In this Throwback episode, Chad Franzen interviews Josh, co-founder of Hadley Designs, about his journey from door-to-door sales and custom wedding invitations to building an eight-figure Amazon brand with over 1,300 SKUs. Josh shares how resilience, leveraging Facebook ads, and continuous learning fueled his growth. He discusses the transition from bespoke products to scalable e-commerce, the impact of mentorship, and the importance of reinvesting profits. Josh also introduces his new podcast, aimed at helping seven-figure business owners scale to eight figures by sharing real-world lessons and strategies from successful entrepreneurs.
Chapters:
Introduction and Early Entrepreneurial Drive (00:00:00)
Josh discusses resilience, shaking off criticism, and introduces Chad Frandsen as the interviewer.
Lifelong Entrepreneurial Spirit (00:00:44)
Josh describes his restless drive for business ideas and entrepreneurial mindset.
Starting Hadley Designs (00:01:03)
Josh recounts working at American Airlines, Becca’s passion for art, and launching Hadley Designs.
First Wedding Invitation Sales & Facebook Groups (00:01:51)
Becca’s first wedding invitation project, joining Facebook groups, and early sales tactics.
Early Revenue and Facebook Group Marketing (00:03:43)
Josh explains how Facebook groups drove initial revenue and his extensive involvement in them.
Sales Approach and Door-to-Door Experience (00:04:13)
Josh credits his sales process and door-to-door pest control sales for refining his approach.
Applying Sales Tactics to Wedding Invitations (00:05:00)
Josh details his copy-paste sales messages and qualifying questions for potential clients.
Lessons from Door-to-Door Sales (00:05:33)
Josh shares how door-to-door sales taught him perseverance, handling rejection, and maintaining momentum.
Resilience and Bouncing Back (00:07:47)
Josh discusses shaking off criticism, confidence, and how resilience helps in business and relationships.
Evolution of Marketing Strategy (00:08:35)
Josh describes shifting from Facebook groups to Facebook ads, and the impact on Hadley Designs’ growth.
Transition to Amazon and Product Expansion (00:09:39)
Josh explains moving from custom invitations to mass-produced products, launching on Amazon, and scaling SKUs.
Mentorship and Continuous Learning (00:11:35)
Josh talks about his college mentor, Troy D’Ambrosio, and the importance of ongoing education and learning from others.
Key to Success: Willingness to Learn (00:13:33)
Josh affirms that continuous learning and seeking knowledge have been crucial to his success.
Launching a New Podcast (00:13:36)
Josh introduces his new podcast aimed at helping entrepreneurs scale from seven to eight figures on Amazon.
Podcast Focus and Value (00:13:56)
Josh outlines the podcast’s mission: sharing lessons, overcoming plateaus, and interviewing successful entrepreneurs.
Conclusion and Farewell (00:15:21)
Chad thanks Josh, expresses interest in the podcast, and the episode wraps up.
Links and Mentions:
Tools and Websites
Adobe Illustrator
Facebook Groups
Facebook Advertising
Amazon
Courses
Facebook Ads Course
Amazon Course
Mentors
Troy D’Ambrosio on LinkedIn
Transcript:
Josh 00:00:00 But you got to just shake things off and some people would be like, You seem like super scammy. Like, I don’t, you know, you’re you’re a creepy dude. Like, why are you in these Facebook groups? It’s mostly women in here. It’s like, you know, you just got to shake it off and go the next person because, you know, you’re doing people a service, right? And it’s not like I was trying to do anything maliciously. So to me, it’s I had full confidence going forward and being like, hey, all right, let’s just go to the next person. Let’s let whatever people say just literally slide off my back. And today I have Chad Franzen here of rise 25, who has done thousands of interviews with successful entrepreneurs and CEOs. We have flipped the script and he’s going to be interviewing me today. Welcome, Chad.
Chad 00:00:44 Hey Josh, thanks so much. It’s great to be here. Hey, question for you. Would you consider yourself a lifelong entrepreneur?
Josh 00:00:51 Yeah, I would definitely say I’m a lifelong entrepreneur.
