[EPFN] 💀 Same Product. Different Brand. One Makes Millions.

🔥 “The Part of Success Nobody Calls ‘Luck’”

Well… May 1st we launched our second location.

And? We’re almost on track with sign-ups.

As of today, we have 73 new riders at the new location.
150 riders is our breakeven point, so technically… 78 to go.

But I don’t want breakeven.
I want profitable in month one.

So yes, my bar is high. Lol.

I know one day people will look at all this and say:
“You’re lucky.”

The territory MY luck comes with:

• my husband and I see each other maybe 36 hours a week because we’re running two locations that are 200 miles apart

• I see my boys and Leeza every other week… it’s basically split custody, except we’re in a very happy marriage 😂

• I actually enjoy driving now, because those moments are the only silence I get. Music on. Brain in a calm ER mode, just thinking.

• I don’t really have time to overthink anymore

• I’m trying to stay updated with AI because my brain cells are important and I refuse to become outdated. Although my “falling asleep” routine now sometimes includes smashing my face with an iPhone while watching AI videos 😂

• Ecom became fun again… mostly because now I barely have time for it 😂

Things I absolutely despise but do daily because it’s required: searching for new team members.

Years ago I asked my friend, who runs an 8-figure business, what her biggest challenge was.

She said:

“Employees.”

Back then I couldn’t relate at all.

Now? I fully get it.

In this industry, there isn’t a demand problem.
There’s a supply problem.

And honestly, it fries my brain because I can see the horizon clearly… but sustaining growth without the right people feels impossible sometimes.

The moment I finally have people in place… the next day I don’t.

At this point, I think in a couple months I’ll probably make a course on hiring processes. Lol.

Because right now we treat every potential employee like a sale.

We created offers people would have to be crazy to say no to.

We built contracts with NDAs, penalties for quitting without notice, signup bonuses, incentive packages, paid vacations, tele-visits with doctors, chiropractor appointments… all of it.

And we treat every team member like they matter. Because they do.

Why am I doing all this?

Because this business is actually making a difference in the world.

It makes people happy.
It gives kids confidence.
It gives families memories.
And … that part is insanely rewarding.

AND…

Because by 50, I want to chill.

Not “do nothing” chill.

I want the freedom to choose what I work on next.

And… we’re now totaling 400+ riders between both locations.

Look at this. We’re crushing it.

Why Amazon Brands Feel Heavier Right Now

Yesterday I was talking with one of the clients I used to consult for years ago when we helped launch their product on Amazon. Back then things were honestly simpler. CPCs were lower, competition wasn’t completely insane yet, and you could make mistakes without immediately feeling punished for them.

Now the brand is much bigger. More sales, more visibility, more moving parts. From the outside everything looks great. But during the conversation they said something that stuck with me:

“Why does it feel like we’re working twice as hard… to keep less?”

And honestly, that’s exactly what I keep seeing lately with Amazon brands.

A lot of businesses are technically growing, but the business itself feels heavier. More spend, more stress, more campaigns, more things to manage. Sales still come in, so nobody notices the problem at first, but profit quietly gets squeezed while brands convince themselves the solution is spending even more money.

Most of the time it’s not.

Usually the bigger problem is that the account became messy while scaling.

Campaigns layered on top of campaigns, old ranking strategies still burning budget months later, spend drifting into places nobody intentionally chose anymore.

That’s actually why I spent some time recently looking through audit work from Sheraz and his team.

Most agencies honestly look identical to me now. Same dashboards. Same reports. Same “trust the process” energy.

What I liked here was how simple the thinking felt:
“Here’s where money is leaking first.”

One beauty brand they worked with scaled from around $220k/month to over $380k/month without doing anything reckless with spend. Another account grew from roughly $35k to over $50k/month while keeping spend almost flat.

Nothing flashy. Just cleaner decisions.

And honestly, in this market, that’s probably more valuable than aggressive scaling.

If your PPC has started feeling heavier lately, or sales are growing but the business somehow feels tighter, it might be worth getting another set of eyes on the account before increasing spend again.

Sheraz is opening a few PPC audits and a small 45-day management trial for qualified brands.

https://calendly.com/amzsparks/amzsparks-x-ritz

Turn Your Boring Product Photos Into Cinematic Ads With AI

I got inspired by Amy Wees after seeing one of her Facebook posts where she shared a prompt for creating absolutely phenomenal cinematic headshots with AI.

And… the picture looked better than half of the “professional” photoshoots people spend thousands on 😂 - check in the comments to the post.

So naturally my brain went:

“Okay… but what if we adapt this for PRODUCTS?”

Because most product photos look painfully boring.

White background. Flat lighting. Zero emotion. Zero brand identity. Just another product floating in space fighting for attention with 400 other listings.

So I took the framework, rebuilt it specifically for products, and tested it on a random product image.

And the difference is honestly ridiculous.

The cool part is this doesn’t just make products look prettier. It makes them feel premium. More cinematic. More expensive. More like an actual brand instead of another Alibaba photo with a logo slapped on it 😂

So here you go.
Here’s the prompt.
And here’s what the pictures can actually look like when you use it properly.

Create a hyper-realistic 8K cinematic black-and-white product portrait of the uploaded product in a dramatic chiaroscuro style. The product is positioned at a refined three-quarter angle on a seamless black studio surface, slightly elevated or naturally staged to create depth, presence, and visual authority. The composition should feel luxurious, intentional, and emotionally captivating.

