Reliable Education Summits: 101 Things I Have Learned (My Notes)

I’ll be sharing today the many notes taken and gold nuggets of wisdom I have learned from attending multiple Reliable Education Summits in Australia, including the 1st ever Summit with just a few hundred of us.

My blog has been read by tens of thousands of you. Many of you have chosen to use my referral link to access exclusive bonuses, and I really do appreciate that.

What I haven’t covered so much is the events that RE holds, and I hope this list inspires you to understand the immense impact that this company, and its conferences, can have on your life.

It isn’t just Adam that speaks at the Reliable Education Summits. In fact, it’s mostly the students who take the stage now. That’s the power of this community.

So, from this list, you may come across those you may not have heard of before (if you’re not a student as yet) or if you are, will be meeting at an upcoming RE event.

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Before we start

I want to establish some key points upfront:

1. These are my notes and what you absorb from a Reliable Education Summit could be different
2. This is NOT a substitute for skipping a Summit. You can’t compare words on a screen from the experience of being there live in the audience.
3. Real results come from the execution. While the Course and Summits are fantastic, you will still have to do the work.
4. There is very little pitching at a Summit. This is why I have so much content pouring out here.
5. Just go. I mean – JUST GO. Summits are 2 steps beyond the course and FB group. Get yourself there with whatever means possible.

Let’s begin!

Adam Hudson

I may as well start with the main man himself.

1. Keep picture-perfect tax returns and clean books for a 7 figure exit
2. When exiting, focus on the growth aspects, thereby leaving ‘meat on the bone’ for the next owner
3. You’ll need strong protection for a strong valuation. This comes in the form of IP, design patents, technology, social media following and a loyal email list
4. Never sign a personal guarantee with doing a joint-venture, or risk your base
5. There are different types of animals in the jungle. Focus on being the lion
6. Products and brands need sex appeal, and can positive impact the valuation
7. Get in a Mastermind. There’s a strong correlation between success and Masterminds
8. Reinvest every single dollar for the first few years. Don’t stagnate your growth.
9. Be resourceful. Go out and hunt first before asking of others and their time
10. Ignore the petrol prices. Turn off the TV. Research and simply go live on Amazon
11. The rules you set for yourself and your business will determine your outcome
12. You don’t have a business if you have to turn up and run it yourself
13. Don’t get excited about the salary with Amazon. Get excited about dividends
14. After mindset, this really is a game of time and cash management.
15. Think in terms of years for payouts, not months or weeks. Play the long game!

Joe Olejnik

This is Adam’s business partner, and whilst Adam gets the spotlight, it’s really Joe in the background giving 200% (and I really do mean that) for the students. Joe is my #1 Reliable Education Summits speaker.

1. Sometimes it can be a case of throwing mud at a wall and seeing what sticks
2. A little bit every day in your business can add up to big results
3. If you need help, it’s always here (If you knew Joe, you know this reference)
4. Launch with your heart first, with the customer in mind and their expectations
5. Trust in the process. It works, as it has worked for thousands of Amazon sellers
6. Work to make an impact, as opposed to dollars in the bank account
7. Family always comes first, including the Reliable Education family
8. The most powerful thing you can do is create positive and profound connections
9. Learn to self-manage your day and your life through goal-setting and schedules
10. Eat better, move more and feed your brain daily. Every single day.
11. Perfect your product through selling performance on Amazon
12. Be prepared to serve first, deliver exceptional value and go the extra mile
13. You should have a list of minimum positive actions, and be able to track them
14. Look at the smallest possible solutions to get you out of black holes
15. Play the long game. We believe in you. Always bring a tissue box when Joe’s on stage

Joe is the backbone of Reliable Education. He believes more in the mission of the company than anyone else. If there’s one person to meet at a conference, it’s Joe.

Udy Argawal

This is one of Adam’s students who does several million dollars per month on Amazon. Yes, he did join RE after already becoming an Amazon seller, and he saw some serious value here with what Adam has created. His Amazon seller insights are well received in the community.

1. If you’re going to pay for advice, you might as well act on it (In relation to joining the RE community)
2. When looking at products, consider covering multiple price-points
3. Factories in China are only good at one thing. Likely you’ll need a few
4. Model (not copy) the existing competition. See how you can improve
5. Focus on products that you can pair with a 5 year warranty
6. Go for high ticket items that can provide a 25% margin even after PPC
7. Most business plans on Amazon actually work. You can fail your way forward
8. Pay for the advisors. Every. Single. Time. The cost really is minimal.
9. Have a product sourcing and purchasing plan. Don’t go to China blind
10. Be prepared to spend millions on PPC if you want a real shot at success

Wayne Butcher

Wayne is the head of Reliable Education’s Platinum Partners program, and someone that I admire greatly from a business standpoint.

