How We Generated 50% Of Revenue From Email & SMS [$1.4M/Year]
This is a follow up story for Braxley Bands. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published over 4 years ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
My name is Braxton Manley and I’m the founder of Braxley Bands.
In 2017 I pursued making an Apple Watch band business after a successful class project at Texas Tech.
We have since sold over 200,000 stretchy Apple Watch bands!
Tell us about what you’ve been up to. Has the business been growing?
We have been up to some pretty exciting things since our last update yet have also pulled back significantly on overhead and ad spend.
In 2022, we finished at about $1.4 Million (we did 1.8 in 2021) so it was a bit of a slower year. However, the future is looking bright. I spend most of the year delivering three new products to add to our brand. Ballcaps, Bags, and Belts.
Our Marketing efforts have been heavily focused on owned channels. We did over 50% of our revenue on email and sms. The revenue from the year was also heavily driven by repeat purchases from existing customers.
We try things we think might work, and if they don’t, we get back up and try again with something else. Failure is not an option.
Paid ads have cooled off quite a lot and we are struggling to scale them up to where they once were. We are figuring things out and improving here day by day.
We recently launched on Amazon as well as established wholesale distribution for retail stores. We see this as our biggest opportunity for growth in the coming year.
What have been your biggest challenges in the last year?
Our biggest challenges this year have been centered around revenue growth and profitability. This has in turn led to feelings of burnout and feelings of doubt.
What has helped us pull through is encouragement from fellow founders, and realizing that we do have an exceptional product. There’s no reason why we can make it work. We just have to constantly evolve and move the needle. We have to do something worth talking about.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
I’ve learned a lot about product design. What I can share that I believe will help other founders, is to study the greats. Use a product you find remarkable as a starting place and see if you can improve on it even more. I would often go to sporting goods and clothing stores just to study how products are designed, how they are packaged, and more. I find it fascinating.
The other lesson I learned is resilience. We try things we think might work, and if they don’t, we get back up and try again with something else. Failure is not an option.
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?
The world's most functional fanny pack, belt, and hat are coming very soon! Beyond these, our big plans involve increasing distribution through new channels like amazon, wholesale, and international shipping.
What’s the best thing you read in the last year?
I enjoy reading books from founders and how they built their businesses. It’s incredibly inspiring to me. Here are the ones I read and listened to this year:
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things -Ben Horowitz
- Little Black Stretchy Pants -Chip Wilson
- Make No Small Plans -Elliot Bisnow
- Delivering Happiness -Tony Hsieh
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
Study the greats and learn from the best. If you boil economic success down to its simplest form, it's this: Provide value, get rewarded.
Simply provide something that adds value to people's lives and you will be rewarded in an equal amount to the macro value you provided.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Affiliates, retail stores, content creators, and influencers!
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
- 4,818 founder case studies
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
