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It is always my pleasure to showcase and highlight entrepreneurs who are leaving normal behind.
Jared Goetz is one of those individuals.
As many of you know, the mission of Leave Normal Behind is to influence the world in a positive way by inspiring others to become the best version of themselves, give back, and create things that matter.
In order to do that, we all must learn and grow.
In interviews like these I am able to share success principles from extraordinary people so others can learn and implement these principles into their lives in their own ways.
Below you will read how Jared created the 2nd fastest growing Shopify store behind Kylie Jenner as well as life principles that he lives by that enable him to achieve success and maintain the right mindset to grow and sustain his online businesses.
Lets get into it …
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Where are you from and where do you reside now?
I am originally from Long Island, New York. After living in a few different parts of the country, I have recently settled down in Boca Raton, Florida.
What are some of your hobbies?
I’m always looking to try new things, so much so that I would consider trying new things to be a hobby at this point. Otherwise,
I enjoy golfing and going to the gym and traveling frequently. Most recently, I made a road trip through about twelve different European countries – it was amazing!
What is your favorite quote?
“Focus more on the person you need to be, than the things you need to do, and you can accomplish anything.” – XYZ
Who is your greatest role model?
I am a big fan of Tim Ferris. The way he shakes up the norms of society and comes out on top is very impressive to me, so I would consider him a role model of sorts.
What have you worked on in the past?
I made my first million throwing large-scale electronic music concerts. After that, I held prominent roles at a couple of software startups until I found my calling in e-commerce.
What are you working on now?
Aside from running several seven-figure e-commerce stores, I lead one of the largest e-commerce educational platforms in the world called the eCom Hacks Academy, a company that I founded in 2017. I’m also working on expanding into creating more e-commerce software offerings for 2019.
How did you come up with this idea?
The eCom Hacks Academy was something that came out of a strong demand from those around me to learn how I was able to create the second-fastest growing Shopify store of 2017. After I started to teach my methods to a few people who went on to have success, I knew I was on to something big. I created a series of instructional courses and started getting them out there and haven’t looked back since.
What is the best thing about your company?
The best part of the Academy is by far the sense of community that is shared between our members (students) and our staff. The problem with e-commerce is that while it seems relatively easy, it’s quite challenging. There’s a lot of nuances when it comes to social media advertising that are tough concepts to grasp. Additionally, there’s an upfront cost of launching an e-commerce store that sometimes makes people uncomfortable because they aren’t making a profit in the beginning. It’s these challenges that sometimes lead students to quit or doubt themselves.
However, my staff is incredibly patient and works with students for hours walking them through anything from a problem with their store to what color their logo should be. When my staff puts in the work and the student is receptive and stays with the program and comes out successful on the other side, it’s an incredible feeling of accomplishment on both sides.
What’s your dream with your company?
The dream for my company is to be the ultimate resource for anybody looking to excel in e-commerce.
This is attained through product offerings, software for store build-outs, in addition to being an educational resource for store owners to learn the skills necessary to excel in this field.
What makes you special?
What differentiates me is my ability to see the bigger picture. A lot of entrepreneurs get tied up in the daily elements of their business.
Don’t get me wrong, this is important in the beginning, but a lot of entrepreneurs get stuck in this phase and end up not leading their company strategically.
As the founder of any business, you need to continually be thinking bigger picture, so you’re on the right path for long-term success, in addition to getting daily wins.
How do you creatively advertise?
I am a big proponent of Facebook advertising, but the thing about my ads is that I keep things natural. I don’t ever script my ads. I instead post real, approachable content that simply is me giving the facts about what it is that I can offer.
One time I was with my mom in my car, and we did an amusing video about how she couldn’t believe how fast my e-commerce stores were growing. It was great content and was a very successful ad for me, yet all I did was turn on my phone and start recording video – sometimes it’s just that simple.
What is the best testimonial you have received?
One testimonial I get frequently is from eCom Hacks students that post in our Facebook groups about how this education allowed them to change their life. They were able to leave jobs they didn’t like, help their families with extra income and live a life of greater freedom. When I get these comments it makes my day and gives me a tremendous sense of pride.
Why do most e-commerce store owners or entrepreneurs fail?
Most people fail in business because they hit a roadblock or challenge and give up. They run into a problem and decide that they’ll fix it later or think that this must be where they have to stop.
When you’re running a business, problems come up on a daily basis. Some larger than others, but the point is that you need to realize that these problems are more of lessons.
Once you understand how to solve the problem, you can move on to the next thing. The road to success is filled with obstacles; the trick is to confront them instead of giving up or putting them off.
What were your biggest failure and biggest success? What did you learn from them?
