Podcasts about direct sales

Was es wirklich bedeutet, Bücher direkt zu verkaufen: Marge, Tools, Versand, Traffic – und die ehrlichen Herausforderungen. Alles, was ich seit 2021 über Direct Sales gelernt habe.

In this episode of Brave New Bookshelf, hosts Steph Pajonas and Danica Favorite are joined by Greg Keogh, co-founder of Curios, to discuss the revolutionary shift toward direct-to-reader sales. Greg shares how Curios empowers authors by acting as the merchant of record—handling the complexities of sales tax and customer support—while providing a "permissionless" platform that welcomes AI-forward content and high-spice fiction without the fear of de-platforming. From the logistical ease of setting up a digital storefront in minutes to the exciting future of integrated print-on-demand services, this conversation explores how authors can reclaim their independence, own their reader data, and build a more resilient publishing business. Visit our website https://bravenewbookshelf.com to view the full episode notes, links and apps mentioned in the episode, and the full transcript.

In recent years, our No-Till Farmer editors have shared numerous conversations with no-tillers interested in finding new ways to expand farm income past traditional cash crop, milk and meat production. While we've seen many opportunities for developing a direct-to-consumer business, many growers maintain it seems like too much work.

Peter Hollins explores how Beethoven, despite losing his hearing, continued to create masterpieces and inspire others with unwavering commitment. Discover the power of focusing on your vision and pushing through challenges to achieve greatness. You'll learn practical insights to stay motivated and elevate your own craft.⏱ CHAPTERS0:00 Intro2:15 The Struggle Begins4:19 Live Performances and Masterpieces5:20 Challenges and Resilience6:25 Overcoming Adversity Through Music7:58 Beethoven's Symphony Premiere9:31 Early Musical Education12:08 Direct Sales to Publishers13:39 Unique Voice and Vision15:45 Personal Achievements and Goals17:25 Summary of Today's StudyJoin us as we dive into the fascinating world of neuroscience with Peter Hollins, where you'll discover how even legendary figures like Beethoven harnessed their creativity and self-discipline to overcome incredible obstacles. Whether you're a musician looking to boost your mental performance or someone seeking better time management and productivity hacks, our channel offers insights that blend leadership wisdom with scientific understanding to keep you motivated and committed on your journey of personal growth.

314 / Tee Harlowe, a fantasy romance author, shares tips for successful Kickstarters as well as how she's adapting to market shifts and why diversification is key to surviving income drops. ✨ This week's sponsor is Vellum: http://tryvellum.com/wishRapid release publishing strategiesInstagram tips for authorsFallacies in assumptions about genre size equating to sales  Challenges with Kickstarter fulfillmentDiversifying author income streams, including through traditional publishing and direct salesRunning a successful Shopify store

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* Listen on Spotify* Listen on Apple* Listen on Youtube* Listen on Pocketcasts* Book Launch checklist: https://BookHip.com/BDSWRRT* Millionaire Author Mastermind Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/millionaireauthormastermind/* http://hapitalist.com/* https://link.tertulia.com/ykHxfSIn this episode of The Six Figure Author Experiment, Russell and Lee sit down with Lynda Hammes, co-founder of Tertulia, to explore a tool built to solve one of the most exhausting parts of the author business: the messy, expensive, duct-taped-together stack of websites, email tools, direct sales platforms, and assorted software subscriptions. Lynda explains how Tertulia began as a book discovery platform and online bookstore, then expanded into Tertulia for Authors, a streamlined author platform designed to make websites and audience-building dramatically easier.The conversation centers on a live walkthrough of the Tertulia website builder, showing how quickly an author can generate a site from an ISBN or ASIN and an Instagram handle, then customize colors, branding, books, blog posts, and calls to action. Lynda demonstrates how the platform imports metadata, reviews, retailer links, and book information, then layers in tools for lead magnets, blogs, custom pages, email campaigns, and direct sales. The core promise is simple but powerful: authors should be able to build a polished home base in minutes, not wrestle for weeks with a pile of disconnected tools.Russell and Lee also dig into a larger issue underneath the tech demo: why so many authors still avoid building a real online home base, even in 2026. The answer is not usually philosophical resistance so much as tool fatigue and intimidation. Tertulia's pitch is that authors already know they need a website, an email list, and better direct reader relationships. They just do not want to become accidental web developers to get there. That is where the platform is trying to meet them: less friction, fewer subscriptions, and less maintenance over time.A major thread in the episode is author audience ownership. Lynda notes that one recurring lesson from Tertulia's work with authors is that social media attention is far less durable than a reader email list, and that email campaigns often outperform social in actual sales. Tertulia's built-in tools are meant to make that shift easier by combining reader magnets, email capture, newsletter templates, and direct sales in one place. For authors tired of bouncing between MailerLite, BookFunnel, Shopify, and a website builder, this consolidation is a major part of the appeal.The episode also opens the door to Tertulia's broader ecosystem beyond author websites. Lynda describes the original Tertulia business as a book discovery and commerce platform, featuring curated recommendations, celebrity book clubs, indie press roundups, and author recommendation content. That context matters because it positions Tertulia not just as a software tool, but as a company thinking seriously about reader discovery, book buying, and the relationship between authors and audiences.By the end, the episode makes a clear case for what Tertulia is trying to become: not just “another website builder,” but an increasingly complete ecosystem for authors who want to look professional, grow an email list, sell direct, and simplify their business infrastructure without paying for five separate services or spending their creative energy on backend chaos.Topics Covered:* What Tertulia is and how it evolved from a bookstore and discovery platform into Tertulia for Authors* Lynda Hammes's overview of Tertulia's mission to simplify the author tech stack* Why authors still resist building websites, even though they know they need one* The “Frankenstack” problem: juggling Wix, WordPress, MailerLite, BookFunnel, Shopify, and other disconnected tools* Live demo of building an author website using only an ISBN/ASIN and Instagram handle* Importing books, metadata, retailer links, descriptions, and reviews automatically into an author site* The design process: choosing templates, updating colors, branding, and layout quickly* How Tertulia handles blogs and custom pages for authors who want more than a static website* Reader magnets and lead capture built directly into the website platform* Replacing the BookFunnel + MailerLite + website combo with a more unified toolset* Email campaigns inside Tertulia, including book-specific newsletter templates for cover reveals, preorders, and more* Why Tertulia prioritized easy, author-specific email templates before more advanced automation features* Selling ebooks and audiobooks direct through the site using Stripe checkout* Tracking direct buyers and audience data inside the platform* The option to prioritize direct buying while still linking to outside retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble* Discussion of embedding pixels for ad tracking and direct sales campaigns* Using Tertulia even if some products are sold elsewhere, such as Shopify or Kickstarter* Adding books manually when they are not widely distributed or do not yet have standard metadata in major systems* Review curation and why Tertulia prefers a cleaner “top review” approach instead of dumping in hundreds of raw reviews* The role of discoverability and how Substack-style discovery compares to bookstore-based discovery* Tertulia's roots as a discovery engine for books, with curated recommendations and retail built in* Author recommendation content and why author-to-reader recommendation paths can be especially powerful* Tertulia's celebrity and hosted book club ecosystem, including Bellatrist Book Club* The Tertulia co-op membership for readers and how it differs from the author-facing subscription* Pricing for Tertulia for Authors, including the free trial and monthly subscription tiers* Why onboarding without requiring a credit card lowers friction for authors who just want to test a site first* Domain transfer and setup options for authors moving over from older platforms* Future roadmap: automation sequences, author-fulfilled print commerce, and broader fulfillment solutions* Tertulia's Friday Zoom office hours and author community support model* Why the long-term maintenance burden is often worse than the initial website setup itself* Final takeaway: for many authors, the real value is not “more tech,” but less chaos, fewer subscriptions, and a website they will actually keep updated This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sixfigureauthorexperiment.com

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After launching Wasabi Technologies, a successful cloud storage company, founder and CEO David Friend was ready to scale the venture rapidly. The company had focused primarily on direct sales, but an opportunity to pivot toward channel sales was on the horizon. However, making this pivot would mean changing its sales, marketing, and staffing strategies dramatically, and effectively veering the company away from its already successful course. Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer Lou Shipley joins Brian Kenny to discuss the case, “Wasabi Technologies” and the questions Friend wrestled with: Was channel sales the right play for the burgeoning cloud storage provider? If so, how should it best be implemented? They also explore ideas connected to Shipley's new book, Unlikely Entrepreneurs.

