(Newswire.net — December 10, 2022) —
Five Business Lessons from Steven Pemberton’s Journey
“Rising from 58k debt to million dollar sales” has a nice ring, doesn’t it? This is the story of Steven Pemberton, the 7-figure e-commerce business owner and CEO of Hollow Co, who is now happily expanding his business with his beautiful family.
If only it were as easy as it sounds though!
It took Steven a lot to pull out of his 58k in debt and even more to reach million-dollar sales. His entire journey was composed of years of struggle, nights laced with anxiety, and crazy amounts of courage to take risks.
But Steven is proud of how far he has come. “My mess is now my message,” he constantly tells interviewers. Just as the proverbial phoenix first had to burst into flames before it could be reborn to fly high, Steven had to hit rock bottom first before he could climb.
Steven’s Story
It all began when Steven was happily married with a child at 20. Things seemed to be going well until his business went south, and he found himself living in a basement with barely enough money to feed his child at 21.
“We had to get the dollar carrots at Kroger’s and mash it up to feed my son because we couldn’t afford formula,” Steven recounts.
Within a few months, his wife convinced him to enter the corporate scene, where he stayed for six years. The money was great, Steven shared, but his family never saw him because of his extremely long shifts.
Finally, in June 2020, when everyone was desperately trying to cope with the pandemic and looking for a job to enter, Steven exited his. Aside from the burnout, he and his wife had decided it was time to go all in on her highly successful online business that she ran through Amazon.
Unfortunately, things went south again. Within two months, the Pembertons’ Amazon account was shut down due to a faulty distributor flag. And this is where our story begins, though, in reality, it’s the midway mark: Steven and his wife found themselves with 58k of products they couldn’t sell, which was now officially 58k worth of debt.
Additionally, they lost an estimated 110k in sales and had only two months’ worth of expenses on Steven’s 410k.
Thankfully, they found a way to make it work through a new venture. Within their first month, they were able to make 5k in sales. Two months later, they decided to spread some cheer and were able to help 33 underprivileged kids celebrate Christmas.
Within six months of beginning again, Steven was making more in one month than in one year at his corporate job. And by the close of 2021, they had made over $1M in sales and helped 137 underprivileged kids have Christmas–over a hundred more than just the previous year.
So just how did Steven and his wife manage to pull this off?
Lessons from pulling out of debt and into massive profits
The Pembertons found success by shifting from selling on Amazon to selling on Facebook and Shopify. But they don’t necessarily recommend the same path for everyone. Ultimately, the lessons they applied to get there were more important than the exact path they took.
One: Be observant and don’t be afraid to pivot.
Always observe the market. Notice what’s working, what isn’t, and what other avenues are available. Never get fixated on one path. There are many ways to earn online.
Two: Timing is key.
The best time to hop on trends is to start the trend yourself. But the next best time is just as the trends are beginning but before the market gets oversaturated with the product. Again, be observant, and move fast.
Three: Details are not always everything.
Since speed is of the essence, it is not the best idea to invest vast amounts of time and energy into the tiny details of your business, such as your logo and the shape of your Buy Now button.
Ultimately, closing sales as soon as possible is more urgent than minor details, which can come later.
Four: Don’t stop at enough.
Most unconsciously set limits on themselves and stop when they have earned “enough.” But never stop at enough. Keep pushing because the more you make, the more you can share with others.
Five: Don’t indulge in overwhelm.
Running a business can be overwhelming with all the moving parts. As much as you can, don’t give in to the urge to indulge in feelings of overwhelm. Keep focusing on the actionable steps you can do daily, and watch your business grow.
It’s tempting to gloss over the beginning of Steven’s journey and skip to the part where he pulled himself out of massive debt in mere months. But he could only accomplish that by applying all the lessons he had learned from years of hard work in various industries.
Everything you experience while running your businesses is an opportunity to learn and grow as long as you are open. Ultimately, everything will contribute to your success, as in Steven’s story.
And one day, others will be out there waiting to hear how your mess turned into your message.
If you want to hear more about Steven Pemberton’s businesses and story, or maybe to set up a call with him for some business advice, connect with him through his website: http://www.stevenpemberton.com.