[EPFN] Revenue Is Loud. Profit Is Quiet. Discipline Builds Both.

The Discipline of Saying No

The last 12 days have been interesting.

I have been saying no to people who want to work with us.

It feels very uncomfortable. I feel guilty. I feel bad.

These are good people with real businesses and real expectations.

Turning them away is not easy.

But at the same time, it feels right.

Because every no creates space.

Space to build what I truly want to build.
Space to go deeper instead of wider.
Space to focus on projects that keep me sharp and slightly on my tippy toes.

I am genuinely excited to go to webinars, to speak, to share knowledge, to be in rooms where ideas are exchanged at a high level.

That energizes me.

And during the daylight hours, I want to invest my time into things that challenge me.

Things that stretch me. Things that make me think, calculate, test, and refine.

That edge keeps me happy. Every day.

Saying no is uncomfortable.

But building a life where you choose what you work on, and why you work on it, is worth that discomfort.

How I Use SmartScout to Validate a Product Idea

How to actually validate a product using SmartScout without getting distracted by inflated revenue numbers.

SmartScout filters I consider non negotiable
How I read seller concentration and brand dominance
What “reasonable” means based on your business model

SmartScout Filters I Consider Non Negotiable

When I open SmartScout Products section, I do not start with random browsing. I start with constraints.

First, I define a realistic revenue range per seller. For example, if I am targeting a product that can generate 15,000 to 30,000 per month per strong ASIN, I filter categories where multiple sellers are already within that band. Not one outlier. Several.

Second, price range.

If my target retail price is 35 to 70 dollars, I filter accordingly. There is no point analyzing a niche where the average selling price is 19.99 if my margin model requires higher price positioning.

Third, review count. I look at the average review count of the top 10 sellers.

If the majority are sitting at 3,000 to 8,000 reviews, that tells me the barrier to entry is high.

If several sellers are under 500 reviews and still doing strong revenue, that is a different story.

Fourth, new seller activity.

SmartScout allows you to see how many sellers entered in the last 6 to 12 months and how they are performing. If new sellers are entering and crossing meaningful revenue thresholds, that indicates market mobility. If no one new is surviving, I pause.

These filters are not optional.

They define whether the niche deserves deeper validation with tools like Amazon Product Opportunity Explorer.

How I Read Seller Concentration and Brand Dominance

This is where many sellers misinterpret the data.

In SmartScout, I look at brand share distribution and Share of Voice. Ideally, I want to see revenue spread across multiple brands without one brand owning a disproportionate share.

Fragmentation suggests room for differentiation. Heavy concentration suggests brand loyalty, strong advertising dominance, or supply chain advantage.

This step alone eliminates a large percentage of categories before I invest more time.

What “Reasonable” Means Based on Your Business Model

Your filters must reflect your operational reality.

If you are launching with 50,000 to 75,000 dollars, you should not analyze categories that require:

Large catalog depth
Multiple variations from day one
Aggressive PPC budgets to compete
Heavy discounting to gain traction

Being reasonable does not mean thinking small. It means aligning category selection with capital, margin expectations, and risk tolerance.

For example, if your goal is to build two to three ASINs generating stable monthly revenue with 25 to 30 percent net margin, then your SmartScout filtering should prioritize manageable review counts, moderate competition density, and clear pricing flexibility.

Data without alignment leads to overextension.

I recorded a detailed walkthrough showing exactly how I apply these filters inside SmartScout and how I decide whether a niche moves to the next validation stage.

SmartScout Workflow Tailored to Your Requirements

One important feature is the personalized workflow SmartScout builds once you define your business context.

After you enter your goals, marketplace, revenue level, and constraints, the platform structures your research path for you.

It guides you from subcategories, to brand level analysis, to product validation, and finally to ranking strategy.

Instead of jumping between random data points, you follow a sequence aligned with your capital, risk tolerance, and growth objectives.

It turns research into a controlled process rather than scattered exploration.

The Room Where Multi Seven Figure Sellers Redesign Their Future

I personally know people that went from low seven figures to mid seven in less than a year after they went to Kevin’s event.

