YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → My Business is Boring, But Makes Me $252,000/Month

My Business is Boring, But Makes Me $252,000/Month — Transcript

by Andy Stauring · 4,214 words · 622 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00I built my dream life. Travel whenever I
0:01want, buy properties, help my family,
0:03actual freedom. And honestly, I'm kind
0:06of embarrassed to tell you how I did it.
0:07I built the life most people are trying
0:08to fake on Instagram. Not because it's
0:10shady or complicated, but because when I
0:12explain it to people, they look at me
0:13like, "That's it." There's no
0:15revolutionary idea, no viral moments,
0:17nothing that sounds impressive. It's
0:19boring. Really boring. And that's
0:21exactly why it works. See, everyone's
0:23obsessed with building something
0:24innovative, the next big thing that'll
0:26change the game. Meanwhile, there's this
0:27whole other category of businesses that
0:29nobody talks about, the boring ones.
0:31They don't get featured in articles.
0:32They don't sound impressive at parties.
0:34They just print cash. Now, boring
0:36doesn't mean easy. It doesn't mean
0:37anyone can do it. But it does mean less
0:40competition, more profit, more freedom.
0:42So, in this video, I'm breaking down why
0:43boring wins, which boring businesses I
0:45run, and how to build one from zero.
0:47Once this clicks, you'll stop chasing
0:48what looks cool, and start focusing on
0:51what actually works. All right, so let
0:52me show you what I actually mean here.
0:54Let's look at Amazon, for example.
0:55Everyone thinks that they're this
0:56massive innovative tech company like
0:58they revolutionized everything, right?
1:00But here's how Jeff Bezos actually
1:02started. He didn't write books. He
1:04didn't manufacture anything. He
1:06literally just found book publishers and
1:08connected them with people who wanted to
1:09read. That's it. He was a middleman. Now
1:12look at Uber. Same thing. They don't own
1:14a single car. They just connect drivers
1:16who have cars with people who need
1:18rides. They are in the middle taking a
1:20cut. Airbnb, they don't own any hotels.
1:23They just connect people who have extra
1:25space with people who need a place to
1:27stay. All middlemen. And here's what's
1:30crazy. These are some of the biggest,
1:32most valuable companies on the planet.
1:34So clearly, there's something here. Now,
1:36most people, they hear middleman and
1:38they immediately think it's bad. Like
1:39you're just this guy in the middle
1:40making scraps while everyone else is
1:42cashing out. But that's not actually how
1:44it works. See, being a middleman is the
1:46most powerful position you can be in
1:48because you control the customer. You
1:50own the relationship and you decide who
1:52to work with. Now, here's the thing.
1:54When you're starting out, you don't need
1:55to invent anything. You don't need
1:56millions in capital. You can literally
1:58start without owning any inventory. You
2:01just connect supply with demand and
2:03that's it. For me, that looks like
2:04connecting products with the people who
2:06actually need them. I find manufacturers
2:08who make good stuff. I find customers
2:10who have real problems, and then I just
2:12connect them. Now, here's what makes
2:13this different from just flipping random
2:15products and hoping that something
2:16sticks. You're building stuff that
2:19compounds. customer data, supplier
2:21relationships, brand trust, systems. So,
2:24yeah, eventually you'll want to work
2:25direct with manufacturers. You'll hold
2:27inventory. You'll build out the whole
2:29operation, but that comes later once
2:32you're making money and you've proven
2:33that it works. You're not starting with
2:35all this massive risk and overhead.
2:37You're starting lean and stacking as you
2:39go. And the main thing is every month
2:41you're in makes the next month easier.
2:42Your margins get better, your suppliers
2:44give you better deals, your customers
2:46come back and buy again. So, while
2:47everyone else is out there chasing the
2:49next trending product, starting over
2:50every 30 days, burning out, you're
2:52building something that gets stronger.
2:54And that's exactly what I've been able
2:55to do. That's exactly what my friends
2:57have been able to do. And that's exactly
2:58what I'm about to show you how to build.
