Facebook is smarter than you, and your customers are better marketers. (Learnings from working at a fast-growing brand.) 

Today’s guest is our own Brand Growth Experts Marketing Manager, Lily Ackerly. 

We’re talking about Lily’s journey being one of the first employees at a fast-growing brand and what she’s learned from really teaching herself the ropes in eCommerce. 

Lily also has a lot of experience in customer support - and we’re going to give you some reasons why you should keep your marketing and customer support teams close and engaged with each other. 

You’re going to be hearing more from Lily on the podcast so this is your first opportunity to “meet” her and hear some of her ideas. 

Episode Highlights:

• 5:49 Lily’s start in eCommerce at a fast growing brand 
• 7:49 Team set up in the early days of a business 
• 8:45 Wholesale and the word of mouth benefits it gives 
• 9:47 Facebook in 2016
• 13:31 Learnings from Facebook ad account management 
• 14:57 Keeping advertising (and reporting on it) simple 
• 17:55 Culture first when growing a team 
• 19:03 The importance of customer support & connecting it to marketing 
• 19:58 Advice to get out of the customer support weeds 
• 24:12 Why having a creative design team is more important than ever 
• 28:23 What a successful agency partnership looks like 
• 32:44 The importance of connecting with other eComm people and why it’s better than books
• If you’re interested in connecting with other eComm owners check out our Brand Growth Accelerator
• 34:20 Advice from Lily: keep it simple 
• 35:24 Campaign and promotion tips 

Resources:

• The Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022)
• The Brand Growth Membership
• @a_brawn on Twitter
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

How do you sell a product that no one understands until they try it? With smart marketing, positioning, packaging, and a solid mix of DTC to big box sales. 

John Pinto founder of BoomBoom Naturals (all-natural nasal sticks) and he's been a friend of mine for over 10 years, we met and got our start together working at our first job out of college. 

In this episode, we talk about John’s journey with BoomBoom, what he’s learned in DTC and acquiring over 500,000 customers through Facebook and online marketing, and his recent (and very successful) shift from DTC to big box stores.

We also talked about life balance, being an entrepreneur with kids and what that looks like. John's one of the most balanced people that I know and he shares some of his ideas and hacks around how he's been able to keep that going while building a large and fast-growing company.

Episode Highlights:

• 5:47 How John and Austin met 
• 7:05 Johns eCommerce venture 
• 11:52 When Jordan Belfort endorses your product 
• 13:33 Selling a product that’s in a new category 
• 17:25 Shifting from DTC to big box stores and why
• 21:12 What goes into pursuing a relationship with big box stores 
• 27:09 In-store marketing strategy 
• 33:36 Going deep in one geographic area and then replicating what works elsewhere
• 34:27 How John prioritizes things that matter outside of work 
• 45:40 Personal growth leading to business success
• 57:01 What the Shark Tank experience is like 

Resources:

• BoomBoom Naturals 
• BoomBoom on Shark Tank
• Book: The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
• Book: Breath by James Nestor
• The Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022)
• The Brand Growth Membership
• @a_brawn on Twitter
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

Get out from under never-ending to-do lists, delegate and build a business with happier employees, customers, and profit. 

Cameron Herold was the CEO of 1-800-Junk, which he grew from 2 million to well over 100 million. He now has a company called the CEO Alliance where he helps second in command up their game and be more successful. 

He's also the author of 5 books, including Vivid Vision, which lays the foundation for building a vivid vision in 3-year segments for your business and life.

There’s a ton of insight to gain from Cameron and we discuss getting clear on your priorities, traveling while running a business, having kids and still being an entrepreneur, and strategy for how to delegate, manage, hire and train your team.

Episode Highlights:

• 5:26 Traveling to Antarctica with a group of CEO’s
• 8:31 Creating a larger vision for life and work and how Cameron came to practice and teach this
• 11:25 How to have a successful CEO and COO relationship to be successful
• 13:11 Cameron’s experience in a CEO / COO relationship
• 14:52 Hiring talent when experiencing rapid growth 
• 17:21 Training & “passing information” from entrepreneur to leadership team 
• 21:53 System lesson’s from franchisors for all business owners 
• 25:41 Filling the model for setting goals 
• 27:24 Why employee happiness should come before customer happiness
• 29:31 What motivates Cameron & how he stays motivated
• 30:42 Cameron’s personal vivid vision for the last 3 years 
• 32:42 Building a global lifestyle 
• 40:54 Making decisions for life and career and how it changes over a lifetime 
• 42:35 How to adjust when things don’t go according to your vision 
• 46:45 Being an entrepreneur and having a family 
• 47:42 Delegation strategy and why leaders should be at the bottom of the org chart 

Resources:

• Investinyourleaders.com
• Cameronherold.com
• Book: How to Run Away From Home: And Bring Your Family With You by Adam Dailey
• Book: Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold 
• Book: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredibly Voyage by Alfred Lansing 
• The Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022)
• The Brand Growth Membership
• @a_brawn on Twitter
• Review or subscribe on iTunes

It’s been a wild wave in ecommerce when we look at where the industry started to where the opportunities are today. My guest today reflects on what's he's learned at 15 years in ecommerce and what's coming in ecommerce in 2022.

Drew Sanocki was the CEO of the eCommerce brand AutoAnything, the founder of the blog nerdmarketing.com and the owner of the Shopify direct marketing app PostPilot.

He has his hands in a lot of key areas in eCommerce and has been in the game for about 15 years. 

In this episode, Drew shares his well-rounded journey from buying out, being the CEO, and acquiring a bunch of companies. We talk about what it's like to run a $100 million retailer and what it’s like to run a small brand and scale up to 7-figures. 

This episode has a ton of information on what’s been working in eComm, where things have started to shift and we end with where we think this wild ride is going for eCommerce in 2022.

Episode Highlights

• 5:40 Secrets to turning 50 and being in the best shape of life 
• 7:10 Taking over as the CEO of AutoAnything 
• 8:25 Transitioning after exiting to an eCommerce aggregator 
• 9:16 Biggest learnings from taking over a 200+ person organization 
• 10:47 Acquisitions: why some work and some don’t 
• 12:45 Exiting early due to supply chain issues 
• 18:51 Drew’s thoughts on supply chain challenges and issues 
• 22:14 Growing as a leader by running both big and small businesses 
• 23:45 What daily life looks like when being more strategic in the business 
• 25:26 Drew’s role at PostPilot: postcard marketing 
• 26:26 Hiring a CEO 
• 27:36 Tips on structuring deals 
• 30:40 What Drew’s excited about in eCommerce in 2022 
• 33:07 The time is right for direct mail marketing 
• 37:14 Differences between running a SaaS business and an eCommerce business
• 39:31 Hiring developers 
• 41:10 Advice from Drew’s business experience: iterate quickly
• 44:08 The last 15 years of eCommerce and what’s next for eCommerce in 2022

Resources:

• PostPilot
• How to Increase Sales & Delight Customers with Direct Mail Marketing: Drew’s Training Inside the Brand Growth Membership
• Brand Growth Accelerator (apply today: next cohort starts Feb 15, 2022)
• Brand Growth Membership
• @a_brawn on Twitter
• Review or subscribe on iTunes