He Went From $750K to $7.8M in 2 Years (Dropshipping)

John is a former brew master who decided to stop drinking beer every day, start treating himself like a thoroughbred racehorse, and consistently do the boring shit that actually works.

If you’re waiting for the “one weird trick” that’s going to 10X your business, this isn’t that episode.

But if you want to understand what it actually takes to build a seven-figure dropshipping business that compounds year after year, keep reading.

From Steel Toe Boots to Working From Home

Let’s rewind four years. John was working 10-14 hour days at a brewery, commuting an hour each way in traffic, wearing steel toes, getting maybe a 15-minute lunch break.

The job required him to taste beer all day (sounds fun until you realize it’s not), which meant drinking constantly.

He was 30+ pounds heavier, not exercising, not sleeping well, and generally miserable.

His income has more than quadrupled in the last two years. But the money isn’t even the biggest change.

The Mindset Shift That Made Everything Possible

Here’s what most people miss: John didn’t make all these changes before starting his business.

He started his business first, then the changes happened because he was in motion.

Too many people wait for the perfect moment…

They wait to feel ready, to have all their ducks in a row, to be the “right” version of themselves. John wasn’t ready. He just started anyway.

Once he was in motion, everything else followed:

• Quit drinking for six months when he left brewing
• Eventually did 75 Hard (first heard about it on this podcast)
• Started working out daily and taking supplements
• Fixed his sleep and nutrition
• Began reading books every day
• Started working with a mindset coach (shoutout Valentina)

The key insight?

You don’t wait to become the person who can build an $8M business. You start building the business, and that forces you to become that person.

Treating Yourself Like a Thoroughbred Horse

One of the best frameworks John mentioned: think of yourself as an elite athlete or a prize-winning racehorse. Would you feed a thoroughbred Cheetos and let it lay around all day?

Hell no. You’d feed it premium oats and have it running laps.

You have the capability to earn as much as an elite athlete. So why wouldn’t you treat your body and mind the same way?

John approaches every day asking: “Am I going to show up as the best version of myself today?”

Not hungover, not tired from staying up too late, not foggy from poor nutrition.

Just ready to kill it.

It’s unsexy. It’s not a growth hack. But it’s the foundation that makes everything else possible.

What Changed in the Business (Spoiler: Not Much)

The Basics Still Matter Most

Here’s the part that’s going to disappoint everyone looking for secrets: John is doing basically the same shit he was doing at $750K.

He’s just doing it better, more consistently, and with a team.

The fundamentals:

• Google Ads optimized and monitored constantly
• SEO grinding (this year, $2M of the $7.8M came from organic traffic)
• Best price, best offer, every single day
• Website constantly audited and improved
• Reviews, reviews, reviews

The Remarketing Stack

If you’re not doing these, you’re leaving money on the table:

Meta Dynamic Remarketing: All top products should have their own campaigns with nice creative. AI makes this stupid easy now, or just hire someone on Fiverr.

Google Remarketing: Same deal. Be everywhere your potential customers are.

Postcards: Yeah, physical mail. John started sending targeted postcards to people who visited the site and viewed best selling products. Good returns so far.

Email: This is where a lot of people fuck up. You need:

• Abandoned cart flows
• Welcome flows
• Post-purchase flow (this solves customer service issues AND generates additional revenue from upsells)
• At least 3 email blasts per week (John went from 1/week to 3/week in the last 6 months)

Every single email sends revenue. So send more emails.

The Conversion Rate Doubling

Last year, John’s conversion rate doubled from 0.5% to 0.9%. That might not sound massive, but when you’re getting hundreds of thousands of site visits, it’s huge.

How’d it happen? No single magic bullet.

Just continuous small improvements:

• Calling customers after purchase to get reviews (his team does this religiously)
• Website audits constantly
• Looking at competitors’ sites for ideas
• Studying other e-commerce stores (not just dropshipping)
• Obsessing over every detail

Here’s the unsexy truth: his traffic went up 100% year-over-year, and his conversion rate doubled.

