"You don't get extra points for doing it on your own."
Bryan Starck
It's time to meet the next Member of the Month inside The One Percent, Bryan Starck. This email marketing guru loves helping brands reach their full potential. And after learning how to ask others for help, he was able to grow his service brand to $40K a month!
Bryan's journey fits perfectly with the GIVE acronym. Here's why our Community and Product Manager Justus Murimi chose Bryan as The One Percent Member of the Month:
G-Grit: He overcame multiple obstacles along the way, including a limiting do-it-yourself mindset.
I-Investing: He re-read Profit First and implemented its cash management recommendations. It helped him keep track of what expenses his agency can support right now.
V-Value: He did a Zoom presentation called "The 7 Email Flows Every E-commerce Business Needs." He also hops onto calls with members to help with their email flows.
E-Expanding: He wants to increase exposure and the agency's ability to help others by providing valuable content on Facebook and his blog. He also wants to find ways to densify the process to help more people in less time.
Bryan is no stranger to up and downs, bumpy roads, or heavy winds—these obstacles made him who he is today. And much like Jean-Claude van Damme, who defied the laws of gravity to master the splits between two Volvo trucks, Bryan has the mindset to master the most epic of email marketing brands.
Bryan is the owner of 100° Celsius, an email marketing accelerator for e-commerce brands. His company specializes in helping brands with an already great product get off the hamster wheel of new customer acquisition. Instead of constantly refilling the tank with new customers, 100° Celsius sets up email marketing systems that add 10-20% to the brand's monthly revenue while creating lifelong fans.
"It's a lot of fun to have that sort of impact."
Bryan Starck
Just How Important Is Email Marketing?
As it turns out, it's incredibly crucial for successful e-commerce companies. 100° Celsius has clients who do 40-50% of their total Shopify revenues through email marketing. What Bryan creates isn't just extra money for his clients—it's profitable money. They don't have to spend a lot on Facebook ads to acquire those sales, and customers already on an email list tend to stick around for the long haul.
100° Celsius serves a particular audience. Bryan targets owners of high-growth e-commerce brands that sell primarily on Shopify or branded websites, not Amazon. The average client does mid-high 6-figures up to $30-40 million per year. His audience spends a lot of money on paid advertising or organic growth, but they are not monetizing the way they should.
"How do we monetize and increase lifetime value on the back end?"
Bryan Starck
Bryan's brand offers two services to tackle this dilemma. The first is comprehensive email marketing automation strategy and setup. Within just 30 days, he develops an email flow strategy, inducing recovering abandoned carts, welcoming new subscribers, and generating repeat customers. This service alone can add 10-15% to a brand's revenue. He considers this sort of automation the structure of your house. "We're building a business asset!"
The second service is ongoing campaign management. Many clients choose to continue with this route after setting up automation. This service may include broadcast emails and other types of email campaigns. Bryan calls this service the furniture inside your house.
The Leap from Sales to Marketing
Before 100° Celsius was even a thought, Bryan worked in sales for an enterprise marketing technology company. They handled the marketing and CRM for tons of big brands, including many doing 9-10 figures. Although it was a great learning experience, Bryan started to crave a different challenge.
"I like sales, but I think I'm more interested in the marketing side of things."
Bryan Starck
After talking to many smaller brands, he realized most believed they needed more segmentation to increase revenues. Sure, he could sell them technology, but it wouldn't solve their problems. What they really needed was better copy and emails customers didn't hate reading.
"You can add 20% to your business by getting the core stuff set up. Technology can't solve it, but I can do that."
Bryan Starck
Like any red-blooded entrepreneur, Bryan took matters into his own hands. He learned everything possible about email marketing, and he got some of his best advice from a college buddy. This fraternity brother helped Bryan land his first client and has remained a coach along the way.
A Giant Leap of Financially Unadvisable Faith
By October 2020, Bryan was still working his full-time job, but he realized he couldn't commit to both. Instead of struggling to keep his head above water, he quit his day job.
