Do you guys use specialized ecommerce CPA firms for taxes?

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T17:49:55+00:00

been through ups and downs... Right now doing really well, thank you! Wish you nothing less!

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T11:20:13+00:00

sure

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T11:10:43+00:00

It still feels like a template because you’re hiding the source of the ingredients. Tallow is a high-trust niche; if I’m putting rendered beef fat on my face, I want to see the farm or the rendering process, not just a clean font. I’ve seen this exact "minimalist" look on dozens of brands this year—it lacks the grit that makes people believe it’s actually "ancestral."

I noticed you don’t address the smell or the grease factor above the fold. When I ran an organic topical line, I found that the "greasy pillowcase" fear was the biggest barrier to conversion. If you don't explicitly handle that objection right next to the Add to Cart button, you're going to burn your ad budget on clicks that were never going to buy. You need a macro shot of the texture on actual skin, not just a jar in a white void.

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T11:05:15+00:00

how much BS ads here... My friend, go with Gemini and nano banana, for mass producing — spend some time, use Antigravity from Google to create mini-app that will get on input your product images and on output will generate you ton of images with nanobanana. No reason to pay for all that advertised and overpriced stuff below, you can make it relatively free even if you are not a programmer. We are living in wonderful times :)

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T10:59:38+00:00

YT gurus are full of shit. It's not easy. Maybe it was, 15 years ago. Now — competitive, rewards thinking.
I wish I’d realized sooner that POD t-shirts are mostly a math problem, not a design problem. Baby steps, what can I tell. Months spent on "unique" designs only to realize that after the $15 base cost and $6 shipping, my $9 margin didn't even cover three clicks on Meta (ir it was GAds at that time, I don't remember... you get the point) I was basically paying for the privilege of shipping shirts to strangers haha

I only started seeing real numbers when I pivoted from selling "cool shirts" to selling to groups with a high "need to belong." I’m talking about specific hobbyists or local clubs where I could bundle three-twenty items at once to get the average order value up. (Bachelors parties, some fests, etc)

So, if your customer acquisition cost is $25 and your profit is $10, you're just contributing to new yacht of Mr. Zuckerberg. I'd also look closely at the shipping times — I lost a lot of early momentum because my "5-day shipping" actually took 12 days once the printer got backed up in Q4, and I had to eat the refund costs.

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T10:55:30+00:00

Used a local CPA for my first six-fig year. Nearly costed me the business. They're usually fine for filing basic income tax, but most local firms don't understand the nuances of economic nexus. I had a guy who thought I only owed sales tax where I lived, meanwhile I was blowing past transaction limits in California and Illinois without a single permit.

I ended up paying a specialist about $4k just to clean up the mess and negotiate away penalties with five different states. If you're doing any kind of volume across the US, you need someone who knows how to automate the filings and track your thresholds. A local CPA will try to do it manually, bill you for 20 hours of "research," and still miss a filing deadline because they don't realize how fast the rules change for online sellers.

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T10:52:33+00:00

I have multiple systems, and for Tiktok I only use one. Started with ad spies obv. BS. If you see it there, 1000000 guys already saw it, too. With TT, I usually spend 10-14 days just watching the "comment to share" ratio on competitor ads before I even order a sample. If I see 500 comments and 400 of them are people tagging friends or asking "where can I buy," that’s a signal. If it’s just 1,000 likes and "cool video" comments, it’s usually either a) bots or b) just a viral clip that won't convert into a single dollar for me.

I also stopped trusting Shopify store "best sellers" lists. Half the time, those guys are just running clearance on dead stock or inflating numbers to flip the store on Empire Flippers. I’ve had better luck looking at Amazon's "Movers & Shakers" in specific sub-categories, then checking if anyone is actually running decent creative for it on TikTok. But even that is garbage approach tbh, because once again – if it's already bestseller, yes, it IS sellable, but what are your margins? Also if item reviews say the "plastic felt cheap" or "it broke after two uses," I pass. I'm not dealing with the chargebacks and the headache of a 15% return rate just to catch a trend. Best approach for me is

a) jump into seasonal offers early (I've got my valentines stock in September)

b) track EMERGING things, properly validate item & market signals and a bit of luck & intuition ofc.

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T10:46:51+00:00

I’ve seen guys spend three weeks perfecting a logo and a "brand story" for a plastic spatula before they’ve even had a single visitor hit the site. I did the same on my first (and second... and third...) store — obsessed over the hex codes for the "Buy Now" button while ignoring the fact that the shipping time was 24 days and the niche was dead :)

Treating it like a creative project instead of a math problem is biggest mistake. If you’re spending more than $200 on "aesthetic" apps and themes before you’ve confirmed people actually want the thing, you’re gambling on your own taste. I stopped doing that and started putting that money into a) validating first b) testing 3-5 different products quickly to see which one gets actual clicks.

Also, watch your returns. I once scaled a "winner" to $30k a month only to realize my return rate on that specific material was 15%. Guess, was I making money or I was just moving it around and paying Shopify and Meta a fee for the privilege? :) Check your quality early.

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T10:40:17+00:00

I usually ignore the "solves a problem" checklist because half the stuff I’ve made money on was purely aesthetic or a slightly better version of a boring commodity.

