Podcast:Chew on This - Digestable DTC Content Published On: Thu Feb 01 2024 Description: Maxx Chewning, YouTube sensation turned successful entrepreneur, traces his path from fitness content creator to founder of the 8-figure brand Sour Strips! He emphasizes the significance of pursuing your passion and being bold, and candidly shares the challenges he encountered and how he learned through doing. His inspiring journey underscores the power of authenticity and the notion that starting a business doesn't require knowing everything β the key is simply to take that first step! π Ever Forward reached its peak revenue of $1.6 million in 2019 before the spotlight shifted to Sour Strips. π¬ Sour Strips achieved impressive online sales of $500,000 in its first 3 months, demonstrating great momentum and a significant expansion into retail. π» The strategy for marketing and promoting Sour Strips encompassed leveraging Maxxβs personal brand and utilizing social media and email marketing to engage the audience. 1:33 - Maxx Chewning talks about his experience in the fitness industry for the past 10 years.β 2:33 - The start of Maxx's YouTube channel in 2013.β 3:47 - The misconception of wealth in the fitness industry.β 5:22 - Maxx Chewning explains how he strategically built relationships with different niches.β 7:09 - The growth of Maxx's YouTube channel β14:33 - Maxx reflects on his journey and the decisions he made.β19:13 - Maxx encourages viewers to follow their dreams.β 21:09 - The impact of money on Maxx's passion.β 26:01 - Maxx's approach to selling products and providing free information.β 34:19 - Maxx discusses the growth of his clothing brand, Ever Forward Apparelβ 43:12 - The team structure and growth of Ever Forward Apparel 50:41 - The futue of Ever Forward Apparel?β 59:14 - Maxx discusses the growth of his team β1:01:14 - The cost-effectiveness of outsourcing ads.β 1:02:35 - The importance of branding and packaging. β1:04:00 - Maxx shares his love for candy and his passion for creating new flavors.β 1:05:25 - The importance of relatability in branding.β 1:07:19 - Maxx discusses the disruptive nature of Sour Strips and the importance of standing out in the market. β1:08:11 - Performing creatives and whitelisting in advertising. 1:09:27 - Running ads through another profile and optimizing ad angles.β 1:10:07 - The importance of creating captivating captions for ads. 1:10:30 - The benefits of utilizing whitelisting, especially for founders.β 1:11:35 - Maxx discusses his experience with Sour Strips and the importance of consistency in branding.β 1:12:10 - Maxx reflects on the misconceptions of building a brand and the challenges he faced.β 1:13:36 - The impact of money on Maxx's motivation and the future of Sour Strips.β 1:14:19 - Maxx shares his approach to building a sales team and expanding distribution.β 1:15:59 - Maxx mentions using Google Sheets for business analytics and the importance of knowing your numbers.β 1:19:26 - The importance of creating a unique and disruptive brand.β 1:24:03 - The importance of innovative packaging to stand out from competitors. β1:25:03 - Maxx shares his strategy for pricing products competitively. β1:26:39 - Maxx talks about the importance of creating engaging and relatable content on YouTube. Sponsored by: π Motion - Motion will take your creative game to the next level. It allows all media buyers/marketers to do an in-depth creative analysis and create multiple reports which, otherwise may not be possible on the ads manager itself. π https://motionapp.com/chewonthis π¨ Sendlane - Tired of paying for hosting unnecessary contacts on your email list? Thats why we switched to Sendlane where we are only charged for the number of contacts we send to. You will unlock huge savings by signing up with them. π https://sendlane.com/chewonthis Follow us, subscribe to our newsletter, and to see our exclusive merch check out https://chewonthis.io/ Ron Shah - https://twitter.com/obviceo Ash Melwani - https://twitter.com/ashvinmelwani Chew On This - https://twitter.com/chewonthisdtc