Josh 00:00:54 For whatever reason, there’s there’s just something inside of me that, doesn’t allow me to rest at night. I’ve always got a lot of business ideas going.
Chad 00:01:03 You kind of. You graduated with your MBA and with your, bachelor’s degree. And you went to American Airlines. You were working there for five years, and then you were you were working nights with your wife, and that was that Hadley designed?
Josh 00:01:15 Yes, yes. So that’s where Hadley Designs was born. So I started at American Airlines in August of 2014, and then Hadley Designs officially became an entity in March of 2015. So I had a good job with American Airlines, and we kind of asked ourselves, like, what is it that, you know, you should do? Becca. what? And she she didn’t necessarily want to go work for somebody. right off the bat, which I thought was interesting. I was like, I fully support that. Like, let’s go explore. Like, we’ve got time on our hands, right? No kids at this point.
Josh 00:01:51 Like, we just graduated college. And so she actually She’s always had a passion for art and creativity, and so she kind of explored that. And so she ended up, I think a friend was getting married and she’s like, hey, you know, if you’ll give, let me give it a whirl. Let me try to do your, your wedding invitations. And so she self-taught herself Adobe Illustrator and ended up designing these wedding invitations for a friend. And then her friend was like, oh my gosh, these are so amazing. Like, I have to pay you. And I was like, no, like, I was just doing this for fun. Like, you’re a friend, like, here, here’s your stuff. She’s like, no, like, you were really good. Hey, what if we offer your services to other people that are getting married? And so I remember I would go into these Facebook groups, and there were a ton for weddings all over the nation. And I would just go join all of these Facebook groups, and then I would go in there and there would be a lot of people there like, hey, I’m looking for recommendations of where to do get my wedding invitations done.
Josh 00:03:00 Then I would be one of the first to reply. And then I had a whole like, series of sales questions or qualifying questions that I would ask. I would come home from work at American Airlines around like 5 or 6, and then Becca and I would work together probably until about midnight, 1 a.m., 2 a.m., and we’re just working together. And it was just so fun. I really enjoy those days where it was just brand new to us, and it was just exciting. Any little conversation we had was like, this person’s interested in the wedding invitations, and we certainly charged very little when we first started and we were able to increase our rates as, as we got more credibility. But yeah, that was that was kind of where things started with Hadley Designs.
Chad 00:03:43 Did most of your, early revenue come as a result of your work with those Facebook groups kind of plowing through those?
Josh 00:03:50 Yeah, definitely. So that’s where it all started. That’s where I kind of found the sweet spot for our marketing was in those Facebook groups.
Josh 00:03:59 So, like I said, I’m still a part of many of them I’ve tried over the last few years. Like, whenever I see them come up, I’m like, all right, I need to get out at this point. but yeah, I was in, I think more than a thousand different, like wedding groups.
Chad 00:04:13 So what was your approach? Would you say your approach helped you be successful, or was it just your willingness to constantly be there or a combination of both?
Josh 00:04:21 Yeah, I think it was. I had a good sales process. and I refined that over time. you know, I also have experience in between summer semesters of college. I did door to door sales. Okay. So I would be I was door to door sale, door to door selling pest control. And which was not easy, but amazing like sales training experience, like door to door sales is like by far the best sales training experience anybody could ever experience. And so I was able to apply many of those, I guess sales tactics, if you will, into kind of like my conversation flow with these brides.
Josh 00:05:00 And so again, I would get people, you know, that say, hey, you know, I’m reaching out for or hey, does anybody know where I can find wedding invitations? I would quickly reach out to them, be like, hey, you know, my wife’s a graphic designer. We have our own, custom wedding invitation business. Here’s all the things we can do for you. what’s your budget? And then from there, I had, like, I had copy and paste messages. It got to the point where I was like, I know exactly what to say, what to do with a couple refinements. And then at the end of the day, it would spit out a great, great result.