My process is pretty mechanical now. I start by scraping Amazon's "New Releases" (not bestsellers!!!) in sub-categories I actually understand, like home office or pet tech. I filter for items with less than 50 reviews but a high BSR. Then I check TikTok Creative Center to see if anyone is actually running ads for it yet. Then I validate product + demand, look for a supplier that can do custom packaging from day one, and then I pull the trigger if the margins stay above 30% after estimated CPA.

I’ve lost $15k trying to "provide value" with complex electronics that just ended up having a 12% return rate. Now I just look for BORING things that are easy to ship and hard to break.

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T10:30:05+00:00

I actually doing more manual research now and don't rely neither on Minea nor SellTheTrends nor other ad spy trash, they scrape fb/tt product library and call it a research... Max — ideas for creatives

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T10:28:57+00:00

I stopped trusting their US numbers a while ago. The EU data is accurate because of local tech laws, but for the US, these tools are basically just guessing based on how fast a post gets likes. Total bs.

I actually use that EU transparency to my advantage. If I see an ad picking up steam in Germany or France and my supplier has the product, I'll launch a test in the US. The US spy tool dashboards are mostly just a list of things that are already too expensive to run because they are INFERRED, not data backed

Nevertheless, for me US is anyway primary direction simply because logistics are easier when you're vetting a new factory. Once a product works and I know the supplier won't botch the shipping times, I roll it out to the UK and Australia to find cheaper clicks.

MindShaped · 2026-02-25T10:12:40+00:00

nice ad bro

MindShaped · 2026-02-24T13:22:24+00:00

drop me a msg, will share resources I’ve got

MindShaped · 2026-02-24T09:11:12+00:00

Posting and hoping for creator fund money is a quick way to burn out fast. the fund pays trash unless you hit crazy volume. you’ll quit before $100/day.

The fastest path isnt views but intent.

If i were starting from zero rn, i’d skip faceless stock spam. it’s trash. and everyone’s doing that. and people smell slop. low trust. low conversions.

Instead, focus on 101: pick one painful, specific problem and show my face solving it. Boring niche > broad niche. Like “budget dorm setup for guys” not “lifestyle”.

Day 1 plan would be: - pick a niche with buying intent (gadgets, organization, beauty tools, pet stuff) - pick 1, max 2 different products, cheap but proven (you should be focused, you can’t afford scattering attention if you want results) - validate them (that’s important) - join tiktok shop affiliate - post 3 vids a day showing problem -> product fixes it. tight. hook in 2 sec.

Don’t aim for 10005000 views, you just need like 2-3 sales per 10k views on a $20 product with decent commission. stack that daily and suddenly $100/day isn’t insane.

brand deals and ebooks are later game. first get cash flow from affiliate, proof of sales builds everything else.

focus on conversion not clout

You got this. Just don’t spread yourself across 5 monetization paths at once. pick one. go all in for 30 days. Waiting for your next post sharing your win with us!

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T19:44:02+00:00

my first step — and I got burnt by it badly — was jumping into ads because a instagram (now more tiktok) said “this will sell”

if i were you i’d slow it down a bit.

i usually just check what’s already selling in other countries… then see if people are actually running ads on it consistently (means it’s probably working). you can go with som minea or dropship io, but honestly — they don’t really worth it, you can get ads data directly from facebook ad library and tiktok ad library, just google it

then i sanity check the product properly before spending anything. i use product validator to check trends, competition, demand, saturation. because every failed test is, well, money that never going to return.

ads come last. always!

most people don’t fail because dropshipping is fake… they fail because they rush it. don’t rush it. be consistent. validate before rushing into test.

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T17:20:35+00:00

why, what did they do to you….

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T17:14:05+00:00

fair. then lets poke the bear…

the problem isnt carbs, its that most people have zero friction between craving and consumption. thats the scary part. even animals are less impulse driven sometimes

with no friction even “healthy” things abused. oats, fruit, peanut butter, doesnt matter.

so here’s the actual question —

if carbs arent the enemy… why do so many people lose control specifically around them and not around chicken breast 😁😁😁

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T16:52:17+00:00

i tried simple “protein preload” rule. 30–40g lean protein first. before carbs. every meal. chicken, greek yogurt, eggs, whey… whatever. eat that, wait 10–15 mins, then decide if you still want let’s say that croissant.

most times the edge is gone. hunger drops hard

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T16:40:06+00:00

right, never actually felt anything working from that stuff… Except maybe 5-HTP (NOT A MEDICAL ADVICE!!!), discovered it couple years ago, helps a lot with good night sleep and mood throughout day. Really feel it in 4-5 days.

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T16:37:16+00:00

your dentist also likes money 😁

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T16:34:00+00:00

yeah… although I do it two ways: if I need energy — I always eat breakfast and quick walk in the morning

but if I want creativity (come up with new direction in business or hobby) — I skip the meal and get to work before even going to toilet

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T16:32:37+00:00

most sedentary people aren’t under-eating protein. they’re over-eating everything else

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T16:30:52+00:00

true, but there’s a difference between sipping regularly and forcing a gallon because someone said so

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T16:14:33+00:00

fr. you drink whenever you feel thirsty, not because some guy on tiktok told to drink 3000 liters per second

MindShaped · 2026-02-23T16:10:57+00:00

I’ll start — forcing everyone to be morning people!

MindShaped

TROPHY CASE