Use strong directional studio lighting where one side of the product is sharply illuminated while the opposite side fades into deep, velvety black shadow, creating rich cinematic contrast and sculptural dimensionality.

The product should appear premium, aspirational, and meticulously crafted. Emphasize ultra-realistic textures, surface materials, reflections, stitching, engraving, metallic finishes, wood grain, glass transparency, or fabric details depending on the product category. Showcase realistic imperfections and micro-details that make the image feel authentic rather than artificially rendered.

The styling should feel high-end editorial and luxury commercial photography inspired by brands like Apple, Rolex, Tom Ford, Rimowa, Bang & Olufsen, or Leica. Include elegant shadow falloff, controlled highlights, cinematic tonal range, and subtle atmospheric depth.

The background must remain a seamless solid black studio backdrop with no distractions. Use a shallow depth of field with an 85mm premium product photography lens look, ultra-sharp focus on the key details of the product, and smooth natural transitions in lighting and shadows.

If appropriate for the product category, incorporate subtle luxury styling elements such as reflective black surfaces, soft smoke, light haze, premium fabric folds, water droplets, metallic accents, or artistic props while keeping the product itself as the hero.

Avoid unrealistic reflections, distorted geometry, warped proportions, floating elements, oversharpening, plastic textures, fake materials, cluttered composition, or overprocessed highlights.

The final image should feel cinematic, emotionally powerful, premium, elegant, and suitable for a luxury campaign advertisement or high-end magazine cover.

Aspect ratio: 4:5.

Why Some ‘Me Too’ Products Print Money

The more I look at brands and ads lately, the more I realize most sellers are making the exact same mistake:

They’re trying to sell the product instead of selling the identity behind the product.

And that’s usually why the ad dies.

If you’re selling a “Me-Too” product today, you are not competing on features. 

Everyone has the same silicone, same material, same “premium quality,” same white background photos that look like they were taken during a power outage 😂

Nobody remembers any of it.

What people remember is how the brand made them feel.

That’s why some brands can sell a basic silicone spatula for 3x the price and people still buy it without hesitation.

One brand sells:

“A kitchen tool.”

Another brand sells:

“The aesthetic cooking lifestyle for women who romanticize baking, drink matcha, and want their kitchen to look Pinterest-worthy.”

Completely different emotional positioning.
Completely different conversion rate.

That’s also why visuals matter so much right now. Cinematic images, brand identity, color direction, packaging, ad structure… all of it builds perceived value before somebody even reads the bullet points.

You want your product to feel like it belongs somewhere specific.

Not:

“Here’s our spatula.”

More like:
“This belongs in the kitchen of someone who has their life together.” 😂

That’s the difference between a listing people scroll past and a brand people emotionally attach themselves to.

And if you follow this type of workflow while building your creatives and ads, you can make even a very normal product stand out in a very crowded market.

## Example: Silicone Spatula Brand Identity Workflow

### Step 1: Who is this customer becoming?

She’s not “buying a spatula.”

She’s becoming the type of woman whose kitchen looks calm, clean, aesthetic, and expensive without trying too hard.

She lights candles while cooking.
Has neutral tones in the kitchen.
Probably watches baking TikToks at 11PM while pretending she’s “just relaxing.” 😂

Cooking for her is not just making food.
It’s part of the lifestyle she wants to live.

---

### Step 2: What emotional problem are we solving?

Not:
“Heat resistant silicone.”

Nobody emotionally cares 😂

The real emotional problem:

“My kitchen feels chaotic.”
“My tools look cheap and random.”
“I want my cooking space to feel beautiful and organized.”
“I want everyday cooking to feel softer, calmer, more enjoyable.”

Now the product has emotional weight.

---

### Step 3: What does the brand world feel like?

Clean.
Minimal.
Warm neutrals.
Soft luxury.

The type of brand that feels like:
Pinterest kitchen.
Nancy Meyers movie.
Sunday morning baking playlist.
Matcha. Linen apron. Soft lighting. 😂

Now every decision follows that identity:

Packaging → matte cream tones
Fonts → elegant minimal serif
Photography → cinematic natural light
Ads → emotional lifestyle moments
Music → soft piano or acoustic

---

### Step 4: What role does the product play in her story?

The spatula is no longer:
“A kitchen utensil.”

Now it becomes:
“The small detail that makes her kitchen feel put together.”

That’s why she buys it.

Not because silicone magically changed her life 😂
Because the product supports the version of herself she wants to become.

---

### Step 5: How should the ads feel?

NOT:
“BPA-free heat resistant silicone.”

Every seller says that.

The ad should feel like:
“This is what your kitchen could feel like.”

Soft sunlight.
Beautiful batter pouring slowly.
Clean countertops.
Warm coffee nearby.
Relaxed music.
A woman baking while feeling calm instead of overstimulated.

Now the customer emotionally enters the world.

---

### Step 6: What should every creative communicate?

Every picture should answer:

“What type of person owns this?”

If the image looks generic, the ad dies.

If the image creates aspiration, identity, and emotion…
people stop scrolling.

Because people don’t just buy products.

They buy a reflection of who they want to become.

Happy Thursday!

See you in 2 weeks!

Izabella