This Prime Talk Podcast Sponsored by GETIDA – Tomer David of Sourcing Monster - talks about being a Diamond Seller That found Success on Amazon, also more information about his life's journey. #TomerDavid #SourcingMonster
About Tomer David of Sourcing Monster - Tomer David, the owner of 2 Amazon FBA brands with experience in e-commerce for 14 years. His passion started when he was young and has been programming since age 12. When he was 14, He opened his 1st online business which was a hosting company. At 16, he left school to pursue his dreams full time by working at a startup company until now where he has experience in e-commerce and marketing.
Yoni Mazor 0:06
Hi, everybody. Welcome to another special episode of prime talk today I have a special guest today, Tomer from sourcing master sourcing monster is a cool thing. It's a YouTube channel and a website that educates about Amazon FBA and E-commerce. So Tomer, welcome to the show.
Tomer David 0:19
Thank you. Thank you for having me here. Yoni, it's a great pleasure your an inspiration for me as well. I follow you for a long time. I think we met in person. It was like three years ago in New York, one of the events. And yeah, I see you all over.
Yoni Mazor 0:37
Thank you, I want to reciprocate. So I see you also grew in the past two or three years, you grew a lot and you have your own YouTube channel and a platform facility. We're going to discuss that very soon. So congratulations, we work you know, people will try to come into the space and be helpful and, and do well for others. Usually, I do believe and see that they find success. So we jump on that and congratulations. But yeah, today's episode is going to be your story, right? Story of tomorrow, you're gonna share with us. Who are you? Where are you from? Where'd you grow up? Where'd you go to school? How do you begin your professional career, station to station until you get to where you are today with the world of E-commerce. So without further ado, let's jump right into it.
Tomer David 1:14
Yep. So I'm from Israel originally. I knew this. I know that you spent some good years there too. So I moved to the States eight years ago.
Yoni Mazor 1:25
But I happen to know the place. So where are you from Israel?
Tomer David 1:29
From Tanya, I grew up very close to the beach. And it's something that I missed. You know, when I was in New Jersey in New York. Now I'm in Florida, so it's better but it's still like 1015 minutes drive. So I grew up by the beach was either fishing or surfing and, like, I like the beach and the ocean. This is something that I enjoy. Since I was young, I was into really computers and tech. I remember when we were maybe third or fourth grade, my good friend introduced me to miracle the IRC platform where you talk with the
Yoni Mazor 2:11
MRC IC, is it also in the 90s? Or in the 90s? Oh, yeah. And of the 90s at the beginning of 2010.
Yoni Mazor 2:18
So cute today, they have social media, but it's not. It's not what them was. But yeah, so
Tomer David 2:23
It’s similar to the Facebook of today, except that you didn't have all these like media files and all this stuff. It was just checked-based. And it was amazing. For me, it opened my eyes, to different countries, different people from different countries, and to different cultures and the things that I didn't know exist. Back then it was more about hacking and doing some like hacking into other people's computers. And then some stupid stuff was into building websites and exploring those things I remember blocked like a ton of books for programming and opened my first company when I was 14, it was a hosting company, I would offer people like that need the hosting for the website. Services. So I remember back then
Yoni Mazor 3:08
We were marketing to people surfing the internet in Israel or worldwide, this whole thing.
Tomer David 3:12
It was for people in Israel, but also worldwide. I remember back then I didn't have any credit card processing, see because no one will allow me at age 14 to do this and with small volume. So I would just tell people to mail me a check. This is my home address. And they will mail you an envelope either with cash or a check. So that was fun. Yeah. Well, I remember back then, when I opened the company, I had to get the server and that was in a data center that was pathetic. So we went to the league. I remember with my father because they didn't allow me to go there by myself. And we went into the data center and you see the technicians and are like, oh, what is this guy? Like? Are are you
Yoni Mazor 3:54
Exactly is your dad and you're working for your dad? Are you helping him? Or was the boss here? Yeah. Now, so you said you by your father, but why were your father's parents involved? What kind of industries were they working in?
