The Opportunity Podcast

On the surface, discounts may seem like a great way to boost sales, but over time they erode your profits and can have a negative effect on consumers’ perception of your brand. So, if not discounts, what tool can you use to entice consumers to increase their average spend? Andrew Forman believes donations are the ideal incentive. Andrew is the founder and CEO of Givz, a tool that gives eCommerce sellers instant access to hundreds of different charitable donation incentives without the endless red tape and paperwork.  In this episode, Andrew explains how replacing discounts with donations increases conversion rates and boosts average order value. It also enhances customer loyalty by helping brands to be more authentic and socially conscious. According to Andrew,   “Discounts hurt growth and come straight off your bottom line. More importantly, you run the risk of becoming known as a “discount brand” or becoming reliant on discounts to drive sales. Alternatively, donation incentives help to increase your average order value and drive social impact in a genuine and authentic way.” Andrew shares insights into the challenges brands previously faced when partnering with charitable organizations and how this inspired him to create Givz. We also discuss how the growing demand for social impact will affect the future of eCommerce, and the various tools and techniques brands can use to meet this demand.  If you want to learn how to bounce back from your discount dependency, then this is a conversation you can afford to miss out on! Topics Discussed in This Episode: Andrew walks us through his entrepreneurial journey so far (02:36) What inspired Andrew to create Givz (06:23) Andrew explains the service that Givz provides (08:17) How Givz helps businesses increase engagement, ROI, and more (16:57) The “discount drug” and why brands should move away from discounts (21:39) Various ways eCommerce brands can be more socially conscious (23:50) How the growing demand for social impact will affect the future of eCommerce (25:45) The advice Andrew wished he had when starting out as an entrepreneur (27:46) How creating Givz has changed Andrew’s life (33:25) Real-world examples of how Givz has benefited businesses (38:39) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcast Empire Flippers Marketplace Givz Inveterate Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to attract new sales and increase your bottom line through the use of donation incentives!

Online businesses are a great investment, but many people haven’t been able to cash in on this opportunity because they lack the time or skills needed to effectively manage an online business. The creation of Empire Flippers Capital provided a solution to this problem, allowing investors to buy fractional shares of online businesses and gain access to this unique asset class without any of the work associated with running a business.  Now, EF Capital is offering you a one-time opportunity to own a piece of EFC itself and benefit from the company’s first-mover advantage. In this episode, Mike Vranjkovic, the Managing Partner of Empire Flippers Capital, joins us to discuss the rise of the online business industry, what makes it such a powerful asset class, and the inspiration behind the creation of EF Capital. According to Mike, “Our goal is to make online businesses an accessible asset class for individual investors. Empire Flippers Capital gives you online business exposure without the need for a specialized skill set, you don’t need to spend time running the business, and it’s an easy way to build a diversified portfolio.” Mike also discusses why EF Capital is splitting from Empire Flippers, how EFC plans to spend the growth capital raised, and the rewards investors can expect to receive from investing in EFC directly. After you’ve listened to the podcast, check out this webinar where Mike and Empire Flippers co-founder Justin Cooke dive deeper into the EF Capital story and the details of the direct raise. Topics Discussed in This Episode: How the online business industry has changed over the last few years (05:51) Empire Flippers Capital explained (08:30) The benefits of investing in online businesses over other asset classes (09:09) The barriers to entry that EF Capital seeks to remove for investors and entrepreneurs (12:39) The results achieved from EFC’s first three rounds of investments (16:36) How long investors will have to wait before seeing a return on their investment (19:09) Why EF Capital is splitting from Empire Flippers (21:56) The risks and rewards of investing in Empire Flippers Capital (28:11) Details of the raise and how EFC aims to spend the growth capital raised (31:47) The type of investors that would benefit from this investment (40:04) The effect EF Capital may have on the online business industry moving forward (43:26) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcasts Empire Flippers Marketplace Empire Flippers Capital Direct Raise Investor Interest Form Direct Raise Deal Page Direct Raise Sales Presentation Operator Interest Form EFC Investor Relations Call Link Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how you can own a piece of EF Capital and profit from its future growth!

