Today’s episode is super funny and super informative! Today’s topic surrounds selling products online, and today’s guest, Cheri Wiggins, MD has a hilarious product. She sells Caganers. So before we begin, I thought I’d explain what that is.
According to Wikipedia, A Caganer is “a figurine depicted in the act of defecation appearing in nativity scenes in Catalonia and neighboring areas with 
Catalan culture such as Andorra, Valencia, and Northern Catalonia (in southern France). The name “El Caganer” literally means “the crapper”. Traditionally, the figurine is depicted as a peasant, wearing the traditional Catalan red cap and with his trousers down, showing a bare backside, and defecating.” If you want to see what I am talking about, go to CaganerShop.com for some examples.
In today’s episode, we will explore how Dr. Cheri Wiggins, a PM&R doctor from Idaho, came to be one of the only sources of this traditional Christmas decoration in the United States. We also will discuss using Amazon as a resource for selling your products online.
But before we get to the Caganer’s, Cheri and I discuss the sunset of her first business, Milk’n Cookies, a mail order lactation cookie company that she ran with her business partner Lennox McNeary, MD. So, listen through to the end of this episode for all the pearls from Dr. Wiggins about selling products online.
Today you will learn:
- How being a physician can help sell a specialized product
- How the type of product you sell can lead to specific customer service issues
- How Cheri’s first online business came to an end
- Alibaba has middlemen who can help you make your product in China
- UPC Codes have to be created when making products to sell on Amazon
- Keep your website simple so making changes is easier
- Cheri uses Shopify for her website, and she compares it with Squarespace
- At mark 28:10: All About selling on Amazon
- Instagram marketing: follow CaganerShop @ Instagram
- At mark 33:45: Amazon will sell and ship your product for you!
- A few Podcasts for Amazon Sellers (there are a TON out there)
- Fulfill your own orders for about 2 days, then outsource to understand the value of outsourcing
Basic Steps Cheri took to create and sell her Caganers Figurines
- Come up with an idea
- Can use Alibaba to either purchase products already created or find resources to design own product
- Sign up for Amazon Seller Central
- Use Amazon Keyword marketing
- Have product photos taken
- Have UPC code made
- Design packaging
- Order bulk shipment from manufacturer
- Send products to Amazon warehouse for distribution
- Link your Shopify website to Amazon, so sales can also come through website
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