Chad 00:05:33 What did you learn from door to door sales that has helped you? I mean, I think somebody like me, I think a lot of people are just scared of rejection or scared of what the people that you’re talking to might think of you once you ring their doorbell and they’re going to be annoyed with you, what did you learn about not only about, how to overcome that, but about sales?
Josh 00:05:52 Yeah, I, I think that door to door, sales training is the, the, I think the best training, not only just for sales, but life in general.
Josh 00:06:02 right now, I also served a two year mission, as I alluded to earlier. So I was used to, you know, and at that time, I was selling religion, if you will. but I was used to people saying no to me. Right. And I was like, that’s okay, let’s move on to the next person. Right. And for sales, there were days that were definitely very challenging. So, but then days where it was like, hey, we’re I’m just crushing it. Right? And the highs were super high and the lows were very, very low. what did I learn, though, from door to door selling? I think for me, it’s the mentality that I know it’s simple to say, but, like, just never giving up. People would kind of, if they faced a lot of rejection early on during the day, they would kind of like allow their mental confidence to get the best of them, and they would be a lot slower going up to doors.
Josh 00:06:53 And then it would just kind of like have this downward spiral of like, well, now you’ve created this day of it’s not going to be good to me. I had to never give up. And if you had a bad approach the last door, you got to shake it off and go hit the next door. And you got to keep that momentum going, because as soon as you get that one sale, all of your confidence level just like shoots through the roof and then you’re like, all right, I’m all in like, this is awesome. Like, here we go. But you got to keep grinding until you get to that point. And so I’d say it’s that never giving up and grinding. And I would say that 100% applies into the entrepreneur I am today. Like there was a lot of rejection. I’m not talking to people face to face. So there’s a lot of like, differences there. but you got to just shake things off, and some people would be like, You seem like super scammy, like I don’t.
Josh 00:07:47 You know, you’re a creepy dude. Like, why are you in these Facebook groups? It’s mostly women in here. It’s like, you know, you just got to shake it off and go the next person because, you know, you’re doing people a service, right? And it’s not like I was trying to do anything maliciously. So to me, it’s I had full confidence going forward and being like, hey, all right, let’s just go to the next person. Let’s let whatever people say just literally slide off my back. And my wife, you know, always commends me on that. Even even in our relationship today, she’s like, yeah, you’re really easy to bounce back from. Like if we have a disagreement or argument or something like that, like give me five minutes and I’m like, all right, let’s, let’s move on. She is more like, we’ve got to work through this, right? And I’m like, oh, let’s just let’s just move on. But anyways, I’d say that’s the that’s something I learned.
Chad 00:08:35 How was your marketing approach evolved then from those those early days in the Facebook groups to where it is now?
Josh 00:08:41 Yeah. So with Hadley designs, our business has completely shifted from doing the custom wedding invitations. So we started doing the custom wedding invitations, and we did that for two years. I started out in doing the Facebook groups, but then, I started, I was like, there’s got to be an easier way rather than me, like manually combing through all of these Facebook groups. And at the time, like Facebook advertising was brand new. And there were a lot of people like teaching how to create ads on Facebook, right? So I joined one of those courses, have no idea who who it was that I learned this from, but I followed his process in creating a Facebook ad and created a Facebook ad that just crushed it, like out of the gate. Like I, I would say we were pretty lucky with that because it was like my first ad and we I instantly saw a lot of like bookings come through and I was like, oh my gosh, like, this is cool.
Josh 00:09:39 All we have to do is just kind of increase the spend. And it really did get to the point where Becca had a six month waiting list to for people to have their wedding invitations designed by her. Like, that’s how big of, like, a lead system I had generated and had sold these people. We had gathered deposits and all of that stuff. That’s when we, like, had this wild idea. We had a lot of brides that would come back to us and they’re like, can you do my baby shower invitations? Can you do recipe cards for my, you know, bridal shower or things like that? And it’s like, well, yes, we can, but you’re probably not going to pay as much for those custom pieces as you would your wedding invitations. So we never ended up doing those things for clients. But it triggered in my idea, in my mind, like, hey, what if we created these generic or mass produced recipe cards? You can design them once and then sell them for perpetuity.
