One of the hardest things to do as an entrepreneur can simply be to start. We see so many brilliant people stuck on the sidelines, paralyzed with fear, or uncertainty, or perfectionism.
People waiting until everything is “juuuuuust right.” Now, any seasoned entrepreneur will tell you that perfection is a myth, and failure is just another opportunity to learn. But there’s still that overwhelming challenge of getting the ball rolling.
So what’s the solution?
Well, as David Schwartz says in his classic self-help book, The Magic of Thinking Big, “ACTION cures fear.” That’s the secret—just doing it. Nothing fancy, nothing perfect, just putting out version one, no matter what.
When we kicked off the first class of our new entrepreneurship course Start & Scale, which focuses on launching and growing a successful ecommerce business, we were well aware that the first half of that equation might require some assistance.
So to encourage our ecommerce students to get started, and get out of their own way, we decided to run a competition.
We began our Start & Scale competition in September, and the entrants were judged on their course progress, in areas like generating a new business idea, creating a product, launching their stores, and generating initial sales.
Long story short—we were blown away by how well our students did and how driven they were to succeed!
We gave away $10,000 in prizes, and the top winners will be flown to Melbourne to meet the Foundr team and also be mentored by Gretta van Riel (4x million-dollar ecommerce business founder who teaches the Start & Scale course) and Nathan, our awesome CEO.
How did our contest winners build their successful ecommerce businesses so quickly? Below, each contest winner reveals their wins and losses and the core tactics that enabled them to achieve success in such a short period of time.
Brandon Monaghan and Justin Kemperman
The Urban Lash
Product: Magnetic Eyelashes
Website: www.theurbanlash.com
New store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
We posted user-generated content and used Facebook ads to grow the business. For the latter, we started by testing a bunch of creatives and tested which type of videos, pictures, and headlines worked best, and once we found the winning ad, it was easy to scale.
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
Justin: I was running a few other ecommerce stores and making money but I didn’t have a strong brand.
Brandon: Our store was struggling with creating an authentic “why.” Having a strong why in your brand will change everything!
What was one win you experienced?
Justin: A big win for us was crossing a half a million in sales just a few months after starting the store. It was on a regular day when I was checking my phone while walking out of school and it made me realize how powerful having a real brand is.
What is your best advice?
Justin: I suggest you find a really cool product that stands out in your niche and then test it with a few advertisements before you commit to starting an online store. If your tests work, then open a Shopify store and brand so that it appeals to your target customer.
Brandon: Don’t reinvent the wheel, just make it better!
What would you do differently next time?
Justin: I would start a brand around multiple products instead of just one, because this way I could cross-sell and upsell additional products to current customers.
Brandon: I would work with influencers earlier on.
Any other advice you want to share?
Justin: Network with a lot of people and get advice from coaches and mentors who are where you want to be. They will help you achieve your goals faster.
Brandon: Things don’t happen overnight!
Want to Learn How to Start & Grow a Profitable Online Store in 12 weeks? Sign Up for Our FREE Masterclass!
Learn How to Start a Profitable Store in 12 Weeks or Less. Join our FREE Ecommerce Masterclass!
Alec Reid
Young Bull Apparel
Product: Gymwear
Website: www.youngbullapparel.com
Existing store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
We used influencer marketing to broaden our international reach. This worked almost immediately.
Rather than trying to contact Steve Cook (worldwide renowned fitness professional and Instagram influencer) on his very busy social media profiles, we found that the best way to get our most popular (and well stocked) t-shirt into his hands was to meet him in person.
After finding out that he would be at the UK’s largest fitness expo in Birmingham (a mere 6.5 hour drive away) we booked a one-day ticket for the event plus a hotel. Including the two-hour wait in line to meet the fitness phenom, we spent an average working day either traveling or standing still to get two minutes with Steve. A creative bit of quick thinking and we made it onto his vlog, got him in a Young Bull t-shirt with a photo and got some positive feedback on the t-shirt.