- GM's $10 Billion Software Bet: Super Cruise and OnStar - Washington Dealers Cave on Direct Sales  - BYD's First Profit Drop In 4 Years - Solid-State Skepticism: 1% Market Share Still a Decade Away  - Chinese OEMs Stumble on Service in Mexico - Skoda Leads VV Group With 3-Row EV - Used EV Bargains Are A $8 Billion Nightmare - Ford's Record Recalls and Why Farley Scored A $27 Million Payday

- GM's $10 Billion Software Bet: Super Cruise and OnStar - Washington Dealers Cave on Direct Sales  - BYD's First Profit Drop In 4 Years - Solid-State Skepticism: 1% Market Share Still a Decade Away  - Chinese OEMs Stumble on Service in Mexico - Skoda Leads VV Group With 3-Row EV - Used EV Bargains Are A $8 Billion Nightmare - Ford's Record Recalls and Why Farley Scored A $27 Million Payday

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Your Story Isn't Your Message: The Shift to Pro Speaker | Terry L. FossumMy guest today is Terry L. Fossum.Terry is a survival reality show winner; a #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble bestselling author; and his TEDxTalk debuted at #2 in the world — later recognized as one of the “Top 30 TEDx Talks That Made an Impact This Century.”He's a highly successful keynote speaker, a philanthropist who's helped raise millions for charities across the country, and in business, he reached the top fraction of 1% of his industry worldwide. Terry was named Los Angeles Magazine's Person of the Year for 2024, and Insights Success Magazine's Most Impactful and Visionary Personality to Watch in 2025.His award-winning book, The S.I.M.P.L.E. Guide to Public Speaking—Without Losing Your Lunch, has been praised by astronauts, beauty queens, executives, military leaders, and even adopted at the MBA level.⭐ But today, Terry is known for something even more powerful.After his TEDxTalk crossed a million views and completely transformed his life, Terry became obsessed with a simple, overlooked truth:Most people aren't lacking talent. They're lacking a message that deserves a stage.That realization lit a fire in him.Today, as the founder of The World Class Speaker Program and The Visionary Speaker Network, Terry helps authors, experts, executives, and movement builders clarify the one sentence they're truly here to say — and then turn that sentence into a speaking career, more impact, and significantly more income.From TEDx to paid keynotes to global stages, Terry teaches people how to stop talking… and start being heard.Terry L. Fossum, welcome to the show.Links:http://www.thestageadvantage.com/Tags:Business,Direct Sales,Fear of Public Speaking,De Keynote Speaker,Mindset,Money,Multi Level Marketing (MLM),Speaker Trainer,Success,TEDx Speaker,Podcast,Phantom Electric Ghost Podcast,Interview,Live Video Podcast InterviewSupport PEG by checking out our Sponsors:Download and use Newsly for free now from www.newsly.me or from the link in the description, and use promo code “GHOST” and receive a 1-month free premium subscription.The best tool for getting podcast guests:https://podmatch.com/signup/phantomelectricghostSubscribe to our Instagram for exclusive content:https://www.instagram.com/expansive_sound_experiments/Subscribe to our YouTube https://youtube.com/@phantomelectricghost?si=rEyT56WQvDsAoRprRSShttps://anchor.fm/s/3b31908/podcast/rssSubstackhttps://substack.com/@phantomelectricghost?utm_source=edit-profile-page

In this episode, Matt & Lauren explore three different ways creators can get started selling direct, and the tools you'll need along the way! Learn about:

In this episode, Lisa Duck and Susan Larimer engage with Stephanie Pressley, who shares her lifelong journey in direct sales, influenced by her parents. Stephanie discusses her transition from direct sales to speaking and coaching, focusing on empowering women through challenges. She emphasizes the importance of perspective and self-worth in business, the impact of family on entrepreneurial spirit, and the tools she uses for success.  TakeawaysStephanie's journey in direct sales began at a young age, influenced by her father's entrepreneurial spirit.Direct sales provided financial support for her family's extracurricular activities.Homeschooling her children was intertwined with her direct sales experience.Stephanie emphasizes the importance of community and adult interaction for homeschooling mothers.She transitioned to speaking and coaching to empower women facing challenges.The perspective of viewing challenges as situations rather than problems is crucial.Stephanie's passion lies in encouraging others to realize their potential.She uses a simple three-step framework to help women organize their daily lives.Family plays a significant role in shaping entrepreneurial spirit and mindset.Women in direct sales should recognize their value and earn their place at the table.#DirectSales #BusinessGrowth #TheOther99%Podcast #cinchshare

This week we dig into a viral RVTravel.com poll asking: How well built is your RV? The results surprised us—and they raise a bigger question: if so many RVers say their rigs are “well built,” why does the industry's quality reputation feel so rough… and why can't buyers easily choose truly better-built options? Then we're joined by Geneva Long, founder and CEO of Bowlus to talk about reviving a nearly-forgotten 1930s aviation-inspired aluminum travel trailer and turning it into one of the most interesting luxury RV brands on the road today. We get into what “built like an airplane” really means, why lightweight doesn't have to mean flimsy, and why Bowlus may be uniquely positioned for the future of EV towing. Plus: Abby's “black tank” story about everyday kindness (and a parking lot door ding), and Jason's take on the way people talk about travel safety in Mexico—especially Baja. *Support independent RV journalism and unlock great perks by becoming a Mile Marker

In this episode of The Other 99%, hosts Lisa Duck and Susan Larimer welcome Emily Munns, a direct sales with experience in Norwex and Zyia. Emily shares her journey in direct sales, emphasizing the importance of systems for customer connection, the role of Project Broadcast in follow-up, and the necessity of having a personal website to build relationships. The conversation also covers social media engagement, the evolution of Facebook groups, and the significance of time management in running a successful business.Takeaways​Emily Munns emphasizes the importance of systems in direct sales.​Project Broadcast has transformed Emily's customer follow-up process.​Direct sales allows for flexibility in balancing personal life and business.​Having a personal website enhances brand identity and customer connection.​Social media presence is crucial but should be balanced with other engagement methods.​Feedback from customers can guide content and product focus.​The evolution of Facebook groups requires adaptation and understanding of customer needs.​Time management tools can significantly improve productivity and focus.​Building relationships is key in direct sales success.​Consistency in communication fosters customer loyalty.#DirectSales #BusinessGrowth #TheOther99%Podcast #cinchshare 

