They built a $22m/year eCom business… from a dog photo

Hey UpFlipers,

Some say that if you turn a hobby or interest into a business…

It starts to feel like a chore. And you grow to hate that hobby or interest.

Well, that’s not always the case. If you’re truly passionate about something, a business could be the best way of spreading that passion to others.

Oh, and it could make you a LOT of money…

Kind of like the subject of today’s newsletter. 

You’ll learn how two people turned their passion for dogs into a $22M/year eCom brand that positively impacts thousands of lives (human and canine).

Let’s get into it…

How a dog photo ignited a $22M/year business empire… that gives back

Today, you’ll learn the story of I Heart Dogs — a $22M/year dog-focused eCom business.

It sells everything from treats to wellness products to home goods and more… all centered on dogs.

Best of all:

I Heart Dogs gives massive sums of earnings to dog-related charity initiatives.

Let’s see how they built their empire…

10 years ago, Justin, the founder, rescued a stray Siberian Husky he found in the mountains near their home.

As any dog person does, he posted a photo of the dog (they named it Splash) online…

And it blew up.

But Justin didn’t just kick back and enjoy the virality…

Community… the free path to loyal customers

He and his business partner Marshall decided to build an online community out of it.

Thus, I Heart Dogs was born as a Facebook page.

They ran Facebook ads and leaned on organic growth to get the group going. I Heart Dogs collected audience emails, too, to build a list.

Soon, I Heart Dogs became a place for dog lovers to congregate and talk about their furry friends. 

It grew into a thriving online community where other owners shared stories, photos, and love for their dogs.

The page grew like mad.

Funding the business with the audience

When groups form around passions, people talk about their problems related to those passions.

An idea struck Justin and Marshall about six months in:

Why solve those problems… by selling products to their trusting audience?

Neither of them had money to risk on untested products — this approach helped them maximize the chances of a successful launch.

LONG hours in the beginning

Justin and Marshall were almost too successful.

They worked 70-80 hours a week — split between their day job and business. Not uncommon for many entrepreneurs.

As soon as their revenue made it viable to hire, they hired.

They leaned on fractional/part-time employees and overseas talent to find awesome people within their budget.

“As an entrepreneur today, you have a lot of options for finding the best team members for you and what you can afford.”

What’s more:

They outgrew their third-party logistics (3PL) provider. 

This 3PL company said I Heart Dogs was doing too much sales volume… and so both parties agreed to end the deal.

Uh-oh…

Justin and Marshall acted fast, signing a lease on a building. They had to figure out their own fulfillment process on the fly.

More challenges along the way

Several problems tested I Heart Dogs’s passion for canines.

Once, they ordered the wrong product… and didn’t realize it until shipments of the wrong thing showed up.

Ouch!

Or how about when their accountants told them they had made $100,000…

Only for them to return and say the company lost $300,000 because that $100,000 was just revenue!

Perhaps the scariest thing, however, was when someone hacked their bank account…

Stealing $600,000 and sending it to dozens of people.

But product issues, money misunderstandings, and pathetic cybercriminals wouldn’t stop I Heart Dogs.

What kept them going was a bulletproof mindset and, again, a true passion for dogs and their audience.

Charity - a BIG part of business

Justin and Marshall loved giving back — so they made charity a BIG part of I Heart Dogs.

Their flagship program involves feeding hungry shelter dogs. The brand uses a portion of each purchase in specific product categories to buy food for dogs in need.

Another big one is Pets and Vets. Some Pets and Vets collection sales revenue pairs companion dogs with veterans suffering from physical and emotional injuries, like PTSD.

You can check out all the company’s charitable programs here.

(You can also donate directly on that page.)

Funny thing about this:

Any money “lost” by donating is more than made up for by customer loyalty.

People love mission-driven brands. They love knowing their dollars make a positive impact on the world.

So they stay around longer and buy more.

I Heart Dogs today

What started as a passion project grew into a 70-person team — something Justin and Marshall didn’t plan on happening.

But they loved watching their people grow their skills over the years.

Now, the company feels like a big family centered around a passion for dogs and delighting customers…

And it only continues to grow.

Hard NOT to succeed when you love what you do — and love those you work with.