Big brands have large budgets that allow them to harness the power of multiple marketing channels, from digital marketing to mass media. Small businesses rarely have this same advantage, so how can they leverage their limited budgets to compete with industry giants? Ian Barnard believes the answer lies in targeting future customers.  Ian is an experienced marketing strategist and the Strategy Director at Creative Business Company, a marketing agency that helps businesses accelerate growth through the power of brand marketing.   In this episode, Ian explains how big brands succeed by targeting both current and future customers, ensuring they maintain consistent demand for their products. Small businesses, on the other hand, tend to focus solely on in-market consumers. Ian reveals how small businesses can restructure their budgets to mimic the marketing strategies of big brands. According to Ian,  “The optimal split for your marketing budget is to spend 60% of your money on online video brand-building campaigns. These are wide-reaching campaigns with broad messages that target future customers. Spend the other 40% on digital marketing campaigns targeting existing customers who are in-market.” We also discuss how to create effective storytelling in modern advertising campaigns, how to maintain authenticity on social media, and the changes Ian foresees in the marketing landscape in the coming years. If you want to level up your marketing without breaking the bank, then this is an episode you don’t afford to miss out on! Topics Discussed in This Episode: Ian walks us through his marketing journey and what he’s working on today (02:42) The main marketing advantage that big brands have over smaller businesses (04:20) How small businesses can chase future customers on a limited budget (07:45) Ian walks us through the 2-4-5 digital media framework (11:41) How to create great storytelling in a modern advertising campaign (15:48) Do consumers have lower attention spans or is advertising not entertaining enough? (18:38) Why focusing on organic social media is a waste of time for small businesses (22:13) How people can leverage paid ads to boost sales (25:25) Marketing elements small businesses can put in place on a small budget (30:50) How Creative Business Company helps small businesses with their marketing (33:32) The changes Ian foresees in the marketing industry over the next few years (35:30) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcast Empire Flippers Marketplace Creative Business Company Creative Business Company whitepapers Born Social whitepaper Ogilvy on Advertising, David Ogilvy (1986) JWT Planning Guide, Stephen King (1974) Scientific Advertising, Claude Hopkins (1923) Good Strategy, Bad Strategy, Richard Rumelt (2011) Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to build a big brand on a small marketing budget.

For many years, an inability to code has held aspiring SaaS founders back from success. Now, no-code and low-code tools are lowering the barriers to entry for entrepreneurs looking to enter the software and tech industries.  But what exactly are no-code and low-code solutions? In this episode, Lola Ojabowale gives us a thorough overview of this exciting technology. Lola is the founder of Lunch Pail Labs, a full-service digital product studio that helps clients research, build, and maintain platforms and apps using no or low-code solutions.  Lola provides a definition of what no-code and low-code actually refer to, and outlines the skills and experience entrepreneurs will need in order to use no-code tools. We discuss the various projects no-code can be used for and the limitations and downsides of choosing no-code over traditional coding solutions.  Lola also explains why she is so passionate about economic equity, and how no-code applications help to further the pursuit of this goal. According to Lola, “What’s so interesting about no-code and low-code is this “permissionlessness” that it enables. Even as a non-technical founder, you don’t have to have anybody’s say-so or permission. And that enables more folks to empower themselves and build solutions that are authentic to themselves.” If you want to dive deeper into the world of no-code, listen carefully to this conversation as Lola shares a long list of tools, educational platforms, and communities that you can use to further your no-code journey. Topics Discussed in This Episode: Lola shares insights into how she became involved with no-code platforms (03:58) An explanation of what no-code and low-code really mean (06:42) The type of projects that no code solutions could be used for (08:06) The skills and requirements needed to build no-code platforms (12:26) How LunchPail Labs assists businesses in creating no-code solutions (14:41) The downsides and limitations of no-code (18:31) Changes within the no-code space that are exciting Lola right now (23:34) The best no-code communities for beginners (26:26) The catalyst that inspired Lola to start her own business (28:10) The unique way that Lola approaches risk (33:20) Lola explains why she is so passionate about economic equity (37:43) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcast Empire Flippers Marketplace Lunch Pail Labs Shoutout Atlanta interview Webflow Zapier Airtable No Code Founders 100 Days of No Code  No Code Family No-Code Cheat Sheet Bubble GitHub CoPilot Makerpad On Deck No-Code Sit back, grab a coffee, and discover the many benefits of no-code and low-code solutions!

