The Ecom Survival Blueprint: Thriving Despite Tariffs, Competition & Rising Costs with Brandon Fuhrmann

Sep 23, 2025

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Brandon is a seasoned Amazon entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Innovate, and he is the driving force behind a successful Kitchenware Brand with years of experience building and scaling e-commerce businesses. Brandon brings a unique perspective, shaped by both his entrepreneurial journey and his background as an attorney. Today we're going to be diving into his business. What is he doing with the challenges we're all faced with tariffs and Amazon fees and increasing competition? He's going to be sharing his journey and his tips and strategies he's implementing in his business today.

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> Here’s a glimpse of what you would learn….

Journey and experiences of an Amazon entrepreneur in e-commerce.
Challenges faced in 2025, including tariffs, Amazon fees, and competition.
Importance of pricing strategies and ad spend management for profitability.
Insights on product listing optimization and inventory management.
Growth and significance of the Innovate conference for e-commerce sellers.
Strategies for navigating sourcing challenges and diversifying manufacturing locations.
The role of customer feedback and product testing in successful launches.
Legal considerations in e-commerce, including trademark and patent issues.
Importance of continuous product innovation and optimization for sustained success.
Recommendations for leveraging tools and resources to enhance e-commerce performance.

In this episode of the Ecomm Breakthrough Podcast, host Josh Hadley interviews Brandon Fuhrmann, Amazon entrepreneur and co-founder of Innovate. Brandon shares advanced strategies for scaling e-commerce brands, including optimizing pricing, ad spend, and product listings amid rising tariffs and fierce competition. He discusses leveraging international markets, building a lean team, and the importance of continuous product innovation. Brandon also offers actionable insights on legal protections, customer feedback, and multichannel expansion. Listeners gain practical, high-level tactics to drive profitability and resilience, plus an exclusive invitation to the Innovate conference for elite sellers aiming to reach 8 figures and beyond.

Here are the 3 action items that Josh identified from this episode:

Play the Price–Ad Spend Game: Adjust pricing & PPC together. Drop prices to rank faster, then raise and boost ads to keep momentum.
Keep Listings Fresh: Constantly update images & copy based on split tests and customer feedback. Have backups ready to pivot fast.
Diversify or Die: Sell in multiple marketplaces (EU, CA, Walmart, Shopify) so you can shift inventory when tariffs or demand change.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Insiders Agency: 00:16:10
Helium 10: 00:27:14
Jungle Scout: 00:27:14
Shopify: 00:23:55
Walmart: 00:22:26
Faire: 00:24:41
SellaMetrics: 00:33:58
Amazon: 00:03:33
FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon): 00:03:45
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) Advertising: 00:18:42
E-myth by Michael E. Gerber: 00:00:37
Grit by Angela Duckworth: 00:44:49
Deep Work by Cal Newport: 00:50:13
Jabran Niaz on LinkedIn: 00:51:30
Innovate Conference: 00:52:16

Special Mention(s):

Related Episode(s):

Episode Sponsor

This episode is brought to you by eComm Breakthrough Consulting where I help seven-figure e-commerce owners grow to eight figures.

I started Hadley Designs in 2015 and grew it to an eight-figure brand in seven years.

I made mistakes along the way that made the path to eight figures longer. At times I doubted whether our business could even survive and become a real brand. I wish I would have had a guide to help me grow faster and avoid the stumbling blocks.

If you’ve hit a plateau and want to know the next steps to take your business to the next level, then go to www.EcommBreakthrough.com (that’s Ecomm with two M’s) to learn more.

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Brandon 00:00:00 When you look at profitability, there's the two biggest levers are really pricing and ad spend. Right. So you can you can price your product cheap and have lower ad spend and make the same amount as having a price that's expensive. But you've got to pump the ad spend, right. So it's kind of a fine balance between the two and kind of seeing, you know, can I lower ad spend here but keep pricing the same? Can I lower pricing and then lower AD spend to make up for that.

Host 00:00:24 Right. Welcome to the Ecomm Breakthrough podcast. Are you ready to unlock the full potential and growth in your business? You've already crossed seven figures in sales, but the challenge is knowing how to take your business to the next level.

Josh 00:00:37 Welcome to the Ecomm Breakthrough podcast...