The Fundamentals

The unsexy arithmetic of building a business that actually works

“

Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning.

— Benjamin Hardy

We made 55 sales in our first month.

No ads. No audience. No viral moment. No secret hacks.

We just did the boring stuff that actually works.

55 Sales

$100k+ Revenue

ZERO Ads

By month three, we crossed $100,000. Same playbook. Same fundamentals. The only thing that changed was the compounding effect of doing the basics relentlessly.

Here’s the thing nobody on YouTube wants to tell you: the path to your first 50 sales isn’t sexy. It doesn’t get clicks. It won’t trend on TikTok. But it works—every single time.

If you came here looking for a get-rich-quick scheme or some flashy “scale to the moon” strategy that burns cash and produces zero profit, close this book now.

But if you want to build a real business on real foundations with sustainable growth?

Grab a pen. This chapter is your prerequisite.

Why This Chapter Exists

This book contains advanced strategies for conversion optimization, traffic acquisition, retention systems, and scaling. Powerful stuff.

But none of it will work if your fundamentals aren’t in place.

I’ve seen it hundreds of times. Store owners skip ahead to the “advanced” tactics—A/B testing, retargeting funnels, influencer campaigns—while their product page has two blurry images, no reviews, and a promise so vague it could apply to anything.

They’re optimizing a broken machine.

This chapter is the minimum viable foundation. The non-negotiable baseline. The stuff that must be present before any optimization makes sense.

Think of it like this: you can’t tune a car engine that isn’t running. You can’t scale a store that doesn’t convert. You can’t retain customers you never captured.

The Six-Step Foundation

Most store owners are trying to fill a bucket with holes in it. They pour money into ads, obsess over their logo, tweak their homepage for the fifteenth time—and wonder why nothing sticks.

The fundamentals plug the holes first.

Here’s the exact sequence—each step builds on the previous:

Determine Your Offer

Define your promise, proof, speed, and risk removal—the four pillars that make people say yes

Create Content

Film yourself, friends, and family using the product. 30-50 pieces before you launch.

Build the Perfect Product Page

5+ images, video, reviews, objection busters, and a CTA that converts browsers to buyers

Capture Your Customers

Email popup, welcome flow, and tracking pixels—so no visitor is ever truly lost

Content Marketing

Post daily, follow competitors' audiences, message every new follower. Build the tribe.

Amplify with Ads

Only after steps 1-5 are solid. Ads pour gasoline—make sure you have a fire first.

Miss any of these, and everything downstream breaks. Nail them in order, and you’ve got a machine that’s ready for optimization.

Let’s break each one down.

flowchart TD
  Offer[1. Determine Offer] --> Content[2. Create Content]
  Content --> ProductPage[3. Perfect Product Page]
  ProductPage --> Capture[4. Capture Customers]
  Capture --> ContentMarketing[5. Content Marketing]
  ContentMarketing --> Ads[6. Amplify with Ads]
  
  style Offer stroke-dasharray: 5 5
  style Ads fill:#f96,stroke:#333

1 Determine Your Offer

This is the most important—and most overlooked—step in e-commerce.

Most people obsess over having beautiful ads and a well-designed website. None of that matters if people don’t want to buy your product. And that’s where the offer comes in.

Your offer isn’t a discount. It’s not a gift. It’s not free shipping.

Your offer is how you present your product to give customers every reason to say yes.

There are four fundamental components every offer must have:

1. Product Promise

When someone buys a product, they expect a transformation. They don’t buy for the sake of buying—they buy because they believe something will change.

Your job? Communicate exactly what your product does for them.

Example: I sell a coffee concentrate. The promise? Barista-quality coffee anywhere you go. When someone lands on that product page, they know instantly what they’re getting. It’s specific. It’s relatable. It’s worth paying for.

Your promise needs to be so clear that the right customer immediately thinks: This is for me.

2. Product Proof

Promises are cheap. Everyone makes them.

Proof is what separates you from the noise.

