We were lucky to catch up with Jake Stanislawski recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jake, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start on the operational side – do you spend more of your time/focus/energy on growing revenue or cutting costs?

This is an area and circumstance I think many businesses struggle with. We are an e-commerce company and have seen these scenarios with the economy play out several times. Cost-cutting measures are often necessary during tough economic times. However, slashing expenses indiscriminately can have detrimental long-term effects on your business. When doing so you can easily end up compromising quality, damaging employee morale, and stopping new product development. Instead, businesses should focus on better cost management strategies, such as renegotiating contracts, streamlining processes, and eliminating non-essential expenses. You never want to hinder the company’s ability to function or impede future growth. You need to look at all aspects of your business and see what’s being affected the most. Is it that during a recession you see sales drop? Is inflation causing rising material costs? Are marketing efforts suffering? Is web traffic down? Are only certain sales channels being affected? Which ones? Etc.

Neglecting sales and marketing efforts during an economic downturn can be disastrous. While it may seem counterintuitive to invest in these areas when revenue streams are down, maintaining a presence in your market is crucial for keeping customers and staying competitive. Downturns often present opportunities to take market share from competitors who are scaling back their marketing activities. Use the questions I mentioned above and figure out which sales channels you are seeing struggle? Are some ones you’ve neglected for years and could be an easy fix for some more revenue? Now is the time to get creative and go back to ground zero. Look at Keywords again, titles, descriptions, images etc. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to focus on the marketing successes you’ve had in the past. It’s not the time to try new things! However, if you’ve always had relative success with FB ads, Google Retargeting ads, Amazon ads, Wholesale or whatever it may be, go back to those. You know they’ll work and since other companies are scaling back you should find that staying profitable in these areas is completely achievable.

You can only cut back and trim fat on a business before you start cutting into the good stuff. Once you start doing that, you’re heading the wrong direction and only going to run into problems. If you focus only on making cuts and not on sales and marketing, you’re heading in the wrong direction. You MUST keep a strong focus on continuing to grow despite the economy.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As one of the owners of Northland Frames and Gifts, I’m deeply passionate about crafting quality products that bring joy and cherished memories to our customers’ lives. My journey into this industry began with my parents. They started this company back in 1992 doing simple wood products. It evolved overtime into the Picture Frame company it is today. I came on full time in 2005 with a background in e-commerce. Since then, we’ve become a 100% e-commerce company. At Northland Frames and Gifts, we specialize in handcrafted frames and personalized gifts that capture the essence of life’s most precious occasions. From beautifully crafted school picture frames to baby picture frames, we offer a diverse range of themes designed to commemorate weddings, graduations, birthdays, and other significant milestones.
One of the core problems we solve for our clients is the challenge of finding meaningful and unique gifts that resonate with the recipient on a personal level. In a world inundated with mass-produced items, we provide a refreshing alternative by offering handcrafted pieces that exude craftsmanship and thoughtfulness.
What sets us apart is our commitment to quality, attention to detail, and personalized service. With the inflation epidemic we’ve recently witnessed, it would be easy to just switch to cheaper frames, wood, materials etc.. But we’ve done out best to negotiate better deals with our vendors and keep the costs as low as possibly without giving up quality. We understand the sentimental value of the memories our products hold, which is why we go above and beyond to create pieces that our customers will treasure and last for a lifetime.
I’m incredibly proud of the relationships we’ve built with our customers over the years and the countless smiles our products have brought to their faces. Whether it’s a newlywed couple cherishing their wedding photos or a proud parent displaying their child’s graduation picture, knowing that our frames play a small part in these moments is incredibly rewarding.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I oversee our sales across various e-commerce platforms, including our own website hosted by Bigcommerce. While Shopify is a popular choice, we like the unique advantages that Bigcommerce offers, particularly its pre-included features that are often paid extras on Shopify. In addition to our Bigcommerce site, we also utilize platforms like Amazon, Etsy, Wayfair, and Walmart to reach a broader audience. Each platform comes with its own set of pros and cons.
Amazon and Etsy have been standout performers for us, delivering significant sales and helping us gain visibility. However, Amazon, in particular, can be a challenging platform to navigate. Its strict guidelines and complex backend processes require adaptation, but the payoff can be substantial. We’ve invested in optimizing our presence on Amazon, and it has truly saved us during slow months. With the right approach, the potential for sales is enormous. We hired a company called Barrel Aged E-Commerce to elevate our Amazon strategy and take it to the next level.
On the other hand, platforms like Wayfair and Walmart have proven to be more cumbersome, especially for a business like ours that specializes in personalized products. While the customer base exists on these platforms, their backend systems can be overly complex and challenging to navigate. Despite our efforts, gaining traction on Wayfair and Walmart has been more difficult compared to Amazon and Etsy.

Any advice for managing a team?

This question really speaks to me. I’m 34 and I’ve got my own way of doing things, which might be different from what older folks usually do. When it comes to running a successful business, I believe in three main things, in this order: People, Product, Process. Marcus Lemonis talks about it, and it makes a lot of sense to me.

To me, keeping my team happy is way more important than making tons of money. I’d rather have a business that’s just okay financially but where everyone’s happy, than one that’s super successful but where people aren’t feeling good about their jobs. We spend so much time at work, I don’t want it to be a bummer with people complaining or being sneaky. Sure, there are exceptions, but I think of my team like family. They work hard for me every day, and I think it’s only fair to treat them well.

My big dream is to have a team that can run the show without me having to be there all the time. I want to spend more time with my family and go on trips. But if my team doesn’t like me, or if I’m always criticizing them or not paying them enough, I’ll never get to that point. You gotta show your team that you appreciate them. That could be with raises, bonuses, or just taking them out for lunch or giving them a little gift.

Honestly, I don’t think it’s that hard to keep people happy. It’s all about how you see yourself. If you act like you’re better than everyone, that’s how people will treat you. But if you see yourself as part of the team, there to help out and answer questions, you’ll earn way more respect. Remember, your team works for you, not just for the company. Treat them right, give them props, and be there for them like they’re there for you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.northlandframesandgifts.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northlandframes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NorthlandFramesandGifts
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-stanislawski-5a030846/