The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

We’re inching our way to four hundred episodes, but this might be the first time I’ve talked to someone who got into ecommerce out of desperation—and grew to seven figures at that!   Kata Phipps is a clinical psychologist by trade. She’s married to a military guy, which meant, for years, having to constantly move from one place to another and not being able to settle in and practice her craft.    Out of a mix of chance and desperation, Kata dabbled in ecommerce. She eventually found out that she had a knack for it and built a 7-figure brand within only a year.    In this episode, we talk all about how she got started, how she deals with copycats in the Amazon space, and how joining the Titan Network propelled her even further. We also get Kata’s psychology perspective on current consumer behavior and what trends she thinks are coming our way when lockdowns are finally lifted and vaccines are rolled out.   Timestamps How Kata got into ecommerce - 03:02 The first products Kata ever sold on Amazon - 6:34 Kata’s thought process behind finding her next million dollar product - 8:59 Investing in good karma in ecommerce - 18:43 Why joining a seller network helps more than your know - 22:18 How global tragedies affect consumer behavior - 29:45 What the trends are going to be in a post-COVID world - 33:03 How to deal with immense cash flow needs when you’re just starting out - 37:23 The value of asking your supplier questions - 42:30   I want to thank Kata for coming to the show and sharing her story. If you’d like to get in touch with her and pick her brain about the ecommerce industry, you can hit her up on Facebook as Kata Phipps or email her at kata@titanmembers.com.   Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. It helps more than you know.   Until the next one, happy selling!

Ecommerce is a fast-changing industry, and people rarely ever get that holy grail experience that our guest today has.   Ben Leonard is the founder of Beast Gear, a fitness equipment brand born out of this personal interest in physical activities like crossfit and boxing. In just a span of 3 years, he grew the company to a whopping 7-figure brand and has since sold his business.   He eventually co-founded Ecom Brokers, which is an ecommerce brokerage tailored to helping other sellers follow in his footsteps and get successful exits of their own.    In this episode, Ben takes me through his entire journey in ecommerce. From discovering his entrepreneurial spark, to developing his brand and a suite of products that people talk about, to selling his business, and all the way to building his own ecommerce brokerage to help other sellers build and sell their businesses.    I wanna thank Ben for coming to the show and sharing his story. If you’re looking to grow and sell your business for top dollar (just like we have), head over to Ecom Brokers. You may also reach out to Ben on benleonard.pro for even more strategic advice.    Planning to sell your business in the near future? Let us know, and don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes so we can help more ecommerce sellers. Until the next one, happy selling!

As someone who’s immigrated to another country for a few years myself, I know how tough it is to navigate, much less succeed in unfamiliar territory.  Today’s guest did just that.  Ronnie Teja traveled from Mumbai to Vancouver and to so many other places across the globe during his long tenure in digital marketing. He realized he was making a lot of money for a lot of people and eventually decided to bet on himself and dive right into ecommerce. In this episode, we learn about his long journey, the inspiration behind his watch brand, Branzio, and how he’s caught some tailwind by managing a remote team to run his company.  We also dive into how his company fared during a year of COVID, why books like Traction mean so much to us, and his big plans for the future. Timestamps: How Ronnie and Branzio did during the pandemic year - 2:45 The Art of the Steal and how Ronnie got into ecommerce - 4:55 The struggle of starting your own business - 15:37 Why personal relationships are important in ecommerce - 19:22 Leveling up your game by finding reliable talent remotely - 23:22 Why Gino Wickman’s Traction was a game-changer for both of us - 29:47 What the future looks like for Ronnie and Branzio - 32:52 Here are some of the awesome books we mentioned during the episode: Traction by Gino Wickman Get A Grip: An Entrepreneurial Fable...Your Journey to Get Real, Get Simple, and Get Results by Mike Paton and Gino Wickman The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington I had a blast talking to Ronnie and learning about his journey to success. You can reach out to him at ronnie@branzio.com or hit him up on LinkedIn or Instagram.  Also, be sure to check out his awesome watches on Branzio. Lastly, I’d like to thank everyone who signed up for this round of our EcomCrew Premium opening. Our community is growing fast and it definitely feels great being able to help more and more people as we go along. In case you missed it, you can sign up to get notified when we open Premium again soon. Did you enjoy this episode as much as I did? Don’t forget to leave us a review on iTunes. It helps more than you know! Until next time, happy selling!

