Ep. 121 Turning E-Commerce Clicks Into Monumental Achievements with Steven Pemberton

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Hello everyone, Welcome to Achieving Success with Olivia Achin. I
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am your host, Olivia Acint. Each week we will discuss
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the roam map of achieving your personal and professional success.
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We give you real life stories on growing personally and
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professionally to achieve your life and career goals with the
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help of some top notch guests. Today we are speaking
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with Steven Pemberton. Stephen is the co founder of Holloco
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and Elevatum. He's also the host of the podcast Voice
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Like a Lion, where he creates a space for entrepreneurs
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to share their stories of overcoming challenges. After successful five
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and a half years in corporate Stephen made a courageous
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shift in twenty twenty to pursue entrepreneurship full time, inspired
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by watching his wife build a million dollar Amazon business. Today,
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together they've launched another million dollar venture on Shopify and
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developed Holoco, a full service virtual events company, as well
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as Elevatum, a growth agency focused on scaling six figure
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brands to seven figure success. Through his work at Elevatum,
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Stephen mentors others in the e commerce and digital space,
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helping clients and mentees alike achieve remarkable business growth. His
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journey also includes a strong focus on giving back. In
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partnership with the nonprofit, Stephen and his wife have provided
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memorable holiday experiences for over one hundred and seventy children
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in need, underscoring his commitment to making an impact both
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in business and in the community. You can find Stephen
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on LinkedIn by searching Steven Pemberton or going to his
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website Elevatum dot Digital, or emailing him at Steven at
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hollow dot com. Hello Stephen, it's fantastic having you on
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the show today.
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Hey, Olivia, thank you so much for having me. By
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the way, incredible job with that bio because you literally
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listen out all the stuff that I've done, and I went, man,
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I'm gonna have to steal that after this podcast and
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do that in my bio somewhere.
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Well, you could definitely take it. I'll give it to you.
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And I'm so excited to have you on today because
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what I expressed in that bio doesn't even seem to
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cover some of the conversations you and I have had
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and the impact you've even given me, and just knowing
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you've become a friend, someone I could count on, someone
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where we could talk about so many things I want
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to dive into all of it. But to start off
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the show, can you tell me what success means and
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looks like? To Steven Pemberton, Oh, that's.
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A great question. So we're coming in hot right off
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the bat.
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So what success looks like to me is doing something
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that you love, even if if you don't love the
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way that you have to do it from time to time.
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And what that means to me is doing something that
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actually helps the people around you, building something that has
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meaning behind it more than just for your family, but
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for the families that it directly impacts, and for the
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families that you'll never see that it impacts. That's even
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a main driving force of why I'm on the podcast
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is being on the podcast. Sure, will there be views,
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will there be people that may know my name after this, maybe,
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But at the end of the day, if there's one
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thing that said that somebody can take away and either
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apply to their life or even down the line they say, Hey,
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I heard this thing. I don't even remember where I
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heard it from, but this actually really helped me in
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a season.
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This is what it is. That's why I do what
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I do.
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So success looks like leaving a legacy behind not just
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a real monetary legacy, but also leaving behind something for
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other people.
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And I think that's so important, and it encompasses how
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you've kind of pivoted as well as you've grown. You know,
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in the bio, I brought up how you worked in
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corporate before were dabbling and then entering full time the
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entrepreneurship space. So I want to go back to that.
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You decided to go into supply chain and logistics and
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had a very successful career in that space to a
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point where you left right at what most people would
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say was the pinnacle space they would like to achieve
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within their career. My first question for you is what
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made you choose supply chain and logistics as a career.
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That is a hilarious question because it's choosing is a
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choice use of words, because it kind of chose me
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because and I'll give you a quick backstory on that.
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And so my wife and I we got married in
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twenty thirteen.
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I want to make sure you get that correct. So
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in twenty thirteen we got.
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Married, and by before twenty fourteen, so before our first
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year in marriage, we actually both would our jobs to
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pursue a business venture.
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At that time, and it wasn't exactly the smartest thing a.
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We were super young and had no skills and no finances,
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so we lost everything in less than thirty days. And
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what was incredible in that amount of time was I
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got to learn a lot about myself.
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One of the things I learned was I was not
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great with people.
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I remember, and this is something that actually I really
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don't discuss all that often, but because I hear it
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all the time, is that if you want to achieve
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some level of success, and that's why I love the
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name of the show, is that if you want to
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do it quickly, you put yourself in a corner. So
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if you put your back against the wall, you'll just
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come out swinging. And that has never been the case
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for me. I was my back was against the wall.
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I had a brand new wife and a brand new baby,
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and I had no job, and the only way for
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me to make income was talking to people. And I
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remember going to the mall and standing there looking like
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a deer in headlights, not knowing what to say, how
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to say it, or who to say it to. And
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I just remember after that, there was I was living
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in a basement with my wife and new son, and
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felt like a failure. I'm twenty years old, wanting to
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take my life, and I go, there's no options.
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I'm done. And I just remember my wife had applied
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me for this one job. I walk in.
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I'm doing odd jobs to try to make ends meet,
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and she said, hey, I feel like you're going to
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get this job.
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She shows it to me and it's it's basically a.
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They called it a warehouse pick a roll, which means
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that I'm sitting there, I'm loading palettes and putting it
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on trucks. And she said it's full time with benefits,
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and I said, I don't And at this time, growing up,
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I had always heard that you have to know somebody,
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or you have to have a degree.
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So I said, there's no way I can get that job.
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I don't have the degree that they that they're looking for,
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and I don't have any experience, and I don't know anybody.
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And I went and interviewed for it anyways, and loan
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and behold, I got it. And that's how I got
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into supply chain logistics. So apply chain and logistics was
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that's a very loose terminology. Eventually I was a supply
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chain operations manager, but that's how that's how I got
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my foot in the door, was by being what we
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called a loader back in twenty sixteen.
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Yep, nope, fifteen, so quite a while ago.
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Now, I think it's so important to highlight a few
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things you brought up, and it's the aspect of when
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you have your back against the wall, Like you said,
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some people give this idealism that you're just gonna come
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out swinging and everything's going to be worked on and
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be fine. And I'm definitely the kind of person where
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give me a timeline or like, here's the angle and
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we will get there. My look little messy and things
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dates might change, or you know, objectives might have to
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adapt based on if things get delayed or whatever it
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might be. But we'll get there. We'll figure it out.
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And sometimes when we're in the thick of it is
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when I go and you and I had this conversation earlier, like, Okay,
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things are changing so much. I'm a little fogged, but
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we're gonna figure it out and we're still gonna meet
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this goal. But I think what happened so many times
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is people see aspects of entrepreneurship and they're like, we
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you just will figure it out. You'll figure out a
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way to make sure you figure it out and get
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it done. But unless you have someone that goes, okay,
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i'm gonna, you know, raise my hand and you can
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lean on me so that you can get cleared up.
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Like you and I were discussing and you had that
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conversation with me earlier of like let's just get on
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a call so you can talk through this, which I
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appreciated so much. Is then that will help me. But
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when you don't have other people in that space and
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you know and can count on and can lean on,
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it's very hard to just keep swigging and get out
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of that because there's very few people and I say
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this a lot that truly understand in your circle around
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you what it takes to be an entrepreneur because there
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aren't as many people doing it, and especially when you're
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entering a space that is different than potentially where a
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lot of people sit, even if they are an entrepreneur,
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it is such a different realm of understanding as well.
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So for you, you know, as you navigated that space
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of going Okay, this wasn't the fit and then getting
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that job, what were their skills? And I know you
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said in the beginning, it was a loose term of
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supply chain and logistics. But what were the skills that
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you were able to leverage from. I don't want to
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call it a failure because I don't think it is
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a failure. I think it was ability to learn lessons
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to get where you are today. But what were those
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lessons that you did take in as an entrepreneur and
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having that business that did not succeed the way you
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thought it would be into that full time role.
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So that's a fascinating question because and I love the
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way that you put that, and I also love to
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describe it in that manner because and I've still use
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the word failure because people understand that terminology. But and
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this is the thing is you can do many things
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and fail at those things, but that does not make
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you a failure. So it depends on how you label
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yourself on the other side of it. Unfortunately, a lot
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of people tie their self worth to whatever the thing
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is that they're doing, whether it's a job, a marriage,
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a business, and if one of those things failed, then
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they feel like they are a failure. And that's where
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I found myself walking into this warehouse and what was
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really cool about being there was. I hated that job,
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and so I just remember, this is where I learned
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that you can.
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Do hard things.
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Because I start working this job and within the first
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mind thing, we end up moving out of the basement,
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We get a we end up renting this house. It
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was a terrible house on the wrong side of the
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train tracks, like this little shack. And I would leave
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that house every single day crying because I just hated
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the job. I mean, I was working My first week
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was I think sixty hours. And this is from me
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working part time at all these little odd jobs doing
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maybe thirty forty hours.
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First week is forty is sixty hours.
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And that's my training week, and they didn't have equipment
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for me, so I couldn't say the whole time. That
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summer was the longest summer I've ever worked. We were
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averaging eighty hours a week. So I was going in
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and this was backbreaking work and I hated it. And
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so as I'm sitting there crying, leaving the house every
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day and still going to work, it taught me the
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skill of you.
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Can just show up no matter how you feel.
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And in that time, what I saw and the other
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thing was I needed the job.
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So I was doing everything I.
