eComFuel Podcast

Welcome to the second episode of our two-part series with Nate Lipton from Growers House. In last week's show, we went live on the mic as I got a full, behind-the-scenes tour of the warehouse, and this time, we're headed into town to grab some pizza and drinks to talk even more about how he does things. We cover the online community he has created and its impact on his business, how he gets his employees excited to do good work, his approach to delegating, and more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2Fu8I4w

Mailchimp Pulls Shopify Integration App, Instagram Launches Shopping Checkout, Charging Sellers a Fee, PayPal Now Lets U.S. Users Instantly Transfer Funds to Bank Accounts, Apple Rolls Out TV Plus and Other Subscription Services, and more. You can see the full show notes for this episode at https://www.ecommercefuel.com/march-27-2019/ The News Cart features industry news, community discussions, compelling job opportunities and interesting content around the web from the previous two weeks.

Today's episode is going to be a bit different from the usual format. I recently headed over to the Growers House warehouse with the company's co-founder Nate Lipton to get a behind-the-scenes look at how they run things on the backend, and you'll get to hear us live on the mic as I get the tour. Listen in to hear Nate break down how things are running in his business and what he's doing to keep it all going smoothly. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2UNnHwz

Today I'd thought we'd talk about something that's been in the news recently: Amazon's growing PPC business. Their PPC division has nearly doubled over the last year, and I've got Marshall Hayes of Amplio Digital here to talk about what's been going on. Marshall knows the Amazon PPC world really well, and he explains what's changing, what this means for sellers, and what we can expect in the future. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2H9mmNG

Amazon Cracks Down on Counterfeit Products and sues the operators of five businesses allegedly selling fake reviews, Criticized as Anti-Competitive as they lift restrictions on sellers, Target's curated third-party marketplace, Negotiating rules on global e-Commerce, and more. You can see the full show notes for this episode at https://www.ecommercefuel.com/march-13-2019/ The News Cart features industry news, community discussions, compelling job opportunities and interesting content around the web from the previous two weeks.

For the last year, Kevin Williams of Brush Hero has been dealing with the nightmarish implications of having his product ripped off. Not only have the knockoffs cost him more than half a million dollars in lost sales and out-of-pocket fees, but the whole ordeal has also halted his company's growth as they try to fight back. In this episode, Kevin gives us a candid look at what happened, what he's doing to fight for his company, and what business owners should be doing to protect themselves from counterfeiters. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2EMsnxa

When it comes to finances, a lot of eCommerce store owners tend to struggle. So today, I've got Cyndi Thomason of Bookskeep.com on the show to shed light on how to make your business profitable using the Profit First methodology. Cyndi is an eCommerce accountant and bookkeeper specifically focused on this methodology, and she shares how to set it up in your own business, advice for allocating funds, and lots more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2IGxOSB

In this episode, my good friend Bill D'Alessandro and I are diving in to talk about last month's event, eCommerceFuel Live 2019. It was the most ambitious event we've put on yet, and we both learned a bunch and had a ton of fun. Listen in to hear how it all went, our big takeaways, and thoughts on how we'll do things next year. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2NiWuiG

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

Today's show is all about retargeting. I'm joined by the co-founder of Shoelace, Reza Khadjavi, who is here to share what makes a great retargeting ad, advice for managing your budget, and much more. Since his company specializes in retargeting—especially for Shopify stores—we cover a lot of ground today. Listen in to learn how to optimize your campaigns if you're already running them, and if you're not, you'll hear lots of great tips for getting started the right way. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2QD2HqP

Today I'm joined by Kristina Kurcink, a friend of mine who has spent over a decade working at Nike in roles ranging from design all the way to manufacturing. Being responsible for a lot of the production in Asia, Kristina has seen the whole process leading up to the famous footwear coming off the line. In this episode, she shares key lessons she learned during her ten years working for Nike, particularly some of the manufacturing lessons she learned from being on the ground in Asia. So if you're doing your own manufacturing—or thinking about getting into it soon—you don't want to miss hearing what Kristina has to say, as it could help you avoid mistakes and save money. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2NjjksH

