The Quarter

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped
Learn more about franchising Blank Mason here: https://blankmasonfranchise.com/
Blank Mason store: https://www.blankmason.com
Full Blank Mason Deep Dive: www.joinstation.co/blog/blankmason

These days, to run a business that provides experiences, you have to make it Instagram-worthy - something people want to share.

For Sara Jennetten and Blank Mason, they didn't just make candle making a great experience, they built a business that was Instagram-worthy from Day One.

Here's the catch though: Blank Mason only has 4,500 Instagram followers and 400 on TikTok. So how are they driving business from these platforms? Well, let's dive into Sara's story and how she bootstrapped Blank Mason to over $250,000 in annual revenue in just 6 months.

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped

For the past 6 months, I've been creating deep dives on how bootstrapped businesses grow from $0 to $250k. While I started noticing patterns, I wanted data to validate these gut feelings.

So I spent months digging deeper - analyzing my deep dives, listening to podcasts with bootstrapped founders, and studying "build in public" posts. The result? Research on 64 founders (56 businesses) that reveals who they are, what they built, and exactly how they built it.

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped
Chris & Sara: https://www.chrisandsara.com
Full deep dive: https://www.joinstation.co/blog/chrisandsara

It's not too often someone tries to recreate MTV's Cribs with their van and gets over 1 million views overnight. Yet, that's exactly what Chris & Sara Pochiba did.

Here's the thing though - there's a lot more to Chris & Sara's story than just a viral YouTube video. Getting 5 million views on that first video is incredible, but it also created an interesting challenge: how do you actually build a sustainable business from a viral video on YouTube?

That's exactly what I wanted to know when I sat down to chat with Chris & Sara about their journey to building a $200k+ business around their YouTube channel.

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped
Duett: https://duett.co
Happy Subscribers: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Y2y92bQE59MwWkU6JATYc?si=baf73e58d22f4ec3

If I told you someone could create a $12,000 proposal in 8 minutes and get it signed that same day, would you believe me?

That's exactly what Allea Grummert, founder of [Duett](https://duett.co), does regularly as part of her email marketing and copywriting agency for bloggers.

But having the ability to close five-figure deals this quickly didn't happen overnight.

It took a $5,000 investment in an incubator program, creating one perfect productized service, and valuing long-term relationships over short-term gains.

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped
Written Deep Dive: https://www.joinstation.co/blog/autods
Lior's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liorpozin/
Lior's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liorpozin/
AutoDS: https://www.autods.com

In 2016, Lior Pozin emailed his list and said he was going to create 100 videos in 100 days all on the topic of dropshipping. All because no YouTuber would talk about his all-in-one dropshipping platform, AutoDS.

There's a lot more to AutoDS's story and growth than just YouTube videos and thankfully, I had the opportunity to chat with Lior about his journey with AutoDS.

We talked about how he started AutoDS as an internal software tool to start, how it becoming the "secret" dropshipping tool was key to growth, and how they were recently acquired by Fiverr.

To understand the full story of AutoDS, let's start at Lior's journey of becoming a dropshipper.

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped
Learn more about Kendall & The Candid Collective: https://candidcollective.co

Most founders who have built a services business will tell you referrals are the lifeblood of their business. But Kendall Cherry believes referrals are actually holding entrepreneurs back.

It's a bold stance, especially considering she's built The Candid Collective into a $20,000/month ghostwriting business. Even more surprising? She did it with just 572 email subscribers.

Kendall didn't figure this out right away though. It took four different versions of The Candid Collective before she found what actually worked.

Let's dive into how Kendall turned her writing talent into a thriving business, and why she believes the traditional "referrals-first" approach is broken.

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped
SpringGR: https://www.springgr.com

Sometimes the best thing an entrepreneur can do is choose themselves over their business.

That's exactly what Jermale Eddie did when he made the difficult decision to close Malamiah Juice Bar, a successful Grand Rapids juice bar that he had built from zero to $250,000 in annual revenue in just two and a half years.

Let's dive into how Jermale built Malamiah Juice Bar and the growth strategies that led to its success, even though the business eventually closed its doors.

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped
Weekly Newsletter: https://pages.matthewgira.com/youtube
Full written deep dive: https://www.joinstation.co/blog/insightlimeanalytics

Insight Lime Analytics: https://www.insightlimeanalytics.com
MaryBeth's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marybethmaskovas/

"You have no business being employed.” That’s what MaryBeth Maskovas’ future business coach told her the first time she met MaryBeth, the founder of [Insight Lime Analytics](https://www.insightlimeanalytics.com). 

Insight Lime Analytics is an agency that helps companies with their data strategy. In other words, they help companies measure the right data and then understand what that data is actually telling them. As you may have noticed in that opening quote, starting this agency was a bit of an accident for MaryBeth. It began as a small side hustle that grew to over $3,000 in monthly revenue. By year three, they had made over $1 million in annual revenue.

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped
Full deep dive here: https://www.joinstation.co/blog/fearlesscommunicators

Fearless Communicators: https://www.fearlesscommunicators.com
Eduardo Placer: https://eduardoplacer.com
Blue Ocean Strategy: https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/what-is-blue-ocean-strategy/

Artists often find it challenging to build businesses, as trading their time or skills for money doesn't come naturally to many of them. They prefer to focus on perfecting their craft rather than worrying about its financial viability. Society can also undervalue or underestimate an artist's earning potential.

Yet, artists bring a wealth of entrepreneurial skills to the table. They naturally create content (marketing), constantly pitch their work to shows (selling), and possess a great deal of grit (as they face frequent rejections or critiques).

Eduardo Placer, the founder of Fearless Communicators, exemplifies this transition from artist to entrepreneur. With a 15-year acting career under his belt, Eduardo has successfully leveraged his skills, experiences, and unique story to build a public speaking coaching business that is distinctly his own.
Through Fearless Communicators, Eduardo has elevated people poised to make the biggest difference, all while building a business with over $700k in annual revenue. 

Who said you couldn’t make good money by being an artist and a social entrepreneur?

Download the Bootstrapped Report: https://www.joinstation.co/bootstrapped
Read the full deep dive here: www.joinstation.co/blog/amyporterfield

Amy Porterfield: https://www.amyporterfield.com
Two Weeks Notice: https://twoweeksnoticebook.com
Circle's Podcast with Amy Porterfield: https://youtu.be/1p90ADBWUGg?si=DPHUcbSWOwsavtv3
Buffer Blog Post: https://buffer.com/resources/law-of-the-double-peak/
Email Marketing ROI: https://www.emailmonday.com/dma-national-client-email-report-2015/

Amy Porterfield has become the queen of online marketing. She’s the host of one of the top marketing podcasts, Online Marketing Made Easy, and has made over $100 million in total revenue since starting her business in 2009. 

I had the privilege of seeing Amy speak at ConvertKit’s Craft & Commerce event in 2023 and was given her new book, Two Weeks Notice. When I picked it up, I just took it as “Oh, another business book” and after reading it, that just wasn’t true. It was part motivational but also highly tactical for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs. 

It also led me to this deep dive. How did Amy Porterfield get her first $250k in annual revenue? 

She discusses it briefly in her book, but not as much as I was hoping for. 

Thankfully, I was able to read, watch, and listen to a lot of Amy’s content and interviews to learn how she earned her first $250k in annual revenue.