Welcome to this gripping podcast episode—' Fast Growth Fiasco: The Raw $80M Truth Behind Our DTC Success.' Today, strap in as we uncover the rollercoaster ride of our explosive journey, where we scaled to $80 million in record time. But it wasn't all smooth sailing; we teetered on the brink of disaster. From nail-biting market shifts to harrowing payment processor mishaps, learn how we navigated through the chaos and what it truly takes to thrive in the cutthroat world of direct-to-consumer...

Are networking events worth the effort? We’re discussing the benefits, our recent experiences, and the biggest takeaways we’ve gotten from our recently attended events in this episode. If you work in an agency or are an eCommerce business owner, you’ll want to know if you should or shouldn’t attend these types of events. On this episode: Whether or not digital business owners should attend networking events. The short-term, positive effects of networking. When does it make the most...

Ineffective meetings are a problem arising more often in our organization recently, so we’re implementing strategies to improve that. During this episode, we’re sharing how you can improve your own business by having better, more productive meetings. On this episode: What makes a meeting ineffective. What people use meetings for versus what they should be used for. Why should all meetings be in one place? Why meeting preparation is essential. Where you should add more context in your...

An acquaintance of ours got to 16 million in revenue with only 4 people on their team. While this is a great situation to be in, there are also a lot of things that could go wrong. The growth stage is always exciting, but as quickly as a business can grow, it can also burn out. Today, we’re sharing tips on how business owners can avoid this crash and burn. On this episode: A little background about the business owner in this situation. What we have seen happening in the industry with new...

In this episode we’re covering three takeaways that we’ve made in the past month at AdKings. Our perspectives on hiring have changed a lot recently, which is an aspect we’ll be focusing on heavily today. There’s a project ongoing that we are aiming to build up to $100,000,000 a year, so you’ll hear the details on that too. Lastly, we’ll reveal why we’ve changed from being active investors in projects to being passive investors. On this episode: The differing outlooks that the two of...

We’ve got an interesting thought about how many direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands the world needs. This idea was sprouted from research I was doing as we worked to start our eCommerce brand. Listen to the episode to learn what DTC means, what new brands need to do to see more tremendous success, and how we’re implementing some of these lessons in our own business. On this episode: What is inspiring me to think outside the box? One of the most recent realizations about DTC brands. Why...

We have been considering getting venture capital ourselves lately, so in this episode we’re sharing all of the different pros and cons that we have found. There’s a lot to think about when deciding if looking for funding makes sense for your business or not. On this episode: The biggest benefit of venture capital. How hiring A-level players can support your business goals. How does venture capital influence your growth goals and milestones? What you can do to inflate your business...

When you’re growing a business, you inevitably reach a point where you hit a plateau or the business becomes stagnant. When this happens, you may be wondering why this is happening and what you can do about it. Having a mentor and knowing the right questions to ask is the solution. Their wisdom and support can help you to continue to grow your business. On this episode: How hitting a bottleneck in your business is inevitable. Why you need mentors if you don’t already have them. How...

Would you be willing to pay 10K for a mastermind? Many people would struggle to part with this amount of money for a five-day event, but after a recent experience, we’ve had a change in perspective. Listen to this episode to learn more about the benefits of a mastermind and why it makes sense to pay 10K now without even batting an eye. On this episode: The three main benefits you can get from a mastermind. Possible networking opportunities that are presented. How this type of...

Let’s welcome our guest Kyle Hunt to the show. Kyle is an American entrepreneur and investor with 8 years experience in starting, scaling, buying, and selling eCommerce companies. Currently, he is the CEO of Family Gifts Co, an 8-figure business with accelerated growth. Listen in as we discuss how to grow and scale your eCommerce business, managing your business through periods of growth, and what investors are looking for in eCommerce businesses. On this episode: [3:45] About Kyle and...

There is just one thing that brought me from being bullied and struggling to talk to people as a child to building a 7-figure agency: problem solving framework. The “superpower” outlined in this episode will enable you to believe that anything is possible, no matter where you’re starting from. On this episode: Making hard problems simple. How playing video games taught an important lesson. Why the problem-solving framework used in gaming is applicable in life. Splitting your time...

Darius recently had his own personal enlightenment, and it changed the way he views AdKings. This shift in perspective allowed him to zoom out and get a high-level view of the business. From there, the solutions to the problems he was encountering became clear. He now has a different vision for what his role in AdKings Agency will look like, and he explains what that is in this episode. On this episode: The personal shift Darius is experiencing right now. Levels of thinking in business...

