Alison J. Prince on Overcoming Scarcity Mindsets, Selling Trash for Profit, and Building Multi-Million-Dollar Stores

Some people were born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouth. Even then, becoming a millionaire is still quite an accomplishment. But people who start from nothing, and especially women who start from nothing, who make it to the top to become millionaires, despite the pay inequalities based on gender, the confidence gap, with nothing but grit, hustle, resilience, and “stick-to-itness”, are on a whole new level. We want to share those stories and inspire other women. In this interview series, we’re talking to “Self-Made” women leaders who started with nothing (i.e. started without investors or trust fund or capital or even people believing in them) and have become millionaires.

As a part of our series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alison J. Prince.

Alison is an ecommerce expert who has created four multi-million-dollar online businesses. She teaches others to create successful online stores using her 0–100K System — and many have achieved six-figure sales, with some hitting millionaire status. A former junior high teacher, Alison is a sought-after speaker and podcast guest who has been featured in Forbes and other publications. For more information, visit AlisonJPrince.com.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory” and how you grew up?

I grew up in Utah and am fortunate to have a sister and a handful of brothers. I was the one who was usually in the middle of sibling squabbles, so my parents frequently told me to sit on my hands–and to stop asking quite so many questions. I was an average student, but I was (and am) a constant learner. I earned my college degree which allowed me to teach junior high science and math. Little did I know that it was there I’d start my entrepreneurial journey–something I can share more of a bit later. My husband Jared is a physical therapist and together we have four great kids and a very bouncy dog named Goose.

Growing up, what were your early experiences and perspectives about money? Or we could say, what was the “money consciousness” in which you were raised? Can you please give an example of what you mean?

Oh — you touched on a big topic for me. When I was growing up, our family lived in a beautiful home and I’d say we had pretty much that typical “American dream’’ sort of life. But when I was 13, my parents divorced and things changed. I not only lost the family structure I’d known my entire life, but we also lost our home. We moved into a smaller home, and then a year later lost that home. I started losing my sense of security and developed an absolute scarcity mindset.

I was very close to my grandparents — my grandfather is truly one of the biggest influences I have ever had in my life. But because they came through the Depression and through a World War, they had the same views of money as many of those of their generation. When I think about it, they also had a scarcity mindset. They not only saved every dollar they could, but they also taught me how to negotiate at garage sales to get the best price. They were what I guess we’d call recyclers now, as they also taught me how to wash and dry no-name plastic baggies to reuse them. They were very risk averse, and focused on keeping a job. My grandfather worked in a car repair shop for years to support his family.

My grandparents and my parents encouraged me and my siblings to go to college. For them, a college degree meant financial stability. I got a teaching degree, recognizing that while teachers don’t make tons of money, I’d have a sense of security. I really loved teaching junior high math and science — my students were awesome. What I didn’t love, however, was when I received my first paycheck and realized my salary actually qualified us for government assistance. To say it was a slap in the face is an understatement.

Awesome! Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s talk about what you are doing now, and how you achieved the success that you currently enjoy. Can you tell our readers about the business you’ve created that helped you become a millionaire?

Today I am still a teacher — although a far different kind than when I was Mrs. Prince in Room 104. But getting to where I am now took me over a decade. It began when our family was living on one income — my husband’s. It was important to me that I contribute to our income, especially as I did have the scarcity mindset I described before. I had started a “mommy blog” with two of my friends that was starting to grow, and the more I worked with it, the more I felt there was an opportunity to make money selling physical products online.

Everything I read back then about starting an online store talked about how you had to have a big inventory, a warehouse, and loads of cash to get started. I pushed those lies aside and decided to use what I had to get started.

I had a friend put together a simple website for me, so then it was a matter of coming up with something to sell. I couldn’t afford to buy anything, so I looked at what I already had in my house. I found a roll of vinyl — you know the kind you can cut out and put on your walls? It was literally collecting dust and was headed to the trash can. But I pulled it out, brushed it off, and cut it into 12” strips. That was the first product I posted, and I sold out.