In this New Year episode of The Six Figure Author Experiment, Lisa Vino and Russell Nolte are joined by David Viergutz, founder of Scare Mail and CEO of Epistolary.com, to talk about a business metric Lisa now can't unsee: AOV (Average Order Value). What begins as a direct-sales strategy conversation quickly turns into a masterclass on premium experiences, fandom-building, and escaping the tired publishing “rat race.” David shares how he went from running ads in the 20 Books / SPS model to building a thriving story-letter empire, why epistolary fiction is story-first or die, and how authors can experiment with higher-priced offers without losing the magic. The through-line: in a world flooded with AI and noise, the advantage is human creativity, bold formats, and products that feel like experiences.Topics Covered:* What AOV (Average Order Value) is and why it matters for direct sales* Thinking like a business owner without losing your author soul* David's origin story: list-building, ads, and long-term strategy* Why niche audiences can still generate massive success* “Taylor Swift pricing” as a mindset shift for premium offers* Why experiences sell: readers remember how something made them feel* The birth of Scare Mail: the mailbox as a storytelling medium* Epistolary fiction basics: letters, artifacts, rabbit holes, and immersion* Why some stories should never be “novelized”* Building a blue ocean: creating a category people can't comparison-shop* Why the most online generation craves print and human touch* How fandom deepens through participation and interactivity* “Move closer to the customer” as a modern business principle* Building a cult-level fanbase one person at a time* The “thousand true fans” concept applied to premium fiction* Author archetypes and why “aquatic” creators win by reinventing formats* Premium experiences that scale like books: create once, sell forever* The customer journey is the same for gum, books, and Teslas (attention is the difference)* Why Amazon's rules aren't the only axis you can play on* Why KU is not the whole market (and why authors mistake it for the whole audience)* Pricing power: increasing prices without dips when the experience is unique* The economics problem: $20 customer acquisition vs. $3.99 products* Direct sales advantages: owning the customer relationship and reducing noise* Indie presses and “algorithm rain” strategies that don't actually market* The Fire & Ice offer: two versions, premium pricing, and upsells to raise AOV* Why customers should pay shipping (and why authors often sabotage margins)* Risk reversal: refunding + buying a competitor's book as a bold trust play* Testing product ideas cheaply: MOQ realities and starting with paper-based artifacts* Story-letter fundamentals: hook the story first, then explain the delivery* The epistolary rule: if you can't explain “why letters?” start over* Artifacts defined: what counts, what works, and what's lazy filler* Examples of artifacts: polaroids, recipes, journal entries, QR codes, audio links, word searches, ribbons, puzzles* Designing artifacts to enhance story, not add envelope weight* The “scavenger hunt” model: clues, interaction, and layered payoff* Creativity as competitive advantage in an AI-saturated world* “Get weird” as strategy: uniqueness creates true blue-ocean differentiation* Where to find David and how to pitch an epistolary project This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.sixfigureauthorexperiment.com

Today's episode of the Punk CX podcast features Paul Hughes, who is Head of Direct Sales for the UKISA region at Mitel, where he helps organisations use technology to deliver human experiences built on trust, empathy, loyalty, and logic. Paul joins me today to talk about why hybrid is the new default and not a compromise, the dangers of a CCaaS monoculture, the problem with AI sameness and why most bots feel identical, linking UC/CX investment to business outcomes like revenue, resilience, and wellbeing as well as Paul's best advice, his Punk CX brand and his very own good news story. This interview follows on from my recent interview – Loyalty is the core economic engine – Interview with Sara Richter and Fred Reichheld – and is number 573 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders who are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.

We analyze Sandisk's remarkable NVIDIA moment, marked by a 1,000% stock price increase over the past year. Following its 2025 spin-off from Western Digital and the extension of its Flash Ventures partnership with Kioxia through 2034, Sandisk has capitalized on the memory shortage driven by AI data center demand. Sandisk reported a significant revenue beat of over $3 billion and issued a staggering guidance of $4.4 to $4.8 billion for the upcoming quarter—a 170% year-over-year increase. This growth is fueled by powerful operating leverage, with adjusted EPS projected at $13 as rising prices flow directly to the bottom line. How does the valuation look? Watch the video to hear our take. Join us on Discord with Semiconductor Insider, sign up on our website: www.chipstockinvestor.com/membershipSupercharge your analysis with AI! Get 15% of your membership with our special link here: https://fiscal.ai/csi/Sign Up For Our Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/b1228c12f284/sign-up-landing-page-short-formChapters:0:00 Is Sandisk Having an NVIDIA Moment? 0:45 Memory Shortages 2:10 Flash Ventures: The Kioxia Joint Venture Extension 3:30 Revenue Beat and 170% Growth Guidance 4:50 Direct Sales to AI Data Centers vs. NVIDIA Integration 5:50 Earnings Explosion: Why EPS is Hitting $13 6:30 The Two-Edged Sword of Operating Leverage 7:45 Reverse DCF Analysis9:00 The Cyclical Reality10:45 Final Verdict: Commodity vs. Supply Chain KingIf you found this video useful, please make sure to like and subscribe!*********************************************************Affiliate links that are sprinkled in throughout this video. If something catches your eye and you decide to buy it, we might earn a little coffee money. Thanks for helping us (Kasey) fuel our caffeine addiction!Content in this video is for general information or entertainment only and is not specific or individual investment advice. Forecasts and information presented may not develop as predicted and there is no guarantee any strategies presented will be successful. All investing involves risk, and you could lose some or all of your principal.#Sandisk #ChipStockInvestor #Semiconductors #Investing #NAND #TechStocks #StockMarket2026Nick and Kasey own shares of Sandisk

Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this high-impact podcast episode to kick off 2026, Vince Menzione sits down with Jay McBain (Canalys/Informa) to decode the tectonic shifts reshaping the technology ecosystem. Jay reveals why the tech economy is forecasting double-digit growth while the broader economy lags, introducing a “Tale of Two Cities” where direct infrastructure sales are booming but partner influence is more critical than ever. He explains the drop in channel transact share to 66.7% and why the “96% Partner Assist” is the new metric for success. Jay also details the shift away from traditional “Gold/Silver/Bronze” programs toward point systems that recognize partners at every one of the “28 moments” in the customer journey, from influence to long-term retention. Key Takeaways The tech industry is forecast to grow 10.2% in 2026, outpacing the global economy’s 2.7% growth. Channel transact share has dropped from 75% to a forecast of 66.7% as infrastructure deals go direct. Nvidia and the “Magnificent Seven” are driving a massive direct infrastructure build-out for the next era. Microsoft measures a 96% “Partner Assist” rate, with up to seven partners involved in every deal. 80% of customers now prioritize partner certifications and competencies over relationships when choosing partners. The number one request from partners is to be recognized for value across all 28 moments, not just the point of sale. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags: Jay McBain, Canalys, Informa Tech, Partner Assist, 28 Moments, Tech Growth 2026, Channel Strategy, Nvidia, Infrastructure Buildout, Partner Economics, Microsoft Ecosystem, AWS, Direct Sales, Indirect Sales, Partner Influence, Multiplier Effect, Customer Journey, Partner Programs, Tech Economy, Ecosystem Orchestration. https://youtu.be/ntogEr6mjKg?si=_AaBPBfv9KcMRA9D Transcript: [00:00:00] Jay McBain: By the way, marketplaces, the massive growth in marketplaces for everyone that doesn’t own the marketplace is also an indirect sale. It should be helping these numbers. Yeah, so, but there’s one company that’s driving and happens to be the most valuable company in the world right now. [00:00:15] Vince Menzione: Let’s start off with the first, my burning question I have first, let’s cover it first. [00:00:21] Vince Menzione: If you had a sum up 2026 for partners in one sentence. What is it and what are people still underestimating? [00:00:29] Jay McBain: Yeah, it’s one, one word is probably opportunity. Opportunity. Um, so we look around the world, uh, the world economy without technology in it is gonna grow at 2.7%. That’s about $120 trillion with technology in it, technology industry, we’re forecasting to grow by double digits. [00:00:47] Jay McBain: Amazing. You know, in a world that’s growing at two, uh, we’re expecting 10.2%. Growth. And this industry, as you know, is surrounded by partners. Yes. And there are opportunities in hardware, in software, in services, in telco, all the different parts of the customer’s budget. And to look through the double digits though, I mean the, the extension of the sentence is, it’s a tale of two cities. [00:01:11] Jay McBain: Yeah. I was gonna ask you about this. Police do. There isn’t an opportunity in every slice. You know, some of the slices are shrinking by single digits. Some of them are growing by low single digits, but some of them are in the 20, 30, 40% growth range. And this is what partners are starting to think, these tectonic shifts that are happening, the ultimate partnerships that are happening are in very specific places that you kicked off this session talking about. [00:01:35] Vince Menzione: Yeah. So I would love to di dive in here because we have your, we have your slide up behind us. In fact, in talking about this $6.1 trillion economy around te uh, tech and telco and this opportunity. So, you know, we’re, there are gonna be winners and losers right in, in terms of these, uh, these segments or slices of the economy. [00:01:55] Vince Menzione: We can talk about that now. I, I think maybe it would be a good idea to talk about both the channel and, and why the par the channel plays such a big role in this growth. And then talk about what the winners and losers are gonna be. [00:02:07] Jay McBain: Yeah, I mean, broader. Um, actually if we go to the next, uh, slide, there is, um, a declining number and in the world economy that 120 trillion, 75% of it. [00:02:20] Jay McBain: Uh, moves indirectly. You bought your last car from a dealer. Yeah. You bought your last, uh, TV from a retailer, you know, peanut butter from a grocer, that type of thing. But the agencies, the brokers, the resellers, the retailers, the franchisees, the gas stations, pharmacies, grocery, all the different parts of the 27 industries, you know, play an incredible role. [00:02:40] Jay McBain: Our industry was at 75, not just three years ago. Wow. It dropped to 73.2. Two years ago, down to 70.1 last year, and this year’s forecast to be 66.7, so it’s dropping by about 3% each year and it’s this how money changes hands. Yeah. By the way, marketplaces, the massive growth in marketplaces for everyone that doesn’t own the marketplace is also an indirect sale. [00:03:05] Jay McBain: It should be helping these numbers. Yeah, so, but there’s one company that’s driving and happens to be the most valuable company in the world right now, Nvidia. Yeah. And the broader data center buildup mostly on consumer side, but this infrastructure data center build out globally happening right now is mostly happening direct. [00:03:22] Jay McBain: Yeah. There are the magnificent seven who are spending hundreds of billions of dollars each. On these chips and on this, uh, capability and capacity for this next 20 year era. And this is not a resell gain. They’re not buying through distribution and not buying through a reseller. And that’s where you talk about haves and have nots. [00:03:40] Jay McBain: You talk about this economy that, you know, Nvidia for example, was growing at triple digits, quarter in, quarter out, you know, becoming the most valuable company. And it’s not. A traditional technology opportunity, right? There isn’t managed service providers inside these data centers. There isn’t technology folks like VARs and system integrators in plugging in the equipment. [00:04:02] Jay McBain: Yeah. So we gotta watch and, and look at where this next shift takes us and where this multiplier opportunity wraps around it. So that’s the second number here. 96%. Which hasn’t changed. This is a number by the way, that Microsoft measures Yes. Understand. And, and Microsoft looks at it and, you know, second most valuable company in the world measures every deal they’re in and then have been for decades. [00:04:26] Jay McBain: And they measure this 96% of partner assist upwards of seven partners in every one of their deals. And looking at this partner assist number is what drives them. And in Microsoft’s case. You know, perhaps without a better product price or uh, promotion than their lead competitor. AWS, they’ve outgrown them for 26 straight quarters. [00:04:45] Jay McBain: Yes. And they point to place as the reason why that two, three, maybe even four of those seven partners may be leading with Microsoft in critical moments. And so every company, large, medium, and small, look at this partner assist number. And this is where we take that ecosystem conversation. [00:05:02] Vince Menzione: So with 96% partner assist, why do partners touch, touching, everything still feel invisible in many cases. [00:05:11] Vince Menzione: And what’s the one move that they, they make? Or need to make to make them undeniable to [00:05:15] Jay McBain: vendors in 2026? Yeah, I mean, this is a long legacy. There’s 44 years of legacy of being measured at the point of sale where programs were built and paid at the point of sale. Yeah. Assuming you did a bunch of stuff like consulting and design and advisory before the point of sale, assuming you’re gonna stay after the sale and get the renewal and get the upsell, cross sell, and enrichment, there was this assumption, but you were really recognized only at one moment. [00:05:41] Jay McBain: And when we did the survey last year across, you know, 20,000 partners around the world, the number one thing they’re asking vendors for now. Is to recognize, measure monitor me at every moment. Mm-hmm. 28 of them before the sale every 30 days. Forever after the sale. Yep. At the point of sale, the provisioning, the procurement, all the pieces of where we add value. [00:06:02] Jay McBain: And now Microsoft was one of the leaders that came out with a point system over three years ago to say, we’re gonna start measuring and, you know, spreading the program dollars around a little bit like peanut butter. There’s over 400 companies now who have followed suit. You know, Cisco goes live in two weeks, so we’re in this mode now where the world is changing of economics, of partnering. [00:06:23] Jay McBain: It’s changing how recognition happens and it’s the number one thing partners want. [00:06:27] Vince Menzione: Yeah, we’re moving away from the gold, silver, bronze, uh, days of the past and, and tying ’em to these moments. In particular, the Ultimate Partner Winter retreat is gonna be here in the Boca Studio. This is the third year. [00:06:41] Vince Menzione: That we’re gonna be here in Boca. This is always a favorite of our community members, our executive members, our sponsors and speakers. We’ll all be here in the studio, which is a really intimate setting. We can see it upwards of 40, 50 people. We’ll be hosting an incredible dinner at the Boca Resort overlooking the golf course. [00:07:01] Vince Menzione: That’s an incredible property and uh, we’d love to have you join us. Thank you for being part of the ultimate Partner community, and I hope to see you this year at one of our events. Thank you.

2 spots remain for private mentorship in 2026!https://services.katyursta.com/offers/3egc2Joo/checkout

Paul Millerd is the author of The Pathless Path, which has earned Paul $325,000 in royalties to date. In the process, Paul turned down a publishing offer from Penguin, one of the major publishers in the industry. Then, in December, Paul decided to double down and produce a new version of The Pathless Path, an ultra-premium hardcover book that is just beautiful. So in this episode, we talk about that decision, the dark side of traditional publishing, the book deal Paul WOULD have taken, and when traditional publishing actually makes sense. → Get The New Hardcover Pathless Path ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Full transcript and show notes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Paul's Website / Twitter *** TIMESTAMPS (00:00) Intro (05:53) Why He Self-Published (08:01) Designing Books Beyond the Obvious (13:13) Money Isn't A Reason to Write (16:54) Book's Success and New Opportunities (20:30) Rejecting Penguin (22:00) Redefining Self-Publishing Potential (25:00) Author Rights and Publishing Deals (30:29) Reviving Unpublished Books (31:33) Publishing Challenges and Opportunities (37:11) Write a Book You Love (39:38) Inside The Pathless Path Hardcover (43:02) Overcoming Doubts, Achieving Success (46:23) Inspired by Steel Brothers (48:43) Direct Sales for Higher Margins (53:04) Amazon Book Bundling Limitations *** RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODE → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#182: Noah Kagan — Behind the scenes of writing (and marketing) Million Dollar Weekend → #163: David Moldawer — Diving deep into book publishing with an industry insider *** ASK CREATOR SCIENCE → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Submit your question here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** WHEN YOU'RE READY