This episode continues our discussion about hiring by getting into Justin’s process for second stage candidates. For AdKings, the second stage of hiring is more based on technical skills. We will be discussing some of the tasks Justin sets prospective hires, how to gauge skill, and how they are best evaluated. There are some other candidate skills to examine as well to make sure we get an accurate impression of them. On this episode: How Justin and his team evaluate...

Hiring is often seen as one of the biggest challenges an entrepreneur can face. Today we’ll be talking about hiring SOP, what Justin looks for in new hires, and what the first stage of hiring looks like. Let’s learn the types of questions to ask prospective hires and why it’s important to gauge how invested they are in your company. On this episode: How Justin has created SOP for his team to be able to take over part of his work. What hiring looks like for Justin and his...

Chase Dimond is an email marketing wizard. Today, we're covering several topics related to email marketing, including the most significant challenges, best opportunities, and must-have workflows and practices.  On this episode: [3:06] Chase's experience with Crohn's disease and how it influenced his interest in marketing. [5:32] His educational background and how he ended up in the eCommerce space. [7:45] When Chase's entrepreneurial journey started. [11:44] Chase's agency experience...

Our team member Sanmeet is here with us to talk about CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization). Alongside him, we’ve seen a lot of interesting activity in this area through the thousands of tests we’ve run. There are differences and similarities between markets, which has been quite fascinating to see. On this episode: Sanmeet’s previous education and business experience. When Sanmeet joined AdKings Agency and why. Why CRO has gained in popularity in the past few years. How Sanmeet describes...

Today we’re discussing the latest trends and changes in the eCom space, an industry being impacted greatly right now by waiting times, supply chain issues, and cost of materials. We’ll also dive into something you might have noticed in the eCom space recently: how big businesses are booming while smaller ones are struggling. We’re going to share how this has informed our plans for the future of AdKings Agency. On this episode: The importance of being agile in business. Current issues...

One of the hardest decisions you’ll ever make in your business is when to fire someone. It might feel like you’re disappointing that person or yourself, but it’s crucial to always be clear about what standards you expect to be met. By listening to this episode, you’ll learn when and how to do it, as well as what has been learned from firing situations that AdKings has been involved in. On this episode: The most absurd type of firing situation. Owning the agreement that was made in the...

AdKings is moving into its next stage. Businesses should not be scared to make radical changes when the time is right, and that’s the point we are at. It’s not going to be easy, and failure is very possible, but in this episode you’ll learn why it’s a necessary step to take. On this episode: Being able to evolve as a business every few years. Things happening in the market that make change exciting and scary. The five stages that AdKings’ vision was initially split into. What...

How can you get the most out of your team? Justin is going to share the philosophy of this question at AdKings, what books say about this topic, and advice that can be applied to your business. If you have a strong team surrounding you, you’ll go way faster and way further. On this episode: One of the values that AdKings has right from its inception. Lessons learned from Jocko Willink books. Why leaders must be willing to lean on ideas from other people. The importance of always...

We’re starting our own DTC brand, and we have set a very ambitious goal for it. In business and life, you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone, and creating this brand is going to accomplish that. The way we’re approaching this goes against the grain compared to other popular brands, so listen in to find out why we chose this path. On this episode: Why very few businesses make it to 5 figures. What the inspiration was to set such an ambitious goal for this new brand. A lesson...

Some partnerships can be beneficial, while others can be a complete catastrophe and ruin the momentum of a business. When the partnership is a right fit, it helps the business thrive. You have to choose wisely when determining a business partner, and hopefully the information in today’s episode will help you. On this episode: The biggest issue of having a bad business partner. Who you should not create a business with and why. What your business partner needs to cover for you. Why...

Today we’re sharing an unfortunate story about one of our clients. This story is really about how the path to success is full of difficulty and hardships. Learn what one of our clients did during their hardship, what happened as a result, and what they should have done differently. On this episode: How one of our clients is facing hardships right now. The first lesson this client encountered when they hit the first level of revenue. The result when you don’t continue to introduce new...

If you are only selling in the US right now, you may want to think about scaling your business to other countries. A lot of considerations should be made first, including the best way to approach scaling in a different country. It’s not easy to understand other markets, but you’ll learn some tips that can help you in this episode. On this episode: Why you should consider scaling your eCommerce brand internationally. How CPMs have changed in countries outside the US. The most important...