The Ecomcrew Ecommerce Podcast

Dive into the essentials of crafting a winning marketing strategy that aligns with your long-term goals. Discover how to define customer avatars and the role of unique selling propositions in driving success. The talk emphasizes sustainable growth, tackling challenges like employee healthcare, and setting ambitious but realistic three-year plans. Experience the clarity and confidence that comes from effective business planning, encouraging you to engage your team and envision a brighter future.

Out of all the things I do with EcomCrew and in ecommerce in general, the one thing I get asked about the most is our Philippines office. I’m not sure if it’s because I talk about our Filipino employees so much or there are so many entrepreneurs out there who want to find high quality virtual assistants but just don’t seem to get landed with one, no matter what they do. I definitely get the sentiment if it’s the latter. Once upon a time, I hired my first Filipino VA. But instead of freeing up my time, that hire resulted in the exact opposite–I felt like I spent so much time daily just getting him to do simple tasks and it came to the point that I can’t do what I want to do simply because I spent too much of my time with him. I eventually let him go and thought to myself that I won’t ever get a VA again. Some time later on a plane ride back from China, I decided  to give hiring a Filipino VA another go. I’m so glad I did, because in that second attempt at hiring I found Mia. Mia is the cornerstone of our PH office and without her, there would be no PH office. She was the one who found the rest of our Filipino employees, from virtual assistants to writers to graphic designers. She started as a virtual assistant and has morphed into a director managing 11 employees in just under two years. I had the chance to get Mia on the podcast during our visit to the Philippines last month. She didn’t want to do it, but just like most of the challenges I threw at her, she stepped up and did her part. In this episode we highlight the changes that have happened over the course of a year, particularly the growth of our PH team from just a handful of people to 12 full-time awesome employees. We also discuss the following in detail: Why I decided to hire a VA again after my initial disappointment How we found Mia How I knew she could handle becoming a manager What life was like during the first few months with our first hires Why being very slow to hire has worked out to our advantage How close our employees have become, and what Mia did that contributed to this Why we prefer our employees to come to one office instead of working from home What we do differently that sets us apart and makes us more attractive to high-quality employees The strategies we use to reduce communication problems between two time zones Our entire hiring process Tips to weed out incompetent applicants If there’s just one advice we can give you when you hire a VA, it would be this: don’t hire in a hurry. You might have so many things on your plate right now and would want nothing more than to unload as much of that as soon as possible, but hiring the wrong person would cost you so much in the long run. Be patient for the right person to come because it will be so worth it in the end. Resources mentioned: Amazon Launch Strategy webinar E96: Our Philippines Team – Hiring and Maintaining a Team of Rockstar VAs Thanks for listening! Have you ever hired a Filipino VA? What was your experience? Comment down below and get a chance to win this EcomCrew mug!

EcomCrew has gone through a big transformation ever since the site merged with Dave Bryant's site ChineseImporting.com. In less than a year we've accomplished so much--we've launched new courses, upped the podcast to two episodes per week, and revamped the entire EcomCrew site. Dave and I are tremendously happy with what EcomCrew has become and we are gearing to do even more, but we would not have gone to this point if not for the people helping us behind the scenes. If you've been listening to the podcast recently or reached out to us at some point, you might have heard of or encountered Abby. Abby is our Filipino VA and one of the people working behind me and Dave to help us get EcomCrew to become so much more. While Dave and I focus (and get distracted) on the course content and speaking at industry events, Abby makes sure everything else run smoothly--from scheduling the podcast episodes to answering emails. We recently got a chance to get Abby on the podcast (after much persuasion) during our trip to the Philippines. We wanted everybody to meet Abby and get to know her a little, at least virtually. Here's what she and I discussed in this episode: How we found her and how she became the EcomCrew VA The challenges she encountered early on in the job Her day-to-day tasks How she learned to produce the podcast What's coming for EcomCrew in the future Her pro-tip on how to get your VA to stick around We'd like to thank Abby again for getting on the podcast despite the fact that she was too shy to do it :) If you have someone, or a team of people behind your, never forget to appreciate them and recognize what they're doing to help you get to where you want to be. Resources mentioned: Amazon Launch Strategy webinar E96: Our Philippines Team Thanks so much for listening! Until the next episode, happy selling.

Explore the journey of redefining a company's core focus beyond just profit, emphasizing its true purpose. Discover how to cultivate passionate customer advocates and the impact of feedback on product excellence. Learn the significance of mastering diverse e-commerce strategies and the importance of strategic planning for business resilience. Delve into setting a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) to shape a long-term vision, with ambitious growth projections and strategic forecasts outlined for navigating challenges.