3 spots now open f or private mentorship in 2026!https://services.katyursta.com/offers/DBXdm7GL/checkout 

- UAW Reinstates Two Officials Targeted by Fain - BMW Spins Alpina Into Standalone Brand - AFEELA Enters Pre-Production in Ohio - Honda Extends Production Shutdown in China - U.S. 2025 Car Sales Up Despite Volatile Market - BYD Passes Tesla in EV Sales - Mobileye Partners with Major U.S. Automaker - Bosch and Kodiak Team Up on Self-Driving Trucks

- UAW Reinstates Two Officials Targeted by Fain - BMW Spins Alpina Into Standalone Brand - AFEELA Enters Pre-Production in Ohio - Honda Extends Production Shutdown in China - U.S. 2025 Car Sales Up Despite Volatile Market - BYD Passes Tesla in EV Sales - Mobileye Partners with Major U.S. Automaker - Bosch and Kodiak Team Up on Self-Driving Trucks

What an incredible year of conversations, insights, and life-changing stories! In this powerful compilation episode, I’m bringing you the most loved moments from five extraordinary leaders who lit up the Direct Selling Accelerator podcast in 2025. You’ll hear from Jordan Essentials’ Nancy Bogart on adapting your business with heart, LifeWave founder David Schmidt on thinking 10 years ahead and embracing innovation, Stampin’ Up!’s Sara Douglass on the mission to eradicate loneliness, Young Living’s Mary Young on building community through authenticity, and my own business coach, Mike Johnston, on navigating scams and strengthening trust in the digital world. This episode is packed with high-value strategies for growing your Direct Selling business—future-proofing with AI, elevating your leadership, creating deeper community connections, transforming your mindset, and mastering relationship-driven selling. Whether you're a seasoned leader or just beginning your journey, these insights will help you build a thriving, heart-centered, and sustainable business. Join me as we revisit the wisdom, laughter, breakthroughs, and mic-drop moments that shaped our year. And remember—take the gold you hear today and put it into action. Your business will thank you! We’ll be talking about: [00:00] – Introduction [02:29] – Introducing Nancy Bogart [03:35] – From Markets to Direct Sales [05:58] – Supporting Women as a Core Mission [08:08] – Thriving in 2021 Without Product-in-Hand [11:08] – Teaching Relationship-First Sales [13:31] – Introducing David Schmidt [14:45] – Thinking 10 Years Ahead [17:03] – Record-Breaking Drone Innovation [21:17] – The Future of Nutrition [23:52] – AI as a Business Advantage [24:54] – Introducing Sara Douglass [27:14] – Discovering Her Why: Eradicating Loneliness [29:57] – Helping Others Find Their Why [31:15] – Leading With Community [33:36] – Building Community One Person at a Time [35:42] – Introducing Mary Young [38:03] – A Life of Music & Performance [40:57] – Speaking From Passion, Not Perfection [41:29] – Simple Business Principles That Built an Empire [45:42] – The Power of Kitchen-Table Connection [47:55] – Introducing Mike Johnston [49:00] – Why Scams Happen to Anyone [52:10] – Two Types of Scammers [53:10] – The Want–Value Gap [56:06] – Emotional Manipulation Red Flags [59:56] – Final Thoughts Resources Full Podcast Episode Link: ➡ Nancy Bogart: https://youtu.be/wZL49ck-g34 ➡ David Schmidt: https://youtu.be/lK4DObXVNSc ➡ Sara Douglass: https://youtu.be/jEoOHlc5MkU ➡ Mary Young: https://youtu.be/6P5IcyO_Iuw ➡ Mike Johnston:https://youtu.be/NA3BkbdKiPw Book: ➡ The Lie Detection Book by William J. Majeski: https://bit.ly/4oUQIUz Connect with Direct Selling Accelerator: ➡ Visit our website: https://www.auxano.global/ ➡ Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DirectSellingAccelerator ➡ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auxanomarketing/ ➡ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/auxanomarketing/ ➡ Email us at communnity_manager@auxano.global If you have any podcast suggestions or things you’d like to learn about specifically, please send us an email at the address above. And if you liked this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, tune in, and share this podcast. Are you ready to join the Auxano Family to get live weekly training, support and the latest proven posting strategies to get leads and sales right now - find out more here https://go.auxano.global/welcomeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Direct Sales Dead — or Just Evolving? The Truth About Personal Branding in Today's Market In this deeply insightful episode, Rory and AJ Vaden break down the seismic shifts happening in direct sales, affiliate marketing, and influencer-driven commerce. From the collapse of traditional MLM structures to the rise of personal brands owning their audiences, this conversation explores what it really takes to build lasting success in today's volatile sales environment. Rory shares his record-breaking journey in direct sales and how that shaped his philosophy on people-first business models. AJ challenges the profit-over-people mindset driving many companies to ditch field forces for digital links—and asks the uncomfortable questions about what we lose when relationships are replaced by reach. If you're a micro-entrepreneur, direct seller, or building any kind of business based on trust and community, this episode is your playbook. You'll learn: The critical difference between affiliate, influencer, and direct sales Why owning your audience is now non-negotiable The real reason major brands are shifting models—and what that means for you How in-person experiences are making a comeback in a digital-first world Why community, trust, and human connection are your biggest competitive advantages Whether you're starting from scratch or leading a massive team, this episode will shift how you think about marketing, monetization, and the power of your personal brand.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.What happens when a former Harlequin author turns indie, builds a direct sales empire, and writes an entire series about small-town single dads? In this episode, I sit down with contemporary romance author Amy Knupp to talk about the business of romance and her cozy, Christmasy small-town world.We chat about Amy's journey from writing category romance for Harlequin to going fully indie, how she uses direct sales and Shopify to connect with readers, and why she loves writing emotional, character-driven small-town stories. Then we dive into her Single Dads of Dragonfly Lake series and her new Christmas romance Single Wish, featuring a grumpy Christmas tree farmer, a reformed mean girl, and a delicious second-chance enemies-to-lovers arc set in a Tennessee lake town.

JR Burdick and his family have been milking cows for 3 generations and they are fighting to continue on by adapting to the needs of the consumer.

Kathy Webster of TomKat Ranch Education Foundation discusses the value and importance of direct ranch to consumer sales with Carrie Richards of Richards Regenerative and Jason Walker of StarWalker Organic Farms. Learn how you can erode the power of the American meat oligopoly when you shop.

