2X eCommerce Podcast

Allen Brouwer’s story is nothing short of remarkable. In just 24 months he launched an ecommerce business, alongside co-founder Cathryn Lavery, which included a Kickstarter campaign that raised in excess of $322,000 in 24 days. Since then it has gone on to become an 8 figure company, winning the acclaimed Shopify Build a Business Competition in 2016 and the Shopify Build a Bigger Business in 2017.

He’s been personally mentored by the likes of Tony Robbins, Tim Ferris, Marie Foleo and Russell Simmons. In addition, he’s partnered with FUBU clothing founder and global entrepreneur superstar, Daymond John. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s also made it onto the Forbes 30 under 30 list for retail and commerce.

Today he’s telling his inspirational story and sharing some key insights into how he was able to rapidly scale his business.

“When we try to make things complicated, we fail”

 

Links:

• Allen's official site: allenbrouwer.com
• Best Self Co: bestself.co

 

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SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep the momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbf for more.

 

 

 

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On this episode, I am joined by Marie Haynes, an SEO expert that specialises in Google Penalty Recovery and Algorithm Consultation.  We talk about eCommerce SEO!

As you may be aware, a LOT has changed in the world of SEO, particularly in the world of online retail. 

Remember when links were the holy grail of SEO and then Google went aggressive on rightfully curtailing link building spam?

Now more recently, with the aid of artificial intelligence and machine learning patterns, Google has layered in E-A-T, yes E-A-T, which means that Google is now looking at website's (or shall I say, a business') Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. 

This concept is discussed in great detail in Google’s Quality Raters’ Guidelines and it likely is a huge ranking factor for many sites.

If you sell online and rely on SEO traffic from non-brand name searches, LISTEN to this EPISODE - it is important! 

Marie Haynes is my go-to E-A-T expert. Read more about her in-depth analysis of the concept here:

https://www.mariehaynes.com/eat/

 

 

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SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep the momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbf for more.

 

 

 

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On today's episode, we talk with Gabby Slome, the CEO of Ollie, a New York-based subscription service dedicated to delivering the healthiest food for dogs.

It launched in 2015, raising $17 million in funding in its first two years and is an 8-figure in revenue business at the time of this interview.

We talk about how Ollie's founders, Randy Jimenez, Alex Douzet and Gabby Slome got it off the ground, raised funding and the growth strategies. 

 

 

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SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep the momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbf for more.

 

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Trey's entrepreneurial journey took off in 2012 after working several years at the job he thought he wanted. He quickly shifted from working for someone else to become an entrepreneur when he was inspired by a successful businessman to create his own wealth.

The success in his sales career made him passionate about teaching others how to achieve their definition of success, and his own coaching business, the Trey Lewellen Mastermind, was born.

Trey shares lessons, tips, and tricks based on his own ecommerce experience with his members on how to build their own long-term, sustainable online businesses.

 

 

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SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep the momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbf for more.

 

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On today's episode, we talk with Gene Caballero, the CEO and co-founder of GreenPal which has been described as the 'Uber for lawn care.'  In 2015, GreenPal was started without any technical or online business experience. They now operate in 2 states and over 50 major markets.

2018 GreenPal Rev-$15m Growth YoY-200%

 

 

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SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep the momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbf for more.

 

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On this episode, I cover the five core tenets of Amazon's success. This is actually based on an interview with Jeff Bezos' in 1999. Here is the video: https://youtu.be/GltlJO56S1g

At the time he said that he believed that Amazon's long-term success relied on focusing obsessively enough on:

1. Customer experience
2. Product selection
3. Ease of use - Digital and Physical User Experiences
4. Low prices
5. More information to make purchase decisions

"If there's one thing Amazon.com is about, its obsessive attention to the customer experience"

"What matters to me is do we provide the best customer service" 

"internet from smitchernet"

"In the long term, there is never any misalignment between customer interests and shareholder interests"

 

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SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep the momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbf for more.

 

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On this episode, you are going to learn about the mechanics of a successful subscription commerce business from a CEO of a fast-growth digital native consumer brand in the super-niche human-grade pet food category that is doing multiple-7 figures in just 2 years of business!

