The Bean Ninjas Podcast

117. Scaling Vetchy: Innovative Tactics for 7-Figure DTC Customer Engagement and Growth ft. Shaaz Ahmed

Bean Ninjas — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 21:56:00 +0000

How does a 7-figure DTC swimwear brand like Vetchy engage customers and achieve exceptional growth?

Join us in this episode as we sit down with Shaaz Ahmed, the mastermind behind Vetchy, to uncover his unconventional strategies to scale his brand and create a buzz in the fashion industry.

From his unique career transition to the secrets of customer engagement, get ready to dive deep into the world of Vetchy and gain valuable insights for your own eCommerce journey.

[0:00] Meet Shaaz Ahmed: Ecom Insights

[2:40] Shaaz's Journey with Bean Ninjas and the Impact

[3:25] From Fashion to Ecommerce: Shaaz's Unconventional Path

[5:20] Lessons for Successful Launch

[9:47] Unconventional Strategies for Growth

[15:52] Harnessing Influence: The Dynamic Duo of Influencers and Customer Advocates

[21:02] Starting Your Influencer Program

[24:17] Importance of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

[28:42] Time Management Tips from Shaaz

With 18 years of experience in the fashion industry, Shaaz has built a strong background in designing and manufacturing swim and activewear for well-known mass-market retailers such as H&M and Target.

In 2020, Shaaz decided to venture into entrepreneurship, launching his own brand alongside his wife, who handles design and the creative aspects.

Drawing from their extensive knowledge and insights gained from working closely with various retailers, they launched Vetchy with an aim to offer styles, fits, and colors that resonate with their target audience.

This podcast episode is brought to you by sponsor A2X: automated e-commerce accounting.

References and links mentioned

Vetchy: https://vetchy.com/
Download our free Xero or Quickbooks e-commerce toolkit: https://beanninjas.com/toolkits

Interesting quotes and takeaways from the episode

"We measured the customer return rate, and we found that over time up to 30% of our customers return and make a second purchase within a 60-day period from their initial purchase. This allows us to understand the value of acquiring a new customer, and by knowing this number, we can calculate the cost of acquiring a new customer and using the necessary resources and marketing to attract and retain the customer”

“Another important aspect of our growth strategy is the power of influencers and customers as influencers. We actively encourage and engage our customers to share photos of themselves wearing our swimwear. We call it Vetchy Sunday, so if you tune in to our Instagram Sunday Morning, you’ll see a lot of our customers who are now our influencers.”

116. Exiting Strong: Tips to Preparing Bulletproof Business Financials for a Successful Exit ft. Mark Botha

Bean Ninjas — Wed, 17 May 2023 21:01:00 +0000

Wayne Richard interviews guest Mark Botha, a successful seven-figure Amazon store owner and entrepreneur. They discuss the importance of proper financial preparation for a successful business exit, Mark's journey as an entrepreneur, and his latest venture into software and services.

Along the way, they share valuable insights and tips for listeners looking to scale their e-commerce businesses.

[02:26] Experience with previous accounting providers and why he chose Bean Ninjas

[03:39] Mark on taking chances - how he transitioned from chiropractic to e-commerce

[7:18] Three considerations before jumping from e-commerce into software

[12:24] Mark’s tip and tools for a successful business exit - importance of building bulletproof financials

[15:59] Building Seller view - the importance of having a cost per unit that represents the true number

[22:15] Lessons on product or marketplace expenses

[25:36] Tips on where to look for hidden margins

As a seasoned entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in the e-commerce industry, Mark Botha has a proven track record of building successful businesses and developing innovative solutions. He began his career as a chiropractor but quickly found his passion in e-commerce and digital nomad living. In 2013, Mark made a bold move by launching his first Amazon business with the goal of living on an island paradise. Despite facing unforeseen costs and fees, he was relentless in his pursuit of profitability, diving into spreadsheets and tracking every metric imaginable to make his ecommerce brands successful and profitable.

After selling multiple e-commerce brands, Mark co-founded SellerVue, a comprehensive cost-tracking solution designed to empower e-commerce entrepreneurs to accurately track costs and maximize profits.

This podcast episode is brought to you by sponsor A2X: automated e-commerce accounting.

Top 3 takeaways:

Proper financial preparation is crucial for a successful exit of a business.
Quick and efficient communication with accounting providers is essential in avoiding tedious back-and-forth questioning.
Taking a chance on a new business venture can lead to great success, even if it involves stepping out of one's comfort zone.

