What should an ecommerce founder actually focus on once the business reaches 5 million in annual revenue?

In the fifth episode of our ecommerce growth series, we explain how the founder’s role, financial priorities and growth strategy must change as the company moves from 5 million to 20 million.

At this stage, tiny improvements can produce huge results. Better supplier terms, stronger margins, improved conversion rates and smarter cash flow decisions can add millions in revenue and profit.

But this is also where businesses become bloated, founders hire the wrong senior people and teams start chasing numbers that do not benefit the overall company.

In this episode:

 • How to use your customer list, reviews and brand trust as a competitive moat
 • Why a 2 percent margin improvement can dramatically increase profit
 • The supplier, shipping and transaction fees you should renegotiate
 • Why ecommerce advice for huge brands rarely works for smaller businesses
 • When checkout optimisation and small conversion wins finally matter
 • How to remove the founder from routine work without losing the company culture
 • The difference between delegating and abdicating responsibility
 • How to structure expansion into new markets
 • Why revenue attribution numbers often do not add up
 • How to build a business that an investor would actually want to buy

This stage is not about chasing every new tactic. It is about doing the right things exceptionally well, protecting the company’s profit, and using your scale to pull further ahead of competitors.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/apply-now/

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Follow the Hammersley Brothers on Instagram and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - 
https://www.instagram.com/hammersleybrothers

This week on the Hammersley Brothers Ecommerce Podcast, we continue our five-part series on the stages of ecommerce growth.

In part four, we explain what really changes when an ecommerce business grows from 1 million to 5 million per year.

This can be one of the most exciting stages of growth, but it is also one of the most dangerous. Hiring larger teams, working with more agencies, expanding into new countries, adding products, and increasing fixed costs may cause revenue to rise quickly while profit quietly disappears.

In this episode:

• Why businesses get stuck between 1 million and 5 million
• How hiring expensive experts can reduce profit instead of increasing it
• Why every employee, agency, and supplier should follow the same number
• The danger of expanding into new countries too early
• Why adding more products can damage cash flow and stock management
• How to calculate the true cost of a new warehouse or team member
• Why growing revenue does not always increase the value of your business
• How better supplier relationships can improve margins and payment terms
• Why repeatable systems are more valuable than new ideas
• How to architect the numbers required to reach 5 million
  
  

At this stage, growth cannot be left to chance. You need to understand exactly how your marketing spend, margins, stock, fixed costs, and profit work together.

Otherwise, you may build a much larger business that makes less money.

Subscribe for the final episode in the series, where we cover the journey from 5 million to 20 million.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/apply-now/

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Follow the Hammersley Brothers on Instagram and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - 
https://www.instagram.com/hammersleybrothers

Welcome back to the Hammersley Brothers eCommerce Podcast and our series on the different stages of ecommerce growth.
 
In this episode, we look at the 500K to 1 million stage.
 
This is the point where ecommerce founders often think they need more traffic, more products, more channels, more campaigns, and more complexity. But in reality, the next stage of growth usually comes from doing fewer things better. 
 
We cover:
 

• Why is more traffic not always the solution?
• How to increase revenue per visitor
• Why your store needs a stronger conversion rate, average order value, repeat purchases, and gross margin
• Why every product needs to earn its place
• How weak products can hurt cash flow and profit
• Why your growth roadmap should be based on the biggest bottleneck
• How to avoid changing your marketing just because you are bored with it
• Why systems beat heroics as your business grows
• What profit velocity means and why it matters
• Why scaling comes from doubling down on winners

This episode is for ecommerce founders who want to move beyond the early growth stages and build a business that is clearer, more profitable, and easier to scale.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/apply-now/

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Follow the Hammersley Brothers on Instagram and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - 
https://www.instagram.com/hammersleybrothers

This week on the Hammersley Brothers eCommerce Podcast, we continue our series on the stages of ecommerce growth.
 