Josh 00:10:35 Right. And so that’s what we did. We launched three, recipe cards in the fall. This was like November of 2016. We launched three recipe cards and it crushed it. The cash flow was great from the custom wedding invitations side of business. The challenge with the physical products business and selling on Amazon is it takes a lot of capital to really, you know, start because you’re investing in inventory and then you’re not making money back on that inventory for, you know, two, three, four months at a time. And so we took all, all of the money we made and continued to make from the custom wedding invitation business and just kept plowing it into new products, new products, new products, new products. And so over the course of really from 2017 to where we’re at today in 2022, we now have over 1300 different SKUs that we’re selling on Amazon. And so the business is vastly evolved over the last five years.
Chad 00:11:35 If you have a mentor who is your mentor and what would you say that person’s advice.
Chad 00:11:39 Best advice was for you.
Josh 00:11:41 Yeah. Great question. So in college I would say my mentor was Troy D’Ambrosio. He is the director of the liaison programs there at the University of Utah. I would meet with him on a weekly basis because I was the co-chair of the Utah Entrepreneur series, and he would be, you know, providing direction. And he really helped shape and form my ideas and what I knew about entrepreneurship. He himself has been a very, very successful entrepreneur, and he’s just kind of giving back at this point of, you know, serving a lot of different college students. So I love that he really, really helped shape my understanding of entrepreneurship and starting a business and business strategy. And I’m still very close with him as well, and my entire alumni group and still work with him on a quite frequent basis. I’m always hungry to learn. So it’s a lot of it’s a combination of a lot of podcast episodes that I’m listening to. Every time I jump in the car. it is a combination of, like I mentioned, I had to teach myself how to create Facebook ads right when we started Hadlee Designs.
Josh 00:12:51 I found somebody that was teaching that course. That’s not something that they really teach in college, right? But I had to be willing to pay and continue my education. So I learned that, same thing with with Amazon. Amazon was a brand new ball game for me. I had I purchased somebody’s course, figured out how kind of Amazon worked. And then from there I’ve, you know, kind of learned from a lot of other entrepreneurs, and I’ve taken bits and pieces from them to create my own strategy and the way we approach business at this time. And so just kind of, I would say, like the world has been my mentor, so to speak, in terms of because I’ve been willing to learn and actively pursue knowledge.
Chad 00:13:33 Would you say that’s been a key to your success?
Josh 00:13:35 Definitely.
Chad 00:13:36 So now you’ve got your own podcast that you’re starting. what’s it going to be about and who’s it for, would you say?
Josh 00:13:42 Yeah. Great question. So this is, you know, for me to really give back, to be honest with you, the focus of this podcast, though, is going to be to help people go from seven figures to eight figures.
Josh 00:13:56 on Amazon, you know, for us, the first year we were on Amazon, like a full year was 2017. We generated $1 million in revenue that very first year. And that’s why we were like, we’re all in on Amazon. Like we just hit $1 million our first year on Amazon. So we know that you can do that with like 1 or 2 people. That’s not that’s not too challenging in terms of the e-commerce world. Amazon allows you the way things are set up to create a seven figure business with just a couple people, but there is a very big difference of going from seven figures to eight and beyond. And so I ran into a lot of mistakes. A lot of stumbling blocks. A lot of, you know, plateaus throughout my process and getting Hadley Designs to an eight figure brand. And I want to give back and help my younger self and other entrepreneurs that are in the same boat. Just cross seven figures. What’s my next step to take? This podcast is going to be a lot of guests that I will be interviewing that are very successful.
Josh 00:15:05 and what have they done to help them overcome those stumbling blocks and what got them to where they are today so that those entrepreneurs, those listeners can apply them to their own business, hopefully not make the same mistakes that I made at the same time.
Chad 00:15:21 Okay. Hey, that sounds great. Sounds very interesting, very valuable. I’ll look forward to hearing it, and I’ll look forward to speaking with you on future episodes. Thanks so much for having me today, Josh.
Josh 00:15:30 Thanks, Chad. I appreciate the conversation.