Later in the week, Steve posted photos and videos on his Instagram account wearing the t-shirt, plus he made a full workout video for his YouTube channel.
Before this point, we hadn’t had any orders from the US specifically, and almost immediately after the photos and videos went up, we added international shipping options and rode that wave.
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
Before starting the Start & Scale course, Young Bull was only selling to people who knew my wife and I.
What was one win you experienced?
Our biggest win so far was that first international sale. That was an awesome day! Knowing that we were branching out further than our local area.
What is your best advice?
Make meeting new people your priority. I have used Young Bull to meet some amazing people and their different take on our products has helped us develop the brand. Everyone you meet knows something you don’t.
What would you do differently next time?
We spent time and money on leafleting with a discount code to be used between specific dates, which I would not do again.
Any other advice you want to share?
Young Bull is currently my side hustle. You don’t need to drop everything to make a start on moving closer to your dreams of financial freedom, you’ve just got to make focused moves and put in the hours on focused work.
Piers Warren
84vin
Product: French rosé wine and rosé gummy bears
Website: www.84vin.com
New store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
Facebook advertising
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
My business was all offline through friends and family, which is not scalable.
What was one win you experienced?
Our biggest win was having to put up an “out of stock” banner, because we could not handle the volume.
What is your best advice?
Sort out your manufacturing 100%. Then, package your product beautifully.
What would you do differently next time?
Make plans for when your product explodes and be ready for high volume
Any other advice you want to share?
Do it!!!! Good is enough, then make it really good.
Want to Learn How to Start & Grow a Profitable Online Store in 12 weeks? Sign Up for Our FREE Masterclass!
Learn How to Start a Profitable Store in 12 Weeks or Less. Join our FREE Ecommerce Masterclass!
Shannon Willoughby
NZ Aromatherapy
Product: Essential oils crafted in New Zealand and essential oil diffusers
Website: www.aromarrr.co.nz
New store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
Facebook Ads to increase brand awareness, as we were new to the market.
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
I had just left a full-time job to concentrate on growing an ecommerce business when I started the course. After following the Foundr course, I had grown to $12,000 a month within four weeks.
What was one win you experienced?
A big win for me was my first Instagram sale! I hadn’t sold on Instagram previously, so to learn that social media platform was really satisfying.
What is your best advice?
Just start. It won’t be perfect but then again nothing ever is!
What would you do differently next time?
Next time I would start influencer marketing a lot sooner than I did.
Any other advice you want to share?
The Start & Scale Facebook Group is a goldmine and extremely supportive and encouraging.
Editor’s Notes (Sep. 17, 2018): Shannon changed the name of her aromatherapy business to Aromarrr. Any references in this post made to her company’s original name “NZAromatherapy” can be applied to Aromarr.
Sarah Hill
Beetle Bottoms
Product: We sell children’s books, games and dolls. All of our products are created by my mum and I here in Australia and are created to celebrate childhood and individuality.
Website: www.beetlebottoms.com
Existing store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
Working with influencers on Instagram has been a huge game changer for us. Not only did we get incredible photos to use, we also got their support and connection with their audiences. My strategy was to get about 60-100 amazing influencers and have them all post our promotion on the same day so we would flood Instagram with Beetle Bottoms magic. It worked so well! We had people talking about our books all over Instagram and then that moved in to Facebook groups and our sales were amazing.
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
Before Start & Scale, we were really struggling, with a few sales coming in a month. I had no idea how to reach our audience in an impactful way.
What was one win you experienced?
Our biggest win was the response that we got from people when they received our books and games. We got so many beautiful emails from families telling us how much they loved the Beetle Bottoms. And that, of course, followed on from our other win of having over 200 sales in one night!
What is your best advice?
Take yourself seriously from day one, get the support and build your community and always work on creating relationships.
What would you do differently next time?
I would have ordered less product to start so that we could have moved more quickly and changed things as our business grew.
Any other advice you want to share?
