Hey there,

I missed writing to you guys while I was traveling the world for my lil bro’s wedding. As I suffered through nearly 14 hours of travel last week, it got me thinking about why I started this newsletter in the first place. I honestly love helping people. I may not be the smartest, richest, most sophisticated, but if you get one good nugget out of this then it’s worth it.

I’ve decided I’m going to start trying to write this twice a week. I can’t promise every week, but I’m going to give it my damn best. What I ask for in return is to simply forward this to one friend who you think may enjoy it or share it on social. Every single new reader is added motivation to grow CROSSED Commerce.

If you’ve been following you know I’m a diehard New York Knicks fan trapped in a sea of Heat fans down here in Miami. The season schedule just dropped today and I’m already circling the games I’m flying out to. What’s wild about this season is that our star player, Jalen Brunson, signed a 4 year deal this summer for $156.5M. The crazy part is that he turned down an extra $100M so the team could sign even better players to win a championship.

When I heard the news, I immediately thought of my experience with building a “championship” team at CROSSNET and the evolution that alot of us have gone through.

It’s true that, as entrepreneurs, we’re building teams. But ‌so many businesses fail because they’re prioritizing status over statistics — and status is expensive.

Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on how we took an inflated payroll and carved it down to a lean, mean operating machine — without sacrificing our growth.

The Harsh Reality of Over-Staffing

A few years ago, we were riding high. We had a large team of talented people, and we made sure they were taken care of. We had 20 employees on the books, and our payroll was hitting $1,200,000 annually. It felt like we were building something massive, but in reality, we were spreading ourselves way too thin.

We hired with the goal of acquiring talent, and we didn’t pay enough attention to whether that talent could be fully utilized.

Roles started overlapping. We had several people doing the same job, which turned management into a nightmare.

Of course, we had to make sure everyone was getting paid. To make that happen, we ended up sacrificing our own paychecks just to keep the lights on.

The Turning Point: When Enough is Enough

There comes a moment when you have to face the facts. For us, that moment was when we realized that all the extra hands weren’t actually moving the needle. Instead, we were drowning in meetings, dealing with inefficiencies, and losing sight of what really mattered — growth and profitability.

So we did what any smart business should do when things aren’t working. We hit the reset button. It wasn’t easy, and it sure as hell wasn’t fun, but it was necessary. We had to make some tough calls, including letting people go. But here’s the thing: those decisions are what saved us.

Hire Slow, Fire Fast

When it comes to building a team, whether it’s on the court or in the office, it’s crucial to hire slow and fire fast. Don’t rush into adding new team members just because you feel you need to or because you think someone is too talented to pass up.

Talent does not pay the bills. Drill this into your head.

When you’re considering growing your team, ask yourself:

• Is this person going to bring more value than they cost? Don’t hire someone just to tick a box. Every new hire should bring more value than they cost. If they’re not contributing to growth or efficiency, then what’s the point?

• Are they filling a critical role, or are you just trying to take some work off someone else’s plate?

  In the early stages, it’s tempting to bring on people to offload work. But unless that hire is filling a critical role, you’re just adding dead weight.

• Do they align with your company’s values and culture? Skills can be taught. Culture can’t. If a hire doesn’t align with your company’s values and vision, it’s only a matter of time before things go south. Pluck the weeds before they take their toll.

I can’t stress the importance of that last point enough. Take your time to ensure they’re the right fit for both the role and the company culture. A bad hire can set you back months, if not years. Sadly I’ve found this remark I learned from a mentor to be very true, “If you’ve thought about firing that person, then you probably should already have.”

How We Turned It Around

Once we realized how big of a problem we were facing, we didn’t hesitate to look for a solution. Restructuring your team is not at all a small task, especially when you can’t let that process interfere with the business’ ability to keep operating.

Fortunately, this week’s sponsor has been there to help thousands of companies who have found themselves in similar situations.

MarketerHire has an exclusive network of vetted marketing professionals who are ready to hit the ground running.

They handle the outreach & interview process so you can focus on what needs your attention most. They can match you with full-time, A-player for $3,000/month and a part-time hire for even less.

Oh, and remember how I mentioned the importance of a good culture fit? MarketerHire has you covered there, too.

Every hire they find comes with a no-risk, two-week trial so you can make sure you’re building a cohesive team. The best part is that work can be scaled up and down, without having to add on costly extras like insurance, healthcare and 401k. 

MarketerHire wants to make building your team as painless as possible.

Build your team here: https://marketerhire.com/save 

Or reach out to the remote hiring legend, Dan Fleishaker - [email protected] (he has no idea I’m leaking his email) and he might be able to hook you up with some hiring credits before Black Friday planning.

If you don’t know where to start, my recommendation is always with a performance marketer, graphic designer, video editor, or accountant. 

How Freelance Hires Saved Our Company

Instead of hiring full-time employees for every role, we turned to fractional hires in 2023. As the dust settles, its clear this was a key factor in turning CROSSNET from a company burning money to one that improved its EBITDA by over $1,000,000.

Everyone likes to think of “remote” hires as unskilled or foreign. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are so many damn talented people out there that can happily be added to your team without the full-time headache.

Here’s what our current setup looks like:

• Fractional Operations Lead: Handles all retail orders compliantly and works with our 3PL.

• Fractional Finance Lead: Manages invoices, cleans up the books, and works with our accounting team.

• Fractional Social Media Assistant: Manages multiple accounts, ensuring consistent and impactful social media presence.

• Graphic Design Agency: We pay per project for retail box design, Amazon graphics, social graphics, and video work.

• Amazon Agency: Handles all things Amazon, from ads to account management.

• Performance Marketing Agency: Oversees our marketing efforts, ensuring we’re getting the best bang for our buck.

With this setup, we’ve been able to maintain a lean team while still getting the expertise and support we need to grow.

Efficiency Is The Bottom Line

Every dollar counts, especially in today’s market. So why blow your budget on a bloated payroll when you can achieve the same, if not better, results with a leaner team? It’s not about how many people you have on staff; it’s about how effectively they can drive your business forward.

If you’re currently stuck in the weeds with a bloated payroll and inefficiencies galore, take a step back and evaluate your strategy. Do you really need all those full-time employees? Or could you achieve more with less? (Spoiler alert: it’s probably the latter).

Onward & Upward

I hope you loved this and I’m so damn excited about getting back to our usual programming with this newsletter. I’m heading up to NYC tomorrow morning to go see my favorite band in the world at Forest Hills for two back-to-back nights.

I should have some free time Saturday afternoon so if anybody wants to hit up the Othership (NYC’s newest crazy bathhouse), I’ll be heading there with some Founders Club members.

Shoot me an email back with suggestions for next week’s send or if you’re in the city.

Over the next two weeks, we’re 100% going to be ripping into new sales channels for your business (we just received a $90,000 purchase order from a random catalog - wtf?) and when is your business actually ready to enter retail.

Lastly, do me a favor. I’m starting over on Twitter because my account got screwed up! More to follow on that, but just hit the follow @chris_meadej