Project 5K teaches how to start an Amazon business with a $5,000 or less budget.
Bradley Sutton, the director of training at Helium 10, hosts the project.
The steps taught in this case study approach include product & keyword research, product sourcing, market strategy, competitor analysis, and looking for accessories.
Luckily, you can complete Project 5K with the Starter, Platinum, or Diamond Helium 10 subscription plans. This will give you access to Helium 10 tools like Black Box and Cerebro, which were used to achieve success in Project 5K.
Key Takeaways
- Use Project 5K as a step-by-step guide to starting your Amazon business.
- Project 5K is an ongoing venture with multiple iterations.
- Anyone can get started with Project 5K – even beginners who have a budget of $5,000.
What Is the Purpose of Project 5K?
Helium 10 created Project 5K to illustrate that you can start and succeed with an Amazon FBA business on a budget of $5,000 or slightly lesser. Thus, dispelling the common belief that you need considerably more money to get started.
The project details the cost of each step to help users understand where they must spend money to start on Amazon. Therefore, new Amazon sellers can budget correctly to ensure they don’t run out of cash before fully launching their product.
What Were the Steps With Project 5K?
Project 5K can be broken down into eight steps, and you can follow along by participating in Project 5K for yourself. Think of this section as a roadmap to help you get started and avoid getting lost during your first product launch.
Step 1: Black Box for Product Research
Project 5K product research started using Black Box, one of the best tools to get started with on Helium 10. The tool allows you to find profitable product opportunities from a database of 450+ million products. Also, you can narrow your search with filters like review rating, estimated monthly sales revenue, and product category.
Since $5,000 is the maximum budget for Project 5K, you’re somewhat limited in what product opportunities you can pursue. As a rule of thumb, you should go after products that cost more than $40-50.
Step 2: Cerebro for Keyword Research
Cerebro is another tool that lets you find the top high-traffic keywords for specific ASINs.
Hence, Bradley Sutton used this tool to spy on competitors to determine the top traffic-driving keywords for the products he chose for this project. Therefore, he could better understand the demand and competitiveness of the niche.
Step 3: Competitor Analysis
The next step involved digging deeper into the competition to evaluate how difficult it would be to get started in the niche. Project 5K is aimed at beginners, so Bradey Sutton felt it was essential to find beginner friendly-products.
The competitor analysis included looking at listing images to determine if he could do a better job. Also, product prices were evaluated to figure out if there was a race to the bottom or if a healthy profit margin could be maintained.
Step 4: Supplier Pricing
The fourth step of Project 5K was finding a supplier and getting quotes to determine if the product was profitable. A sourcing agent – a convenient intermediary who can help get the best prices from reputable suppliers – was used here.
Step 5: Getting the Right Accessories
This section teaches you how to make a unique offering to steal the market share to your side.
Bradley Sutton got some ideas from the “Frequently Bought Together” section on Amazon product pages. Then, he contacted his sourcing agent to learn about the availability and prices of the accessory.
Step 6: Marketing to Match Trends
After careful analysis of the niche, it was determined that there are two main seasonal trends. Naturally, the next step was to create a listing and marketing campaigns for each seasonal trend. This will increase product listing conversions, thus leading to more sales.
Step 7: Product Order
Once the product strategy was in place, the next part of Project 5K was to place the product order with a supplier.
Step 8: Further Black Box Research
Project 5K took an unexpected turn to see if there’s a demand to buy the accessory as a standalone product using Black Box. Fortunately, there’s a demand for the accessory, and the market research went deeper to determine the specific colors in demand.
The Black Box research was a complete success and showed how to uncover additional SKUs for your desired product.
What Are the Results of Project 5K?
Project 5K is an ongoing venture with multiple versions, so I’ll share the results of two versions to show you that it’s possible to launch an Amazon business with just $5,000.
Here’s a summary of the results:
Project 5K With 12 SKUs
This iteration of Project 5K had a gross revenue of $17,500 in 6 months.
The main expenditures were $8,200 for Amazon fees and $1,100 for PPC ads.
Therefore, leaving a profit of $3,500. In other words, the products yielded an 18-21% profit margin and 118% ROI. Note that 30% of the inventory was left when taking these numbers, and they could still drive the profits up.
Project 5K With 1 SKU
This project sold 550+ units, resulting in gross revenue of $23,000 in 2 months with a net profit of $4,300.
What Did We Learn With Project 5K?
Project 5K taught several lessons, as most valuable case studies do. You might have missed a few of these, so I’ll provide a recap of the most important ones:
- Limited funds shouldn’t be a barrier: Project 5K illustrates that you don’t need much money to start. $5,000 is a relatively small amount to create a new business, but Project 5K shows that this can work.
- Cheap products equate to slow scaling: Starting with just $5,000 limits the type of products you can buy. The first iteration of Project 5K went after 12 SKUs, which were relatively cheap. This meant the potential profit was low, leading to a slower growth rate.
- Not all products are winners: Out of the 12 SKUs of the premier Project 5K, only 6-7 SKUs were worthwhile to sell. However, such a diversified launch strategy allows you to test different product types and release losing products to keep the winners.
- Seasonal products are problematic: Seasonal products have a limited time window to generate sales. Hence, you’ll have too much inventory if you miss the window or order too much stock.
- One product can tackle multiple seasons: Project 5K showcased that you can sell a single product for numerous seasonal trends with the proper marketing and product packaging.
What Helium 10 Subscription Plans Provide Access to Project 5K Tools?
You’ll need to access Helium 10 tools to position yourself to replicate the Project 5K results properly. You can do so by subscribing to the Starter, Platinum, and Diamond plans.
Here’s a summary of the prices:
Do you want to save even more money with a Helium 10 Subscription?
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Enter one of the discount codes during checkout for extra price slashes on the Platinum or Diamond plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Replicate Project 5K With the Free Trial?
You can replicate Project 5K with the Helium 10 free trial since the Black Box and Cerebro tools are available. However, they have limited daily use, making it more difficult.
Upgrading to a paid Helium 10 subscription increases the usage limits of these tools, thus allowing you to explore more products and niches.
How Long Will It Take to Replicate Project 5K?
Replicating Project 5K can take 3-6 months, depending on how quickly you act.
The biggest bottlenecks are waiting for your products to be manufactured and the shipping time. Choosing sea shipping is cheaper and slower, while air freight is more expensive and faster. Also, your first batch of products may take 1-2 months to be sold.
Can You Get a Helium 10 Refund if Project 5K Doesn't Succeed?
No, you can only get a refund on your first Helium 10 billing, and there’s a time limit of 7 days to get this refund. However, it takes longer than that to see if your Project 5K product launch approach works, invalidating your claim for a refund later.
Is Project 5K Ideal for Beginners?
Yes, Project 5K is ideal for beginners because the investment amount is relatively small. Furthermore, the project’s host, Bradley Sutton, details each process.
Hence, beginners can figure out the process of launching small and leverage the knowledge to scale higher later.
What Happens if You Don't Make a Profit With Project 5K?
If you don’t make a profit with Project 5K, it is recommended that you figure out why.
It might be because you’ve made a wrong choice regarding product selection, keyword research, listing optimization, or PPC. However, it’s common for the first product batch not to turn a profit as you overcome teething problems.
Is Project 5K Worth a Try?
Project 5K is a good template for launching a successful Amazon FBA business.
Bradley Sutton explains the process without leaving out any details. Likewise, Project 5K is beginner friendly, so anyone can try it.
Want to use Helium 10 to launch a successful Amazon business? Then discover the right Helium 10 pricing plans to get started.