Many eCommerce sellers would argue that quality products are the key to success. This may be true, but if you don’t have enough products in stock, or are overstocked with products that aren’t selling, you will struggle to achieve the success you were hoping for.  For these reasons, Fabricio Miranda believes that inventory and supply chain optimization should a business's top priority. Fabricio is the CEO and co-founder of Flieber, a business that helps eCommerce sellers maximize sales through demand planning and inventory optimization. In this episode, Fabricio walks us through the most important aspects of a well-optimized supply chain and explains the importance of a holistic approach to inventory management. According to Fabricio, “Many retailers make the mistake of having a disconnected structure between inventory and sales. Sales teams operate blind to the future inventory impact of their actions, while inventory plays the catch-up game to keep up with what sales is doing. Every sale decision that you make has to be connected with the inventory impact of that decision.” We also discuss Fabricio’s past success as an FBA seller, including how he was able to make $10 million in sales in his first few years on Amazon. Fabricio sheds light on some of the biggest mistakes sellers make when scaling their businesses, and reveals the systems sellers can put in place to help them navigate changes in the eCommerce industry. If stock-outs are holding your business back from its full potential, then take a listen to Fabricio’s expert advice on how to solve your supply chain woes.  Topics Discussed in This Episode: Fabricio walks us through his entrepreneurial history and what he’s up to today (02:35) The secret to Fabricio’s early success as an Amazon seller (06:47) The gap in the supply chain market that inspired Fabricio to create Flieber (14:11) The consequences of poor inventory optimization (16:08) The core pillars of a well-optimized inventory and supply chain system (19:02) How eCommerce sellers can leverage real-time data to prevent future problems (24:16) The importance of a holistic approach to inventory management (27:17) The biggest mistakes sellers make when scaling their businesses (29:43) The systems sellers can put in place to navigate changes in the industry (31:33) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcast Empire Flippers Marketplace Flieber Anvyl Flexport  Convoy Deliverr Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to maximize your sales and profit margins through optimized inventory management.

With over 200 Google search engine ranking factors to take into consideration, it’s important to focus on the SEO strategies that will actually move the needle for your business.  Moon Hussain and Marie Ysais believe that on-site SEO will provide you with the best bang for your buck. Moon and Marie are the co-founders of Rule Your Rankings, an SEO agency that specializes in on-site and technical SEO to help website owners boost their rankings and reduce their reliance on backlinks. In this episode, Moon and Marie walk us through their 80/20 on-site and off-site SEO policy and reveal what they believe are the pillars of a good SEO strategy. We discuss the various reasons why a site may become ‘stuck” and the techniques Moon and Marie use to get these sites moving again.  The dynamic duo shares their predictions on where the SEO industry is headed and how business owners can future-proof their sites. They also shed some light on the biggest myths and misconceptions in SEO today, including false promises about instant results. According to Marie, “If you want to be successful in SEO, you need to learn how to be patient. The truth is, SEO doesn’t pay off in a week. It’s definitely a long-term strategy. Depending on how big your site is, it can take a few months to see results really kick in. Setting realistic timelines is key.” If you’re struggling to move up the rankings, or are spreading yourself thin with too many SEO techniques, then this is the episode for you. Topics Discussed in This Episode: How Moon and Marie ended working in the SEO industry (02:20) The story behind the creation of Rule Your Rankings (06:58) The philosophy behind Moon and Marie’s 80/20 approach to on-site SEO (10:20) The pillars of good on-site and technical SEO (13:40) The definition of a “stuck site” and the challenges these sites face (16:10) An example of a stuck site that Moon and Marie fixed (21:09) How Moon and Marie minimize the risk of being affected by algorithm updates (27:50) What good content building looks like with on-site optimization in mind (33:11) Moon and Marie reveal the biggest myths and misconceptions in SEO today (39:10) Moon and Marie’s predictions on where the SEO industry is headed (44:32) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcast Empire Flippers Marketplace Rule Your Rankings On-page.ai Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to climb the Google rankings using on-site SEO.