References and links mentioned

Sellervue - https://www.sellervue.com/
Download our free Xero or Quickbooks e-commerce toolkit: https://beanninjas.com/toolkits

115. Launching 4 brands in 6 years - Lessons from a 7-figure Entrepreneur ft. Phil Van Treuen

Bean Ninjas — Thu, 11 May 2023 05:50:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered what it takes to launch multiple successful brands in just a few years? In this episode, host Wayne Richard sits down with 7-figure entrepreneur (and Bean Ninjas client) Phil Van Treuen to discuss the secrets behind his incredible success.

Phil shares his experiences launching 4 brands in just 6 years, and the lessons he's learned along the way.

From developing a winning brand strategy to building a strong team, Phil's insights will leave you inspired and ready to take your own business to the next level. Tune in now to learn from one of the best in the game!

[02:31] Phil's experience with Bean Ninjas' monthly financials

[04:05] From the National Guard to Digital Marketing: Phil's journey

[05:46] Content that solves problems: The biggest takeaway from Digital Marketing

[08:42] AI in business: How Phil uses it for content creation

[10:10] Key moments on Phil's entrepreneurial journey

[12:50] Launching 4 brands in 6 years: 2 lessons learned

[16:35] Spending money on Facebook ads: Phil's process

[18:12] Evaluating financial viability for new offerings: 4 insights

[23:30] Applying Stoicism to your life: What it is and where to look

[30:19] Phil's productivity hacks and time management techniques

[31:31] Resource that helped Phil on his entrepreneurial journey

[33:09] Defining freedom: What it means to Phil

Phil Van Treuen is an author, entrepreneur and perpetual work in progress. Founder & CEO at CHOMP; Publisher at Stoic Simple.

This podcast episode is brought to you by sponsor A2X: automated e-commerce accounting.

Resources mentioned:

Stoic Simple: https://www.stoicsimple.com
SpaDog: https://www.spadogbox.com
Download our free Xero or Quickbooks e-commerce toolkit: https://beanninjas.com/toolkits

Michael Wark & Anfernee Chansamooth - Working in Public (2021 review)

Bean Ninjas — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 09:30:00 +0000

#Business #Startup #accounting #bookkeeping #Lifestyle #DigitalNomads #Entrepreneurship #M Bean Ninjas, Business, Startup, accounting, bookkeeping, SaaS, Coaches, consultants, Lifestyle, DigitalNomads, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Success, Meryl johnston

Live from the Chartered Accountants ANZ Brisbane Office

Bean Ninjas — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 04:30:00 +0000

The Bean Ninjas Podcast co-hosts Matt Stubbs and Meryl Johnston are back and live at the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand offices in Brisbane.

In this episode, Matt and Meryl give us a recap of the early stages of Crossbeam; from its infancy as an idea to building the initial version of the app. They also answer some interesting questions from a live studio audience.

Juggling Holidays and Work Commitments with a New Business

Bean Ninjas — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 22:07:00 +0000

The Bean Ninjas co-hosts Matt Stubbs and Meryl Johnston are back today walking us through Crossbeam’s progress in recent weeks and they share the excitement of collecting their first recurring payment.

They then move into some topics around work-life balance and how they each ensure they are able to run successful businesses and have great family - and personal relationships outside of work.

Moving from Beta Users to Paying Customers

Bean Ninjas — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 22:00:00 +0000

The Bean Ninjas co-hosts Matt Stubbs and Meryl Johnston are back today catching up on the progress Matt has made in his beta testing of Crossbeam.

Balancing the conflict between feature requests and a tight launch date

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 06:30:00 +0000

Now that we’ve opened up Crossbeam to beta users we are facing a challenge.

We are receiving great feedback and feature requests from beta users, but we need to balance that with a tight June 2021 launch date.

It isn’t possible to build every requested feature in time for the launch, so we need to make some difficult choices.

Join co-hosts Matt Stubbs and Meryl Johnston for this ‘working in public’ series focused on building a SaaS.

How to identify the right SaaS opportunity

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 18 May 2021 06:30:00 +0000

Getting traction with any new business is a challenge. That is why selecting the right problem to solve for the right market is so important.

Join co-hosts Matt Stubbs and Meryl Johnston for this ‘working in public’ series focused on building a SaaS.

Making business decisions during the time of coronavirus (COVID-19)

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Making business decisions during normal circumstances can be challenging enough. With coronavirus (COVID-19), many small businesses have had to change their plans and Bean Ninjas is no exception.

In this episode Meryl Johnston shares her thought process behind a couple of recent business decisions - pausing the education business unit, and switching to a new format for the podcast.

Listen in to hear about the challenges and opportunities that have been presented to us during this pandemic.

