Many business owners tell me one of the reasons they started their own company is to have the freedom to travel. However, as their business grows, travel becomes stressful and they feel like they have less freedom, not more. Today we’re helping you get that freedom to travel back by sharing our strategies for stress-free and productive traveling. We both have a lot of experience traveling and working, and we want to give you our tips for enjoying yourself, and getting stuff done, while on the ro...
Aug 13, 2019•29 min
The Golden Era of the direct-to-consumer business may very well be over. But there are still ecommerce brands out there who are crushing it and in today’s episode we explore some of the reasons why. Former Shopify Plus blog editor Aaron Orendorff has written a ton about ecommerce and the direct-to-consumer craze. Today we have a thoughtful conversation about what it means to build a ecommerce brand in the current climate, what some fast-growing, successful companies are doing to show up in a mor...
Aug 06, 2019•54 min
Some Ecommerce Brands Make It Big While Others Stall Out, It’s A Fact. But there’s really no big mystery behind why this happens. A few months ago I was interviewed on a podcast by my good friend Brett Curry on the Ecommerce Evolution Podcast. We break down what separates e-commerce brands that scale up versus those that plateau. After re-listening to the episode, I decided to share it with you. Brett and I talk about a variety of things, including average order value and lifetime value, and how...
Jul 30, 2019•48 min
Email is one of the most trusted ways to drive revenue in ecommerce. But I still see too many people leaving money on the table and missing out on low-hanging fruit. Today I’ll walk you through how to do a two-day email overhaul that will help you increase your revenue. We’ll start by making sure your email service provider and integrations are set up correctly, create a branded email template, ensure you have a great offer that’s capturing tons of leads, and identify the email flows to build th...
Jul 23, 2019•32 min
If you’ve been on Facebook in the past week, you’ve probably seen an ad from Buffy. What started as an idea to disrupt the bedding industry has grown into a multi-million dollar business. Today Buffy co-founder Shoaib Kabani joins us to cover a range of topics. We talk about everything from product development, to the importance of testing, how landing pages can improve your funnel, and what performance KPIs you have to be thinking about as you scale. , how he thinks about scaling up their busin...
Jul 16, 2019•44 min
It’s our goal to help our clients succeed, but even the experts get it wrong sometimes. As we've seen in the first six months of the year, things have changed wildly within Facebook. Today, Andrew shares some of the advice he’s given that hasn’t worked out. And while he’s never intentionally led anyone astray, things don’t always go as planned. Andrew talks about five times his advice has failed on Facebook and the lessons learned from those mistakes. We hope by sharing some of the worst Faceboo...
Jul 09, 2019•27 min
Q3 is officially here. What are you doing to prepare for the second half of the year? For my team, the end of the quarter means it’s time to get out of the day-to-day grind and do some bigger picture planning. Every three months we do a quarterly business offsite, where we take a step back so we can review our goals, and set new ones, that will help us move forward in the right direction. Today we’re talking about the process we follow for our quarterly business offsite and how you can host one ...
Jul 02, 2019•34 min
It’s not always easy to maintain high-quality standards, especially when you want to sell organic, sustainable, and made-in-the-USA products. Costs get high and sometimes that means concessions have to be made. But sticking to your guns can lead to major payoff, especially when your customers have your back. Today we chat with Jen and Kevin Long of Noble Carriage, who share the amazing story of how they built their dream company selling organic and sustainable baby clothes. They share how they b...
Jun 25, 2019•45 min
Quizzes are powerful tools used by some of the most successful companies I work with. They can help you capture more emails, display personalized product recommendations to your customers, and increase your conversion rate. In today's episode, I'll share my tips on what companies can see the biggest gains from a quiz, who is killing it right now with their quiz funnels, and how you can build one for your business today. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 5:46 Why the most successful companies Austin wor...
Jun 18, 2019•25 min
Have you stopped to consider the next step in your entrepreneurial journey? Perhaps you own a six or seven figure business now, but where will you be in 10 years? Will you still be living in the grind? Or are your sights set on acquiring companies and building a portfolio? Today’s guest has done it all. He’s built his own business, was the CMO of Karmaloop, worked as a consultant, and now is the CEO of AutoAnything (just one of the businesses in his current portfolio). Drew Sanocki is back to ta...