I made my first $200-$300 dollars and felt like I’d won the lottery! I literally danced with my family around our kitchen every time I heard one of those cha-ching sounds that kept popping through on my computer whenever I made a sale. I remember thinking that I didn’t have to ask a boss for a raise, go into any place to work, and I could do it on my own time. All the rumors of making money online became a reality for me. I didn’t have to just hear about others doing it–I did it myself! It was such a monumental moment in my journey.

The name of that business was Pick Your Plum, and it turned into an incredibly profitable company while I was running it. We were shipping out an average of 2,000 to 3,000 packages a day. I’d never dreamed that the trash I sold that first day would ultimately lead to me having a 30,000 square foot facility and more than 50 employees.

In the midst of growing Pick Your Plum, I started to question if that first online store was kind of a one-hit-wonder. It was a constant thought I had to overcome–my brain kept telling me it was all luck. So to test it, I started another company selling a single product: pillowcases. When that company grew quickly as well, I began to tackle my doubts with facts: the system I had created worked.

To triple-check my system I decided to teach it to my daughters, who were just 10 and 13 at the time. They sold over $100,000 of scarves years before they even had a drivers license. Then I had my sister test the system. I taught her the process, and she sold over 6 figures as well. She called crying very happy tears when she hit that mark!

Word got out at that point about what I was doing, and I had a lot of people reaching out who wanted to pick my brain. I felt like I was letting them down if I couldn’t spend the time with them answering questions. I was trying to find an option that would work and came across the process of how to teach online–and I knew it was the right solution.

There was an issue, though: I am a huge introvert. Selling from behind a screen and having products be the “face” of my business was a lot different than having me be front and center. Still, I felt strongly that I needed to help people do what I did–especially moms like me who wanted to add money to their budget, or women who wanted to work for themselves from home.

I found a coach who helped me through the specifics of setting up an online course. In 2017, I launched the 0–100K System, teaching how to start ecommerce businesses using the methods I used and still use today–the same one my daughters and sister used to achieve their successes. It took off in ways I could not have predicted.

More than 9,000 people have enrolled in my online course to learn my methods. I have many students who have reached $50,000 and $100,000 in sales — and some have crossed over the $1M sales mark. I think I get more excited when they hit those kinds of numbers than when I did it myself! My primary business message, or mantra, to my students is all about “Because I Can.” I want them to internalize that when someone asks them why they started their business, they reply with “Because I Can.” It’s so freeing! It’s also a way of expressing how we have the ability and freedom to start and run a business regardless of our education, background or location.

As a side note, I sold Pick Your Plum several years ago, and recently sold my pillowcase company. But I love selling online so much that I have launched and currently run several other online stores so that I’m always able to talk to my students about what’s currently happening in ecommerce.

What was your vision when you started this business? What’s the WHY behind the work that you do?

My initial “why” was 100% focused on my family. I wanted to add to my family’s income. At first, I just wanted to see if I could actually make a dollar online just to prove to myself that the whole idea wasn’t too good to be true. Once I did that, I set a goal to make $200 a day. I visualized what it could do for our family. One of my big goals back then was to have the six of us go to Disneyland–and spend the day doing whatever we wanted and eating as many churros as we could find (which we did, by the way!) But as my company took off, I set goals to make $400 a day and then $400 an hour.

It was really when I taught my daughters how to create an ecommerce business that my “why” came into focus. I wanted them to know that they have the ability to create an income for themselves whether or not they went to college, or wherever they chose to live. There is so much freedom in that! Teaching my sister how to do this gave her so much freedom — freedom from debt and freedom from the same scarcity mindset I’d had.

Freedom is the same “why” I have now. I work with predominantly females in my group, although I do teach men too. But the women especially often feel like they don’t have the same ability or freedom to make a significant income. Some haven’t worked in years because they’ve been raising little kids, and others work jobs that don’t pay a lot. Some work and make a good income but would love to be able to be at home or work from home without having to sell to their friends or build downlines. Starting your own online store is completely different.