Finding Product Market Fit Week 5 - Product Launch Lessons

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 20:00:00 +0000

In this episode we share some of our top product launch lessons.

This is part 5 of our 5-part "Finding Product Market Fit" series, where Bean Ninjas Learning & Community Lead Anfernee Chansamooth and Financial Coach Michael Ward share how they're going about launching their 2 respective Bean Ninjas businesses - Bean Ninjas Educ8tion and Bean Ninjas Money Mindset.

We believe in applying startup methodology to launching products quickly. In fact, Bean Ninjas was actually started with a 7 Day Launch process.

As well as sharing our journey whilst it’s happening, including what’s working and what’s not. This is us “working in public”, and something we’ve been wanting to do since our 2019 "Product Development Process" series.

Want to learn more about what Bean Ninjas is working on, and more importantly how we’re doing it? Well, this episode is for you.

Finding Product Market Fit Week 4 - Networking Tips

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Want to go some networking tips to make the most of business networking events?

This is part 4 of our 5-part "Finding Product Market Fit" series, where Bean Ninjas Learning & Community Lead Anfernee Chansamooth and Financial Coach Michael Ward share how they're going about launching their 2 respective Bean Ninjas businesses - Bean Ninjas Educ8tion and Bean Ninjas Money Mindset.

We believe in applying startup methodology to launching products quickly. In fact, Bean Ninjas was actually started with a 7 Day Launch process.

As well as sharing our journey whilst it’s happening, including what’s working and what’s not. This is us “working in public”, and something we’ve been wanting to do ever since we shared our income reports in the early days of the business.

Want to learn more about what Bean Ninjas is working on, and more importantly how we’re doing it? Well, this episode is for you.

Finding Product Market Fit Week 3 - How To Generate Leads

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Want to go behind the scenes and learn how we're generating leads for 2 new Bean Ninjas products?

This is the part 3 of our 5-part "Finding Product Market Fit" series, where Bean Ninjas Learning & Community Lead Anfernee Chansamooth and Financial Coach Michael Ward share how they're going about launching their 2 respective Bean Ninjas businesses - Bean Ninjas Educ8tion and Bean Ninjas Money Mindset.

We believe in applying startup methodology to launching products quickly. In fact, Bean Ninjas was actually started with a 7 Day Launch process.

Want to learn more about what Bean Ninjas is working on, and more importantly how we’re doing it? Well, this episode is for you.

Business Growth: Bean Ninjas 5 Year Review

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 20:00:00 +0000

What does the business growth journey of a 5-year old company look like? You're about to find out.

In this special episode, Bean Ninjas CEO Meryl Johnston and Direct of Global Operations Wayne Richard felt it would be interesting for listeners to get an insight into how Bean Ninjas has evolved as a business since launching in 2015 with $1000, and a dream of changing the global bookkeeping game.

Wayne and Meryl reflect on what it means to "work less and earn more", themes of Momentum and Focus, Balance and Growth, and the various stages of business growth that the company went through in order to arrive at where it is today - as a leading company in the global bookkeeping and accounting space.

Wayne and Meryl also discuss how how the company has evolved in terms of vision, mission, purpose, team, marketing, leadership, decision making, and key projects along the way.

Finding Product Market Fit Week 2 - Identifying Customer Needs

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Want to go behind the scenes and learn how we're identifying customer needs for 2 new Bean Ninjas products?

This is part 2 of our 5-part "Finding Product Market Fit" series, where Bean Ninjas Learning & Community Lead Anfernee Chansamooth and Financial Coach Michael Ward share how they're going about launching their 2 respective Bean Ninjas businesses - Bean Ninjas Educ8tion and Bean Ninjas Money Mindset.

We believe in applying startup methodology to launching products quickly. In fact, Bean Ninjas was actually started with a 7 Day Launch process.

Want to learn more about what Bean Ninjas is working on, and more importantly how we’re doing it? Well, this episode is for you.

Finding Product Market Fit Week 1 - Behind the Scenes of 2 Product Launches

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Want to go behind the scenes and learn how we're finding product market fit for 2 new Bean Ninjas products?

This is the first of our 5-part "Finding Product Market Fit" series, where Bean Ninjas Learning & Community Lead Anfernee Chansamooth and Financial Coach Michael Ward share how they're going about launching their 2 respective Bean Ninjas businesses - Bean Ninjas Educ8tion and Bean Ninjas Money Mindset.

We believe in applying startup methodology to launching products quickly. In fact, Bean Ninjas was actually started with a 7 Day Launch process.

Want to learn more about what Bean Ninjas is working on, and more importantly how we’re doing it? Well, this episode is for you.