Ways to build proof:

Product reviews (real customers, real results)
Before/After shots (transformation visible)
Certifications or test results (third-party validation)
Authority figures (doctors, experts, influencers with credibility)
Technology or ingredients people recognize and trust

If you’re promising the transformation, you need to show it actually happens.

3. Delivery Speed

Here’s a principle that will serve you forever: Money follows speed.

The faster someone can get your product, the faster they’ll say yes. Think about Amazon—that little “Get it in 2 hours” label beneath the price? It bypasses logic. Even when you don’t need something urgently, instant gratification pulls you in.

Your delivery options matter:

Free shipping (removes friction)
Same-day dispatch (creates urgency)
Click and collect (immediate satisfaction)
Express options (premium speed)

The sooner you can get your promise into their hands, the quicker they buy.

4. Risk Removal

Every purchase carries fear. Consciously or subconsciously, your customer is asking:

What if it doesn’t fit?
What if the quality isn’t what they promised?
What if it breaks after a month?
What if I just don’t like it?

These are reasons to say no. Your job is to eliminate them.

Risk removers that work:

Money-back guarantee (the classic)
Free returns and exchanges (removes sizing fear)
Warranty (removes durability fear)
Risk-free trial (removes “will I like it” fear)

Real example: We sell a unique coffee concentrate—something most people have never tried. Nobody drinks that. They drink filter coffee or espresso. So we added a 30-day risk-free trial: Don’t like it? Full refund. No questions.

What happened? Conversion rates jumped. Refund requests? Almost zero. The perception of zero risk unlocked the sale.

The Perception Principle

Your guarantee doesn’t need to cost you anything. If your product is good, almost nobody will use it. But the existence of that guarantee shifts the buyer’s psychology from “What if this doesn’t work?” to “I’ve got nothing to lose.”

2 Create Content

Content is the fuel of the internet.

You consume hours of it every day—Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Netflix. It’s how attention flows online. And attention is the currency your business runs on.

If you’re not creating content, you’re invisible.

This isn’t optional. This is non-negotiable. Your role as a founder is to become a content creator who generates interest for your brand.

The Starter Content List

Here’s what I want you to create—right now, with just your phone:

Film yourself using the product
Film friends using the product
Film family using the product
Film yourself unboxing the product
Film a founder-style reel (why you started this business)
Take photos of the product in different environments
Send 20 samples to people to create content for you

That’s 30-50 pieces of content minimum. And here’s the kicker: this content works everywhere. Meta ads. TikTok. Instagram. YouTube. It’s the fuel that powers growth across every channel.

For the dropshippers and print-on-demand folks: Order a sample. Bring it home. Film it yourself. How do you expect customers to buy something they’ve never seen in reality? How can you sell something you’ve never touched?

The brands that go from side hustle to full-time are the ones that take content seriously.

3 Build the Perfect Product Page

Your product page is where decisions happen.

It’s the moment someone clicks “Add to Cart” or bounces forever. Every element needs to push toward yes.

The Anatomy of a High-Converting Product Page

Above the Fold (Before Scrolling):

Product Badge

Best SellerMost Popular

Instant social proof.

5+ Product Images

Front, side, back, detail, in-use. Amazon mandates 5+ for a reason: it doubles conversion.

Product Video

Trust Builder

Video converts better than static images.

Review Stars

Vital

Visible proof right next to the price.

Clear Price

With strikethrough if discounted.

Product Promise

One clear sentence: what this does for them.

Easy Options

Color swatches, size guides. Remove decision friction.

Contrasting CTA Button

Black, green, red—anything that stands out.

Objection Busters

Free TrialWarranty

Right under the button.

The Arrow Hack

Add a small arrow (→) inside your “Add to Cart” button. It subconsciously signals forward movement—“click this and you’re headed to checkout.” Tiny detail. Measurable impact.

Below the Fold:

Feature Icons

Made locally, organic, unique properties. Visual credibility.

Benefit-Driven Description

3-5 bullet points about what it does, not how it works.

Accordion Sections

How-to, shipping info, ingredients. Details for researchers.

Extended Info

About the founder, what’s in the box. Builds connection.

Reviews Section

Let customers sell for you.

