Hey it’s Mike and Grant! Today we are going to talk about how you can grow your business when you have a “rocket ship” year. We are still making plans for 2017, but there are some plans already in the works. 

We discuss those plans as well as suggestions you can do when you are in our current situation.

Here is what we cover in today’s discussion:

• Grant’s trip to Asia.
• Our growth in 2016.
• What to consider when you need to approach a bank.
• How the banks will work with you.
• The online lending option.
• Why shipping rates are important.
• How focusing on top sellers is a way to save money.
• Why operational efficiencies are important.
• Mike’s plans for a workspace in the Philippines.

There is a lot of territory to cover on this subject. We will be doing a part 2 on this topic and the next couple of episodes will be pre-recorded because we won’t be available for the live show. Speaking of the live show, if you go to our Facebook page at facebook.com/ecomcrew you can watch our podcast live when you like our page.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Ecom Crew Facebook Page

Paypal Credit

Kabbage

Colorit

Cuttingboard.com

If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Hi this is Mike and I’ll be doing the podcast solo today. Grant is out of town, but he’ll be back. I’m going to finish our latest listeners’ questions today. Then we will change the topic in the next episode. Again you guys have sent lots of great questions and I’ll try to answer them to my best ability.

Here are some of the topics I discussed today for you guys:

• How to choose a 3pl.
• Why we don’t turn off PPC on Amazon.
• How to plan purchasing for your current season.
• My opinion on Groupon.
• How to improve your conversation rate.
• The benefits of retargeting ads.
• What kind of discounts we offer new customers.
• Why we disabled pop-ups on Google.
• The benefits of AdEspresso.
• What has worked for us in Klaviyo.
• Are exact domains worth it?
• The things we do in-house.
• My plans in the Philippines.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Icewaps.com

Colorit

Cuttingboard.com

Ecom Crew

Ecom Crew Facebook Page

AdEspresso

Klaviyo

If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Hey it’s Mike and Grant here! Today’s episode of the podcast is part 2 of a Q & A series we started last week. You guys send awesome questions and we love hearing from you. For those of you who watched us on the Facebook Live recording if you had any questions that you wanted to ask during the recording, we tried to answer those as well.

Here are some questions we answered today:

[In regards to drop-shipping] "I'm wondering if I'm simply in the wrong business model, what can I do to make it better?"

• The pros and cons of drop-shipping.
• When drop-shipping is practical.

[Regarding Facebook ads] "Can you talk more about your front end ads and funnels? That is where I am struggling running Facebook ads."

• How Mike uses retargeting ads.
• Using Facebook ads to reach out to niche customers.
• Why Grant doesn’t use retargeting ads.
• How to use Google ads.

"Do you guys do fulfillment in house?"

• How we fulfill orders in house.
• The pros and cons of in-house order fulfillment.

[Regarding the supplements industry] "How to replicate the 'free value' approach?"

• Why supplements are a great arena for the “free value” approach.
• Using free samples to market to your customers.
• Our advice on how to use the “free value” approach effectively.

"Where do you find your VAs (virtual assistants?)"

• Where Mike finds his VAs.
• What he asks for from potential hires.
• When you should (or could) hire a VA.

"What is the process for being approved for a Google Trusted store?"

• How to get approval for a Google Trusted store in general.
• How to do it through Bigcommerce.
• How to do it through Shopify.

We had tons more great questions and we’ll get to those next time during part 3 of our Q & A series. Thank you to everyone who sent us questions and those of you who asked us questions during the Facebook Live recording. Also thanks to those of you who listen to us on iTunes. We appreciate your reviews and all the great feedback we get from you guys. If you want to be a part of the Facebook Live recording like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ecomcrew.

Resources Mentioned Today:

Ecom Crew Facebook Page

Cuttingboard.com

Colorit.com

Icewraps.com

Upwork.com

Onlinejobs.ph

Simprosys

Google Trusted Stores

If you have any questions or anything you’d like us to discuss on the podcast please go to ecomcrew.com and fill out the contact form. Also we would really appreciate if you would leave us a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!