Rocking a good old plain white shirt is cool, but a white shirt with the Nike ‘Swoosh’ on it? A hundred times cooler. A great brand design means so much more than a sight for sore yes—it’s the easiest way to establish your brand, drive your conversion rates, and invite 5-star product reviews.  Think Steve Job’s bitten apple or the golden arches of McDonald’s. Joining me today is Miriska Harris of Outlinematic. Her company is a consultation and design firm that’s dedicated to brand design, whether it be your official brand logo, lifestyle images for your products, and or package inserts. In this episode, we’ll be talking about why brand design matters, tips and best practices to make your designs stand out, and which aspects of your e-commerce business you should be infusing with great designs.  Timestamps: What Outlinematic does - 3:34 #1. Your Brand Logo - 4:28 #2. Packaging - 9:09 How updated packaging designs drove our revenue  - 12:11  Tips in creating awesome packaging - 14:18 #3. Inserts - 18:33 Thanking customers and getting product reviews through inserts - 19:26 #4. Product Images - 22:28 Best practices for listing images - 24:25 #5. A+ Content (EBC) - 29:46 It was great having Miriska on the show, and her insights into brand design is invaluable. Make sure to check out Outlinematic’s services over on their website or shoot them an email at info@outlinematic.com. If you want to get a copy of the presentation that we were talking about in the episode, just email us at support@ecomcrew.com. By the way, our next free public webinar is coming on the 14th of April. We will be releasing more details about it in the coming episodes, so be sure to subscribe to the Podcast to stay up to date. Did you enjoy this episode? Leave us a review over on iTunes to let us know!  Until the next one, happy selling!

Wearing many hats as an e-commerce seller isn’t easy, but letting someone else take over a task you’ve been doing for years could be much harder. If you’re looking to grow your business, though, you will eventually need to hang up some of those hats to focus on your high-level goals.  In today’s episode, Kevin Sanderson of Maximizing Ecommerce joins me in breaking down some of the struggles and the rewards of offloading workload from your shoulders and fine-tuning your focus as you scale your business.  Kevin is an Under the Hood alumni. He was our guest in a two-parter, where we talked about how to stop being a bottleneck to your own business and how to delegate tasks to offshore VAs. Today, we’ll be talking about why you should never compare your Chapter 4 to someone else’s Chapter 25, some clever tricks we use to filter through hundreds of job applicants, and effective ways to offload your tasks and delegate them to a team that you trust.  Timestamps: Why you should give your endeavors some time before giving up - 3:00 Looking back at our first Under the Hood session - 9:11 How to effectively offload and delegate your tasks - 12:17 Simple and effective ways to filter job applications - 17:04  Why most of us obsess over the tiniest tasks - 27:24 What Kevin is up to these days - 33:54 The value of investing in a team you can trust - 40:09 Never put in your phone number if you’re online looking at insurance quotes - 43:34   I had a great time talking to Kevin. Check out his awesome content over on Maximizing Ecommerce and tune in to his podcast and YouTube channel. If you’re interested in having me look under the hood of your e-commerce business in an hour-long coaching call that we turn into a podcast episode, head over to ecomcrew.com/underthehood to sign up. Speaking of sign-ups, EcomCrew Premium closes tonight!  Premium membership grants you access to our community of like-minded sellers, unlimited 1-on-1 email support from me and Dave, and a growing library of HD video courses and webinars to help you grow and succeed in e-commerce. Sign up for Premium now.  Did you enjoy this episode? Don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes so we can help more sellers like you. Until the next one, happy selling!

