#123 – An Entrepreneur Goes from Kidnap Victim (Twice) to Successful Amazon Seller and Coach

Sometimes we think of eCommerce as a rough and tumble environment. Between hyper-competitive, occasionally unethical sellers and the expenses of trying to get your products noticed, for entrepreneurs, it can feel like a hostile place. Today, Helium 10’s Director of Training and Customer Success, Bradley Sutton speaks with an Amazon seller that was born and raised in Iraq and before his 16th birthday, was twice kidnapped at gunpoint. Now, he’s a very successful seller and coach with a 7-figure business.

An immigrant to the US, Bashar J. Katou went from working 120-hour weeks trying to make a restaurant business work to doing a quick tour of many of the different ways to make money selling on Amazon. Finally, after settling on Amazon private label, he’s now helping others with their own journey as a coach.  

Listen in and see how he made his transition to eCommerce.

 In episode 123 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, Bradley and Bashar discuss:

• 01:15 – “We Can’t Live Here Anymore, We Have to Go”
• 03:05 – Kidnapped Twice Before the Age of Sixteen
• 07:00 – Always Wanting to be an Entrepreneur Like His Father
• 10:10 – Starting from Zero, His Family Buys a Pizza Parlor
• 11:47 – A Difference of Objectives Leads Bashar to Start His Own Business
• 12:45 – “The Bucking DeLorean”
• 14:30 – A 200K Family Investment to HelpHelp Get Him Started
• 17:15 – A Fire, a Failed Restaurant and Repossessed Cars
• 19:20 – Working 120 Hours a Week and Seeing 20-Year-Old Kids with Lamborghinis
• 21:00 – Washing Dishes to Pay Off Employees and Researching eCommerce
• 23:00 – “I Just Can’t Spend My Time Driving Around”
• 25:45 – Building Brands and Flipping Amazon Businesses
• 29:15 – Coaching eCommerce Becomes an Interest
• 31:30 – Building Amazon Brands Together with His Students
• 36:00 – He’s Thankful to Jeff Bezos
• 41:15 – Bashar’s 30 Second Tip
• 42:20 – How to Reach Out to Bashar

Enjoy this episode? Be sure to check out our previous episodes for even more content to propel you to Amazon FBA Seller success! And don’t forget to “Like” our Facebook page and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you listen to our podcast.

Want to absolutely start crushing it on Amazon? Here are few carefully curated resources to get you started:

• Freedom Ticket: Taught by Amazon thought leader Kevin King, get A-Z Amazon strategies and techniques for establishing and solidifying your business.
• Ultimate Resource Guide: Discover the best tools and services to help you dominate on Amazon.
• Helium 10: 20+ software tools to boost your entire sales pipeline from product research to customer communication and Amazon refund automation. Make running a successful Amazon business easier with better data and insights. See what our customers have to say.
• Helium 10 Chrome Extension: Verify your Amazon product idea and validate how lucrative it can be with over a dozen data metrics and profitability estimation. 
• SellerTradmarks.com: Trademarks are vital for protecting your Amazon brand from hijackers, and sellertrademarks.com provides a streamlined process for helping you get one.