Ecommercefuel: Build, Launch And Grow A 6 Figure Plus Ecommerce Business | Ecommerce Fuel

It’s easy to forget that people in positions of influence and thought leadership face challenges just like the rest of us—especially because it’s rare for them to open up about hardships they face. But today, Ezra Firestone of SmartMarketer.com joins the show to give us all a look at the struggles he has had while getting his software business, Zipify Apps, off the ground. Listen in to hear him paint a more accurate picture of the problems entrepreneurs face and what it really takes to get a business up and running. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2DfyMz4 

Today I’ve got my good friend Bill D’Alessandro on the show to share how his business has been going over the last year. He has been working on his vision of buying up a lot of different brands in the consumer goods space to bring them under one roof and build a bunch of small consumer brands, so I wanted to talk with him to see how that’s going. He shares a lot of great stuff about challenges he’s faced, what’s gone well, the technology tools he’s using to keep everything straight, and more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2ENYe2A 

This year Hurricane Florence hit Dana Jaunzemis' business headquartered in North Carolina. She lost power for more than a week and wasn't able to ship for close to two weeks. Business came to a screeching halt. In this episode, I chat with her about the experience, what they learned and how to minimize the impact of a natural disaster if/when something similar happens to your business. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2RRtoMy  

Richard Jalichandra (or RJ as he’s commonly known) is the founder of 101 Commerce, a company with the goal of acquiring 101 FBA businesses. We chat about if the risks of being so dependent on Amazon terrify him, how he plans to manage such a massive portfolio, the rise of single-person 8-figure businesses, and more.  You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2CFuTDa  

Mark Hanratty launched SwankyBadger.com exclusively on Etsy and used the momentum to build his business. Today, Swanky Badger is a 7-figure business, and they sell more than half a million dollars each year on the bohemian marketplace. I sat down with Mark to understand how to succeed on the platform and what's changed in the years since he started, especially since Etsy has become a public company. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2FoNIhM 

Ben Arneberg has done some impressive things. He's jumped out of airplanes for the Air Force, met Jeff Bezos and even done work for the Department of Defense and CIA. But what's perhaps most impressive is how he's built a near 8-figure business with only one employee. In this episode we discuss the tactics he's used to grow so significantly with nearly no overhead. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2Ry6edi  

Alex Cranmer is a really interesting guy. When he's not acting in movies or TV shows, he runs International Military Antiques, the largest supplier of military antiques in the U.S. In this wide-ranging podcast we discuss the benefits of selling one-of-a-kind items, how to write an email newsletter that gets 20% CTRs, and more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2EW3M9N 

Wrapping up the holiday season here and coming to the end of 2018, I’m bringing back another of my favorite episodes from this past year. As anyone who’s had any meaningful success knows, relationships are crucial in business, so today I’m revisiting a show I did back in July that covers 15 critical habits to master in order to build better business relationships. Listen in to learn what it takes to create genuine, long-lasting, and meaningful connections with people. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2V5kHMT 

As we’re getting to the end of the year and reaching that point of reflection, I wanted to revisit a couple of episodes that I had a lot of fun with in 2018. The one I’m bringing back today is a show I did back in April with Tadpull co-founder Jake Cook that covers hiring fresh—if a little green—marketing talent right out of college. Listen in to hear him share the tactics he uses to find, hire, and keep great talent. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2RSi1Qy

This week Bill D'Alessandro and I revisit our predictions for 2018 to see how many we nailed and (more likely) how many just seem silly in retrospect. We also serve up a fresh batch of predictions for 2019 on topics ranging from Amazon delivery to trending marketing tactics to likely acquisitions in the coming year. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2QF3g6u 

Arman Assadi has worked on copywriting projects for well-known entrepreneurs such as Neil Patel, Timothy Sykes, and others. He also has experience running a 7-figure eCommerce store, so I asked him to come on to talk about the 80/20 of eCommerce copywriting. We also discuss how to work more productively by understanding your brain type, as well as differences among crowdfunding platforms. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2DVsw1i 