Tomer David 4:06
So my father was a technician for laundry machines and washing machines back then. And my mother worked as you know, doing accounting. I grew up in an atmosphere that it's okay to do an emperor ternary that my dad was kind of self-employed. And I remember like back then he would come back with the money and I will always ask him that that's gonna help we count the money and counting the money and helping him and after that, like my older brothers, they're also in business. We'll touch base about this later. But older brother I have a specific brother that he's five years older than me. And then I have two more that are one is 15 years older and one is 10 years so Wow, the difference between each brother like five years so the one above me. I was having like this entrepreneur mindset. So he was like 16 and doing like huge parties and were like 5000 people and like at age 16, it would come back with like 30 or $40,000. If I convert it, it's
Yoni Mazor 5:08
Crazy. So yeah, definitely, it was a producer's, like it was an entrepreneur and evolving entertainment productions of the parties. Yeah, yeah.
Tomer David 5:15
And then you shifted somehow to other stuff. I guess it's the blood is like, he's an inspiration for me, I like to always follow him is in real estate now and successful doing some other stuff. So for me, I always grew up with the feeling that it's okay to try and do those things. You know, that's what I felt doing
Yoni Mazor 5:33
Very, very, very good environment to grow and you know, an entrepreneurial spirit, and it's okay to try things. It's okay to fail. You're already 14, you did the server. Yet? Because 18 we usually get drafted into the army. So did you say what these data centers around that time are? Or you were doing before this?
Tomer David 7:15
Yeah, yeah, I'll explain more about these stories. So. So this company without think failed, it didn't work out, I didn't have enough clients didn't have the right skills to grow with the minute something like that. And I partnered with a friend that they would go and take photos at schools. So during the breaks, they would come to take a picture of you with your friends, and they will give you a business card. So these business cards contain the link to the website and the gallery. So we get a huge amount of traffic, but the guy didn't know what to do with it. Back then it was just when Google AdSense was created, and it didn't support the Hebrew.
Tomer David 5:53
So UTF eight, as a programming study wasn't supported. So I had to come up with a workaround and figure out how we can still display ads on our website in Hebrew, because the audience is Israelis, and then make monetize it, like make money out of it. And I was able to do it. And I remember we were getting checks from Google and I would come to the bank to deposit them and they were like, is this fake? They didn't know what to do with it. And 1516 Yeah, around that age. And that was a good income as a side thing and then I did some other stuff always like trying to do some extra cash remember that there Neil Armstrong God bends they came out and I was told my brother that lived here in New York send me like as many as you can get so
Yoni Mazor 7:52
Strong the other one the less strong the Nike ones. Yeah, the yellow ones
Tomer David 8:29
And then it was the white Nike ones Yeah. So I was bitten on of them and sell them at school you know, and then do affiliate like give someone like a friend look you sell whatever you sell you get the dollar or whatever. So always trying to do those things, you know, make some extra cash or extra money? Then I got I was into hacking and stuff like that. So we did some bad stupid stuff. And I got really in trouble. And then because I was always like doing those stuff. I didn't go to school. I didn't go it was high school.
Tomer David 7:54
I didn't go to school and just was focused on being on the computer nonstop. I remember my friends calling me like Tom, can I tell you like we didn't see you like for four days, even weeks like you're always on a computer, like what's going on with you. So that's what I was doing and spending all my time there. To a point, they told me Look if you didn't attend a school like it's either you stay one year, or just go find it in a different school. And I was like, Okay, I find a different school, you know. And my brother, I remember he sent us money to go to this private school that was in Ghana, and
Yoni Mazor 8:32
Which one I call and go is, as my brother went to that school and Okay, yeah, yeah. Who's the resource-specific in general, everybody, but this is, you know, reminiscing my old hometown. So, okay, it's a private school, you got to get paid, or you got to pay more, it's more expensive. So you have to with the tuition with the money gradually there?
Tomer David 8:54
No, no. So I was there for like two months. And then also didn't really, like went there or got connected. It was also hard for me, Tanya, to take a bus to someone, you know, and then taking another bus,
Yoni Mazor 9:08
Then I found too much coming again.
Tomer David 9:11
The commute was bad. And then I found out that there was a girl from my city, my hometown. I was just driving with her to school. So it was easier. But still, I didn't I was so passionate about what I was doing that I didn't care, even though it was you know, it was quite expensive to my parents. And I'm like I told you my brother sent the money from, from the US to pay for the tuition. So I just stopped working there and just focus there. Starting school, he
Yoni Mazor 9:42
Dropped out of school, high school, dropped out of high school,
Tomer David 9:45
I think it was the 10th grade. And just was focusing well like learning new skills and doing whatever I did. I remember it was very stressful because my parents didn't relate, you know, accepted this. They didn't like the fact that I'm not what’s
Yoni Mazor 10:00
Going on? You're on your own and have no structure no environment for you. Teenagers okay, but I saw you already hitting 18 so what happened is you will get drafted did you go through the army or did you skip it went to the States?
