Former Door-to-Door Salesman Launches $200 E-commerce Venture, Sells It For $10M Just 2 Years Later

This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

Starting and running a business at an early age can be a challenging task. Becoming successful is something only some can achieve, as it requires a combination of various skills, qualities, and circumstances. 

However, anyone can work towards developing the necessary skills and qualities to increase their chances of success, as it is also an excellent opportunity to learn valuable skills and become a successful entrepreneur.

Fifteen years ago, Trevor Chapman took a job as a door-to-door pest control salesman to make extra money. He eventually launched his own sales operation, a solar panel installation company spread across three states in the U.S.

But after a few years, Chapman felt that something was missing in his life. 

"There came the point in time when I had to say, 'I'm in my mid-thirties, am I willing to wait until some of my kids are out of the house to enjoy my life to the extent I imagined I would?'" CNBC quoted Chapman saying.

He decided to earn a passive income through e-commerce. So he went on and spent just $200 launching an online store LDSman.com, that offered things like inflatable lounge chairs, Kevlar pants, fidget spinners, charcoal toothpaste, and more products sourced from China. 

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First, he bought a domain name for $2.99 a year and set up a Shopify account via a $14 trial. His site LDSman.com went live on Nov. 11, 2016.

Within a couple of months, Chapman was spending just an hour and a half each week on his side hustle, while working about 12 hours a day at his solar company. 

"I made money my second day and every day after that," he said, and just two weeks after launching the site, he had his first $10,000 day. Chapman went on to quit the solar panel business. 

After the e-commerce site ran for almost 92 days, it garnered its first $1 million in sales. According to the report, Utah-based VC firm Clarke Capital showed interest in adding Chapman's company to its portfolio following this milestone. 

In 2017 he turned down the $3 million offer, but then in 2018, he sold his company to a holding firm for over $10 million.   

CNBC reported that the deal also included selling the Academy of Arbitrage, the educational site Chapman founded to walk others through getting started in e-commerce. 

"As with anything," Chapman says, "you get out of it what you put in." Chapman also shared that his mother was able to build up a site of her own after she followed his lessons, despite not knowing anything about e-commerce.

Taking on challenges and looking for alternatives can be essential to success, which is what Chapman endeavored in his life. 

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