For example, one of my students had two small children and one on the way when she started. She and her husband wanted to buy a home, but saving up for a down payment was a struggle. She dug in and learned my system and ended up finding wholesale earrings at a low cost. She sold them for $9.99 a pair–and earned enough for their down payment. Now their family has a home they can live in comfortably, complete with a yard for the kids. I believe that my own journey wasn’t just about me–it was for me to share with others.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I’ll start out by saying that I haven’t seen my comfort zone in over 13 years! Every day brings an interesting story. But one of the most interesting things that has happened to me as a result of leading my company is becoming a public speaker.

Again, I am an introvert, so the idea of being on stage at a big event and talking to a room packed with hundreds of people feels overwhelming. But over the last few years I have shared a stage with Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, and ClickFunnels founder Russell Brunson. I’ve also been a guest on podcasts with thought leaders like Jenna Kutcher, Jaime Masters, Cathy Heller, Mel Abraham, Allie Casazza, and so many others.

Honestly, all of this blows my mind a little. It was never something I could have anticipated when I sold my first online product. I’m actually kinda glad I didn’t have this big vision–it would have overwhelmed me! I’ve learned to just take one step (sometimes even half of a step) at a time and suddenly clarity just…happens! I have a hard time believing anyone who says they had a perfectly clear vision and a detailed business plan from the very beginning. Instead, I think it’s best to start with what you have and you’ll move in the direction you were meant to. That has been one of the greatest secrets to my success.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

When I started my first online store, Pick Your Plum, I had a single product that went live each weekday at 7 am Mountain Time. At the beginning, I didn’t have a depth of inventory–sometimes as few as 200 items–so we sold out FAST. For some customers, it became less about what I was selling and more about whether or not they got one. It was completely a game for them.

That led to a little bit of a problem for me–one I don’t think I could have ever planned for. Customers who lived near me could choose to pick up their purchases so that they saved on postage. Pretty soon, some customers had stacks of products waiting for them, so I’d call and ask them when they wanted to pick them up. I can’t tell you how many times the customer would laugh, tell me they had no idea what they’d purchased, and that I should just go ahead and resell the product!

Needless to say, the “pick up” option eventually went away.

We’d love to explore the traits that help you achieve your success. What were the mindset obstacles that you had to overcome in order to reach the place of consistently earning a million dollars a year and more? Can you tell us what you did to overcome them?

Probably the biggest one was overcoming that voice in my head that told me I didn’t have what it took to run my first business. It took me time to recognize that nobody knew my customers, my products, or my process better than anyone else–even if I didn’t have the “traditional” business background.

I’ve also had to overcome the voices of real people in my life who told me what I should or shouldn’t be as a wife and mother. Some even accused me of choosing money over my kids by working on my business! What my husband and others who care about me helped me to see is that my work is far more about serving people than it is about selling products. I serve my customers by delivering them quality physical products and online education opportunities. I serve the people that work for me, I serve others through my ability to be charitable, and I serve our family by helping our children feel secure while seeing that they can do hard things. I’ve learned to ignore those who want to judge me and instead surround myself with people who cheer on my success in business and also know I’m a wife and mom that loves her family. I’ve even hired someone I call my online bodyguard to block out the haters so I can stay focused on the good.

I also had a professor in college who told me I should quit college because my writing was “so bad.” I didn’t quit, but his words stuck with me. When I started my company I HAD to do the writing, and I would overthink every word I wrote. But as it turns out, my customers loved my product descriptions and my emails — even if they lacked “technical” precision. I refused to let that old professor define me. I kicked him out of my head and let me be me.

And finally, I’ve had to address — if not quite overcome — my fear of speaking in front of people. I felt absolute terror at doing Facebook Lives that first year. But I found that if I show up as the true Alison–a woman with windswept hair juggling kids and a dog–that’s really who my students want. Not the perfection I thought they were expecting. We call the errors I make “Easter eggs” and pretend I planted them there to see if people are paying attention. It’s worked out great–definitely a conversation starter. The more imperfect I am, the more they’re okay with doing things imperfectly themselves.

