Ep#10- Scaling Smart: Chris Elliot’s €10M E-com Formula | ft. Chris Elliott

In this episode of #Alphapreneurs, host 𝗥𝗮𝘆𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗺 chats with 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘁t, founder of Emirates Business Setup and a true cross-border entrepreneur. From selling DVDs at 16 to building multi-country businesses in Germany, the UAE, and the U.S., Chris shares how he built scalable systems that let him run companies without being tied to a single location.

They talk about the leap from employee to entrepreneur, what most people get wrong about e-commerce, and how fitness, family, and good routines help him stay grounded. Chris also opens up about hitting €10M during COVID and why mentorship was key to getting there.

👉 Follow Chris Elliott on LinkedIn: https://shorturl.at/K2K4X
👉 Website: https://emiratesbusinesssetup.com/

----------------------------------------------------------------------
𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗔𝗺 𝗜?

My name is  Rayhan Aleem, Founder and CEO of 𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 and 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀. At  𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 podcast I sit with top industry leaders for in-depth conversations that dive deep into their success stories, market dynamics, and firsthand tips on entrepreneurship and profitability. Whether you're just starting out or already running your own business, 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 offers something valuable for everyone.

👉 Follow 𝗥𝗮𝘆𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗺 on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3U2niHn
----------------------------------------------------------------------
𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀:

𝟭-𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀:
  -𝗪𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲:  https://www.alphapartners.co
  -𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻: https://bit.ly/3Yf4VRZ

𝟮-𝗧𝗮𝘅 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿:
  -𝗪𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲:  https://www.taxstar.app
  -𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻: https://bit.ly/3ZVjzPD

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻:

🔗 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗯𝗲: https://bit.ly/47gaW3F
🔗 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆: https://bit.ly/3ZbtGiR
🔗 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁: https://bit.ly/4dOfS2f
🔗 𝗔𝗻𝗴𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗶: https://bit.ly/3Mutunk
🔗 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲!: https://bit.ly/3XfGYbD

𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲? 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘂𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Intro
• 1:41 Why he moved to Dubai instead of the U.S. & how it changed his life
• 2:45 How his entrepreneurial journey started from eBay and Alibaba
• 5:23 Making the jump from employee to entrepreneur (and why it’s easier than it seems)
• 8:47 The importance of mentors and how one mentor pushed him to exit his first business
• 22:10 How Chris runs businesses in Germany & the U.S. while living in Dubai
• 26:46 E-commerce advice: How to scale to 10M+ revenue without owning inventory
• 37:37 Shifting From Product Based to Service Based Business in UAE
• 39:10 Chris’s Health Routine for Better Focus and Performance
• 46:35 Closing Remarks, Current Projects and How To Reach Chris

Transcript

Chris: 0:00

It's hard and complicated, but it's also, I didn't know anyone else who has done that so far I always had the dream of several companies of building groups of companies, yep In different countries

Rayhan: 0:14

Welcome to the Entrepreneurs Podcast I'm your host Rayhan ALeem, founder of Tax Star and Alpha Pro Partners Join me on each episode as we talk to inspiring Dubai based entrepreneurs who share their stories, challenges, and secrets on building world-class businesses I'm thrilled to have Chris join us on the show today Chris is an entrepreneur he's a founder of Emirates, business setup and he's come all, he's originally from Germany He's set up multiple businesses and I'm really pleased to have him, join us today Chris, thank you very much Welcome to the show Thank you not every day you come across, usually in Dubai, I come across Brits, Indians, other Arabs, you are one of the first kind of Not that Germans are not in Dubai, but one of the first like entrepreneurs, out here Tell us about your experience of you You've come from Germany to here German, Germany is known for, its cars, its efficiencies, its engineering Yeah Dubai is more silk Road, emerging hub It's, sometimes when you go to meetings, people don't always turn up on time for meetings, whereas in Germany you are always on time for meetings So it's very much of a different culture here as it is to, to Germany Tell us about how, what made you come to, Dubai and how have you found the transition?

Chris: 1:48

I always wanted to leave Germany I never thought to move to UAE to be honest My aim was always to live and work in USA but yeah, five years ago I made the jump I come here for a week, but on the first day I arrived, I, I fell in love with the city Nice And then I went back to Germany Yeah, four weeks later I was back in Dubai again So yeah, I always wanted to grow as a person I wanted to meet different people I wanted to do different business So I took this opportunity because I think if you don't take the opportunity today, you won't do it

Rayhan: 2:30

Yeah, that, that's a very good point And you obviously moved from Germany to the UAE to Dubai specifically A lot of people come here, they set, they look for employment, but you obviously went down the entrepreneurial route So tell us more about your entrepreneurial journey, your entrepreneurial journey Did that start in Germany? What kind of things did you do? You came here and, many entrepreneurs who I speak to that, they love this place when they come here Yeah To set up a business Tell us about your experience from that point of view

