Nik Sharma’s Post

Yesterday, I moderated a DTC panel, and one topic that kept coming up was financial literacy. Specifically, know all your numbers, and remember you have to make money. Here are the best ways to set your brand up for success from a financial standpoint: ✅ Have the RIGHT debt capital stack. Just like you go out and interview contract manufacturers or suppliers, you need to go out and run a process for debt capital. When you are reactive vs. proactive about this, you put yourself at risk of taking high APR loans with unfavorable terms. You should get flexible lines of credit with transparent APRs, allowing you to make that inventory purchase when you need, but not get burdened with unnecessary interest in perpetuity. ✅ Let your money farm for you. You have money on your balance sheet and in your checking account. Why aren't you earning yield on that cash? Whether you've got $27,000 in the account or $2,700,000, that money should be working for you. Another easy one is using a cash-back credit card. Since you're already swiping the card, why aren't you taking advantage of the cashback? That cashback is tax-free, too. ✅ Monthly forecasting and reports. How often do you review your prior month's P&L? It should be on the first business day of every month. Then, use that information to make adjustments to the upcoming month's forecast. Even just knowing your current and upcoming AP, AR status, and cash balance is going to make you smarter. For our eCommerce brands, I prefer to use Highbeam because they offer live reporting and additional cash-flow insight tools. ✅ Pick a no-fee banking partner to automate banking and cash flow Unless you have a full-blown finance department, it's impossible to manage cash flow, debt stack, and yield on time, always, and without fail. Highbeam provides the tools to automate each of the key components of your finance stack, helping you maximize your profitability and allowing you to focus on what matters most—growing your brand. In fact, today, I'm partnering with Highbeam. If you sign up by May 1st, they will waive minimum balances for their 1.5% APY checking and 4.5% high-yield accounts for the rest of the year! They have never offered this deal to anyone. Typically, you need $1M in your high-yield account to qualify for 4.5% APY. You can use the link below to get set up or book a demo with their team The special link: highbeam(.)co/sharma — you'll have to copy and paste it into your browser 😉

I’m gonna give away a Jolie showerhead! 🚿 Here’s how to enter: ⚠️👇 1. Like this post 2. Comment your favorite food (mine’s Thai!) 3. Subscribe to my newsletter - link in comments! That’s all… I’ll draw a winner on Friday, April 26, and tag them in this post! Also… the Sharma Brands office is coming along 😏

Are your Meta ad campaigns hitting a wall? Navigating the Meta platform has never been more challenging, from algorithm changes to increased ad costs and privacy updates. But fear not! In last Sunday’s newsletter, I went over nine transformative strategies to not only survive but thrive amid these changes. 1️⃣ Catalog Ads: Dive into the power of catalog ads! They're hyper-targeted and leverage user data to boost engagement and sales significantly. Want to double your ROAS overnight? Consider using enriched catalogs from Marpipe! 2️⃣ Fresh Ad Accounts: Sometimes, starting a new one with a different ad account, pixel, or payment method can bypass glitches. However, proceed with caution and keep your Meta rep in the loop. 3️⃣ Diversify Marketing Channels: If Meta's costs are soaring, reduce spend there and explore other avenues like TikTok, YouTube, or even direct mail. Spread your bets to mitigate risks and potentially discover more lucrative platforms. 4️⃣ Influencer Partnerships: Cut your planned spend on Meta and invest in influencer marketing. Influencers can drive both awareness and conversions, providing a fresh avenue for growth. 5️⃣ Affiliate Marketing: Leverage influencers and content creators as affiliates. Offer attractive incentives to ensure they're motivated to promote your products effectively. 6️⃣ Organic Content: Invest in creating viral organic content. It’s not only cost-effective but also enhances brand recognition and trust, significantly lowering your acquisition costs. 7️⃣ Boost SEO: Focus on SEO to drive high-intent traffic to your site. This long-term strategy ensures sustainable growth and reduces reliance on paid ads. 8️⃣ Performance-Editorial Content: Utilize editorial content to maintain steady ad performance, even when Meta faces issues. Quality content resonates, leading to better engagement and shares. 9️⃣ Learn from Leading Brands: Study successful brands for tactics that might work for you. Emulate their strategies and test to see what delivers the best results for your unique context. Want to be the first to get tips like this? Subscribe to the newsletter in the comments — it's free!

In a recent conversation with Bryan Cano from Nood, we peeled back the layers of a seemingly alarming marketing strategy. Last month, Nood invested a whopping $500K on TikTok ads, with the platform reporting a return on ad spend (ROAS) of just 0.5x. On the surface, this appears to suggest a substantial loss of $250K – but Bryan’s insights paint a different picture. TikTok's metrics are just the tip of the iceberg. Bryan utilizes Triple Whale to dive deeper into essential upper-funnel metrics such as: • 1-day and 7-day click conversions • Cost per add-to-cart • New site visitor percentages • Other crucial data not available through TikTok's native platform By developing a new multi-touch attribution (MTA) model, Bryan and his team discovered that despite the initial bleak numbers, TikTok is actually a profitable channel for Nood. It’s driving awareness on par with giants like Meta, leading to Bryan’s bold decision to double down on their TikTok investment. The key takeaway here? Don’t take platform-reported metrics at face value. Dive deeper and measure attribution with sophisticated tools to truly understand the impact on your business. Bryan also shared the effectiveness of a single "founder story" ad, which continues to outperform others. This underscores the power of authenticity and personal connection in advertising on platforms like TikTok. Nood tailors attribution models for different channels to accurately measure ad effectiveness, considering factors like the customer consideration period and behavioral nuances across platforms like TikTok, Meta, and Snap. Bryan believes in the blend of creative intuition and analytical rigor in scaling advertising efforts. Even as Nood grows, it is crucial to maintain a diverse, cross-channel media mix and continually innovate with contextually relevant, on-trend creative. Get insights like this on a weekly basis in my newsletter... it's free and goes to 70,000 people every Sunday. Sign up at nik dot co slash email :)

The best part about The Whalies in NYC? Getting to see Harley! It’s hard to leave a conversation with Harley and not feel intoxicated with inspiration 🔥 Thank you for all that you do, Harley!

I just spent an hour speaking to students in the Business School at Elon University... here were my takeaways for the 22-year-olds: ► Networking. ► Events. ► Advice to my 20yo self. ► How to get a job. ► Valuable life skill. What else would you add?