What were the external obstacles that you had to overcome in reaching these milestones? And how specifically did you overcome them?

Initially, the biggest obstacle was money. Everything I read about ecommerce back in the day basically said you needed to buy a bunch of inventory to start an online store. I definitely did not have the funds for that. My husband and I lived on a VERY tight budget, and I was the queen of couponing. (Yes, the local grocery store would stay open an hour later for my friends and me to come so we wouldn’t clog the checkout lines!)

That’s why when I started my first ecommerce business, I had to do it on a shoestring. Keep in mind that I had no idea about Shopify back then…and to be honest, Shopify wasn’t the company then that it is now. So a friend built a website for me with money I was able to cobble together. Next came finding products.

For a long time, I sold just one product a day on my website–usually things I could get locally. I mentioned before that my first product was strips of crafting vinyl from a roll I found in my house. One of my biggest sellers in my first year were blocks of wood I cut from spare lumber I found behind our house. (My next-door neighbor saw me taking pictures of it and asked me if I was selling junk!) In fact, I ended up selling enough of those blocks in a single day to pay off my minivan!

Overcoming that money issue required more than just being resourceful, though. I had to learn how to sell the VISION of whatever product I listed on my site that day.

I found these French fry boxes from a local company and decided to sell them–much to the surprise of my husband. He had no idea why people would buy French fry boxes without French fries in them! But I tied a ribbon around one, filled it full of those little pink frosted cookies with sprinkles on them you get from the grocery store to show the vision, and snapped some pictures. Then I explained in the product description how busy moms could become the queen of their child’s school bake sale in just minutes. I didn’t sell the cookies or the ribbon — just the boxes and an idea of what my customers could create. I packaged them in sets of 10…and sold hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of them over the years. I’m sure there are still fancy French fry containers crumpled up in minivans and craft rooms everywhere! It just shows you don’t have to have a brand new idea–you just need to show the vision of what you can do with the product you’re selling.

When I started my pillowcase company, I didn’t talk about sleep. I created a vision of getting kids off their phones by starting a family pillow fight. It grew to a multi-million-dollar company selling just one type of product.

The other external factor I learned to overcome was time. I’ve shared that I have four kids, and my youngest was an infant when I started my company. I started getting up at 5 a.m. every day to do my “business stuff” because I knew that my kids needed my attention once they were up. I got great at managing things during nap times, piano lessons, or soccer practice. Now I have to be very intentional with my time so that I’m NOT doing work all the time. My husband and I both agree to be done with work at a specific time every weekday, and I don’t work on Wednesday and weekends. That gives me time to dream and think–but also gives my brain some rest from the screen.

Finally, I’ve had to overcome trying to do everything myself. There were too many times I literally slept on the floor of my product warehouse while rubber stamps were being made on machines. Fortunately, however, I’ve learned to trust the right people and hire at the right time. I have a great team working with me now that I absolutely love, almost all of whom are wives and moms — just like me. With them and great systems in place, things can keep going even if I take a few days off here or there.

Was there ever a point where you wanted to give up on your journey to becoming a multimillionaire? How did you work through that panic point? Please share a story.

I’m certain that everyone wants to quit at some point — me included. (Too many times to count!) But then I receive what I call “God glitter.” I’ll get great testimonials from students, or reviews from customers–things that remind me why I do what I do. It gives me the push to keep going. I love ecommerce and I love teaching my students. Plus, I constantly have new business ideas — so much so that I’ve had to pinky promise my husband that I won’t file for a new LLC for at least a few more months.