Chris: 3:02

I can call myself like a full entrepreneur since eight years as a kid I was always thinking of a bigger life, like nice villa, laying on the beach, but how can I achieve that? but with 16, 17, I always already was like selling on eBay I was importing, like DVDs from Eli, from Alibaba So I was already trading, similar things, on the market and, I fell in love with it in the end'cause I, could never be or work for someone But I did for a long time, say about 10, 13 years Yeah I was, working for companies as well and then in Germany that was say about, yeah, eight years ago I had the chance to become an entrepreneur because I partner with someone and he He had an idea to open a cosmetic, salon Yeah And you have one chance I had one night and I decided I'm gonna do it And I was still working as an employee with my ex-partner in the end Yeah And that's how my journey started I was, had a company cosmetics, then I sold my shares'cause I wanted to go on, I wanted to do more I want to achieve more

Rayhan: 4:17

Yeah

Chris: 4:18

then I had another partner, we started a steel door company We are selling, doors in the end Yeah Quite successful between that I was doing a marketing company, but I still wanted to go on I didn't want to stop, so actually I was planning to from then on to yeah, go to America and the end, but then I, landed in the UAE and I give everything up in Germany To come here, to go into a new adventure, to grow personally, to meet more people And yeah, since now, since five years I'm here

Rayhan: 4:54

No, it's, this is an amazing journey and an amazing story that you've, that you've, shared with us one of the common themes of a lot of my guests and a lot of my clients that I bring on To the podcast is the fact that not all of them started off going into entrepreneurship straight away Now, I, meet pe I meet many entrepreneurs who probably were in, had a family business and they got into it Yeah But the common theme is you start as an employee and then you jump to entrepreneurship Similar to my, story as well Yeah tell me about that transition from employee to entrepreneur There's many of our listeners who are listening to this and they're like, thinking, I I want to quit my job and I want to set up my own business How did, how did that process feel for you? for me, I should have done it a lot earlier Yeah, me too you're scared sometimes you don't know how Exactly Exactly and I also believe that, and I've seen it with many of my clients, once you get into it, you find a way to, to make money You find opportunities You'll meet people, your network And sometimes, a client that I've acquired happened to happen because I met someone for a coffee like three years ago and that coffee re resonated with them'cause I'm the, I mentioned to them that I'm an accountant and then they referred me to a client who then came to me and did business with me And sometimes these clients don't become one client, but they become 15 clients because they refer other people So just Bringing it back to that transition, how was that transition for you? I'm really interested to know you going from an employee to an entrepreneur How was that for you?

Chris: 6:44

it always was my dream to do it between that journey when I was an employee, I was always searching for someone, like a mentor or someone who has a business, so I was always like offering myself, I will do anything for free But no one give me a chance in the, end, no one like said, okay, Chris, I see something, I see potential, but I just didn't give up every year I was, I had another person I was like looking up to, but year in year went on Nothing happened in the end So then the opportunity came in the company where my ex-partner and then working as employee and then building that cosmetic, salon up in the end with, we had doctors as well, and the company still exists in the end It was quite easy actually, because I'm, myself, we say males are not multitasking, But, I can say for myself, I, am I can do several things but making that jump, as I mentioned, was always my dream Yeah So it was easy, but I was scared, especially in Germany'cause we have everything, you have secure and, you have your people around you, the friends and stuff They like, no one understands actually What, what your dreams are Yeah Or ambitions and that made it also so hard because I always was thinking differently than everyone else around myself yeah but the, change come But I can just say from experience or as you just mentioned, if we had the chance, we would've done it earlier Because when we make the jump, it's easy actually And you can make, you can start a business without money Because the money comes in automatically Yeah If you sell something and you use that money to reinvest again, reinvest Yeah but the thing is we are just like, our mind is just scared sometimes and, but now I think these days we have all these YouTube and this video, for example, maybe will help one person, just one person I needed that 15 years ago, for example Yourself may be as well Yeah, so in the end it's easy, but you have to make the jump

Rayhan: 8:48

I also wanna touch upon another thing that you mentioned, and that's about mentors One of the key things that I see with entrepreneurship is, you need to have mentors and coaches, and I talk about this in my pod, in this podcast a lot I myself have mentors and my own coaches as well But can you tell me, can you give us some insights and stories about how your mentor impacted you and helped you, become a better entrepreneur?