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Possibly could to be good at the job. And my boss,
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I'm very grateful for him. And I think that this
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is what a lot of people will miss on their
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journey is And this is why I don't like the
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term self made.
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I don't think anyone is self made.
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Like show me one person who is a multimillionaire did
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it all by themselves. They had no clients, they had
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no customers. Somehow they manifested a million dollars into their
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bank account. They needed people. That's how you get there.
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For me, it was the supervisor. He saw me working
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hard and he said, hey, I want to let you
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know something. He's like, I just see something in you.
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You can become a he said, you can be like me.
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You can actually move up the food chain here at
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this place without having the degree and without having the connections.
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And that's what he told me.
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And those were literally the terminologies that almost held me
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back from even walking in the interview. And when he
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told me that, I said really, and he said, yeah,
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I don't have a degree. And for me looking at
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him being a manager, because neither of my parents had
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moved up the food chain, and he was young he
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was in his thirties. Is I went, Okay, if you
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can do it, then I can do it too. And
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that's what I And that was that one moment that shifted.
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So then I was already working a lot, but I
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would show up early, I would stay late, I would
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ask if I could learn something else, because then there
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was a goal and it was achievable.
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And this is one thing even in business now, is
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I think it's great to have goals. But if if
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you've never seen anyone else around you do it, and
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you don't know anyone who's done it, then it's hard
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for you to see that as achievable.
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And that's why when people say set realistic goals, it
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doesn't have to be realistic for you.
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It needs to be realistic that you can actually see it.
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And so for me, when that was a realistic goal
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in terminologies of he shifted what it could be. Now
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all of a sudden, it actually started all coming together.
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I asked for more responsibility. I went from hating that
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job to loving that job because there was a possibility
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of a way out. And that's even something I've learned
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about being depressed is depression is usually in burnout and
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anxiety attacks for me have been in a moment where
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I felt as if I had no options and I
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saw no way out. And when I got there, that's
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when most people they break down, and that's what happened
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to me a few times. So being able to see
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it through a different light, that's when I started learning
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the skills of the normal skills of like forklift driving,
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of helping count returns, so actually using mathematical skills. But
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then once I got this like faux raise, where I
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stop having to load palace and now all of a sudden,
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I am actually behind a computer working with the guy
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who's actually getting paid to do this job. I got
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to learn the real skills of what supply chain logistics
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looks like, forecasting stuff, being able to QC items, being
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able to see what orders have gone out, what orders
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haven't gone out, of being able to see just so
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many different systems and processes. That was when I started
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developing real skills and actually becoming fully into supply chain.
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And I talk because of my background in supply chain
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and being part of ASM, which is the professional organization
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for supply chain management. I've seen and I was a
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part of that organization before COVID hit and so I've
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seen prior to COVID, during COVID, after COVID of how
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businesses are able to adjust and really watching so many
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people go, oh, wait, whether we realized it or not,
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supply chain is in our business. This is what we're doing.
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And the title might be different, but we have to
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do all these things and if we don't, X y
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Z gets affected. So for me, I always enjoy when
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people start to realize the impact of supply chain in
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their everyday life. So for you, as you got into
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really learning the supply chain aspect of things and the logistics,
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what were some aspects of that that really opened your eyes?
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For me, one of the biggest ones was warehousing, so
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just sequencing and this is what got me really interested.
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This really helped me when a step more into e commerce.
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It was just under understanding that there's a that you
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can do things and then and it works, but that
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doesn't mean that it's efficient. So being in supply chain
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logistics going from because I was at three different warehouses
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in my time working at this corporation, and at each
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one of them they did things differently.
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Makes sense.
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They're all different sized buildings, they're in different locations with
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different needs, and I just remember each one of them
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also functioned in a whole different way as far as
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if they were efficient or not.
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The last one that took over, the only reason.
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I got the job was because I was the youngest
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manager in this fortune one hundred company. Because the place
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was a dumpster fire. I mean they literally had just
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fired the last the last guy. They had tried a
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few different things, they couldn't seem to turn around, so
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they just said, hey, we'll give you if you want it,
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you can have it. And I should have known a
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little better when they just said that. It's like, hey,
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this location reached out and they just asked if you
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wanted this role, And of course I'm just like absolutely,
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And it worked out for me in the long term.
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But what I found when I went there was they
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were getting the job done, but in such an inefficient
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way that it made their.
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Every single workers lives miserable.
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So what I had to do, and this was the
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systems first before the people, was I looked at the
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systems and I saw how they were, how they just
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had their layout and I'm thinking, okay, so you have
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this skew that is what is getting picked the most
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in the middle.
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Why when you could have it first.
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If you have it first, it's actually going to build
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you a better foundation so you can build other things
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on top of it. It's going to make your job
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much easier. You have the least amount of stuff picked
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on the other side that's further away from where the
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doc is, so this means that your travel time is
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also going to be less. And then what I found
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through doing that in the warehousing space, once I started
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fixing those efficiencies, it started helping the psychology of the
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people and then also working with the people was amazing.
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And I can get into that more, but for me when.
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I look at when I think about supply chain, it
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was that and just the systems in general, Like there
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were so many different systems that it taught me to
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look for inefficiencies. And that's where even now when I'm
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working with e commerce brands and especially once we typically
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work with at a half a million to a million.
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They get there because they have a founder that usually
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does a really good job, they have some pretty good
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skills to get them to that level, and then they
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just have so many inefficiencies. They don't know how to
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scale and they can't. They can't do it. They actually
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can't do it sustainably or profitably. And what happens with that.
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That's when I come in. I'm just looking for those
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inefficiencies because they may think, well, it's paid marketing. It's
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got to be the marketing, because we just we just
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need more leads. If we get more leads, we get
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more people to decide, that means more sales, which means
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we're doing better. But you're just creating another inefficiency if
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you're just cranking up AD spend because you haven't actually
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fixed your conversion rate. So when I think about it
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in terms of what logistics has taught me, especially as
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I became a manager started going location to location, location
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is how to identify inefficiencies, how to actually look at
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not just numbers, you actually look at the people behind
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the numbers, because you can change a lot of the
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dynamics in the supply chain logistics with the people, but
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you can't treat people like a number and expect those
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numbers to change.
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For you. And I definitely want to dive in more
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to the processes and procedure aspect of things, because, as
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you know, I think that is so important and We've
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had toscussions about this, so I feel like I gotta
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save it for a little farther down in our conversation
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because we could go through a very different rabbit hole.
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But for you, when you what was the deciding moment
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for you to leave that company and say I'm walking
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away to go into business full time with your wife,
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00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:33.359
starting another entrepreneur adventure. And I'm going to add a
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second part of that question is what you know going
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00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:41.640
through entrepreneurship the first time and seeing how it ended
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00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:45.640
for you and then going into corporate what was your
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00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:49.480
initial feelings around it or anxiety and how did you
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kind of push through that knowing what the outcome could
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possibly be.
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00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:58.519
So fantastic question because the timeline's pretty interesting there. So
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I didn't leave my job until June of twenty twenty,
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but the next business that came around was actually in
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twenty eighteen. So in twenty eighteen, this is when my
400
00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:09.880
wife started doing Amazon. So at that time I actually
401
00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:11.920
was a manager of an entire warehouse, so I really
402
00:20:11.960 --> 00:20:15.480
wasn't supply chain logistics at this point, but she had
403
00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:17.400
we are making enough money for her to be a
404
00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:19.000
stay at home mom. That's what she thought she really
405
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wanted to do, and so she's teaching our son, he's homeschooled,
406
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She's doing all the things, and then she hates it
407
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because she's one of the hardest working women I know.
408
00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:29.319
She's one of the hardest working people I know in general.
409
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She's taught me so much about life, one of the
410
00:20:31.240 --> 00:20:33.799
smart the smartest people I know as well, and so
411
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I wasn't too surprised. But also she did kind of
412
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the cardinal sin that we all know not to do now.
413
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But she made this post on Facebook and just said
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how she didn't like her life. And when she did that,
415
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luckily the person that reached out to her was my mom,
416
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and so my mom reaches out to her, and my
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00:20:48.279 --> 00:20:50.279
mom had been doing private label on Amazon.
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She basically created her own brand, and she reaches.
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00:20:52.880 --> 00:20:55.519
Out to my wife and she says, Hey, I'm doing
420
00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:57.799
this Amazon thing and I'm actually going to pivot into
421
00:20:57.839 --> 00:20:59.680
this new business model on Amazon. Do you want to
422
00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:01.960
join me? Sent her a few videos talk to her,
423
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and she told her to let her know that Monday.
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So this was like a Friday night. So over the
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00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:10.000
weekend she talks to me. I tell her absolutely not,
426
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like there's no way because the last time we were
427
00:21:12.599 --> 00:21:14.920
in a business, but we know how that went, and
428
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we're finally making enough money where we can go on
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a vacation and have a car and have a home.
430
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It's like, there's no way that you're going to go
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into business. So of course, a couple days later, she
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00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:27.960
tells my mom yes and does it anyways, And that
433
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was the beginning of that journey. And I always like
434
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to highlight that I was not supportive. I was not
435
00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:36.319
a supportive husband at all, I see, because it didn't
436
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make sense to me at that time. I'd grown up
437
00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:40.839
in a home where my parents worked at a job,
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both of them for over thirty years. They'd left the job,
439
00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:46.000
and then now they're retired and they're living on their
440
00:21:46.039 --> 00:21:48.519
savings and everything else that got going on in their retirement.
