The Andrew Faris Podcast

About a year ago, I released the first interview I ever recorded for The Andrew Faris Podcast: an interview with Patrick Coddou after he'd officially sold Supply. Selling Supply was a big moment, not just because every exit is a big movement, but because Patrick had become a core member of the ecommerce community, regularly offering up both help and questions as he built along the way. So a year later, we caught up: what's Patrick been doing since selling? What's life really like after the exit? Did he have seller's remorse? Is he just going to sit on the beach forever, and if so, is "retirement" all its cracked up to be. The conversation ended up being a wide-ranging exploration on business, wealth, faith, family, and priorities. I, for one, thought Patrick came full of insights. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:01:21] Life after selling a business. [00:09:20] Taking time for self-reflection. [00:09:28] Entrepreneurs often neglect rest. [00:15:04] Weight of business ownership. [00:22:20] Prioritize intentional rest for well-being. [00:25:18] Strong relationships lead to happiness. [00:31:29] Intentionally structure your post-exit life. [00:33:40] Set boundaries for work-life balance. [00:41:20] Intentional rest re-centers identity. [00:43:04] Rest is essential for productivity. EPISODE SPONSOR Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. RESOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE Patrick's Previous Episode: "Patrick Coddou Sold Supply" (Spotify, Apple) The Ruthless Elimination Of Hurry Book The Good Life Book "Work And Rest" Sermon By Dr. Timothy Keller FOLLOW UP WITH PATRICK Follow Patrick On Twitter: @SoundsLikeCanoe Email Patrick For Consulting: patrick.coddou@gmail.com FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means

The podcast discusses the importance of focus in achieving business goals. It highlights narrowing focus for better productivity and emphasizes focusing on core strengths. The speaker shares their journey of starting their own business and the transformational effects of focusing on the highest value parts of their work.

This podcast episode features Jess Bachman, a creative strategist who shares his process for generating effective ads. Highlights include measuring creative performance, custom metrics for video ads, iterative ad optimization, stacking ads for maximum impact, and the importance of engagement metrics. The episode also discusses the importance of creative in performance marketing and introduces the Fire School program.

Learn how to implement key concepts into your business operations, such as tracking contribution margin and managing operating expenses. Explore the challenges and benefits of using machine learning in ecommerce. Also, hear about an upcoming episode on creative strategies and a sponsor offering hiring services.

Ezra Firestone, CEO of Boom! By Cindy Joseph and of Overtone, plus the Founder of Zipify and SmartMarketer, shares his insights on life and business. Topics include finding meaning and joy, serving unselfishly while profiting, enjoying the present, and the importance of deep thinking.

In a straightforward, tactical advice episode, I make the argument that more ecom stores should consider using quizzes as a core part of their customer acquisition funnels. Quizzes are fun, engaging, yield loads of customer data, capture email & SMS info at massive rates, and maybe most crucially, are highly effective at guiding customers to the exact right product for them. What's not to love? SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE The Andrew Faris Podcast is now available on ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ at www.youtube.com/@andrewfarispodcast. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:09] Using quizzes for customer engagement. [00:08:09] Quiz as a fun and effective shopping experience [00:09:23] Quiz as landing page alternative. [00:18:12] Quizzes improve customer engagement. [00:19:40] Start with Octane AI. EPISODE SPONSOR Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. RESOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE OctaneAI Shopify Quiz Builder "You Have To Bridge The Digital Gap" AFP episode (Apple, Spotify) Bambu Earth Quiz FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means