1. Get a plan for your Amazon business and stick with it
2. Spend the money on professional photos for your product
3. Be prepared to invest a decent amount for inventory
4. Trademark from Day 0. Get that process started now
5. When you order something, you’ve essentially sold something
6. Run a daily schedule (This has made the biggest personal impact this year)
7. Get in a Mastermind, just as Adam and the rest proclaim
8. Be committed and confident that what you’re bringing to market is viable
9. Don’t be so quit to dismiss products at the Canton Fair
10. Set deadlines for the next few years, and work back from that point

Jon Tilley

Jon runs ZonGuru which is the world-class software for researching products and sales volume. He’s spoken at every single conference so far.

1. People buy stories, not products or goods
2. The 1% sits between commercial viability and a beautiful product
3. Yoga mats are a lead magnet. Work towards upselling others
4. The dip thins the heard. (You’ll need to read The Dip to understand this)
5. You can’t settle for less, when the world has made it so easy to be remarkable

Greg Reynolds

Greg runs ZonSupport which allows you to outsource aspects of your customer service relations. Like the rest, this man has a heart of gold, and I really do look forward to seeing him on stage at the conferences.

1. Your internal Standard Operating Procedure must show customer engagement
2. You’ll need the right mix of flair and integrity
3. Remain optimistic and positive through every customer engagement point
4. You’ll have to explain both the philosophy and reality behind product selection
5. Product inserts will help breakthrough customer pain-points

Keith O’Brien

Keith runs Page One, previously known as MarketHustl and SellerPhoto, and is a renowned member of the community, having spoken at every single Reliable Education Summit, and has flown all the way from Florida.

1. Run smaller PPC budgets ($20 per day) when starting, and raise incrementally
2. Use negative keywords where possible. Other sellers are avoiding these
3. Lead with the benefits, since people buy with emotion, not logic
4. Avoid being too broad with keywords, as that can get expensive
5. Use the data, not your emotion, when analyzing winning campaigns
6. Your product won’t please everyone, and you need to be OK with that
7. Run 20 core keywords per campaign. It’s easier to slice and dice
8. Defend your position on Amazon’s Page 1. Keep the other lions away
9. Customer engagements leads to conversions. Respond fast to queries
10. Amplify your vision. Most people have such low expectations

John Howard

Johnnie spoke at the last Reliable Education Summit with a standing ovation more than once. Whilst not a fan of politics, I was totally blown away by his impact and how relevant his speech was. There’s just one single takeaway that I wish to share:

1. We’re in the luckiest country in the world. Quite literally. Any excuses that people have for not building an online business are merely disappointing. If you need the time, you’ll find it, and if you need the money, you’ll find it. (This is certainly true of my current situation.)

My personal take-aways

That’s a total of 71 so far! My final 30 points are my personal takeaways, and are echo’d around the Reliable Education Summits quite often.

1. Hire the right people, as you can’t do everything yourself
2. Get in a Mastermind (I’ve said this more than once here)
3. Use Zonguru. The software cost really is minimal for the data
4. Lose the poor person’s mentality. There’s no such thing as a skeptical millionaire
5. Maintain uniformity in your Amazon brand for customer likeability
6. Create long term working relationships with suppliers. Go and visit them
7. Use the pilot analogy. Pilot’s always plan before each and every flight
8. Read ‘The One Thing’ by Gary Keller. It is life-changing (yes, I read it 😊)
9. It’s better to focus on 1 winning product, than 10 marginal products
10. Amazon has changed in recent years. PPC is more necessary than ever before
11. Don’t spend your profits. Compound and reinvest it for the long term
12. Thoughts leads to actions, which leads to habits and destiny
13. Track at least 100 products before researching a few, and launch 1
14. Contracts and paperwork are never rigid. They’re just a paramaters guide
15. Always request exact product specifications from suppliers every time
16. Not everyone will be successful at Amazon, especially those who do nothing
17. Amazon is merely a tool for liberation and time freedom, but it takes work
18. Continue to network. You’ll never know who you’re going to meet out there
19. Building a business isn’t fast, nor is it easy either. But it’s certainly possible
20. Everyone is approachable. Don’t hide in the background – go out and meet
21. Your past experiences don’t equal your future results
22. You can start with a minimal budget, but more is certainly better
23. Creativity is a valuable commodity rarely seen in the world today
24. Systemized business are attractive, just like a fine orchestra
25. Give back whereever possible. The more you give, the more you get
26. Screencast all your processes, as it makes the exit significantly easier
27. Trademarks are necessary for Enhanced Brand Content on Amazon
28. Buyers, banks and accountants look at your length and trajectory of income
29. Work on solving unique problems in a way that no one else is doing
30. Go 100% in at the right time. Don’t quit your job just yet. Reinvest
31. Transform into a lion and dominate through excellence and creativity

Bonus notes of mine

That’s 101 key takeaways above, but this wouldn’t be complete unless I offered you some bonus notes too.

These are speaker-unknown in most cases, whilst I’ve been frantically writing notes at Reliable Education Summits.