Chris: 9:15

I had one person when I did the cosmetic, salon I met him in the gym he's, called Vena in the end he helped me to grow as a person to also say what I want, because I was also like, say small minded I was scared I, didn't have the confidence, so I had to grow as a person and It's not easy It's very hard And then you become an entrepreneur and you have a partner and you're leading things and you're still working as employee and then you're in Germany and stuff So he helped me a lot because he was like my guidance He said, Chris, you have to do this and that And I did everything he told me in the end, and he said If you want to change, you want to grow, you have to exit That was also one of the hardest things to tell to my partner You might watch this video, to say, I have to leave I want to go on, I want to grow bigger I want something else This is when he was in the co cosmetic business Yeah, in the cosmetic business that was like, that was my mentor He helped me to make all these steps and, yeah Without him, I don't think I would've done it So I think no, I think a hundred percent Sometimes you need help You need mentors You need advisors, to guide you because if you don't use that, you will use a lot of time and you wasting your time of life in the end Yeah So every penny is worth it

Rayhan: 10:45

Yeah, no, great point So Chris, you have worked with many businesses as you mentioned you've worked with entrepreneurs from different countries as well You grew up in Germany, you set up a business out here as well So having met a diverse amount of people, entrepreneurs around the world and worked in different regions, what kind of things have you learned as an entrepreneur, or what kind of things have you taken that's made you a better entrepreneur that someone who's watching this can say, look, that's the one thing that I can I can develop or use to make me a better, entrepreneur

Chris: 11:28

I think when you speak to many entrepreneurs, even if it's just one word that will make you better, you will learn these things as well Things you don't know You will learn So once you also, if you take action and if you speak to people or entrepreneurs, you always learn something And also seeing different entrepreneurs from around the globe, I Everyone is similar in the way, but still different if you have a business in Germany, it's different If it's in USA, it's different If it's in, in China it's different If it's in u e's different and nationalities matter as well So everyone treats people differently as well, thinks differently and German entrepreneurs Of course, as you mentioned before, they're all like, say on time and do things, but if you and I was

Rayhan: 12:20

being stereotypical, right? So I'm sure not everyone's like that Not every, not everyone,

Chris: 12:24

but mo you grow up Yeah You grow up and, then when you come to the ue, and you have say Arabians or people from India, Pakistan, they have a different mindset in the end Yeah So you have to, you get used to that and beginning was hard because you like, like why isn't on time? Why doesn't that work? And then you understand that they just grow up differently Yeah you have to understand their mentality, how they think For some people, they're like a bit more laid back and that is like usual German culture's just everything is on time Like everything is strict, but I think also now on the stage in the, like in Germany for example, if you really want to grow Succeed like in a higher level Yeah You have to leave the country that's one thing I think that's also why so many entrepreneurs, of course it's, a reason of taxes moving here, but it's not any more the number one because if you open a business here, it's hard Yeah Yeah You have to compete with all the other ones Yeah You have what, 4 million people, so it's not easy What people always think is easy doing business, so

Rayhan: 13:38

yeah In terms of some of the, traits that you've learned from a few entrepreneurs that you've come across, what kind of things, what are the kind of top three things that you would, you've seen that make someone successful, in your opinion anyway?

Chris: 13:54

I, when I speak to a lot of entrepreneurs, I think that they, yeah, you never give up They also never give up They always find like solutions Yeah Like for example, if the Tired of paying taxes, they find a solution where can they maybe relocate or open the business? So that's one thing So they also, they have a business and then maybe three 40 or 50 or 55 and they still relocate if you have everything, you have your money, your house and your company, but you still go for another adventure, it just shows they don't want to give up as a entrepreneur end Yeah

Rayhan: 14:28

So the problem solving as well Very good problem solvers

Chris: 14:31

Exactly A hundred percent Yeah I think, or not a thing It's like you can, if you solve a problem, there's always business, isn't it? Look at El Musk for example Yeah It's like just one, one example Everyone knows him Yeah Yeah He solves problems Yeah Look at him

Rayhan: 14:47

Yeah no, It's a good point And in terms of, the typical, you, you've obviously grew grown up in Germany and now you've come here, you've set up your business There are many things that work in Germany There's many things that work in Dubai is there anything that you've picked up setting up your business here that probably wouldn't have worked in Germany?

Chris: 15:14

yeah, the ma many aspects in the end, for example, the consultancy, which I'm doing, and I have also the real estate company, So setting it up here, it's very straightforward and easy Yep if you do it in Germany is a bit more Complicated And also I think it take more time to get the clients Because here you can just, market You can just start Anyone can relocate here, get the residency and open the business within a couple of weeks Yep and then you network and then the business goes, and in Germany is a bit more complicated The starting point might be easy getting the paper, but once you get the paper Then the complications start As you then don't know what you have to fill in you need a tax account, you need this law, you need that law, and you have to pay that fee to the government So it's very complicated

Rayhan: 16:06

there's more bureaucracy In Germany, it's

Chris: 16:08

a lot That's why it gets headache for a lot of people, Yeah And when we, when I speak to people from the countries or say, especially Germany, they want to start a business, but then they, don't They hear from friends that they move to another place, for example, UAE Yep And then they say, oh, okay, I'm doing marketing or consultancy Why don't I just open it in Dubai rather than do it in Germany at the end