Today's episode is going to be slightly different than usual. I recently lost a bet and had to take Steve Chou of MyWifeQuitHerJob.com on a three-day road trip around Montana, and during that trip, we recorded a few episodes that we wanted to share. (You can find the other two on his podcast.) While we were on the road, we talked about tons of stuff, so this is kind of a free-ranging episode that covers email deliverability hacks, raising kids as entrepreneurs, and more. Listen in to hear it all now! You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2MF14dU

When it comes to collaborating with overseas factories, there are certain things any ecommerce store owner should know. So today I've got Nathan Resnick from Sourcify—a company that helps store owners pick the right factories for their design products and streamline their sourcing, design, and development—on the show to discuss how things work in China. Nathan has had tons of experience over there learning the language and culture, and he travels there six or more times per year, so he has a great understanding of the country. In this episode, he shares the logistics of selling and exporting goods to China, environmental policies being enacted over there, and some of the misunderstandings Westerners tend to have. Listen in to get a unique perspective on China from someone who knows the country really well. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2NDV4i3

Facebook is one of the biggest traffic channels out there right now, and I'm sure plenty of you listening are running ads on that platform, or at least thinking about it. Admittedly, I've only gotten into Facebook ads in the last few months, and it turns out I made some pretty big mistakes along the way. Thankfully, I had Michael Jackness of Terran.com and Miracle Wanzo of HipUndies.com take a peek at what I was doing and give me some pointers, which I'm going to share with you today. If you're brand new to Facebook ads, or even if you're already running some, take a listen and learn from the blunders I made so you can optimize your ads and increase your ROI—without learning the hard way like I did. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2wsKB1C

So often, when we think about ecommerce, we think about putting a physical item into a box and shipping it somewhere, but that doesn't have to be the case. You can run an ecommerce store or a business without any inventory at all. Just ask today's guest, Niall O'Malley of eTrainToday.com. Niall started his digital products business back in 2011, and he's here to share how it all works, some of the downsides of selling digital products (because of course, like anything, there are some downsides), and everything in between. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2P27Esh

Shopify bans the sales of guns and accessories, even those legal in the U.S., Kroger Gets Into Online Grocery with "Kroger Ship", Amazon rumored to be in the running to acquire Landmark Theatres, and more. You can see the full show notes for this episode at https://www.ecommercefuel.com/august-21-2018/. The News Cart features industry news, community discussions, compelling job opportunities and interesting content around the web from the previous two weeks.

Over the last decade or so, I've managed a bunch of big, stressful projects with a ton of moving pieces, so I know how tricky it can be to keep things running smoothly. That's why today's episode is all about how to manage major projects without all the headaches. I'm going to share what I've learned from my experience, the strategy I employ, and more to help save you some agony and anguish in your next major project. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2LZUzkH

What comes to mind when you think of Wal-Mart? What about Target? It's amazing how the two massive retailers can be perceived so differently. Perhaps even more amazing is that Target is the more profitable of the two, despite the fact that Wal-Mart is about six times as big. How is Target able to do that with less scale? What are they doing right? Here to answer those questions are Carrie McAleer of D.a. Davidson & Company and eCommercefuel's own copywriter extraordinaire, Laura Serino. Listen in to learn what Target can teach us about building better, more profitable ecommerce stores. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2AejVXg

Drew Sanocki is back on the show to share some very interesting things he's been up to lately. Not only has he had exciting adventures traveling the world with his family, but he's also had some cool adventures in the private equity space. Today he dives into the details about different deals he's involved with, compensation, and more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2LncK3C

Today we're continuing our series on building relationships, but instead of advice for creating stronger connections, this episode is all about what not to do. After all, if we're working hard to expand our professional networks, we can't let these simple mistakes negate our efforts. So listen in to hear the 14 faux pas that are sure to sabotage your connections before you have a chance to make them. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2NKX48D

Amazon's Prime Day is once again the biggest Sales Day in its History, Shopify will roll out augmented reality this fall, Apple introces new Macbook Pro features, and more. You can see the full show notes for this episode at https://www.ecommercefuel.com/july-24-2018/. The News Cart features industry news, community discussions, compelling job opportunities and interesting content around the web from the previous two weeks.

