Building a Profitable Amazon Business with Kathleen Kobel

Tim Melanson: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to today’s episode, the Work at Home Rockstar Podcast. I am talking to an Amazon influencer and

seller at kathleenkobel.com,

and what she does is she helps entrepreneurs,

content creators,

and Amazon influencers build profitable sustainable income streams without the burnout part. So excited to be talking to Kathleen

Kobel.

Hey, Kathleen. Are you ready to.

Kathleen Kobel: I am so ready to.

rock him.

Tim Melanson: Awesome. We

always start off on a good note. So tell me a story of success that you can be inspired by.

Kathleen Kobel: Yeah, I think, uh, one of my, one of my favorite success stories was really just when I found this opportunity of being an Amazon influencer. I was, uh, I’ve been selling on Amazon for over 15 years. I’ve helped.

Thousands

of brands launch their stores. And you know, if you’ve

ever tried to

sell something on Amazon, it seems simple until you start doing it right.

And so, you know, after a long time of doing that, um, I really got burnt out.

It was,

it was a lot of work, a lot of meetings, a lot

of team,

you know, um, a lot of team issues, things like that. And

I just

wanted to [00:01:00] find a way to pivot. And so I discovered this program, not really realizing I’m, I was working on a.

Uh, I was working on a client’s product listing page and I discovered these videos and I was so confused ’cause we didn’t put those videos on there and I didn’t know who was in

those

videos, but they were talking such great things about my client’s products and I knew I just needed to learn more about who is this person and why are they promoting my client’s products without us having to do anything.

And so, um, I dove a little bit deeper and. Started doing it myself and, uh, quite honestly, it’s really just completely changed my life, pivoted my business, and, um, it’s one of my, it’s one of my favorite stories to tell people because especially I’ve been in the corporate world, uh, for a long time. I’ve worked for small businesses doing the, you know, 10 jobs, uh, that, you know.

Of one person doing 10 jobs. Right? And so, um, I, I really see it as a success story because it’s just something that came out of nowhere. I wasn’t expecting it, but I kind of took a [00:02:00] leap of faith and it’s completely changed everything for the better.

Tim Melanson: Wow. That, that is really cool. And so, uh, wow. Now along with the good note though, sometimes there’s things that don’t go as planned, and I do like to bring those things out because I’m sure it wasn’t all sunshine Roses right from the beginning. You did with some struggles. I’m wondering, can you share with us one that, uh, we can recover from?

Kathleen Kobel: I think one of the sru the struggles was just really like knowing what to do, but also like getting help from people. You know, like you, you start something new and even though like I had a, a background in kind of the, you know, the Amazon space, when I started doing this, not a lot of people were doing it.

So I would reach out to

people that I knew in the space and they’re like, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Um, so I was kind of just. On my own. And it is tough to try to figure things out on your own, especially when you’re reaching out for help and you just can’t find anybody, um, who is there to help you.

Right? You kinda just feel like you’re on an [00:03:00] island. And so, you know, as

I, you

know.

But

we also have so many resources available to us, right? And so no matter if you’re trying to learn something new or you’re trying to recover from?

a failure,

um, I just

think it’s always so important to look on the bright side and be creative with the resources that you can find nowadays because eventually, eventually I found a great group of people that were doing the same thing that I was doing, and I just felt.

At home, I could talk in this nerdy Amazon language and they knew exactly what I was talking about and we would help each other. And it really went from like frustration every day to try to figuring this program out to like, oh my gosh, these are my people. And they really brought me out of that like frustration that I just couldn’t seem to get past doing it on my own.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. And I know, by the way, I know exactly what you’re talking about

because I’ve actually set up some

Amazon stuff for myself as well. And, uh,

it’s, you’d think that it’d be super simple, [00:04:00] especially for someone who’s. Kind of computer oriented like I am and uh, but it’s not, I mean they use all these weird terms and there’s lots of like red tape to go through and there’s just weird kind of stuff that happens that you’re like, what is that?

Now I’m sure my life was a little bit easier ’cause they used

ChatGPT.

Help me through some of it. I don’t know if that existed when you did it, but I love your idea of finding, of finding a group of people that can help you through it. Right.

Kathleen Kobel: Most definitely

no. And chatGPT what was not available when I first started.

it. is a

huge help Right.

now. I mean, if anyone’s not using it, even just for basic stuff, ask a question, you know, get a nice response and just kind of go from there. Uh, I.

