Nick Hancock from Direct Outlet Mattresses

In this episode of Business Brain, Dave and Shannon welcome guest Nick Hancock from Direct Outlet Mattresses. Nick shares his journey from working a 9-to-5 job he disliked to diving into his family’s multi-generational mattress business. After getting fired from his previous job, he embraced the mattress world with the help of his father and brother. Now based in Charlotte, Nick explains how he’s grown his business beyond traditional retail by leveraging social media — especially X (formerly Twitter) — to connect with customers and drive national sales.

Nick emphasizes the power of authentic storytelling and personal branding in building trust and generating business. By sharing real-life moments and insights into his daily work, he’s developed a loyal online following and turned seemingly mundane mattress content into engaging posts that drive results, including hotel and Airbnb deals. He stresses the importance of content, particularly video, and plans to scale his business further through digital channels, rather than expanding physical stores.

The episode wraps with a discussion about customer service in the mattress business, Nick’s in-store “comfort test” strategy to reduce returns, mattress longevity tips, and how changing habits — even what side of the bed you sleep on — can be beneficial. Nick’s story showcases how consistency, transparency, and leaning into content creation can elevate any business, even one as traditionally “boring” as mattresses.

• 00:00:00 Business Brain – The Entrepreneurs’ Podcast #666 for Wednesday, July 16th, 2025
  • July 16th: National Hot Dog Day
• 00:01:47 Guest Co-host: Nick Hancock from Direct Outlet Mattresses
  • Dad started the mattress business
  • Nick got fired (from a different job), Covid hit, and Nick decided to learn the mattress business
• 00:03:53 The value of working elsewhere before joining the family business.
• 00:05:14 Being The Mattress Guy on X
• 00:08:19 SPONSOR: Constant Contact makes marketing easier and more effective for small businesses like yours. Try Constant Contact free for 30 days at ConstantContact.com
• 00:09:54 SPONSOR: Shopify – For anyone to sell anywhere, sign up for a one-dollar-per month trial period at Shopify.com/BusinessBrain and upgrade your selling today!
• 00:11:28 With mattresses, it pays to slow down and encourage the customer to choose the right mattress.
  • Don’t just rush to a sale
• 00:13:45 Care for your mattress
  • Rotate it 180-degrees every 3 months
  • If you have a king mattress you can rotate it 90-degrees if you’re ok with it occasionally being 5” shorter
• 00:16:38 What’s next?
  • Rolling out eCommerce
• 00:18:49 Social Media driving business sales isn’t new…at all!
• 00:20:25 Business Brain 666 Outtro
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  • The Mattress Guy on X
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