James Dawson

Should an unprofitable DTC brand take on debt? There's a ton of nuance to consider here but one thing you always need to remember is... All debt must eventually be paid back with profit. If you don't have profit available to pay back your debt, then you must pay it back with equity dollars. And if you're raising equity to pay back debt, then you're getting double-tagged with a hefty cost of capital... Once for the cost of debt (interest)... And once for the cost of raising equity (getting your ownership diluted)... Which makes me think - Should you have just raised equity (and not taken on debt) in the first place? -- Find this post helpful? Consider reposting or giving me a follow

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DTC brand founder, are you feeling overwhelmed by managing your own sales tax? Or maybe you're feeling the stress of knowing you owe taxes in multiple states but haven't addressed it yet. As an e-comm brand, you probably have tax nexus all over the country. Managing tax accounts and handling sales tax filings can be a huge pain and is a cumbersome task. Instead of dealing with it on your own, consider outsourcing your sales tax. You have your own priorities that you need to focus on, like driving growth in your business through marketing, perfecting your product, and sealing deals in sales. So, why not leave the tax management to the experts? Now, I know what you're thinking – who can you trust with this crucial task? Look no further than Avalara, Zamp (Matthew Grattan), or Numeral(Deb Mukherjee). These top-notch services are my go-to recommendations for a reason. Investing in their expertise will not only save you time and money but also spare you the nightmare of audits and back taxes down the road. Trust me, it's a wise move. -- Did you find this post helpful? If so, consider resharing it and giving me Jon Blair a follow. #dtcbrands #founders #scaleyourbusiness #cfoservices

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If my brand was low on cash flow, here is what I would do as your Fractional CMO (number four will surprise you): 1. I'd focus on decreasing my overhead costs. You probably have subscriptions you're not using, can downsize office space, reduce utility costs, focus on inventory management, consolidate software expenses, etc. 2. I'd renegotiate my payment terms for vendors, suppliers & agencies to get more flexibility. Many vendors will happily let you change your payment terms if it makes sense for both parties. While you may have to be flexible on some parameters - you can probably find positive cash flow by tweaking existing contract terms. 3. I would consider taking action to generate quick cash flow. Pre-launch an upcoming product for an immediate cash infusion, offer a (still profitable) sale to loyal customers, rent out store space to local vendors to sell their products, etc. 4. I would increase my spending in immediate ROI areas. Find your top-performing marketing channels and increase spending as much as possible. Yes, you're low on cash, but you're still going to need cash to operate, so make sure you can maximize any sales channels that have positive ROI. 5. I'd keep a daily tracker of expense & incoming revenue. Understand your business, at an intimate level, and make sure to understand where you can make tweaks to help improve profitability. ________ Hi, I'm Dan Goldstein & I'm a Fractional CMO for startups. I help my clients unlock their growth potential - and help them tackle big challenges (like having cash flow problems). Want to explore working together? Say "hi" in the comments and I'l send you a link for a free 30-minute strategy session. #marketingstrategy #cashflow #DTC #startup

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If you’re struggling to get a budget approved for branding or a marketing initiative, it’s probably because you’re not talking in the C-suite language. Start with Uncovering what their goals are and what they value. Then demonstrate how a strong brand impacts that goal (i.e. customer acquisition, loyalty, and ultimately, revenue). What are your best tips for winning marketing budget approval? #Branding #MarketingStrategy #MarketingTips

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It's pointless to set monthly financial targets if you don't have quarterly goals. And you can't have useful quarterly goals without annual goals. So my question to the DTC brands out there is - have you created an annual plan? If not, you shouldn't be creating a monthly plan. Why? Because a plan that ladders up to nothing leads to nowhere. Are you on a road to nowhere? Want some direction on how to create a road to somewhere? DM me. I'm not just a Fractional CFO, I'm also an EOS coach and I can point you towards a goal setting system that will work for you.

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Serving up some tasty brand facts ... Today’s takeaway: Everything you do in brand and business is about creating an ecosystem of value. Great brands aren’t just amazing products and aesthetically pleasing point of sale graphics. Great brands design beyond the physical realm, they design relationships. Your brand should create an ecosystem of value and form a mutually beneficial value exchange type of relationship between your business, your product, and your customer. Every touchpoint is an opportunity to fulfill on your brand promise, guide your customer through an exceptional experience, and leverage value through brand reciprocity. How you lead, structure, and scale your business depends on who you are, what you do, and why it matters to others. The ecosystem of value you create through this symbiotic relationship is what resonates with your audience and builds lasting value, brand loyalty, and exponential growth. ----------- Market insight: "Innovation is about creating value for customers and improving their lives" – Reed Hastings, CEO Netflix “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” – Warren Buffet ----------- Know any future brand foodies craving bite-size content? Forward to friend or share on social. ABOUT As a brand pro between two major foodie cities, New Orleans and Los Angeles, I know the value and effort that goes into crafting the perfect bite. I’d love to help you find what your audience craves and build a brand that satisfies their exact needs. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy these takeaway style tips and actionable business, brand, and (sometimes) life insights. 🙋🏼‍♀️Follow, 🖤 like, and 👇 share for more! hashtag#BuildSmartBrands hashtag#BrandingTips hashtag#StrategicBranding hashtag#BrandInnovation hashtag#BrandManagement hashtag#BrandConsultant

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Stop launching products DTC just because it’s an “easy channel to turn on.” You should launch on the DTC channel because you’ve found a way to leverage it in a way that gives you an edge. I think this truth should be applied to all channel selection decisions. How does that channel serve your strategy? Have you identified how your brand can uniquely leverage that channel to give you and edge and win? If you can’t answer these questions then launching into DTC, or any other channel for that matter, is just a “spray and pray” strategy.