Finding products that actually sell can be difficult. But it doesn’t have to be.  This is why Dave and I have decided to share with you the exact secrets that make our lives so much easier when it comes to finding, developing, and defending products in e-commerce.  In this episode, we discuss some effective tactics you can use to protect your products from getting ripped off, or at least make it insanely difficult for copycats—especially when securing a patent is off the table.  These include raising the barrier to entry for someone who’s hell-bent on copying your products, making high-quality photographs, and producing great content that adds value to your niche.  Dave also shares his intriguing cockroach method to finding profitable products. Did you know certain item types could net you much higher profits than “perfect” products?  If you’re struggling to find new products or develop existing ones, there’s definitely a lot in here for you. Timestamps How product development has evolved over the years - 1:36 What patents do and do not do for your product - 4:09 Limiting the competition by developing products with high barriers to entry - 18:47 - 14:07 What is the cockroach method? - 19:17 Applying the method to my new business - 22:56 Why you should do FBA for oversized products - 24:47 Additional tips for shipping large and expensive items - 28:37 The benefits of developing multiple products at once - 33:32 It’s always a blast having Dave come out to do the podcast, and there’s definitely a lot more to unpack on this subject.  If you haven’t already, sign up to EcomCrew Premium now.  Premium gives you access to perks like advanced video courses in glorious HD, including a full-blown module on product development and the cockroach method, unlimited access and coaching from us, and membership to an exclusive community of high-figure e-commerce sellers. Premium is going to be available for a limited time only, so sign up now! If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes so we can help more e-commerce sellers start and grow their businesses.  Until next time, happy selling!

Insurance is not a fun topic. Trust me, I hate it as much as the next guy.  But you know what else is not fun? Having your business go under because of a frivolous lawsuit that has absolutely nothing to do with you or your company. That is why today, Maggie Walden and I will be talking about one of the best things you can do to protect your business from exhausting (not to mention, expensive) lawsuits and accidents—taking out insurance. Maggie is a Client Advisor at ECM Solutions, an independent insurance agency that offers a range of coverage options to e-commerce business owners and prepares them for when that fateful day comes. In this episode, we talk about why an insurance policy is a must-have for serious e-commerce sellers, what different coverage options are available to you, and why insurance carriers won’t be racing to insure certain product types. Timestamps: Amazon’s insurance requirements and why you should comply with them - 05:29 Things you should be looking at in terms of insurance - 07:24 What a general liability policy covers and what it does not - 09:31 Why it’s hard to find insurance for certain certain products or categories - 13:30 Why I think getting an insurance policy is essential in e-commerce - 15:35 What an inventory insurance policy is - 23:29 What a business owner’s policy or BOP is - 26:25 There’s definitely a lot of ground to cover in protecting your business from frivolous litigation and accidents, and Maggie was just the right person to have on the show. If you want some solid advice about what your exposure looks like and how you can go about taking out an insurance policy over your e-commerce business, be sure to check out ECM Solutions or hit Maggie up on 704-227-3130. By the way, if you’re looking to stay ahead of the competition and amp up your e-commerce game, EcomCrew Premium opens again on March 8. Don’t miss out! With Premium, you get access to a bevy of perks, from HD video courses, to exclusive monthly webinars, to 1-on-1 mentorship. Learned a thing or two from this episode? Let us know, and don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes so we can reach more e-commerce sellers looking to grow their business. Until the next one, happy selling!

