Joshua Blake has always put his faith and his family first. His wife and children are the most important people in his life, and he loves nothing more than being able to spend time with them.

In 2013, the Blake family was given an unexpected challenge. Out of respect and privacy to them I won’t get into the specifics, but the Blakes found themselves with new recurring medical expenses. To further that burden, Joshua’s wife Elizabeth left her job as an elementary school teacher to stay home and provide support in this time of need. Joshua had no choice but to find a way to earn extra income to bridge the gap this created.

If you have been selling on Amazon for the past year, you know exactly what I am talking about. Even if you haven’t received one of these, you’ve no doubt heard about them. Today, I want to bust a few myths with IP claims, as well as give you a plan for how you can resolve these.

First, I want to give a warning here:

Brand restrictions aren’t something to be feared. In fact, from what we have seen they actually help to improve our profit margins. Despite this, people hear the words “brand restriction” and cower in fear they won’t be able to be ungated. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and in this article, we will go over the exact process you can follow to become ungated.

I want to preempt this post with two things:

It. Is. Coming.

That’s right my friends, we’re right around the quarter from THAT time of year. No matter who you are, how you source, or what you sell, Q4 is your time to shine! However, where opportunity lies, so does complication.

This guide is a collection of tips that have served us well over the years, despite how we were sourcing or what we were selling. I don’t want to say doing the things in this guide will make you have a great Q4 in and of itself, that will take a lot of hustle and grit.

As your business grows, developing a project list becomes imperative. It creates a timeline and schedule for you to complete tasks, as well as making sure that you don’t miss important steps along the way. Realistically, working through projects is how we grow our business; the rest is just building blocks, and the inroads we take to get there.

Amazon constantly evolves.

It was over the last year that we started seeing these types of complaints show up. At first, the process was frustrating. However, over the past year we have resolved EVERY single one of these complaints.

So, what is a product safety complaint?

Should I buy (fill-in-the-blank course)?

If you are anything like me, you have asked yourself this question a few times. While we have created an incredibly successful course with The Wholesale Formula, we still personally invest in learning and take lots of courses we believe will help us in our own entrepreneurial journey. I personally don’t believe the need for learning ever goes away, particularly in evolving markets like Amazon.

Getting categories ungated could be the single most intimidating process Amazon sellers go through. The secret is, once you go through the first one, the rest of them really aren’t intimidating at all. In this article, I will spill the beans and help YOU have the necessary information, and hopefully help you gather the courage to push forward and go through this process.

Let’s first look at it from the perspective of WHY it really should not be intimidating. For what it is worth, this is likely the single most common question that we receive, or at least a derivative of it.

One thing I’ve learned for certain? Books provide nourishment for the entrepreneur’s mind. I personally believe that reading and researching is a fundamental component for growth in entrepreneur’s businesses. The fact that you are reading this blog post means that you also believe in reading and growing. So, kudos to you for that!

Those are all phrases we have, at some point, muttered. The problem with those phrases is they are accepting of mediocrity. They predispose we are willing to accept “good enough”. While greatness may or may not be attainable, you sell your dreams short by accepting less. The fact is you have chosen to run and operate your own business. You have taken that chance, putting your time and money on the line, you owe it to yourself to accomplish whatever is possible without restriction.