Rayhan: 16:33

Yeah I guess, one of the things you touched upon is, even in the uk, when you set up a business, sometimes there's a lot of competition and sometimes it's hard to, do marketing and put your business out there Whereas Dubai, because everything's digital, and everyone's doing it here, aren't they? Everyone's doing something Yeah Everyone's like wanting to know what's going on Things always change Like you work in real estate, there's always like a new development coming up and people are interested to know what that intels for them, whether they wanna be an investor or whether they want to be, living in that accommodation, for example setting up, a business, it's A lot more easier than, say other jurisdictions as well and so I guess from that point of view, makes it easier here again, as opposed to say Germany or the uk

Chris: 17:28

It's, I still have a, a business in Germany In Hamburg, in e-commerce business, which I started in Corona Times hygiene 100 we sell on eBay, Amazon Nice I have an online shop We have 20,000 products drop shipping operated from here I have my big team around I have a warehouse, But once you, you start the business, in the beginning it's hard It's easy in the way in But then it gets hard and hard as, as long as you do business, as when you're making more money Yeah you have lawyers coming, you have the tax government coming, you have a competitor coming, so they all trying to say destroy you in the end, and, here it's not like that in the end, you don't have these, all these regulations It's like you always just fighting with regulation, with the government, with the tax government, And it is just, it's just headache in the end And that's, so, many people, they're tied to keep the company in these places they're, if they can sell it, they, would sell it straight away Oh, wow And I know a lot of, a couple of Germans just today, we had one client coming in they need at a station Yeah And, he can't wait to sell his company and just live here and travel the world with his wife it's just, and it's true'cause I do, I did it myself and I still have my business now If I would've sold it a few years back, in the Corona Times'cause we had, we made 10 million turnover in one half years Oh no nice If I would've done it there, I would've got some good amount money But now I'm, just, I'm carrying on building it up yeah so it's like the, demand of People of investing or even buying properties has gone down in Germany Yeah So that's the thing,

Rayhan: 19:09

but German is the biggest e-commerce market in Europe Europe, right? Europe, yeah Yeah it's bigger than the UK as well, right? It's bigger than uk Yeah Yeah It's

Chris: 19:15

massive People buying all the time on the, and you have the Amazon, eBay, the new Timo from China, they are, I think, number three or four already Oh, wow so it's a, big, market Yeah

Rayhan: 19:27

And would you recommend, I know we've been, we haven't been We've been talking about Germans leaving the UAE, but I come across many entrepreneurs who are based in the UAE and they wanna expand to other markets Germany is probably a good market for, if you have a product, it's probably a good market to go to So if you a hundred, right?

Chris: 19:48

Yes, a hundred percent Depends on the product, of course Yeah And even if someone wants to set it up, I know how it works Yeah, I know I have different systems I built in, it's, if it's some online business, an e-commerce business, I have, I've done everything Yeah I build everything myself I've changed the system I changed warehouses There is, if you have a good product and you know what's working Yeah If you say marketing and you know the platforms, it's very good A hundred percent Yeah

Rayhan: 20:18

And you have to have Everything has to be in German as well, obviously You can't just have an English, everything, German certificates,

Chris: 20:25

regulations You have to really be careful what you're doing Yeah Pictures you have to, if you, steal some pictures from other ones, a few weeks later, months later, you will have a lawyer contacting you Oh, wow I, have a lot of cases Yeah, a lot of different cases'cause I'm like an entrepreneur, I'm like I close my, I just do I don't think about it sometimes Yeah, of course You learn over the time and you get stronger and you have to face these issues, Yeah So you saying, you just say, okay, You just go on Because if you, get something and you get something again and you say, oh, I'm, stressed, I'm tired, I am getting scared, you will give up So you just have to keep going because in Germany, especially when you get papers from the government and lawyers They're there to scare you Yeah Yeah You're just like, oh, what did I do wrong? But some of them doesn't lead to anything That's what I've learned as well Yeah Yeah You just keep going

Rayhan: 21:16

Yeah No, that, that's in most for most entrepreneurs, right? Yeah So there's, it is controversial, there are certain rules where, you do things until something happens But, We are obviously encouraging entrepreneurs to follow the rules, obviously, but there's sometimes there are, gray areas as well And with gray areas it's more about, making sure you're not completely against the rules, but trying to grow a business and trying to, serve your customers at the same time as well Yeah And many entrepreneurs are in the gray area as well so yeah

Chris: 22:03

You have to succeed somehow Eh, exactly Like you say, you, you solve problems as a, as an entrepreneur, you just do what other ones can't do Yeah

Rayhan: 22:11

Yeah So Chris, you've got businesses in multiple countries you are able not to live in those countries while those businesses are running, which is amazing and congratulations on achieving that Can you tell us more about your system? how, what kind of advice can you give in terms of the way you set up your businesses and how you are able to not be in the country while it's running as well? you've got your, e-commerce business in Germany, you've got one in Florida how does that work? there are, the dream obviously for many entrepreneurs is to live on a beach and let their business run, right? So you have that, 'cause you live in Dubai, you've got the beach as well, right? If you want to Yeah, we want, so yeah Can you give us a bit more, insights into your systems and processes? Yeah

