It’s been a minute since I’ve posted an update. But recently been watching Californication, and my inner writer is coming back.
Which brings us to June 2024!
Holy shit, half the year is nearly gone. And before we know it, it’ll be Jan 2025. I hope to post a few more times before then. Maybe even a few split tests (although I’ve been keeping those close to my chest lately as we’ve had some serious scaling winners)
But let’s break down everything that’s going on because there’s some serious biz lessons for all the entrepreneurs out there.
Pup Labs
Ah the brand that keeps on giving. This has been one of the hardest business to crack, and we’re finally starting to make it work. We’ve successfully paid back our investor the initial 250k invested which means the company is effectively debt free.
At this point all that’s left to do is continue executing on what’s working while building the back end and brand. Here’s what that really means (and how I plan to get to this to a 2m/mo company in the next 12 months)
- Split testing on winning funnels. Improving AOV + CVR is the name of the game here. This will allow us to push our CPA further and scale the brand. We currently have 3 winning VSLs, and the more we can win here, the faster we will grow
- Back-end build out. That means optimizing shopify + amazon experiences to capture all the overflow and really build the profitable arms of the business. Also we need to figure out how to successfully create winning back end products for our list to improve LTV
- Secondary OSS. This isn’t a big focus, but something on my radar. Currently VSLs are our main OSS. They work. They’re proven. However, I’d like to find a secondary OSS to help make this business more anti-fragile. I’m thinking it’ll be some sort of advertorial funnel or influencer marketing. This will also help improve the valuation of the business (if we’re going to exit)
- Brand building. But I’d like to continue to push the brand side of things of Pup Labs. While historically we’ve haven’t seen a direct ROI on it, I do believe there’s a massive indirect ROI. I’m finding our overflow and subscription stick rate to be higher than other similar business models. And a lot of the content we create, especially the viral videos, show us what are good angles to use on ads / market messaging to further push front end acquisition.
- Prepping for an exit. This is a little premature to put here, but it’s worth noting. My goal has always been to sell this brand. And it’s slowly becoming a reality. Once we hit that consistent 1.5-2M/month revenue mark, it’ll be time to really start prepping the business to sell.
Video Production Company
The most stable business I have ever started. My business partner, Stefan and I, have successfully grown this brand that simply prints cash. But beyond that it gives us a lot of access to data from our competitors. Now could I get this data by simply looking up their VSLs, ads? Sure. But there’s nothing like constantly getting a flood of VSLs and scripts to look at and seeing whats working and whats’ not, from the copy to even the video formatting (hint try 4:5 instead of 9:16 for mobile).
We’ll continue to scale this company up as it becomes a monster video production asset for every and any kind of business. I see it capping out at about 150k/month though. Hard to scale service businesses. And likely before that happens, we will shut it down and just make it an internal video team for the publishing company. Which is kind of sneaky way to bottle neck the market and competitors ;).
There’s no other video team I know that actively has top scaling VSLs on click bank, buygoods etc., and is run by a team of marketers and copywriters who understand conversion based video production (very different from standard cinematic production).
Men’s mental health Clothing Company
Ah the brand that keeps on bleeding cash. This brand is currently in limbo as I try to understand the primary OSS (read: Ready, Fire Aim) and customer acquisition system. I also made the executive decision to turn this into a non-profit business, which means we will never make a dollar from it! However, the point of this business is far beyond money. It’s about spreading a message. And cultivating status and connections that we can leverage later on. And starting a movement so powerful, everyone pays attention.
Pour Conclure
A lot of things change, and a lot of things stay the same. The one thing I’m learning is that I am really being forced to double down on brands I’m heavily invested in (emotionally, financially, and with high equity). No mater what I do, the universe keeps pulling me back into them.
As such I’ve stopped fighting and decided to go all in and make some seriously heavy bets on a few (hopefully) winners during the next few years. There’s a time for chaos (taking a lot of swings) and a time for order (doubling down on winners). I spent probably 10 years in the chaos stage. And now the next phase of my journey is unfolding. And its requires unrelentless order and execution of the fundamentals. And a sprinkle of chaos here and there.
No matter what happens, it’s been, and continues to be, one hell of a ride. There’s nothing like the drug of entrepreneurship. All I hope for you, is that some of my writing helps you avoid a few of the stupid mistakes I’ve made. You can buy me a Guinness as a thank you.
PT