Yahoo Finance Young Rich Lister reveals 5 secrets to creating an empire
A young entrepreneur has shared his tips for aspiring eCommerce businesses to get ahead in 2022.
You may know Davie Fogarty as the founder of Davie Group - owning 10 brands including The Oodie, Calming Blankets, Pupnaps, ZoeTech, Tumfort, Australian Furniture Warehouse, Babymat, TMRW and Swished.
The 27-year-old entrepreneur has built himself an eCommerce empire that has generated more than $270 million in revenue, landing him a spot on the Australian Financial Review's (AFR) Young Rich List.
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Fogarty’s success was not without challenge and failure. While Davie Group proudly makes more than $20 million some months, the business was barely earning $500 per month upon its inception in 2017.
Success has prompted Fogarty to release some tips and advice for fledgling eCommerce entrepreneurs to build their empire in 2022.
Entrepreneur’s tips for eCommerce success
Opting to use his success as a teaching tool, Fogarty compiled a list of five tips he’d give to other young entrepreneurs seeking to achieve the same levels of success.
Use TikTok with an organic strategy
Fogarty recommends TikTok as a great way to raise product awareness or develop a personal brand, without financial commitment.
He recommends brands capitalise on TikTok trends, use trending sounds, ask questions in the captions, post regularly, and increase chances of going viral by being witty or controversial to gain momentum on the platform.
Use post-purchase attribution surveys
Utilising tools may just be the key to growing as a business, according to the Young Rich Lister. Fogarty said one of the most important questions businesses could be asking their customers was: "Where did you see us?" He said it was crucial to focus marketing to the appropriate place.
Fogarty recommends tools such as HotJar, Acquire and Klaviyo in the post-purchase flow to ask customers to rate their experience so the business can adapt to customer preference.
Utilise email communication to match customer preference
Most customers prefer email marketing over any other form of marketing, according to Fogarty.
As part of his success story, he said email marketing for eCommerce businesses lowered customer-acquisition costs by converting website visitors and increasing customer retention.
Analyse your success
A constant stream of data analysis will ensure smooth sailing, according to the entrepreneur.
He recommends tools such as Klipfolio to build dashboards around key performance indicators (KPIs), which can also help show deeper analytical insights into customer behaviour and the success of digital tactics.
Optimise your time
Fogarty uses a time-optimisation strategy called the Pareto Principle, which he attributes as a cornerstone of his success.
The Pareto Principle is also known as the 80-20 rule, whereby 20 per cent of an individual’s work creates 80 per cent of their results.
Fogarty says it’s important to try to identify which activities are in that 20 per cent and focus on them to create more results in less time.
“The real secret behind any kind of success is to remain intellectually curious and always be prepared to learn something new. Even the smallest pieces of knowledge can potentially unlock another path or opportunity,” Fogarty said.
“Particularly in a fast-paced and heavily saturated eCommerce market, it is important to be able to take these learnings and adapt your business idea, model, or strategy quickly, and learn from the mistakes of those around you to build something better.
“One of my goals is to share my learnings from my eCommerce journey to give other young entrepreneurs the knowledge and advice they need to create a successful business.”
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