Interview with Jordan West - Marketer, Investor, and Founder of upGrowth Commerce

I got a chance to meet Jordan West when we chatted on his podcast back in ep 263.

Jordan is one of the most impressive people I’ve met on LinkedIn. He runs an ecommerce marketing agency called upGrowth Commerce (formerly Mindful Marketing), runs the Secrets to Scaling podcast, and invests and operates a handful of ecommerce DTC brands. He’s also an avid mountain biker and father of three.

I was really interested to learn how he’s able to run an agency and a handful of ecommerce brands and make it look so easy.

In this interview, you’ll learn:

The value of focusing on ONE thing at a time 🎯
Why some of the best ideas come when you’re outdoors 🚲
The importance of KPI stand-up and other high leverage meetings 🤝
Why you are your biggest asset 💪

Here’s my (short) interview with Jordan:

What does your daily workflow look like? Describe your typical day.

My day starts with generally a team check-in – a 15 minute huddle to talk about priorities and connect since all of our teams are remote.

After that my day is filled with interviews for my podcast as well as note taking to make sure that I effectively glean the ideas from my podcast guests to be able to present to both our team and the world.

Generally I take 1 hour in the at 12 o’clock to go to Crossfit or do some sort of physical activity.

“This really helps me be effective for the rest of the day. Yes, it’s sweaty, but so worthwhile.”

The rest of my days are generally taken up with high level meetings with heads of departments in our companies. At this point I have the decision making authority in 3 of our business units and so meetings are essential to get the team aligned with the vision.

What’s your secret to an effective work setup?

Staying focused on ONE item at a time.

“Being the CEO at 3 companies is a lot. I have found that focusing my attention on one business per day has been the key rather than jumping from business to business.”

Also… having standing KPI driven meetings with my senior teams has been life changing and helped keep everyone rowing in the right direction as well as clear on the vision and results.

What helps you stay focused?

Coffee… and exercise.

As soon as I find my mind slipping I take a walk, or go up the mountain for a bike ride. I often take meetings while I’m on my climb up a mountain. Why? All of my best and clearest articulated ideas happen there. If they happened in the office, I may just stay in the office.

What do you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed?

Remember that its all a game – but what’s not a game is the close relationships with my dearest friends and family. But money and business … that’s all a game.

You run a marketing agency, host a top 50 podcast, and invest in ecomm businesses. What strategy do you use to prioritize your work effectively?

I make sure that the meetings that I attend have the highest leverage. I make sure that out of every meeting with our staff comes clear expectations with action steps as well as accountabilities.

In the end it comes down to making sure ONE person is accountable for each area of each business.

You’re a father, an avid mountain biker, and a family guy. How do you strike the right work-life balance?

I always err on the side of non-business. It’s always the priority. Myself and my family are my biggest asset – if I lose that, nothing else matters.

I really subscribe and practice the habit of “putting first things first”

That took me a while to understand and really prioritize. Once you know what your priorities are, it’s easy.

What book or podcast has shaped the way you work or think?

The biggest impactful podcast for me has been “Business Lunch” with Roland Frasier. He has really helped me think a lot bigger in business and life while always helping with tactics of acquiring and running multiple businesses.

Share one productivity tool or tip that has impacted the way you work.

Time blocking and sprinting. If something is important I block my calendar out for it and get it done. I make sure that every bridge that I build is built 100% of the way there and then move on to the next big lever.