Try to

use it as much as I can.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Well, and, and even though, uh, I did

use chatGPT,

I still, there was some mistakes that I ended up like trying to submit something and then I got a message back. I was doing it through the Kindle type stuff, but, uh, I would get a message [00:05:00] back saying, this doesn’t. Isn’t approved. And I’m like, oh, chat doesn’t really know at all, I guess.

So

eventually maybe, but yeah, so I think finding a, finding a group of people is, is pretty good. Like, how did you find that group anyway?

Kathleen Kobel: Um, I actually found ’em on Facebook, so yeah, there was a, a group, well I had a, um, I had a colleague who, like, we had done some stuff on Amazon together and we just kind of. Formed our own friendship. ‘

cause

we were kind of doing the same things. And she actually introduced me to this group on Facebook. And it was just a small group of maybe like 12 or 14 people that kind of were early adopters of the program.

And she’s like, Hey, I, ’cause I told her about the opportunity, right? And then she came back a couple months later, I was like, Hey, I found this group of people, I met this guy, he formed this group. Do you want in? And I’m like, this is the help I’ve been needing. Yes, yes. Thank you.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, isn’t that great? How I, I just, I think like. We live in this golden [00:06:00] age right now where just about any business that you wanna run, there’s somebody out there that is doing something similar now. Hey, I mean, if you find something that there’s nobody doing well, then that’s probably even better because now you’re, now you’re onto something, especially if there’s demand for it.

But, uh, even though you might not be able to find somebody doing exactly what you’re doing, you’ll find somebody that’s doing something similar that can help you through things, right?

Kathleen Kobel: Most definitely, yes.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, I think that’s the most exciting thing for people that are, because I, I, I know that in the regular job market, I don’t know how it is in your city, but it kind of seems the same everywhere, where, you know, a lot of jobs are sort of disappearing for whatever reason or pays, getting lowered and, you know, people are looking for something to do.

On the side or even to replace what they’re currently doing. And it sounds to me like, uh, what you’re doing specifically might be something that would be a good little transition point because, you know, maybe you don’t necessarily [00:07:00] need to just quit your job and start doing this. Maybe you can do something like that on the side and, and, and not lose the stability of your paycheck.

Right.

Kathleen Kobel: Absolutely. That’s, that’s kind of how I, I did it, but I had my own business at the time. Right.

So when I first discovered the Amazon influencer program, I had this, you know, Amazon marketing agency and I had lots of clients. I had, you know, a team under me and everything, but it was, um. You know, no, nobody really knew about it.

Right.

And

so, like I said, when I kind of pivoted, it was almost like that became my side hustle to my own business, right? I was still able to run my own business and meet with the clients and you know, do the work and meet with the team and all that good stuff. But kind of on the side, I started creating these videos like, could this be something.

More than what I’m already doing. And you know, thankfully it did morph into something more and now it’s, it’s, now it’s my full-time gig, uh, for sure. But that’s, that’s how I started was I did it on the side and grew it [00:08:00] into, uh, earning enough money to where I could kind of dwindle down my agency. I still have a few clients I work with.

They, I call them my a plus plus clients. Um, but that became, you

know. I did start my own side hustle with this. And you’ve anyone very much can you, you can work. I love this opportunity. ’cause you could work 20 minutes a day on it. You could work two hours a day on it. You

could set

it down for two weeks and come back.

Like, I have three small kids. So, you know, they come first with everything. And there’s a lot of times where I’m like, oh, I didn’t do any content today. There’s always tomorrow. There’s always more time to do and I’m still earning, ’cause I have all these videos that are still earning for me. So I could very much

do this on

the side.

Tim Melanson: That’s really cool that they’ve got some passive, uh, maybe not passive, maybe residual. I’m not sure which one it would be, but,

uh,

actually, probably passive. Right? Because it, it’s something that you’ve already done and you’re not actually Yep. Keeping up on it. That’s cool. Yeah. Passive income’s awesome.

Kathleen Kobel: [00:09:00] definitely the best.

Tim Melanson: so let’s, yes, for sure. So let’s talk a little bit about practicing. So, I mean, in, I, I mean in anything, you’ve gotta kind of keep some regular practice time. What do you do? Like, is there something that you have, you know, routines or something like that to make sure that you’re up to date on everything?

Kathleen Kobel: I think one thing, you know, one thing I really struggled with when I first started doing this kind of content was the video aspect. I didn’t really do a lot of video, and for me video was uncomfortable.

Like it took

me a while to be able to do those sales calls. You know, I could do hated sales calls in the beginning and you know.