Tomer David 10:14
Yeah so I'd stopped with that with school and then I decided to go and work for a startup company it was also invited on and I worked there for a good few months got a really good salary like an adult salary and it was an awesome experience or the company pay per lead got it there I think they changed the name by they're pretty big as far as like providing leads to you know, in Israel. So that's what I did and then went to the army I'm Willie decided to go to unit combat just changed the atmosphere. You know, all time computers, computers. I was tired of this. I wanted to have an experience and do something different than it was. I think that changed my mind like my life like the way we're
Yoni Mazor 11:00
Wired. Did you get drafted? What year did you start in the army?
Tomer David 11:03
What is that? What year
Yoni Mazor 11:05
Did you start in the Israeli Defense Force? Yeah, the army the IDF.
Tomer David 11:08
Why did you get drafted? Oh, what? What unit?
Yoni Mazor 11:12
What year? What year?
Tomer David 11:13
What year? It was 2008 2008.
Yoni Mazor 11:18
That's when I got drafted into the IDF. Yeah, yeah. Okay. 2008. And until what 2011? Do you say that three years? Oh,
Tomer David 11:25
Yeah, it was March 2008. Until March 2011. After two years in that unit, I decided that's not for me, I did too many things, you know, like it was, was too much. The idea just felt good enough for me there. I went closer, based in Italy to my own to save some money to prepare myself for when I'm going to be released from the army and start. Yeah, and I started to work with my brother from Israel. So he was having this eCommerce jewelry, diamonds business, when I met you back then I was still working in that business. And started here in Israel, I did the gym, you know, the geological studies, and went to we had an office in the Diamond Exchange in Ramadan in Israel. And we
Yoni Mazor 12:13
want to say something about the background of your city, it's a little funny that you're finally getting to the diamond business, because LaTonya the city where you're from out of big industry and diamonds are polishing a diamond, it was traded. So you know, I'm not too surprised you eventually got into this trade. But it happened because your brother was overseas doing it. But yeah, so you had an office or a place in Ramadan. demine exchange.
Tomer David 12:36
Yeah. And from there, it's slowly started to get experience. I remember, you know, I did like an English course, improving my language, skills, and just learning slowly, slowly the skills and for me, it was natural to fit into the business with marketing and more the tech side of things. And that's what I did, I started with SEO, improving the website rankings, it was amazing, the ROI was crazy. Then we got hit in 2013, two years after, with the Google update, that changed the way that we did things But long story short, did the marketing and, and learned about diamonds is the manufacturing of jewelry. And it's funny, I just booked with the one with my wife, like, two hours ago, we were preparing a few pilots for UPS to pick up. And I was telling her that you know, like everything, like everything that I did in that business, gave me so much in what I do now. So much knowledge and the work ethic and the way that I look at things now come to me naturally. And now I realized that it comes because of the business experience that we make.
Yoni Mazor 13:51
So once again, your website sells to customers all over the world. Yes, yes. And you're in Israel even though you had a physical activity with the Diamond Exchange, you know, traders coming in to buy it to buy and trade. But you also pushed the online activity, the eCommerce, the website itself to push an SEO with Google probably advertise and generate revenue and you sell it to customers all over the world or mostly in the US market. On the west.
Tomer David 14:17
Yeah, good question. So it was three years that I was in Israel, the manufacturing and everything was in New York back then. So I was only by myself. We had another employee in Israel. His name was Michael, he was from the US. And he was working with me during Ramadan. Yeah, so I just did the marketing. Most of the customers were US customers, UK and Australia. And Canada, of course, but you would get orders from all over the world pretty much.
