#117 JB Kellogg: These Tips Have Helped Over 20,000 Small Businesses Grow
Hello Budai Nation!
Today’s episode of The Ecom Show is for all the small business owners out there.
Running a small business is not an easy task; there are always 360 different things you need to do and 360 different directions you’re being pulled in. Which is why, we’ve got the co-founder of Marketing 360 here to give us his expert advice on helping small businesses scale.
JB Kellogg is the Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Madwire, a tech company that’s helped over 20,000 SMBs grow with this singular tech platform called Marketing 360. He founded Madwire when he was just 28 years old.
In this episode, JB Kellogg and our founder and CEO, Daniel Budai, will share business tips, real-life success stories, and learning experiences.
So, tune in and learn more about:
✅ JB Kellogg’s Entrepreneurial Journey
✅ #1 Advice For Small Business Owners
✅ The Most Unique Thing About Madwire’s Company Culture
✅ One Mistake Every Small Business Should Avoid
Before we jump right in, we’d like to give a quick shout-out to Raj, the CEO of Bloomreach. He also runs a tech platform that helps small businesses grow. Make sure to check out episode 62 of The Ecom Show for some additional tips on scaling a small business.
Let’s dig in.
JB Kellogg’s Entrepreneurial Journey
Like every good success story, JB Kellogg’s journey starts with a humble beginning. As a young college student with some extra time on his hands, JB Kellogg was on the lookout for new learning opportunities. This is what drove him to approach a travel magazine asking for a job opportunity.
The magazine needed a website, so JB Kellogg jumped at the opportunity and taught himself everything he needed to know to build a website. This is where he got his first taste of working in the digital world. He continued learning more about digital marketing and running ads and finally took a gamble by starting Madwire.
In 2009, JB Kellogg teamed up with his father to start Madwire. A tech company that offered businesses help to grow. He founded Madwire when he was 28 years old and helped grow the company to a run-rate of over 100M+ in revenue and 500+ employees in under 10 years.
Madwire is technically really one company, but they have a number of brands. Marketing 360 is their biggest brand, which enables small businesses to set up an account that takes care of all their business needs under one umbrella. They can have everything from managing their leads and customers with the CRM to sending emails to managing social media and beyond, so everything they need to manage and grow their business can be done through one login.
However, a lot of these small businesses don't have time to do their own marketing or the resources to keep hiring experts to help them figure it out. This is why Madwire also offers additional services where businesses can hire expert consultants to help them with executing projects as well.
#1 Advice For Small Business Owners
We asked JB Kellogg what’s the number one advice he would give to small business owners in 2022. Here’s what he had to share:
“I think the most important thing to think about is, what is the world going to look like in the next two to three years for your particular industry. And, you know, put a lot of thought and counsel into that, you know, get feedback from other people and then try to develop, you know, your vision for the next three years.”
Once you’ve figured that out, you need to reverse engineer your way to build a strategy that helps you reach your mission. Basically, businesses need to figure out how their industry will evolve and find ways to adapt to these changes.
This involves researching and adopting new systems and processes to help you achieve your goals. So if you’re in e-commerce, you need to ask yourself, what are the new platforms or processes I can work on to improve my payment process? Or, how can I use AI to provide my customers with a better experience?
This is essential because if you’re not thinking of the future, you will get passed up.
The Most Unique Thing About Madwire’s Company Culture
Building a business with over 500+ employees teaches a man a thing or two about hiring and people management. We asked JB Kellogg to share the most unique thing that’s helped him create an inclusive and positive work culture at Madwire.
Here’s what he said:
“Madwire has always lived by the motto, execution excellence. And what this means is that you don't, you know, try to make the same mistake twice; it doesn't mean that you're perfect. But it means that you're constantly trying to get better. And it also means you step outside of that job description.”
So, if there's a piece of trash in the hallway, when you're walking down the hall, pick it up, if the sink is messy, clean it up, if your neighbor's phone's ringing, answer it, and don't let it go to voicemail just because it’s out of the job description. Execution excellence basically fights the mindset that convinces employees to be married to their job descriptions.
In the early days, Madwire didn't even have job descriptions! Everybody's description was the same, which was execution excellence with whatever is put before you. The idea was to hire people that are able to pivot and help the company scale with the same growth-minded attitude.
One Mistake Every Small Business Should Avoid
Every business owner goes through tough phases that teach them valuable lessons in the journey of entrepreneurship. JB Kellogg shared that the hardest thing that he learned was the realization of when to let people go.
Firing people is never easy, especially when you’re new to building a team. You want to give people enough opportunities, but it’s important to realize the cost of these opportunities. Give your team members an opportunity, coach them, and give them everything you can.
But also look at their attitude, effort, and performance. If a team member's performance is weak, but their attitude and effort are strong, keep them on a long leash and let them learn and improve.
It’s always better to have a team member with the right kind of attitude than a well-performing team member with a poor work attitude. It’s best to let employees go when you notice a poor work attitude that matches a lack of interest in their overall job.
These were some of the most interesting highlights from today’s episode of The Ecom Show.
Thanks for tuning in!
See you again next Thursday.
Click on the links below to follow and learn more about JB Kellogg and his venture Madwire:
Madwire
JB Kellogg’s LinkedIN
JB Kellogg’s Website
JB Kellogg’s Youtube
Click on the links below to follow and learn more about Daniel Budai:
Daniel’s Youtube
Daniel's LinkedIn
Daniel's Facebook
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The Ecom Show
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