Ecom Shift by GDW Inc. | Ecommerce | Amazon FBA |

In this episode, Alan interviews Matt Swan from Native Commerce on how he and his team have been able to build a MASSIVE ecommerce empire, in multiple niches, using traditional direct response marketing.

Got a short and sweet one for you today! Do you know why most would be ecommerce sellers fail before they start? Is it sourcing? I mean, that’s the first step is sourcing a product, right? So, wouldn’t that be it? Nope, it has to do with sourcing but it goes MUCH deeper than that and its something that MOST would be ecommerce sellers are completely ignorant in, which makes it even worse. So, in this episode, we caught Alan ranting about this very topic, tuned on the recorder and now you will benefit by his rant greatly. If you’ve EVER wondered why you’ve had SO much difficulty starting, this could be the episode that changes EVERYTHING for you. Enjoy!

Ever wondered how some ecommerce sellers go from Amazon to off-Amazon? Well, that’s exactly what Devin Dorosh has done with his multi-million dollar, Grillaholics, Niche Ecommerce biz. Devin and his team are the epitome and have the model and system down on using Amazon as a launch pad to creating an Omni-Channel ecommerce biz. In this episode, Alan interviews Devin and gets the whole scoop on exactly how he’s gone from zero to hero in a uber niched down ecommerce business. Great story, great strategy…. This ones got it all! Enjoy!

We see SO many people making mistakes when paying foreign suppliers. There are certain things you 100% NEED to do before you pay suppliers AND there are at least 8 ways you need to vet and consider as a vehicle for paying them. In this episode, Alan covers 8 different ways you can pay foreign suppliers, the pros, the cons, etc. of each, so that you can choose the best way to pay your suppliers. He’ll also cover the pitfalls and mistakes we see people getting into that can REALLY cost you time and money and how to avoid them when paying suppliers. This is a really important episode if you have ANY desire to source products to private label for your ecommerce business, especially from foreign suppliers. Enjoy!

Talk about ‘pivoting’ and transformation in a business! In this episode, Alan interviews Survival Frog Founder, Byron Walker. Byron is an 8-year online retailer who started as an affiliate marketer in the info publishing space. Now, Byron has a multi-million dollar ecommerce empire in the survival niche. What’s amazing about that is the lessons YOU can learn from how he ‘pivoted’ when he had breakdowns (including being completely shut off by Google). These specific ‘pivots’ is what led to him creating his ecommerce empire and can be GREAT models for you. Any online retailer, digital entrepreneur, etc. can learn some great high-level transformational lessons and low-level tactical strategies on how, when and why to ‘pivot’ your business to continue growing and building a long-term business. Listen, learn and enjoy with Alan and Byron NOW!

You may or may not know, sourcing is one of Alan’s 'wheelhouses'. He REALLY enjoys the 'game' of sourcing and our peers and clients tell him he has an amazing eye and thought process for choosing products to source. And that's great for us here at GDW, but how does that help you? Well, we wanted to do this podcast because we are seeing all of the issues people are having with sourcing. Not only that, recently we polled you and your peers and sourcing was high on the list for what you want to know more about.? Sourcing is the first and arguably most critical piece of ANY ecommerce business. From getting scammed by middlemen to depending WAY too much on the face value you get from a site like Alibaba, sourcing mistakes are so rampant and we want to put a stop to that as best we can. So, we will be doing several podcasts, specifically on different sourcing issues and distinctions, in between interview episodes and other presentations, over the next several episodes. In this specific episode, we will look at buying from a middleman versus buying direct from a real factory AND how you should determine what the difference is. A lot of times we see that the problem is people can’t tell the difference between a middleman (sometimes referred to as a Trading Company or an Import/Export Company). So, if you’ve EVER wanted to know the real truth on anything and everything sourcing, this and all of the upcoming episodes are EXACTLY what you need to hear. Enjoy!

What a GREAT mix of high-level business advice and low-level tactics in this episode! Matt Schmitt is a VERY successful, omni-channel ecommerce seller that has an amazing story of breaking through barriers and the RIGHT kind of patience. He’s also an amazing ‘practitioner’ in his business when it comes to process and duplicating that process, especially when it comes to omni-channel marketing. Matt tells all in this episode and you will get platinum nuggets of practical advice on high-level business issues and low-level tactical strategies. Enjoy!

