Ecom CFO Notebook - progress

Be Informed. Take Action. Keep Your Ass Solvent

Welcome to this issue of Ecom CFO Notebook – a weekly letter for 7–9 figure ecommerce founders and CFOs, sharing my perspective and stories for profitable growth.

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Sam here.

Taking a little pause from benchmark reports and usual content to reflect on my travels last week.

I took a few days off earlier this week to attend Camp A2X - an event I circle on my calendar every year. In total, about 30 firms who all focus in ecommerce and other partners all converge on a small resort outside of Toronto. 

me progressing

Of all my reflections from the event, this word “progress” keeps coming up. And I think it’s especially important for our industry right now as the usual measuring sticks for progress - revenue and profit - may not be serving us.

Progress.

Aside from revenue and profit, progress is difficult to see. I don’t know if I’m becoming a better entrepreneur most days. 

The abyss of task lists doesn’t tell me. Every day, I do the things I think are most important and try not to think much beyond. I put goals and mantras on my white board. I listen to books and podcasts. I just keep doing.

But this event gave me a little glimpse on progress.

3 years ago heading into this event, Ecom CFO did <$1M of revenue with <10 people. The thought of taking a few days off was incomprehensible. The business relied heavily on me to move the needle.

Last year heading into the event, we had more revenue and more people. Same anxious feeling about taking time off. 

At the event, Taylor Holiday gave a talk about the importance of firms publishing content. I still remember being in the back of the room, observing the other firms, and thinking “no one else is going to do this”. 

I made a commitment to myself that I would actually take the advice of someone who had been in the game longer than me. Sometimes as entrepreneurs, we think we need to do something different or unique. We don’t like following instructions. 

But the older I get, the more I understand the balance of when to follow instructions and when I need to create the instructions.

This year heading into the event, Ecom CFO is ~$3M in revenue with 30 people. Taking a few days off is more bearable. At the event, Taylor was back. New talk. 

In his intro, he asked how many people heeded his advice about creating content. A few hands went up. One of them was mine. 

After the talk, I chatted with Taylor for a few minutes and we exchanged numbers to plan a content collaboration.

For all the those days I didn’t / don’t feel like writing or publishing something, snapshots in my life like this event serve as a little pat on the back and motivation to keep going.

Progress.

— Sam

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