And I want to say this: when it comes to becoming a multi-millionaire, I can say that I dreamed about it, but had no idea how to get there. I wanted my family to have the security I lacked growing up, and my husband and I have made that happen. But I just really love what I do — and how success allows us to bless those we love and bless those who need our help.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Oh, absolutely. My grandpa. Now he didn’t fund my company or create my website or give accounting advice or any of those things. My grandpa was so witty and a little sarcastic. He had perfect timing when it came to injecting humor into tough moments–giving me what I needed to tackle it. He’d question what I was doing and tease me about why I was talking to myself on the phone because he didn’t understand what a Facebook Live was.

He was the one I could go to about any problem and he would know exactly the right thing to say. When I saw myself through his eyes, I saw someone who could do anything.

Grandpa was also immensely proud of me, and he loved to come for a visit during the day. He and my sweet Grandma would walk into my warehouse, hand in hand, and he’d find her a chair before coming to get me. As they’d enjoy candy from my desk, he’d ask me what I was selling that day and how much I’d make. I remember one day we sold over 5,000 sets of cupcake liners, and he looked at me and said, “You mean those cupcake liners like you can get at every grocery store? Why would they buy them from you?” He’d just shake his head and laugh, and I knew that while he joked with me, he was also very proud. I would not be where I am now without him.

What were the most important resources, tools, affirmations, mindset strategies or practices that you used to build your business to where it is today?

First and foremost, my faith. I recognize it may not be popular in some business circles, but I made God my business partner long ago. That makes what I do possible. Simple as that.

I also need to take walks during the day. When I turn off my phone, leave my desk, and get outside, I can have my spiritual business meetings and get ideas flowing. If you were to see me out there, you’d probably hear me singing, “…and I would walk ten thousand more!” from the Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be.

In the last several years, I have been working with a momentum coach — and I recommend it to anyone in business. My coach is NOT a business coach. She works with me specifically on mindset. As an entrepreneur I am always pioneering new ideas that leave me with “all the feels”, so she asks me hard questions and helps me to think through situations. She is so good at helping me restructure my thoughts in those times when I might be questioning whether or not to pull the trigger on things. Having someone I can trust in this role has been critical to me being able to make huge strides in my business. Again, I encourage anyone in business to find a trained and trusted coach.

Are there any books, podcasts, apps, tech, or other types of products that helped you reach your goals? Are these still used today? Please share specifically and why.

I have tried a lot of different technologies over the years, including building my own. Shopify was a game changer for my product-based businesses. Clickfunnels is what I’ve used to build my educational sales funnels. I’m a fan of all things Google–they’ve streamlined so much of what I do with Google Suite.

I thrive on learning, and between podcasts and Audible books, I am constantly learning new concepts. I prefer to listen than to read because I can do it when I’m working out, doing the laundry, or walking outdoors. My tip to everyone is to set their podcasts or audiobooks to a higher speed, as it allows you to take in more information faster.

Outside of technology, I rely on a planner to build my business and keep family life in as much order as humanly possible. Yes, it’s on paper — although I do keep my calendar online so my team and family can see what’s on the docket for the day. I’ve learned that I personally cannot focus on more than three goals at the same time. Having a designated place to get out all of the stuff in my brain, plan my week or month, and really get granular on the three goals I’m working on is a must. To be completely transparent, I do it about 80% of the time; I’ve found if I’m too rigid in my day I figure out a way to break out of my schedule and then nothing gets done.

Out of all of the things you listed earlier, if you only had one resource that would help you grow your business and reach your next financial milestone, which would it be and why?

Honestly? Google Docs. Using it keeps my team and me organized. There are so many details–pictures, emails, etc. — and being able to find them quickly on our phones or desktops is critical for our operations.

What do you think is the greatest challenge for women and creating wealth/abundance? What advice would you have for someone that is feeling blocked by that obstacle?

Easy: fear and self-doubt.

For so many women, doubt comes from the way they were raised or the relationships they’re in. They’ve unfortunately had people tell them they can’t do whatever it is they want to do or dream of doing. They’ve believed those lies, and it hurts my heart when I encounter these women. I want to show them the steps that help them uncover who they really are.