Practice makes perfect. I got better at sales calls with my agency, but when I first started creating these videos, uh, I would get very nervous. I didn’t like watching my videos after and doing the editing. Um, and so, you know, it, it definitely didn’t come naturally or

easy to

me. But the more I made the videos, the more I practice, the [00:10:00] more I kinda refined my technique in, you know, having bullet points or having a script to use or, you know, maybe I’m not gonna get on, you know.

On camera this time I’ll just be behind the camera. And so the more content I created

as far

as video goes, the easier and kind of more natural it came to me. And now I pretty much just flip on the camera and have an idea or two in my mind and it just kind of flows. And years ago it was not like that at

all. Took a

lot of practice to get there.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, I

hear you. It’s the first few, and like videos are so different than like a, an, an interview, like when you’re talking to

somebody you get this

instant feedback, but this, these videos are just, they’re awkward. Like, it’s like you’re just like talking to nobody with no answer back. But literally there’s a bunch of people on the other side.

Kathleen Kobel: Right, right. And you don’t know ’cause you don’t have feedback, right? It’s not like when you’re on stage performing and you can

look at

the audience and

you can

tell if they’re having a great time or if they’re bored. You have no idea [00:11:00] when you’re creating these videos, you just kind of make ’em, and I.

Post ‘

em and,

and hope for

the best.

But then, you know, kind of like going back to, you know, watching, watching the, watching the tape, you know, after the game.

It’s like,

what did I do that was great? What did I do that was not great, and how

can I be better next time?

Tim Melanson: I think that’s the key there is,

is uh,

like, ’cause I do remember when lockdowns happened and we started kind of doing these like live streams and stuff like that. It was just so different when you were playing and there’s like dead silence on the other side. You finish a song and nothing, it’s like, oh,

Kathleen Kobel: Right, and you’re looking around

like where’s

Tim Melanson: if

they like it, I don’t know.

Kathleen Kobel: I watched a lot of my favorite bands on livestream in 2020, and I would always just

be in the chat. You guys rock.

You guys rock. ’cause you can’t, I, I can’t imagine. Yeah. Having no feedback whatsoever.

Tim Melanson: Oh, it’s super awkward, but like, like what you just said, you know, the big benefit to that is that you can [00:12:00] watch it afterwards and you can learn from it. Right. Whereas, uh, at a live show, and I actually, I took some of that stuff in my music, just kind of a off, um, off topic a little bit. Now I actually record a lot of my shows because I just found it so

useful to

be able to go back.

’cause sometimes when you’re, and, and this is the same thing in a sales call. Sometimes you finish a sales call and you’re like, oh, something was wonky and I’m not exactly sure what it is. Right. But if you had recorded it, then you could go back and go, oh, that’s what happened.

You know, I kinda lost them

here.

I said this and I should have said this. Oftentimes it’s a but instead of an, and it’s one of those things. Right. But, but you know what I mean? It’s, it’s, uh, it’s super useful to have those recordings to go back on and, and to hone that craft. Right. Right.

Kathleen Kobel: Yeah, most definitely. And, and it’s, you know, watching yourself and I think also, you know, watching other people, Right.

Watching other content creators, watching other musicians, like what can you. What [00:13:00] can you learn, uh, from things that they’re doing too, right? Because if you keep yourself on an island, then it’s really hard to improve.

You can

improve whatever’s going on in your own head, but without that feedback and, you know, without, um, having other people there too, it just kind of, it makes it harder.

Tim Melanson: Yeah,

and I think that that what you just said too, if, if. If you can see people doing what it is that you’re trying to do, then I think that that means you can eventually get there. You just need the work to get to that point. So like you said, when you first started doing the videos, you’re like, oh, this is super awkward and all that stuff.

But at least you, I. I had a video that you’re looking at and you’re like, okay, well I, I know that it can be done, I can get my videos to that point. I just have to go through the, you know, I, I, I remember, you know, part of someone said this to me, one of my mentors said that, you know, as a musician, the, the key to becoming a good musician is you have to be okay with sucking for a very long time.

I’m like, damn, that’s [00:14:00] deep. But it’s true. It’s the key to getting good at anything

is being

able, okay. With sucking for a long time. Right.

Kathleen Kobel: It is so true because, and I see this with, with my kids and you know, having kids really brings you this self-awareness, Right.

But I see this

with my

kids and they’re like, I don’t like this. I don’t like soccer because I’m not good at it.

Like, well,

but you’ve only been playing for, you know, six months.

