You got into business for yourself to gain freedom and enjoy life. But then you get busy… and it never ends. 

It is possible to travel or do whatever else brings you joy, while still running a profitable ecommerce business, says Bas Urlings. In today’s connected world it’s easier than ever. 

Bas has a virtual team. But to truly achieve the financial and time freedom you want, that’s just the start of the changes you have to make to your business model and mindset.

We get into all the details, including…

• The best research tools to figure out what products to sell online
• Practical ways to mix travel with running your ecommerce site
• The most overlooked and undervalued element of ecommerce
• Dos and don’ts of working with a business partner
• The importance of sticking to your core values

Sometimes, life takes you on a journey and you end up where you need to be. This is exactly what happened with today’s guest, David Hoffman— who started off in retail, selling consumer electronics and is now the current CEO of Global Regency, an international trade powerhouse.

In 2016, David found himself thinking when he saw an opportunity to assist small-medium sized enterprises, startups, and entrepreneurs who were struggling with quality management issues and sourcing from China.

It was at this point that he launched Global TQM, under the Global Regency umbrella— offering educational and mentoring products and a done-for-you service that business owners can’t seem to get enough of. 

“There’s just so many things that can go wrong,” says David, as he talks about why having an on-the-ground presence is essential to your success while doing business in China.

We’ll go into more detail on that, as well as…

• The two critical barriers when you’re looking for Chinese manufacturers or suppliers
• Unspoken rules to follow when you do business in China
• Keys to success when dealing with suppliers
• The pros and cons of moving your manufacturing to China
• How clear and concise communication and instruction can save you a lot of heartache in your manufacturing

Sometimes a business is more than just a business… even more than simply something you’re passionate about.

Leon Lewis, eCommerce and digital marketing lead, and the other folks at REBBL which creates herb-infused beverages, consider themselves to be on a cause to bring awareness about human trafficking and uplift at-risk communities around the world.

Their mission extends to sustainable packaging and more. But they’re also cutting-edge when it comes to digital marketing strategy to build the ecommerce side of the business. 

It can be a challenge, says Leon, to communicate their mission while marketing their product. But it’s essential. One way they do that says Leon: Keep the customer in mind at all times.

We get into that in detail, as well as…

• The importance of product pages – what to include, what to leave out
• Why Amazon isn’t a great platform for their product – and what they’re doing about it
• How they’ve leveraged the subscription model
• The importance of maintaining a consumer perspective
• And more

Marketing on Facebook can be a gamechanger for eCommerce companies. But, says eCommerce consultant and blogger Linda Bustos, it can also be a waste of time and money if not done correctly. 

We talk about how you can leverage all the capabilities Facebook offers to laser target your ideal customers, and why you do have to spend a bit to actually see results.

But social marketing strategy is just the start. 

Linda also shares her thoughts on the best way to protect your business from copycats, other ways to stay ahead of the competition, and…

• How you could be making it hard for your customers to find the right product
• Dealing with the coming wave of AI in marketing
• The biggest challenges – and misconceptions – in digital marketing today
• What you should be spending to acquire new customers
• And more

Ian Hammersley, of consultancy Smartebusiness, has never met you but if your eCommerce business has plateaued or is not scaling up as you expected… he already has some ideas on why.

He and his colleagues have come up with a formula, using a group of key numbers from your business, that can pinpoint where to make changes to take your venture to the next level. 

Does your business measure up? Ian walks us through the benchmarks you should look at… and where they should be for a business of your size. Often, he says, working on the low hanging fruit first can yield huge improvements.

He says that conversion rate optimization is often the last thing to look at in this effort. We talk about that, as well as…

• The power of the Market Square Test
• How to figure out where exactly you’re losing customers
• Why most companies can ignore today’s eCommerce industry trends
• The most important metrics too many eCommerce entrepreneurs ignore
• And more

When you’re starting to sell products online, you might wonder whether you should you sell on your own ecommerce or stick with more established “brand name” retail platforms that have a wide reach.

Ecommerce veteran Luke Peters says the big marketplaces are the way to go for several reasons. But he often recommends that his clients avoid the biggest one – Amazon – and goes into detail why it’s not a great fit for many startups.

We talk about how to make sure your product listings get ranked highly on these platforms, including strategies like influencer marketing – but not like you think.

