What's Working in Ecommerce

In this episode of "What's Working in E-commerce," Eagan Heath interviews Matt Putra, a fractional CFO for e-commerce companies. 

Matt shows how to measure and manage your cash flow using a calculator he created. He also shares ideas for ways to improve your cash flow and what to do with that additional cash.

You can find Matt's Cash Flow Calculator here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Tx1hhAFBGOxYHHBPpbWR-BkOeL0PtDd8LHtLirje3CA/edit?usp=sharing 

For help with paid social, paid search, or email automation, check out Eagan's agency here: https://www.caravandigital.com/  

You can find Matt at: https://www.eightx.co/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattputra/  [email protected] 

Timestamps Title [00:00:08] Introduction and guest speaker introduction. This topic covers the introduction of the podcast episode and the introduction of the guest speaker, Matt Putra.

Title [00:00:39] Importance of cash flow in e-commerce. This topic discusses the significance of cash flow in direct-to-consumer e-commerce companies and the challenges they face due to upfront costs.

Title [00:02:30] Managing cash flow and inventory. This topic explores the importance of managing cash flow in relation to inventory costs and the potential impact on sales and profitability.

Title [00:09:12] Improving Cash Flow and Reducing Financing Needs Discussion on the benefits of shortening the cash flow cycle and how it can reduce stress and financing needs.

Title [00:10:36] Strategies to Improve Cash Flow Exploration of various strategies to improve cash flow, including increasing prices, increasing the number of orders, reducing costs, and optimizing inventory and payables.

Title [00:16:43] Case Study: Significant Cash Flow Improvement A case study highlighting the significant cash flow improvement achieved by implementing small changes and continuously making improvements over time.

Topic 1: Pre-sales and alternative revenue streams [00:18:51] Discussion on the possibility of implementing pre-sales, deposits, memberships, or other alternative revenue streams to generate cash flow faster.

Topic 2: Sharing an excellent calculator [00:19:26] Speaker 2 offers to share a calculator he has built over many years of experience to help businesses save money and get cash sooner.

Topic 3: Who can benefit from fractional CFO services [00:19:50] Speaker 2 explains that fractional CFO services are suitable for funded companies or those doing 2 million a year or more, and how they can help businesses grow and fix their financials.

Fractional CFO [00:00:14] Matt Putra explains the role of a fractional CFO for e-commerce companies and how it differs from a full-time CFO.

Financial Planning [00:01:45] Matt discusses the importance of financial planning for e-commerce businesses and how it can impact growth and success.

Financial Calculator [00:08:12] Matt shares a financial calculator and goes through the numbers to demonstrate how it works in analyzing a business's financial data.

Blended ROAS [00:09:23] The importance of blended ROAS as a core number for CFOs to manage cash flow and profit in e-commerce businesses.

Financial Calculator [00:10:07] Explanation of a financial calculator that helps businesses understand the impact of marketing initiatives, efficiencies, and decision-making on net profit.

Breaking Even [00:16:21] Using the financial calculator to determine what it takes for a business to break even, including improving ROAS, cutting overhead, or reducing variable costs.

Cost of Goods Sold and Variable Expenses [00:19:01] Matt Putra explains his method for calculating cost of goods sold and variable expenses, and why it's important to closely monitor these metrics.

Contribution Margin and Breakeven Sales [00:23:07] Matt Putra discusses the importance of contribution margin and how it can impact a company's growth and success. He also explains how to calculate break-even sales.

Importance of Being Conservative with Fixed Costs [00:27:24] Matt Putra emphasizes the importance of being conservative with fixed costs, especially during uncertain economic times. He shares an example of a client who raised a multi-million dollar venture round but was advised to wait on leasing an office space.

Role of a Fractional CFO [00:28:06] Matt Putra explains how he helps clients analyze their financial data and create a plan to mitigate risks and optimize profits.

Importance of Financial Planning [00:28:55] Matt and Igan discuss the importance of financial planning and how it can impact the growth and success of an e-commerce business.

Who is a Good Fit for a Fractional CFO [00:30:33] Matt Putra explains that his services are best suited for e-commerce businesses with revenue between two and eighty million dollars.