You know,

you’re, maybe you’re

not as good as the other kids on your team that have been playing for six years. It’s because you’ve only been playing for six months, and you have to be okay with sucking at it first in order to

like get

that motivation to want to be better. And I think it’s the people that are, I don’t wanna suck at

something.

And it really

just, it holds them back from so many opportunities that they’re missing because they’re not willing to. Be bad at something.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, it’s

true. It’s true. And, and I think, I

think that we, when we’re younger,

and

this is probably some really great parenting advice, right?

To get your

kids through that. ’cause when [00:15:00] you’re younger, it’s like, oh, it’s okay. I, I, I, I know I’m, I’ve gotta improve. I’m, I’m young, right? But as adults, it’s way harder

to tell

an adult

that.

Yeah. You know, you’ll get there. You just have to suck first. ’cause as adults, we don’t wanna, we don’t wanna look like we’re terrible at anything. And so you’re starting a business, you’re starting from scratch. You’re, you’re, you’re an infant at this point. Like you didn’t like tell your kid, well, you might as well give up walking ’cause you’re never gonna get there.

Like they fell a bunch of things.

And you are too, as an entrepreneur.

Kathleen Kobel: That’s such a great way to look at it. I’ve never looked at it like, Yeah. you know, you start a new business or you start a new venture, you’re an infant. You have to learn how to walk.

You have

to, and we just, we see ourselves as adults and

we’re like,

I should be good at

whatever I wanna be

good at. ’cause I’m a grownup.

Right.

No, it doesn’t work that

way.

Tim Melanson: yeah. That was one of the things that, you know, when you become an adult, you realize that adults don’t have it all together. As a kid, you’re like, oh, these adults have it all together.

Right on.[00:16:00]

Kathleen Kobel: right? I hope my kids think that at least now

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Uh, hopefully you don’t listen to this, right?

Kathleen Kobel: they’re too young. They’ll listen when they’re, Yeah. They’ll listen in 10 years.

Tim Melanson: They’ll listen when they need it.

Kathleen Kobel: Exactly. Exactly.

Tim Melanson: So, let’s talk about the band. So who, who is

it that you have

in your, in your band, that you, um, uh, that you’ve

assembled? I.

Kathleen Kobel: Sure. So I, I have a small band, but my band is mighty, you know, so I have a virtual assistant

over in the

Philippines. He’s been working for me for. Eight years now. I mean, and good help is hard to find. And he is a rockstar. He has been with me from the beginning and something I love about him and something that, you know, if you’re looking for virtual assistant, um, he takes direction really well, but he can also pivot really well.

Like, he went from writing blog posts to like, um, admin data entry to now he does a bunch of my video editing. And so like, he has really. grown with me, and he’s someone [00:17:00] that, um, you know, if he’s listening, uh, um, I, he will, he will be on my

team forever.

I hope he will be on my

team forever.

Um, he is, he is core.

He’s probably my lead singer. And then, um, I have an executive assistant who lives. Probably four hours away from me. So she’s not local, but she’s been with me

for quite

a few years now and she helps me with, you know, like email correspondence and scheduling and, um, kind of making sure that I’m staying on track when I schedule events with my, like, community and my, you know, my members and all that stuff.

Um, she’s there to help. Like, kind of be my, my right hand with all of that. Um, and then, you know, I have contractors that I’ll hire here and there and we talked about the kids for a minute. Like they help me actually a lot with my videos. My daughter will hold the camera for me if I am, you know, doing a demonstration or, uh, my kids will help.

Like test products. We get a lot of products to test now since we’re Amazon influencers. So they will test the products and um, [00:18:00] actually my, my middle guy, he’s about to turn nine. He builds all the furniture that I get from Amazon and I tell you what, I.

hate build, like, you know, putting those bookshelves together.

And

he

just has this like engineering mind and he loves Lego, so I’m like, maybe I could teach him. This boy builds

all of my

furniture for me and it is just. Fantastic. So like my kids are, my kids are in my band too, on top of my, my small team.

Tim Melanson: I think

that’s so good too. That’s, and I mean, I’m sure they probably enhance your videos quite a bit too, because I think people like to see families, you know, together. Right. And working together.

Kathleen Kobel: Most definitely. It, it makes it real, you know, especially when, you know, the purpose of the videos I create for Amazon is to like educate the customer on the product. Right? It’s not, it’s not about you, it’s not really about your family, it’s about the product.

But like,

when they see, you know, like a mom with her kids, you know.

