An Amazon Agency is really tough to run. Find out how Nadine keeps her company running in shape and what keeps her team and customers happy.
What made you start running an agency?
In 2016 Nadine started working as a Customer Service person herself. 
She saw how the structure was - supervisor for 5 people etc.

Decided to go into business for themselves.

Ran into an Amazon seller - she worked with him for 9 months.

Asked him - could I do this on a bigger scale?


This is how she got other assistants - friend (Olga) from another agency became employee #1.

She also brought on her best friend so that was 3 people.

Been as high as 15, now 13 people in her Amazon Agency.
System and training
Her first employee set up a system.

They set up a system including an internal wiki. 


Decided: only going to work in Amazon Seller Central.

She’s a teacher so taught new employees.

Nadine could focus on getting new clients.
Telling people what to do!
Nadine’s parents said she was good at telling people how to do things! 
Her mother hated it because she sees that Nadine is paying someone to do something she could do.

But Nadine wanted to focus on the business, not in it, but also client-facing.
How do you find the staff?
Nadine always picks staff herself then passes them on to her manager.
Hiring process
Google form

How would you reply to this German email? How would you reply to this English email?

 Nadine copied and pasted from a genuine email.

Also asked them about the level of their language skills.

If someone tells you they are very good at English but they aren’t, there is a mismatch between them.
How Enida attracts applicants
At this stage, they get a lot of applications because they are known.

Friends of staff also are a good source of potential employees. 
But everyone has to go through the process.

Asks if they have worked as an Amazon seller.

If so - they don’t want to people in who could potentially be a threat to clients.
How did you start with staff hiring?
Had 25 applications - picked two - then it was 4 people. 
Then Nadine employed a VA for herself -(Micha) she deals with communications with clients after initial onboarding. She is still here now. Eg contracts and money.
How do you manage staff?
Olga manages this - if employees ask questions that they “Shouldn’t be asking”.

She (Olga) works very closely with staff and has a good feeling for who is good or not good.
Is it a virtual (dispersed) team?
A lot of the team are all over the world.
What are your communication rhythms and tools?
Active Collab and Skype mainly

Active Collab can see which tasks are still open. Also easy for accounting.

Skype is easy because it’s free.

Slack is nice but it costs $5 per person per month.
They meet in Berlin once a year - it’s informal.
Had a canoe trip and went to an Indian restaurant.
Informal chats
The longer they work together, the less they all talk.

But it is good to have a call and stay focused.