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In the 8 years that I've been in the eCommerce space, I've made a ton of mistakes, costing me millions of dollars + wasted time
I can't go back in time to tell myself my learnings, but hopefully, I can help aspiring founders
So here are my learnings
I can't go back in time to tell myself my learnings, but hopefully, I can help aspiring founders
So here are my learnings
1/ Stability over hypergrowth
3 years ago we cracked FB ads for one of our brands, scaling from 100k a month to $1.3M a month in a few weeks
On the surface, we were printing money, 'scaling to the moon'
3 years ago we cracked FB ads for one of our brands, scaling from 100k a month to $1.3M a month in a few weeks
On the surface, we were printing money, 'scaling to the moon'
But in the back, everything broke. We ran out of inventory, couldn't hire CX fast enough, payment processor didn't expect the growth
- Chargebacks
- Thousands of unanswered emails
- Angry reviews
- Supplier couldn't produce our products on time
- 6 figures withheld by the bank
- Chargebacks
- Thousands of unanswered emails
- Angry reviews
- Supplier couldn't produce our products on time
- 6 figures withheld by the bank
2/ Avoid Shiny Object Syndrome
There's always something new. New 'hack', new app, new 'trend'
Staying ahead is our competitive edge but doing too much at once distracts the team from what's really important ahead
Disoriented team = slower growth
Learn to assess better
There's always something new. New 'hack', new app, new 'trend'
Staying ahead is our competitive edge but doing too much at once distracts the team from what's really important ahead
Disoriented team = slower growth
Learn to assess better
3/ Revenue is soft, expenses are hard
Every dollar you 'make' won't stay but every dollar you spend immediately leaves your bank
A lot of operators don't realize just how many expenses there are within a biz
Losing track of this will make you bleed money fast
Every dollar you 'make' won't stay but every dollar you spend immediately leaves your bank
A lot of operators don't realize just how many expenses there are within a biz
Losing track of this will make you bleed money fast
4/ Be clear about who you hire & why
In the early days, I made the mistake of hiring people into roles that I thought I need for the business I'm building rather than what the business actually needs
This led to people being confused about what they're actually responsible for
In the early days, I made the mistake of hiring people into roles that I thought I need for the business I'm building rather than what the business actually needs
This led to people being confused about what they're actually responsible for
Nowadays, when I hire, I write the job description and will constantly ask myself, what are things that this person could do that no one else can do better, and what things they do to make the teamwork better as a whole
Everyone has clear ownership over something
Everyone has clear ownership over something
5/ Delegate to grow
For years, I was stubborn and wouldn't let go of certain tasks, thinking i could do it better
In hindsight, it was the biggest setback to growing my companies. I spent so much time working in my business that I couldn't work on my business
For years, I was stubborn and wouldn't let go of certain tasks, thinking i could do it better
In hindsight, it was the biggest setback to growing my companies. I spent so much time working in my business that I couldn't work on my business
As founders, our job is to think far, to create a long runway for the business to grow and be in a safer place
I spent too much time putting out fires and couldn't think about how to minimize fires from starting in the first place
Hire the right people, and step aside
I spent too much time putting out fires and couldn't think about how to minimize fires from starting in the first place
Hire the right people, and step aside
If you enjoyed this thread, you'll love the memo I send every Friday on how I build my brands. They're quick reads to help you become a better operator
http://news.bbclass.co/
Mind sharing the main tweet to help other founders?
http://news.bbclass.co/
Mind sharing the main tweet to help other founders?