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How important is data privacy to you? I have mixed feelings. I understand that when a service like this is free...I am the product. Specifically my data. But it is concerning that #Meta knows so much about me, my behaviors, & my interests, and then essentially sells it to advertisers. We've all been there. Talk about something with a friend. The next moment, we're being served ads for that very thing on Instagram or Facebook. On the other hand... As a digital marketer, the more data I have on the target audience the better! I can create better tailored ads, and serve the right products/services to people who will actually be interested. Love hate relationship I suppose 🤷‍♂️ What are your thoughts?

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42% of online shoppers experience buyers remorse. Your brand can dramatically reduce this. Picture this: Your product is breakthrough. You know it. I know it. Your customers know it. (That’s why they purchased). Whether it’s: → New technology you have → A new ingredient you’re using → An upgraded version of your old product You’ve got something you’re proud to sell. Your customer has been struggling with the EXACT problem you solve… After looking at other competitors / options in the market. They chose to put their trust in YOU. So they pull out their credit card and input the details… And just like that, you’ve got a customer. And then… Crickets. They get a general post-purchase email that thanks them for their purchase. And that’s it. The buyer's remorse starts to set in. Those competitor ads make them question if choosing you was the right choice… Those enticing offers make them second guess their decision... They start to think 'Did I REALLY need to buy that?'. And they’re still yet to hear from you again. Now… Picture this. Same situation as the above… but once they purchase from you: (Considering it takes 5 days to ship) ➤ Email 1 is a personal letter from the founder, thanking them for their purchase. ➤ Email 2 is specific FAQ on the exact product they just ordered ➤ Email 3 is a ‘How To Use’ product guide ➤ Email 4 (Day before product arrives) - Testimonials from happy customers. ➤ Email 5 (Day of arrival) - What are you most looking forward to? Anticipating an order is one of the highest-intent stages a customer will be in. So you have 2 choices during this time period: 1) Do nothing and allow buyers remorse to set in 2) Proactively tackle it A tight post-purchase journey can really turn buyers remorse into buyer excitement. Sometimes it's just about showing you care… And being proactive about it. What else crucial in the post-purchase journey? Let me know below 👇

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Yesterday I was on a call with an 8-figure DTC brand owner and he said something that literally almost brought me to tears... "Jon, this cash forecast looks SOOOOO much better than it did back in January. We've made it through the storm. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel." What was he referring to? Once holiday season 2023 came to an end, my financial model showed us a very clear picture: We were exiting 2023 incredibly overstocked with inventory and the brand's debt was going to mature too soon... Sooner than we'd be able to turn our inventory into cash. My cash forecast was a blood bath... Red negative cash balances through most of 2024. What did I have to say for myself? "Don't worry everyone. I've been through this before. The beauty of having a forecast is this - these red negative cash balances will never actually become a reality if we take action now. We have 6 months to figure this out and I have a plan." The plan? Get to work on restructuring the debt stack for the brand. A debt stack with a maturity schedule that aligned with a realistic timeline for reducing inventory levels. Fast forward to yesterday, and where did we land? We successfully restructured the brand's debt stack and they are now on there way to a new, brighter future. And it culminated in my client telling me yesterday... "Jon, this cash forecast looks SOOOOO much better than it did back in January. We've made it through the storm. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel." Why did we make it through the storm? Because we took a terrible looking cash projection and we acted on it, months before those terrible results ever happened. And we ended up creating a new reality where those negative outcomes never even occurred. This is the beauty and value of forecasting. Forecasts don't create reality. People taking action based on insights gleaned from forecasts create reality. And this is why every 8 and 9-figure brand needs a CFO. Even more importantly - this is why I'm so passionate about building a DTC-focused Fractional CFO firm. Because the work we do can bring new life to DTC brands and their founders. And that is ultimately why my client's comment almost brought me to tears. -- Want to learn more about how my DTC-focused Fractional CFO firm can help you increase profit and cash flow as you scale? Shoot me a DM.

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Do you own a B2B consulting firm? Here's what you need for your business: - Clear & concise website - Messaging that speaks to pain points - Technically sound SEO for website - Clear value prop Check out some of our most recent work where we helped a Charlotte based Fractional CTO firm revamp their site & messaging & dial in their technical SEO. Hit us up if you're curious about elevating your digital footprint!

