In this episode, host Eric Bandholz reflects on his business and life at year-end.

He reviews what worked for Beardbrand in 2025, what didn't, what was painful, and what made it all worth it.

It's a reminder, he says, to take stock of our own priorities — how we allocate time, energy, attention — and whether they align with the life we're trying to build.

Longtime listeners know that 2023 and 2024 were extremely challenging for Eric personally and for Beardbrand. The good news is that the company became profitable again in 2025.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-2025

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

In "How to Leave the U.S.A.," the venerable New Yorker magazine recently addressed what many residents have apparently considered.

Yet Mikkel Thorup has lived outside of his native Canada for 25 years. He's visited 120 countries and resided in nine of them. His business, Expat Money, helps others do the same while protecting assets and lifestyle.

Why relocate overseas? What are the risks and the rewards? Mikkel addressed those questions and more in this episode.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/expat-money-ceo-on-moving-abroad

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts


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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Abir Syed is an accountant turned marketer turned chief financial officer. He says ecommerce marketing success largely depends on creative volume, and few merchants have exhausted any channel, much less Meta.

Abir is co-founder of UpCounting, an accounting and fractional CFO firm in Montréal, Canada. In this episode, he shares common financial mistakes of merchants, key metrics to monitor, and, yes, how to grow ecommerce ad revenue on Meta.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/cfo-brands-rarely-max-out-meta-ads

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts


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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Jeff Oxford is our go-to interview for ecommerce SEO. The founder of Oregon-based 180 Marketing, an agency, Jeff first appeared on the podcast in 2022 when he addressed SEO's "four buckets." We invited him back late last year to explain AI's impact on search traffic and how merchants can adapt.

In this our latest interview, he shared optimization tactics for ChatGPT, with a caveat: Google's AI Mode could eventually dominate.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/will-googles-ai-mode-dominate-chatgpt

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com

Chris Elrod is a renewable power entrepreneur. His company, Treaty Oak Clean Energy, builds massive solar projects that provide electricity for large corporations and utility firms.

It's boom times for electricity generators as the likes of Google, ChatGPT, and Amazon scramble for reliable sources.

How, exactly, does a company build a solar-generating plant and then sell the electricity to end users? Eric asked Chris those questions and more in this conversation.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/solar-power-developer-on-fueling-the-grid

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts


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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Seth Spears is a Colorado-based entrepreneur who once taught consumers how to make their own non-toxic personal care products. He says customers valued the results but not the actual production process. "They kept asking us for ready-made versions," he told me.

So he launched Wellnesse, a direct-to-consumer brand producing all-natural self-care goods, in 2020. Toothpaste quickly became the dominant item.

In our recent conversation, Seth shared the origins of Wellnesse, the demand for holistic oral care, marketing challenges, and more.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/natural-toothpaste-propels-wellnesse-com

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com

Kevlyn Walsh is a Denver-based art teacher turned entrepreneur. She launched Festive Gal, an Etsy shop, in 2019 after her handmade headband was a hit among Christmas party attendees.

Fast forward to 2025, and Festive Gal is thriving, selling custom gifts and party supplies. A new second site, Bake It Fancy, on Shopify, sells cooking accessories.

Amid the growth, Kevlyn manages employees, production, and, yes, Etsy constraints. She addresses those challenges and more with host Eric Bandholz.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/etsy-merchant-eyes-shopify-dual-brands

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Andy Gould co-founded Batch, a Wisconsin-based D2C cannabis brand, in 2018. He says the company struggled for years until it perfected content creation and advertising. “Once we dialed in our Meta ads and built a strong creative flywheel, everything took off,” he said.

Host Eric Bandholz first interviewed Andy and his two co-founders in 2023. 

In this latest conversation, Andy addresses video production, regulatory scrutiny, and “hockey stick” growth — from annual revenue of $5 million to $50 million in two years.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/batch-cannabis-scales-to-50-million

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webcasts. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

By late 2023 Aaron Powell had become disillusioned with Bunch Bikes, the electric cargo bicycle company he founded in 2017. Costs were rising, cash was scarce, and the supply chain was chaotic.

He contemplated chucking it all, selling the business, and moving his family to Europe from his base in Texas.

Then he reconsidered. Bunch Bikes had many positives, including a sense of purpose and meaning from improving customers' lives. So he stayed.

Aaron first appeared on the podcast two years ago. In this latest conversation, he addresses business uncertainty, resilience, and more.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/e-bike-founders-path-to-purpose

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com/

Few companies have done more for global prosperity than Alibaba.com. Launched famously in China by Jack Ma, a former school teacher, in 1999, the company now connects 200,000 suppliers with millions of retail merchants. Suppliers grow, retailers diversify, and consumers have more choice for less money.

Yet the B2B giant is not perfect. Language differences, intellectual property theft, and quality control can upend a supplier-buyer relationship.

Rah Mahtani is Alibaba.com's head of commercial strategy in the U.S. In this episode, he responds to those challenges, tariffs, and more.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com /alibaba-exec-on-suppliers-tariffs-ip

For all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts

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The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webcasts. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com