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week's entertainment news, including stories about B&T, James Patterson, Bookshop.org, and Barnes & Noble. Then, stick around for a chat with Bob Lingle!Bob Lingle: https://www.instagram.com/bookstorebob/Bob Lingle: "I've owned Good Neighbor Bookstore since 2018, and despite everything else going on in the world. It's been the best years of my life. My three kids have the opportunity to grow up in a bookstore. And collectively we have learned about the power and importance of community, and having a place where we've curated stories for people to enjoy, to learn from, to foster empathy, and maybe even change their life." - https://boldjourney.com/meet-bob-lingle/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The History  I started my shopify store around the 10th December 2023 after a viral video on TikTok on December 8th. So I integrated with Bookvault and stayed with POD shipping until February 2025. Since February 2025, I've been distributing and fulfilling all orders from my website in my own warehouse. These are the lessons I've learned from the last ten months of running my own website sales and distribution. And yes, I will talk numbers, but I'm making you wait till the end! Please note, I will talk about finances, systems and the occasional legal thing. Absolutely nothing I say is financial, legal or tax advice. You must seek advice from professionals in your own countries and tax territories. I recognise that this model is not for 99% of authors. It's a LOT of work. It's a lot of logistics, a lot of peopling, team building, paperwork and problem solving. This is as far removed from sitting behind a desk and writing 24/7 as you can get.  Do not listen to this with an open heart. Be skeptical, that will keep you on the right track for creating a business you love. But know that I do love this and I am framing these lessons learned from that perspective. Why Direct? I'd always had a transactional website for Sacha Black work but it barely did £20 a month. So I knew the work I was about to scramble to do for Ruby may be for nothing. But I didn't want to be beholden to TikTok the way I'd been beholdened to other sources of income and I knew if I'd gone viral once, I could do it again and that would lead to relying on TikTok. What do I mean why? Two reasons: why should you as an author have a direct store but also why should readers come to you? For you, you can earn more per sale. POD companies integrating with shopify automatically give you more as there are no hidden fees. But when you shift to print runs you more than half the cost of printing each book. Of course you also give yourself a host of other problems like fulfillment and overheads, but you gain a lot more product flexibility and potential meaning you have the opportunity to make bigger profit. BUT and this is a big but, you have to work out what you want your business to look like. That said, there are consequences. I usually write and publish 3 books a year and this year I've dropped to 2 published. Though I will have written a 3rd and a short story by the end of the year. But I wasn't able to get that third one published. Despite that, this is going to be my biggest year ever for income. It already beat last year in 7 months. Which goes to show that you don't have to be rapid releasing anymore to make good money. The fact I've not published three, is a direct consequence of the warehouse and also the increasing team size and the need to train staff. Thankfully due to the Kickstarter, some rights deals an big increase in direct sales of products and merch, I haven't seen a dip in income. Which goes to show that you don't have to be rapid releasing anymore to make good money. There are other benefits like reader loyalty because you're treating them better, you are able to provide higher quality books and with extra goodies and sign all the books for example. And that's really the heart of the mindset shift you need to have and how you should frame thinking about a direct store. Why should a reader bother coming to you when they can get next day shipping for free on Amazon? Can you answer that before you set up your store? For me this looks like three promises: Every book that leaves the warehouse is handsigned by me (I do this in batches and sign for 4-5 hours and get several thousand books signed in one go so it doesn't disturb writing time.) They get extra bonuses for ordering directly like stickers, bookmarks and character art. Last, if they preorder a book in any format I have for sale on the website, it will get shipped BEFORE the public release date. We aim for delivery a couple of weeks prior but it depends on print runs and me hitting deadlines. Things to consider before leaving POD direct and moving to self fulfillment: Where are you going to stock your books? Do you have local warehousing facilities or somewhere you own you can use? Stock requires more space than you think. Because it's not just books you need space for, it's packaging, and space for parcels before collection and space for a computer and printer etc. What is your cash flow like? Do you have the capital that you can risk losing to spend on investing in this? Thanks to great advice from one of my closest author pals, I didn't buy shipping containers for conversion to put on family land which was a circa 40k investment. Instead I rented a warehouse so that I was only risking the cost of one year's rent circa 9k and I'd also be able to up and leave and close everything down if it went wrong. What's your problem solving resiliency like? Solving problems, if it's not your bag, is relentlessly exhausting. Problems arise in all areas of this business, from shipping to label printing to packaging to import and export paperwork, to sourcing products, VAT, pricing, website, delivery issues. Etc. The list is long. Honestly? There's rarely a day without some kind of issue that needs resolving. How does that make you feel? Excited or horrified? Pay attention to those emotions. The only business you should be building is one that brings you joy. Last, is the reality that if you want to fulfill direct yourself you *will* need staff—if you want to continue to write that is. If you think about it, POD direct staff your website for you. They have teams packing the boxes, printing labels and shipping everything for you. So no matter which way you cut it, whether it's you organising staff or your printers, someone has to do the leg work. Mindset shifts eCommerce  Yes I'm an author, but running your own fulfillment from website sales means you also run an eCommerce business. And over and above that, I now run a physical product business because we have merchandise. Those combined make for a very, very different business structure and set of problems compared to the old school models of being an indie author. Traffic Direction First of all and most basic of all. I direct all traffic to my website without exception. My primary links on social media are my website. If people ask where they can buy my books, it's my website. If they say they can't then I'll direct them online to a more well known store.   Schedules are a bitch.  When you're writing in a solo business and uploading your books online, your schedule is essentially your own. When you then bring on a team, they are reliant on you delivering on time to make sure they can do their job. How does that make you feel? Knowing you *have* to deliver for someone else? For a long time I really hated being beholden to deadlines—probably a corporate spill over. But being responsible for a team and needing to deliver for them is very different. I adore my team, I love them and care about them and I *want* to deliver on time for them. This is a total re-framing for me. It's the right kind of pressure and responsibility attached to a deadline. Does that mean my creativity needs to show up on time? Sure, but I find this motivating because it's the right people around me. However, the first book post warehouse opening, we were all still learning and mistakes were made. I delivered one book late. That pushed everything and made a lot of the timelines difficult including getting the printed books delivered on time. For Architecti there were two main problems: a solid 20% of the order arrived damaged by rain. But we'd already sold almost all the initial print run so we couldn't spare 20% and thus didn't have enough stock to cover our preorders. So this caused a lot of anxiety. Under ordering stock is a terrifying prospect. As is over ordering because do you have enough space for it and what if you then don't sell it?  The second mistake was releasing a book without checking the diaries of the warehouse team who happened to be on holiday during the fulfillment process. Which in a bout of shit timing, my mum then got sick in the crucial week. Meaning I had to stop writing and fulfill 1000 preorders single handedly. It was grueling physically, mentally and emotionally doing it on my own. We're never having that cluster fuck again.  So we've produced a heat map style document with everyone's leave, delivery dates, deadlines for me, product ordering dates, prepping dates and fulfillment periods etc. This was an enormous lesson in logistics of both a warehouse and people. Exclusivity Kindle Unlimited works for a reason. It has books exclusive to Amazon, you literally cannot get them anywhere else. Meaning you're forced to get them there. If that worked for Amazon, you can bet you're arse it works for others.  So I stole the idea. I have four novellas /short stories that I publish exclusively on my website. Does that mean a huge risk for loss of visibility and potential sales? Absolutely. No rank, no visibility in the biggest algorithm machine in the world. But it is also one of the key sales tactics I've used to get readers over to me. And boy has it worked. I make sure it's content I know they'll want, I flash the extra books on my reels and videos and then the questions flood in — how do I get those books… Well I'll tell you…! Preorders Preorders are both a gift and a logistical nightmare. How to get them? We ran an enormous campaign for Architecti. Ending up with 1027 paperbacks, 323 hardbacks and 193 ebooks. For a total 1543 preorders on my website. Plus over 1000 ebooks on Amazon. So the total preorders were in excess of 2500 preorders. Firstly you have to ask why should readers preorder direct to you? As mentioned earlier we make three promises: Everything is signed They get extras and goodies including a Roe-Mantics popsocket, series sticker and bookmark and an art print. As well as a Ruby Roe reading tracking and reading order and some stickers. They get the books delivered early (ebook and physical) We promoted the shit out of these three facts and I do believe this is the reason we did so well. That, plus almost two years of pushing direct sales and building reader trust. I won't go into all the marketing we did as this is a podcast about the warehouse. But we pushed HARD. We made a couple of mistakes: We didn't order enough books. We ordered 1000 paperbacks and ended up having to do a second print run because we sold over 1000 and obviously knew we needed stock on hand for general sales — a good problem to have obviously. But if we had ordered a higher quantity from the start we would have had a better price per book and saved ourselves some money and increased profit. That's a tough lesson to learn as we're always having to balance cashflow. The second mistake was packaging. We pride ourselves on making sure the books arrive in pristine condition. The consequence of that is how long it takes to package. The primary damage a book can fall prey to is the rain, or being dropped. We were individually wrapping each book in foam or bubble wrap before putting them inside bookwraps with the goodies to ship. This took me almost two weeks to do for circa a thousand parcels. I spoke to my warehouse neighbour who is a book box subscription company and discovered that they ship 1000 parcels in a couple of days because they uses origami boxes with packing peanuts and a plastic exterior envelope bag for water protection. This results in them working at a significantly faster rate than us. And has led us to get boxes designed and we're in the process of ordering 10k boxes. Customer Communication Customer communication has been an absolute maelstrom. The more products we create, the more complex everything gets. Becca used to be primarily a scheduler for me. Now, she's moved to be a customer services manager. Major issues include: when they preorder a book and put a published book into the same order. This is a means we have to email them to let them know they have two options: either we refund and they order separately or they wait for both their books. This is a huge problem as there are a number of preorders live at any one time and thus a ton of customer communication needed. It has gotten better as we have educated our repeat customers, put messages and labels on the site. But it is an ever present problem. We have decided to commission a coder to write some code for shopify so that we can charge two lots of shipping and split ship. We've also had so many communications about the tariffs. This has been so difficult because we are not the ones charging but we are the first point of call. It is in large part due to the team being incredible that we got through this. Last, I still receive an email for every single order. So I do one additional thing. I make a point to keep an eye on when someone has ordered multiple times in short succession and then send them to the team to refund duplicate postage.  Protecting Writing Time This is so vital. And has been the hardest part of having a warehouse. I definitely feel like I lost 6 months of writing time. It's the reason I barely managed to get Architecti done, and the reason I didn't meet my primary goal of getting ahead of production this year. Staffing means interruptions. But more than that, having the discipline to put my phone on do not disturb or muting team chats while I write. Now that we're up to speed, refining processes and we have SOPs in place, I am finding it easier and easier to not go to the warehouse. We also stopped having the smaller deliveries sent to my house and instead they're going to my team's houses or direct to the warehouse. Regulations and Tariffs  With a physical product business there are so many more regulations and acronyms and pieces of law that you have to deal with. The level of bureaucracy is quite astonishing and has caused a number of headaches. These headaches are not the type of headaches that most authors would want to deal with. You have to choose the poison you want to drink and I genuinely recognise that 99% of authors would not want this headache. The other matter here is that the regulations have required a colossal amount of time spent on them. More time than we anticipated. Something new is always being thrown at us and usually things that we do not have knowledge on. So we're constantly in a state of adapting and learning. This is both wonderful and also a little gruelling.  As there's not many people doing this we don't have many options for checking we're on the right path, so having to trust ourselves that we've done the best we can with the knowledge we have. And also recognise that it's okay to not know everything. Logistics There's been a lot of logistic lessons learned too. Firstly, that shipping providers are a nightmare. They're massive organisations and that means corporate bureaucracy. Lots of being passed between departments and having to wait for responses. You're probably going to need additional app integrations some of which will cost. Just pay for the apps because it will make your life simpler. We have a DPD integration app that makes handling and managing preorders and labels considerably easier. Batch as much as you can: like signing books, preparing freebie packets, cutting foam and pre-building boxes. Batch packaging, in particular for preorders. For example, all the UK paperbacks then all the UK hardbacks etc. It's easier to do the same thing over and over and then task switch than it is to do it higgledy piggledy. Timelines  Understanding the timelines for launches has been quite the challenge. When you're a solo indie you are in charge of your own time. When you have a team, and other people do parts of the publishing process, you're no longer working on your own schedule. Combined with the fact that a huge percentage of my turnover comes from physical book sales. This means we have to do print runs. Instead of loading up to KDP or the POD services and knowing it will be live the next day or a few days later after a proof copy. Print runs take a couple of days to finalise the files (up to several months for international printers) and then 2-3 weeks to print and deliver to the warehouse for UK printers, and several weeks to months for international. We then have to unpack them and check the quality and then I have to sign them. I am pretty fast at signing now and choose to sign in long batches 4-5 hours at a time and usually manage 1-2000 books in that time. The other timelines that need to be considered are how long things take to pack. But I've already talked about that. But it is something that needs to be considered when planning preorder fulfillment. The more preorders we get, the more significant the time it takes, that or we need more people to help pack. The Money This is the bit everyone is interested. All costs are in GBP.  Set up costs for the warehouse were approximately £4-5000. This included the deposit, racking, furniture etc. In total, I've spent 100k on printing this year. However a significant portion of that was on the Kickstarter. So I don't count that in the costs for the warehouse. Those sit at £61,171. We are still holding a huge amount of stock in the warehouse so this spend should start to even out. In December 2023 I started the shop around 10th December, I made just shy of £1700 which I think was mostly due to the viral TikToks. In the month of May 2024 I broke £5000. November 2024 I broke 10k for the first time and in December 2024 I broke 15k. That was the month I knew I needed to take advantage of what I was building. I knew I wanted to do more for readers who were clearly willing to buy direct. In 2024, the website turned over £73.5k. I collected keys for the warehouse of January 31st. It took a couple of weeks to set the warehouse up and then we had print runs delivered around the 17th and started shipping on Feb 20th 2025. That was a £16k month, and the first time my Shopify sales beat my Amazon, only by a couple hundred pounds, but it still beat it. It wasn't lost on me that it was the first month I had taken control of distribution. April eclipsed Amazon at 29k and I've stayed between 15 and 29k a month since — Finally in November 2025, I surpassed 30k. As of 21st November we're standing at 222k for the year. I suspect we will end up with turnover somewhere between 230 and 250k for 2025.  Creating definitive turnover and net profit calculations are difficult. What I can tell you is that between the warehouse, staff for the warehouse, utilities and insurances I spend approximately 18-1900 a month (21-23k per year). Shipping varies between 500 and 1500 a week on average but on preorder weeks it can spike to 8k. The highest month for shipping was 11k. I suspect for the year it will be roughly 45-55k.  So for print costs, staffing, rent and shipping the total is approximately £133,971. I estimate 4-7k on other costs like packaging and freebies. So let's estimate £140k spend for £222k turnover. So I estimate approximately £82,000 in profit - to which I'll then have to pay tax. That's a 36% profit. Not as high as I'd like, but also it's year one and spend is always higher in year one because of set up. I expect that as we move into year two that will grow and my aim is to reach 45% but the ultimate goal will be 50% I'm not sure if this is possible but we will try. We have a lot of stock that we can sell without having to spend out anymore.  In terms of granular costs to give you an idea of profit on the detail level: The cost of each book is loosely £2.20 per paperback for which we charge £10.99 on average. We allow for £1 of that to cover packaging and freebies. Meaning £3.20 of costs. Though this doesn't include a % for warehouse overheads. I don't have any advertising costs. I have bought all customers in from my mailing list, TikTok and Instagram. On average my returning customer rate is 35%. However, in months where I set up a new product preorder, that rate shoots up. For November 2025 it's 56%. Similarly, my average conversion rate is 5.83% conversion rate. What's interesting is that in those early months my conversion rate was 3.18%. This month it's 8.53%. I think this increase is twofold. First, I have a high returning customer rate, this automatically increases the conversion rate as your customers want what you're providing. Second, I think my marketing has gotten better and better. We're providing more books, stories and products that my audience wants and we're also getting better at marketing to market. Cash Flow One of the best things I did was create multiple pots and accounts. For a long time I'd lived under the assumption you could only have one business bank account. That was bad advice from an accountant. I have since left them and now have an excellent accountant. I've also had lots of advice from a dear friend who knows far more about money and systems than me.  Cash flow can either sky rocket or cripple a business. And when you run a physical business the numbers you run with are so much higher that you can easily crush your company. One of my favourite tactics is to create mini pots and split money up. For every preorder we run I create a pot in my bank, like a mini bank and every week I put the amount earned for that preorder product into the pot. If the product requires a print run, I pay for it out of that pot. If we have to buy wholesale merch, I take it from that pot etc. I also set aside money for tax each month. I move both personal tax money and corporation tax money and set it aside in a high interest savings account. The biggest outflows for running a distribution warehouse are staffing, warehouse rent, shipping and print runs.  For Architecti specifically, we had to do two print runs because we under ordered books. Meaning I had to outflow huge amounts of money twice. The print runs totalled £11,630. Plus 11,000 in shipping fees for that month. If I didn't have the money set aside for this, it could easily have pushed me into debt. One of the main things I did to help prevent cashflow issues, is have dozens of pots inside my bank accounts.  Every week the team calculates the income for orders and shipping for each product we have on preorder (there are always usually 2 to 3) and then I transfer that money to individual pots. Meaning I save all the money from preorders right up until launch. I then take the money for the print runs from this pot and for the shipping. What's left is the profit which is taxable so I move the tax money into my tax pot and then keep the rest. This is the safest way I've found for managing cashflow and ensuring I don't spend money that needs to be saved for specific things. I also have an entirely separate account for my shopify. So all print runs are paid for out of the shopify account. All shipping payments go out of that account. All printing for freebies etc comes from that account. It becomes totally self managing and over time it increases. Then if I want to take out chunks of profit, I do and keep the account at 20k. This is the equivalent of the average monthly turnover for the shopify. So should cover all bills or worst case scenarios.  I also have a tax pot where I move money each month. My accountants have a report that generates each month and estimates my tax. I then place my tax in a high interest account and leave it to earn some money before I have to pay it. Next Steps Business infrastructure. I recently visited Author Nation – the Las Vegas conference that was once 20books. There are so many areas for growth and improvement and I realised that I have essentially brut forced my way to the position I'm in. Upsell app Integration with better email upsell marketing system Possibly advertising Branded packaging

In this episode, I sit down with Nicole Burke, founder of Gardenary, to unpack her dynamic strategy for building a 7-figure brand primarily through short-form visual content. Nicole shares exactly how she leverages Instagram to generate millions of views and drive revenue, all while embracing her identity as a business owner who leverages social media, not just an influencer. We dive deep into her content methodology, breaking down the essential categories of reels—entertain, educate, showcase, and invite—and how each contributes to a robust growth and sales funnel.Timestamps:00:00 Introduction02:11 Growing a Service Business with Instagram04:08 Scaling a Garden Design Business06:26 Transitioning to Digital and Diversifying Revenue08:24 The Showcasing Strategy: Content Creators & Authenticity10:04 Breaking Down Gardenary: Education, E-commerce, & Certification12:57 The Instagram Storefront Analogy16:26 Leveraging Algorithms: The Share Button's Power19:07 Educational Content: Answering FAQs & Tracking Saves22:31 Showcase Content: Inspiring with Results & Aspiration26:00 The "Invite": Making the Ask Effectively28:01 The Magic of Automation: From Comments to Conversions32:26 Free Ad Experimentation with Organic Content36:20 Crafting Engaging Content: Relatable Pain Points & Humor41:17 Nicole's Metrics for Content Success45:10 Instagram's Content Funnel: Reels, Posts, Carousels, Stories52:19 Stories for Direct Sales & Community Engagement56:51 Six Types of Videos Anyone Can Make1:02:13 The Face-to-Camera Hack: Conquering the Fear1:06:51 The Power of Documentary-Style VideoIf you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/showFollow Nathan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarryLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbarryX: https://twitter.com/nathanbarryYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thenathanbarryshowWebsite: https://nathanbarry.comFollow Nicole:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heynicoleburkeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-johnsey-burke-136628154Website: https://heynicoleburke.comGardenary's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gardenarycoGardenary's Website: https://www.gardenary.comFeatured in this episode:Kit: https://www.kit.comGardenary: https://www.gardenary.com