3:00So, let me show you what this looked
3:01like when I was just starting to get the
3:03hang of things. So, back in 2019, I hit
3:05my first 1K day doing this. And
3:07honestly, I was so hyped. My buddy
3:09Steven, who I'm about to talk about in a
3:10second, he literally recorded me that
3:12moment that I was about to hit my first
3:141K day. And then a few months later, he
3:16recorded me again when things really
3:18started taking off. And you could just
3:19see the difference. It wasn't just about
3:21the money. It was that this thing was
3:23actually compounding. Now, here's the
3:24main thing. I was applying the exact
3:26same boring fundamentals back then that
3:28I'm using now, just on a way smaller
3:30scale. But over time, it just kept
3:32stacking and eventually, well, you get
3:33it. It worked. Now, this wasn't some
3:35overnight thing. It was just consistent
3:37execution month after month building the
3:39stuff that I'm about to show you. And
3:40honestly, it just kept getting easier
3:41the longer that I did it. The thing is,
3:43I'm not the only one doing this. One of
3:45my buddies that I travel with, he
3:46started from absolute scratch with this
3:48same model, didn't know anything about
3:49ecom, and he built a multi-million
3:51dollar ecom business doing this. Steven,
3:53the guy who recorded those videos of me,
3:55he built multiple sevenfigure brands
3:57using the exact same principles. And
3:58here's the crazy part. None of us are
4:00doing anything sexy. We're not geniuses.
4:02We're not coming up with revolutionary
4:04ideas or disrupting industries. We're
4:06just literally being middlemen in
4:08different markets and that's it. but
4:09we're doing it the boring way. Building
4:11assets, stacking MOAs, focusing on the
4:13stuff that actually compounds instead of
4:14chasing whatever looks good this week.
4:16So, now that you've seen that this
4:17actually works, let me break down
4:18exactly how you can do this. All right,
4:20so how do you actually build this?
4:22There's a few things that you need to
4:23get right, and each one makes the next
4:24one easier. So, the first thing that you
4:26need to get right is what you're
4:28actually looking for. So, most people,
4:29they think that being a middleman means
4:31that you just find whatever is selling
4:32and connect it to customers. And
4:34honestly, that's not going to work long
4:36term. Because here's the thing, your job
4:39as a middleman is to create value by
4:41making the connection between supply and
4:43demand. You're not inventing products,
4:46but you are building the relationship.
4:48Now, if you're connecting people with
4:49gimmicky garbage, absolute crap that
4:51breaks in a week, you are done. They are
4:54not coming back. They're not trusting
4:55you with the next purchase, and you lose
4:57the only advantage that you have, which
5:00is that relationship. So, the main thing
5:01is that you need to find products that
5:03actually solve real problems for
5:05specific groups of people, not just
5:08whatever is viral right now on Tik Tok.
5:11Now, here's how I think about this. I'm
5:13always looking for three things. One, a
5:17community that has money and is willing
5:19to spend. Two, a problem they're
5:21actively trying to solve. And three,
5:23products that actually deliver on
5:25solving that problem. So, here's how you
5:27actually find these communities and
5:28products. And this is way simpler than
5:30most people make it out to be. I want
5:31you to open up Instagram and just start
5:33scrolling your feed like you normally
5:35would. But here's what you're doing
5:36differently. Every time that you see an
5:38ad of a product, you engage with it. So
5:41like it, save it, click through to the
5:43website. You can maybe even add to cart,
5:45initiate checkout, put in your
5:46information, add your email. Now you are
5:49not buying anything. You're just telling
5:50the algorithm, "Hey, I am someone who
5:53looks at product ads and maybe might
5:54want to buy the product." And what
5:56happens over the next 15 to 20 minutes
5:58is that the platform Instagram is going
6:01to start showing you more and more
6:03product based ads just like that because
6:06it thinks you're a buyer. So now your
6:07feed is basically a free market research
6:10tool showing you what companies are
6:12actively spending money on right now.