When business is good, you want nothing more than to keep finding stuff to do in order to grow even further. In this follow-up Under the Hood session, Elias Manopla is looking to do just that.  Elias was our guest for Episode 194, where we talked about how to grow a highly niched ecommerce business. He runs an online butcher shop that sells a wide variety of barbecue meat and other food products.  I’m happy to learn that after taking my advice and using his own strategies, Elias’s business was extremely successful (with a 15x growth) during a tough year of COVID. In this catch-up, we break down a bunch of other stuff that he can do to grow his business even further. We talk about how to retain customers, upselling and cross-selling, and how to advertise in the online world — things that you can definitely apply to your own e-commerce business well.  Timestamps How Elias took my advice and achieved immense growth during the pandemic year - 5:43 A look into upselling and cross-selling - 12:51 How to retain customers - 17:47 Why you should keep your customers engaged with interesting emails - 20:56 How to handle data and purchase statistics - 22:22 Using Google Search to your advantage - 25:40 The power of YouTube marketing for e-commerce - 27:36 I’m glad to have been a part of Elias’s success and I hope he finds more growth after coming on for this episode. If you’re interested in signing up for an hour-long coaching session and be featured on the podcast, head over to our Under the Hood registration page. Hoping for the same growth as Elias? We’re happy to invite you to a free webinar on How to Find and Develop Winning Products When Nothing Else Has Worked this coming March 10, 2021 at 10 AM (PST). We’ll be sharing the exact secrets to developing a product that stands out in Amazon’s highly saturated marketplace. Also, don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes and share your thoughts if you enjoyed this episode. Until next time, Happy selling!

I’m back in the trenches! We sold one of our ecommerce brands back in 2019, and I’ve been itching to get involved in something again for quite some time.  Today, I’m excited to share with you my recent experience in buying a new ecommerce company. Joining me for this episode are my good friends and business partners, Andrew Youderian and Bill D'Alessandro, whose insights are valuable to ecommerce newbies and experienced business owners alike. Andrew is the Managing Partner of ECF Capital, which is tailored to helping small e-commerce businesses grow. He also hosts the awesome eCommerce Fuel Podcast. Bill is the Founder and CEO of Elements Brands, which invests in brands with long-term potential and currently boasts a rich portfolio of consumer products companies.  In this episode, we dive into how this opportunity came about and all the hurdles we overcame to finally seal the deal. We also share a bunch of funny stories that you’ll surely get a kick out of. Timestamps How the opportunity came about - 6:56 Why this particular business appealed to us - 9:50 How we structured the deal - 12:56 Why having an existing rapport with the seller helps more than you know - 19:30 A fateful Christmas eve call - 20:11 Why you should always leave some buffer in your closing dates - 27:59 Some key things I did before and after closing - 30:15 A heart-stopping Amazon account suspension - 35:37 I’m thrilled to be in business with Andrew and Bill, and I’d be happy to share more updates about this business with you guys in a year’s time. If you’re looking to grow your ecommerce business and get some long-term funding from experts in the industry, check out ECF Capital. Did you enjoy this episode? Don’t forget to help us out by leaving a review over on iTunes. Until the next one, happy selling!

Ever felt like you have waaay too much on your plate?  So have I, and so have a lot of other entrepreneurs. Making the best use of your time and staying productive are essential ingredients for success in e-commerce. Which is why today, we’ll be talking about productivity hacks with Chris Bello. Chris has a wealth of knowledge in supply chain management and he hosts the Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast, which is tailored to productivity mindset and optimizing your day-to-day processes.  He also runs his own personal brand and he deals in real estate all over the US. In this episode, Chris and I talk about some common challenges that e-commerce business owners, particularly solopreneurs, face. We then share some productivity hacks that help us stay focused on our goals, get the most value out of our time and energy, and scale our business without ending up feeling miserable.  Timestamps  An introduction to Chris Bello - 3:37 What you can do to avoid facing a seemingly infinite to-do list - 7:06 The shiny object syndrome and how entrepreneurs can avoid it - 13:00 Knowing what your focus is and the value of being able to say “No.” - 16:58 Chris’s scorecard strategy for making the best use of his time - 23:46 The power of outsourcing and delegating tasks - 29:02 Books mentioned:  Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki  The 4-hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss The E Myth, Michael E. Gerber Essentialism, Greg McKeown Apps mentioned:  Asana Clubhouse I had a blast having Chris on the show and I’m excited to try out his time hacks. If you want to dive into his productivity-driven content, head over to his website, hit him up on Instagram, or connect with him on Clubhouse.  What are some of your personal productivity hacks? Let us know and don’t forget to leave us a review over on iTunes if you enjoyed this episode. Until the next one, happy selling!