In this episode of What's Working in Ecommerce, Reinis Krumins, the co-founder of Agency JR, talks about: 

• Email marketing strategies
• Why you should consider selling DTC in Europe and what's entailed
• Product Launches
• GDPR and Email Marketing in Europe
• The risks of SMS marketing in the EU
• WhatsApp for marketing 

For help with paid social, paid search, or email automation, check out our agency here: https://www.caravandigital.com/

You can find Reinis Krumins from agencyJR here:

https://www.agencyjr.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/reinis-krumins/

 https://twitter.com/emailreinis

Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:16 Email Engagement Strategies & Tactics 4:56 Selling in Europe vs the USA 12:19 Localizing Your Business in a different country 15:04 Product Launches & Email Marketing 18:55 GDPR, Privacy Laws and Email Strategy 21:15 SMS Text Marketing and GDPR in Europe 21:50 SMS & WhatsApp Marketing 25:15 Business during a recession 26:40 Where to find Reinis

In this episode of What’s Working in Ecommerce, learn from Ben Knegendorf, an ecommerce consultant & podcast host, on how to build and grow a high-ticket dropshipping business. He also shares some no B.S. strategic tips that take your ecommerce business to the next level. For help with paid social, paid search, or email automation, check out our agency here: https://www.caravandigital.com/  You can find Ben Knegendorf from The Dropship Podcast here: https://dropshippodcast.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-knegendorf-992933b4/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro  1:15 The Status of Dropshipping  4:17 Discovering and Selling Products  6:32 Ecommerce Podcasting 8:02 Channels to Sell Your Product  16:23 Coming Up with Product Photos and Descriptions  18:15 Standard Shopping Keywords 24:29 Finding a Product Supplier 27:35 Profit Margins in Dropshipping

Creativity is crucial to make your brand stand out in social media feeds, stories, and reels. In this episode, Lauren Schwartz from The Loft 325 talks about the importance of creating thumb-stopping ads for your ecommerce business. For help with paid social, paid search, or email automation, check out our agency here: https://www.caravandigital.com/ You can find Lauren Schwartz from The Loft 325 here: https://theloft325.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-schwartz-07354312/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 2:35 The Importance of Creatives in Marketing 3:24 Approaching New Clients 7:56 Creative Agency & Media Buyers 10:43 Making a Thumb-stopping creative 12:34 Examples of Dynamic Creatives 17:01 TikTok Ad Creative Process & Working with UGC Creators 22:57 The Difference UGC Makes in Ad Performance

In this episode of What’s Working in Ecommerce, Will Perry from Reason Agency and the Elite Media Buyers Academy shares his proven strategies for reducing customer acquisition costs and scaling ad campaigns on paid social. Will and his team have managed over $100M of ad spend for their clients. He teaches others how to do the same in his course and private training group. 

For help with paid social, paid search, or email automation, check out our agency here: https://www.caravandigital.com/   You can find Will Perry from Reason Agency here: https://www.reasonagency.co/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-perry-4a483958/

https://www.elitemediabuyersacademy.com/try7-1654127354272

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro 2:31 The Creative Side of Running an Ecommerce Business 07:47 Scaling Up a Brand 14:00 Evaluating Clients 17:36 How to Reduce Customer Acquisition Costs

Former boxer (!) Vlad Varizhuk from Enopoly talks about how his company raises money from investors and turns it into digital real estate by finding successful products on Amazon, buying those products at wholesale, and selling them effectively on the platform.

For help with paid social, paid search, or email automation, check out our agency here: https://www.caravandigital.com/ You can find Vlad Varizhuk from Enopoly here: https://www.enopolyautomation.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/vlad-varizhuk/

Timestamp: 0:00 Intro 1:28 Digital Real Estate 4:27 Finding a Wholesaler 11:44 Tools Used in Product Research 15:08 Marketing within a Bigger Platform 20:18 What I learned from Boxing

Email plays a vital role in your sales process because it provides a direct line of communication to your customers. In this episode, Kyle Stout from Elevate Scale talks about his expertise in email marketing. He also thoroughly discussed the sales process in email marketing. For help with paid social, paid search, or email automation, check out our agency here: https://www.caravandigital.com/ You can find Kyle Stout from Elevate & Scale here: https://www.elevateandscale.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-stout-6804a117/ Timestamp: 0:00 Intro 2:59 The Sales Process in Email Marketing 26:52 Customizing Email 31:09 Email Marketing Examples

In this episode, Jordan West, an ecommerce marketing expert, talks about the areas to look at to ensure your ecommerce business foundation is solid and ready for growth

For help with paid social, paid search, or email automation, check out our agency here: https://www.caravandigital.com/   You can find Jordan West from upGrowth Commerce here: https://upgrowthcommerce.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-west-marketer/ 

Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 3:07 Strategies that Works 5:30 Creating a Community 14:25 The Minimum Cost Per Acquisition 16:46 Using Triple Whale

In this episode, Manish Chowdhary, the Founder & CEO of Cahoot, shared his expertise in order and inventory management to create a fulfilment strategy that supports profitable scaling instead of creating headaches and roadblocks to growth.

For help with paid social, paid search, or email automation, check out our agency here: https://www.caravandigital.com/    You can find Manish Chowdhary from Cahoot here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manish-chowdhary/   https://www.cahoot.ai/    Timestamp: 0:00 Intro 1:31 Using a 3PL Solution 3:55 About Cahoot 5:47 Fulfilling Your Order Quickly 6:49 How Cahoot Works 34:16 What Size Should a Brand be to be Successful with Cahoot?