Chris: 23:07

okay to just live on, stay on the beach all day I would love to I'm not on that stage yet I could have probably have done it if I wouldn't have started the business here in, in Dubai I could have done it I wouldn't have, I think less responsibility Yeah Of the office and the employees Yeah And the setup and the real estate But I choose to go a different path building the system what I have, I always thought, especially in the Corona times or before that actually something's going to change sometime you have some feeling something's gonna change And I always, before Corona was building my systems as I had the marketing agency, it was only small agency Like I had two freelancers, a graphic, web designer But still, that's why I integrated my systems, virtual phone, Microsoft teams, websites and stuff and that's where the idea come from because I always had the dream, of course, of living somewhere else I didn't know when it's gonna happen and then only five years ago it did happen in the end Building this system is just, it's hard and complicated, but it's also, I didn't know anyone else who has done that so far I always had the dream of several companies of building groups Of companies, yeah In different countries, some, some didn't succeed, I, I started that idea in Germany already with groups of company It didn't work out, was too much And then when I come to the ue, I continue in the end because before I, when I come here to ue, I had already, at that time, I was starting the, the Corona business, the hygiene 100 Yeah So I carried it on here in the end, and that's where I made a lot of money, doing what I can do now, but integrating all these systems So at my German company I have, I had my warehouse there I had my employees there as well Yeah And they're managing from here And then I was even living in Morocco for six months And I was taking phone calls from customers and placing orders in the system And my web developer was in Pakistan and stuff like this And my, guys were in Germany, it was amazing the journey doing it as well But always, I was like upgrading my systems We had my developer, he, built his own system According to my needs, so I can be anywhere I was driving at the car and I was receiving orders and then placed at the supplier The supplier sent it to the customer So all these things, it's, it's all connected in the end But over the years I was always upgrading the whole system and the phone system, and the ordering system And the accounting system And it's not just as you mentioned, it's not just one company It's a, it's another company Yeah, another company And then trying other companies, which didn't work, It's a whole, it's a whole package in the end And, but if, there was somebody, who already created this kind, I probably would've bought it, but I didn't Rather than set it all up Set you up because it's take, it's not even finished yet Yeah, it's still not finished'cause it's always it's always so something Always something to do Yeah Always something to do in the end, Yeah But Having the company in Germany still, I could be anywhere And it's like a, it's a fully operational e-commerce company, Like warehouse and then with the drop shipping products with Amazon, eBay, and a few months back now I've changed the system I have another company behind, which I'm partnering with Yeah And they have a big team, which they are like doing all the marketing, the website development, the SEO, all that stuff It's all in integrated in one It's one full package, which is even better So that would let me scale even higher on more marketplaces, for example, and still being anywhere in the world

Rayhan: 26:50

One of the things that, I've noticed, we have clients in Saudi, we have clients in the UAE A lot of them are e-commerce brands they initially set up, but then they struggle Yeah and I think it's because people underestimate that building a e-commerce brand is not easy It's very hard Yeah the, entry point is the, entry barrier is low It's if you've got a physical location, you got a Pay for the rent, you gotta pay for the fit out and all that Right? Exactly Exactly But the, benefit is you have footfall coming into your store A lot of these e-commerce brands, they just set up a website, put a few products up there and think people are gonna buy like hot cakes and then the funny thing is that some of these e-commerce brand, they then end up setting up a physical location, right? Yeah'cause they feel like they can sell more, if they have a physical location So you've obviously built a successful e-commerce, business What, do you think is the key to success scaling up to, you mentioned, 10 million in terms of revenues How, what kind of advice would you give to e-commerce entrepreneurs who are setting up and how, would they get to that level? Obviously Germany's not like the UA in Saudi, It's a massive market So you're already in a big market, but doesn't mean it's gonna be easy Yeah So what kind of advice would you give to, those types of entrepreneurs?

