Years ago, William Shirley bought a one-way ticket to the Netherlands, but life had other plans. With $250,000 in online sales last year and a following on TikTok of over 330K, he’s not only built a business, but he’s also created a motivating online presence under the name The Money Badger, all from his experience of being an online seller.
Necessity: The Drive Behind Most Amazon Sellers
After working countless jobs with little to no reward, William started to search for a way out, and it turned out that selling on Amazon was the solution. He took in as much content as he possibly could about reselling used books online and found that when your back is up against a wall, you’re going to realize the skills and strengths that you never knew you had. The more people he met within the reseller community, the more he realized that so many come from similar backgrounds or have similar stories.
“I think necessity is just what drives a lot of us resellers. And the more of us that I talk to, the more I realize we come from very similar backgrounds, you know, more impoverished, not a lot of opportunities, poor education, maybe a broken home government assistance, that sort of thing.”
To test the waters, William decided to buy a couple of books from Goodwill. He eventually sold a few and then reinvested every penny back into the business for the first six months, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Money Badger is Helping the Community for Free
William’s online presence, especially on TikTok, has grown a lot to the point where he’s breaking down walls, and he’s inspiring people outside of the reseller community. When it comes to sharing tips and tricks about selling on Amazon, he doesn’t have a $1,000 course to sell you; he gives you free and useful information without making you break the bank.
His motto is to pay it forward. He believes that money is the by-product of doing the right thing. The universe will always answer in kind if you’re paying it forward. There must be truth to his philosophy as he’s growing his platform daily, reaching people far and wide with his motivational statements and scaling his business to $250,000 in sales.
He also started the Facebook community The Hive Mind. It is a Facebook group that is a place where resellers, both rookie and veteran, come together to help one another, which fits perfectly into his pay-it-forward philosophy. He’s creating communities on various social media platforms to make sure other people gain the insight and the freedom to become successful Amazon sellers themselves.
But his TikTok is where he's gained 330K followers where he's just pushing you to break free from the job you hate, and the imposter syndrome you feel. You can succeed too, he believes in you and he's there to help everyone.
Pivot Your Business Outside of Books
One thing the pandemic taught him is that we never know what is going to happen. While the core of his business is still selling used books on Amazon, he’s pivoted into selling other items online now as well. Last year for a couple of months, Amazon wasn’t taking in any books from resellers. They prioritized items people desperately needed at the beginning of the pandemic. So the Money Badger prioritized learning to sell other items online.
Sell Unused Items from Your Home
William shared a lot of information, and if you’re trying to become a reseller, he truly believes that people have items in their homes that are gathering dust that can be flipped for some money.
“So most people don't realize this, but they probably have anywhere from a thousand to $5,000 worth of stuff in their house, they don't touch. They don't use. So shop your house if you think you don't have money to get started.”
He shares this and many other gems on The Sellers Corner. Listen to his podcast interview below to get the whole story and more helpful tips!