In order to be successful, eCommerce sellers need to have the ability to be flexible and pivot to meet new trends head-on.  In this episode, Kasey Luck explains how Shopify merchants can take advantage of the hype surrounding NFTs by minting and selling them through their Shopify stores. Kasey is the founder of Luck & Co, an agency that specializes in increasing eCommerce conversion and retention rates through SMS and email marketing. She also has a YouTube channel, where she teaches valuable industry advice, helping eCommerce sellers to boost their sales.  Kasey walks us through the various use-cases for NFTs in eCommerce, the risks and rewards of branching out into NFTs, and how the crossover between eCommerce and blockchain will affect the industry in the coming years.  We also discuss what drew Kasey to the eCommerce industry, and her passion for email and SMS marketing. She explains the power that these marketing channels can provide to business owners, and reveals the most common marketing mistakes she sees sellers make. According to Kasey, “When you start a new brand, the first thing that you should be thinking about and setting up is your traffic. If you don’t have traffic, you don't have anything else. It’s too soon to be focusing on things like email and SMS marketing if you don’t have any idea how you’re going to drive traffic to your site.” If you’re ready to step into the future of eCommerce and learn more about NFTs and the metaverse, then this is a conversation you don’t want to miss out on! Topics Discussed in This Episode: Kasey walks us through her entrepreneurial journey so far (03:28) Why Kasey decided to start her own marketing agency (06:30) Why working in the eCommerce industry really resonates with Kasey (09:26) The common marketing mistakes that trip eCommerce sellers up (13:36) Kasey explains what exactly an NFT is(18:51) How NFTs are crossing over into the eCommerce world (23:45) The fundamentals Shopify owners should have in place before launching NFTs (29:15) The biggest risks associated with selling NFTs on Shopify (32:01) The advantages available to sellers who get into the NFT game early on (33:37) The changes Kasey predicts in the eCommerce industry over the next few years (34:39) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcast Empire Flippers Marketplace Luck & Co ReallyGoodEmails.com Mailed.com Mailcharts.com Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to take your eCommerce business to the next level by minting and selling  NFTs through your Shopify store.

Successfully scaling your business is a great achievement, but as the size of your business grows, so does the importance of accurately tracking your financials.  Having learned the problems caused by disorganized bookkeeping the hard way, Nathan Hirsch set about co-creating EcomBalance, a service designed to simplify the way eCommerce businesses conduct their bookkeeping.  In this episode, Nathan sheds some light on the most important financial metrics to keep track of as an eCommerce seller as well as some of the biggest bookkeeping mistakes sellers make. According to Nathan, “If you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you can’t be in a position where your books are not caught up, you’re not receiving monthly reports, or you’re falling three months behind on your financials. You have to get that financial reporting system set up, and the time to do it is now, not when you’re going to sell your business.” We also dive into Nathan’s previous business FreeUp, a freelancer and virtual assistant sourcing platform. We discuss the challenges Nathan faced when scaling FreeUp, the secrets to hiring the right people for your business, and Nathan’s experience selling FreeUp for a whopping 8-figures.  As an added bonus, Nathan is offering 2 free months of bookkeeping to our podcast listeners! Simply go to the EcomBalance website and mention Empire Flippers or The Opportunity podcast to take advantage of this generous offer.  Listen in to this conversation if you want to learn how to master your financials to set your business up for future success. Topics Discussed in This Episode: Nathan walks us through his entrepreneurial journey so far (03:09) The unique gap in the market that Nathan addressed through FreeUp (07:45) The secrets to hiring the best person for the job (09:33) The challenges Nathan faced when scaling FreeUp (16:55) Nathan’s experience exiting FreeUp (19:15) The most important due diligence steps to follow when selling your business (21:27) Nathan’s secret to keeping his company’s books in order (24:53) The gap in the market that inspired Nathan to create EcomBalance(27:53) The crucial financial metrics to keep track of as an eCommerce seller (29:34) The biggest bookkeeping mistakes eCommerce sellers make (30:59) The key lessons Nathan has learned along his entrepreneurial journey (35:09) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcast Empire Flippers Marketplace EcomBalance FreeUp Outsource School A2X Accounting Quickbooks Xero Accounting ClickUp Sit back, grab a coffee, and listen to Nathan’s expert advice on how to stay on top of your financial reporting.