We unpack all that in our talk, as well as…

• Why he likes products that are “difficult” to sell 
• The top ecommerce sites that will probably surprise you
• 5+ ways to boost sales velocity
• Strategies for getting your products to page 1 on ecommerce sites
• The implementation of the still-underutilized method of Youtube influencer marketing

There are pure ecommerce companies, and then there are traditional retailers that moved online while still maintaining an offline presence. 

To be successful, these two groups should approach the business with very different strategies, says Tom De Bondt, director of IT and digital at Overstock Home and X2O in Belgium. 

For example, bricks and mortar brands should consider their ecommerce presence as a “showroom” for their products. It might seem counterintuitive, but in Tom’s research he’s found that with these brands more people browse online… then buy in the store.

Tom goes over some other unexpected truths many ecommerce companies don’t know about which may bestalling their growth, as well as…

• Where to focus your marketing if you sell expensive products
• A post-sale activity that is extremely important to your success
• The two key factors of thriving “pure” ecommerce retailers
• The unexpected findings that come with testing (if you do it right) – and why you should never stop
• The importance that encouraging and learning from failures has to personal and professional growth

Adam Lean helps small businesses, especially eCommerce companies, sort out their financials, i.e. “their books,” to figure out what changes they can make to maximize their profits.

Turns out a lot of entrepreneurs are leaving plenty of money on the table without realizing it. Or, they’re wondering where all the money goes at the end of each month, even though their sales are great.

The key, says Adam, is to identify the metrics driving your business, figure out what they’re telling you about the health of your business, and then make appropriate changes. It’s all about being a good business owner, not just being good at you do.

Tune in to find out…

• Two things you can do this month to improve cash flow – and why you must
• The main reasons small businesses fail– including the one you might not expect
• Why more traffic and more sales can’t save an eCommerce business 
• What an accountant or bookkeeper can and can’t do for you (most owners get this wrong)
• And more

Jason Goldberg has quite a resume: a member of the National Retail Federation’s digital advisory board, Guest lecturer at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, chief eCommerce strategy officer at Publicis Group, a marketing agency holding company with hundreds of agencies, and much more.

But his roots are in eCommerce. In fact, he was one of the pioneers in this industry and continues to innovate top strategies used by online retailers and marketers today. 

As a thought leader, he keeps an eye on all things digital marketing, media, and more. 

He says a lot has changed over the years in eCommerce… but a lot has stayed the same too… as far as what attracts customers and what makes them buy, as well as how to make sure your online business scales up and increases profits in a sustainable way.

We talk about that, as well as…

• The biggest challenge to eCommerce conversions today – and how to overcome them
• What the “mobile gap” is and a strategy to bridge it
• How the fields in your checkout process could be sabotaging conversions 
• The first two ways to improve your site to boost conversions
• And more

Matthias Laqueur, business strategist with BossData, says many retailers who sell offline and online make a huge mistake when measuring the success of their digital efforts. 

This is one of the most impactful ways this digital marketing agency is able to help clients get a better handle on key business indicators to figure out which levers to pull to get better results, using technology to find the right tools for the job. 

The goal: aligning digital marketing strategy with business and revenue targets in a constantly changing landscape where what worked yesterday might not work today.

They’re not afraid to move out of the digital marketing realm either in order to make successful campaigns for their clients. And within the company they’re not afraid to give every team member a say in important business decisions.

We unpack all that and also talk about…

• The myth of the entrepreneurial mindset
• How omnichannel marketing stacks up against ROPO – and vice-versa
• Why they don’t sell “hours” to their clients
• Ways retailers measure online revenue incorrectly 
• And more

As an eCommerce company selling products across multiple online channels (for example, Amazon, your own site, eBay, etc.) with a single SKU there are several challenges, says Michael Anderson, CEO of Etail Solutions.

You have to track inventory, account for different methods of fulfillment, maintain an effective supply chain, control the price, and have the correct content when each eCommerce platform has different rules and requirements.

It’s a very complex issue, especially for high volume sellers, and a person can’t make those decisions at the speed and volume required. Automation, says Michael, is the key. We get into all the details behind that, as well as…

• The power of “distributed order management”
• Creating a single source of truth – and why it’s vital 
• The most critical element in maintaining brand integrity
• The biggest obstacles to scalability and automation – and how to overcome them
• And more