Sitting outside under the gazebo in [00:19:00] this new patio furniture, you know, it kind of puts it into perspective.

Like, oh

Yeah, that does look like a good set of fur. Maybe I can have that quality time with my kids in the backyard. You know, and a, uh, things like that. I think people, I think people like it ’cause it’s, it’s real.

I’m not, I’m not an influencer next to a Lamborghini, um, with, you know, cash money. Like, that’s, that’s not, that’s not what it’s about at all. Yeah. It’s real.

Tim Melanson: Yeah,

absolutely. Yeah. Well, and,

and I mean,

the average person is that with, with, with kids and all that stuff. And so they can see themselves as you, I guess. Right. And also, you know what, it’s, it’s very difficult to make kids lie. They tend to tell the truth. So if they open something up and they like it, they’ll say it.

If they don’t like it, they’ll say it. Right.

Kathleen Kobel: That’s

true. And, and we’ve had a few instances where they’re like, mom, this thing broke. You know, I used

it once and

this thing broke. And I’m like, well, we gotta tell the people, ’cause we don’t want them to buy this [00:20:00] thing and then it’s gonna break, you know? So you’re right. They’re, they’re very honest and I think they help, uh, I think people can see that, uh, that definitely comes through in the content that, that they’re in.

Tim Melanson: That’s awesome. So we’ve already talked a little bit about learning from the best, and I’m wondering if we can expand on that a little bit more. Like do you, I mean, do you participate in things like masterminds? Do you have coaches, mentors? Like how does that all work for you?

Kathleen Kobel: Yeah, most definitely. Like I kind of talked about my little, you know, my little group of Amazon influencers and they’re so incredibly helpful, like, especially when it comes to like that piece of my business. But,

um,

I’ve been in masterminds, I’ve hired coaches and I think, um, I think everyone needs to

have

that group of people or that person that is at least.

Two, you know, one or two steps ahead of them that

they can

just go to for advice. You know, like, um, even, like I said, I do so much outside of the Amazon influencer. I was, um, the mastermind just ended, uh, not too long ago, but I was [00:21:00] in a mastermind and there were probably 25 of us and every three months we would go meet.

Physically in the same place and people would take turns giving presentations about certain topics in their business. And it was just so educational and eye-opening. And then like you get to know these people and they’re so open with sharing how they run their business and the struggles they have and the successes they have.

Like I recommend Mastermind to anybody who is, uh. A full-time entrepreneur for sure, because you need that guidance, um, and people on your level, but also ahead of you. ’cause that’s how you learn. And same with coaches like I, I. Pretty much always have a business coach because then it’s someone I can just call and be like, listen, I’m trying to figure out which platform to host my course on.

What do you use? What do you recommend? And they’ll be like, I’ve used this one. This stinks. This one is great. You should use this one. And you know, that’s kind of a generic example, but also, you know, [00:22:00] again, you wanna have people in your corner. That support you, but that are also ahead of you because you never wanna be

the smartest

person in the room.

If you are, you’re in the wrong room. And so I always wanna, I try to surround myself with people that are on my level or a step, hopefully a step above me so that I can learn from them, but also, uh, you know, help them in whatever way that I can too.

Tim Melanson: I agree. Well, and, and I mean, part of it is I think you need the, the social aspect of it and work from home can be pretty lonely, right? I mean, at least. Sit in an office, you go to

the water

cooler and you have some peers. And like you say, you have some people that are ahead of you, some people that are below you, you know, and, and you can communicate with people.

But when you’re working from home, especially if you’re doing it full time, like you, you go stir crazy. Eventually you have to have something, right? And so maybe some of these masterminds and some of these groups

that

you can get a part of is a way to get that community without necessarily having to go work in an office.

[00:23:00] Right?

Kathleen Kobel: Yes, most definitely. I’m getting flashbacks to like, that was like my favorite part about working in an

office was like just

being able to go and, you know, go to the water cooler or go travel by the desk of the person that I love to chat with the most. You know, like I just.

I was just staring at my computer for two hours, like, can you talk to me for five minutes?

You know, and we don’t, we

don’t get that

working from home. And, you know, while mastermind or, or a coach is a bit more structured, you know, it’s still so critical. ’cause if you, if you stay in your box And you stay on your island, it’s just gonna stunt you, whether it’s in your business or your personal development.

And so, like, community is you, you

gotta have it.