My biggest failure was trying to go to big too fast with my first concert business. My most significant success was the Shopify store I had in 2017 that went from $0-2M in sales over 60 days and was the second-fastest growing Shopify store of the year.
They both contain similar learnings, which is that being uncomfortable and pushing yourself is necessary when it comes to starting a business. You’ll never feel truly ready and you might fail, or you might make $2M.
You don’t know until you try!
What is the best piece of advice that anyone ever taught you? Who taught you this?
Last year I went to a Tony Robbins event where he stressed the importance of vision. I started to picture the life I wanted and I then almost subconsciously started working towards obtaining that life. Having a vision and clearly defining what you want in life is gold.
Jared always wanted a Lamborghini and included it in his vision. Then he made it happen.
What’s the best piece of advice you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Don’t feel like things have to be perfect before starting your business or doing something new. Nothing is ever perfect in the beginning, so it’s just about enjoying the ride and trying to get better every day.
Teach us something about e-commerce?
A lot of people equate e-commerce success with how well your advertisements are doing on social media. While this is true, it’s not the end all be all strategy.
You need to make sure that your store is running smoothly, looks good, and is optimized for high amounts of traffic and converting said traffic.
Additionally, other tactics can be used, like influencer outreach and contests, to grow your store’s traffic. Bottom line, don’t pour all of your money into social ads!
What’s something new you’ve learned in the past month?
I’m learning how to play the saxophone. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play one, and I’m finally making that happen!
Teach us something we don’t know (it’s vague and open-ended on purpose) …
A lot of people don’t understand how valuable it is to take time away from your business. Everyone has this hustle & grind mentality, but that will burn you out very quickly if you’re not careful.
I golf in the middle of the day several times a week. It’s important to take a step back and reset, so you have a fresh mindset when you get back to your work.
What do you think you do better than most people?
I never panic. If I’m faced with a challenge or problem, I view it as another thing that needs to be conquered.
I don’t let my emotions get in the way of my work.
This is extremely valuable in e-commerce, as you need to have patience and wait out things that may not be working right away, or ditch things that may be working a little bit but are not maximizing potential.
What is something that all e-commerce entrepreneurs need to know right now that most are not putting enough time & effort into learning?
Most e-commerce store owners don’t put enough effort into learning as a whole. There’s always a way to improve your skill set, and the education is out there to be utilized, it’s just a matter of seizing opportunities and investing in yourself.
What is the most practical and actionable framework you can share for other Future Sharks to use in their daily life?
The most actionable advice I can give is to plan your life as much as possible. There are things you have to discipline daily, weekly, and monthly, and the long-term as well.
For starters, every Sunday I take about two hours for myself to plan out the next week.I look through all of my notes from the previous Sunday with all my to-do lists. Everything that I need to do, whether it’s a big thing or a little thing, I’ll write it all out. Then I write out all of my meetings and scheduled things that I have on my calendar, and then I plan my week.
For every day of the week, I’ll plan what time am I waking up, what time am I going to the gym, what I’m eating for breakfast – everything. Then I’ll prepare work blocks. I’m not necessarily scheduling what I’m doing yet; I’m just saying I have from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM as a work block, where I’m not taking any calls or speaking to anybody.
Then I structure out my week, going through my to-do list, and I figure out how can I allocate the time that I set for work blocks to get through everything I need to get done.
What are some of the best books you’ve ever read?
One of the best books I have ever read regarding productivity for work is The 12 Week Year, by Brian Moran.
This book teaches you how to shorten the time in which you evaluate your goals, forcing you to be more efficient with your time.
It’s an excellent read for any entrepreneur looking to accomplish big goals in less time.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What will you have done and accomplished? What will you be doing?
Even though I have accomplished so much, I’ve never been further away from my goals, which is very exciting to think about. In five years, I’d like to be the top e-commerce expert in the world and join the likes of Mark Cuban, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk on the shortlist of the top entrepreneurs in the world.
I have high standards for myself and intend to fulfill my goals.
What do the words ‘Leave Normal Behind’ mean to you?
I don’t think it’s about leaving normal behind, instead I think it’s best to change and continue to raise your standards of normal on a relatively frequent basis. If you feel like you’re doing something abnormal, you might psych yourself out and get nervous and stop. If you think that you SHOULD be doing incredible things, you will.
Which Social Accounts should we follow? (hyperlinked, example: Facebook):
Below are my Facebook and Instagram profiles. Follow and connect with me there!
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Make sure you go follow Jared on his socials in order to stay up-to-date with his latest content.
If you are someone who is striving to generate income online, then Jared is definitely a credible and vetted source for you to do so.
If you or someone you know is a Future Shark who is leaving normal behind then email me rob@leavenormalbehind.com
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