In this episode of Live On Purpose Radio, Dr. Paul talks with Carlos Aguilera, a direct sales executive who has worked behind the scenes with some of the biggest brands in the direct sales industry. Together,...

Podcast Summary: Wine Road Episode 238 Welcome to Episode 238 of the Wine Road podcast, hosted by Marcy Gordon and Beth Costa, with special thanks to Ron Rubin and River Road Family Vineyards and Winery for their support. This episode features guests Elena Diamond, Direct Sales and Hospitality Manager, and John Duckett, Winemaker at Trione Vineyards and Winery. Highlights: Introduction (0:49 - 1:12): Elena and John join the show to discuss Trione Vineyards and Winery. They clarify the pronunciation of "Trione" and share a laugh about common mispronunciations. John's First Vintage (1:16 - 2:32): John shares the story of his first vintage at Trione, a 2023 Cabernet Franc. This small-lot wine, bottled exclusively for wine club members, represents his first red wine under his winemaking leadership. He explains the decision to keep this special lot separate from their usual Henry's Blend. John's Journey to Winemaking (2:47 - 4:13): John recounts his unique path to winemaking, starting as a competitive swimmer at UC Davis before discovering the viticulture program through a table grape growing class. He reflects on his 12 years at Jordan Winery before joining Trione in 2023. Trione's History (8:24 - 10:30): The Trione family has been a part of Sonoma County since 1947. John shares how Henry Trione started in mortgages and later invested in land and vineyards, eventually amassing 1,000 acres (now 600). The family's contributions to the community include the 5,000-acre Trione Annadel State Park and other philanthropic efforts. Winery Experiences (11:31 - 13:23): Elena and John discuss the unique tasting experiences at Trione, including vineyard tours via golf carts and curated flights showcasing wines from their various vineyard properties across Sonoma County. They emphasize the importance of connecting visitors to the land and the winemaking process. Upcoming Events (18:02 - 23:00): Trione is hosting several events, including: Aroma, Sensory, and Blind Tasting (November 8th): Guests will use black glasses to train their senses and identify wine aromas. Barrel Demonstration (December 13th): A live demonstration of barrel-making and toasting. Soups and Sweaters Soiree (December 6th): A casual, fun event with wine and seasonal vibes. Trione's Small Production (26:09 - 29:03): Despite its impressive facilities, Trione is a boutique winery producing only 7,000 cases annually. They focus on five main wines: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Henry's Blend, and Block 21 Cabernet Sauvignon. John highlights their meticulous vineyard management and commitment to showcasing the unique characteristics of their vineyards. Community and Fun (33:03 - 37:00): Elena and John share their love for Sonoma County, from coastal trips to farmer's markets. They also discuss Trione's casual, welcoming atmosphere, encouraging locals and visitors to enjoy picnics, bocce, and wine in their beautiful setting. Closing Notes (38:00 - 39:46): Beth highlights the Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza as a great lodging option and reminds listeners about the upcoming Wine & Food Affair (November 1-2), featuring wine and food pairings at 50 wineries. This episode captures the passion, history, and community spirit of Trione Vineyards and Winery, making it a must-visit destination in Sonoma County. Thanks to: Ron Rubin and River Road Family Vineyards & Winery – for their financial support Richard Ross and Threshold Studios – for making us sound so darn good! Links from today: Trione Vineyards & Winery Annadel State Park Bodega Head  Healdsburg Inn on the Plaza Wine & Food Affair