Tim Melanson: And I, I, I mean, I will say that I love that we have this video conferencing thing going on now. ’cause it, it does kind of like, it’s not quite the same like you say as you. You know, friends cubicle or whatever it is. But it is pretty awesome that you can actually have these face-to-face meetings and see them react rather than, [00:24:00] uh, you know, just on the phone or, you know, on a text message.

Right.

Kathleen Kobel: Yes. No, I love it. I think I almost

never do

audio now, especially like, you know, with my videos with Amazon,

it’s like

I just assume, you know, if, if I call someone it’s

FaceTime. If

I’m on Zoom, we’re turning on

the camera, you

know,

and it just,

it’s so nice to be able to see people, even if you are in another country or

or across

the

world.

Tim Melanson: Yep, me too. I try to not use like the, the actual phone number as much as possible ’cause I just think that so much gets lost. And then on the other hand, like we said earlier, uh, we can record these calls and it’s super useful to have like a note taker sitting in there and taking notes. There’s so many things you can

do.

Uh, but back to what you were saying before about the coaches as well, like, sometimes it’s

not even

necessarily that they are, uh, you know,

teaching

you a bunch of stuff. It’s just someone to run these ideas across. ’cause sometimes you can get like, really stuck in like, indecision, like you said about, oh, you know, I wanna do a new [00:25:00] platform.

There’s so many options and you’re like, oh, which one should I, I mean, when it comes down to it, the, the coach might just say, well, just pick this one.

And really

you could have done that. But it’s so much harder without someone saying, just this one. I know it works. Right. Um,

Kathleen Kobel: one of my favorite coaches. She was super honest and I think this is why I liked her. I loved her so

much. She literally

said, she was like, people pay me to give them permission. You know? And, and that was, and, and she’s a brilliant marketing mind and she, you know, she is a very successful, uh, businesswoman, but she’s like, people pay me to give them permission to

like,

who cares about the course platform, you know, just.

Decide

and then launch

the course, because that’s, that should be the priority, right? You’re getting stuck on this little thing. Just pick this one and, and move on. Right. So I, I like that.

Tim Melanson: And then rewind right to the beginning. If it, if it’s the wrong choice, you’ve made a mistake, you recover from it,

Kathleen Kobel: Yes. [00:26:00] Fail fast.

Tim Melanson: it. Right? Yeah. And, and, you know, pivot quickly, right? Because sometimes you are gonna make

a mistake. But

I mean, I think it’s, well, I mean, it’s always gonna be better to make a choice, go in a direction, make a mistake, and change it then to never do anything at all, you know?

Kathleen Kobel: Absolutely.

And that’s like, that’s one of the, I think one of the biggest lessons that I personally learned going out on my own, um, was that, you know, you just have to, you just have to do it. You just have

to.

Fail fast if you don’t ever try. You know, it’s better to try and fail than it is to never do it.

And you know?

I look at my younger days and I’m like, oh, I regret not doing that.

Like I regret not doing that. And

now that I’m an adult and I’m a full-time entrepreneur, I was an adult and I didn’t do this. But now that I’m a full-time entrepreneur, I’m like, I don’t regret anything because I just go for it now.

And I’m not afraid to fail. I fail plenty. I fail every day. Um, but I’m not afraid to go for

it anymore.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, they do say that, that in, uh, if you [00:27:00] interview people that, that are

at the

end of their life, that they’ll, and you ask

them for regrets,

they never regret things they did. They regret the things they didn’t do. Right.

Kathleen Kobel: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Tim Melanson: I’m sure that there’s some exceptions to that, you know?

You know what I mean?

Kathleen Kobel: Totally. Totally. But

for the most part,

right. I think probably all of

us

can go look back on things like.

Maybe I regret, you know, what I said yesterday to my kid, but I really remember the things like, I really remember like not becoming a full-time musician, like not, you know, taking that path. And those are big things that we regret, right?

’cause we’re too scared and, you know, we’re, we’re not ready.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, so it’s time for your guest solo. Tell me what’s exciting in your business.

Kathleen Kobel: Yes. So, oh, what’s exciting? I think, you know, really just so we have, um, so many things are, uh, like we have, I have a masterclass,, it makes me really excited because all of

the people [00:28:00] that I’ve talked

to after the fact have just been able to.

Take these steps that they didn’t even know about before. And so, um, my masterclass is all about how to become a six figure content creator on Amazon. And I think a lot of people just don’t even realize that this is

an opportunity.

And so it really walks you through like, what is the opportunity, who is it for?

And how do you actually get started doing it? And so, you know, I kind of talked about the opportunity and it’s creating content for Amazon, but it really can be. Passive income, it can be a side thing that you can do while you’re still working for the man or working in your cubicle, or if you have your own business too, you can start this on the side.

