091: Creating a Multimillion Dollar Product with Bing Howenstein of Backjoy

Background on Bing Howenstein of Backjoy:

Bing Howenstein began his career making movies in Los Angeles, where he made feature films for the studios, TV movies for the networks, short films for the festivals, and even wrote some stuff too. All of that experience in creating stories was perfectly suited to telling the story of a brand, so he licensed and brought to the market a product called Backjoy, which grew into a company that makes multiple products that fix the way you sit.

While he was just a single employee, BackJoy was listed as the 51st fastest growing company on the Inc. 500. BackJoy grew from the garage to have eight teams working around the world, and it has helped millions people in over 44 counties relieve their aching backs. Backjoy’s mission is to fix the way the world sits, stands, sleeps and moves. The company creates and distributes innovative solutions that enhance posture to relieve and prevent back pain in ways that produce positive, life-changing results so consumers can get back to the joy of living.

Bing has earned Bachelor’s degree in History and Communication from Lehigh University. He grew up in Detroit and is still a Lions fan.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[1:10] Bing created the Backjoy company, which produced the world’s best seat cushion. They made a seat cushion that can improve your posture and relieve back pain.
[4:06] When Bing and his friends first tested the Backjoy product, it worked really well for them.
[5:25] After college, Bing was heavily involved in the movie business. He eventually became a movie producer, but in his 30s he decided to become an entrepreneur.
[14:54] There were big problems and hurdles that Bing has to overcome during the early days of his company. His partner got into a serious car accident that left him running the business all by himself.
[18:13] Bing had saved some money, sold investments, and used credit cards to fund his business and keep it afloat during the first few years.
[23:13] He placed his product at QBC, which is an infomercial on TV, and it did very well in terms of sales.
[24:27] After using credit cards, Bing moved into factoring inventories. He explained in full detail what factoring really is.
[27:38] Bing opted to go to China for the manufacturing of his product instead of doing it locally.
[31:56] Bing advises entrepreneurs who want to do business abroad to actually visit the factory and partner with people who have the knowledge and experience of the local manufacturing process.
[33:26] He recommends entrepreneurs to watch The Profit by Marcus Lemonis, which emphasizes more focus on People, Process, and Product.
[35:00] By making a huge deal with Crocs, Bing’s Backjoy transitioned into a global business.
[40:23] As Backjoy made a tremendous growth throughout the years, Bing realized that the company would be much better without him at the frontline.
[41:21] After Backjoy, Bing has shifted his attention to building up new products that have a potential to do great in the market and become individual brands.
[44:00] When building up brands, Bing prefers the people behind the product who are trustworthy, respectful, and likeable. If these factors are missing, it’s a no go for the product.
[48:12] Bing’s last advise to everyone is that running a business or building up a product is going to be a roller coaster ride, and you have to accept everything that goes with it, all the ups and the downs. It is working hard and enjoying it at the same time.

Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, Traction by Gino Wickman, Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Recent Wallet
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Trello
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Time

Key Point from the Interview:

“If you’re going out to find something to solve the problem, you better be involved with that problem. You better really understand that problem.”

Resources Mentioned:

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