Product-Specific FAQs

Not site-wide FAQs. Questions that lead to “yes”.

Every section has one job: remove a reason to leave.

4 Capture Your Customers

Here’s a principle we live by: If we can’t convert a customer, we capture them.

You’re putting effort into driving traffic. If someone visits, doesn’t buy, and you have no way to reach them again—you just wasted that effort entirely.

The Setup Checklist:

Install an email platform (Klaviyo is the gold standard)
Create a popup that captures email and phone
Offer something valuable in exchange (coupon, free download, giveaway entry)
Set up an automated Welcome Flow
Install Meta Pixel
Install Google Pixel
Install TikTok Pixel

I know what you’re thinking: Pop-ups are annoying. Nobody likes them.

Wrong. Pop-ups work. Every single time. The secret is offering something worth trading contact info for. “Subscribe to our newsletter” doesn’t cut it. People know their data is valuable—give them a reason to hand it over.

Why the pixels matter: Even if you’re not running ads yet, install them now. Every visitor warms up those pixels. By the time you’re ready to advertise, you’ll have a warmed-up audience of known visitors. Your ads will perform better from day one.

5 Content Marketing

Now we take everything from Step 2 and deploy it.

Post on both your business pages and your personal pages. Yes, your personal accounts. Your friends and family are your first audience. They know you, they’ll support you, they’ll buy from you, and they’ll tell others.

The Posting Rhythm

Reels

1 per day

The engine of discovery.

Stories

2-4 per day

The engine of connection.

In-Feed Posts

2-4 per week

Carousels, photos—the engine of authority.

But posting isn’t enough. You need to build an audience.

The Audience Growth Protocol

Follow your competitors — Know what they’re doing
Follow your competitors’ followers — These people are already interested in what you sell. Following them is like tapping someone on the shoulder while they’re in line for your competitor’s store
Message every new follower — “Thanks for following! I’m [name], founder of [brand]. If you ever have questions, I’m here.” Build relationships.
Repeat daily for 30 days — 10-20 new follows per day = 300-400 potential customers reached in a month

Then layer in:

Reach out to 10 UGC creators per week — Offer free product for content
Get friends and family to share and tag you — Expand the network

This feels like a lot of work. Good. You’re trying to get your first 50 sales. Put in the work.

6 Amplify with Ads

Here’s why this step comes last:

Ads amplify whatever you already have.

If your product doesn’t convert, ads make it worse. If your site has holes, ads pour money through them faster. But if your foundation is solid? Ads pour gasoline on a fire that’s already burning.

Do not start ads until Steps 1-5 are complete.

Choosing Your Platform

There are two types of ad platforms:

Demand Capture

People actively searching for your product

Google Ads
Bing Ads

Demand Generation

People who might be interested but aren’t searching

Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)
TikTok Ads
Reddit Ads

The Rule: Pick ONE platform to start. Master it before expanding.

If people search for your product type → Google
If you need to show/explain your product → Meta

The Testing Protocol

Launch a campaign
Run for at least 7 days (don’t touch it)
Budget: $30-50/day minimum (you need data)
Review: What’s working? Do more of that.
Review: What’s not working? Do less of that.
Repeat

The Mindset Shift: Ads are a learning tool. When they don’t work, don’t just turn them off—ask why. What can you do differently? Every successful business uses ads to grow. If they’re not working for you, you’re reading the data wrong.

Bonus: The Follow-Up Emails

You’re building a list. Actually use it.

The amount of brands sitting on huge email lists and never emailing them is insane. These are people who want to hear from you.

Three emails you need:

1. Abandoned Cart Email

Someone got to checkout and didn’t buy. Send a reminder: “Hey, your cart’s still here. Come back and grab it—here’s 10% off for the next 48 hours.”

2. Thank You Email

Someone bought from you. Thank them personally: “Hey [Name], this is [Founder]. Thanks so much for supporting us—we’re a small business and every order means the world. Here’s a $5 code for your next purchase, or share it with a friend.”

This works because people expect faceless corporations. When they get a real message from a real founder? Memorable.

