When you start a company along the lines of High Ticket E-Commerce, there are a number of expenses you will incur.
Some are mandatory, most are optional. However, some of the optional expenses can simplify your life or save you time. (Such is the nature of money!)
They will not guarantee you are more successful, but some of them can be helpful.
Corporate Setup & Accounting
Necessary
LLC Formation (∼$297 + state registration fee = ~$397)
Doola [Doola] offers a free consultation call for LLC formations and also a service to incorporate your business from anywhere in the world.
This is mandatory! You can’t start a business or sign up suppliers unless you have a corporate entity.
Optional
Registered Agent ($100/annually)
A registered agent serves as the official address where you receive important (e.g. government) mail on behalf of your business. You can serve as your own registered agent if you will reliably receive mail at this address.
Accounting ($10+/month)
Services like Quickbooks can offer you a simple way to manage your corporate expenses and ultimately do your taxes. However you can always do this yourself as well.
Virtual Address ($15/month)
For people outside of the US, it can be helpful/necessary to have a virtual address for both incorporation and for correspondence with suppliers. Please confirm with Doola if it’s necessary!
Openphone / Virtual Phone Number ($15-23 per month or $180-276 per year)
If you do not want to use your personal phone number, you can set up a virtual phone number instead. They all have apps so the phone calls get routed to your phone but it can provide an extra level of privacy.
Supplier/Product Research
While you are able to use things such as Google Shopping for product and supplier research for free. There are some applications/software out there that can make your life a little easier. Keep in mind, none of which are required, just a recommendation.
Necessary
Nothing!
Optional
Supplier HQ Subscription (30 day free trial - $29/$49/$99 per month or $399 per year thereafter)
Supplier HQ is the world’s largest database of high ticket suppliers that’s filled with valuable and well-researched information such as search demand, margin, price points, products, where suppliers dropship to, and if they enforce a minimum advertised price.
Full disclosure: It was built by some members of the High Ticket team after deciding the High Ticket model would be easier to follow if something like this existed.
The benefits are that you have immediate access to the best source of product, supplier and distributor research. There is also a free trial and a special deal for High Ticket members.
Others
Ahrefs ($129 per month - $449 per month package dependent)
Ahrefs is a powerful SEO toolset for analyzing backlinks, tracking keywords, and optimizing website performance.
Semrush (7 day free trial - $140 per month - $250 per month)
Semrush is an all-in-one digital marketing platform for SEO, PPC, content marketing, and competitor analysis.
Apollo.io (pricing based on user per month - $59 - $99 per month per user)
Apollo.io is a sales intelligence and engagement platform that helps businesses find prospects and automate outreach.
Website Setup
Necessary
Shopify ($1/first month, $29 and up thereafter)
We highly recommend Shopify and teach all of our students to use it. That said, we have some students who use other e-commerce applications. We would only recommend this if you have significant experience in e-commerce and the alternate e-commerce application.
Optional
Shopify Premium Theme (e.g. Empire, Prestige. Each are around $350)
You can build your store using a free theme like Dawn or you can purchase a premium theme like Empire or Prestige. You can also always upgrade your theme after your store is launched and you are making sales. Premium themes can have more features and can have a more polished look.
High Ticket ‘Done-For-You’ professionally designed and built Shopify store. ($995)
The High Ticket team will design and build your Shopify store. This does not include a premium theme. Your store will be ready within a week.
Automation / Efficiency Tools
Necessary
Nothing!
Optional
ChatGPT ($20/month)
ChatGPT is an AI tool that can help generate text. Students sometimes use it for creating SEO-optimized articles, product descriptions and other blog posts or writing.
Advertising / SEO
Necessary
Budget for Google Ads ($50/month)
The course is based on optimizing Google ads (among other things) so we recommend a minimum amount of spend to guarantee that you will receive traffic to the products on your website.
You do not spend all of your ad budget at once though. You only spend money when people click on your ads and you can raise or lower your budget as your coach suggests.
Optional
Symprosis ($4.99/month and up depending on number of products)
We recommend using Symprosis to sync your products on Shopify into Google Merchant Center.
Getting your business started doesn’t require a long list of essential expenses, and many of the larger costs, like setting up an LLC, are one-time payments. Plus, you have the flexibility to adjust your spending over time—some subscriptions might become unnecessary, or a basic plan could be all you need. This allows you to manage your budget effectively while your business grows!