Part Two: The math behind my 210 wholesale order

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Sorry, this is a long one!

In my last post, I shared the story behind this event and why my body needed eleven hours of sleep afterward.

Here it is if you missed it:https://www.skool.com/multiple-streams-of-income-4358/i-just-finished-breakfast-after-11-hours-of-sleep?p=82faca98

As promised, here is the math behind it!

I am sharing this because many of us here are doing this in real time. Launching first products.Spending real money. Learning by moving inventory, not just ideating and creating.

And here is the truth that does not get said enough:

Your first product costs money.

Sometimes more than you expect.

Sometimes, in ways you will not repeat once you learn (thank goodness).

The core product numbers

Journals sold: 210
Sale price per journal: $15
Total journal revenue: $3,150

Now the costs broken down clearly:

Manufacturing plus inbound shipping to Amazon per journal: $3.20
Amazon MCF fulfillment to the customer per journal, seasonal rate: $10.90 🥲

That means the fully loaded cost per journal for this event was $14.10.

Yes. That is basically breaking even.

An important disclaimer:

When I priced this deal back in September, Amazon MCF fulfillment was $5.62 per journal.

By the time the journals shipped, it was $10.90.

Same product. Same deal. Different season.

I had not seen this level of seasonal pricing before I offered $15 per journal.

Amazon’s MCF rates are tiered and increase significantly during peak season, and it appears there was also a major fee increase in 2026. This is a reminder for all of us using Amazon FBA or MCF to keep a close pulse on fees.

I honored the original pricing anyway. That is part of learning and part of integrity.

This is also why knowing your numbers calmly matters.

Panic is where burnout lives.

What that looked like in real numbers

Total journal costs for this event: $2,961
Net journal profit: $219

Not glamorous.Very real.

Additional revenue from the event:

This event was never just about journal margins.

I was honored to speak to 138 educators, all with journals in hand, during the training. That alone made this worth it. It was a genuinely magical experience.

A few sales came in afterward, too. 🙏🏼

Books (autographed)

Books sold: 7
Price per book: $14
Total book revenue: $98

Costs:

Book cost: 7 × $4 = $28
Shipping to customer total: $6.92
Total cost: $34.92

Net profit on books: $63.08

GYSD Planners

Revenue: $70
Total landed and fulfillment cost: $44.64

Net profit on planners: $25.26

Total revenue from books and planners: $168

Covered product and shipping.Small profit. Positive and clean.

Workshop fee

$150
Thirty-minute talk
Thirty-minute Q&A

Revenue summary

Journals: $3,150
Books + planners: $168
Workshop fee: $150

Total revenue: $3,468

Net profit by stream

Journals: $219.00
Books: $63.08
GYSD Planners: $25.26
Workshop: $150.00

Total profit after expenses: $457.34

The part people rarely talk about

I am also actively trying to move inventory.

I had overstock in green and yellow journals, and this event helped move a meaningful amount of that inventory. That matters for both cash flow and mental clarity.

Separately, I donated 200 journals to Minnesota educators, which came with $525 in Amazon removal fees. That was a values based decision.

It still counts as money out.

Early product businesses are not linear. They are educational.

You are not just earning.You are learning how inventory behaves.

You are paying for information with real dollars.

The full picture

This event:

Covered its costs
Generated profit
Moved overstock
Created proof of concept
Produced reusable assets
Stayed within my energy limits

Just as importantly, it taught me lessons I hopefully will not have to pay for again.

Why am I sharing this?

If I skipped the numbers, it would be easy to assume this was luck, unsustainable, or that it made me a ton of money.

None of that is true.

What is true is that it moved my confidence forward. It helped me trust my products, my pricing instincts, and my ability to design opportunities that fit my life instead of draining it. It pushed my business past the “one-time only” phase and into something that feels repeatable, on purpose.

This was a slow, intentional experiment with real constraints and real money on the line.

If you are building your first product alongside me, this is normal: