Why Your Store is Bleeding Money (While You Chase More Traffic)

 

Welcome back to eCommerce Fastlane! Here's a story that might sound familiar: you're spending $10,000+ a month on ads, traffic looks solid, but somehow you're barely breaking even. Sound familiar?

The hard truth is that most Shopify merchants don't realize they have a revenue leak problem. While you're obsessing over getting more traffic, your store is quietly bleeding money through hidden conversion killers and psychological friction points that drive customers away.

I see it every BFCM season—brands celebrate stellar top-line numbers only to discover their net profit has vanished into the red. The real challenge isn't getting more eyeballs; it's plugging the invisible leaks that are costing you thousands every month.

My guest today is Matt Stafford, Managing Partner at Build Grow Scale. Matt's been in the trenches for nearly 30 years, scaling multiple 7- and 8-figure brands and helping close to a thousand founders break through growth plateaus. But here's what makes him different: he doesn't just tweak conversion rates—he decodes the psychology behind why people buy and why they don't.

Matt learned this the hard way. After selling $15 million in t-shirts, he launched a kitchen gadgets store that was crushing it at 100-200 sales per day...until it suddenly wasn't. Orders dropped to 30-40 per day, and with hundreds of thousands in inventory on the way, he had to figure it out fast.

That crisis became his breakthrough—and today, he's going to share the frameworks that can help you stop the bleeding and start scaling profitably. 

Reach out to us! We welcome questions and comments about this episode. Connect with us here or through our socials — your feedback is always welcome.

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What is eCommerce Fastlane: Shopify Growth Strategies—Where AI Efficiency Meets Human Connection?

Running a Shopify store? You already know success isn't about finding the right app—it's about knowing which strategies actually work at your specific stage of growth.

I'm Steve Hutt, and I've lived every level of the ecommerce journey. From eBay Power Seller shipping products from my garage, to co-founding and scaling VisionPros.com (an optical DTC startup) through to a successful exit, then spending 6+ years as a Shopify Merchant Success Manager helping 100+ brands from startup to enterprise scale, including working with teams at Tentree, Dr. Squatch, Bulletproof Coffee, Salt & Straw Ice Cream, MUD/WTR, Bokksu, and many more.

Here's what makes this podcast different: I've been on both sides of the table.

6+ years working inside Shopify gave me access to what's coming before most merchants know it exists. Building, scaling, and successfully exiting my own ecommerce businesses taught me what actually works when your money and reputation are on the line. That combination of insider access plus real operator experience gives you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

Since 2018, eCommerce Fastlane has delivered over 430 episodes and more than 2 million downloads to ambitious Shopify founders and marketers. Every week, I chat with operators, developers, and experts who share what's actually moving the needle right now—not theory, but patterns I've seen work consistently across dozens of brands at multiple stages.

Whether you're launching your first store or scaling past seven figures, every episode gives you stage-aware strategies you can implement this week. We cover Shopify apps and best practices, digital marketing and retention tactics, AI and automation tools, as well as operations and logistics that reduce overwhelm while building lasting customer loyalty.

You'll learn how to leverage emerging tech without losing what makes your brand unique. You'll also hear real founder stories, including lessons from my own journey building and exiting a DTC brand, plus insights from 430+ industry leaders who've been exactly where you are.

This isn't content for content's sake. It's the insight you'd get sitting at a mastermind table with someone who's succeeded at every level, helped hundreds of others do the same, and has the pattern recognition to show you what actually works at your current stage.

Ready to grow smarter, not just faster? Join thousands of founders and marketers in the eCommerce Fastlane community through our podcast, newsletter, blog, and forthcoming book "Thriving with Shopify."

Steve Hutt
DTC Founder | Podcast Host

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