441
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And for me, that's all I ever knew. That's all
442
00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:53.759
I ever saw, not only with my parents but everyone
443
00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:54.359
in my family.
444
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So it didn't make sense to see somebody working, you know, ten, twelve,
445
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fourteen hours a day in the beginning and making nothing.
446
00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:03.559
And I would just tell her that it's like, well,
447
00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.960
you're letting go of everything else to focus on this.
448
00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:10.559
I'm making money you could go get a job and go.
449
00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:12.039
If you went and got a job, you could make
450
00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:13.839
so much more money than you're making right now because
451
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you're making nothing. And what was cool is I remember
452
00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:20.680
I was giving her such a hard time and one
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day I come home and it's late. It was a
454
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fourteen hour shift for me, and I go to sleep.
455
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She's still up. I wake up. She's working and I
456
00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:30.599
put two and.
457
00:22:30.519 --> 00:22:32.599
Two together and realize that she must have just worked
458
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a seventeen hour shift, and I go, Okay, so she
459
00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:39.359
might not have the money yet, but she is outworking me.
460
00:22:39.559 --> 00:22:41.480
So that's when I started helping her out around the house.
461
00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.680
I actually started being supportive because I watched her outwork me.
462
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And that was then pretty soon after that, still in
463
00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:52.160
twenty eighteen, I watched her go from someone who's crying
464
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anytime she gets a return or a bad feedback or
465
00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:57.400
whatever it may be, to by the end of twenty nineteen,
466
00:22:57.519 --> 00:23:00.000
is a million dollar business now million dollars in Revue
467
00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:03.519
nonprofit profit margins was ten percent. It was terrible and
468
00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:06.319
so we also because my mom was our financial backer
469
00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:09.720
on that business, we we really didn't see much of
470
00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:12.200
that money. Like me and my wife we didn't see
471
00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:14.519
much at all. I made way more working in my job.
472
00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:17.720
So at the end of twenty nineteen going into twenty twenty,
473
00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:20.440
that's where I use my skill set and supply chain logistics,
474
00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:22.359
because that's where they were hemorrhaging was cost of goods.
475
00:23:22.599 --> 00:23:25.599
They're hemorrhaging and cost of goods and with their people.
476
00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:30.000
They had six employees. So I was helping them restructure
477
00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:31.880
that company because I was just sitting there telling them,
478
00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:34.160
if you go from a million down to a half
479
00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:36.640
a million, and you take your bottom line from ten
480
00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:38.880
percent to twenty percent, you make the same exact amount
481
00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:41.640
of money with half the transactions. It's like, so that
482
00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.119
means you could probably use half the people, which means
483
00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:46.519
actually you're going to make more money. And they went, oh,
484
00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:48.480
that makes sense. So then I'm helping them with that.
485
00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:51.640
And then when the world shut down, it actually threw
486
00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:55.240
a huge monkey wrench into our plans because we were
487
00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:57.480
in the middle of pivoting the business model too, so
488
00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:01.640
everything was changing and so when June twenty twenty rolled around,
489
00:24:01.640 --> 00:24:03.720
it was not as if that business was doing well again.
490
00:24:04.119 --> 00:24:06.359
I had actually reached the end of my rope at
491
00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:09.000
this corporate job. And I was having anxiety attacks, really
492
00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:12.839
really bad, and I just remember walking in and saying, Okay,
493
00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:14.359
I feel like I have no options. I feel like
494
00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:16.440
I don't have a choice. What do I want to
495
00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:18.599
do now? And I just decided I'm gonna put in
496
00:24:18.599 --> 00:24:21.359
my two weeks and I'm done. And I put in
497
00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:23.079
my two weeks. I had this new boss who had
498
00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:25.400
just started and he was awful, So I put in
499
00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:26.160
my two weeks notice.
500
00:24:26.200 --> 00:24:27.720
He asked me for two more weeks. I told him
501
00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:28.359
absolutely not.
502
00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:30.960
I quit that job not knowing what the future held
503
00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:34.319
because I'd never been in business like this, and so
504
00:24:34.559 --> 00:24:38.240
going into that space it made it.
505
00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:41.319
It was very weird. Like this is something for anyone
506
00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:43.319
who is If you're listening to this and you were
507
00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:45.680
actually working a job right now and you're thinking about
508
00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:48.480
going full time into a business, here's my two cents.
509
00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:51.359
Is one if for at least.
510
00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:52.720
For me now, if you're doing it on the side,
511
00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:54.440
it's gonna be a little bit easier of a transition
512
00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:56.480
for you. But if you're actually going to go cold
513
00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:59.279
turkey from a job straight into a business, be prepared
514
00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:00.920
that you're going to be say they're going wait, there's
515
00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:03.000
no one telling me what to do. I don't clock
516
00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:05.680
in and clock out anymore. Yeah, I'm even if you're
517
00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:08.359
a fully remote worker, you go, I'm still on the computer,
518
00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:11.079
but I'm not. I'm not getting you're gonna go that
519
00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:12.960
first weekend, that Friday is gonna hit and they're not
520
00:25:12.960 --> 00:25:15.319
gonna be a paycheck, come in and you're gonna go. Wait,
521
00:25:15.960 --> 00:25:18.359
this feels way different than I thought it would. And
522
00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:21.400
so that was a huge learning curve for me because
523
00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:23.000
not only do I have to learn how to actually
524
00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:25.000
run a business, I had to learn that there was
525
00:25:25.039 --> 00:25:26.720
no one going to tell me how to learn it, like,
526
00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:28.759
I had to go find that all for myself.
527
00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:33.319
I think that's so important and so true in the
528
00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:38.279
aspects of, you know, even my own experiences. I started
529
00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:42.400
the podcast while still working in corporate, and I started
530
00:25:42.440 --> 00:25:46.279
achieving success while still being in corporate. However, because I
531
00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:50.400
was working in corporate and when I initially started the podcast,
532
00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:53.000
it was just a way to get back, I wasn't
533
00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:57.359
trying to make any monetary I actually, until I left corporate,
534
00:25:57.880 --> 00:26:01.119
had not pulled in a single dollar into the business
535
00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:03.799
because I didn't have time to try to grow. The
536
00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:07.880
monetization aspect of any part of my business. So when
537
00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:09.920
I left a lot of people were like, well, you,
538
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:13.240
it's already started this and I was like, yeah, but
539
00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:17.039
I started the LLC as a way to do the
540
00:26:17.079 --> 00:26:21.000
podcast and do this consulting, but trying to get a
541
00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:23.759
podcast off the ground. I think there's a level of that.
542
00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:26.440
And Stephen, you know that unless you put your blood,
543
00:26:26.559 --> 00:26:30.240
sweat and tears or really bring on the right people,
544
00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:34.160
if you wanted to grow and reach the most people
545
00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:36.359
and have the most impact, you got to put work
546
00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:38.640
into it. You got to have that strategy. You have
547
00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:44.240
to understand again, like any business, where to put money
548
00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:47.519
towards things, where not to put money towards things, benefits
549
00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:52.000
of doing things different ways. And so that's where all
550
00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:56.680
my time and energy went. So it wasn't until unluckily
551
00:26:56.839 --> 00:27:01.160
the podcast had grown so fast that when I did
552
00:27:01.240 --> 00:27:06.000
leave corporate and I was like, exactly what you're talking about.
553
00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:09.799
Oh wait, now it's great because kind of like you,
554
00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:12.680
I got to my wits end and I didn't realize
555
00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:17.200
the blessing of being part of a mass layoff that
556
00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:22.440
that gave me of that freedom to really go Okay, now,
557
00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:27.480
like I got pushed, right, I got that push that
558
00:27:27.559 --> 00:27:32.039
I needed, but it was very much of like, okay,
559
00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:34.599
I'm going to lean into this. I made that conscious effort,
560
00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:37.160
but that fight or flight mode. And I say, you
561
00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:41.400
can learn a lot about an individual, whether it's their
562
00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:45.359
first business to second business, zero to one, whatever it
563
00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:49.640
might be. You learn a lot about yourself and just
564
00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:54.200
how you handle situations overall during that time, because I
565
00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:57.599
very much started being in that fight or fight Okay,
566
00:27:57.599 --> 00:27:59.720
how did we make this happen? How do we do this?
567
00:28:00.960 --> 00:28:06.559
And really trying to figure out in different sections of
568
00:28:06.599 --> 00:28:10.839
the company, who I can connect to to learn more
569
00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:14.079
or understand a different aspect of how to do things,
570
00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:17.119
and just lean into that because for me, like you mentioned,
571
00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:21.200
when there's not people really doing it around you, it's
572
00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:25.480
hard for others to identify what you need where you
573
00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:29.039
need to, like how they could support you in different things.
574
00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:32.599
But it's also, I say, very much an aspect that
575
00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:36.880
people forget that you just highlighted is that there is
576
00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:40.759
no more guaranteed money. And I say guaranteed money because
577
00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:43.880
most of the time, whether it's an eight hour day,
578
00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:48.839
ten twelve, whatever that shift might be, even when things
579
00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:52.839
unexpectedly come up, unless you are fired or let go
580
00:28:53.359 --> 00:28:55.359
you have that money. You know, at the end of
581
00:28:55.359 --> 00:28:57.440
the month, I'm gonna have X amount of money in
582
00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:00.440
my bank account. These are my expenses. This is how
583
00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:03.440
much play money I call it, you know, go out
584
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:05.799
to eat, go to the bar, whatever it might be.
585
00:29:06.119 --> 00:29:09.359
I have to spend. When you're an entrepreneur, until that
586
00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:13.440
money starts coming in, there is no there is no money.
587
00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:15.480
You got to act like you're zero and negative and
588
00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:17.880
you got plan for that. And you also have to
589
00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:22.759
understand that as you grow and as you pivot, like
590
00:29:22.799 --> 00:29:26.240
you said in twenty twenty you were doing, is there
591
00:29:26.279 --> 00:29:28.640
are going to be those ebbs and flows and how
592
00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:31.920
are you going to handle it? And when how are
593
00:29:32.279 --> 00:29:35.920
you going to also express that because that's been one
594
00:29:35.960 --> 00:29:39.920
thing I've noticed too, is everyone I get a lot
595
00:29:39.960 --> 00:29:45.319
of responses. Sometimes when people see certain things or think
596
00:29:45.480 --> 00:29:48.160
certain things, They're like, well, you were able to do that,
597
00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:52.160
you know, life must be so good, And I'm like, well, yeah,
598
00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:56.359
and yesterday I worked a sixteen hour day and you
599
00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:01.200
know I was up at five am starting working already
600
00:30:01.240 --> 00:30:04.319
and stop working. I work straight through till nine pm.
601
00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:08.319
And you know, you're out on events and certain people
602
00:30:08.359 --> 00:30:13.119
call and need things or kneed you're guidance and it's like, now,
603
00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:15.799
not every single one of those are clients. You know,
604
00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:19.279
not every single person might end up being a client,
605
00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:22.519
but you got to help serve others as well, and
606
00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:27.119
you have to understand where does the value come in
607
00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:31.680
for yourself and for others. And I think it's really
608
00:30:31.680 --> 00:30:36.920
important identify that. Just because people see things and see
609
00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:41.440
the glory moments of entrepreneurship, it isn't always like that.
610
00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:46.359
There are those stressors. There are those moments, whether entrepreneurs
611
00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:48.880
ten years in want to admit it or not, where
612
00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:52.640
there's quarters or months where they go, wait, things are changing,
613
00:30:53.079 --> 00:30:56.680
what do we do? The money isn't the same. And
614
00:30:56.759 --> 00:31:01.240
I think that we really have to realize that, especially
615
00:31:01.319 --> 00:31:04.279
today's day and age, just like so many new things
616
00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:08.960
that are coming into play, entrepreneurs have to be on
617
00:31:09.079 --> 00:31:12.880
the forefront of what that means for their business. And
618
00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:15.680
that's where I want to lead some of this conversation
619
00:31:15.799 --> 00:31:21.279
as well. When you went into business full time and
620
00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:26.079
grow that business to what it is today and now
621
00:31:26.160 --> 00:31:30.400
helping people in the e commerce space, what was the
622
00:31:30.440 --> 00:31:34.240
biggest thing you learned about the e commerce space as
623
00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:35.920
an entrepreneur yourself.
624
00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:39.200
So the biggest thing I actually talked to someone about
625
00:31:39.240 --> 00:31:43.079
this earlier today is have a good story. So you
626
00:31:43.160 --> 00:31:46.319
understand this with the podcast. You understand this with especially
627
00:31:46.720 --> 00:31:49.279
being in more of the PR space, is having a
628
00:31:49.319 --> 00:31:53.559
good story sell And that's something I didn't think mattered
629
00:31:54.039 --> 00:31:56.240
coming from supply chain logistics. Okay, you just have to
630
00:31:56.240 --> 00:31:57.599
have a good system. You just have to have the
631
00:31:57.680 --> 00:32:00.400
right product and they'll sell. But that is not the case.
632
00:32:00.839 --> 00:32:03.200
You actually have to have strategies. You actually have to
633
00:32:03.240 --> 00:32:06.640
have planning that goes into this stuff. So that has
634
00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:09.000
been one of the biggest things. And this is also
635
00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:12.839
how do you position the story. I've seen it. I've
636
00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:14.640
seen it through a few of the clients that we've had,
637
00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:17.119
is that they'll have a cool story and then bury
638
00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:20.119
it and they'll have it on an about me page.
639
00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:23.160
And the thing is is if I'm on there and
640
00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:25.319
I have any kind of buyer intent, which I have
641
00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:27.440
to have some if I'm on the website, I have
642
00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:29.839
to at least be interested. If I'm on there, I'm
643
00:32:29.839 --> 00:32:32.160
not clicking to the about me page. I'm there looking
644
00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:34.039
at your products. When it comes to an e commerce brand,
645
00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:37.319
if I know you, if I know Olivia, I'm gonna
646
00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:40.079
go look into you because you are the brand, you
647
00:32:40.119 --> 00:32:42.400
are also the product, you have, the service, whatever it is.
648
00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:46.000
But if I'm selling sweatpants, if I'm selling the water
649
00:32:46.039 --> 00:32:47.960
bottle that I just popped up here a second ago
650
00:32:48.440 --> 00:32:50.480
I'm overcoming a little bit of a cold from this week.
651
00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:53.160
Is if I'm selling that water bottle and I have
652
00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:55.480
this amazing story that the water bottle is made from
653
00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:58.400
vibranium that I found in Wakanda, and I bury that
654
00:32:58.440 --> 00:33:00.000
in the about me page and it's just on there
655
00:33:00.119 --> 00:33:02.160
for two hundred dollars, and you go, why is Why
656
00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:03.720
is this water bottle two hundred dollars?
657
00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:05.559
Why is it? And it's like, why is it? Okay,
658
00:33:05.559 --> 00:33:06.799
it comes in all these different colors.
659
00:33:06.839 --> 00:33:09.039
Okay, this is the benefit of it, but there's not
660
00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:11.400
a story of how I found it on an expedition
661
00:33:11.480 --> 00:33:13.519
to East Africa or whatever it is. You get to
662
00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:16.400
understand what the actual story is now all of a
663
00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:18.640
sudden's oh okay, so this isn't just from Walmart and
664
00:33:18.640 --> 00:33:21.359
they're reselling it to me. Because the biggest shift that
665
00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:24.039
I've seen over the last six years being involved in
666
00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:28.319
some capacity with e commerce is drop shipping was really
667
00:33:28.359 --> 00:33:31.200
started hot and heavy about six seven years ago, and
668
00:33:31.440 --> 00:33:34.039
at that time everyone was doing it and that was
669
00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:37.480
what everyone told everyone else to do. And so now today,
670
00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:39.279
if you want to be different, if you want to
671
00:33:39.319 --> 00:33:41.160
stand out, you have to look like you're not drop
672
00:33:41.160 --> 00:33:44.559
shipping that stuff because now everyone sees TMU, everyone sees
673
00:33:44.599 --> 00:33:48.079
Ali Baba, and they know they actually know what that means.
674
00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:51.319
Most people know, Okay, that's super cheap, I've seen that before.
675
00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:53.279
Oh it's actually on this guy's website and it is
676
00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:55.599
the same exact picture as they didn't change anything. So
677
00:33:55.640 --> 00:33:58.400
you have to position yourself differently, and it's actually not
678
00:33:58.519 --> 00:34:03.519
that hard, like the the the level to achieve success
679
00:34:03.640 --> 00:34:05.960
really isn't as hard to get there as you think.
680
00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:09.639
It's just positioning yourself and your story differently. So that's
681
00:34:09.639 --> 00:34:12.199
been by far the biggest thing I've learned. Of course
682
00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:14.360
there's more nitty gritty skill sets that come along with that,
683
00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:17.440
but just the number one thing is highlighting your story.
684
00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:25.000
And I think people sometimes whether it's the mindset of
685
00:34:25.280 --> 00:34:28.559
I'm gonna let the products speak for itself, or just
686
00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:32.199
not feeling comfortable enough to tell their story as that
687
00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:35.760
will be such a value add they shy away from it,
688
00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:39.519
And I love how you bring up the importance of
689
00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:43.239
that because that is a unique aspect of you and
690
00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:47.119
your business and it can say a lot to a
691
00:34:47.239 --> 00:34:51.760
consumer of even why you are starting this business. I mean,
692
00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:55.599
I get asked from podcast hosts all the time when
693
00:34:55.639 --> 00:34:58.800
it talks about when we start going into my podcast
694
00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:03.159
consulting of like what thought you into podcasting and how
695
00:35:03.199 --> 00:35:05.920
did you see this growth? Then what have you learned?
696
00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:10.679
And I say that story of like just wanting to
697
00:35:10.760 --> 00:35:14.559
make the impact and this is why I started this
698
00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:18.480
idea that grew into this and they're like, oh wow,
699
00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:22.480
I can relate to that, And now I see these
700
00:35:22.519 --> 00:35:25.559
other values that you haven't even needed to tell me yet.
701
00:35:25.960 --> 00:35:29.760
And I think whether it's in that space and more
702
00:35:29.800 --> 00:35:32.599
of a service or you and I have talked about
703
00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:37.400
like the apparel company that I'm getting ready to release,
704
00:35:37.480 --> 00:35:40.559
and you've been a guiding light because we kind of
705
00:35:40.599 --> 00:35:45.079
connected at a time too where like just coincidentally they
706
00:35:45.159 --> 00:35:49.440
were aligning. Is is the fact that even in that
707
00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:52.079
space that is a different story. But you need to
708
00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:57.000
highlight what in that space, for example, what drove me
709
00:35:57.199 --> 00:36:01.599
to start that apparel company, why I decided to go
710
00:36:01.719 --> 00:36:06.079
into that niche within the industry and give back in
711
00:36:06.320 --> 00:36:11.280
those ways, and it makes people in certain environments. And
712
00:36:11.320 --> 00:36:13.480
I'd love to get your opinion on this as well.