Yoni Mazor 14:50
Nice. Nice. Okay, so we started around 2010 2011 until 2013. He says there's a dramatic change on the Google side on the updates. The business came into a challenge with no difficulty. So what do you do? Yeah, so
Tomer David 16:31
So it's easier for me. That's what we did with paying the lawyer and attorney and it was quite a smooth process. It worked. I got the visa moved to the States. And yeah, started to you know, the office back then was in New York in the diamond district. 40 47/47 Street, that's my diamond district and man, correct? Yeah. The 47th Street office was 46. But so a lot of already 72 is all it starting from the 45 to 48 or even 50 offices are all around, you know, the diverse business. Yes. So we're going there every day. I remember it was I didn't like it. I personally don't like New York, it's too crowded for me. And I didn't like the fact that it's super cold. And you know, he gets off the bus and he starts running and people pushing you port authority to go to 47 Walk. I've done it with coffee or something. And
Tomer David 15:03
Back then 2013 I was also moving to live in New Jersey. Um, I always felt that I need to be in the US, I felt that there is something that we are attracting me to, to live here. Like, I feel that like you have like fewer destructions and less for me stress from friends and family that I had in Israel. So I could focus on achieving my goals and reaching my potential. That's what I felt I still feel like that. And I moved to New Jersey, I remember it was very exciting, you know, feeling moving there, and especially when I didn't get like three or four times visa. So I didn't get three or four times, you know, probably that after the army, it's very hard to get them because a lot of this man is coming to work here. So they don't easily give visas to Israelis. So I fell three times. Then eventually we decided let's just do it he won the business visa.
Yoni Mazor 16:58
The American dream wasn't that pleasant? No big city in New York works hard and makes money. It was it wasn't so simple, right?
Tomer David 17:05
Yeah, in the beginning, I was still you know, enthusiastic. So it was fun. But after a few months, I realized that I and I started convincing my brother we both live in New Jersey, we are an online business. Why do we need to be in New York? Why do we need to do in the diamond district? He got to like a place where we lived. It was a complex in New Jersey, of three buildings. And in that week, he was living there and I was living a few blocks. And we said he got the place in the mall. So we said let's do it here. And we moved everything there. And it was the same thing. Everything was operating in the beginning, we had daily trips to New York, and then eventually we would build like a full operation there. And we're able to move with New Jersey and things with things turn from SEO to more like PPC paid to advertise and with Google, with Google and Facebook and
Yoni Mazor 17:58
The website because I haven't we haven't touched the Amazon world yet. I'm coming. It's coming. But so far. 2013 you're still with Amazon realm, and you're getting mostly now sorry, you're not in the Amazon realm you're in through your website, you're pushing traffic and converting it through Google PPC.
Tomer David 18:15
Yeah, yeah. 2014 1516 continues like that. And, you know, I got into this business not to be an employee with that business, but to be a partner and eventually became a partner in that business. And, and, and things like when the good well, I got paid goodwill, much better than when I started and things started to be much better. And I remember around 2017 18 We, me and my brother, we started to have more and more conflicts related to business, not personal related to business and decisions where we should go what we should do, we are both very dominant for people. So
Yoni Mazor 18:56
Two alpha dogs in the same kitchen, so it's hard to cook something. Yeah.
Tomer David 19:01
Yeah. And no one like it's not it didn't come from a place of I don't know if it was the ego or not, but it's coming from a place that each one believed in what passion Yeah, passion. Yeah. Yeah. So it was clashing. And until a point that I saw very clearly that I cannot continue within many years. Besides us both it was mutual. So I decided, Okay, I'm going to work on something and find a different business and passion. I believed in who I am and what I do, and I just wanted to explore it like, like, do something, you know, by my own by myself from zero out of the cage. Yeah. Yeah. So that's, I researched what should I like, where should I put my efforts? What should they decide to do a background with buying and selling websites during those years when I was in the US, I started to go buy websites, improve them and sell them again, but it was a small scale. So I said that's one option.
Tomer David 20:00
One option was also another option was affiliate marketing, I was doing that as well, again, small scale. And then I came across the sound thing, you know, like everyone watching those YouTube videos and stuff like that. And I was sitting and these real pros and cons for each method or each fast to reach my goal. So my goal at the beginning was to make a $10,000 profit every month, in one year. So I was asking yourself which option will be easier for me or easier for me to reach that goal? At the end of the day, I decided on Amazon because you are relatively serious, no, it's very quick. Maybe you don't take cash home that quick. But I didn't need that money because I had my other business. And also, as far as investment, you don't have to invest a lot of money in what you can get with affiliate marketing of this name. You don't have to invest a lot in buying websites, it's a little more decided to go Amazon I had that plan because I had my business I had also a girl and another girl on the way. So I didn't have a lot of time.
Yoni Mazor 21:10
My daughter already got married, you got married initially got a man in the States.
Tomer David 21:14
So when I move that my girlfriend that is my wife now in Israel, I moved for six, seven months. And then she moved that to I just wanted to settle and get the place everything to be ready. And then she moved. And we got married a year after it was about two to three years after 2015.
