea with me, and it was definitely not what I expected to hear.   Did she just offer me a job?  I don't know... you tell me! 

Let me know your thou...

In this episode I recap my second and final week back home in Austin, Texas.  It was Thanksgiving week and after 8 years of skipping Thanksgiving back home, it felt good to celebrate the holiday again with my family and friends back home! 

Also, Alibaba did refund me my duplicate charge, but not fully.  Listen to the episode to hear what happened and how I had to fix it again. 

Lastly, my beach bags are done and now shipped to my apartment!!!  So exciting!  Time to keep going on the side hustle next steps! 

In this week's episode I recap all of last week, which was my first week being back home in Texas.  I love seeing my friends and family here.  It reminds me how amazing being home is. 

My but vacay is not meant to be all rest and relaxation, although there is some of that. The goal of vacation this time is to be as productive as possible.

I work on Alibaba stuff, which doesn't go well at all and I go scoping out older vans to be able to make my own dreams come true!  Luck...

In this week's episode, I am not in Dubai!!

Listen to know where I currently am.  Hint:  The flight was 16 hours long and I am getting to see all my old friends and family!  

I did get a little cheeky business class upgrade by using my stocked piled airline miles.  So worth it! 

But this is not a normal vacation! This vacation means time to really get my side hustle on, plus a whole list of things I want to do while I am not working my 9-5 job. 

More to come o...

In this episode I...

Share with my your experiences around hard times at work, maybe you also mentally spiraled, or are you also getting started on Amazon.  Link of my IG page is below. 

In this episode, I walk you through how I created my first Amazon Product Listing and also share some protips I learned from my research! 

Pro tips: 
1- The first 5 keywords of your Amazon listing title are the most important for your Amazon SEO
2- The Amazon listing title doesn't have to be grammatically correct.  It needs to contain as many keywords as possible. 
3- Make sure to enable your listing as "advanced view", so that you have access to the product description bullet points section to be able to add your bullet points. 
4...

After I finally got the email from Amazon that I have now been verified and I can go finish activating my account, I noticed that there seems to an issue with Marketplaces.  I didn't get the Marketplace I wanted, and I have no idea what.  I have to figure this out. 

Keep following the journey for what it's like to start a side hustle in real time! 

In this week's episode, I explain the step by step process of how to open the Amazon Seller Central  Account.  Have a listen if you are curious abou this process!
I expain each step as I do it in real time! 

My dog also had a seizure this week, which changed my work plans for the week. Oh and I got sick duting the first part of the week.  What a week! 

Stay tuned for lots more as we get ready to open a product listing next week!

Sometimes we have down weeks and sometimes we have really down weeks.  Last week was a really down week kind of week.  Nothing went to plan.  

We have all had these moments where everything you plan ahead for to keep the momentum going all goes down the drain and you’re left feeling anxious about it. 

I explain what happened and what I plan to do to turn things around. 

This is the reality of trying to start something new in real time. 

In this episode, I delve into the world of Amazon product inserts, those tiny but impactful cards added to your packaging. Discover the ins and outs of Amazon's strict guidelines for these inserts and how they can affect your business.

In this episode I cover: 

In this episode I deep dive for you everything I spent my money on so far towards launching this side hustle. 

Here is the list: 

Listen to the episode to hear what everything cost me so far! 

And if you have any advice to share, please reach out to m...

In this episode, I share with you my real time thoughts and actions as I make the official purchase for my first bulk order!  This day has been pending for a long time and we are finally at this stage. 

I also share with you the research I have done about trademarks and registering your brand on Amazon, how much it costs, and what it required.  The results make me question all of it. 

I also get my boyfriend's feedback on what I should do about trademarking my brand. 

If you have any quest...

In this episode, I give updates on...

1- changing the design of my logo
2- getting my official proforma invoice from my supplier for 200 units and sharing my new cost per unit
3- confirming on a shipping agreement with my supplier and how much it will cost me to ship 200 units
4- whether I need to hire a freight forwarder or not
and
5- making sure my bulk order will make it to my final destination! 
 
If you have any questions, shoot me a DM in my IG page linked be...

In this episode, I test out the beach bag in real time and explain my next steps for making a bulk order. 

Step 1: Get the invoice from the supplier to buy a bulk order of 200 units.
Step 2: Figure out a shipping agreement with my supplier. Likely it's either going to be EXW pricing or FOB.  Here is where I explain the different options.
Step 3: Most likely I will need to find a freight forwarder to work with.
Step 4: Get the bulk order shipped to my apartment, so I can review the quality of each ba...

In this episode, we pause the side hustle to recap my entire egg freezing experience.  From how I spent 2 years trying to find good, trusted Dr, to how the egg retrieval went, I share it all.  The goal is to help others who I interested in learning more about this process get started. 

I also answer popular questions about egg freezing: 
1- how much does it cost?
2- what are the hormone injections like and how often are they required?
3- how many eggs are taken during egg retrieval ?
4- at what age shou...

In this episode, I recap my egg freezing journey.  This was one of the things I needed to get done before entering self-employment, and since not many women talk about this, I wanted to share this journey with you. 

I share the real-time experiences, the costs, the process, the injections, and side effects. 

I am doing egg-freezing here in Dubai, finally finding a good, reputable clinic that made me feel comfortable after months of searching.

If you have any questions about this journey, reach out to me on Instagram in the link shared bel...

In this week's episode, my new beach bag product sample has arrived and it's ready for to review with you all!  I get feedback from my boyfriend and my family for their thoughts on this new design.  There are some slight things to work on, but overall the feedback is positive! 

Listen to hear their thoughts and reactions to the new design! 

And don't forget to also check out the sample up close and in real life on my Instagram page.  I will post it there for you to see exactly what the sample looks like ...

In this episode I recap the last 10 days where I had to squeeze in quick work trip to Cairo, and then immediately had to get foot surgery as soon as I landed in Dubai. 
I had planned to be extra productive during my down time as I recover from surgery, but that has been a complete fail. 

I have been in a low mental state since surgery, because being stuck at home has brought flashbacks to COVID time. I am trying to work on it. 

Also, I got a 2 week old kitten to take car...

I am recovering from a surgery, so the new episode will come next week, because I have mostly been sleeping the last several days recovering. 

Don't worry, I am OK, just recovering. 

See y'all next week!! 

In this episode, I recap a recent conversation I had with my financial planner a couple of weeks ago.  I share with you my current savings goals as I prepare to enter this entrepreneurial life, my upcoming spending plans, and also share with you advice my financial planner shared with me.  

If you are also trying to save up for something big, or just need to reorganize your financial future, here is a quick recap of his advice: 

In this episode...