Not too long ago, we discussed what a Vivid Vision was and how it can help you align your life and goals for the future for both personal and business matters to reach success. You can take a look at the past post here, but to sum it up, a Vivid Vision is basically a summation of what your business or life looks like, feels like, and acts like in three years’ time. This will better help you set the foundations of your future so that you can spend the time between now and three years filling the gaps in your Vivid Vision. For me personally, just writing down my Vivid Vision allowed me to think of things I normally wouldn’t have and fill in the gaps I would not have otherwise seen. Just simply writing things down will make it much more likely your goals and dreams will become a reality. After writing my Vivid Visions for my blog and Amazon business, I quickly saw drastic change in my mindset, momentum, and progress towards my ultimate goals. By making the vision much clearer, I am now better able to accomplish the steps I need to make them into a reality. My Amazon business Vivid Vision has largely manifested into reality faster than I could have even imagined just by simply performing the act of writing everything out! I now have an entire team of dedicated professionals to do product research, find suppliers, source products, launch products, and boost sales. This is something that I was unable to do for almost two years, and by simply performing the act of writing a Vivid Vision, I now have accomplished a lot of the pieces I need for success. While not everything has been accomplished yet (it is a three-year vision after all and it has only been around 3 months), I am now making more progress than ever making my vision become a reality.
Because of the power I believe a Vivid Vision has, I want to share my Amazon business Vivid Vision with everyone so you have the framework to begin yours, and you understand the power of writing things down. I truly believe the power of the Vivid Vision combined with the written word are the best ways to manifest your goals into reality. Whether you are trying to run a successful business or just want a general direction for your personal life, the strength held in the written word is sure to set you on course to achieve what you want.
Below is my Amazon business “GenKool” Vivid Vision. I hope you take inspiration from it and use its structure to write your own so you can achieve the potential you’re all capable of! Enjoy!
To start your Vivid Vision, I recommend reading the book and understanding its structure to make sure yours is as impactful and well-written as possible!
–
–
The best way to ensure that dreams become a reality is to take the vision from our mind and to share it with people. My following vision, what I call my Vivid Vision, is a mental image of what GenKool will look like, feel like, and act like by December 31st, 2024.
-Cameron Herold, Vivid Vision
GenKool
About Us
GenKool is a company that prides itself on its ability to create automation through well-oiled, machine-like systems and processes. Each member of our team is primarily made up of virtual assistants who are committed and passionate about what they do, and this is reflected in their work ethic and our company output. We are a company mainly comprised of virtual workers; however we still have a strong personal connection with all our team members due to our success and processes that are second to none. We provide the best and highest-rated products in the alcohol accessories niche in the USA, and it is because of the comradery and hard work of our team and the success of the processes we have put in motion. Every move we make is calculated and planned in advance, and when we encounter anything new, we quickly come up with a process to remedy it.
Key Values
Automation: We create systems that take the guesswork out of success. We pride ourselves on coming up with replicable processes that work long term for as many products as we want to launch. We have been successful in creating a flow that gels all the components of our business that turns out sales that other companies could only dream of. The sky is the limit for GenKool, and through collaboration of team members and consistent tweaks and improvements to systems, we are getting more and more sophisticated every day.
Brand Recognition: Our brand is the largest alcohol accessory brand in the USA, selling on Amazon, big box retail outlets such as Walmart and Target, and on our own GenKool website in which we have our own warehouse that takes care of shipping for our site only. Our catalogue includes various types of ice trays, rock glasses, bottle openers, shakers, shot glasses, whiskey stones, decanters, and so much more. We are known for our creative takes on different products and designs that we incorporate that are unique to our brand. We come up with new, creative, and innovative ways to expand the niche into a mainstream industry in which we are the leaders.
Product Sourcing: All our products are sourced and manufactured in the USA. We believe strongly in supporting domestic business, and we put our money and time where our mouth is by finding the best domestic sources for our products. Our customers appreciate this effort, and in turn, they are more loyal to our brand. Because we order such large quantities of tested items that have been found to be successful, our USA-based suppliers give us discounted pricing, which allows us to keep our items affordable for all our customers.
Departments
Department Equals Team: The department heads are the team leaders who are chosen by the operations manager. Their role is to make operations within their own department run smoothly. Their role in the department is not to oversee; they do the same work as the rest of the team members in this department. However, they have a critical role to play to ensure that everyone’s ideas are heard and that everyone is on the same page as to how to move forward. These department heads are part of a monthly strategy meeting, which is explained in depth later.
Communication: Our communication between departments is seamless and efficient. Ideas are bounced between team members, which results in solutions to issues before they become anything of concern. Each person knows their role in the systems that they create, and the systems are set up in such a way that efficiency and replicability are ensured for every new endeavor we take on. We strive for every team member to feel as though they are an integral cog in a well-oiled machine.
