I’m often approached by many would-be entrepreneurs who want to start a business as soon as possible. They are usually in their early 20s, living in the U.S., and working a job where they are unfulfilled and (possibly) underpaid. They often want advice and, sometimes, to connect with my suppliers. It’s a strange thing to […]
4 ecommerce-related businesses to start right now Read More »
I’m often asked why I started FringeSport. People inquire, “Of all the things to do, why sell barbells?” I tell them that if I wanted only to make money, I would have tried banking or oil. I have an M.B.A., after all. But I took the path less traveled. I started a barbell company. I
As I write this, I’m traveling to my home in Austin, Texas from a weeklong trip to visit suppliers. Some are in the U.S. Some are in China. My friends know how much time I spend meeting with suppliers. They often ask why don’t I hire someone for these meetings and these trips. For me,
Last month, in “My experience with product reviews,” I mentioned how I’d sent a nude selfie to Blenders Eyewear and was disappointed by its lack of response. I then tweeted the column out to Blenders. The staff gave an immediate and enthusiastic response on Twitter, in the comments for the column, in my email, and
Entrepreneurs fool themselves about productivity Read More »
I’m a huge believer in product reviews for ecommerce sites. I have been for years — since the start of online reviews. I remember when Amazon first utilized reviews, in the early 2000s. I was working for LivingDirect, a retailer of home products, at the time. We marveled at Amazon’s reviews. What a strange innovation.
Happy holidays, ecommerce family! 2017 has been a good year for FringeSport. 2018 looks to be even better. Many ecommerce brands inspire my work. In this post, I’ll list several of them. I am a friend with the owners of some of these companies. Others I have no connection to. They are all innovative. Rhone
9 innovative ecommerce companies, for inspiration Read More »
I remember going to the International Home + Housewares Show in 2006, when I worked for a large corporation. This was just before the Great Recession. Houses were being built nationwide and selling like crazy, which drove revenue of housewares and appliance companies. At this conference, expense accounts were flush. The wine (and vodka) flowed.
Are conferences worthwhile? | Practical Ecommerce Read More »
It’s October, and that means ecommerce businesses should be in the thick of Black Friday preparation. I addressed the topic last year, in “A blueprint for Black Friday planning.” I actually dusted that article off this year and used it for FringeSport. It was helpful! In this post, I’ll address FringeSport’s Black Friday mindset. I’ll
One of the most important ways to help your business is to know the demographics and interests of your customers. If you don’t understand your customers, it’s difficult to write content for them, develop products for them, or even market to them. In this post, I’ll describe a few inexpensive tactics that I’ve used at
I have a reputation as a marketer who sends a lot of emails. And it’s true. At FringeSport, we send most of our subscribers five emails per week — sometimes more. But, still, our unsubscribes and spam complaints are very low. In this post, I’ll offer email-marketing tips based on FringeSport’s experience — how we