My biggest lesson has been to believe in myself and our products. It is scary reaching out to people and putting yourself out there, but that is also where the magic happens.
Want to Learn How to Start & Grow a Profitable Online Store in 12 weeks? Sign Up for Our FREE Masterclass!
Learn How to Start a Profitable Store in 12 Weeks or Less. Join our FREE Ecommerce Masterclass!
Holly McKeon
Cozy Posie
Product: Multifunctional nursing and car seat covers
Website: www.cozyposie.com
New store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
I haven’t opened my store yet. I am about three weeks away.
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
I have a brand new store. I still have a 9-to-5 job.
What was one win you experienced?
It was seeing the product go from a vision to an actual product that looks amazing! And hearing from the pattern maker that she sees a lot of stuff, and this is unlike anything she has seen, and thought it was a great idea.
What is your best advice?
There are a few: If you don’t know what you want to sell, don’t force an idea. Take some time (or however long it takes) to figure out what is missing in your life or how a product can be improved upon. Don’t try to overcomplicate it. Also, really work on your branding and messaging—what makes you YOU? Why do people want to buy from you? Be yourself, tell your story, share your pain.
What would you do differently next time?
I vastly underestimated the time it would take from idea to prototype to launch.
Any other advice you want to share?
Get involved with groups, ask questions, be active, make connections. The Start & Scale group is the best group I belong to, because from the beginning, there has been a community of people asking questions, sharing wins, giving tips on how we can grow and win, sharing resources, offering encouragement.
Tia Lloyd
Thread Trip
Product: Thread Trip is a monthly sock subscription featuring one-of-a-kind designs inspired by amazing travel destinations around the globe.
Website: www.threadtrip.com
New store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
Facebook ads and engagement in targeted Facebook groups (that allow periodic promotion) have led to the biggest growth impact for my store so far.
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
I was working full time as a vice president/editor-in-chief of a local advertising publication and servicing web design clients on the side. I had wanted to get into ecommerce for years, and had created a line of gifting products that sadly still only existed in Evernote. I had a domain and landing page, but hadn’t even begun the steps to create a product.
What was one win you experienced?
I’ll never forget this: I was having a security system installed in my home the day my first batch of products arrived. I ripped open the packages, grabbed handfuls of socks and was jumping up and down hugging the security guy! I had tears streaming down my face yelling, “LOOK, they’re here!!” He was such a good sport about it, but I was a total maniac. In all seriousness, to see and hold your very own product gives you a level of pride and excitement I couldn’t have anticipated!
What is your best advice?
Don’t waste too much time comparing yourself to others and getting discouraged by the competition. Especially don’t give up on launching something because someone is already doing it. Just because a product is already out there doesn’t mean the world doesn’t need your version of it! Just stay in your own lane, do what you do, and do it well.
What would you do differently next time?
I would have started the promotion and engagement on social media right when I determined what product I would be launching. I waited until the socks were already in production and that was time wasted when I could have been building an audience.
Any other advice you want to share?
One of the best tips I can give (and what helped me immensely) is to create an FAQ about your product right away. This forces you to work through and answer all the potential questions and gives you a blueprint to work off of—even though it will inevitably change. I included general info about the product as well as billing, shipping, delivery, returns, gift options—anything a customer would ask. If you don’t yet know the answer, just use a similar company’s policy until you get to the point of customizing it for yourself.
Another tip I have is to outsource whatever you cannot accomplish yourself (not only what you aren’t able to do). I learned this the hard way as a DIY-er and I held off on outsourcing things I knew I could do.
The tools I found invaluable:
Trello – Used this like a boss. Not only for tasks, but to chunk down decisions, e.g. “Decide on ____”
Evernote – The whole business basically lives in Evernote. I store all hashtags and Instagram descriptions here as well
Shopify apps – Before looking to third-party solutions, I made a point to check within Shopify first. Their apps are easy to set up, integrate seamlessly, and any fees are bundled with your existing payment. I used their Coming Soon app for the landing page, Recharge for my subscription billing, and one called Infinite Options to allow for additional fields on your product pages.