Chris: 28:19

the first thing is if you're not like a website developer, get someone on a freelance spaces, for example He can build your website, he can build your system, or you can pay a monthly fee for a system Yeah if you know someone who has a warehouse So I no knew someone who had a warehouse, so I used that warehouse I paid only a small fee on top of every package Yep So if we se send less packages out, I didn't have any cost or look for fulfillment center Or if you like now in, in, UE because of my business consultancy, I I was able to have the warehouse in USA because he had a warehouse in USA, I didn't pay any storage fee as well Oh, nice And he sent it to Amazon, for example So if you find these people or contacts, you can reduce the risk and all the costs Yeah And office you don't need, you can just lend a coworking office Yeah Or you know someone again, where you can put your label on the office So there's always ways around So don't put yourself in too long contracts Just test it first Don't hire any people Work, get freelancers Just do a short term contract for a warehouse or fulfillment center 1, 2, 3 months Don't do longer, for example, because you don't know it's gonna work with that warehouse, with that person And then just, yeah, just, scale it from there And then also don't Buy too many products It depends if you're doing drop shipping You won't have any much risk Yeah Yeah But you have to buy like your own products also just pay more and get less quantity Is very important What I've done at the end of Corona, I lost a couple of hundred thousand Euro I thought it's gonna carry on Yeah So I imported masks I bought a lot of Corona tests A week later said Corona's finished So I had a bunch of products on stock and that's why I've also learned to, okay, you take risks all the time, but how can I minimize it? So I said to myself, my online shop is only gonna be drop shipping and the marketplaces, I will only buy the products because then I can buy small quantities Yeah, I, know I'm going to sell So it's in, out, in, out So I reduced that risk as well by just buying the products I need because I know I'm gonna sell them Yeah And then you can slowly scale again, and that's how you don't need much money then in the beginning

Rayhan: 30:38

It's interesting what you're saying because, I guess from what I'm hearing, you focus on the process You don't focus on the product

Chris: 30:50

I could sell anything I'm doing hygiene products Yeah It's like boring,

Rayhan: 30:54

But you don't focus on, you don't put yourself to say, look, I'm gonna focus on a particular product And I say, you have a process Yeah And I guess one of the things that, that I think you are, you're saying, and something that I'm learning is the fact that it's the process that's really important If you've got a good process from Picking the right product to, fulfillment, to having a good website, to saying to the customer that gives you the infrastructure to then pick and choose a product'cause I guess in e-commerce, you, are you following trends mainly in terms of what's coming in and what's going on in the market and then you bring in a product?

Chris: 31:31

in the Corona Times? Yes Yeah, like masks or special, Corona tests I was, okay, this is gonna be a trend So I was telling my SEO guy Create this page, use some keywords And then a few weeks later, I was at position one Oh, nice I was the bestseller Some products, so I, I did follow the trends, but now I don't follow any trends I just follow the process in the end Okay My system optimization that's it Because trends, they finish quick, don't it?

Rayhan: 31:57

Yeah Yeah So you, so do you now focus on the brand now and you do a lot of work on the brand for the product? Is, that what you do with your, with your, business now?

Chris: 32:07

yes, also, but what I'm actually not focusing is, just to, to scale the business in, bringing the, products on higher positions on the marketplaces And then we are adding now Timo as well so we have three different marketplaces where we are adding always new products to find good products, which can sell on the marketplaces, and then doing the SEO for the drop shipping on the online shop So that's where we are focusing on So if we have say, three good marketplaces Yeah, which is like that there's some 500 Euro profit, there's 600, there's 2000, there's 200 So that adds up and that's every day everyday profit in a total, which then times 30 So that's where I'm focusing on in the end

Rayhan: 32:47

Nice And You sell the same products in Germany and in the us correct?

Chris: 32:52

USA is a cosmetic products Okay that's a smaller business It's just a test Yep which we started one year back Yep Just to see the, market The thing is, you, can't do every product in every country Because USA is the biggest E-commerce in the world Yeah So it's very competitive there's different systems, there's different costs of ads You need a lot of money to really, yeah, to really scale, you need a lot of ad spend if you are putting it on, on, on Amazon, for example So it's not if people see all these YouTube channels and Instagram do drop shipping, that's a product You can just start on Amazon and eBay It's not like that It's just those infamous kind of,

Rayhan: 33:38

influences

Chris: 33:39

Yeah He just, it's sell a business It's, fake I always tell people it's very hard It takes time You need the right system It can also be in the right time with a product and it can work And then you just need to know how you can scale it or if you do something else, but it depends on what product category, which country you're doing it in have you got the system in place So it's all depends It's not like you just start and it works It doesn't work like that

Rayhan: 34:04

And it's quite interesting 'cause obviously you are in two massive markets for e-commerce, Germany and the us and you've mentioned that you are testing your US market at the moment, but you identified already that it's very competitive a lot for a lot of my clients, the US is a dream, right? To set up their e-commerce store out there is a dream because that's where you're printing money eCommerce Yeah how, do you compare the, German and the US e-commerce

Chris: 34:35

market? I can also add on UEI also tested Yep We're selling in the cosmetic and UEE Oh, nice UE is a very small market It's, it will take time to that Recompete, USA and Germany I think Germany is easier Because okay, we have 80 million people and it's just a bit more easier And how many people, A few hundred million in USA is more people selling there and the costs are higher for the ad spend as well In the us In the us Ah so it's very hard to really get to the top 10 It would take longer and longer because you need a lot of money Yeah To really go up, so it's, much harder in the USA, but probably also would depend on the product niche, So if you ask me, I would choose like a, say be a smaller market like Germany or uk, France, for example but if you have a lot of funds available and it's the right product, then USA, it's, very interesting But it could take longer to really compete the competition is, it's too high Yeah, it's not easy UEE it's very small market you have Amazon and you have noon In the end, that's the only big The, big marketplaces here Yeah, so it's, and the prizes, they all like, the prices are also very, low if you, but if you do the marketplaces on Amazon on noon It's a quicker process and customers can have the product on the same day, for example Yeah