Jun 11, 2019•1 hr 6 min
When you talk about scaling up in ecommerce, Facebook ads are often the first thing on most business owners’ lists. Today Andrew shares the exact steps he followed to help a client scale from $500/day to $15,000/day in ad spend in 30 days. He talks about what you need to do before you start scaling and the steps to follow as you grow. If you’re ready to dive deep into the weeds of your Facebook ad account, build new audiences, test new placements, and explore bidding options, this episode is for...
Jun 04, 2019•43 min
Advertising plays a big role in any ecommerce strategy. So what do you do if your brand is banned from advertising on Facebook, Google, and Amazon? That’s the challenge faced by Chad Lio, Director of Marketing for Veritas Farms, a company that sells CBD. While not technically regulated by the FDA, there are still many limitations when it comes to advertising CBD. Today Chad joins us to talk about Veritas Farms’ multifaceted marketing approach, and how they successfully drive sales, despite being...
May 28, 2019•47 min
When I’m working with my private coaching clients our conversations inevitably end up focusing on how to become a more effective executive. In today's episode, Andrew and I share four rules to follow that will help you make better decisions as an executive and run your business, team, or agency more effectively. These rules include tracking and understanding your time, focusing on doing more of the right things, setting and reviewing your goals often, and asking yourself what the business needs ...
May 21, 2019•22 min
JT Marino wanted to build a company that would disrupt an industry. With Tuft & Needle he did just that, bootstrapping his way from nothing to the largest online mattress retailer in the world. JT, co-founder of Tuft & Needle and now the Chief Strategy Officer for SSB Phoenix, joins us today to share his incredible story. We talk about why customer-centricity was one of Tuft & Needle’s core principles from the beginning, and the role it played in their eventual merger with Serta Simm...
May 14, 2019•1 hr 12 min
Most of the time when our clients get big wins they can be traced back to the quality of their content. Big wins come from winning content, and today Andrew and I are going to discuss how to create that winning content for Facebook and Instagram ads. We’ll share the specific features your content must have if you want to stand out, and our top tips for creating winning imagery, video, and copy. These principles apply not only to Facebook and Instagram, but can be integrated across your entire ma...
May 07, 2019•31 min
Establishing trust among your customers can be challenging, especially in certain markets. Kevin Chen is Vice President and co-founder of iRestore, a company that sells laser hair growth systems. Despite selling a product with a particularly skeptical audience, iRestore has grown to eight-figures over the last few years. Kevin joins us today to share his story of success. He talks about how he establishes trust and builds social proof with his customers, how he became an expert in Facebook adver...
Apr 30, 2019•45 min
We know how frustrating it is when your business isn’t growing at the rate you think it should. Andrew and I have gone under the hood of dozens of different companies over the years and now when a company approaches us, it’s easy to spot the ones that will be able to scale up, and the ones that will struggle. Today, we share seven reasons your business might not be scaling and what you can do to fix it. We’ll talk about market size, margins, LTV, and product diversification, and how all of these...
Apr 23, 2019•28 min
Running one company can be a challenge. But what about running 12? Our guest today is doing just that. Ecommerce investor Shakil Prasla of Pro Click Ventures joins us to talk about how he built his portfolio of ecommerce businesses. He shares what he looks for when acquiring new companies, how to hire CEOs, and what’s possible on the acquisition side of ecommerce. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:38 Shakil Prasla's background and how he got started in the ecommerce space. 7:54 From website builder t...
Apr 16, 2019•50 min
If you’ve been having issues with Facebook recently, you’re not alone. My Twitter feed has been blowing up with people talking about the problems they're having and screenshots of breakdowns and errors. So in today’s bonus episode, Andrew and I provide some background on how these Facebook issues started, what changes are here to stay, and what you can do to manage your clients' (or your own) expectations. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 2:42 When the Facebook issues started and the problems we’re se...
Apr 11, 2019•21 min
If you’re not yet familiar with Campaign Budget Optimization, now is the time. Facebook recently rolled out this new ad feature and has plans for it to become a requirement for all advertisers later this year. Today, Andrew goes in-depth with everything you need to know about Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO). We discuss what CBO is all about: the framework for setting it up, how to approach your bids, and other killer tips that will make sure you’re set up for success when you start testing it...
