Hello everyone and welcome to Of Impact! We are Alicia and Shad and in today's post we want to share our story of building and selling an 8-figure brand for the first time! BEGINNING OUR ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY Our first stepping stone was a cooling towel we sold on Amazon. As first-time entrepreneurs, this was a steep learning curve. Understanding the functioning of Amazon, making our first sale, dealing with logistics were all new experiences for us. GROWTH AND EXPANSION After launching the cooling towels, we expanded our product range to include fitness and lifestyle products such as water bottles, fitness balls, and hammocks. We launched these products on Amazon and soon realized the potential of selling on other platforms too. In 2014, we started with a single product. By 2016, we had achieved .5M in revenue – an accomplishment we attribute to the hard work put into understanding the marketplace and constantly improving our products. READY FOR THE NEXT STEP We decided to make a major move – we decided to sell the business. We focused on enhancing our profitability, improving our logistics, and positioning ourselves for an attractive exit. After much deliberation and consultation with Chris, the broker we were working with, we put our business 'live infinitely' on the market. It felt like sending your child to school for the first time – a mixture of anxiety, excitement, and curiosity. FROM SELLING TO GUIDING OTHERS Following the sale of our business, we had the freedom, experience, and resources to pursue our next entrepreneurial venture – advising other businesses. Leveraging the lessons learned on our journey, we wanted to help other business owners scale, position their businesses for sale, and achieve meaningful exits. Our success in helping businesses grow led to the creation of "Of Impact”, a platform where we offer comprehensive business advisory services. We are now dedicated to helping other entrepreneurs create meaningful businesses that not only generate profit but also make a positive impact. THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT Every business journey, including ours, is full of challenges and victories, each offering valuable learnings. We hope that by sharing ours, we can inspire and guide other entrepreneurs. As we look at the future, we cannot wait to see where our next adventure 'of Impact' will take us. Join us in our journey, and let us help you create a successful exit story of your own! Stay tuned for our next episode where we introduce you to Chris, our broker, partner, and friend who was instrumental in our journey to selling our business and starting 'of Impact'. Should you have any questions or need help with your business, feel free to reach out to us through our website. We’re here to share our knowledge, experience, and are eager to help businesses grow. Stay tuned for more!