"I left my full-time job before it was financially advisable to do so."
Bryan Starck
Things are always the most difficult during a company's grind phase. It also didn't help that he left his job right before the holidays. And while things were tough for a few months, Bryan's persistence paid off in a big way.
By January, business skyrocketed. Now, the agency brings in more money than both he and his wife made combined working full-time. They are about to crack $40K a month!
Learning How to Ask for Help
Like many entrepreneurs, Bryan has always done everything himself. He openly admits that he's not great at delegating. But a never-ask-for-help mindset makes it difficult to accomplish it all. "It's a bit of a delusional self-confidence."
This mindset was a real challenge for him at the start. But after spinning his wheels for a while, he realized there's no shame in getting help from others. And he got a lot of help. Bryan turned to mentors, participated in group coaching, and even purchased courses for business advice. Some of these were extremely helpful, while others fell short.
What Made Bryan Go Full-time With His Business?
He decided to invest $10K into a coaching program for building an agency business. That much money wasn't pocket change. It left Bryan and his wife with minimal financial reserves. And looking back, it may not have been the smartest decision, but it was the catalyst needed to push Bryan to the next level. "You're not going to spend that much money and just half-ass it."
Unfortunately, that particular program wasn't beneficial after all. Bryan didn't get much out of it content-wise, but it did start a fire underneath him. Luckily, a more recent mastermind program did help his business a ton. "Just because you have one or two bad experiences, don't assume the next one won't be helpful."
And stumbling across Ryan proved some experiences are worth their weight in gold. What does he have to say about his experience with Capitalism.com?
"It's been awesome!"
Bryan Starck
Bryan first learned about Ryan from the same fraternity-brother-turned-mentor mentioned previously. He sent Bryan a bunch of Ryan's podcasts. After listening to them, Bryan realized, "Oh man, I love this," and decided to read 12 Months to $1 Million. Before he knew it, he signed up for The One Percent.
The One Percent is unlike any other group out there—and Bryan has tested them all. There's no sense of competition or pettiness. "People just genuinely want to help other people succeed." Even a simple Facebook post asking for advice turns into a catapult of answers. He's made lifelong business connections, and some have turned into actual friends.
"The level of generosity with The One Percent Members has been so cool."
Bryan Starck
And Bryan isn't only there to take advice. He also strives to share and give back to the community as much as possible.
Don't Underestimate Your Brand's Worth
Bryan's agency doesn't sell physical products (at least not yet). But that doesn't mean he has an endless cash flow. He learned early on the importance of charging what you're worth, and he wants fellow TOP members to realize the same.
Too many people struggle with similar business models because they undersell their services. Yes, his prices are higher than other agencies in the same niche, but it helps Bryan weed out serious clients from the rest. That margin also ensures he provides an excellent service.
A New Brand on the Horizon
Once you taste the sweet success of entrepreneurialism, starting another venture only makes sense. Bryan and his wife want to launch a home brand for dog owners. While there's a vast audience out there, it's a bit of a "scratch your own itch" business. The couple is proud parents of a new puppy, but finding pee-proof products that are also attractive isn't easy. They want to sell upscale home products made with dog owners in mind.
Bryan envisions it will be a perfect marriage of the massive home goods market and the pet market. He's already implementing Ryan's 12 Months to $1 Million principles as they build the brand from scratch. They brainstormed the first 3-5 products and already have prototypes in the works.
While they wait to launch, Bryan has already started some pretty aggressive marketing and hopes to grow a sizable email list to generate preorders.
Ready to Go from the Grind to Profits?
As TOP MOM, Bryan hopes his story will encourage fellow members to follow their dreams. Whether you sell services or physical products, it's possible to build a successful brand from scratch. (And you'll learn everything you need to know right here!) Check out 100° Celsius to discover how email marketing will take you to the next level.