Today's episode is a little different from what we usually publish. I recently had to undergo a torturous customer service experience with AT&T. Those of you who are or have been AT&T customers and called their customer service hotline at any time know what I'm talking about. I have been an AT&T customer since 2007 when the first iPhone came out--not by choice, but because no other carrier offered the iPhone at the time--and I can definitely say that it has not been a happy ride. But out of all the years I've been with them and all the calls I made to them, this is, by far, the worst of it all. So here's a little background: I'm in a family program which made eligible to upgrade to the new iPhone X for free, as long as I return to them my old iPhone. The new phone got lost in the mail and they had to find it, and when it finally got delivered to me after weeks of waiting, there was no return label in the box. I had to call them 3 times to get them to email me the return label. I finally got the label, sent the phone back and thought that was the end of it. But as per Murphy's law, I got a text message from AT&T telling me that they have not yet received the phone, but sent me an email informing me that it was actually delivered. So I called again, and they informed me that the text message was erroneous and that I will not get billed the $999. So I relaxed. But... yes, you guessed it, I got billed $999 for a phone I returned. $999 is a big amount of money and although so much of my time had already been wasted, I wasn't willing to just let them take that money. So what do you do when you run a podcast and need to call a company you're pissed at? Set up the recorder, call them and record everything, then publish the call to your listeners as a podcast episode. This episode is a condensed version of 2 very long calls I had with AT&T. We edited many parts out to try to keep the episode at around 30 minutes, but if you want to torture yourself and listen to the whole thing, just click here. I may have lost my temper in some parts of the call and I have nothing against the agents I spoke to, but AT&T's system is just so frustrating. I know I'm shooting for the moon here, but I hope this gets much attention so that AT&T can finally, finally do something and take better care of their customers. Resources mentioned: EcomCrew Webinar - 2018 Amazon Launch Strategy Full AT&T calls Thanks for listening! What's your worst AT&T experience? Share them in the comments below. Until the next episode, happy selling.

The discussion kicks off with insights from a game-changing business book, emphasizing the importance of having clear core values. The hosts reflect on their entrepreneurial journeys and the frequent pitfalls companies face as they grow. They highlight the roles of visionaries and implementers in bridging communication gaps. There's a strong focus on how defined core values can cultivate a thriving company culture. Listeners are encouraged to engage with the show through fun contests, fostering a sense of community.

Hey everyone! If you went to the EcommerceFuel Live event in January and got shoved a microphone in the face by me, then this is the episode you've been waiting for :) You might have forgotten what transpired during the event (especially if you got drunk during the party) but this episode, with all the snippets I recorded both sober and drunk, will surely remind you what an awesome event ECF Live is. If you didn't go, I am pretty sure you're going to want to go next time. This episode is long overdue considering how long it's been since January but this is the first time in EcomCrew history that we're doing something this different. And in light of new and different things, we're doing something that's another first: we will be raffling off an EcomCrew mug for those who comment below. That's right, just comment anything about the episode down below (for example, let me know if you think Andrew Youderian's prank is mean) and you get a chance to win an EcomCrew mug, shipped to you for free, anywhere in the world. Special thanks to Andrew for making ECF Live possible. Make sure to check out this awesome community here. Thanks also to those who put up with me during these interviews, and to the cop who was Andrew's accomplice. I hope you read this and know you're awesome :D Resources mentioned: E114: Chasing Retail Dreams with Bill D'Alessandro E95: Growing and Selling Drop Shipping Businesses with Andrew Youderian E99: An 18-year Ecommerce Journey with Kevin Stecko E91: Ecommerce Growth and Profitability With Dana Jaunzemis EcommerceFuel E94: On the Road with David Couillard: How to Run an Ecommerce Business while Traveling with Family Thanks as always for listening, let me know if you like this episode, and until the next one, happy selling!

