The original requirement for joining @ecomfuelco in 2013 was a whooping $25K in revenue and vendors could join. A lot has changed since then! Today the requirement for joining is 7-figures in DTC (not AMZ) revenue. No pitching from vendors or pay-to-play. And owners only. I quickly realized the value of a room where everyone had skin in the game and could speak freely about their tools. Applications were down a touch this year and membership shrank by ~5%. I'm OK with that. I'd rather keep a smaller, high-quality room vs. water down the criteria. And I'm really proud of the community we've built. 1,000+ owners strong. 43% of members at $5M+, ~30% at 8-figures. It's not just the revenue. Our members are amazing. We filter for generous people and it shows in the forums and in-person events. If this sounds like your crew, come join us inside @ecomfuelco. Details in bio link.

The most powerful lesson I've learned studying storytelling: write your ending first. I just used this concept to make our first major branded video - 2 months and $16K investment - more impactful. The beginning is so crucial. It sets the stage, captures attention, frames the story arc. It's also the hardest. So stop trying to write it first. Instead, think about your ending. For this video, that meant clarifying what we wanted to help @ecommercefuel members become. Ambitious and successful, yes. But also in control. Family prioritized. Ok, that's our ending. What's the opposite of that? Late nights, stress, grinding, loneliness. An all-consuming business. That became our opening. Because great stories = transformation. Steal this framework to make your stories more powerful: Step 1: Identify your ending (the ideal state) Step 2: Identify the absolute opposite (the "before" state) Step 3: Paint that as vividly as possible in your opening This leads to the strongest narrative arc - the change - that makes a story compelling. You can use this lesson now on everything from emails to sales pages, not just big video projects. While it's carefully architected, it's also 100% true. My whole mission is to help entrepreneurs build incredible businesses and amazing lives. Big thanks to the team at @mission_films, our protagonist Bryan Walthall and all the ECF members who helped film it!