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The Calum Johnson Show

How To Make Your First Million Dollars On TikTok Shop In 1Hr 18mins | Will Rivera

Watch our first episode with @willchangelives on how to build a 7 figure Amazon business.

Will RiveraguestCalum Johnsonhost

Jun 10, 20241h 18mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Will's Background and the Facebook Post About Survival
After a subscribe plea, Calum asks Will what he does, and Will describes Ecom University and his e-commerce background. Calum then reads Will's 2020 Facebook post about his arrest, his mom's struggles and the jobs he got fired from, and asks whether entrepreneurship was a form of survival.
- •Will sells products online and runs Ecom University, which he founded in 2018 and which has over 20,000 students
- •He says he has sold well over $30 million of product online
- •His 2020 post recalls his arrest, moving between apartments, and being fired from many jobs
- •Calum frames entrepreneurship in Will's story as a way out
From Computer Science Plans to Entrepreneurship as Common Sense
Will explains he never dreamed of being a business owner. After basketball and a computer science degree fell through, he took an Amazon warehouse job, saw coworkers stuck in the same cycle, and tried flipping iPhones, a moving company, affiliate marketing and Shopify.
- •His plan was a computer science degree to help his mom, but he doubted the math and didn't want to wait four years
- •Warehouse coworkers working five to ten years and still struggling showed him the cycle he wanted to avoid
- •He tried eBay iPhones, a moving company and affiliate marketing before Shopify
- •He went a year without income before a product popped and he never got a job again
Responsibility, the Information Gap and Exposure
Asked why he felt responsible at such a young age, Will points to having no father figure and says meeting people making money online made it real. He says the gap between him and others was information, and describes visiting a richer part of Georgia where parents ran businesses and were always home.
- •With no dad to save them, Will felt it was on him to change his family's situation
- •Meeting someone in person who made money online convinced him he could too
- •He credits the gap to information and became obsessed with learning
- •He cites the quote that you can only grow to what you've been exposed to
- •Friends' parents with flooring, landscaping and online businesses used leverage rather than trading time for money
Back Against the Wall at the Amazon Warehouse
Will describes the grind of school by day and Amazon by night, with his family moved to Ohio and no car. His mom's call about a surgery he couldn't help pay for was the last straw, and he later swapped to a lower-paying LA Fitness job to gain time.
- •Will says people act only when inspired or desperate, and he was desperate
- •He worked 6 PM to 4 AM after school, gained weight and lost his social life
- •His mom's surgery call, when he couldn't help, was the last straw
- •He took a pay cut at LA Fitness and dropped out of school to focus on e-commerce
- •Calum highlights creating space to think long term
Putting Ego Aside and Seeking Mentors
Will argues that ego and pride keep people from making money and says men often resist asking for help. He recalls writing on a card at his first networking event that he just wanted to be a sponge, and says he still pays for courses and mentorships because it lets you time travel.
- •Remove the ego and you'll add some zeros
- •At his first networking event he offered only time and hard work
- •That event led to his first business partner, the host
- •He still asks people doing better how he can learn from them and pays for courses and mentorships
- •Learning from experts can compress years of mastery into minutes
The Brutal First Year and the Distance Bracelet
Will says the hardest part of starting was having nobody to model, which changed when his first partner showed proof of concept. He describes a year of failed products, his first winning product, the distance bracelet, and the idea that you only have to be early.
- •Meeting someone making money online gave him proof of concept
- •He tested over 50 products in a year before one worked
- •The distance bracelet ran as a free-plus-shipping offer and made six figures
- •His early ads were terrible but worked because he was early to Shopify dropshipping
- •He also names Amazon during COVID and NFTs, saying he turned $2,000 into $3 million
Books, Leverage and the Role of Belief
Will describes how his first business partner and a young restaurant owner inspired him and recommended books like Think and Grow Rich and Rich Dad Poor Dad. Calum then adds a point from Hormozi that unmet money goals come down to skills or beliefs.
- •Seeing a young peer make money non-traditionally was a first for Will
- •Rich Dad Poor Dad taught him leverage through the gym owner example
- •Will became obsessed with business after reading
- •Calum cites Hormozi that results come down to skills or limiting beliefs
What TikTok Shop Is and Why It Is a Gold Rush