Rayhan: 36:16

do you have that in Germany and in, in the us same day

Chris: 36:18

You, you do, but not everywhere Yeah and UE is just because it's like small and in Dubai or UE here, so it can be delivered within the same day or the next day And here they have the pickup In Germany, you have to go to the post office if you have a return, for example Wow

Rayhan: 36:38

You probably don't even want to do returns if you live in Germany

Chris: 36:41

all Amazon customers do returns in the end yeah we get a lot of returns, but our returns actually, I think it's only a few percent Not much, but yeah, here it's easy here you just click on return and they get pick up so you don't have less headache in the end

Rayhan: 36:57

yeah No, I'm just thinking about my wife and she orders a lot of things and then she returns a lot of things as well Yeah Yeah, I feel sorry for them It is' Chris: cause the thing is when you have you can't use the product again Yeah And the returns you're paying, like you have to pay a return fee of sometimes like it's $10 Yeah For a product Yeah And then at that up, sometimes you don't make any profit and you see your profit on the day and you think there's four returns and it's already reduced it by 60 euro, for example but the customer's king Yeah no, I a hundred percent agree And thanks for sharing your, experience on e-commerce Now in Dubai, you've got a different business though, right? It's not a product business, it's not a trading business It's not an e-commerce business, it's a consulting business You do set up, you do real estate as well how have you found shifting from a product based business to now services, and doing it in another country? What's your experience been in that so far?

Chris: 38:06

these businesses? It's hard to do Yeah But, it's easy because every business is say copy, paste Yeah Yeah And, but with a service business, you can reach more people You have more opportunities to engage with people to make more business Yeah Collaborations meet them

Rayhan: 38:27

in person as well

Chris: 38:28

Yeah, E exactly we are here, for example, so maybe with my e-commerce business, I wouldn't have this collaboration Yeah I wouldn't meet these people I would just be on, like on the phone or be at my PC and no one would know who I am Yeah Maybe if I made or sold the company for a hundred million, I would be in the papers and people want to interview me, for example But with the consultancy in the real estate, you just meet So many people and, and entrepreneurs around the world Which you, like the, I had, I met one, the client, he's from USA, he, I can use his warehouse So I wouldn't have that opportunity of, if I just do the, product business, the e-commerce business in the end So it opens a lot of doors, but it's very, hard I can tell you Yeah

Rayhan: 39:13

And, one of the things I also wanna touch upon is the fact that As an entrepreneur, fitness, health is very important as well you've look like you work out I know a lot of entrepreneurs who, they focus all their time on their business No time for family, no time for themselves, no time for health tell us about your routine, what you do how often do you go gym, what kind of food you eat, how has that helped you? As an entrepreneur to get your peak performance

Chris: 39:45

Ah, it's very important or we can all also look back in the covid times Yeah Where we couldn't train Yeah Yeah But that killed me And I think for a lot of people, in the end, it makes me crazy if I can't train, I can now, I don't need to train sometimes for 2, 3, 4 days I'm fine I think it's also sometimes healthy that you don't have this addiction But, 'cause I also have the addiction, if I don't train today, I get crazy and I get, I have a negative feeling A lot of people have that when they go to the gym They don't, I think it's just like they see themselves, they don't feel good or don't look good, But I think it's very important I need it just to go to the gym I don't listen to music You have the music anyway you just shut off It's your own, it's your only time actually, especially here in Dubai Your only time where you maybe for yourself and you can just let all this negative energy, For today, for example, today I slept five hours I woke up, I had nightmares, I was scared and I I said, I wanna wake up

I was think at 5: 40:46

00 AM or something I said, I'm not gonna sleep

Rayhan: 40:49

Hope you didn't having a nightmare for this podcast No, Just as an

Chris: 40:52

entrepreneur, probably all entrepreneurs have these things Yeah, So you just like, and then you just wake and he said, okay I go to the gym and I did this morning So it's just, it's a therapy If I wouldn't do that, I would just have some negative energy myself And then you meet people there So I think for myself, it's, very important I only do the gym I don't have time for other things you go in the morning, you go, I go always in the morning

Rayhan: You wake up at 5: 41:16

00 AM or

Chris: 41:18

five to seven Okay That's my time I don't, I just wake when I wake Yeah And then I just get up, I, on my pc, check my messages, have my breakfast already prepared, get ready I'm an off to the gym or I train in the apartment sometimes Yeah So it depends I, usually, I, try to go three, four times a week Yeah I used to go six times a week Yeah But I, the moment I don't have the time just give my body also some rest sometimes

Rayhan: 41:41

Rest is very important as well I've learned that as well Recovery Recovery is very important Yeah Yeah I've learned that myself

Chris: 41:46

You probably know yourself that you have to sometimes Yeah Give yourself a rest

Rayhan: 41:49

Yeah how, about nutrition? how do you, approach nutrition?