Um, but it is a really nice opportunity to just start earning money, especially if you already buy stuff on Amazon like so many of us do. Um, and it’s, it’s helped a lot of people not only get into the program and start making money, [00:29:00] but kind of. Pivoting their lives in ways where they’re able to stay home with their kids or they’re able to pay for that extra vacation every year and things like that. So um, it’s very helpful, but it makes me very excited to, to hear all the success stories that have come out of it too.

Tim Melanson: So

what would you say would be the personality of someone who would have the most success doing, doing something like this?

Kathleen Kobel: Ooh, that’s a good question because I, I look at myself and I’m, um, I’m very introverted. Like, you know, I was in a band and I like to be in the back. I was not the lead singer, I was the keyboard player, so I was very happy just back there. I do some background vocals, so, you know, I, I think of like. You think of like the, the typical influencer

and it’s

like, look at me, I wanna be on camera.

And, um, that’s just not me. So like, if that is you, I think like this could still be a good opportunity, but the point of me saying all that is that [00:30:00] that doesn’t have to be you. Um, because like I said, I was very nervous to be on, on video for a very long time. Um, really the best people that are suited for this.

Are people that are motivated and driven, um, because you don’t need to have a bunch of fancy equipment. You don’t need to be a savant in front of the camera. You don’t need to have these like, you know, crazy video editing skills. In fact, most of the videos are, we just shoot ’em and upload ’em because. It’s natural, it’s authentic.

I would say the best people for this are people that are just, um, like honest and helpful and able to, I think the biggest thing is you’re able to articulate like how a product works. And I don’t really think that’s hard.

If

you do that, you know, uh, regularly, you know, you just kind of, what is this microphone?

What, what does it, what’s the input, what’s the output? What do I use it for? Why do I like it?

Now you can decide

if you wanna just very honest, [00:31:00] uh, open feedback about a product.

Tim Melanson: Hmm. You know, I have read somewhere, I’m not sure if it’s true or not, but I’ve, I’ve read somewhere that most musicians are introverts. And I thought, I always thought that that was interesting ’cause like what does that even mean? But then I also heard that most musicians that are extroverted looking have these alter egos.

And so I’m wondering if there’s maybe something there, maybe they’re really an introvert, but they have to like step into a new character in order to actually be that, you know, flamboyant person that they are on stage. But, but I, I think that’s interesting that you say that as an introvert, like I guess maybe the.

The thing that’s this, that, that, that I’m noticing is that you’re okay with being on stage,

but you’re

still introverted. And I think that there would be people that were introverted that are not okay with being on stage, and maybe that wouldn’t be the right person for it.

Kathleen Kobel: Yeah, yeah, no, definitely. Yes. That’s, that’s like the perfect way to describe it. Um, because like with the videos, you [00:32:00] know, you can be on video, but I have so many people, um, that I teach and you know, that, that I follow too, that are Amazon influencers and they never put their face on video.

They’re just the voice behind the camera. And, um, and their, their videos work great. Uh, especially for the Amazon platform because, like I said. No offense to real influencers, but Amazon customers don’t care about you. They care about the product. So if you’re highlighting the product, and again, you’re just giving your, I’m a mom of three, and this is why I love this outdoor patio furniture set, like, be relatable, but be honest and like, just be your authentic self and that will, that will make

you money

on Amazon.

Tim Melanson: Interesting. And then just to bring it all together, I think most musicians aren’t interested. They’re not, they’re not saying, look at me. They’re saying, I’m interested in the music.

Kathleen Kobel: Yes,

Tim Melanson: about the music. It’s not about me. Right. And, and I think that probably is the same thing. If you are the type of person that takes pride [00:33:00] in, in the thing that you’re doing.

Then you’re probably gonna be pretty good at, at doing what you’re doing right?

Because you, you,

you take pride in making sure that that, uh, review is gonna be useful for people.

Kathleen Kobel: Absolutely. That’s such a great analogy. I never, I never thought of it like that, but you, you nailed it.

Tim Melanson: All right.

Well,

you’re welcome.

So how

do we find out more?

Kathleen Kobel: So if anyone’s interested in checking out the masterclass, it’s totally free. Just go to my website, which is KathleenKobel.com/masterclass, and

you can

sign up for that free masterclass I talked about. That’ll kinda get you more, um, get you more?

information about the Amazon Influencer program and what it takes to get in there, and then what it takes to actually start earning money.

