Firing The Man

Episode 78 In today’s episode, David and I will talk about pay-per-click (PPC) and profitability and how we can reconcile them in our businesses. We have also included a real-life case study from one of our portfolio companies, as well as a discussion of Advertising Cost of Sale (ACoS) and Total Advertising Cost of Sale (TACoS).  Listen to this episode and learn how PPC and profitability intersect...

Episode 77   Joe Valley fired the man 24 years ago and never looked back ever since. He wrote “The EXITpreneur's Playbook” to guide entrepreneurs in exiting their businesses the right way, specifically sharing tactical steps and mindset shifts that they need to get the most out of their exit. Joe can also be heard regularly in the podcast, “The Quiet Light.” Tune in now and learn from Joe how...

Episode 76 Many e-commerce business owners are having a hard time overcoming the current Amazon inventory restrictions. That’s why in this episode David and I will be talking about the strategies we’re implementing. But that's not really it. We also want you, the Firing the Man Nation, to share your own solutions. Let’s stay the course and fight through these tough times together.  Listen to...

Check out https://forceget.com/ to use promo code FTM 300 and tell them that FiringTheMan sent you. Episode 75 Ken and I are happy to talk with Burak Yolga for the second time, where we talk about logistics, inventory, and supply for e-commerce businesses. Our interview with Burak is timely as shipping is so expensive right now. How then can e-commerce business owners ship to the US in the most ef...

We have the one and only Chris Odegard to talk about alternative investment vehicles you can try over the traditional ones such as the 401(k). Our discussion mostly focused on 401(k) and why he will advise people to NOT put money into it. Instead, he will advise them to invest in real estate, which if done right, can lead to financial freedom and prosperity.  Tune in now and learn alternative inve...

Episode 73 Ben Leonard built a 7-figure business from his laptop...only to sell it after 3 years. You may be surprised and curious as to why Ben did it, but for him, it was the right thing to do. What were his reasons for this surprising decision? He drops by to tell us why. Ben is the epitome of “Firing the Man,” and if you are someone who’s just starting an eCommerce business, you still would wa...

Episode 72 Have you heard about dropshipping? This business model looks attractive as a passive income stream because you don’t need an inventory to start selling products. You only need a platform to accept orders and forward them to the manufacturers. Ken tried it, alongside sponsoring a semi-pro Poker player, and failed. The silver lining of these failures, though, is that it brought Ken and I...

Episode 71 Are you planning to sell at Walmart? Then, don’t miss this episode. Ken will share his experiences so far in selling in Walmart. We will talk about the things we like about it, including how easy the integration is and how the sales are going. We will also discuss more topics to make your Walmart experience worthwhile, including how to get top-quality reviews for your products.  Listen...

Episode 70 In today’s episode, David will share his failed business experience and the lessons he learned from it. He realized later on, which you should realize as early as now, that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it. You should consider this thought especially if you also want to fire the man. David is willing to try this business again, though, but this time, he’ll...

Episode 69 In today’s episode, we talk with Don Henig, Co-Founder of AccrueMe, LLC. AccrueMe is providing growth capital for Amazon sellers with 0% interest and no payment requirements. You don’t even need to let go parts of the ownership when you work with Don’s team. The only way they will win is if your Amazon business wins. Does this sound too good to be true?  Listen to this episode and learn...

Episode 68 In today’s episode, we are going to talk about the top 5 articles in the eCommerce industry in the first quarter of 2021. We have talked about Amazon and where it will go upon the departure of Jeff Bezos. We’ve also shared our insights about Walmart, Target, and Shopify and their respective business models that contribute to their recent growth. David and I ended this episode on a high...

Episode 67 Are you planning to start an eCommerce business? Well, you’ve come to the right podcast episode. Today, Ken and I made a deep dive discussion about it, which we divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the needs of a business such as business name, employee identification number, and business bank account. The second part is all about Wants. They’re not really required, but the...