How to Master Timing and Change with James Schramko

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 20:00:00 +0000

How do you prepare for uncertainty? It's alll about Mastering Timing and Change according to James Schramko, Founder of SuperFastBusiness.com.

As the ex-Sales Director for Mercedes Benz Australia, James realised that he could earn a lot more money and lead a less stressful lifestyle by building online businesses.

In this episode, James shares how he started his own business and quit employment in the 2008 crisis, and de-risked himself and his clients ever since. James also shares why relying on a single source of income is the riskiest strategy any individual can have for themselves and their loved ones.

James also shares business models that he believes are real opportunities right now, and his #1 tip for entrepreneurs to improve cash flow over the next 90 days.

What we learned from 100 podcast episodes

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 09 Jun 2020 20:00:00 +0000

In this week’s episode, we celebrate hitting a massive milestone - 100 episodes of the Bean Ninjas podcast!

We wanted to make this episode useful to our listeners so Bean Ninjas CEO Meryl Johnston and Global Director of Operations Wayne Richard discuss expectations going in when we launched the podcast, outcomes, wins, a recap of our favorite episodes, and what we’re planning next for the podcast.

So whether you’re also planning a podcast or well on your way, you’ll learn more about our experience and get some useful takeaways for your own business. Enjoy!

How to Become a Traveling Shopify eCommerce Entrepreneur with Ronnie Teja of Branzio

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Dream of traveling the world as a successful Shopify eCommerce entrepreneur?

In this episode, Bean Ninjas COO Wayne Richard chats with Ronnie about his journey building a successful Shopify ecommerce business and living the life as a digital nomad.

How to create a $100K per month side business in less than 2 years with Davis Nguyen of My Consulting Offer

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 26 May 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Thinking about launching a side hustle or turning one into a profitable business in less than 2 years?

Davis Nguyen, Founder of My Consulting Offer, has helped over 400 people land their dream consulting jobs at some of the most prestigious firms including McKinsey, Bain, and BCG.

In this episode, Davis shares his journey of launching a side hustle and turning it into a $100K per month business in 2 years - with no website, no existing product, and no email list.

Automating Sales Processes and Closing More Deals With Adam Hempenstall of Better Proposals

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 19 May 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Want to learn about automating sales processes and closing more deals?

Bean Ninjas COO Wayne Richard talks with Adam Hempenstall, CEO and Founder of Better Proposals, about automating sales processes, creating winning business proposals, business automation, and closing more deals.

Having helped his customers at Better Proposals win $120,000,000+ in one year only, he has launched the first Proposal Writing University where he shares business proposal best practices. He's also a goalkeeper and huge fan of music festivals.

Launching a New Business in a Recession

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 12 May 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Wondering how to start a startup when you already have an existing business in place that's doing well?

Financial Coach Michael Wark will take you behind the scenes of the launch of Bean Ninjas Money Mindset (BNMM), a new Bean Ninjas entity.

This podcast will be helpful to business owners who are looking to build a new revenue stream leveraging their existing assets.

And also to team members who are interested in working with their employer to take an equity stake and build an asset.

Profit First - Benefits & Challenges for Small Businesses with Michael Wark

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 05 May 2020 20:00:00 +0000

What is Profit First? What are the benefits and challenges of implenting it in your business? In this episode Financial Coach Michael Wark gives you the low down of why Profit First is important, and what you need to know to make sure that it's right for your business.

Scaling Your Online Business by Outsourcing Your Business Management with Kat Jarman

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Spending too much time managing your team? Wondering about effectively scaling your online business to free up your time to focus on the important things, and without breaking what's already working?

Kat is founder of Your Online Team, a boutique Online Business Management Agency.

Having lived and breathed online business since 2012, Kat has been that entrepreneur drowning in all the things and getting nowhere. Her mission is to help Entrepreneurs remove themselves from their business operations so they can get back to doing what they do best... being CEO.

Meryl Johnston catches up with Kat to discuss her mission, and how she's helping online businesses with her agency.

Mission, Magic, Money, and the one formula you must understand for eCommerce Growth, with Taylor Holiday of CommonThreadCo

Bean Ninjas — Tue, 21 Apr 2020 20:00:00 +0000

What's the one formula that founders must understand for eCommerce growth?

In this episode, Taylor Holiday shares his secret eCommerce growth success formula with Wayne Richard.

Taylor Holiday is a former athlete who lucked into entrepreneurship. He believes the internet is an incredibly powerful way to sell products, you can find him spending most of my time helping people do that as Managing Partner at CommonThreadCo. Taylor’s team empowers eCommerce companies to reach new levels.