We’ve got another best of audio highlights episode for you! In this episode, we’ve put together some audio highlights from 8-figure Amazon Seller and entrepreneur Shawn Hart. These highlights are from our year-end mastermind event in Austin, TX and he was on fire during his talk. In this audio highlight reel, Shawn discusses things like: + Past business experience transferring to Ecommerce + Direct Response + Financing + Product Ideas + Amazon Listing Strategies + 3 Things EVERY Business Must Have + Increasing Your Bottom Line Quickly and Effortlessly There are tons of pure gold nuggets for you from Shawn in this episode. Enjoy!

Alright, here’s something a little different and a real treat for you in this episode. Dimitris Skiadas, one of the world’s TOP Ecommerce Consultants, all the way from Greece, spills the beans on how he is helping his clients grow their ecommerce businesses through data. Data is SO vital to your ecommerce business and unfortunately its rarely discussed on Podcasts, Webinars and interviews with other ‘gurus’. But as you know, we’re committed to the ‘wholistic’ approach to your ecommerce business, so we’re bringing you Dimitris, so you can get the real scoop on data and EXACTLY how it can help you grow your ecommerce business. Data can really give you an edge over your competitors so I HIGHLY recommend you listen intently. Enjoy!

We got a lot of great feedback on this format… …So… We’ve got another best of audio highlights episode for you! In this episode, we’ve put together some audio highlights from million dollar Amazon Seller and entrepreneur Ryan Moran. These highlights are from our year-end mastermind event in Austin, TX and he was on fire during his talk. There are tons of pure gold nuggets for you from Ryan in this episode. Enjoy!

This episode is pure gold. Alan interviews Travis Petelle who figured out in college he was much more inclined to be a digital entrepreneur versus a dentist. So, he pursued that starting out building websites for people and that humble beginning has parlayed into a massive ecommerce business. From interesting things like using Print-On-Demand to testing new products with Facebook Ads, Travis has really mastered the tools, resources, processes and systems for building a multi-million dollar ecommerce empire. This is a must listen episode for anyone wanting to learn and model a ‘regular guy’ who simply hustled and built a big business. Enjoy!

Amazon Pay-Per-Click can be the key to maximizing your sales on Amazon. But it can also be a bit of a science to get your campaigns performing. And there is no better resource for doing that than Brian Johnson. Brian is arguably the King of Amazon PPC and has helped hundreds of people through his programs, agency and Facebook Groups explode their Amazon sales in a very short amount of time. In this episode, we’ve extracted a series of audio snippets from a presentation Brian did at one of our recent masterminds. This is a quick and dirty episode packed with tons of Amazon PPC tips. If you’ve ever wanted to maximize your Amazon PPC campaigns this episode and Brian Johnson are exactly what you’re looking for. Enjoy!

We are barely scratching the surface with social platform marketing for our ecommerce business. Especially Facebook… If you haven’t jumped on the social marketing band wagon (especially Facebook), its time to jump before the big brands REALLY start spending money on social platforms and driving up the ad costs. If you ARE advertising on social platforms for your ecommerce biz, then great, but I bet there are things you can do to increase your ROI. Our guest for this episode, Kenny Stevens is a MASTER at creating high ROI paid and organic social marketing campaigns for his client’s ecommerce businesses. If you’ve ever wanted to start marketing on the social platforms, Kenny is the man to listen to when getting started and this is the episode for you. If you’re already marketing on the social platforms, Kenny is the man to listen to when it comes to increasing your ROI and growing your social marketing strategy. Enjoy!

You ask and we answer… In this episode, we’ve aggregated some of the most common ecommerce biz questions you’ve asked about Sourcing, Shipping, Amazon, Reviews, Canton, Alibaba and More. Since this is a collection of common questions its likely you’ve had these as well. And Alan came to bat with some Amazing insights and answers and held nothing back. Enjoy!

You want to beat the big brands out there in ecommerce and retail? You want to compete with the big boys? What most of them are failing at and missing the boat on is building, nurturing and having a community centered business. That can be your winning formula to take on the industry giants in your niche, market and category in your ecommerce biz. In this episode, Alan interviews the CEO and Founder of Perky Perky Coffee, Maruxa Murphy. Maruxa’s brand is founded on building a community in a very specific and refined demographic, which you’ll find out on the Podcast. And she knows exactly how to authentically engage, interact, nurture and listen to that community through amazing content and initiatives both online and offline. This has led her to launch a line of products that perfectly fits the community and market. If you’ve been listening to the trends in ecommerce, you know a business built on a foundation similar to Maruxa’s is paramount in this day and age. Absolutely a MUST LISTEN episode!