Team Details:
Operations: The operations manager is a full-time employee whose job is to maintain all operations of business. They are responsible for maintaining connections with suppliers and reordering supplies in accordance with what our bookkeepers allot in the budget. Queries and questions from other team members are fielded by the operations manager. This person is seen as a helping hand and a guiding figure in making sure the business and its operations are running smoothly without overreach or micromanagement. They are the glue that holds all the pieces together. Another important responsibility of the operations manager is onboarding and offboarding employees. They interview, hire, fire (if need be), and create training programs for new hires to become proficient at their jobs. A complete understanding of the business and all its operations is a specialty of our operations manager. They know the business in and out and can be used as a source of knowledge for all departments.
Finance: The finance manager is responsible for setting quarterly budgets based on the desired return for that quarter. A record of payroll and budget spend is kept by the bookkeeper, and every department receives their funding once the bookkeeper gives them a number. This is especially crucial for the marketing team with an ad spend budget. The bookkeeper makes an educated prediction on sales forecasts they create using the factors they determine to be important.
Marketing: This is one of the most integral cogs of the machine because this is the department that drives sales. They create ads and analyze and optimize results based on the desired ROI given to them by the bookkeeper. Ads that we use are Amazon PPC, Facebook & Instagram, Google, YouTube, and any other places that fit within our budgetary constraints. The department is also responsible for new product launches and for making sure that the product reaches the front page for relevant keywords determined by the listing optimizer team. Team members are free to create systems that work for them as long as they provide an adequate return that meets our desired ROI. The marketing team provides exposure to all our sites in which we are located, including big box stores. This exposure ensures that we are getting sales from every avenue possible.
Listing Optimizers: Listing upkeep is the functionality of this department. The team members are proficient in copyrighting and find relevant keywords for each product to rank with on Amazon and Google’s search engines. They are responsible for creating copy for new products and for maintaining existing listings, making sure they are as optimized as possible. Front page is expected of listing optimizers for all our products, and they are up to and eager to take on the challenge knowing how vital their role is to the overall success of GenKool.
Social Media: Our social media team members are responsible for creating engaging content on all our social media platforms to keep our target customer segment buzzing about us. They post a variety of content including lifestyle use of our products, customer shoutouts, new product launches, sales, and much more. Also, they engage with the people who comment, letting our customers know GenKool sees them and we’re listening. Social media networks we affiliate with are Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google My Business, and Twitter.
Customer Service: We have a dedicated team of customer service respondents who answer all queries submitted on any site in which we have our products sold. We also have a support email, support@genkool.com, for any customer questions or concerns. These people work part-time and answer all queries in bundles at certain points in the week rather than waiting for queries to come in.
Research & Development: This team owns the creation of new product launches. They are creativity junkies and love product research on new ideas that have the strongest potential for sales & profit. They continuously look for new ways to revolutionize the alcohol accessory niche, and they have built a reputation for brainstorming new and exciting outside-the-box concepts that are vetted for their feasibility from a marketing, sales, profitability, and sustainability perspective. They analyze the budgets allocated by the Finance Team, determine the potential returns of new launches, and make informed decisions without compromising creativity and ingenuity. An important part of this process is to find the best USA-based source for these new product ideas. The team orders and analyzes samples/prototypes to asses quality, pricing, and lead times. They work with the potential suppliers to ensure the necessary adjustments and modifications are made before a prototype is approved to proceed to production or to be abandoned completely. The team also works with our reliable third-party sources for sleeve/production, as well as copyright and product pictures for online sales. Once the team selects the optimal supplier for the new finalized product, the details are communicated to our Operations Team who proceeds with establishing a contractual partnership and then ultimately the procurement process.
Collaboration Cadence
Monthly Brainstorm: On the first of every month, all team member heads of the departments meet virtually to discuss how their departments are doing, what is working well, what other team members are concerned about, and what improvements could be made. This meeting ensures everyone is happy and on the same page, and it allows us to fine-tune our machine. At the end of the meeting, 30 minutes is allotted to discuss new product ideas from each department. A list is made after we discuss all ideas, and these lists almost always result in putting a new product idea in motion. Every department feels as though their role is vital, and their creativity and ingenuity is reflected on our growing product catalogue.
Our Steady State
Customer Satisfaction: Customers are raving about us online saying that our products are unique, fun, and high quality! They love that we use USA-based manufacturers, and it is one of the most appealing things about our brand to our audience. #GenKool is trending on social media platforms with people showing off their new products and posting about how much they love them online. Happy customers equal free advertising! When customers do have any sort of issues, they are amazed at how helpful our customer support team is. We are able to make loyal lifetime customers who are followers of the brand because of our quality of goods, unparalleled customer service, and online engagement. Our creativity shines through to our customers, and it is reflected in how much they post about our designs.