After covering the 0 to 100K stage last week, this episode focuses on the next major step: growing from 100K to 500K per year.
 

This is where many ecommerce businesses start to feel like they have something real. But it is also the stage where founders often make the mistakes that stop them from scaling.
 

In this episode, we break down:
 

 • Why 100K to 500K is the danger zone for ecommerce brands
 • How shiny object syndrome slows down growth
 • Why most new tactics, platforms, and trends are distractions
 • The “beer mat test” for simplifying your ecommerce business
 • Why agencies often fail at this stage?
 • The numbers you actually need to understand before scaling
 • Why looking at too many numbers can hurt your business
 • How to avoid spreading your budget across too many marketing channels
 • Why profit, cash, and focus matter more than attribution obsession

 
If your ecommerce business is doing around 100K per year and you want to get to 500K, this episode will help you understand what to focus on, what to ignore, and how to avoid adding complexity too early.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/apply-now/

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Follow the Hammersley Brothers on Instagram and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - 
https://www.instagram.com/hammersleybrothers

This week on the Hammersley Brothers eCommerce Podcast, we start a new series breaking down the key revenue stages every eCommerce business goes through.
 

In this episode, we focus on the 0 to 100k revenue per year stage, the point where most eCommerce businesses begin, and where many get stuck.
 

We explain why the strategy that gets you from 0 to 100k is completely different from the strategy needed at later stages, and why most founders overcomplicate things far too early.
 

In this episode:
 

 • Why most eCommerce brands never get past the first 100k

 • Why does nobody care about your “brand” as much as you do at this stage?

 • Why trying to make everything perfect can stop you from making sales

 • How to choose a clear, addressable market

 • Why your margins, CAC, and basic numbers matter from day one

 • Why revenue means nothing without profit

 • Why doing Meta, Google, TikTok, SEO, Pinterest, affiliates, and Amazon all at once is usually a mistake

 • Why can too many products and SKUs create chaos before you are ready

If you are building an eCommerce business and trying to get through the first 100k per year, this episode will help you focus on what actually matters.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

Most eCommerce advice fails because it's aimed at the wrong stage of business growth.

What works for a $10M brand can be completely irrelevant for a business doing $100K. In this episode, Mark and Ian break down the different stages of eCommerce growth and explain why knowing what to focus on next is one of the biggest advantages you can have as a founder.

In this episode:

• Why most founders focus on the wrong things at the wrong time
• The 5 stages of eCommerce growth from startup to $20M+
• How priorities change as your business scales
• Why copying large brands can slow your growth
• The danger of chasing advanced tactics too early
• What successful founders ignore so they can move faster
• How to know what actually matters at your current stage
• Why eCommerce growth is more about sequence than strategy
• The biggest mistake business owners make when scaling

If you've ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting eCommerce advice, this episode will help you understand exactly where to focus next.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

This week on the Hammersley Brothers eCommerce Podcast, we reveal the real conversations happening inside fast-growing eCommerce brands.

After speaking with our coaches and reviewing dozens of businesses, we break down the common themes that keep appearing in companies scaling from 7 figures to 8 figures and beyond.

In this episode:
 

 • Most eCommerce brands think they have a marketing problem. Actually, they have a numbers problem
 • The real reason ads stop scaling and what successful brands do instead
 • Why are there no secret tactics, hacks, or magic buttons in eCommerce
 • How top brands "architect the numbers" before they scale
 • The role of seasonality and why many stores completely misunderstand it
 • Why existing customers create the biggest growth tailwind in your business
 • How larger brands use momentum to outperform smaller competitors
 • The surprising truth about branding that most founders gets wrong
 • Why tracking movement in your numbers matters more than the numbers themselves
 
If you've ever wondered what the businesses doing $10M, $20M, or even $70M+ are actually focused on, this episode gives you a rare look behind the curtain.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

This week on the Hammersley Brothers Ecommerce Podcast, we dive into one of the most overlooked parts of scaling an ecommerce business properly: stock forecasting.