Yoni Mazor 21:34
Yeah, okay, gotcha. So you have two businesses, you were heading into the Amazon space, and you had a girl and another baby girl on the way.
Tomer David 21:41
Yeah, yeah. So I was like, okay, when can I grow up and start this business? I didn't have a plan. So I said, Okay, I have to sacrifice I have to change the way I think and be focused and give everything. This is like my life depends on it. Like, I don't care how much money I do. I'm not happy, I'm not satisfied. I don't have joy in what I do. So I have to find something else. There is no other option. So I said, Okay, I, the only time I have to I tried working at nights didn't work. I was too exhausted, too tired. Didn't really, it didn't work as far as like, what I was achieved that you know, what? Didn't work.
Yoni Mazor 22:17
I didn't have enough innovation or enough energy or enough passion to be able to do it all together all at the same time.
Tomer David 22:23
Yeah, exactly. So I was saying, Okay, I'm not a morning person. But I came across this book, The Miracle Morning. And it was things like things that make sense to me. And I was thinking, you know what, maybe it's time to try to wake up in the morning, that's the only time that I can be productive and achieve something. So I started to wake up, that's before I had the plan. But I started to work up every day like 30 minutes earlier, until to a point that I would wake up at five and 535 o'clock, and I was like, wow, I can achieve in two hours that before everyone wakes up. So many things that I have to take it too really to the extreme for me with extreme. So the plan was to wake up at 4 am every day and work on their Amazon business until seven in the morning, when everyone waking up and then I have to be there present, you know, prefer the goes to school and then go to the office like better from nine o'clock 10 o'clock until the evening like 7 pm that's where I was. It was very demanding business, the jewelry because you're dealing with diamonds, and
Yoni Mazor 23:26
You’re still in the business with your brother. Yeah, I was dealing with your brother. You have an affiliate business and you have a buying and selling website, business, and Amazon.
Tomer David 23:36
No, no, no. So the affiliate and the buying and selling websites were things that I was doing. But when I decided on Amazon, I put all my eggs there. That's what I did. That was my
Yoni Mazor 23:46
Stop doing that you focus on Amazon, but you still kept the jewelry business.
Tomer David 23:49
And yes, I was still managing it. My brother moved to Florida, which was a little more challenging because I was the only person there and you have to be there. As I said, you deal with Diamonds and Precious Metals. You can just flick someone with human billion dollars in a suitcase. And just so let
Yoni Mazor 24:06
I understand the business a little bit of understanding online website. They were selling diamonds. But what do you say yeah, to the location in a mall? The public also saw it as the only b2b business to business.
Tomer David 24:19
No, no, it was close to the public as far as people coming in and wanting to buy jewelry because everything was made to order. So if someone placed an order online, that's where we started to process orders. So the office was an office factory, kind of it was a big space with the factory people and then the office including me where we were taking calls, doing customer service, having meetings and things like that. So
Yoni Mazor 24:44
All my business looking at it, you know, in a mall where you can do all the production and then the care and after we pick up the phone if anybody wants to
Tomer David 24:50
Come and pick up and the clippings, no, no peak performance, right? Yeah, yeah. So every day at eight o'clock, you would have a FedEx coming in, and it's very China, it was very demanding, sometimes the guy wouldn't come, I have to stop what I do. So I lived upstairs. So in the mall, I lived like, in the same area. So it was very demanding, I would wake up at four in the morning, sometimes we had issues with the 3d print things. Were 3d machines to print the models for the rings every night when we were when we come to you?
Yoni Mazor 25:21
Sounds like you lived in the business because it was the right under you it is you're the only always there so and you're in charge. So, okay, so Sony started for mourning, Amazon that was 2017 2018.