John and Rez Ermitanio and Wong
Onvous
Product: Men’s competitive swim jammer
Website: www.onvous.com
New store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
Compelling product listing and continuous conversion optimization
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
Previously, our whole business was solely reselling retail products online—a very lucrative short-term strategy with uncontrollable financial and logistical risks. Because of the risks, we lost $120,000 in assets and we knew we had to create a brand that was long term, not just for ourselves, but for our customers.
What was one win you experienced?
We were able to launch our product on September 1st, 2017 when we started Start & Scale and completely sell out of our first run of 1,000 units by end of October. Now we have a product that we can continuously sell on a daily basis and a brand that we can build on.
What is your best advice?
As much as business tactics have evolved, the most powerful force still lies in human-to-human connection.
What would you do differently next time?
I would have restocked quicker and also explored more B2B partnerships—especially after realizing how valuable our product was in our first month of sales.
Any other advice you want to share?
The “Market-Product Fit” concept that Gretta van Riel introduced was a simple shift in perspective, but it brought tremendous impact on how we carried out our business.
Want to Learn How to Start & Grow a Profitable Online Store in 12 weeks? Sign Up for Our FREE Masterclass!
Learn How to Start a Profitable Store in 12 Weeks or Less. Join our FREE Ecommerce Masterclass!
Filippo Decotto
Ploumanac’h
Product: Clothing
Website: https://ploumanach.it
Existing store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
Instagram advertising
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
My store was running, but it was also missing big opportunities.
What was one win you experienced?
A big win was seeing customers coming in on a daily basis
What is your best advice?
Don’t give up!
What would you do differently next time?
I would start pushing ads sooner.
Any other advice you want to share?
You guys rock!
Hayden Brass
Zea Relief
Product: Australian Kunzea pain relief products
Website: www.zearelief.com
Existing store
What is one tactic you used that has had the biggest impact on the growth of your online store?
The one tactic that has been most valuable as part of the course was that we launched our first giveaway on Instagram. We had never done one before, as we kept putting it off and wanted to make sure it was perfect, however after seeing the value in the course we decided to use the strategies we learned and just do it. It resulted in much higher returns than we were expecting, and resulted in gaining several new customers who have ordered from us since the competition ended. The course outlined exactly what we needed to do and incentivized us to give it a try.
Before joining Start & Scale, what were you struggling with the most?
Before we started the competition we had just finished transferring to our new site from an old website builder to Shopify and were preparing to scale up. Getting everything ready to transform it from a project to a successful business.
What was one win you experienced?
Going through the Start & Scale process really gave us an opportunity to evaluate our store and see what was doing well, what we had missed, and what we could add to improve it. It really gave us a chance to reflect and fill the gaps in our store before scaling.
What is your best advice?
My #1 piece of advice would be to really understand your point of difference and product-market fit. There are so many products out there that you need to compete with, so you need to ensure that what you are doing really has that unique selling proposition.
What would you do differently next time?
Next time I would make sure that I had sufficiently budgeted time and money for how long it would actually cost to get a product to market. When working with contractors, you really need to ensure they are going to have deadlines set as to when milestones will be reached—so that you can better prepare for each stage in the project plan.
Any other advice you want to share?
Otherwise, I would just say give it a go! The cost of starting an online store is much more affordable than a lot of the other options out there when starting a business, and if you work hard and do the necessary preparation work, you can really create something that people love and value.
Want to Learn How to Start & Grow a Profitable Online Store in 12 weeks? Sign Up for Our FREE Masterclass!
Learn How to Start a Profitable Store in 12 Weeks or Less. Join our FREE Ecommerce Masterclass!
Conclusion
We are so proud of our Start & Scale competition winners and all of the entrants who took massive action toward achieving their dreams. We look forward to helping them continue to crush it with their ecommerce businesses and scale into higher profits.
Do you have any questions you want to ask our winners? Any questions about ecommerce in general? Ask away!