Will explains TikTok Shop as TikTok's marketplace where anyone can be an affiliate and earn commissions by tagging products. He says TikTok pushes tagged videos, so even small accounts can earn, and Calum adds a friend's view that it removes friction between content and purchase.
- •TikTok Shop is like Amazon on TikTok, with 40% of users having bought and Americans spending $70 million a day
- •Anyone can tag a brand's product and earn a commission per sale
- •TikTok boosts videos with tagged products
- •Will calls each video a rental property that keeps earning
- •Unlike big-follower brand sponsorships, you can start with 1,000 followers
Step One: Product Research With Kalodata and AI Tools
Asked for step one, Will points to Kalodata for top products, creators and video scripts. He explains how ElevenLabs, ChatGPT and Midjourney can produce faceless videos, and discusses whether to chase top products, rising ones or personal favorites.
- •Kalodata shows top products, creators and the videos that work, plus transcripts
- •AI voiceover and images let people make videos without showing their face
- •Will knows people making 100 to 200 grand a month with AI videos
- •Top products still sell, and a rising-products feature helps catch new ones
- •A Kai Cenat stream clip tagged with a back massager earned about 5K a day
Hooks, Authentic Content and Getting Better Through Repetition
Will says videos should be authentic and funny rather than hard-selling, with the first three seconds as the hook, and ChatGPT can help write hooks. He says he got good at content through repetition, citing Tai Lopez, and Calum compares it to artists whose early work was weak.
- •The hook is the first three seconds and creates curiosity
- •ChatGPT can generate hook ideas for a product
- •Will says he was bad at video at first and consistency can't be cheated
- •He admired Tai Lopez's off-the-cuff videos
- •Calum and Will note people see finished products, not the many bad takes before
Posting Volume and Analyzing Winning Videos
For a first $10K a month, Will recommends quality over quantity but suggests three to five roughly 30-second videos a day until one pops. He says one viral video brings about 90% of revenue and describes studying the hook and transcript of winners and iterating on them.
- •Authentic beats highly produced on TikTok
- •Post three to five videos a day until one hits, then make variations
- •TikTok is a discovery platform, so posting often doesn't spam followers
- •Accounts with 2,000 to 3,000 followers can make 30 to 50K a month
- •Analyze a winner's hook, delivery and transcript, and have ChatGPT write similar scripts
- •Trending songs give a small boost
Scaling From 10K to 100K a Month
Will says the difference between 10K and 100K a month is better videos, and that copywriting is a learnable skill. He adds that successful creators get brand retainers and that people are building UGC agencies.
- •The 100K creator simply makes better videos
- •Copywriting matters, especially for AI videos where the script carries everything
- •Brands may offer retainers on top of commission
- •UGC agencies sell large monthly retainers to brands
- •Brands can run winning videos as ads
TikTok Ban Fears and the Bigger YouTube Shop Opportunity
Calum raises fears of TikTok being shut down. Will says he doesn't expect it, but notes YouTube Shop launched with the same model, and that the skills transfer. He and Calum discuss YouTube's larger audience, Shopify partnership and Google SEO advantage.
- •Will doesn't think TikTok will be shut down given what it contributes to the US economy
- •YouTube Shop launched last month with the same tag-and-commission model
- •He expects it to be bigger because of Google and YouTube's user base
- •Calum's friend mentions a YouTube partnership with Shopify
- •YouTube Shop videos could rank in Google search
Why Getting In Early Matters
Calum asks what the cost is of waiting. Will explains that competition raises the bar, as with Shopify ads and websites, and that TikTok Shop videos will have to improve as more people join. Both note that starting early also builds skill, and Will uses the early NBA players as an analogy.
- •Early entrants can make money without being very good
- •As competition grows, ads, sites and videos must be professional
- •TikTok Shop videos will need better hooks, value and calls to action
- •Starting early also means you build skill by the time others arrive
- •Early NBA players wouldn't make today's league
The Year of Sacrifice and Buying His Mom a House
Calum asks how Will's life now compares to his past. Will says one year of sacrifice changed his life, and that his greatest pride is buying his mom a house and car in cash in 2021. They close on hunger, being a model for his brothers, and Tyson's silk pajamas line.
- •Will cites Charlie Munger's quote and says he earned what he has
- •He spent a year making no money and skipped college, friends and family time
- •In 2021 he bought his mom a house and a car in cash
- •His mom doesn't fully understand his work, but his brothers do
- •Will says he is less hungry now

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