6:14But here's where most people stop. They
6:16see a product, they think, "Oh, that's
6:18cool." And then they move on. We're
6:19going to go even deeper than that. Look
6:20at the comments. But here's what we're
6:22actually going to be filtering for. You
6:24want to see conversations happening, not
6:26just people commenting at the brand, but
6:28people talking to each other, talking to
6:30one another, tagging their friends,
6:31sharing their own stories about why they
6:33need this. Because when you see that,
6:35that means that there's already a
6:36community around this problem. They're
6:38not just interested in the product, they
6:40are connecting over a shared experience.
6:42And that's what you're really hunting
6:43for, not just a product people want, a
6:46problem people bond over. Because if
6:48they're bonding over it, you're damn
6:50sure they're going to be spending money
6:51on it. So, when you see that pattern,
6:52ads getting engagement, people having
6:54actual conversations in the comments,
6:56companies clearly spending money to keep
6:58those ads running, that is your green
7:00light. And here's the final check. I
7:01want you to go to the metal ad library.
7:03I will make sure to leave a link to that
7:05for you guys to easily access it if you
7:06don't know how to get to it. And I want
7:08you to look up that brand or product and
7:11I want you to see if they are running
7:13ads consistently. If that same ad has
7:15been running for weeks, that is proof
7:18that they are making money because
7:19companies don't burn cash, spend money
7:22on ads that don't work. But here's what
7:24matters. You're not just looking for
7:25products. You're looking for communities
7:27with real problems and you're finding
7:29products that actually solve those
7:31problems. Because when you do that,
7:32customers, they come back. And that is
7:34the whole game. So, you're building a
7:36business where people trust you and keep
7:37buying from you, not where you're
7:39constantly hunting for the next viral
7:40thing and starting over every single
7:42month. All right. So, you found your
7:43community. you know what problem that
7:44you're solving. Now you need a store.
7:46And this is where most people completely
7:48overthink it. They spend weeks trying to
7:50make everything perfect, custom design,
7:52perfect branding, all that stuff. And
7:54look, I get it. But that's the wrong
7:56approach when you are just starting out
7:57because you're not building the final
7:59version of your store on day one.
8:01Instead, you're proving that people will
8:02actually buy what you're selling. And
8:04that's pretty much it. So here's what
8:05you do. You sign up for Shopify. That's
8:07the platform. There's other options out
8:09there, but Shopify is what I use. It's
8:11what most people use because it's just
8:12the best in the game. Now, I will leave
8:14a link to get access to Shopify for a
8:16dollar for the next 3 months down in the
8:18description. Now, once you have your
8:20account, you can use this free AI store
8:23builder. It'll literally build you a
8:25professional looking store in a matter
8:27of minutes just by answering a few
8:29questions about what you're selling.
8:30Now, I think it's a really good base to
8:31work off because it'll handle the store
8:32design, the product pages, the privacy
8:34policies, all that stuff that you want
8:36really want to have to take care of. And
8:38I will make sure to leave that in the
8:40description as well. But the main thing
8:41is that your store doesn't need to be
8:43perfect on day one. You are proving
8:45concept first. You'll find it later once
8:48you know what's actually working. Now,
8:49get your store up. Now, here's where
8:50most people mess up. It's the economics.
8:52Because you can have the best store, the
8:55best products, the whole nine yards. But
8:57if your fulfillment sucks, none of it
8:58matters. And that's what most people get
9:00wrong. They're focused on the design,
9:01the branding, the surface level stuff.
9:03Meanwhile, their customers are waiting 3
9:04plus week for orders and getting garbage
9:06quality products. So, here's what you
9:08need to get right from day one, your
9:10supplier setup. Because if customers are
9:11waiting 3 plus week for orders or
9:13getting lowquality products, they are
9:15not going to be coming back and it's
9:16just going to kill your business. And
9:18nothing else matters if you can't get
9:20that right. Now, most people when
9:21they're starting out, they will use
9:22AliExpress. And look, AliExpress is
9:24fine, but the pricing isn't that great
9:26and the shipping times are pretty bad.