Tomer David 25:34
So that was like 2018. I remember January 19, 2018. I went all in and started the business like the Amazon business was doing this three hours a day. And I said I'm going to commit to doing it for one year. Don't judge by the results. Because like I said, I tried to lay things in the binder. And I wasn't committed to focusing enough. That's why I didn't do it at scale, I think. And, and, and, and also, I was all in the jewelry business, when I shifted my mind that I don't want to do it anymore. I was only in more toward Amazon. So I wasn't committing to three hours a day. And I'm gonna I said to myself, let's do it for a year. Let's see what happens and take it from there. And let's see, you know if I'm going to be able to achieve that goal or not, but judge the ends don't judge in the middle. And that's what I did. But it was very stressful. I remember, but still manageable because I just didn't do some other stuff that they used to do. So I love martial arts. I was training and doing Jitsu Jitsu that was in fourth leave probably no. So I didn't have time to do them once I quit doing that for that year. And I pretty much didn't socialize too much, except maybe weekends. And that's also not that many times because I was exhausted. Then I remember their weekends. I was like
Yoni Mazor 27:02
I said 2018 January until 2020. January, where were you after a year? Well, where are you in a better place? Yes, so
Tomer David 28:34
And that for me was super important because I was obligated to other people employees, to productions, to FedEx, to my brother, so many things, and I didn't like it. I love the idea of that freedom. And that's why I felt so good. And I was really into higher remember that. Only, I think, a year after I quit, I was able to transition obviously, it's not an easy task after 10 years working in that family it is to just live like that took another year where, you know, we found a replacement for me and we built I helped my brother build better systems and let him take it from there. He's still doing it is in Aventura, in Miami. I'm doing the same thing pretty much.
Tomer David 27:12
I remember during that year, I that's where I saw you guys into meetings in New York. And I went to the meeting after a few months and tried to learn as much as I can and ask questions and be involved and met great people that they still in, you know, talk to them till this day. And only in the last month, I was able to reach my goal, but I was able to reach it and make December Yeah, yeah, that was no that was a fiber. Around October. Um, and I remember there was like, that's the best feeling ever that they had because they felt that, okay, my life could change. They didn't change it. But my life could change from living and working like crazy hours and having all this responsibility, and doing things that I don't believe in. And to a place that I could work from anywhere live in Florida or live in Israel or live in Alaska, I don't care and work as many hours that they want. And as that control. So I feel that freedom is the control that you get, doing what you want when you want.
Yoni Mazor 29:07
Right now. It's very cool. Okay, so that was 2020 when you did the transition one of your full time into selling on Amazon and selling your brand. Yes. And now let's head into education and the sourcing monster and I guess the next station for you in the world of E-commerce.
Tomer David 29:22
Yeah, so after that year, I felt that too many things to share, sharing about my experience because a lot of people are probably worried about my situation to they were in maybe in businesses or doing things that they didn't like, but they can really take inspiration from that story, and maybe have this just repeat what I did and maybe get the same results. So that's why I opened the YouTube channel and the first few videos just talking about this, like my journey, how I did it. And then after I did it for a few videos, I decided you know what, I just want to share everything that I do. And hopefully like you’re trying to launch new brands? Where are you today with the world of e-Commerce on the retail side? And where are you on the content creation side with the YouTube channel and the website for sorcerer monster? Yeah, great question. So today we're in the process my main focus every day when I wake up is to improve my numbers because in December we're going out selling one of my brands. So I'm focusing like every dollar is you know, would mean probably five every dollar that we make profit and profit. Yeah, we'll make five or $6 who knows between four to $6 a day and in the cell with the multiples on your exit when you're trying to exit? Yeah, so really focusing on improving my tacos improving my margin so that the overall picture would look better it's going good but you know, I just can't live my feet from the gas and just let things happen I just have to be on top of this and me and my team that's what we care about in the next
Tomer David 30:37
And it's kind of easy if you manage your time and are organized. And, and you know, not everyone has the same like, mind you something, you're able to gain this freedom and succeed in life and business because of YouTube. It's the least you can do is give back. That's what I see. Am I correct? That's not just because of YouTube but I learned a lot from YouTube. And I strongly believe that's something that I 13 years ago when I read that book The Secret that changed my life and the way I think I believe that when you give you get back that's the law of life no matter how you change it and then they come back to you some people give things for free and you don't know why they're doing it but they know something that you don't probably know. And you know, I'm not doing it purposely I'm gonna get something from this let's say a podcast No, but you just read and give value and good things will follow right? For sure. Yeah. Okay, so what is today? What's your main focus? Mostly you're still growing your brand.
Tomer David 31:47
Can help people and build an audience and of course, maybe create at some point, another stream of income. So a lot of people ask me sometimes, oh, but if you are that good at selling on Amazon, why are you why you're sharing that information? Why are you focusing on YouTube? So I, first of all, I tell them that the YouTube thing, it's only taking me like 20 to 30 minutes every day when we record the video because now I have a process and I have a team that does the video editing and everything, like behind the scenes, I just come job in front of the camera, doing things and explaining about things that I already do. So it's not that I have to prepare, I don't have scripts or anything like that.
Yoni Mazor 32:42
Team on the retail side how big is your team?