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Last week I spoke to 30 of Limited Supply's (Nik Sharma and Moiz Ali's group) of 7-9 figure entrepreneurs about growing their organic revenue. And these 6 items were repetitive golden nuggets. I even got this nice message from an attendee. 1. Add content to collections pages But a collections page is not a blog post - why and where would you add content? Doesn't matter! At the top of the collections pages, add a short 2-3 sentences around what the collections page is. And at the end everything about benefits of your product, where to get it, etc. The brands that leverage these see an immediate bump in traffic. 2. Optimize your internal linking structure Most people don't realize that internal linking is similar to having backlinks. Before you pump out a bunch of backlinks, build strong internal links between a blog post and relevant product/collections pages. Do NOT link out to blog posts within product/collections pages, your goal is to keep the user on the revenue focused page! 3. Align blog posts with revenue focused pages Your content is critical for 2 core reasons: 1. Revenue 2. Driving topical authority to your site You should have a strategy that allows you to pump out relevant content that will drive not only topical authority but internal links and visitors who are coming to learn about your product and BUY! 4. Don't ignore technical issues A super performant site is not going to outcompete another site. But missing clear technical issues will weigh your site down. These look like pagination issues, broken links, 404 errors, and slow pages. Get those out of the way so you can focus on the real search gains. 5. Build more quality links The jury is out on whether bad links are actually bad. Some say Google does a great job ignoring them. Some say it depends. I say it really depends on what kind of links they are, and how aggressive are the anchors. So while you should disavow ones that are horrible, you should continue to build niche relevant, anchor light backlinks from sites that have a minimum domain authority of 30+ and have at-least 1000 organic searches a month. 6. Look to the big guys for inspiration The easiest thing you can do today is go to Google, take a keyword, take the number one spot, add that to ahrefs, and see what keywords that page ranks for. This becomes a cheat sheet if you don't know what you should be going after. If you are selling cold plunges, you think a 9 figure brand that ranks number one for revenue generating terms has good opportunties for you to consider? You bet. The best part is you can take those keywords as inspiration and then figure out, based on your sites authority what keywords you want to go after to even outrank them! What tactics are you going to incorporate today? Let me know in the comments!

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Leveraging a CFO to proactively manage the financial health of your growing DTC brand doesn't feel like it matters until you have an "Oh, Sh*t" moment, and your financials fall apart. Then it will matter to you for the rest of your life. And you'll never scale a business without a CFO again.

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Most DTC eCommerce brands are missing the "milk" and that is why they cannot scale! 👇 Ever wonder why milk is always at the back of Walmart or Target? This is not by accident, but a clever marketing strategy I call "the milk problem". Picture this. You enter a store to grab a gallon of milk, but on your way to the checkout, a string of enticing merchandise catches your eye. By the time you reach the register, your two items have suddenly morphed into a full cart. Familiar? Walmart and Target have perfected this art. They lure you in with high-demand items like milk, but their wide selection often convinces you to pick up a few extras. The result? Bigger profits on your visit. However, where does that leave Direct-to-Consumer brands who don't have "milk" to draw you in? They're left in a never-ending cycle of investing time and money trying to bring customers back to their store. Let's say you sell designer bags, Facebook can display your designer bags to potential buyers. But acquiring profitable repeat customers when you have to pay to convince them to return can be a mammoth task. DTC brands often inflate their prices to cover heavy marketing expenses. The more they hike up prices, the more they end up spending on marketing efforts to justify those prices... It's a perpetual cycle. Walmart and Target sell everything. They use high-demand items, selling them at or below breakeven as part of their marketing strategy, then upsell with high-margin items. This strategy has allowed these retail giants to outperform many grocery stores with their supercenters. They lure you in with essentials and enchant you with an array of merchandise. And the result? You walk out with more than just cheaper milk. So, what is your "milk"? And...if you lack a "milk" to draw in customers, how do you plan to break the cycle and thrive in the competitive DTC terrain? Let's hear your thoughts!

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I'm hearing lots of people say that DTC brands "must go omni-channel." I gotta be honest, I think this is BS and I don't agree. Now to be clear, if you have goals to get to $50m+ in annual sales, then yes you probably need to go omni-channel because physical retail will be required to hit those numbers. But there are plenty of 8-figure <$50m niche DTC brands that crush it. And there's nothing wrong with staying DTC-only and limiting your TAM. You can still build a great business that way. But just be honest with yourself about the fact that if you want to grow to $50m+ you're likely going to need additional channels beyond DTC.

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I started two new ecom brands this month. 1 supplement sample 1 kitchen product prototype My strategy to take these to $450K+/m is: -Organic social media (Short) -Gifting/Seeding influencers for UGC/Shops aff -In person Coachella event next year -Consistent paid ads strategy -Email/SMS -QVC push once social launch is done ✅ documenting the growth of these two all on my page

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As a Brand Equity Consultant I have 1 question right now... How much cash are you burning on marketing and outsourcing to the wrong agency? It could be quite a bit not to mention the amount of time lost due to lack of traction. Let's talk about proper brand engineering so I can help you from burning cash. Check out my guy Jeff Glauser for how to tell your brand's story. #brandequity #brandengineering #brandstratey #brandroi #leadership #personalbranding

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