So I would say start there and there’s lots of other free information on my website. Site and I also have a, a YouTube channel, um, under my name Kathleen Kobel. Tons of free videos and information about the Amazon [00:34:00] influencer program as well.

Tim Melanson: Oh really? So we, so really, someone could potentially find out if it’s for them for free before they put any money into it.

Kathleen Kobel: Oh, definitely, definitely. I, um, that’s how I like to teach, right? Like, so I’m not, I do have

a course, I

do have a paid program, but I like people to go through the free class first because like, I, you wanna know if this is right

for you. You wanna know if this

is something that you

actually wanna

do before you invest money into it, because if.

If I say, go buy my course, it could just be a waste of time

and money

for you and me. You know, let’s make sure it’s something you wanna do, something you’re excited about. And then if

you want the

accelerated, um, path, you know, and you want to learn directly from me and you know, be in the community of people that are already doing all that, then look to the paid program.

Tim Melanson: Yeah, that’s great. And I mean there’s a benefit to you as well, like you said, ’cause you get to pre-qualify. People are actually. Coming to your course with a bit of understanding and you know, like you say, that they’re, they actually think that [00:35:00] they can do this, right? So there’s a, you know, you, you can save some time and talk to them in the right language, right?

Kathleen Kobel: Yes. Yes, exactly. It’s all about being, you know, kind of motivated. I’ve had plenty of people say, you know, this looks like a really easy opportunity. Can I just make a quick, you know, few thousand and, you know, I’m like. That’s not really how it works. You know, we, the way I

teach is

this is a sustainable long-term income

stream. We

follow all the rules from Amazon so that it

becomes a passive long-term income stream for you. Whether you’re making videos today or not.

Tim Melanson: Yeah. Be okay with sucking at first.

Kathleen Kobel: Exactly. And your first

videos will suck.

Just. Accept it, get over

it, and once you see the money start coming in, it’ll

be great motivation

to To get over it.

Tim Melanson: Yep. And then you’ll be teaching this to someone else down the line. You know, just get through your first few videos and you’ll be fine. Right.

Kathleen Kobel: Exactly.

Tim Melanson: Awesome. Well, thank you so much for rocking out with me today. This

is the, [00:36:00] this is the last

and most, uh, difficult question, I

think, but

who’s your favorite

rock star?

Kathleen Kobel: Well, my favorite

rockstar,

Stevie Wonder for sure.

Tim Melanson: love it.

Kathleen Kobel: He’s such, he’s such a rock star. He is just someone that

like, ever

since I was a kid, like his whole story is just so inspirational and like his genre of music. Like I can get down to anything he is written or anything that like, sounds like him, like Stevie Wonder is my favorite rock star of all time.

For sure.

Tim Melanson: That’s awesome.

My favorite, uh, thing from him is that I watched a, a documentary, I think, which, which one was it? It’s like one of those col uh, collaboration videos. I think it was like the, we Are The World one, or, I,

I can’t remember which, which song it actually was. Um, I think it was, uh, oh. Uh, Michael Jackson

and somebody

else that created, anyway, uh, but in that video they had Bob Dylan in there and, uh, at one point.

Uh, you know, Bob was like.

Like

[00:37:00] scared. It looked like in, in this group of

all these crazy

musicians. And you know, he’s a songwriter, right? I mean, and he’s got this specific style to him. And at some point it got to him and he had this one line that he had to say and he was just struggling to trying to figure out how he was gonna say it.

And Stevie Wonder is such a great mimic, and he goes, oh yeah,

just say it like this.

Yeah.

He just like

coached

him on what to say. And, and, and Bob was like, oh yeah, I

could do that. That’s great. And then he does his his line and it

is just so cool

how, you know, Stevie Wonder is just such a great musician and such a great person.

He, he just seemed

to be the

type of guy that was like, I’m gonna help you through this man here. Watch me. Right.

Kathleen Kobel: sweet. I haven’t seen that, but I’m gonna, I’m gonna go Look for it now. That’s so

Tim Melanson: it up. Yeah, I can’t remember which song it was. It was one of those We Are the World type things. I can’t remember which one it was, if it was that one or if it was another one, but, uh, but it was great. Anyways, uh, yeah, thank you so much for that Stevie Wonder Great rockstar. So thank you for rocking out with me today.

And thank you to the [00:38:00] listeners for listening. Make sure you go to

workathomerockstar.com

for more information and we’ll see you next time on the Work at Home Rockstar Podcast.