Nasrin Jafari is the founder, designer and CEO of Mixed By Nasrin, a Brooklyn-based fashion company that's recently hit a 7-figure run rate and continues to grow rapidly–and profitably. In my first ever "Opening The Books" episode, Nasrin and I essentially recorded a coaching call. That is: she gave me access to all of the platforms & numbers in her business, and then we spent 2 hours talking through where she should go from here. My hope is that Nasrin's willingness to be this vulnerable and generous with her business's details is a giant help to others in similar stages of businesses. There are a ton of screenshares, docs, and other references here. The video version (which will be ideal for this episode) and all of the links I mentioned are all available at www.ajfgrowth.com/mixed. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS 00:00:17 Coaching entrepreneurs in real time. 00:06:27 Creating a high touch brand. 00:12:36 Long-term brand building play. 00:13:39 Long-term sustainability and cultural impact. 00:18:06 Goal: Build a great team. 00:22:32 Understanding P&L buckets for profit. 00:27:09 Consider moving to 3PL. 00:31:20 Rinse and repeat product drops. 00:35:45 Manage cash flow with projections. 00:40:09 13-week cash flow crucial. 00:44:35 Shorten lead time for testing. 00:49:43 Create a marketing calendar. 00:53:51 LTV based forecast for growth. 00:57:05 Facebook ad spend and customer projections. 01:01:43 Projecting lifetime customer value. 01:06:25 Track customer revenue and spend. 01:10:54 Forecasting and financial management are crucial. 01:15:37 Keep OPEX at 15%. 01:22:23 Consider working with Kynship. 01:23:41 Influencer strategy is crucial. 01:28:08 Forecast profitability for growth. 01:32:57 Collect email and SMS addresses. 01:37:44 Focus on returning customer revenue. 01:41:11 Email and SMS for retention. 01:45:12 Conversion rate is not always important. EPISODE SPONSOR Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means

This episode covers topics such as subscription e-commerce success, customer retention through product experience, strategic pricing, testing and adapting, data-driven decision making, maximizing platform usage for scaling a business, and the value of generosity and thoughtfulness in creating value.

If you think forecasting is primarily about inventory planning, think again. Taken seriously, forecasting forces you to stare your business's financials in the face so you can design your PNL for profit. That makes it a fundamental skill in operating an ecommerce brand. In today's episode I make the case for forecasting as a key step in designing your PNL for profit, then planning, executing, and tracking towards that profit design. SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE The Andrew Faris Podcast is now available on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ at www.youtube.com/@andrewfarispodcast. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:00:51] Forecasting provides clarity for profit. [00:08:48] Forecasting helps understand business performance. [00:10:01] Forecasting helps control costs. [00:14:33] Forecast Opex for scalable growth. [00:18:44] Forecast your business for clarity. EPISODE SPONSOR Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠⁠⁠. RESOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE The Lightspeed Cohort Forecasting Model Dave Rekuc's CXL Forecasting Course FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means

Dave Rekuc is the current President & COO at Bambu Earth, the skincare brand that 4x400 contracted to focus on. He's one of the smartest guys in ecommerce, especially when it comes to thinking through the financial mechanics of running an ecom brand. In this wide-ranging episode, Dave and I talk about his recent bout with testicular cancer, why he was taking work calls during chemo sessions, what makes Bambu Earth such a good business, and how he and his team have engineered their supply chain for both scale and cash. This is one of those episode you're guaranteed to learn from. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS [00:03:56] Life priorities & Dave's cancer [00:04:56] Work can be enjoyable and addictive. [00:10:09] High margin, stable e-commerce brand. [00:15:28] Lean in-house production improves cash flow. [00:19:36] Customer acquisition impacts LTV. [00:27:21] Maximize reach with varied offers. [00:29:30] Focus on margin extraction per thousand impressions. [00:35:52] Understanding customer spending habits. [00:39:21] LTV businesses require cash management. [00:43:11] Working capital is important for cash flow management. [00:48:28] Consider individual goals and abilities. EPISODE SPONSOR Virtual assistants can be helpful. Virtual professionals can transform your business. Get connected to incredible ecommerce talent from the Philippines with More Staffing by visiting ⁠⁠www.morenow.co⁠⁠. FOLLOW UP WITH DAVE Work Dave on Twitter: @daverekuc FOLLOW UP WITH ANDREW Follow Andrew on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@andrewjfaris⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email Andrew: podcast@ajfgrowth.com Work with Andrew: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ajfgrowth.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ EPISODE MUSIC Music Intro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell Me Mama⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means Music Outro: "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Rusty Little Scissors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠" by The Devious Means