Tomer David 32:44
So right now I have two VAs that I work with I try to bring more but to be honest my philosophy is to keep everything clean after here that business with so many people to take care of and be responsible I realize every person you add you have to manage it I mean yeah the if you become bigger you can bring some money to and some other people to manage it but it's more the responsibility I like it I want to keep everything clean. I just met this guy who sold his business like two weeks ago so this business for like 25 million with one employee everything automated in his business so
Yoni Mazor 33:20
By all things eCommerce a different business
Tomer David 33:22
Yeah, and you can achieve it it's
Yoni Mazor 33:26
Your friend so for $25 million eCommerce or different business
Tomer David 33:29
Amazon business I got it okay. Yeah, Amazon business everything automation, so he's crazy with the donations. So that opened my mind I'm doing like yeah, I was doing the same principles and philosophy but I didn't you know, when I hear that story, I was okay, I have a lot to improve on. Yeah, these are things that I'm going to take to my other brands so I have another seller account in the toys category that didn't have time to focus and grow because I was building this brand trying to exit was supposed to sell it in February but waited with the multiples and you know, thought that I'm going to get more if I wait. I'm gonna get a virgin I'm going to get more but I think it was a better decision to sell it back then and focus on the other brand. But it's all experience we learn from every move that we do
Yoni Mazor 34:16
In China sell Right now your business is with a broker or you're working directly with the buyer.
Tomer David 34:19
Yeah, yeah, no, I work with a broker I've worked with Yeah, you know her.
Yoni Mazor 34:24
Unfortunate. Yes.
Yoni Mazor 34:27
You're on the show, as everybody wants to know she wasn't her partner makalah Rome was here how you can trigger the episode. Mahalo, Rona, all about how to, you know, make a successful exit from Amazon. You have told me here is working with them right now. It's probably exciting and made a unique, unique experience. Again, you already launched another brand, a second brand. Yeah, so I launched it last year 2020. But it's pretty small because I didn't have really enough time to focus and grow it. Um, but the plan is, you know, not taking any breaks
Tomer David 34:59
Or anything like that just sell this business and grew up and takes bigger risks and grow something and higher levels. I'm not in the point that I'm financially like, you know, set, then this will help me like, have more confidence and do things differently, I guess I plan to really acquire one or two small businesses, and just bring the skill and what I know and grow them and hopefully, either grow them to the next level and you know, like eight figures or just flip them, I don't know yet. But that's the plant. Just keep doing what I do.
Yoni Mazor 35:37
Keep doing what you're doing in the same industry, you're excited about it, you feel comfortable with it, you're good at it. Plus, you have your platform to share your experience with it and help others grow with it. I'm sure the experience of being having a channel also helps to grow. Because when you have overcome in you learn, right the same way you learned, the audience learns as well. The name sourcing monster, why did you come up with that? What's the meaning behind that? Is it more about the idea was how to source things or what was the thought behind that?
Tomer David 36:04
Yeah, so it's a funny question a lot of people think that I'm like an outsourcing expert. I'm not a sourcing expert. This name came because when I was checking names, I said, What would represent me and what represented me because I did everything in three hours every day, I did everything extremely fast and feature efficiently. So I had to do it so I did it like a monster you know, just doing everything you know, whatever I can. And I said okay, what is related to Amazon so sourcing is source products and as a monster, so that's how I came up with the name market and that's why they that's what I did actually, like two or three weeks ago, someone reminded me is this trademark and I was like, Oh no, let me say you
Yoni Mazor 36:52
gotta using your ability to trademark also.
Tomer David 36:55
No, so I did myself a couple of trademarks. And he went through successfully Actually, I did one with the L two. They're amazing I had there on the channel too. She is She was the guest and like you said you learn so many things and it's not just people think that oh, okay, why you do the YouTube he thought it helped me connect with so many people that otherwise I wouldn't be able to connect it removes that barrier that you have and defenses when you come to someone and tell him Oh, you want to be a guest on my channel? Sometimes it is just people I want to connect with and ask them question anybody would just come to them just like that maybe they want the f time or want to do it. So for me, that was a strategy to connect with the more smart people in the industry or this space and open like new opportunities like for example this open I'm also doing without the logistics and for the like three PL services partnered with someone and we're trying to push it not trying to the channel the I don't have any agenda so I'm not selling any course or offering any services like offer my coaching or anything like that even though I do some coaching but always increasing the price so fewer people would be able to like book call
Yoni Mazor 38:09
Yeah, less about the quantity more about the quality of whatever your mentoring is gonna be deep is gonna be good experience is gonna be valuable.