That’s not from one big change. That’s from dozens of small, continuous improvements compounding over 12 months.

Building the Team

From Solo to Squad

Two years ago it was just John and his laptop. Today he’s got:

• Sales person (his first hire wasn’t cut out for sales, so he had to pivot)
• Multiple customer service reps
• Administrative person handling bookkeeping and order fulfillment
• Two product uploaders (John did ALL uploading until 15-16 months ago)
• Review manager (this is their main job – following up with customers for reviews)

Plus the peripheral team:

• Developer
• Accountant
• Lawyers (occasionally)
• CPA
• SEO agency

The Review Machine

One team member’s primary job is just getting reviews.

They follow up with customers: “How’s your experience? Is the product working? If everything’s good, would you mind leaving a review?”

John’s customers tell him the main reasons they buy: best price and best reviews.

He’ll break even or even lose $20-30 on a sale if it means getting a review, especially when starting out with zero social proof.

That’s how important reviews are.

What Hiring Changed

Getting the team in place meant John could stop fulfilling every order, stop answering every phone call, stop uploading every product.

Now his to-do list is actually fun stuff he’s excited about, things that will grow the business and improve efficiency.

That’s the real unlock. When you’re drowning in operational tasks, you can’t think strategically. You can’t optimize. You can’t grow.

The Compound Interest of Consistent Effort

The Slow Snowball

If you look at John’s business month-to-month, there’s no massive spike. No moment where everything changed overnight…

It’s just a slow, steady climb.

But zoom out to 12-month chunks and it’s staggering. Traffic doubled. Conversion rate doubled. Revenue grew 10X in two years.

This is the compounding effect everyone talks about but few actually execute on.

It’s so boring. So unsexy. But it’s the only way that actually works for most people.

You don’t need to be the best in the world at any one thing. You just need to be good enough at all the right things, and do them consistently for years.

Obstacles as Opportunities

John’s had brutal months. He’s had months where nothing worked and he was losing money.

The first six months of his business were just straight losses and getting punched in the face.

But every obstacle forced him to learn something new or find a better way. Now he knows email marketing.

He knows how to run ads. He knows SEO. He understands conversion optimization.

If the business disappeared tomorrow (it won’t), he’d be able to start something else because he’s acquired all these skills.

His old career as a brew master became an obstacle. Leaving it was scary, his whole identity was wrapped up in making beer, his entire social network was brewery people.

But getting out of that comfort zone was the best decision he ever made.

What He’d Do Differently

Looking back, John wishes he’d:

Picked a better store name: His current store is too product-specific. It might be holding them back from expanding into new categories.

Hired sooner: Even when he wasn’t making money, he should’ve found a way to get a product uploader. Would’ve accelerated everything.

Gone to more live events immediately: Trade shows, industry networking, meeting suppliers in person. The relationships you build at these events are invaluable.

Invested in coaching earlier: The course is great, but having someone who’s done it before and can help you avoid mistakes?

That’s worth paying for across multiple areas, business coaching, mindset coaching, personal training, nutrition. Find people who know more than you and learn from them.

The Boring Truth About Building Wealth

There’s no secret. There’s no hack. There’s no shortcut.

John got exposed to new ideas through podcasts, books, and meeting different people.

He did 75 Hard and it opened a window. He started hanging out with dropshippers instead of just metalheads and brewers.

He got obsessed with improving himself physically and mentally. He showed up every day and did the work.

The business grew because he grew. The revenue compounded because the effort compounded.

If you want different results, you have to become a different person. What got you here won’t get you there.

The version of John from four years ago couldn’t run a $7.8M business. He had to become someone new.

And here’s the good news: you can too. You just have to start. Not when you’re ready. Not when conditions are perfect. Now.

Get in motion, and everything else will follow.