I Heart Dogs’s dead-simple secret to successful product launches

Businesses are built on markets, not products. The best product ever is worth dirt if no one wants it.

That’s why I Heart Dogs built and leveraged its audience to “validate” and “prefund” products.

They managed to dial in this process to a science and now rolls out a product every 1-2 weeks. Here’s how they do it:

1. Ask your audience. Ask the audience about their problems and what products they want to see. You can ask directly, run surveys/polls, etc.

2. Minimum Viable Product. This has just enough features to attract early adopters — those most passionate about your stuff. 

Work with your supplier/manufacturer to do a limited run of MVPs. This keeps upfront investment low, just in case. And Marshall advises not to find a cheap Alibaba product — you want high-quality stuff only.

3. Set up a preorder. Preorders help you see how many products you need to order. Once again, this helps you avoid ordering too much of the product. It also builds hype and excitement.

4. Build excitement: Before or during the preorder process, build excitement by interacting with the community. Perfect time to pitch the product in a way that makes customers want to buy.

5. Run ads to people outside the group. If the product succeeds among group members, target people outside the group similar to your target audience. This maximizes the chance your ad campaign succeeds.

Marshall said I Heart Dogs has played with Google Ads, TikTok, and Pinterest… but Facebook and Instagram ads are still their money-makers.

A big benefit of this process:

Exclusivity and status.

Your most loyal fanbase feels like they’re in a “club” when they get to “beta test” your stuff.

They get to play an active role in your business, too. What a way to strengthen customer relationships!

Anatomy of a killer Facebook ad from I Heart Dogs

I Heart Dogs uses Facebook to drive sales once they’ve validated and launched their product.

When you find a winning ad campaign — meaning you earn more from it than you spend — you can run it for as long as you have a positive Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

Here’s a great ad from I Heart Dogs:

Let’s break down what makes this a good ad:

1. Ad type. There are a bunch of ad types, each with pros and cons. Dynamic Product Ads are a great option for eCom. DPAs auto-assemble ads from a template with content tailored to the person seeing the ad.

Plenty of other ad types work, though. Single-image ads and carousel ads are also good options. This one looks like a single-image ad.

2. Audience. Target a broad audience or get nitty-gritty by screening based on interest, demographics, behaviors, and more. You can target “lookalike audiences” — people similar to existing customers — based on previous campaigns or data you upload to the Facebook Ads Manager.

3. Headline. This conveys the point concisely in a compelling way. It needs to grab the right customer’s eyeballs and “meet them where they are”, so to speak.

This ad’s headline is “100% Guaranteed to Stop Itching”. This addresses a problem dog owners have, thus catching their attention.

4. Creative/visuals. Especially important in eCom. A high-quality product photo catches the eye and gets the user reading the copy. In some cases, the visuals get the clicks.

You can add more copy to the visuals, too. This ad’s visuals show the product, some benefits, and a rave review. This gains the reader’s trust.

5. Copy. Copywriting is a crucial biz skill. The copy builds on the headline and visuals. It creates trust by explaining how 100,000+ other dog owners have alleviated the issue… and urges the reader to help their furry friend by buying.

6. Call-to-action. I Heart Dogs has a “Learn More” button because the reader lands on an “advertorial” — a sales-driven article — to educate the reader into buying. The ad copy urges the reader to act now to help their dog, too.

To wrap it all up…

Businesses don’t have to start with some grand plan.

Sometimes, they evolve out of a passion.

Sure — making a business out of something you love runs the risk of losing your love for it…

But, at the same time, you can share this passion with others and build a loyal community of followers.

The best part is, when you do it like I Heart Dogs did, you don’t need a giant startup investment. 

Those followers can then become the foundation upon which your business is built…

And with customers who love what you do, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where you don’t succeed.

Woah, check these out…

🛍️ 23 other eCom business ideas for you — pick one that strikes your fancy

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There are three ways to join UpFlip:

 ✔️Join the Start, Run, & Grow a Business course waitlist — be the first to know when it launches.

✔️We interviewed another big-time, dog-focused eCom brand. The owner takes home about 50% of his $1M+ in profits…

✔️Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more inspirational success stories.

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