713
00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:18.679
People will connect with you as a business owner and
714
00:36:18.760 --> 00:36:23.599
you as a business and a brand more than necessarily
715
00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:28.199
sometimes the actual product you're selling. But if they had
716
00:36:28.239 --> 00:36:31.760
a choice between and I'll use your analogy, two separate
717
00:36:31.800 --> 00:36:35.519
water bottles, almost at this is the same exact price,
718
00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:38.840
They're gonna go to the business they feel more connected
719
00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:42.280
to to support that entrepreneur in that business.
720
00:36:42.719 --> 00:36:45.039
Absolutely, this is something I was having a discussion with
721
00:36:45.079 --> 00:36:47.559
someone earlier today, and that's what I was saying to
722
00:36:47.639 --> 00:36:51.360
them was it's not about what your product does. It's
723
00:36:51.400 --> 00:36:54.199
not about how cool it looks, it's not about what
724
00:36:54.239 --> 00:36:56.719
it's made out of. Those things help sell it, but
725
00:36:56.760 --> 00:36:59.079
it's what does it make you feel like when you
726
00:36:59.119 --> 00:37:01.320
see it? Oh, I feel a certain type of way
727
00:37:01.360 --> 00:37:04.320
about it. I mean, if I tell you whatever your
728
00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:06.880
favorite Hamburger place is and you have that picture in
729
00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:08.960
your mind, and then I tell you McDonald's, you're gonna
730
00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:10.880
have a different picture in mind. It's gonna make you
731
00:37:10.920 --> 00:37:12.960
feel a different kind of way. If you're someone who
732
00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:16.239
loves McDonald's for the convenience, for the price, whatever it is,
733
00:37:16.239 --> 00:37:18.519
you're gonna say, well, I love this burger, but it's
734
00:37:18.519 --> 00:37:21.199
a lot more expensive, and I actually love McDonald's because
735
00:37:21.239 --> 00:37:23.719
of this. Or if you absolutely can't stand McDonald's, you're
736
00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:25.280
gonna think of your favorite burger place and go, oh,
737
00:37:25.400 --> 00:37:27.280
just love. It makes me feel so happy and warm
738
00:37:27.320 --> 00:37:31.400
and cozy, and then McDonald's just disgusting. There's directly opposite things,
739
00:37:31.400 --> 00:37:34.719
but there's stuff correlated. So for me with the story,
740
00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:38.119
is a story is your unique selling proposition. And for me,
741
00:37:38.599 --> 00:37:42.199
especially early in business, and there's been a few occurrences
742
00:37:42.199 --> 00:37:44.079
of this over the past couple of years, is I
743
00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:45.639
always thought that it's like I just got to have
744
00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:46.280
the best product.
745
00:37:46.320 --> 00:37:47.920
I got to be the best. I got to keep learning.
746
00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:50.000
And of course you should be on that track to
747
00:37:50.119 --> 00:37:51.760
want to be as good as you possibly can be.
748
00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:55.760
So yes, please keep learning and you will you can
749
00:37:56.159 --> 00:37:59.519
no matter if you are making one million, maybe you're
750
00:37:59.519 --> 00:38:01.840
making one you haven't even you don't even know how
751
00:38:01.880 --> 00:38:04.079
to count up to a million yet, or you want
752
00:38:04.119 --> 00:38:07.280
to get there but you haven't even started your business yet.
753
00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:09.519
Don't think about how you can be the best. Just
754
00:38:09.559 --> 00:38:12.400
think about starting and having the unique story why you started,
755
00:38:12.880 --> 00:38:16.239
because that will sell you and you can directly throw
756
00:38:16.320 --> 00:38:18.679
stones at some of these bigger people. This was something
757
00:38:18.719 --> 00:38:20.360
starting an agency where it's like, well, you know, I've
758
00:38:20.360 --> 00:38:21.639
got to have everything in house. I got to have
759
00:38:21.639 --> 00:38:23.320
the website developer in house. I've got to have the
760
00:38:23.360 --> 00:38:26.400
SEO expert in house. I've got to have everyone in house.
761
00:38:26.400 --> 00:38:28.559
And I don't know, I don't have the capital to
762
00:38:28.599 --> 00:38:30.000
be able to bring all these people in house, so
763
00:38:30.039 --> 00:38:31.239
that means I have to go learn it.
764
00:38:31.519 --> 00:38:32.760
And that's just not true.
765
00:38:33.280 --> 00:38:36.159
And what I've found two different things is one, you
766
00:38:36.199 --> 00:38:40.079
can connect with amazing people and actually start sharing business
767
00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:42.519
with other people. As long as you've vetted them, you
768
00:38:42.559 --> 00:38:44.119
know they're really good. They're good at what they do,
769
00:38:44.199 --> 00:38:46.679
and they have a unique story that and they also
770
00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:48.159
have the same values you do.
771
00:38:48.639 --> 00:38:50.920
Great, guess what people are all gonna win.
772
00:38:51.039 --> 00:38:52.679
It's gonna be a win win, win win for you,
773
00:38:52.719 --> 00:38:54.639
win for the client, and win for this other business.
774
00:38:54.960 --> 00:38:57.119
And that's how we've been able to grow. And then
775
00:38:57.159 --> 00:38:59.880
secondly is if I'm I never feel like I'm in
776
00:38:59.880 --> 00:39:03.360
competition with anyone. The way that I have uniquely positioned.
777
00:39:03.440 --> 00:39:06.760
Our e commerce growth agency is I'm basing it off
778
00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:09.199
of I have been a two time founder who's grown
779
00:39:09.239 --> 00:39:10.800
to over a million dollars a year in the first
780
00:39:10.800 --> 00:39:12.559
twelve months of launching e commerce stores.
781
00:39:12.880 --> 00:39:16.360
So I want to help you a insert X.
782
00:39:16.320 --> 00:39:18.360
Brand that is at a half a million dollars and
783
00:39:18.400 --> 00:39:19.800
you've been there for the last three years and you
784
00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:20.800
want to scale to a million.
785
00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:23.719
So for me, is that's who I am. I sell
786
00:39:23.760 --> 00:39:24.199
the story.
787
00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:27.800
I'm not telling them, Hey, I do paid marketing, and
788
00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:28.880
this is how I do paid marketing.
789
00:39:28.960 --> 00:39:31.000
I used to I used to sell all the features.
790
00:39:31.159 --> 00:39:31.880
I used to do this.
791
00:39:31.880 --> 00:39:33.039
This is how I do this, and this is why
792
00:39:33.039 --> 00:39:34.400
it's really good, and this is why this person is
793
00:39:34.480 --> 00:39:36.639
not is good, But it's the story that sells so
794
00:39:36.719 --> 00:39:39.079
much more. And you can actually charge way more for
795
00:39:39.320 --> 00:39:42.199
the story than you can just base on the features.
796
00:39:42.840 --> 00:39:45.320
You can go and find people on upwork and fiver
797
00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:47.519
to do the same exact thing that you're doing for cheaper,
798
00:39:47.960 --> 00:39:49.639
but they don't know how to leverage the story of
799
00:39:49.639 --> 00:39:51.719
why they're doing it yet, so they're just trying to
800
00:39:51.800 --> 00:39:54.519
fight everyone else based on price, and that will and
801
00:39:54.599 --> 00:39:56.480
if that is a race to the floor. You don't
802
00:39:56.480 --> 00:39:59.079
want to win. You want to be the higher price option.
803
00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:01.079
And the only way you can be higher process to
804
00:40:01.119 --> 00:40:02.239
have the unique story.
805
00:40:04.480 --> 00:40:09.679
That is something you know, I find so valuable as
806
00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:15.239
well when we talk about businesses in general, and I
807
00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:20.039
haven't what you're saying that story and really how to
808
00:40:20.159 --> 00:40:24.400
connect it to that business. I haven't thought about that
809
00:40:24.480 --> 00:40:26.639
in the e commerce space as much, and now my
810
00:40:26.800 --> 00:40:29.960
mind is even turning of like, what are the e
811
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:32.559
commerce that are doing that and how does that make
812
00:40:32.559 --> 00:40:34.880
you feel? And that's what question I kind of have
813
00:40:35.559 --> 00:40:38.360
to the listeners to think about as well when it
814
00:40:38.440 --> 00:40:41.320
comes to e commerce stores, whether you want to start it,
815
00:40:41.360 --> 00:40:45.639
whether it might be an Epsy store, a Facebook marketplace
816
00:40:45.679 --> 00:40:50.639
you want to start dabbling in, or shopify, whatever it
817
00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:54.079
might be, and however dig you want to take it.
