When Lesley Hensell’s oldest son was diagnosed with autism, focusing on him became a priority. Deciding to quit her job, Lesley found a way to supplement her lost income by pivoting from marketing consulting to online retail, a change that led her down an unexpectedly successful path. Lesley is the co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, whose 85 plus employees solve problems for e-commerce sellers. Lesley oversees the Riverbend service team, and she has personally helped hundreds of sellers get their suspended Amazon accounts and ISINs up and running. She has been an Amazon seller for more than a decade. And her new book is the Amazon Incubator: Grow Your Business or Hatch a New One. Lesley earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from university of Texas at Austin. She volunteers for A Wish With Wings, a wish granting organization for little Texans with life threatening conditions and serves on the board of directors for Hallie's Heroes, which funds bone marrow matches and medical research for kids with cancer and critical illnesses.

What You Will Hear in This Episode:

1:31 Lesley’s personal story

5:46 Challenges and lessons

10:28 Amazon strategy and skill set for success

17:26 Suspended accounts, Amazon ads, algorithms, editor’s picks and Amazon’s choice

25:21 What people don’t know about being a seller on Amazon

33:15 Testimonials and verified reviews

Quotes

“I had to really learn to take joy in the small accomplishments that we had as a family.”

“As a seller, one of your top goals is to develop a good BSR or best seller rate.”

”What people don't realize is that you make or lose money at the moment you buy your inventory….Make sure the item is profitable first that is the number one thing you can do to Set yourself up for success because if you overpay when you purchase the product, there's just no way to recoup that money.”

Mentioned:

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

RvierbendConsulting.com

The Amazon Incubator

eConnect with Bonnie

Gendered Ageism Survey Results

Forbes article

5 Tips to own the superpower of your age

IAMMusicGroup

Purchase my book Not Done Yet on Amazon:

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