PetPlate makes it easy for pet parents to nourish their pets with love by delivering freshly-cooked meals made from wholesome ingredients that do not contain any by-products, rendered meats or preservatives. 

The meals are designed by a veterinary nutritionist for optimal nutritional balance, cooked by our talented chefs, and are pre-portioned and ready to serve. 

The company have been in business for 2 years and is currently pulling multiple 7-figures. It offers a convenient subscription service that automatically ships meals directly to the consumer on a regular basis.

 

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SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep the momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbffor more.

 

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On this episode, we talk about the next obvious step to take after finding a successful product from drop shipping testing. How to your transition from the limitations of the drop shipping business model?

I am joined by the founder of an Idaho based fulfilment company called DollarFulfilment, which largely caters to businesses that were previous drop shippers but now looking for more reliable domestic and international fulfilment.

Here’s a summary of some important talking points over the call.

• The most efficient way to transition your dropshipping is to choose the right products.
• For low margin products, source products that weight less than 1lb and not too big - this ensures freight shipping.
• For higher margin products, you are able to source for heavier products but be careful about volume
• Air freight is the most efficient way of getting your products out of China - it will take 3-5 days to clear and arrive the US
• Shipping if done properly will typically take 3 weeks to clear and deliver to a U.S. warehouse
• Majority of DollarFulfilment’s clients are either recovering dropshippers
• DollarFulfilment’s clients also use drop shipping to test products and then transition as quickly as possible to fulfilling domestically
• 25% of DollarFulfilment’s fulfilment are international
• DollarFulfilment charges a flat rate $1 fee for fulfilling products for ecommerce businesses.

 

 

-----------

SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep the momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbffor more.

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1: Do not track Link Clicks - Use Outbound Links Instead.   DEFINITIONS Link Clicks: The number of clicks on links within the ad that led to destinations or experiences, on or off Facebook.  For ads promoting Instagram profile views, link clicks include clicks on the ad header or comments that led to the advertiser's profile.   Outbound Clicks: The metric outbound clicks measure the number of clicks leading people off Facebook-owned properties, while link clicks show clicks to destinations on or off Facebook-owned properties.  If you're using an ad format that opens into a full-screen experience, such as collection or Canvas, outbound clicks may provide more insight to the performance of your ads.   Unique Outbound Clicks   Website View Content: The number of view content events tracked by the pixel on your website and attributed to your ads.     2: Website View Content to Outbound Clicks Ratio Super Health 7:1 Healthy 5:1 OK 3:1 Less check product, user experience, engagement onsite        3: Track Micro-Conversions not only Purchase / ATC / IC Less check product, user experience, engagement onsite   

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SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep the momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbffor more.

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On this episode, we interview the Founder of LiveGlam a beauty and make-up subscription box business that has rapidly grown to a $20M business in just 3 years by using Influencers, Referral and Affiliate Programs. A great conversation….do stay tuned!

In LiveGlam's first year of business, Dhar's team grew revenue from $600 to $8 million! At the time of this interview, Dhar runs his business from his apartment. Live Glam now creates their own products, and since 2016 has gone from $8 million in revenue to $20 million this year!

Dhar has a personal following of over 588K followers on Instagram and 218K on Facebook and has successfully built beauty brand LiveGlam into a subscription box service with over $20 million in revenue. 

LiveGlam also has its own impressive social media following of 1.2M on Instagram and 112K on Facebook.   Dhar shares his incredible story and provides insights into what it takes to rapidly grow an ecommerce business.

 

 

 

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SPONSORS:

This episode is brought to you by:

Klaviyo 

If you’re looking to grow your business there is only one way—by building real, quality, customer relationships. Most marketing software will claim they do this, but will never deliver on their promises. You need to demand more from your marketing software that’s where Klaviyo comes in. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, allowing you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages.   That’s why 10,000 innovative brands have switched to Klaviyo. What’s their secret to building customer relationships? Tune into Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday docu-series to find out and unlock marketing strategies you can use to keep momentum going year-round. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/beyondbffor more.

★ Support this podcast ★