I recently read Illusion of Money by Kyle Cease. In it, he shares a story related to Michael Jordan. It isn’t a true story–but one that makes you think. The idea is that Michael Jordan has an accident and wakes up in the hospital with amnesia. When he sees his hospital bill, he knows he needs to find a way to pay it–so he starts looking for a job. He had no idea of his fame or his greatness on the court. It takes someone else to get him onto a court, have him start taking shots, and help him remember who he truly is.

I think of my students like that. Their greatness exists–and I want to help them uncover it.

Great! Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

I wish someone had told me:

1. To make God my business partner. Whether you believe in God, mother earth, a higher power–whatever your belief–they can hold a much bigger dream for you than you might ever imagine.
2. You are the best person to know and run your business. You were given your specific dream for a reason, so listen to yourself. You will have naysayers and even loved ones who unintentionally doubt you. Go back to my first answer and remember that your dream is as unique to you as your thumbprint. No one else has the same one–and no one can take it from you.
3. Sometimes, you just have to do it scared. The first time I did a Facebook Live I had to use a tripod because I was shaking so hard–and I put a sticky note over the screen so I couldn’t see myself! When I look back at those early videos, I was definitely not as good then as I am now. But if I would have let fear win, there are thousands of people I never would have been able to teach, help them discover who they are, and help them create income from online stores in ways that changed their lives.
4. You were given this opportunity for a reason. Nobody told me I’d want to quit more times than I can count, or that problems would arise, bumps would happen, there’d be higher-than-expected costs, and I wouldn’t have answers when I needed them…and that it would be completely normal. I just needed to kick negative thoughts out and keep on going.
5. You will have resistance. A lot of it. When I launched my first course, the ceiling at my warehouse fell in, my warehouse was robbed, and my son got the flu…ALL IN ONE DAY. I still moved forward and launched my education business. I’ve learned that resistance is something you will feel whenever you’re about the change your life and the lives of others in a really positive way. I’ve seen it in my life and in my students’ lives. Resistance may not be a ceiling falling in, but it could be remembering past failures, or wanting to procrastinate, a distraction–so many things. So recognize it, kick it aside, and move forward.
6. I know you just asked for five, but as an entrepreneur, I have a tendency to break rules. So I’m adding a sixth: Get some sleep. As a mom, sleep is a wishful thought until all your kids are dozing through the night. But there were too many unnecessary business all-nighters for me. If I would have asked for help or just realized that it was okay to do something the next day, my brain and my body would both have been better off.

We are sure that you are not done. What comes next? What’s your next big goal and why? What plan have you put in place to achieve it? Why is it a stretch for you? What will achieving it represent for you and for others?

I am definitely not done! I’m only half-joking with my team when I tell them I’ll be teaching ecommerce into my 90s. I love it. And although I did promise my husband that I wouldn’t start any new businesses in the next couple of months, there are more on the docket–including a skincare line. I stay in ecommerce so I can always make sure I’m teaching my students what’s new in our industry.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I publish a weekly podcast on Tuesdays full of stories and tactical advice on how to start an online store and reach your first $100,000 in sales. I’ve brought in inspiring guests, including one of my students who built a million-dollar business selling tee-shirts…the thing that is always termed as being “too saturated” to sell. I think she single-handedly destroyed that myth! Another student built an incredibly successful business from her home in Canada, shipping over 11,000 online orders to predominantly U.S.-based customers. She is brilliant at having figured out how to navigate all the rules required to import and export products–and at one point was even running her business from halfway around the world so she could be with family.

We’re also doing a new series on the first steps, like how much product to buy, what to do if the government is slow on getting your paperwork back to you after you set up your business, ways to find products…and the list goes on. With over 125 episodes, it’s pretty binge-worthy! It’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, stitcher, and on my website, AlisonJPrince.com. You can also find me on Instagram at @alisonjprince.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us and our readers. We know that it will make a tremendous difference and impact thousands of lives. We are excited to connect further and we wish you so much joy in your next success.