Chris: 41:54

For me? Yeah It's It's very important Yeah But I still like to eat like sweets and stuff like this, But if I do this stuff, it's only in the evening or on the weekend Yeah Because if I eat like unhealthy things during the day, I feel it straight away in my body And I'm not focused So I have my eggs in the morning, have some water, and then lunch, rice, fish Usually my standard Yeah And I have some oats during the day maybe some more egg, some snacks in the, yeah And then in the evening I have fish, rice, some salad So that's like my usual routine And then if I change that and I have something like unhealthy, I feel it already and the next day as well So I try to keep my routine but weekends sometimes also cheat I don't like cheat It's Sometimes I have a burger, but not often because I know if I have that, I just feel differently Yeah And the next day I, can't sleep sometimes Yeah So I try to keep it simple If I have like sweets, like chocolate pudding or something, I'm okay with sugar stuff, I'm okay Yeah So I just try to keep the, routine I know I'm focused, I feel better So that's, it's important that, that helps myself helps

Rayhan: 43:06

you perform not just as a entrepreneur, but you know also as a person and Being able to face the world and, help your business as well Because you, as an entrepreneur, you have to always have very high levels of energy Yeah Every day for your employees, for your customers, for your suppliers And,

Chris: 43:27

yeah, You just co compete It's and the other question you had, how to balance the work and the, the the time with my, family or my wife, for example I have, I, get the time, but sometimes I forget, I'm just too much focus on my work and, but the wife, I think the family, they just balance you a bit Yeah Yeah They take you back to the, this is reality sometime Yeah, because you just, and you probably yourself as well you just, it's like you in a drug sometime, you just work, work, And you never stop So I feel that as well to like breathe sometime it's, I like going to the beach like on the weekend, maybe a few hours it's like my recovery, like silence, the water, the sun, it's, I just, I need that a few hours I'm, good A few hours and I'm, I got my energy back for the whole week sometimes,

Rayhan: 44:25

Yeah And I guess with family, it brings you back to your purpose as well, right? You can work, work, but ultimately, you are there for your family as well and, it's a completely different world to when you are Yeah In entrepreneur entrepreneurship, right? So different with your kids and your wife than when you are with employees and with, customers and suppliers as well so I, guess for me that gives me a more balance as well And, One thing you shouldn't neglect Of course yeah,

Chris: 45:00

a hundred percent it's needed Huh? you just fall into, if you, for example, live yourself, you probably would just work all the time Yeah, I would I wouldn't, I, wouldn't do anything else I But is that, fulfilling Sometimes? Yeah It gets lonely, I think

Rayhan: 45:16

Yeah No, I think that's a great point That's a great point And I like, and I guess we spoke about entrepreneurs going into leaving their jobs Yeah To become entrepreneurs But once you become an entrepreneur, you don't wanna burn yourself out after a year you don't want to fall out of love with your business 'cause you left your job to, to set up a business You wanna make sure that you go into entrepreneurship, you start doing Things that you maybe didn't even do as an employee, maybe work out a bit more, spend a bit more time with your family and allow the business to fulfill you as an entrepreneur as well Yeah,

Chris: 45:52

a hundred, percent And I think my wife, when I met her here in, in, Dubai, if she wouldn't be there, I wouldn't I wouldn't start this journey, which I'm doing now with the consultancy, the real estate I would've gone a different way or I would've might be in America in the end So I maybe would not even sit here So I think also like family or my wife especially, they bring you further you actually, people say you less focused, but it depends on what partner you have And, but you grow more as a person because they push you as well, and they let you live your dreams

Rayhan: 46:31

Yeah, no, no support A support framework is very, important as an entrepreneur so yeah just wanna say thank you very much for joining us today if our viewers, listeners want to get in touch, how can they get in touch with you?

Chris: 46:47

Instagram, Chris Elliott on YouTube Chris Elliot Group Nice Or Chris Elliot, or just Google Chris Elliot Dubai And then I will show up Cool

Rayhan: 46:57

We'll have your details on the show notes Of course Yeah yeah, amazing speaking to you learned so much about your experience in Germany and e-commerce and yeah thank you very much Yeah, Thanks Thank you for joining us on The Entrepreneurs Podcast I hope you enjoyed the show Please subscribe and give us a five star rating and a review Your feedback is appreciated For show notes and more, check out the link in the description and connect to me directly on LinkedIn and search for Rayhan Aleem See you in the next episode