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Eric Walsh, an extremely successful Amazon seller, got his start in business back in 2008 at the mall in Danbury, Connecticut. Out of two carts, he sold patterned phone cases for Blackberry’s, Sidekicks, and other flip phone models that were popular at the time. Beginning as an associate, he quickly excelled in the role and rose to manage the business, purchasing these stylish, drop-proof cases from China for $2 or less and selling them for $20—about $25k in revenue every month.
Eric’s business grew and grew. Back then, competitors like Amazon existed, but weren’t a major concern for brick-and-mortar stores. Seeing an opportunity to grow the cell phone case business, he ended up dropping out of college that year, more than halfway to his bachelors’ in business management. We asked Eric what made him take that risk.
“School was just never for me. Middle school, high school, or college—none of them taught me a single thing that helped me grow my business.” With college in the rearview, Walsh decided to purchase the case business from its owners.
How was Eric Walsh able to buy the cell phone accessory business?
Eric explained, “My first car was an Audi A4, worth $15,500 at the time. I went to a credit union and turned in the title for the value of the car. I then relentlessly begged my mom, Nana, and Pop for the rest. After about a million no’s from them and other friends and family, I finally got a yes. Ultimately, I think what won them over was my passion and excitement about how this would change our lives. I would do anything it took. My mom, having good credit, went to the bank and took out a loan for $10,000 which I promised to make all the payments on. My Nana and Pop lent me the other $9,500 I needed. The purchase of the business was $120,000. I was just 21 years old at the time and somehow I still had to come up with another $85,000.
Before the phone case selling job, Eric worked at Sears selling televisions with a high school friend, Matt Abrantes. Eric said the two of them were almost always the top salesmen, month after month.
“I first went to a lot of my closest friends with the idea, all of whom told me I was crazy. So, I went to Matt, pitched him the idea, and he went for it. I knew he was a great guy and could sell the crap out of some TVs and accessories. It was a blessing that I brought this to him and he said yes. Had it been someone else, I do not believe it would be where it is today.”
Now that Walsh had Matt on board, they collectively had $60,000 to start the business. He was able to convince the business owner to finance the rest at a very aggressive payment plan—they would pay the debt off in just one year at a rate of $5,000 per month.
On August 1, 2010, 21-year-old college dropout Eric Walsh was officially a business owner. He and his partner worked open to close every single day for two years straight. His very first month in business, they doubled each cart’s sales, raking in profits north of $96,000 for $20 cell phone cases. Walsh paid off his mom, Nana, and Pop, and got the title back to his car within 60 days.
Walsh continued to grow the business rapidly, opening 17 stores. Since then, Eric Walsh has built a 7-figure Amazon business from the ground up. Not only is he sharing his story with the world, but he’s teaching aspiring sellers how they can experience his same success. Keep following Eric for more of his fascinating success story—with his fair share of failures along the way.
If you want to build a passive income that can lead to total financial freedom as a successful Amazon seller, sign up for Eric Walsh’s Genius Academy Masterclass here.
