EP#19 - C*nt Empire - How Shitting on Trump's Face Built Elliott Hawkins' a Six Figure Income

In this episode we talk to Elliott Hawkins, the man who built a 6 figure e-commerce empire, adding a brutal twist to everyday items. 

Elliott started the Brutal Gift Company back in 2017 when he had a month off work. He explains how we discovered a gap in the market for balloons printed with rude slogans (rather than the usual nice messages) and immediately ordered 120,000 balloons!

Elliott's main sales channels are Amazon FBA and eBay, but he also discusses how and why he is manoeuvring his brand towards his own hosted eCommerce site. 

He talks about the steep learning curve his eCommerce journey was, but how the initial sales of the product gave him the confidence to keep going and keep improving his business methodology.

Originally naming his company Balloons Against Humanity, Elliott ran into some legal difficulties with a famous card brand with a similar name, before re branding to Brutal Balloon Company.

We discuss how using creativity can add huge value to a brand, by turning a commodity into a gift/luxury product; and why this is important to distinguish yourself in the market. Elliott discussed how you can change the value of everyday items by understanding the buying incentives of the customer, and making sure that the during the gifting process, both sides walk away happy. 

After having 12 months of reasonable sales, Elliott decided to quit his job to focus full time on his business, and talks about the struggles he went through before a big upsurge in sales from his Donald Trump "Dump on Trump" themed toilet paper.

Elliott talks about how he has been able to scale his business and product line, by using his previous market knowledge to estimate risk and order volume accordingly.

Finally, we consider the risks and benefits of selling on Amazon and what Elliot recommends to new sellers or people considering starting on Amazon.