How do you turn a humble content site into a multi-platform, globally recognized brand? For Kevin Espiritu, the answer lay in producing human-focused, genuinely useful content instead of churning out articles for profit. Kevin is the founder of Epic Gardening, a gardening brand with a relatively simple mission: to teach 10,000,000 people around the world how to grow plants and food. What started as just a website, is now a multi-faceted content and eCommerce brand with millions of followers on social media.  In this episode, Kevin walks us through the things he wished he had known when he first started building his business, including outsourcing labor to free up valuable time. According to Kevin, “When it comes to growing your business, knowing where your time is most valuable as the founder is the most important thing. If you have the resources, what you should be doing is either automating, delegating, hiring, or deleting things that are not as valuable as your leveraged time.” We dive into the ins and outs of Kevin’s content creation strategy, discussing the techniques and approaches that helped him attract over 10 million readers to his website last year, and over 3 million followers on his various social media channels.  Kevin also shares some insights into the future of Epic Gardening, including how he plans to use the $17.5 million in growth capital he recently raised.  Kevin’s success story is a wonderful example of the merits of a human-focused, instead of profit-driven, business strategy. Listen in to learn how to grow your brand across multiple sales and social media platforms while maintaining a cohesive brand identity.  Topics Discussed in This Episode: Kevin shares how his entrepreneurial journey started and where he is today (02:22) The origins and inspiration behind Epic Gardening (06:25) The secret sauce behind Epic Gardening’s enduring success (08:45) How Kevin approaches creating content across various channels and platforms (16:25) The biggest setbacks and challenges Kevin faced while building Epic Gardening (22:46) How Kevin identified the right time to expand into eCommerce (27:41) Why and how Kevin raised $17.5 million in growth capital  (34:53) How Kevin plans to use this growth capital to scale Epic Gardening (38:07) Why websites make such a good investment vehicle (41:09) What Kevin would do differently if he had to start Epic Gardening all over again (43:06) Kevin’s dreams for the future of Epic Gardening (49:26) Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcast Empire Flippers Marketplace Epic Gardening Epic Homesteading   Authority Hacker Backlinko Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to successfully scale your business while remaining true to your brand identity.

One of the first lessons website owners learn is that content is the key to success. But how do you identify which topics and keywords to target to help your website gain authority? Finding the answer to this question is what Chima Mmeje, an experienced SEO copywriter and content strategist, does best. Through her company, Zenith Copy, she helps SaaS businesses rank for their target keywords and dominate the search results.  In this episode, Chima gives us the low-down on her favorite SEO content strategy - topic clusters. Topic clusters help website owners comprehensively cover their targeted topic, helping them to become an authority in their niche. Chima walks us through how to conduct research for a topic cluster, how to integrate backlinks into topic clusters and how long it takes to see measurable results from this strategy. She also discusses the power of high-quality content and the rewards of investing in a good content strategy. According to Chima, “Content can do more than just get your website to rank for a few keywords. Content can help you to build authority in the mind of your audience so that even when they're offline and are thinking of a problem, your brand name is the first thing that comes to mind.” Chima also walks us through the struggles she faced trying to break into the big leagues as a BIPOC content writer from Nigeria. She describes how the obstacles she overcame inspired her to create The Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries, an organization that provides free mentorship and training for BIPOC freelancers living in developing countries. If you’re tired of lackluster SEO results, listen in to this episode to learn how to create a comprehensive content strategy that’ll help you climb the SERPS and capture customer attention. Topics Discussed in This Episode: Chima guides us through her back story and entrepreneurial journey so far (02:07) Chima explains why not all traffic is created equally (09:20) The biggest challenges new domains face when trying to become established (10:53) The benefits of using topic clusters (13:55) The foundations you should have in place before implementing topic clusters (17:39) How to conduct research for a topic cluster (18:40) How to integrate backlinks into a topic cluster strategy (22:55) The common mistakes that entrepreneurs make when building topic clusters (25:02) How long do topic clusters take to start producing measurable results? (29:22) The challenges Chima faced when striking out on her own as a business owner (32:14) Chima explains why she started the Freelance Coalition for developing countries (34:12)  Mentions: Empire Flippers Podcast Empire Flippers Marketplace Zenith Copy The Freelance Coalition for Developing Countries  Ahrefs Semrush Sapphire SEO Market Muse Phrase Screaming Frog Sit back, grab a coffee, and learn how to drive significantly more traffic to your site through the use of topic clusters!