818
00:40:54.880 --> 00:40:59.360
What are the businesses that you think of that really
819
00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:02.440
pull you in to buy a product that are tying
820
00:41:02.519 --> 00:41:05.960
stories into it. You know, as you brought that up,
821
00:41:06.159 --> 00:41:10.960
I thought of Toms Shoes and the fact that they
822
00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:14.599
really and my mind is thinking about this as we're
823
00:41:14.639 --> 00:41:20.760
talking about it, is they really grew quickly because of
824
00:41:21.280 --> 00:41:24.199
their commitment to give back to the community. You buy
825
00:41:24.239 --> 00:41:26.599
a pair of shoes. We give a pair of shoes
826
00:41:26.639 --> 00:41:30.480
and people connected with that and resonated with that, and
827
00:41:30.519 --> 00:41:35.360
then you saw the growth, you know, skyrocket quickly because
828
00:41:35.400 --> 00:41:39.280
everyone felt like they were doing something good and the
829
00:41:39.360 --> 00:41:43.199
company was able to do something good in return because
830
00:41:43.320 --> 00:41:48.840
of them buying the product. And so that I think
831
00:41:49.880 --> 00:41:53.639
is really important. Aspects that you bring up for you
832
00:41:53.960 --> 00:41:59.880
What advice would you give someone who is trying to elevate,
833
00:42:00.559 --> 00:42:02.679
you know, that might become a client of yours in
834
00:42:02.719 --> 00:42:06.800
the e commerce space that you typically see people not
835
00:42:07.039 --> 00:42:11.159
thinking about until you sit down with them. That you're like,
836
00:42:11.719 --> 00:42:15.400
if you had thought about this one thing, even if
837
00:42:15.519 --> 00:42:18.239
we would still be working together today, but it would
838
00:42:18.320 --> 00:42:22.039
have helped you get to me faster. What would be
839
00:42:22.800 --> 00:42:25.440
that that one thing or maybe it's a few.
840
00:42:26.239 --> 00:42:29.639
Yeah, So the one thing I think about immediately, because
841
00:42:29.639 --> 00:42:32.159
I see this as something that happens to brands pretty
842
00:42:32.199 --> 00:42:34.000
much as soon as they hit about twenty thousand dollars
843
00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:36.840
to thirty thousand dollars a month, is that they hit
844
00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:38.719
this threshold and they go, well, the only way for
845
00:42:38.760 --> 00:42:40.119
me to get to the next level I'm want to
846
00:42:40.159 --> 00:42:41.960
get to a half a million to a million, is
847
00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:44.239
I got to add more products because that's the only
848
00:42:44.280 --> 00:42:46.920
way I can get a higher average order value, and
849
00:42:47.360 --> 00:42:48.960
unfortunately that's not the case.
850
00:42:49.320 --> 00:42:52.119
So what I've seen is there's a client that comes
851
00:42:52.119 --> 00:42:53.000
to mind. There's two of them.
852
00:42:53.039 --> 00:42:56.239
Actually they come to mind immediately that one of them
853
00:42:56.519 --> 00:43:00.280
is much higher priced and another one is very low prize.
854
00:43:00.519 --> 00:43:02.320
And what I found was both of them want the
855
00:43:02.400 --> 00:43:04.800
same thing. Both of them want to hire average order value.
856
00:43:05.039 --> 00:43:07.440
But both of them have a ton of products that
857
00:43:07.760 --> 00:43:10.320
don't sell. So you're putting a huge strain on your
858
00:43:10.320 --> 00:43:13.400
supply chain for no reason. And that's eating up cash flow,
859
00:43:13.440 --> 00:43:16.480
that's eating up time, that's eating up resources for nothing.
860
00:43:16.880 --> 00:43:20.320
And what's interesting is that where the resources need to go, because,
861
00:43:20.440 --> 00:43:23.639
especially for bootstrapped founders, which most people are going to
862
00:43:23.639 --> 00:43:27.320
be bootstrapped, especially for their first couple of businesses, you
863
00:43:27.480 --> 00:43:29.480
need as much resources and cash flow as you can
864
00:43:29.519 --> 00:43:32.840
in the right places. So in the beginning, let's say
865
00:43:32.840 --> 00:43:35.639
that you started, let's say you start your brand. I'll
866
00:43:35.719 --> 00:43:38.440
use you as example, is with your apparel line. Is
867
00:43:38.639 --> 00:43:40.519
let's say you have six products and that's what you
868
00:43:40.519 --> 00:43:42.840
start with. And then over time, let's say over the
869
00:43:42.840 --> 00:43:44.760
first six months, you notice that there's three of them
870
00:43:44.760 --> 00:43:46.760
that's sell really, really well, and the other three don't
871
00:43:46.800 --> 00:43:49.760
sell at all. It would be probably beneficial to cut
872
00:43:49.800 --> 00:43:53.000
those other three, focus all of your spend your time,
873
00:43:53.039 --> 00:43:56.199
your energy, your social media posts on those three, and
874
00:43:56.239 --> 00:43:58.679
then do that again in another six months or in
875
00:43:58.719 --> 00:44:01.320
a couple months. However fast it starts to grow, because
876
00:44:01.360 --> 00:44:03.639
then you can see, okay, why is this not selling.
877
00:44:03.960 --> 00:44:06.760
It's like if there's three left. If there's three items left,
878
00:44:06.760 --> 00:44:09.719
you can look at those three, see how much they sell,
879
00:44:09.760 --> 00:44:11.519
and then there's going to be one that just stands out.
880
00:44:11.800 --> 00:44:13.519
If you find that one that stands out, we call
881
00:44:13.559 --> 00:44:15.599
that the hero product. That's the one that everyone comes
882
00:44:15.599 --> 00:44:17.199
to your side, they see, they love it, they want
883
00:44:17.199 --> 00:44:18.639
to get it. Those are the ones you're going to
884
00:44:18.639 --> 00:44:20.920
have the best reviews for. And that's the product that
885
00:44:20.960 --> 00:44:23.440
you just take and you spotlight that thing and you
886
00:44:23.559 --> 00:44:25.519
make different colors of it, and then you sit there
887
00:44:25.519 --> 00:44:29.039
and you'll change whatever the lower reviews are. If it's well,
888
00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:30.679
it's not as good equality as I want it to be.
889
00:44:31.079 --> 00:44:32.719
Now great, you have a little bit more cash flow.
890
00:44:32.760 --> 00:44:34.960
Instead of investing it into more products, you invest it.
891
00:44:34.880 --> 00:44:35.639
Into that product.
892
00:44:35.880 --> 00:44:38.639
You make that product better and I think that that's
893
00:44:38.679 --> 00:44:41.920
one of the biggest things for me is with these
894
00:44:42.079 --> 00:44:44.880
even with these two brands, both of them went wide
895
00:44:45.519 --> 00:44:48.920
on product lines, just trying to capture as many as
896
00:44:48.920 --> 00:44:51.639
many customers as possible to drive that average order value,
897
00:44:51.719 --> 00:44:54.800
when unfortunately they could have just focused more time and
898
00:44:54.880 --> 00:44:57.400
energy on the things that we're already getting sales. So
899
00:44:57.719 --> 00:45:00.920
for any brand in the beginning is that one of
900
00:45:01.000 --> 00:45:03.480
the suggestions I made to actually the lower price store
901
00:45:03.559 --> 00:45:05.400
was they just needed to be a one store product
902
00:45:05.519 --> 00:45:09.239
or a one product store. So cut everything else they had,
903
00:45:09.280 --> 00:45:12.920
like twenty thirty products. Cut everything else they had almost
904
00:45:13.039 --> 00:45:16.920
they had they so their product was about thirty five dollars,
905
00:45:17.280 --> 00:45:19.639
and their cost on that their cogs was three dollars.
906
00:45:19.880 --> 00:45:20.679
It was dirt cheap.
907
00:45:21.039 --> 00:45:23.280
So they could sell one and then sell one for
908
00:45:23.320 --> 00:45:25.840
half price and still be making pretty good money. So
909
00:45:25.880 --> 00:45:28.400
why would you not and why would you instead try
910
00:45:28.440 --> 00:45:31.119
to sell a hoodie for fifty dollars and your cost
911
00:45:31.159 --> 00:45:34.639
of goods is twenty six Like, doesn't make sense when
912
00:45:34.639 --> 00:45:37.000
you could focus all your time, energy and effort into
913
00:45:37.000 --> 00:45:38.679
where it's going to be a cash cow if you
914
00:45:38.679 --> 00:45:41.880
can figure it out. And that and the sales was
915
00:45:41.920 --> 00:45:44.159
directly proportionate to the cheaper item anyway, So it was
916
00:45:44.239 --> 00:45:47.159
ninety nine percent went to this cheaper item there was
917
00:45:47.400 --> 00:45:50.239
maybe five sales, and the for the hoodie there was
918
00:45:50.320 --> 00:45:53.760
over three thousand sales for the cheaper items. So you
919
00:45:53.800 --> 00:45:56.280
know what people want. People are showing you what they
920
00:45:56.280 --> 00:45:58.159
want based on their dollars. So that's that is the
921
00:45:58.159 --> 00:46:01.199
biggest thing. If I could basically boil it all down
922
00:46:01.199 --> 00:46:03.480
to one word is focus. You just got to focus
923
00:46:03.519 --> 00:46:06.519
on the one product, the one thing, and then launch
924
00:46:06.679 --> 00:46:08.840
and then you reiterate on that product, make it better,
925
00:46:09.199 --> 00:46:11.880
and over time you can start adding products on and
926
00:46:11.920 --> 00:46:14.320
do it the right way, which is ask questions of
927
00:46:14.400 --> 00:46:17.519
your already existing clients or if you don't have clients
928
00:46:17.599 --> 00:46:20.000
or customers, however you want to describe them. Is you
929
00:46:20.039 --> 00:46:22.639
go and you talk to your friends, your family, go
930
00:46:22.679 --> 00:46:24.719
talk to people who aren't your friends, who are going
931
00:46:24.800 --> 00:46:26.920
to be actually mean to you, and say, hey, I
932
00:46:27.039 --> 00:46:28.920
just created this product, or I really want to create this,
933
00:46:29.039 --> 00:46:29.920
or here's my prototype.