With Amazon cracking down on illegitimate reviews, unscrupulous players have a new weapon in their toolkit: attacking a listing by posting loads of fake, positive reviews. The worst part is it can be effective, as Zac Plansky unfortunately discovered. In this episode, I talk with Zac about the attack and how he was finally able to get his account reinstated after a stressful suspension. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2FH65iV 

Today’s episode is a follow-up to one I did back in June about the eCommerceFuel Job Boards. It’s been a while since I launched that project, and I wanted to share some updates to document the journey so you can get a behind-the-scenes look at the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to launching something from scratch. Listen in to hear what went well, what didn’t go so well, how things are going with the budget, and some key stats of the business so far. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: https://bit.ly/2qXt1Ai

If you’re involved in the ecommerce space, you’ve surely noticed that it’s becoming harder and harder to stay 100% compliant when it comes to sales tax. Between the recent Supreme Court case and Amazon tax issues, quite honestly, it’s getting to be a real pain. So today I have Michael Jackness of EcomCrew.com here to share how a new organization he helped launch called the Online Merchants Guild is fighting against these sales tax hurdles. Listen in to learn what they’re doing, as well as how you can get involved to help make sure our online selling environment doesn’t become a nightmare from a compliance standpoint. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2AVxzgr 

Today I’ve got LemonStand’s Ross Paul on the show to talk about subscriptions—namely in the e-commerce space. LemonStand is a shopping cart company based in Vancouver, Canada, and as the company’s VP of Growth, Ross knows his stuff when it comes to building a successful subscription model. We dive right in to talk about which businesses can benefit from this model, billing issues people run into, and how to make sure you retain as many customers as possible. Tune in to hear it all now! You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2PyWtKY 

In this episode, I’m going to share my experience designing a product from scratch. I’ve touched on this topic in passing on the show before, but today you’ll get a real, behind-the-scenes look at everything, from designing and manufacturing to unit economics and selling on Amazon. And most importantly, I’ll share all the mistakes I made along the way. Listen in to hear how everything went, and what I’d do differently if I had it to do all over again. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2CxFr8S 

Today’s episode is all about an important topic that rarely gets discussed among entrepreneurs: mental health. Being an entrepreneur can be really hard at times; you’ve got super high highs and really low lows, and that can take a major toll. So I’ve got Sherry Walling of ZenFounder.com on the show to talk about how to take care of ourselves while running our businesses. In addition to being an entrepreneur herself—and being married to one—Sherry has a long background in clinical psychology. Listen in to hear her advice for maintaining your mental health as a founder, what to keep in mind about working with a spouse, and more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2CIvUgr 

Today we’re going to talk about transparency and open companies, specifically the idea of sharing financials with employees. We recently discussed this in our private forum, and the overwhelming response was that it’s a bad idea, but my guests today disagree. Lee and Jake Cook—cofounders of Tadpull—and Hannah Jerome—a Tadpull leadership team member—strongly believe that sharing the key financial results of their business with their team has helped the business. Listen in to hear why they say that allowing staff to see exactly what’s going on financially can increase the buy-in and cohesion of a team. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2pFwYck 

Today I’m joined by a longtime member of our eCommerceFuel Private Forum, a top contributor, and an all-around stand-up guy, Patrick Barnhill. Patrick is the founder of SpecialistID.com, and on a recent Mastermind call with him, I heard his presentation on how he’s using custom software to streamline his processes, reduce errors, and handle more inventory and order flow. He also shared what he was doing with his business in terms of hacking and prepping his products—especially products that he kitted together for FBA—and I just knew I had to have him on the show. Thankfully, he graciously agreed to come on the podcast to share these things with all of you. So if you’re interested in using custom software to streamline your business—especially on the operations and warehouse side—listen in to hear all the cool things Patrick is doing to run his business much more smoothly. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2DIW2sW 

Today on the show, I’ve got a guest who’s long overdue: Scott Voelker of TheAmazingSeller.com. Scott is a well-known guy in the Amazon space, he knows a tremendous amount about the platform, and he has sold tons and tons of products, so today we’re doing a deep dive with someone who knows Amazon inside and out. We cover where there’s still opportunity left within the platform, common mistakes sellers make, the state of reviews in the second half of 2018, some of his favorite tools, and a bunch of other things that you don’t want to miss. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2zr7G7k