Today I want to talk about something that I think is one of the most important elements of long-term business success: building relationships. How you connect—or fail to connect—with other people has a tremendous impact on your business, so being mindful of the impression you're making is crucial. In this episode, I share 15 habits you should master in order to improve your networking and build better professional relationships. Listen in to hear them all now. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2KRHnuk

With voice search becoming more and more prevalent these days, is it only a matter of time before it bleeds over into ecommerce and becomes the way people shop in the future? Joining me today to discuss this possibility are Miracle Wanzo of HipUndies.com and Bill D'Alessandro of ElementsBrands.com. We each share our predictions for how voice search will impact the future of ecommerce, as well as possibilities for how this technology could evolve moving forward. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2MAVTXI

Amazon Jumps into the pharmacy business with $1 Billion Pillpack acquisition, Shopify acquires Return Magic, Paypal Checkout introduces a new feature, and more. You can see the full show notes for this episode at https://www.ecommercefuel.com/july-10-2018/. The News Cart features industry news, community discussions, compelling job opportunities and interesting content around the web from the previous two weeks.

Today's topic is one that's near and dear to my heart: remote work. I'm a little bit of a vagabond, and I love not being tied down, so the idea of being able to build a remote team is something that I think is really important. It gets a little tricky when you get into physical products, but today I have Fred Perrotta from Tortuga.com to share how the company he co-founded handles this challenge. Fred shares the potential issues that can arise from working with an entirely remote team, as well as how Tortuga overcomes them to maintain a physical products business with a team of people located all around the world. Tune in to hear it all now. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2K5piN1

To celebrate the eCommerceFuel Job Board going live, I thought it'd be fun to have a couple episodes about employees, management, and all things workplace. So joining me today is Alison Green, the writer behind workplace advice blog AskAManager.org. She's also the author of multiple books on managing people, as well as an advice column for New York magazine. Alison joins me today to discuss everything from having hard conversations with employees to appropriate interview questions to crazy and hilarious workplace stories you don't want to miss. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2JEahlk

The Supreme Court clears the way for states to charge sales tax, President Trump introduces a new, lean type of health care plan and more. You can see the full show notes for this episode at https://www.ecommercefuel.com/june-26-2018. The News Cart features industry news, community discussions, compelling job opportunities and interesting content around the web from the previous two weeks.

Today I'm flying solo on the mic to share something that we've been working on for a while now (and just launched this month): the eCommerceFuel Job Board. In addition to explaining what it is, I thought it'd be fun to give you an inside look at what's going on behind the scenes. People tend to reflect after the fact when something works, but rarely do you get to see a play-by-play of what's happening, the strategies people are using, how much time and money they put into things, etc. In this episode, I'm giving you just that. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2Mn0Q7d

Today is part two of my interview with Adam Saraceno, the Chief Marketing Officer of Peak Design. We're picking up the conversation we started last week on leveraging Kickstarter, but we shift gears to talk about how Adam's company has cultivated and maintained such an awesome culture (while still managing to create super high-quality products), which marketing tactics are giving them the best ROI, and more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2x90Bcw

The News Cart features industry news, community discussions, compelling job opportunities and thoughts on life from Andrew Youderian. This week in the news: Amazon's new Echo Look, how your Android phone will soon make phone calls on your behalf and potential GDPR fines on the horizon. You can see the full show notes for this episode at https://www.ecommercefuel.com/june-12-2018.

Today is part one of a deep dive I'm excited to do with Adam Saraceno, the Chief Marketing Officer of a company that has done a phenomenal job leveraging Kickstarter to grow their brand and their business. I think it's safe to say Peak Design is the most successful crowdfunded company today that's still active and thriving in 2018. How did they do it? Adam shares that and more. You can find show notes and more information by clicking here: http://bit.ly/2rXdwIX