3. Review Request Email

Use a tool like Judge.me to automate this. After they’ve received and used the product: “How’d we do? Leave a review and help other customers find us.”

Remember: proof is what sells. Reviews are proof.

The Fundamentals Checklist

This is your gate. Do not proceed to the rest of this book until every box is checked.

I’m serious. The strategies in the following chapters assume this foundation exists. Without it, you’ll be optimizing things that can’t be optimized, scaling things that don’t work, and wondering why the “advanced tactics” aren’t producing results.

Print this. Check each item. Be honest with yourself.

Step 1: Offer (All Required)

Product promise written—specific, clear, transformation-focused
At least one form of proof present (reviews, certifications, before/after, authority)
Delivery speed defined and communicated
At least one risk remover in place (guarantee, free returns, warranty, or trial)

Minimum standard: A stranger landing on your page knows exactly what your product does for them, believes it works, knows when they’ll get it, and feels safe buying.

Step 2: Content (All Required)

Product filmed in use (by you, friends, or family)
Founder content created (why you started, your story)
Product photographed in multiple environments
Minimum 20 pieces of content ready to deploy

Minimum standard: You have enough content to post daily for at least two weeks without running out.

Step 3: Product Page (All Required)

5+ product images (front, side, back, detail, in-use)
Product video present
Review stars visible (even if starting with few reviews)
Clear price above the fold
Product promise/pitch in one sentence above the fold
Contrasting ‘Add to Cart’ button
Objection busters visible near CTA (shipping, returns, guarantees)
Benefit-focused description (not just features)
Product-specific FAQs

Minimum standard: Your product page answers every question a buyer might have without them needing to leave.

Step 4: Customer Capture (All Required)

Email platform installed and connected (Klaviyo recommended)
Email/SMS popup live with a compelling offer
Welcome email flow automated
Meta Pixel installed and verified
Google Pixel installed and verified
TikTok Pixel installed and verified

Minimum standard: Every visitor is either tracked or captured. No wasted traffic.

Step 5: Content Marketing (All Required)

Business social profiles active
Content posting started (minimum: 1 reel/day, 2+ stories/day)
Competitors followed
Competitor followers being followed (10-20/day)
New followers being messaged
UGC creator outreach happening (minimum 10/week)

Minimum standard: You’re actively building an audience, not just waiting for one to appear.

Step 6: Ads (Only After Steps 1-5 Complete)

One platform selected (Google OR Meta—not both)
First campaign launched
Committed to 7-day minimum test cycles
System for reviewing and applying data

Minimum standard: You’re only amplifying a foundation that already works.

Step 7: Follow-Up Emails (All Required)

Abandoned cart flow live
Post-purchase thank you email automated
Review request email automated

Minimum standard: You’re following up with every customer and every almost-customer automatically.

Before You Turn the Page

Count your checkboxes. Be honest.

If anything is missing, stop here. Go back. Complete the step. Then continue.

I know you want to jump ahead. I know the chapters on conversion psychology and scaling strategies sound more exciting than “install your pixels” and “film yourself using the product.”

But here’s the truth:

The stores that struggle are the ones who skipped this chapter. They jumped straight to ads before their offer converted. They optimized product pages that had no proof. They scaled traffic to stores that couldn’t capture a single email.

The stores that win? They nail the fundamentals first. Then—and only then—does everything else compound.

This checklist isn’t bureaucracy. It’s the difference between building on rock and building on sand.

Complete it. All of it.

Then turn the page.

The Bottom Line

These six steps aren’t glamorous. They won’t go viral. They’re not the “secret hack” that gets millions of views.

But they work. Every. Single. Time.

You now have the minimum viable foundation. The rest of this book will show you how to optimize, scale, and multiply what you’ve built here—how to turn a working machine into a high-performing machine.

But none of it works without this chapter.

Do the boring stuff. Do it completely. Then watch what happens when you layer advanced strategies on top of a foundation that actually holds.

Once your checklist is complete, move on to Part 1—where we’ll dive deep into the psychology of why customers buy, and how to engineer your store to trigger those decisions.