As ecommerce entrepreneurs we are used to doing things on our own, with many of us even starting out as solopreneurs. This isolation, and the ability to control our time as a result, has been very attractive for us for a long time. But more recently this very same disconnectedness can lead to our own ruin. One of the issues that rattle us to the bones is online sales tax. States have been salivating on the billions of dollars they could get from online sales and ecommerce steadily grew. They went after the online platforms we sell our products on, especially Amazon, but Amazon has proven to be a big gorilla to fight especially with their ability to create thousands of jobs as leverage against states. And so some states turned their attention to the ones they can easily intimidate: us individual sellers. Amazon claims ownership of most of everything--customers, listings, even prices--but unsurprisingly sales tax is not one of them. It's up to us to handle sales tax, and everything is so complicated that many of us are not sure what exactly is the right thing to do. Many states even disagree among themselves about sales tax nexus. But still, some sellers have begun receiving letters about this in some states, and it's definitely not a good position to be in. This is one of the reasons Online Merchants Guild was born. This nonprofit was created by ecommerce sellers for ecommerce sellers, with the goal to have as many members as possible so that we can collectively fight against issues that are too big for any one of us to fight. In this episode I talk to Bernie Thompson, an 8-figure seller and member of Online Merchants guild, and Paul Rafelson, a lawyer and law professor working with the likes of GE, Microsoft and Walmart. Below is an overview of what we discussed: How Online Merchants Guild was founded Sales tax nexus and how complicated it is The Wayfair case Constitutional principles violated by states with regards to sales tax Goal for everyone who joins the organization Other goals and member benefits like business insurance, discounted shipping rates, etc Fighting this issue all by ourselves, like what we are used to doing, is costly and ineffective. We need to stand united and we need more support. We can't do this by ourselves. There is strength in numbers. If you want more information about the organization, just head on to its website (it's still a brand-new site that needs fixing here and there) or send us an email at support@ecomcrew.com. We'd love to discuss it with you. Resources mentioned: EcomCrew webinar Online Merchants Guild Amicus Brief Thanks for listening! Until next week, happy selling.

Last Monday, Kevin and I talked about one of the biggest problems most small ecommerce entrepreneurs encounter: becoming a bottleneck to the growth of their own company. This is something that usually happens when we try to do the unthinkable, which is to do every single task on our own. Naturally, the best way to solve this is delegation. You can try to be as efficient and productive as you want, but there will only by 24 hours in a day and one body to work with. But how can you find someone you can trust enough and can perform tasks as good as you do without breaking the bank? That is the question we answer in this episode, which is Part 2 of last Monday's conversation. Kevin and I discuss my VA hiring process, from weeding out spam applications (or applications of people who don't read, which is a lot), what questions to ask, the tests we require applicants to take, training, and how to manage them once they're hired. Ultimately, we talk about how to find a VA who is smart and quick on their feet, who will help him grow his company. Some conversation points: Red flags when hiring VAs Filtering irrelevant applications My hiring process What questions to ask during the interview process What kind of experience to look for Using Camtasia as a training tool Best practices when delegating tasks to a VA Delegating is not easy, especially if you're assigning tasks to a person who is literally on the other side of the globe. But if you find someone trustworthy and smart, delegation will work wonders not just on your stress levels, but on your business in the long run. Resources mentioned: EcomCrew webinar Under the Hood Sellers Summit Thanks so much for listening to this Under the Hood episode! If you want to be in an episode yourself, just sign up here and we'll reach out to you for more details. Until the next episode, happy selling!

At the beginning of January, I laid out 18 goals I wanted to accomplish this year. My list consisted of both business and personal goals, with some items certainly harder and loftier than the others. While I made sure that my goals are reasonably achievable, I can't deny that a part of me--any maybe you, too--is wondering if I can achieve them all. That's why I decided that I will do a quarterly check on my progress to clearly see how far along I am on the road to achieving my goals. If you've set goals too, this is a practice I highly recommend. Far too often we underestimate how quickly a year can pass, and if you don't make frequent checks on the things you set out to do, you might have the surprise of your life in the form of untended goals by year's end. So in this episode, I will share with you my first 2018 Goals Quarterly Review. If you didn't get a chance to listen to my goals episode, here's the list of my 18 (yes, I did that to be cheesy) 2018 Goals for your reference: Develop 50 new products Launch on Amazon Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and eventually, Australia Optimize our Amazon listings to increase sales by 50% Improve PPC Implement the concepts in the book Traction in our business Reach $10 million in revenue with a 10% net profit Lose 12 lbs Record 100 episodes of the podcast Launch a new version of ecomcrew.com Launch 4 new courses Speak at at least 4 industry events Hike 80 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail Take an epic 2-week vacation Visit the Philippines office at least once Read 4 books (I know, I know… 4 books aren’t a lot but I’m not really a book reader so please don’t laugh at me) Hand off my Facebook ads to other people within the company Come up with at least one new tactic that no one else is doing Never lose sight of the bigger picture: create 5 star products that people will truly love and continue to enjoy what I’m doing I'm happy to say that I'm on track with most of the items on the list. I know, however, that this is just the 1st quarter and unexpected things could derail those goals. But this check has given me the confidence I need to continue with the year head on. Resources mentioned: MyEcomCrew E109: My 2018 Goals Sellics affiliate link EcomCrew courses eCommerceFuel Global Sources Summit Sellers Summit Thanks for listening to this episode. Until next week, happy selling!