The Ecommerce Influence Podcast

The impending death of traditional retail has been predicted numerous times in recent past, but in 20 years of ecommerce in the US only two ecommerce companies of meaningful value have been created: Amazon and Ebay.

Ecommerce is no longer about throwing up a quick store and sourcing from Alibaba, hoping to ride the "ecommerce gravy train" to riches.

It’s about building a real business, a brand, that is going to last through the turbulence of an ever-changing internet and retail world and takes you into the next ecommerce world we’re heading into.

The problem is, "ECommerce Is A Bear"...a big gnarly one. One that can crush you.

Today's episode is a reading of an article by one of the smartest, most successful ecommerce brand owners, Andy Dunn of Bonobos.

In this episode he talks about four specific strategies to help you build a brand that can "fend off" the grizzly (a few of which we've been talking about a lot lately). It’s really a culmination, a summary, of what we’ve been teaching you over the past 70+ episodes of Ecommerce Influence.

"In two decades of e-commerce in the US, we have produced only two standalone e-commerce companies of meaningful enterprise value: Amazon and eBay. One went public in 1997, the other in 1998. We haven’t had an IPO of an e-commerce company that has gotten to a two billion of market cap in fifteen years, let alone double digit billions."

Links / Resources

Subscribe & Review

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe.

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!  

Follow on Twitter:

Direct download: EI071_eCommerce_is_a_Bear.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am CDT

We all understand that hiring great people is critical to your ecommerce success, yet too many businesses have a revolving door of unreliable and subpar freelancers. You can stop that revolving door today because we’re going to teach you how to hire fantastic and reliable freelancers for your ecommerce company in only 4 simple steps.

An essential part of any business is the team that you surround yourself with. In the world of online business, specifically ecommerce, we’re seeing too many companies taking shortcuts and not creating a team that will last.

We’ve spent years making mistakes when hiring freelancers on Elance and Odesk, but along the way we’ve developed a system that has helped us hire ONLY 'A' players...and it has made all the difference.

Key Takeaways from the Show

  • The 4 steps to hiring 'A' players on Elance.
  • The issues that commonly show up when hiring off of Elance.
  • Why this is so important for ecommerce companies.
  • We’ll cover the exact strategy we use to write an effective job description.
  • The results we’re seeing from implementing this system in our business.

Links / Resources

Subscribe & Review

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe by clicking on either one of the subscribe buttons below:

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!  

Follow on Twitter:

Direct download: EI070_Hiring_A_Players.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am CDT

Does confidence actually mean you’re reaching a plateau? Is that uncomfortable feeling really the best place to be in your life and in your business? In this conversation we talk about the difference between confidence and courage why you need one over the other to get you where you're trying to go.

We've come to a place in our business where we've had to make some tough decisions, decisions that can take us from a place we're very comfortable with to a place of discomfort but has the potential for massive growth.

We want to share with you the mindset shifts we've been going through and hopefully you'll come away with some ideas for you, personally, and your business.

If you like this new kind of episode make sure to let us know on Twitter or email us at chad [at] ecommerceinfluence.com

Key Takeaways from the Show

  • The shift we’re going through in our business and how it applies to yours.
  • What it takes to avoid creating another job for yourself.
  • The issues that lead us to realize we had to change, the same issues you could be going through.
  • The difference between confidence and courage and why one can stall your business and the other won't.
  • The 3 step formula for avoiding setbacks and taking your business to the next level.

Links / Resources

10x Talk Podcast - Entrepreneurial Addiction

Subscribe & Review

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe.

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!  

Follow on Twitter:

Direct download: EI069_Confidence_v_Courage.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am CDT

Every single day 40 Super Bowls happen on YouTube, yet only 1% of companies know the formula to success with TrueView ads. Video is the closest thing to having a face to face conversation with your potential buyer without being there, and this interaction is your ticket to free traffic, higher conversions, and increased value per conversion...oh, and to stealing customers from your competitors.

Jake Larsen’s passion for video-making lead him to TV Advertising in LA, where he worked behind the scenes with FOX Entertainment on TV shows like 24, American Idol and House.

It was here that he started to notice a massive change happening in video advertising.

People’s eyes and ears weren’t where they used to be, they were shifting from TV to Online Video.

Jake started Video Power Marketing, a video production / advertising agency that helps people capture attention, drive traffic and increase sales using YouTube Advertising.

He has played with millions of dollars of ad spend figuring out the formula that makes getting an ROI on your ad spend possible, and he's been able to create automated money-making machines where $1 of ad spend goes in, and $7 in sales come out.

With all of his success Google asked him to be a YouTube Marketing Ambassador, which is awarded to only 10 companies in the world.

Key Takeaways from the Show

  • The 2 types of TrueView ads, their differences, and which one is best
  • How to steal leads from your top competitors
  • The formula for getting free leads using TrueView ads
  • Why ultra competitive niches are where companies find the most success
  • The one question you need to ask when building your first ad

Links / Resources

VideoPower.org

Subscribe & Review

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe.

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!  

Follow on Twitter:

Direct download: EI068_Jake_Larsen.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am CDT

Have you ever wanted to take a just a week off from running your business? But you never take the time off because you're worried that you'll come back to a business ablaze with fires that stall your growth. Worry no more. Tim Francis is going to teach you how to develop systems that allow you to leave your business, sometimes completely detached, and come back to a company fully intact...and still growing strong.

Tim is an expert at developing systems that actually work.

In 2013, he began systemizing his main business, Tim Francis Marketing, and revenue grew by a staggering 50% in just 3 months, AND he cut his workload by about 20 – 25%...starting an incredible journey into mastering the art and science of building systems for businesses.

Realizing there was a huge need to help small business owners systemize their businesses, Tim decided to launch ProfitFactory.com in Fall 2014 to help other business owners create systems in their business to help them make more money while doing less.

We’ll walk through how to get started and how to decide which tasks to start eliminating, delegating, and automating...and why Tim says “You need to completely give up your email inbox!“

Key Takeaways from the Show

  • How to develop systems that start eliminating, delegating, and automating your business.
  • How to hire the right assistant you can trust.
  • The process to hire and onboard new team members.
  • Common problems with system sheets and process documents.
  • Understanding SRT and SCRUM for small businesses.

 

Links / Resources

Subscribe & Review

To get more awesome Ecommerce Influence content sent directly to your device and into your ears as they become available, you can easily subscribe.

Also, ratings and reviews on iTunes (hopefully 5-stars!) help us tremendously a we’re very grateful for them. We do read all of the reviews and we’ll answer your questions or comments on future episodes.

Cheers,

Austin & Chad!  

Follow on Twitter:

Direct download: EI067_Tim_Francis.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:00am CDT

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