Bootstrapping is great, but sometimes we need a little help getting over the cash flow hump. Creative funding is a great way to do that. In this episode, Alan goes through some things we’ve learned recently from a good friend of the GDW family. This friend has been able to acquire significant amounts of funding at low interest rates even from Big Banks. You’ll learn things like: - How many banks you should apply to (most people wait after a few, its not many but definitely more than a few to increase your chances) - The ‘loan sharks’ to avoid - What lines of credit are best for your ecommerce biz and why - The specific steps and strategies to follow when applying to the banks and lenders to set yourself up for potentially more approvals - The suggested amounts to request so the lenders don’t ‘dig deeper’ …and a whole lot more So, if you’ve ever wanted or needed funding for your ecommerce business this is the episode for you. Enjoy!

I’m sure you’ve heard it before and I guarantee you’re going to hear it more and more in the coming months and years… The best way to build a private label brand and private label products ecommerce business is by building a community around the brand first. In this Episode, Alan interviews Tyler Sullivan. Tyler has built a Multi-Million dollar, private label golf club business around a rabid, hungry community of golfers. Tyler talks about how he built his community and his product line around one thing… His customers ALWAYS get what they ask for, they get it quick and they get quality, even at the risk of scaling some days. (make sure you listen to the story about talking personally with people in the interview) We’ve been talking a lot lately about multi-channel sales, off-platform sales channels, multiple marketing channels and bulletproofing your ecommerce business. And Tyler’s business model fits right into that mold. And he’s VERY transparent in this video talking about how he’s built his ecom empire. This is a must listen if you have ANY desire to build a long-term, sustainable brand and product line for your ecommerce biz. Enjoy!

This episode couldn’t be more appropriate for the context and the entire premise of the Ecom Shift Podcast… There is a lot of change happening in the Ecommerce industry. Amazon making changes, small companies being bought by bigger corporations, online sales and marketing models growing and expanding (and some getting shut down)... Just to name a few. Change seems to be all the talk. So, we thought it was about time we did a Podcast Episode about something related to change that we’re not really seeing anyone discuss during this evergreen and very organic phase we are in right now. Change is inevitable. What we don't see or hear very many people discussing is how to bulletproof your business from taking a huge dip when change occurs. Why is McDonald's still the leader in fast food as old as it is... as long as its been around and with the competition from Chick-Fil-A, Wendy's, etc. out there? Because they have bulletproofed their business. And Alan will be showing you from his 16 years of online retail experience just how to do that on this Episode. If you're reading this, a Podcast Episode like this will not only change the way you think about your ecommerce business forever, but it will change how you operate your ecommerce business forever. Doesn't matter the level you are at in your business... This is a must listen Episode. Enjoy!

Do you focus on the product or the customer in your Ecommerce business? Which is the better thing to focus on when you launch? You may think you know the answers to these questions and you may be right. But after doing this interview, even we have changed our mindset when it comes to launching new products and long-term growth in our ecommerce business. In this episode, Alan interviews Ryan Moran from Freedom Fast Lane. If you don’t know Ryan, he is a multi-million dollar, multi-channel ecommerce seller and he is also a Capitalist Evangelist and has a passion for teaching people to be financially free. Alan and Ryan discuss how Ryan builds brands that are ‘customer centric’ first and ‘product centric’ second. They also discuss Ryan’s successful long-term growth strategies for his brands and why thinking long-term is the best way to grow a brand first and the fastest way to enjoy life and the money that you’re making. This episode is packed with some of the best brand building, customer centered and long-term growth strategy based content we’ve ever come across.

People ask us all the time, “How do you launch over 100 products a year?” That’s a loaded question. But given most people in Ecommerce get the start or the beginning wrong. We thought we’d do a Podcast just about that part of the process. What do I mean by start? Well, I mean sourcing. If you don’t know how to source good products that will sell through multiple channels from a reliable supplier, you’re toast right from the start. And one of the places we source from and have a winning strategy around is China. In this episode, Alan goes through his EXACT direct in China sourcing method. Including, how to research before you go, how NOT to research before you go. How you choose products in China. What to look for, the right ways to diversify your product line and a whole lot more. If you’ve ever wanted to launch tons of products a year and start that process off on the right foot, then this is the episode for you!