Ecommerce Conversations

Jacob Posel is a software engineer with Common Thread Collective, the ecommerce agency. He focuses on strategies for integrating artificial intelligence into a business. The best use, he says, is to streamline operational processes, those that might otherwise go to virtual assistants or inexpensive labor.

In this episode, he addresses AI versus human creativity, commercial uses, image generation, cost, and more.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6tke

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

Listener reviews of Ecommerce Conversations elevate visibility and help others experience the lessons of online entrepreneurs. We invite you to leave a review on this channel.   

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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 

David Heinemeier Hansson is the creator of the Ruby on Rails software framework, the co-founder of Basecamp, an investor in multiple tech startups, a race car driver, and a family man with children. He's a modern-day polymath.

Yet his workday calendar is not full of appointments and meetings. He abhors managing employees and attending meetings. His is a maker's schedule, he says, with much uninterrupted time dedicated to solving problems he cares about.

In this episode, Heinemeier Hansson addresses the rise of Rails, Basecamp, and, yes, time management.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6teG

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

Listener reviews of Ecommerce Conversations elevate visibility and help others experience the lessons of online entrepreneurs. We invite you to leave a review on this channel.   

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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 

Resilience comes to mind when describing Hunter Durham. In eight years, he went from a college graduate to a Facebook employee to a company owner to bankruptcy.

Fortunately, he’s willing to share his experience in this episode. It’s a helpful case study on borrowing money, riding an ecommerce boom, and relying on a single client.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6taN

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

Listener reviews of Ecommerce Conversations elevate visibility and help others experience the lessons of online entrepreneurs. We invite you to leave a review on this channel.   

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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 

Nathan Chan seemingly had it all. His business, Foundr, is hugely successful, combining media with entrepreneurship training. He interacts with prominent global founders. Then came burnout. "I experienced burnout earlier this year for the first time ever," he told me. "It wasn't good. I realized I had just ground myself out."

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?4nn3

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

Listener reviews of Ecommerce Conversations elevate visibility and help others experience the lessons of online entrepreneurs. We invite you to leave a review on this channel.   


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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 

Lauren Johnson says high-performing entrepreneurs have similar characteristics as professional athletes. Both have mental traits that lead to inevitable success.

She first observed those qualities when working for the New York Yankees, teaching mental performance to accomplished baseball players.

For an edited and condensed transcript of this episode with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?4OlJ

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

Listener reviews of Ecommerce Conversations elevate visibility and help others experience the lessons of online entrepreneurs. We invite you to leave a review on this channel.   

******

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 

Katrina McKinnon owns CopySmiths, a global blog-writing agency for ecommerce companies. Once wary of artificial intelligence-powered writing tools, she now embraces them. Moreover, she sees a coming sea change where storytellers — liberal arts folks — are the AI "prompt engineers" that drive much of marketing.

She discusses the evolution of her business, working with Kenya-based writers, and the benefits and opportunities of AI tools.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6nbi

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. http://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Mike Tecku first appeared on this podcast in 2019 as an Amazon marketplace seller. He then sold that business, a maker of floormats, shortly afterward. He retired, became bored, and in 2022 launched Momentum, a direct-to-consumer nutritional shake producer. He and I discussed that venture last year in his second appearance.

He's back. Momentum Shake is flourishing, as is Tecku. He's evolved from the nuts and bolts of making money to achieving a purpose, building a team, and self-improvement. "If I'm not growing, I'm dying," he told me.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6qRe

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

Listener reviews of Ecommerce Conversations elevate visibility and help others experience the lessons of online entrepreneurs. We invite you to leave a review on this channel if you're so moved.   


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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. http://www.practicalecommerce.com 

Eric Bandholz hosts "Ecommerce Conversations" while running Beardbrand, his direct-to-consumer provider of men's grooming supplies. Periodically he diverts an episode to share the details of his business, hoping it helps others.

He's done that three times in the last year, a challenging period for many ecommerce companies, including his own. He's addressed Beardbrand's initial sales decline, plans for recovery, and, most recently, a year-end recap.

In this episode, he shares Beardbrand's recent changes to persevere for better times.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6sOC

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

Listener reviews of Ecommerce Conversations elevate visibility and help others experience the lessons of online entrepreneurs. We invite you to leave a review on this channel.   


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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 

Braxton Manley first appeared on the podcast in 2021. As a college student, he had launched Braxley Bands, a maker of Apple Watch bands. Last year he returned with an update on that business after operational and sales challenges.

He's back, having launched his latest company, Mystic, a direct-to-consumer maker of health-focused chewing gum. In this episode, he shares the origins of Mystic, marketing plans, early successes, and more.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6sJy

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

Listener reviews of Ecommerce Conversations elevate visibility and help others experience the lessons of online entrepreneurs. We invite you to leave a review on this channel.   

******
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 

The reality of post-pandemic ecommerce has been tough for many direct-to-consumer merchants. Take Molson Hart. His company, Viahart, makes innovative educational toys and sells them on Amazon, Walmart, and other marketplaces.

The last two years have been challenging for Viahart. What worked before and during Covid doesn't apply now, Hart says.

Host Eric Bandholz shares those sentiments, as Beardbrand, his firm, has similar struggles.

This is Hart's second appearance on the podcast. In this episode, he addresses surviving the downtimes, TikTok successes, and the importance of persistence and optimism.

For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://pec-ly.com/?6sDJ

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

Listener reviews of Ecommerce Conversations elevate visibility and help others experience the lessons of online entrepreneurs. We invite you to leave a review on this channel.   

******
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