9:27Now, I've talked about 1688 and Tabo 4.
9:31These are essentially the Chinese
9:33wholesale platforms where you get way
9:35better pricing and faster shipping. But
9:37the problem is they are a pain to use if
9:39you don't speak Chinese. I don't speak
9:41Chinese, so it's pretty hard for me to
9:42use. And most fulfillment tools don't
9:44even integrate with them. So there's
9:47this platform right here called Team
9:49Drop. I just started using them. They're
9:52pretty brand new and it's also free.
9:55They're not going to charge you any
9:57hidden fees or any subscription,
9:58anything like that. And it's the first
10:00platform that I've seen that actually
10:03integrates 1688 and Tao products just
10:06like this as you can see. So what that
10:08means is that you're getting access to
10:11those wholesale prices without having to
10:13deal with Google Translate and any
10:15currency conversion because the two
10:16websites again are in Chinese. So you
10:19can see that we have all these products
10:21listed right here from 16A or Taba. So
10:25the margins are going to be way better
10:27from day one. And for the shipping, for
10:29example, if we go into any one of these
10:32products that I might want to sell,
10:33let's just say I want to sell this
10:34product. There are multiple shipping
10:36lines to choose from. So you can see all
10:39the different shipping lines, the
10:40prices, and the delivery times. So if I
10:43want to go with a faster line, for
10:45example, Uni Express, I can get my
10:48product shipped and packaged to my
10:49customer within 5 to 8 days for only
10:52655. So, pretty insane that we're at the
10:55point where we can reduce our shipping
10:57times from what the standard used to be,
10:593 plus weeks, now down to about a week.
11:02And look, again, $5 if I pick this unit
11:05right here. So, I pick black. I choose
11:06the unfast total price comes to 9.84 to
11:10get my product packaged and shipped to
11:11the customer in less than 10 days. Now,
11:13here's the other thing. They give you a
11:15dedicated agent that you can contact
11:17through WhatsApp just right here. So, if
11:19you click this right here, you're going
11:20to get access to your own dedicated
11:22agent that is assigned to you on
11:24WhatsApp where you can just have easy
11:25communication with over WhatsApp. So, if
11:27something goes wrong, say for example, a
11:29loss package, quality issue, whatever it
11:30may be, you've got an actual person
11:32managing your orders who can fix
11:34problems in real time so that you're not
11:36stuck trying to figure it out yourself
11:37or dealing with some random customer
11:39service rep that doesn't really care.
11:40And for those of you guys that don't
11:41know, you'd usually have to go find your
11:43own agent or your sourcing agent
11:45yourself, build that relationship, and
11:46then hope that they're good. But with
11:48this fulfillment platform, you already
11:50have that built in. So, it just makes
11:51the whole process way easier, way less
11:53friction, and that's exactly what you
11:55need when you're just starting out. But
11:56I'll make sure to leave a link for you
11:57guys to easily sign up for Team Drop for
11:59free below. If you guys want to connect
12:01your store, super easy as well. You just
12:02go down to store management, authorize
12:04store, add store, authorize, go back to
12:07Shopify, install the app right here. All
12:09right, cool. Now that the app has been
12:11installed onto my Shopify store, if I
12:13wanted to sell any of these products,
12:15all I'd have to do is go to any of these
12:16product pages. From here, list onto my
12:19store. All I have to do is select the
12:20images, the description, what I want to
12:22import. Mind you, you can always change
12:23this later. List now. So, we'll see now
12:26that we imported that product, it is now
12:28listed on our store products. We could
12:30also go to our products right here and
12:34see that that product has been imported.