Most founders think forecasting is just spreadsheets and guesswork. In reality, it’s one of the biggest drivers of growth, cashflow, profitability, and momentum.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why stock forecasting feels like gambling for most ecommerce owners
• The hidden danger of understocking your best sellers
• Why running out of stock destroys your ROAS and growth
• How long lead times completely change your business model
• Why some brands intentionally choose lower margins for faster stock rotation
• The importance of focusing on hero products instead of too many SKUs
• How to improve your odds when ordering stock
• The relationship between stock levels, Meta ads, and Google Ads
• Why trending products can destroy forecasting models
• How to identify winning products before scaling harder
• The “yo-yo” effect that traps many ecommerce brands
• How great forecasting creates confidence to scale aggressively

If you’ve ever struggled with stock, cashflow, forecasting, or scaling profitably, this episode will completely change how you think about ecommerce growth.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

This week on the Hammersley Brothers Ecommerce Podcast, we talk about the mindset traps that stop ecommerce founders from scaling and what actually separates the brands that break through from the ones that stay stuck.

Inspired by a conversation with one of our Level 1 members, we unpack what it really feels like when you're at the beginning of your ecommerce journey, looking up at bigger brands and wondering if you can actually build something massive yourself.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why do most ecommerce founders get distracted by too many ideas
• The dangerous trap of shiny object syndrome
• Why successful ecommerce businesses are built on boring fundamentals
• How understanding the “rules of the game” changes everything
• Why being busy is not the same as making progress
• The difference between founders who start brands and operators who scale them
• Why strong numbers and decision-making beat emotion every time
• How to know if your business actually has legs
• The brutal truth about scaling an ecommerce business
• Why failing fast can actually accelerate your success

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, distracted, or unsure whether your ecommerce brand can truly scale, this episode will help you focus on what actually matters.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

This week on the Hammersley Brothers eCommerce Podcast, we’re tackling a topic we haven’t covered before — but one that can have a massive impact on the growth of your business:

Hiring the wrong person, team member, or agency.

In eCommerce, the wrong hire doesn’t just cost you money. It can slow momentum, create bad energy in the business, pull you out of sync with the market, and in some cases, set you back for years.

In this episode, we talk through:

• Why hiring the wrong people can be so damaging
• The hidden cost of bringing “C players” into your business
• Our own mistakes when it comes to hiring and choosing partners
• How to spot the warning signs before it’s too late
• What to look for when building the right team around your brand

Whether you’re hiring internally, working with freelancers, or choosing an agency, this episode will help you avoid one of the biggest mistakes eCommerce brands make.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786

This week on the podcast, we’re breaking down one of the biggest reasons ecommerce brands struggle to scale with ads.

It’s not always a traffic problem.

It’s usually a revenue per visitor problem.

Most store owners focus on traffic or conversion rate, but revenue per visitor is the metric that really drives ROAS, profitability, and growth.

In this episode:

• What revenue per visitor actually means

• How it directly impacts your ROAS and ad performance

• Why is the conversion rate alone is misleading

• The relationship between AOV, conversion rate, and revenue per visitor

• Why your ads might not be the real problem

• The easiest lever to improve revenue per visitor quickly

• Real examples of how improving this metric changes everything

• Why most ecommerce stores are under-optimised

Fix this one number, and your entire store performs differently.

P.S. Whenever you’re ready... here are 3 ways Ian and I can help you grow your ecommerce business:

1. Talk to us. Book a call with us and let's talk about accelerating your growth - https://go.hammersleybrothers.com/scheduleuk-ant

2. Grab a copy of our book - https://gohigh.hammersleybrothers.com/get-the-book

3. Join the Ultimate Guide To Ecommerce Facebook group and connect with e-commerce owners who are scaling too - https://www.facebook.com/groups/924567391291786