934
00:46:29.960 --> 00:46:30.559
What do you think about it?
935
00:46:30.599 --> 00:46:32.880
And if they say it sucks and it sucks from
936
00:46:32.920 --> 00:46:35.039
ten people out of the ten people you talk to,
937
00:46:35.159 --> 00:46:37.800
it probably sucks. But if you get hey, this is
938
00:46:37.840 --> 00:46:39.639
really good, and I think this is something that I
939
00:46:39.679 --> 00:46:42.159
would like out of eight out of the ten, then
940
00:46:42.199 --> 00:46:44.519
you could actually sell people right then, Hey, so this
941
00:46:44.599 --> 00:46:47.000
is actually something would you be interested in actually buying this?
942
00:46:47.079 --> 00:46:49.000
You said it's really good. Yeah, I think that this
943
00:46:49.039 --> 00:46:50.679
is something that I could really use. So this looks
944
00:46:50.760 --> 00:46:53.760
really good, This is really cool. Great, here's my pre
945
00:46:53.880 --> 00:46:55.400
order page. Go ahead and pre order it. I have
946
00:46:55.440 --> 00:46:57.280
a shipment coming in. You don't even have to have
947
00:46:57.320 --> 00:47:00.159
the shipment yet. You're just getting proof of concepts. You
948
00:47:00.159 --> 00:47:01.559
can sit there and say, hey, yeah, go ahead and
949
00:47:01.800 --> 00:47:02.519
lock it in right here.
950
00:47:02.599 --> 00:47:03.239
Pre order rate.
951
00:47:03.280 --> 00:47:06.559
You get a fifty percent off, And that's just because
952
00:47:06.559 --> 00:47:08.760
you took time to do this with me today. So
953
00:47:08.800 --> 00:47:10.920
that's just free game for getting a brand off the
954
00:47:10.920 --> 00:47:13.920
ground and doing it pretty much for free. I mean,
955
00:47:13.960 --> 00:47:18.039
you're doing it really cheap with just one product, one prototype.
956
00:47:18.079 --> 00:47:22.639
And you just answered my next question, which was kind
957
00:47:22.679 --> 00:47:27.280
of going to be around this idea of as you mentioned,
958
00:47:27.320 --> 00:47:30.840
a lot of people think you need to offer twenty
959
00:47:31.000 --> 00:47:34.880
thirty products to start. They need the whole line, every option,
960
00:47:36.639 --> 00:47:39.480
and that is something I've even seen in discussions with
961
00:47:39.519 --> 00:47:43.519
people as I have brainstorm and stuff. It's like they're like, well,
962
00:47:43.519 --> 00:47:46.000
why don't you also, you have like all these great
963
00:47:46.039 --> 00:47:46.760
concept ideas.
964
00:47:46.840 --> 00:47:47.559
Why don't you do all?
965
00:47:48.400 --> 00:47:50.960
And I'm like, okay, let's like bring it in a
966
00:47:51.039 --> 00:47:55.000
little bit. Let's or like they start throwing twenty other
967
00:47:55.079 --> 00:47:57.079
ideas at you, and You're like, okay, we can't do
968
00:47:57.159 --> 00:48:01.480
all twenty ideas right off the bat. We can't add,
969
00:48:01.679 --> 00:48:04.000
we can't go up to sixty items, you know any
970
00:48:04.039 --> 00:48:09.440
of that. They're crazy numbers, guys. I'm just throwing numbers out,
971
00:48:09.920 --> 00:48:13.599
but I wanted to give that preface. But what do
972
00:48:13.639 --> 00:48:17.639
you think is a good number to start with, whether
973
00:48:17.679 --> 00:48:21.519
it's that one or what do you find people's sweet
974
00:48:21.559 --> 00:48:27.199
spots are on the different products they offer to start It.
975
00:48:27.159 --> 00:48:30.280
Depends on the niche. So depending on the niche.
976
00:48:30.280 --> 00:48:32.480
So when I think about pet, I'm not sure why
977
00:48:32.519 --> 00:48:33.920
this is the first one that popped into my head.
978
00:48:34.360 --> 00:48:39.039
Is with there's a brand they're called They're called Frenchy actually,
979
00:48:39.079 --> 00:48:41.599
so they're a French bulldog brand that they started with
980
00:48:41.679 --> 00:48:45.239
they harness that is reversible. So that was it, Like
981
00:48:45.320 --> 00:48:47.480
they started with one product and what was cool is
982
00:48:47.519 --> 00:48:48.960
now they have a ton of products and they have
983
00:48:49.000 --> 00:48:51.800
all these different brands that are on there. They've expanded
984
00:48:51.800 --> 00:48:54.079
over time, but they started with one and they just
985
00:48:54.119 --> 00:48:57.119
made it unique. So it has fun designs on one
986
00:48:57.159 --> 00:48:58.880
side and you can reverse it has fun designs on
987
00:48:58.920 --> 00:49:02.400
the other side. Well, I think it It also just depends,
988
00:49:02.400 --> 00:49:04.719
Like when it comes to apparel, I would say apparel,
989
00:49:04.719 --> 00:49:06.760
you could have a few things. I don't think you
990
00:49:06.800 --> 00:49:08.519
need to have a whole jogger set, so you don't
991
00:49:08.519 --> 00:49:10.360
need to have a hoodie, you don't need to have
992
00:49:10.400 --> 00:49:12.639
the joggers with it. You don't need to go find
993
00:49:12.679 --> 00:49:15.599
a way to create shoes too. I think it depends
994
00:49:15.639 --> 00:49:17.559
on who you want to be, and it depends on
995
00:49:17.679 --> 00:49:20.119
what the mission is. So this is why it ties
996
00:49:20.159 --> 00:49:22.280
back into the story, is why are you starting it
997
00:49:22.320 --> 00:49:25.280
in the first place. So on the flip side on
998
00:49:25.320 --> 00:49:28.199
what the customers don't see is why are you starting
999
00:49:28.239 --> 00:49:30.360
in Why does it matter to you? If it matters
1000
00:49:30.400 --> 00:49:32.960
to you that you want to get recognition where recognition
1001
00:49:33.039 --> 00:49:34.599
is due, you want people to be able to see
1002
00:49:34.599 --> 00:49:37.840
this and say, oh, yeah, this is a group of
1003
00:49:37.880 --> 00:49:39.960
people who do not get seen as much as they should.
1004
00:49:40.320 --> 00:49:41.880
If that's the reason why it wore, you want to
1005
00:49:41.880 --> 00:49:43.800
support people who you know they don't get seen, but
1006
00:49:43.880 --> 00:49:48.119
they are They're a hungry, small niche that nobody is supporting,
1007
00:49:48.159 --> 00:49:50.199
and you feel like you want to support them, then
1008
00:49:50.840 --> 00:49:52.960
I would I would actually just ask them, hey, what
1009
00:49:52.960 --> 00:49:55.239
would you want? Like I would start there. It's like, Hey,
1010
00:49:55.239 --> 00:49:57.519
you were the people, you're my ideal customers. This is
1011
00:49:57.519 --> 00:50:00.280
what I'm thinking about making. What would if if I
1012
00:50:00.280 --> 00:50:02.360
had it? What would you buy? And if they say,
1013
00:50:02.480 --> 00:50:05.159
if it's across the board a T shirt, then just
1014
00:50:05.199 --> 00:50:07.360
start with a T shirt. If it's hey, I think
1015
00:50:07.440 --> 00:50:11.719
that because of the location of where we're at, I
1016
00:50:11.760 --> 00:50:14.119
think a hoodie would be the best. I think it
1017
00:50:14.159 --> 00:50:16.840
would be a hoodie and sweatpants. Those two do really well.
1018
00:50:17.239 --> 00:50:19.639
Then maybe having three or four products is fine. I
1019
00:50:19.679 --> 00:50:23.199
think for most people is most people, if you're starting
1020
00:50:23.199 --> 00:50:25.400
a brand and you're starting it for whatever reason, you
1021
00:50:25.400 --> 00:50:27.800
want to be a home decord line in the future,
1022
00:50:28.239 --> 00:50:30.880
start with one thing, like, just prove one thing in
1023
00:50:30.920 --> 00:50:33.840
the marketplace, because if you proved one thing and then
1024
00:50:33.840 --> 00:50:36.159
you start scaling that up, you actually have more cash flow,
1025
00:50:36.199 --> 00:50:38.880
you have more proven things to then go invest in
1026
00:50:39.639 --> 00:50:42.960
actually getting more things created and ship to you so
1027
00:50:43.000 --> 00:50:43.800
you can ship out.
1028
00:50:44.000 --> 00:50:47.320
But I think what happens in the beginning. No excuse me,
1029
00:50:47.440 --> 00:50:48.760
It is a couple of things happen.
1030
00:50:49.719 --> 00:50:52.760
Is one people will kind of shotgun approach it to
1031
00:50:52.760 --> 00:50:54.679
come up with a lot of products, which then puts
1032
00:50:54.679 --> 00:50:56.000
a huge strain on their cash flow.