12:36We can make any adjustments that we'd
12:37like just right here. So the main thing
12:39is that any time that we get an order,
12:41it's going to then populate on to our
12:43orders dashboard on Team Drop and we can
12:45simply fulfill it through any shipping
12:47line that we decide. So that handles
12:48your fulfillment from day one. Way
12:50better pricing than AliExpress, faster
12:51shipping, and you've got a dedicated
12:53agent handling issues. Now, keep in mind
12:55as you scale and you start doing real
12:56volume, you can eventually go direct to
12:58the manufacturers for even better
13:00pricing, custom products, all that jazz.
13:03But the main thing is that these
13:04supplier relationships take time to
13:06build. Whether it's through a
13:07fulfillment platform like this or you're
13:09going direct, you're proving that you
13:11can move volume. You are building trust.
13:12You're becoming a priority customer. And
13:14your competitors, they can't just copy
13:16that overnight. They have to start from
13:17scratch and build those same
13:18relationships that take months or even
13:20years. So, everyone else is stuck on
13:22AliExpress with terrible margins and 3
13:24week shipping. You're starting with way
13:26better economics from day one. And it
13:27just gets stronger over time. Now look,
13:29I just walked you through finding your
13:30product, setting up your store, getting
13:31your fulfillment locked down with better
13:33economics. That is the foundation. But
13:34here's the thing. Going from setup to
13:36actually making sales, that is where
13:38experience matters. Like I can look at
13:40an ad and know in 30 seconds what is
13:42wrong. You don't have that pattern
13:44recognition just yet. I remember testing
13:46my first few products and just bleeding
13:48money because I didn't know what signals
13:49to look for. Like I'd see clicks but no
13:51sales and have no idea if I should keep
13:53pushing or kill it. And honestly, that
13:55is why I have even built my one-on-one
13:57mentorship program. It's literally what
13:59I wish I had when I was starting. So, if
14:01you want to skip that entire learning
14:02curve, me, Justin, and Steven are
14:04basically your eyes on this. You show us
14:06your product. We'll tell you if it's
14:07worth testing. You show us your ad.
14:09We'll tell you what to fix before you
14:10spend money on it. You are running your
14:12campaigns. We are in there with you
14:14making the calls. Pretty much, you can
14:15think of it as we run it like it's our
14:17own store because we only make money if
14:19you make money. So, we're incentivized
14:20to actually get you results. Now, we've
14:22got a few spots open if you're actually
14:24serious about making this work and you
14:25want in. The link is below. So now
14:27you've got everything in place. You
14:28found your community. Store is up.
14:29Fulfillment sorted. Now comes the part
14:31everyone struggles with actually getting
14:33people to buy. And here's where I see
14:35most people completely mess this up.
14:37They go straight to running ads without
14:39understanding what their community
14:40actually cares about. So before you
14:42spend a dollar on ads, you need to
14:43become a student of your community. And
14:45here's how to do it. So let's just say
14:47that you're selling to new parents. I
14:49want you to go find where they're
14:50already hanging out, where they're
14:52living. So whether that's Reddit
14:53communities, Facebook groups, Tik Tok
14:55comment sections, under parenting
14:56content, even Amazon reviews under
14:59common baby products that they may be
15:00buying, and you're not selling anything
15:02yet. You're just reading what are they
15:04complaining about? What keeps coming up
15:06over and over? And here's what you're
15:08looking for. The actual language that
15:10they use, not marketing language, their
15:12actual words. So instead of ergonomic
15:15baby carrier, they're saying my back is
15:17killing me or I can't get anything done
15:20with the baby. That's your angle. That's
15:21the language that you're going to use.
15:23Now, before you create anything, you
15:24need to understand what actually works.
15:25So, you're heading back to the ad
15:27library, but different use case this
15:29time. This time, you're looking for
15:30brands in your niche, similar products
15:32or even the same one that you're
15:33selling. Look for ads that have been
15:34running for weeks or even months. Those
15:36are your control videos, aka videos that
15:38you want to copy or recreate. That means
15:41that they are profitable. Study how they
15:43structure the hook, what problem that
15:44they lead with, how they present the
15:46product. And here's the thing, your goal
15:48is not to create the perfect ad. It's to
15:51create something that works well enough.