Apr 09, 2019•30 min
How often have you added a new element to your website because you thought it “looked cool”? The reality is that a jumble of “cool” widgets and features can slow down your site and actually worsen your customer experience. In today's episode, we bring back Kurt Elster who is a specialist in conversion rate optimization and runs an ecommerce website design and development agency, Ethercycle . Kurt shares his insights on the key components of a successful ecommerce website design. Learn the how-to...
Apr 02, 2019•55 min
Your customers are worth more than what they purchase from your store today. If you can retain them as a customer over time, you can gain more profits for your business. This week, Andrew and I have a meaty, and sometimes conflicting, conversation on customer lifetime value (LTV). We start by breaking it down with the basic definition and then share higher level strategies for how you can increase customer LTV, as well as some tactics you can implement today. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:02 How ...
Mar 26, 2019•34 min
Success in the ecommerce world doesn’t happen overnight. Our guests today are not only big contributors to the ecommerce community, but are also co-founders of a business they built from nothing to one that now has a cult following. I met Matt and Meredith, owners of Boredwalk T-Shirts , at an Intensive I led a couple of years ago. Today they join us to share the story of how they built their “cult” of customers, including customer service best practices and how they overhauled their hiring proc...
Mar 19, 2019•50 min
A topic that’s come up a lot in my recent conversations is how to hire a high-level marketing person. Finding the right candidate can be tough, and when you’re a business owner doing a million other things, it can be even tougher. In this episode, Andrew and I talk through the hiring process, from deciding when to hire, to where to look for the best candidates, and the questions to ask before hiring to make sure you’re getting the best person for the job. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 3:41 How to k...
Mar 12, 2019•28 min
The customer purchase journey is no longer a linear path. SEM and YouTube advertising have changed not only the way consumers find products, but also how businesses track where purchases come from. Today we’re joined by returning guest and CEO of OMG Commerce , Brett Curry. Brett shares his expert advice on where to get started with search-driven advertising, the resources to better understand attribution from each channel, and how you can use SEM, Google Shopping and YouTube to increase custome...
Mar 05, 2019•55 min
Making the decision to outsource your paid social to an agency can be tough. It’s a big decision to hand over the reigns of your social advertising to someone outside of your business, and one of the questions Andrew and I get a lot is, “when is the right time to hire an agency?” Today we address that question, as well as the specific questions to ask when you’re vetting your agency (and the answers to look for), and what you can do as a client to ensure you have a great relationship with your n...
Feb 26, 2019•35 min
Magical things can happen in your business with a strong brand and a loyal customer base. Bryan Anthonys’ founders Amber Reynolds and Ed Glassman built a seven-figure business, in part by creating a brand and products that their customers feel deeply connected with. Today the husband and wife team share the story of how they built their business, the lessons they’ve learned along the way, and the secret to their customer loyalty. Enjoy! Episode Highlights: 4:07 From hustling on Ebay to building ...
Feb 19, 2019•35 min
Too many established ecommerce stores run out of money before they can scale. Over the last several years, I’ve helped 126 ecommerce brands build more profitable businesses. 78 of them scaled into 7-figure businesses. 2 them had $100 million dollar exits. Through this experience, I’ve learned that if you observe certain principles as you scale, you’ll increase your chance of doing it profitably. Today I share my 3-step formula for profitably scaling your ecommerce business. Enjoy! Episode Highli...
Feb 12, 2019•38 min
Earlier this week, Andrew shared the first 10 of 20 questions he asks when auditing clients’ Facebook accounts to see whether they’re managing them to their fullest potential. Today he shares the rest of his tactical questions to help you optimize your Facebook ad account, including questions about audience overlap, value bidding, and your add to cart to purchase ratio. Part two of this episode will give you the full list of questions so you can complete a professional level Facebook audit on yo...
Feb 07, 2019•33 min
A few weeks ago Andrew shared his five-step process for optimizing your Facebook ad account. In part one of this two-part episode, Andrew takes a more tactical approach and shares 10 questions he asks when auditing clients’ Facebook accounts to see whether they’re running things in the best way possible. After auditing more than 200 Facebook accounts last year, Andrew has seen accounts that are killing it and those that have a lot of room for improvement. Whether you’re on one end of the spectru...
Feb 05, 2019•28 min
