On today’s episode, Kunle is joined by Tyler Sullivan, Founder of BombTech Golf – an 8-year-old DTC Golf equipment manufacturer. He is also a partner at EcomGrowers – a marketing agency specialising in email marketing, which is also a platinum agency for Klaviyo.

In previous episodes, we have had business owners who have spoken about building a self-sufficient team and bringing expertise in-house. On today’s episode, we’ll get the scoop on how to do the opposite – build a successful business with a super lean team. Tyler has built an 8-figure business, but still only has 2 employees. No, that’s not a typo error. Tyler shares his story about how passion, happenstance, smart decisions and (a lot of) hard work has let him build successful businesses that can now run without him.

Kunle and Tyler talk about how KPIs are more important than the number of employees you have, and how building a variable-cost business model boosts flexibility and scalability. Whether you’re a DTC manufacturer or someone working on an eCommerce side hustle, this show has value for you!

Here is a summary of some of the most important points made,

• • Hire people who are smarter than you, and get out of their way
  • Use KPIs to monitor & control your business
  • Trying to “control” fulfillment can burn a hole in your profits
  • Use emails to create hype before any new product launch
  • Creating more content in eCommerce is not necessarily better

Covered Topics:

On today’s interview Kunle and Tyler discuss,

• Building a lean business
• Choosing the right 3PL
• Using Private FB groups for organic engagement
• Email strategies for product launch

Timestamp:

• 07:05 – A bit about Tyler Sullivan:
  • DTC Golf manufacturer launched in 2012
  • Generate $5-7 million of sales per year with only 2 employees
  • Partner at eCom Growers, a platinum agency of Klaviyo
• 9:35 – Tyler’s mantra for hiring: find people who are smarter than you, and let them do the work
• 10:50 – How Bombtech does millions in sales with only 2 employees:
  • Invest in providing awesome customer service
  • 3PL for logistics – phillogistics
  • Use their Agency for email & marketing
  • 2 freelancers for video and photography
  • 3rd party engineer
• 13:50 – Using KPIs to monitor and control the business
• 15:50 – Why use 3PL
  • Trying to have “control” will cost you a lot of money
  • 3PL shifts your model to a variable cost model
  • Use data of where your customers are to finalise a 3PL location
• 20:10 – Bombtech Product Design and Strategy:
  • The 1st Bombtech driver was a capstone project for 4 engineering students
  • Create products that are priced well and perform well, and are designed for average golfers
  • Typically half price of established brands
• 26:10 – How getting fired from his job led to Tyler pursuing Bombtech full time
• 28:28 – What paid channels is Bombtech most active in:
  • Facebook and Instagram – ever since they offered ads
  • Google ads and SEO – Golf is trending up for the first time in 20 years
  • Email & SMS
• 29:55 – The HYPE Launch method:
  • Use 6-10 emails before launch to create hype
  • Focus on your engaged audience
  • Have only 1 clear CTA per email
• 32:25 – Email vs SMS for engagements:
  • Email leads the way
  • SMS is more intimate “If we’re going to send a text, it’s gotta be worth sending”
• 35:00 – Why Bombtech chose Postscript for SMS
• 36:00 – Ad spend strategy:
  • 85% spend is on FaceBook
  • Spending more on Google as search volumes are trending up
• 37:10 – Shipping internationally is only worth it if you get the ROI
• 39:10 – “More content in eCommerce is not necessarily better”
• 43:00 – Platform of choice for organic engagement – Facebook Private Group
• 50:15 – Email list segmentation methods:
  • Product-based
  • Engagement based
• 58:05 – Impact of Covid:
  • Great boost for business
  • Golf is trending up after a long time
  • Agency numbers are booming
• 62:25 – Prediction for next year
  • “I think ecommerce has fast-forwarded 5-10 years”
  • Retail will never be the same again
• 63:40 – Lightning Round

Lightning Round:

1. Q: How do you hire people?
   A: Test them first
2. Q: What advice would you give to yourself 5 years ago?
   A: I would give advice but I wouldn’t listen
3. Q: What’s your daily morning routine?
   A: Get the kids ready for school and leave at 8:30am
4. Q: What are your 3 indispensable tools for managing your business?
   A: Basecamp, Zoom and Facebook workplace
5. Q: What’s been your best mistake till date? A set back that’s given you the biggest feedback?
   A: Putting myself on Camera
6. Q: What one book/resource has had the greatest impact on how you run your business?
   A: Michael Gerber – E Myth Mastery

Takeaways:

• Use KPIs to monitor & control your business
• Trying to “control” fulfillment can burn a hole in your profits
• Use emails to create hype before any new product launch
• Private Facebook groups are great for organic engagement

Links & Resources

• Tyler’s Blog
• Postscript
• Carthook
• Shopify
• Judge.me
• E-Myth Mastery by Michael Gerber

Tweetable Quotes:

“The hype launch method really allows our paid traffic to be really profitable.”

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SPONSORS:

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