Not ready to commit? Preview recent newsletters below.
Share
The Real Habits of 8- and 9-Figure Owners
Published 6 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader,
You’re reading The Long Game - insights on financial mastery, entrepreneurship & building a rich life from Andrew at eComFuel.
The Real Habits of 8- and 9-Figure Owners
Five years of hosting 60+ 8- and 9-figure eCom owners in private rooms.
The biggest thing I've learned: there are no secret tactics.
Fresh back from hosting eCom Camp 2026, here's what some of the most successful eCom owners actually do.
They are deeply obsessed with their company's details.
One $60M founder still writes her company's social posts occasionally to keep a pulse on the growth engine.
Another $50M+ owner spending hours a day AI coding, just to feel where the edge is moving.
It's not glamorous and it doesn't make a great Twitter thread. But it's a big reason they've been successful.
Product quality has become non-negotiable.
The marketing alpha a lot of us built our businesses on is eroding. What's left is product.
And product is upstream of everything — margins, repeat rate, word of mouth, creative that actually converts.
One brand in the room had the kind of margins and AOV most operators would kill for. The reason was almost embarrassingly simple: they just built something way better than anything else in the category.
Too many of us obsess over marketing. Too few of us obsess over building something great.
Community is delivering financially (finally).
It's been a buzzword for years, often with few tangible results. But that is changing.
One owner is pulling millions of organic views through a network of small private groups.
Another used their grassroots community to launch a brand that's now an industry leader in 4-5 years — in a space where multi-billion-dollar companies tried and failed.
Even the new attendees at eCom Camp itself were an example: most came because another member convinced them to show up.
There's a massive advantage to being early.
Being early to eCom itself? That ship has sailed.
But being early in a promising new vertical or niche within eCom is still a huge advantage.
One company has seen eye-popping growth and built an industry-defining brand, in huge part by being a serious player from the early days.
"It'd be so, so much harder to do it today," the founder told me.
Hard work matters. Picking the right wave matters more.
None of these takeaways are new, but worth taking seriously. Sometimes we forget the fundamentals matter.
Want to be in the room next year?
eCom Camp is open to all 8- and 9-figure eComFuel members. We'd love to have you in 2027!
"Dad, just so you know, morale is extremely high."
That was my daughter on the first day we brought the puppy home.
She's been asking for a dog for 10 years. A decade of lobbying, and that was her victory speech.
I never wanted a dog. I'm an optimizer. An efficiency guy. My brain runs on systems, logistics and ROI.
We traveled a lot for years as a family, and "who's going to watch the dog?" was my undefeated excuse. Also, I have 3 kids and own/run a business. I'm not exactly on the prowl for more responsibility.
Then we settled down, stopped traveling as much this year. And suddenly my excuse arsenal was empty.
I didn't cave because I wanted to. I caved because I ran out of excuses.
A month in, here's what I didn't expect: I really like the little guy.
He was running around while my daughter and I worked out recently. Even with him peeing all over the floor mid-session, it was still more fun with him there.
He just lightens things up. My family loves catching me in the act. Any time I pick him up or wrestle with him, I get the look. "Whoa, look.... Dad actually likes the puppy!!!"
Like they're documenting a wildlife sighting in Yellowstone.
But the moment that got me was walking into the living room and finding my son passed out on the couch, shirtless, with the puppy burrowed under a blanket against his chest.
Both were completely out and completely peaceful. That image isn't leaving my head anytime soon.
Will a dog make travel harder? 100%. Is he inconvenient and inefficient? Absolutely.
But I'm sometimes guilty of running my life like a spreadsheet, and spreadsheets don't capture your son asleep with a puppy on his chest or when morale is "extremely high".
Sometimes a little inefficiency is the whole point.
☕ Where I Ramble Between Newsletters
🎙️ Catch My Weekly Podcast: Longer form takes on building an incredible business and amazing life.
👋 LinkedIn and X/Twitter: Yes, I'll reply! Would love to hear from you.
Hey Reader, You're reading Behind the Curtain: what 7- and 8-figure owners are learning inside eComFuel, and my thoughts on building a rich life alongside your business. I've been pretty down on Amazon. More members than ever are second-guessing it. But is that just vibes? Or is real data behind the AMZ hate? I was curious when our friends at Finaloop (automated bookkeeping for eCom stores) released real P&L data comparing Shopify-only, Amazon-only, and brands selling on both. The numbers...
Hey Reader, You're reading Behind the Curtain: what 7- and 8-figure owners are learning inside eComFuel, and my thoughts on building a rich life alongside your business. Here's the most interesting thing I learned from 1,000 store owners this month: Spend < $500K a Year on Ads? Agencies Struggle to Pay Off. Want to start a spirited discussion in eComFuel? Ask whether ad agencies are worth it. This month a couple of owners brought receipts. One noticed his agency's profit report left out one...
Hey Reader, You're reading Behind the Curtain: what 7- and 8-figure owners are learning inside eComFuel, and my thoughts on building a rich life alongside your business. Advice from the Old Man in the Room This summer, I got to speak to 100 young founders at an Art of Mondays event. It was an incredible week of talks, meals, and sports in the French countryside. Except I had to re-write my talk. Usually I'm the one trying to convince founders to slow down and build a life outside of business....
