How to Buy a Tiny E-Commerce Business & Grow to $4m in Sales | Chad Fondriest Interview [Video]

After over a decade making SBA loans to acquisition entrepreneurs, Chad Fondriest decided he would buy a business himself. What he ultimately bought suited him well, despite its size. Darby Creek Trading, an ecommerce brand selling decorative wreaths, did only about $150k in annual revenue. (Talk about buying small!) But Chad’s plan was to pursue this project on the side while keeping his day job as an SBA lender. The risk seemed low, and the upside, interesting. Well even in his fantasies, he didn’t imagine the upside that he is enjoying today, 5 years later. And by the way, Chad still has his day job. Please enjoy this interview with Chad Fondriest, owner of Darby Creek Trading.

00:00:00. Chad’s career in banking
00:04:09. Chad’s career progression in SBA lending
00:06:42. Chad’s transition into business ownership
00:08:32. Chad finds the silk floral business
00:12:49. History and growth of Darby Creek Trading
00:17:11. Terms of the deal
00:24:51. Chad’s role in operations
00:30:26. Selling product to retailers
00:35:07. Testing product before stocking it
00:42:30. Quadrupling revenue in 2 years
00:48:33. Tradeoffs of selling on Amazon
00:52:20. Scaling warehouse space
00:55:31 Strategy for e-commerce success
00:59:39. Challenges of inventory management
01:05:35. What happens when your inventory doesn’t sell
01:12:00. Impact of business on personal relationships
01:19:21. Advice for future business owners
01:25:29. Importance of industry selection

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ABOUT Acquiring Minds
Acquiring Minds is a podcast about buying businesses. Acquiring an existing business is an awesome opportunity for many entrepreneurs, and host Will Smith talks to the people who do it. New episodes 2x per week.

#business #acquisitions #ecommerce