Tomer David 38:18
Yeah, but less I don't think that I want to do it you know, I just like what I do there, I'm gonna be a business and to help people I help through the channel. I mean, it's too much doing one on one things you know. So we offer like things that people need so either like affiliate things, or services that they already need never really pushed something that no one an Amazon seller don't need, or I didn't use. Got it.
Yoni Mazor 8:44
Very good. Okay, I want to kind of take the body of the episode now to see what we got. As far as if it all makes sense. If it is oh, head out to the ending part of the episode. So born and raised in a ton of Israel. 2008 already got drafted to the army after you know growing up your deal to Allah with computers and hacking and stuff like that. You also got a job with a paper lead or high-tech company along the way. But 2008 to 2011 in the army kind of changed your life a little bit because you're you instead of doing computers, we're infantry. And you're doing the hard stuff.
Yoni Mazor 39:19
In the past, the last year in the army already started helping with the family business, your older brother, was in the jewelry and diamond business. So you work and then 2013 you until then you were in Israel and also in Ramadan in the offices there. You're pushing out the online businessmen, they're getting the traffic from SEO, and then in 2013, you moved to the United States. Also, the business took the online business took a little bit of a challenge because the SEO wasn't working anymore because it changes. So you change the strategy to PPC, right to keep the business pushing online. Then you move the center of the business from Manhattan into New Jersey and you're able to basically
Yoni Mazor 39:37
Tomer David 39:56
erupting, but did you write all these notes it's all about I always knew that like, you're very strong.
Yoni Mazor 40:03
Yes. And my job is to listen and absorb. So okay, you did all that, to move to New Jersey, and you also kind of living above the look into the chair for the business, it was consuming a lot of you a lot from you and around 2000. And I think it was a run in 2016 17 Euro, you kind of started focusing on Amazon, alright, was made in 2010 when you start selling, but once you start learning in 2017, a
Tomer David 40:30
A few months earlier, maybe to the end of 2018, maybe
Yoni Mazor 40:34
Got it. So 2019, you mentioned January, that's when he already said I'm gonna give it one year, I'm gonna wake up, you read the book, right. And then you start waking up at 4 am, the first three hours in the more of the day, you were building up your Amazon business. And then the rest of the day, you're still in the jewelry business, which mainly focuses online, but the operations are physical and jersey. And then within one year, around October, we're able to finally hit the goal, which was making $10,000 a month in profit, that give you a lot of confidence and during 2020 to shift away from the jewelry business, also a move to a new location that you can live in somewhere you live, which today is Florida. And then 2020. And then you basically started your YouTube channel, the sourcing master, and then around 2021 It seems like you're working on you know, exiting and selling your brand, and you already launch another brand. You also kind of do consult on the side. We got everything correctly so far.
Tomer David 41:30
Yeah, yeah, that's pretty accurate. I'm very, very impressed with how you remember all the details.
Yoni Mazor 41:36
So thank you for that. Thank you for sharing, I learn new things. It was exciting for me. So appreciate that. And I want to finish up the episode with two points. First of all, if somebody wants to connect with you learn more about you, where can they find you? But the last thing would be is what is your message of hope and inspiration for entrepreneurs listening out there?
Tomer David 41:55
Yeah. So first of all, how they can find it, they can use you by sourcing monster or they can email me, Tomer, at sourcing Dutch monster.com message of hope. So yesterday, I saw a post by Brendon young, where he talked about this actress, Keanu Reeves, we're all we're all on board it is. And I think I'm just gonna share everything, but you can check it out. But it is basically how you should do good things. You know, I was coming just back from this conference of really high-level sellers in Vegas. And a lot of the talks were like really cheap Blackhat stuff and people doing bad things to each other. And really, when you are you're I mean in the Amazon space, try to do good things don't mess up with your competitors. Or if you see someone beginner and try to help them and try to you know, spread the good vibes and good, you know, actions and things that you can do in life, whether that's in business or just in general in life. I think that we should do more positive and good things in general and less hate. You know, bad stuff.
Yoni Mazor 43:03
I love it. So yeah, focus on the love, focus on doing good and being valuable. The more you do that, you're probably gonna have a good life. In a good business, you find a lot of success. Beautiful stuff. Toma, thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you everybody for listening. I hope you enjoyed it, stay safe and healthy the next time. Thank you
