Ayo Supplements Update: How We Scaled Back On Ad Spend And Became Profitable

Paul Sciortino

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Published: September 8th, 2021

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Paul Sciortino

Founder, Ayo Supplements

$5K

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Ayo Supplements

ayosupplements.com

from Chicago, Illinois, USA

started November 2019

$5,000

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

Discover what tools recommends to grow your business!

Discover what books Paul recommends to grow your business!

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Want more updates on Ayo Supplements? Check out these stories:

1. On Starting A $2K/Month Premium Matcha Supplements Brand (2020) ➜

This is a follow up story for Ayo Supplements. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published over 4 years ago, check it out here.

Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.

My name is Paul Sciortino, I am the founder of Ayo Supplements and we sell Matcha Boost, the best matcha tea supplement you will find on the market. It’s a simple product; organic, ceremonial grade Japanese matcha powder combined with vitamin B-12 to support natural energy.

Matcha’s renowned health benefits are widely recognized and it is one of the healthiest substances in the world. It’s an acquired taste, however, and prep time can make it difficult to fit into a daily routine. I thought that if I created a quality product in a convenient “take with you anywhere” capsule, people couldn’t afford not to take it.

how-our-business-transformed-to-online-and-grew-revenue

Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?

With covid putting a halt on many pop-up events and plans to reach out to retailers, our business has transformed to being almost entirely online through our website, Amazon, or a few select online retailers. After plenty of experimenting with PPC keywords and product ads, we’ve been able to turn our most online model into a profitable equation month-to-month. One thing we learned was that for us, that actually meant lowering our monthly sales figures.

There is certainly a time and place for brand awareness, but be sure you have a steady customer base that can support your spending in that arena.

For several months in a row, we would overspend on ads to drive sales only to end up in the red at the end of the month despite our monthly revenue increase. Once we got a bit smarter about our advertising approach, we scaled back our spending significantly and found that while our monthly revenue took a slight hit, our profits did a complete one-eighty on a monthly basis. While this will result in slower growth for our company, it will allow us to grow sustainably and avoid taking on any major debt.

What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?

This may come as no surprise given the last section but the largest lesson learned for us was not to chase growth at all costs. Every business is unique and will have different goals and financial situations.

For us, we are a small business without any outside funding and we are committed to a slow and steady approach that allows us to turn a profit along the way.

What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?

We are gearing up to launch our new website and we are very excited to do so. With time, we’ll look to continue to grow our product line little by little and as COVID-related restrictions continue to loosen across the country, we will begin to explore partnering with select retailers.

Have you read any good books in the last year?

Profit first, this is a must-read and I have actually read this twice. It brings a great perspective to any entrepreneurial venture and a new way to operate your business, which I would highly recommend.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?

Understand the core of the problem your business or product solves and meet your consumer at the buying point of that problem.

At the get-go, brand awareness can be overrated. Make sure your dollars are spent on revenue-generating activities as most entrepreneurs won’t have a ton of extra cash lying around simply to “create a buzz” about a new product or company that no one knows about. There is certainly a time and place for brand awareness, but be sure you have a steady customer base that can support your spending in that arena.