1. Don’t fret the 1 star reviews. They get you momentum as an FBA seller
2. Write down your dream, be aware of the dip, and focus on what’s next
3. Be prepared to compete against the quitters. There’s plenty around
4. There are always dips & the hurdles just get bigger (my experiences too)
5. You will always make mistakes along the way, it depends on how you react
6. Chinese suppliers may find you a red hotel (Monopoly) without you realizing
7. Adversity is guaranteed, focus on your why which propels you forward
8. Think of how you can serve your market, not how you can profit
9. Celebrate your wins, as they’re often less frequent than your losses
10. Business, like rugby and much of life, is played primarily in the mind
11. When writing your business case, describe your competitive advantage
12. As a beginner, your goal initially on Amazon is not to lose money
13. Minimal expenditure and maximum profit is earned, not given
14. Make photos superior, as customers purchase primarily from these
15. Use all 10 photo spots since most of your competition will use 1 or 2
16. In business, provide amazing value and you’ll never have to close shop
17. Have your non-disclosure agreement signed with Chinese company seal
18. The Amazon marketplace is never saturated with an excellent product
19. Preferably choose a product with minimal or no moving parts
20. Never introduce yourself as new to importing, but new to a particular niche
21. Many suppliers are not on Alibaba, so be prepared to go wider
22. Always be prepared to walk away from Chinese factories if they’re pushy
23. Look up Importing Incoterms to understand the language of importing
24. Build your moat and fill it with sharks (Reference to Blue Ocean Strategy)
25. Never tell the Chinese everything, and have second supplier on hand
26. The issue with most eCommerce sellers is buyers, and Amazon solves this
27. Write emails like text messages and force others to do the same
28. A business without books is nothing as people buy systems, not people
29. The meaning of your communication with China is the response you get
30. Play your strengths and hire your weaknesses through outsourcing
31. Be prepared to say no to almost everything so you’re not dragged along
32. Real writing is done in the editing stage (I can assure you of this here!)
33. Touching email just once takes a specific way of writing to convey points
34. Creativity is about standards and not money. Be prepared to compete
35. Use Keyword Inspector to harness all of your competitors’ keywords
36. Real experts don’t cost you money, they make you money (100% agree)

The one thing

That’s it – a total of 137 key takeaways. I do have more, but don’t wish to overwhelm anyone, especially 1st time attendees.

You’ve probably found some excellent gold nuggets there. Here’s my personal one thing that motivates me, and yes, directly from Adam Hudson himself.

“If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for them” – In relation to families on the sidelines considering joining the Reliable Education community. That is, if you don’t want to build an Amazon business for yourself, at least give your children the opportunity to learn and experience the process of eCommerce and business essentials.

On those days where I’m a little stuck in business, I think of this quote. It propels me to take action immediately. “Do it for them” is in regards to my philanthropic efforts. Thank you, Adam Hudson, this simple quote fires me along every day.

Inside the Reliable Education Summits

No doubt if you come along you’ll have to network. You won’t be alone at all, and many students organize dinners together. In fact, I’ll be there at every single upcoming conference.

The type of person who comes along is an action taker, not a dreamer. This results in this community has one of the highest ratio of success stories of any Amazon course worldwide. The caliber of attendee is simply very strong, and I’ve personally met people who I would call lifelong friends.

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You’ll get this notebook above which is jam-packed with resources and places to write notes. If there’s one downside to this event (apart from the cost) is that as an avid note-taker, I simply didn’t have enough space. The previous events used the little black notebook pictured above, yet the most recent event had the thinner glossy handbook.

The truth about Amazon businesses

Curious if you should still attend the Reliable Education Summits? Yes. Absolutely, you should.

Brisbane and the Gold Coast have held most of the events, but Sydney and Melbourne will start to see some action in coming years, plus international Summits too! Hello those in the United Kingdom and Singapore. 🙂

Yet at the same time, it’s a good reminder about the business model. Nothing in life worth having comes easy. Otherwise we’d all be living this laptop lifestyle.

Luckily, as a result of these conferences, it’s helped inspire thousands of students to transition across. In my opinion, it’s a mindset game more than anything. And simply unlike most of the rest, Adam Hudson and his speakers don’t pitch this as easy.

Closing off

This list is nothing like the real experience of coming to one of the Reliable Education Summits. I’ve given you just 15% of what’s actually there by design – I don’t want to spoil what is an epic experience.

The speakers, the networking and the overall energy are both motivating and captivating. You’ll be levitating out of the door on the final day – trust me.

What you’ll find isn’t a motivational rah-rah event at all, but simply real Amazon business aspects. Also, there’s minimal selling and this isn’t a pitch-fest.

The flights, accommodation and live events are absolutely worth every dollar. I’m still coming off the last high from 4 months ago…a life changing experience where we collectively raised $265,000 for the John Fawcett Foundation, and yes, including from myself. I donate regularly to Destiny Rescue based on the Sunshine Coast.

Reliable Education is like no other community I’ve ever been apart of. I’ve met lifelong friends through this unique and high-level group, including those who have used my affiliate link. I’m looking forward to the next 10 years and beyond.

Should you have any further questions, feel free to drop them below. I’ll do my best to help you out! Otherwise, I look forward to connecting at the next Reliable Education Summits and events in 2020.

Tickets are now available, and yes, you absolutely should go.

Catch you at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in March. ✌️

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