Eric Bandholz, Founder at Beardbrand joins The Hunting Influence Podcast to share the ideology behind Beardbrand’s motto “keep on growing”, the most impactful moment in Eric’s entrepreneurial career and his biggest hiring lessons.

Key facts

• Eric’s LinkedIn
• Beardbrand’s website
• Eric is working as an Assistant at Beardbrand
• Beardbrand deals in men grooming products
• Beardbrand aims to educate and inspire men on grooming trends 
• Beardbrand targets every age group of men in the US
• Beardbrand was founded in 2012
• In 2013, Eric was featured as a “beard expert” in an article for The New York Times

Key takeaways

• Through Beardbrand, Eric aims to change the sociological perspective about beards and hopes to help men find ways to keep on growing and becoming better

• Beardbrand’s motto is to “keep on growing” which refers to both your beard and yourself 

• Eric believes that mastery in sales is what gives birth to future entrepreneurs. He adds that selling skills help people improve their communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.

• Eric polished his sales skills by working as part of the sales team for renowned companies like Boingo Graphics, and Merrill Lynch

• Eric’s inspiration for Beardbrand came from a networking seminar called StartUp Spokane 

• It took Eric a year to plan Beardbrand’s launch. Beardbrand’s launching strategy was to go big across several platforms like Tumblr, YouTube, and Reddit

• Beardbrand has now become a well-known male grooming brand that offers products like shampoos, conditioners, combs, brushes, soaps, colognes, and deodorants for men and their beards

• Eric keeps the hiring process and employees training at the heart of Beardbrand

• At Beardbrand, hiring is done after an extensive online skill assessment that includes job-required skills MCQs and BCQs. After this is completed an interview takes place, which consists of questions from the candidate’s previous work history. Finally, a reference check is conducted to verify the candidate’s details 

• Eric does not believe in micromanagement, he expects his team members to be self-driven and motivated to perform their tasks 

• Although Eric isn’t running any specific department, he likes to be involved in Beardbrand’s business and strategic meetings. Currently, Eric focuses on creating content for his YouTube channel and ads

• Eric believes that every successful business owner needs to develop financial acumen. He shares that due to his interest in learning the required business finance knowledge he never had to face financial issues 

• Beardbrand experienced a boom in online sales of Beardbrand’s soap bars in 2020 due to COVID-19

• Beardbrand aims to offer a complete set of male grooming products. And further expand into the feminine grooming category

• Eric plans to expand Beardbrand across Europe and get it into leading retail chains in the next ten years

• Eric advises new entrepreneurs to have a unique perspective and find people that can resonate with the company’s vision, mission, and values

Quickfire round

Eric’s morning ritual

• Eric wakes up at 5 am, has breakfast, and goes to the gym.

Eric’s favorite resources

• Rich rebuild 
• “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie
• Shark Tank
• Tumblr
• AmazonStartUp Spokane

How much money is required for Eric to shave his beard?

• Eric said no amount can make him shave again

Eric’s Favorite $100 purchase

• An espresso machine

Eric’s favorite place

• Tokyo, Japan and Denmark

Eric’s favorite brand

• Onyx Coffee Lab

Eric’s favorite beardman

• Pierce Brosnan (non-fictional)
• Santa Claus (fictional)

Quotes

“A good salesman has a greater probability of being a successful entrepreneur.”

“Find an idea that you are passionate about and then use all your creative energy and skills to establish that into a business and brand.”

“It’s not important to own a business that targets everyone in the society”

Eric Bandholz