1033
00:50:56.400 --> 00:50:58.679
So then they have all this inventory in their garage
1034
00:50:58.719 --> 00:51:00.320
usually because that's what we to do.
1035
00:51:00.800 --> 00:51:03.880
And what happens is then there'll only be one thing
1036
00:51:03.880 --> 00:51:06.119
that really sells, and now they're stuck with all this
1037
00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:07.559
inventory and they don't know what to do with it.
1038
00:51:07.840 --> 00:51:09.239
So sure, maybe you have one.
1039
00:51:09.199 --> 00:51:11.559
Two products that are doing really well, but you still
1040
00:51:11.599 --> 00:51:14.840
got ten grand worth of stuff in your garage that's
1041
00:51:14.880 --> 00:51:18.000
not selling. You've only sold ten grands. People only see
1042
00:51:18.000 --> 00:51:19.679
that you've made ten grand, but you're not even even
1043
00:51:19.760 --> 00:51:22.400
yet because that with cost of goods and everything else,
1044
00:51:22.679 --> 00:51:25.320
you're still out a loss, which makes it really hard
1045
00:51:25.480 --> 00:51:27.239
in the beginning to scale. So for me, I always
1046
00:51:27.280 --> 00:51:29.960
think if you're bootstrapping it, unless you have a big
1047
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:31.760
four to one k or something, you're investing into it,
1048
00:51:31.800 --> 00:51:34.599
a couple you know, ten twenty thousand dollars just laying there,
1049
00:51:35.039 --> 00:51:37.480
I would say if you've got less than five thousand
1050
00:51:37.519 --> 00:51:39.920
dollars and that's not all going into it, like you're
1051
00:51:39.920 --> 00:51:41.800
actually trying to live off of some of this and
1052
00:51:41.840 --> 00:51:45.119
you're trying to strategically grow, then starting with one or
1053
00:51:45.199 --> 00:51:47.519
two products is the best. And doing it where you've
1054
00:51:47.559 --> 00:51:49.760
actually gone and talked to people, figure out what they want,
1055
00:51:49.920 --> 00:51:51.639
maybe get some of those pre orders, get them on
1056
00:51:51.679 --> 00:51:54.840
a wait list, whatever it is, so that way, when
1057
00:51:54.880 --> 00:51:57.320
you launch, you already have built in customers or you
1058
00:51:57.400 --> 00:51:59.960
give This is something that we did in the beginning
1059
00:52:00.239 --> 00:52:02.159
we had a little bit more capital. Is we got
1060
00:52:02.360 --> 00:52:05.119
I think four or five of our first items and
1061
00:52:05.119 --> 00:52:07.960
then we just send them to our parents and we
1062
00:52:08.079 --> 00:52:09.519
just had them give us five star reviews, so it
1063
00:52:09.519 --> 00:52:11.760
would look like we actually had sales on the data
1064
00:52:11.760 --> 00:52:12.400
that we launched it.
1065
00:52:12.880 --> 00:52:15.440
So there's little nuances that you can do like that.
1066
00:52:15.440 --> 00:52:18.039
But yeah, I would definitely say if you're bootstrapping it
1067
00:52:18.079 --> 00:52:19.880
and you don't have a lot of capital, you really
1068
00:52:19.920 --> 00:52:20.400
just need to.
1069
00:52:22.320 --> 00:52:25.440
Well. And I appreciate that insight, and I think it's
1070
00:52:25.480 --> 00:52:28.639
a great place to wrap up for today, Stephen. How
1071
00:52:28.679 --> 00:52:30.320
can people get in touch with you if they want
1072
00:52:30.360 --> 00:52:31.119
to connect with you?
1073
00:52:31.599 --> 00:52:33.320
So you said this right at the beginning, and I
1074
00:52:33.519 --> 00:52:35.639
love it. LinkedIn is definitely one of the best ways
1075
00:52:35.639 --> 00:52:37.480
to get a hold of me. I'm on there all
1076
00:52:37.519 --> 00:52:39.639
the time. It goes directly to my phone. Look for
1077
00:52:39.760 --> 00:52:42.239
Steven Pemmerton kind of looks like Jason Momoa. I need
1078
00:52:42.280 --> 00:52:44.039
to update the picture of my hair's a little longer now.
1079
00:52:44.400 --> 00:52:47.679
But if you find Steven Pemmerton looks like Aquaman does
1080
00:52:47.760 --> 00:52:50.199
most likely me. If not, please take a screenshot then
1081
00:52:50.239 --> 00:52:51.599
find me for real and send it to me.
1082
00:52:51.639 --> 00:52:52.440
I would love to see that.
1083
00:52:52.880 --> 00:52:55.039
And then the other best way is elevate them dot
1084
00:52:55.079 --> 00:52:57.880
digital on there. If you are an e commerce brand
1085
00:52:57.920 --> 00:53:00.320
that's doing about around a half a million, even less,
1086
00:53:00.320 --> 00:53:01.760
I would love to still have a conversation.
1087
00:53:02.159 --> 00:53:03.559
Right there is my booking link.
1088
00:53:03.599 --> 00:53:05.800
It is my booking link, and you will get me
1089
00:53:05.880 --> 00:53:07.760
if it's not anyone else's not a sales guy, it
1090
00:53:07.840 --> 00:53:08.400
is actually me.
1091
00:53:09.800 --> 00:53:13.119
I love that, and I love how you just emphasize
1092
00:53:13.159 --> 00:53:16.079
that because a lot of people sometimes would be cautious.
1093
00:53:16.119 --> 00:53:18.880
So I appreciate you doing that, and thank you Steven
1094
00:53:19.199 --> 00:53:21.039
for all of your insight today.
1095
00:53:21.800 --> 00:53:23.280
Hey, thank you so much for having me.
1096
00:53:24.039 --> 00:53:27.159
And a few of our key takeaways from today's conversation
1097
00:53:27.639 --> 00:53:31.119
is doing something you love, even if you don't love
1098
00:53:31.280 --> 00:53:33.480
how you have to do it. Every day. I think
1099
00:53:33.519 --> 00:53:37.559
that was such an important aspect of what Stephen said
1100
00:53:37.559 --> 00:53:41.920
in the beginning, but also how that sometimes when we're
1101
00:53:41.920 --> 00:53:44.199
in the thick of it, whether it's running our own business,
1102
00:53:44.280 --> 00:53:48.400
doing our job every day, there's not every aspect we
1103
00:53:48.519 --> 00:53:50.880
love of it, and so we have to remember sometimes
1104
00:53:50.960 --> 00:53:54.519
is why do we love this and why are we
1105
00:53:54.679 --> 00:53:57.679
doing this? As well as you can't just show up,
1106
00:53:58.079 --> 00:54:01.039
you can just show up no matter how how you feel.
1107
00:54:01.400 --> 00:54:04.239
Show up, be present, whether that's in work, your personal
1108
00:54:04.280 --> 00:54:08.599
aspect of life. Sometimes that's all that matters. That's all
1109
00:54:08.639 --> 00:54:10.920
that people need from you is know that you're there,
1110
00:54:11.440 --> 00:54:13.920
know that they can rely on you, and know that
1111
00:54:14.320 --> 00:54:16.920
you will give it your all no matter how you're feeling.
1112
00:54:17.400 --> 00:54:21.400
And sometimes working through those moments or being present in
1113
00:54:21.440 --> 00:54:25.639
those moments when you might be feeling down or not
1114
00:54:25.639 --> 00:54:28.880
not be feeling your best, will prove to you that
1115
00:54:28.960 --> 00:54:31.920
you could also do it, which it can be such
1116
00:54:31.960 --> 00:54:38.440
an amazing feeling sometimes, as well as identify your inefficiencies.
1117
00:54:38.960 --> 00:54:42.559
I think that's what Stephen mentioned here in the importance
1118
00:54:42.639 --> 00:54:46.599
of understanding the procedures how you do solve the processes,
1119
00:54:47.199 --> 00:54:51.440
whether it is running a company or running a department.
1120
00:54:51.920 --> 00:54:55.360
If you don't understand your own inefficiencies, you won't be
1121
00:54:55.360 --> 00:55:01.440
able to grow the team, the group, the business that so, okay,
1122
00:55:01.920 --> 00:55:04.320
we're going to say here, we're going to figure this
1123
00:55:04.440 --> 00:55:08.119
out because in order of having that hard discussion or
1124
00:55:08.199 --> 00:55:12.159
hard realization, you're able to move forward and grow. As
1125
00:55:12.199 --> 00:55:14.880
well as what is your story and how do you
1126
00:55:14.960 --> 00:55:17.360
want to express it? And this was one of the
1127
00:55:17.440 --> 00:55:22.320
challenges I leave the listeners with as well, is what
1128
00:55:22.559 --> 00:55:25.159
is your story? How do you want that story to
1129
00:55:25.400 --> 00:55:29.199
be expressed in the products you sell and the things
1130
00:55:29.239 --> 00:55:31.599
you do and the way you get back to the community.
1131
00:55:32.239 --> 00:55:34.719
What do you want your story to be and how
1132
00:55:34.719 --> 00:55:37.239
do you want to use your voice? This was a
1133
00:55:37.280 --> 00:55:41.400
great episode with our top notch guest Steven Pemberton. Thank
1134
00:55:41.440 --> 00:56:03.239
you for listening and have a successful days and cost
1135
00:56:04.360 --> 00:56:08.559
continued to pass