I have seen it up close.

Top e-commerce sellers are skipping every other conference for this one.

ECOM MASTERY AI featuring BDSS by Kevin King. April 8 to 12 in Nashville, TN.

Kevin’s events are not theory sessions.

They are rooms filled with operators. Real sellers. Real numbers. Real strategies being tested in the wild.

The networking alone changes your trajectory because you are suddenly surrounded by people who think in margin, scale, and systems.

AI is not coming for your business. It is coming for your margins.

You either stake your claim in the new e-commerce landscape or you get buried by sellers who understand how to use AI across Amazon, ChatGPT, TikTok Shop, and Shopify right now.

No surface level motivation. High level AI playbooks that are actively being used to dominate markets.

I am going to be there, having fun, learning, and contributing real value from what we are building inside our brands and inside EcomProduct

Finders.

And by the way, Kevin visited our riding school the other day to see firsthand that everything I talk about, from building ecom brands to scaling real life operations, is real.

Amazon Just Automated Your Entire Funnel. Here’s the Catch.

I read about this on Pasha Knish’s LinkedIn profile.

Amazon just dropped Full Funnel Campaigns.

And yes, it changes how brands advertise.

Here is what actually happened.

What used to take hours across multiple campaign types and dashboards can now be triggered with one structured input.

For example:

“I want to launch a new supplement, build awareness with fitness audiences, and capture high intent searches.”

Amazon’s AI then builds the funnel.

Streaming TV for awareness.
Sponsored Products for bottom of funnel conversions.
Display for retargeting and mid funnel consideration.

And it reallocates budget across all of it automatically.

Sounds efficient. It is.

But let’s slow down.

Brands are going to rush to turn this on and let it run.

That is where mistakes happen.

The system optimizes toward conversion signals and platform performance metrics.

It does not optimize for your margin structure.
It does not care about your blended TACOS.
It does not understand your inventory pressure.

He tested this with a client recently.

The algorithm shifted a significant portion of budget into upper funnel placements because they were generating strong engagement and awareness signals.

Awareness is fine.

But awareness without profitable conversion is just expensive exposure.

Here is what this tool really unlocks:

Speed. Campaign structure that used to take hours can now be deployed in minutes.

Coordination. Top, middle, and bottom funnel placements are aligned instead of competing internally.

Dynamic budget allocation. Funds move based on performance trends instead of sitting where you manually left them.

That is powerful.

But the tool still requires oversight.

The only question that matters is not “Is it converting?”

It is “Is it converting profitably after fees, cost of goods, and long term impact?”

Full Funnel Campaigns might be one of the most operationally significant updates Amazon has released in years.

Revenue Is a Positioning Game. Profit Is a Math Game.

This product is doing around 30,000 dollars a month in revenue at 26.99 with over 1,100 units sold.

On the surface, that looks attractive. Demand is validated. The category is active. Reviews are manageable.

Now look at the math.

Large bulky tier.
FBA fee over 16 dollars.
Total fees exceeding the selling price once cost is included.

Negative net profit.

Positioning can spike revenue. 

It can increase click through rate, improve conversion, and push you higher in the rankings.

Strong positioning can absolutely drive sales velocity and top line growth.

But positioning does not fix structural profitability.

If your dimensions place you in large bulky and your price ceiling is under 30 dollars, no headline, no image optimization, no PPC hack will create margin that does not exist.

This is why I encourage sellers to think differently.

Instead of asking, “How do I sell more units at 26.99?”

Ask, “How do I provide more value and justify 49.99 or 59.99?”

Can you increase insulation quality?
Add a thermometer pocket?
Bundle carving tools?

Upgrade materials and reposition as a premium pitmaster solution instead of a generic BBQ accessory?

Higher perceived value allows higher pricing.
Higher pricing absorbs FBA fees.
Higher pricing creates real profit per unit.

Revenue feels good. Profit builds businesses.

If you want revenue that compounds, position your product in a way that allows you to charge more because you genuinely deliver more.

That is how you spike sales and protect margin at the same time.

Happy Thursday!

See you in 2 weeks!

Izabella