15:53Prove people actually want this. Now,
15:55for actually creating your content,
15:56you've got two options. Option one, and
15:58this is just for the initial testing to
16:01prove concept. You can use existing
16:04content that is already out there. So,
16:06product videos, supplier footage, other
16:07creators content, you cut it up and
16:09recreate your own version following that
16:11control video structure. Now, I do want
16:14to note that this is a disclaimer. This
16:16is to test if people actually want your
16:19product. So once you're making
16:20consistent sales, you need to switch to
16:22your own original content to avoid any
16:23legal issues. So I'm not saying to do
16:25this. I'm saying it's an option. Uh I
16:27just don't recommend it. But for that
16:29first round of testing, it gets you live
16:32pretty fast. Option two, which I
16:34recommend more than anything, you work
16:37with real UGC creators from the jump.
16:39Now, this is going to require more
16:41upfront capital, probably a few hundred
16:43bucks per creator, but if you've got the
16:45budget, this is your cleanest route. Go
16:47to X, type in your niche plus UGC
16:50creator. So, for example, parent UGC
16:53creator or pet UGC creator. Reach out to
16:57them directly. Check their portfolios on
16:59Instagram, Tik Tok, and sometimes
17:00they'll just link it in to their bio as
17:02well. But the main thing that you're
17:04vetting for, do they already make
17:06content in your space? Because if
17:07they're already posting about baby
17:09products, they know how to talk to other
17:12parents, right? They don't need you to
17:13explain the audience to them. Now,
17:15another thing when you find someone
17:16solid, do not micromanage them. Show
17:19them those control videos, you can
17:20literally just say, "This structure is
17:22working. Just take it and run it." Let
17:23them adapt to their own style. The
17:26reason this works is simple. When
17:27someone sounds like themselves, people
17:28trust it. When they sound like they're
17:30being told what to say, generally it
17:33doesn't do that great. So, whichever
17:34route you take, existing content or real
17:36creators, you're testing a few
17:37variations, different angles, different
17:39hooks, see what is actually getting
17:41people to buy. You run the ads, check
17:43what's working, what's getting clicks,
17:45what's actually converting to sales. And
17:46honestly, you are probably going to
17:48spend a few hundred, maybe a thousand
17:49bucks before you find what works. That
17:51is just the cost of learning what
17:53resonates. So once you find an angle
17:55that's converting, you can't just run it
17:57forever. Creatives tend to burn out
17:58pretty quickly. So you need fresh
18:00iterations constantly. So new hooks with
18:02the same message, different visuals,
18:04same problem presented in different
18:06ways. But here's the key. You're not
18:07guessing anymore. You know what core
18:09message works. you are just in essence
18:12remixing it, right? And that is when you
18:14actually start scaling more budget into
18:16what's proven. So fresh creatives around
18:19the same angle, all of it built on real
18:21data instead of you just guessing
18:22around. All right, so most people
18:23watching this are going to do nothing
18:25with it. But some of you are actually
18:26going to do this. You're going to pick a
18:28community, set up a store, start
18:29testing, and that first month, it's
18:31likely going to suck. You're going to
18:33spend money and not see results
18:35immediately. But here's the thing. Every
18:37dollar that you spend is teaching you
18:39something about your audience, about
18:41what works, about what makes people buy.
18:44And that knowledge stacks. It compounds.
18:46It gets easier over time. So the
18:47question isn't whether this works. It
18:50does. The question is whether you're
18:52willing to stick with it long enough to
18:53figure out your market because once you
18:55do, that is when things get interesting.
18:57Now, obviously, there's way more to
18:58actually executing this. I've got videos
19:01walking through the full process on my
19:03channel. So, if you're interested, make
19:04sure to check those out. I'm also going
19:06to be working on a ton more. Other than
19:08that, as always, I appreciate you guys
19:09watching. See you in the next one.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of My Business is Boring, But Makes Me $252,000/Month by Andy Stauring, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 4,214 words across 622 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.