Episode 66 In today’s episode, we are joined by Ethan Bachinski, an engineer that is just beginning his journey in the e-commerce space. Ethan played division 1 football at Western Illinois University and then continued his education at the University of Iowa where he earned his Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering in Mechanical Engineering.  In the last year, Ethan has leveraged his engineering s...

Episode 65 Let’s visit another marketplace in today’s episode with Miro Posavec. Miro is an experienced seller at Walmart, selling health and wellness products for the last few years now. He will help us navigate the Walmart platform online, talk about the value that it offers to both sellers and buyers, and share tips to successfully start our eCommerce business.  Listen to Miro to better navigat...

Episode 64 Ron Parisi, CPA, JD, has more than 25 years of experience in accounting and technology, which he leverages as a Virtual CFO & Accounting Service to assist other entrepreneurs. His articles have been published in national publications, including the Wall Street Journal and Accounting Today. In this episode, he will talk about the ideal path of a successful business, which highly depe...

Episode 63 It’s been 6 months since Ken fired the man. In this episode, we have talked with Ken about his eCommerce business so far, the steps he took to balance his full-time job and business prior to firing the man, and the freedom of having control of his own time. He also shares this one regret in starting a business. What do you think is that regret?   Let’s listen to Ken’s Firing the Man jou...

Episode 62 Francois Jaffres is a blackbelt in product sourcing. We have him in today’s episode to talk about his company, Noviland, and learn product sourcing tips that can elevate our businesses. Among other things, we have also discussed China and other potential manufacturers, common mistakes that Amazon sellers make, and the traits that separate successful entrepreneurs from the average ones. ...

Episode 61 Not all debts are created equal. There's good debt that can grow and scale your business and there's bad debt that can drive it to bankruptcy. David Kennedy of Parkside Financial joins us in this episode to tell us the risks and rewards of debts. If deployed correctly, debt can be a great investment for businesses. They just need to identify what assets they should have and th...

Episode 60 It’s official. David has fired the man. In this episode, David will talk about his rollercoaster journey in the last four years and the satisfaction that comes with arriving at the destination. This is a must-listen for those still in the “grind stage” and those who have not started their journeys yet.  This is coming from two normal guys who just wanted to support ourselves and our fam...

Episode 59 In this episode, Kevin Flaherty from Thras.io joins us to talk about how his company acquires third-party businesses in the Amazon space. In 2020, Thras.io was named the “fastest profitable U.S. company to ever reach a $1 billion valuation.” Before joining Thras.io, Kevin worked as an analyst at Advantage Capital where he would work on providing capital to both start-up and expansion st...

Episode 58 Today, we have an awesome guest to talk about his entrepreneurial journey and share the tips that helped him along the way. Joel Bower is the co-founder and owner of Owning the Edge, a high-end consulting and intimate mastermind business, helping established entrepreneurs and executives get personalized advice and training they need to replace cookie-cutter solutions that simply don’t w...

Episode 57 In this episode, we are going to talk about the goals that Ken and I set for 2021. From 15,000 to 30,000 emails? Why not 50,000? Buying an existing company or starting from scratch? We have set goals this year based on the lessons we have learned and the experiences we have gone through last year. We are sharing all these goals with you to remind us that 2021 is the year of Firing the M...

Episode 56 If you are at the stage of your e-commerce business where you want to talk with suppliers, this episode is for you. Today, Ken and I will drop a lot of golden nuggets you can pick up to turn into a pro negotiator. Based on our experience, negotiations don’t have to be purely business-related. After all, you’re still talking with people who are only living within a different culture and...

Episode 55 In this episode, we review our 2020 goals. If you are a new member of Firing the Man Nation, you might want to check out Episodes 6 and 25 where we set our goals and checked their progress. We discuss the lessons learned in accomplishing these goals, whether we were successful or not, and are able to come up with valuable insights that we will carry this new year, 2021.  Let’s dive righ...

Episode 54 Start the year by turning that idea in your head into a business. Contrary to popular belief, starting a business can be quick and easy. You can even start within 10 minutes. If you’ve been thinking about starting a business for a while now, you’ve probably read this suggestion many times: do your due diligence. However, it’s hard to do your assignment if you don’t know the questions at...