Episode 262: The New Gen of Promo Pros with Ethan Dowie, Indigo Promotions

Welcome to Skucast, the podcast for entrepreneurs in the promotional products industry. Skucast shines a light on our industry's best work, features maverick personalities, and discusses what's really involved in running a modern promotional products business. SkewCast is the official podcast of Common Skew.

There's something we've always enjoyed on the SkewCast, and that's bringing fresh voices, particularly emerging voices who are new to the industry and who are doing great work and have incredible potential. Ethan Dowey is the customer-obsessed CEO of Indigo Promotions, a top branded merchandise distributorship located in New York. Ethan is 25 years old with a passion for building businesses. His goal is to create the most innovative and successful distributorship in the world, one that puts the needs of its clients first. In his free time, Ethan enjoys playing strategy board games, which we talk about some today and how it dovetails into business. Ethan is relentless. As an example, he heard our podcast episode with Jeremy Parker, the co-founder and CEO at Swag.com, and he reached out to Jeremy, who made the time to chat with the ambitious entrepreneur. And then Ethan reached out to me via LinkedIn just to say hi and that he appreciated the SkewCast. I immediately detected something pretty sharp about Ethan and invited him to join us on the podcast. We talk about how he arrived in the industry, how he views the business and working with clients, and how he sees the promotional products medium itself and its place in the client's mindset. Hi friends, I'm Bobby LeHew, Chief Content Officer at Commscue. And before our chat with Ethan, if you're a Commscue customer, I've got great news. You know, we all have that platform or that software we use day in and day out, and we often think, And if I just spent some time learning more how to use this, I know it would make me smarter, faster, and my life easier. But instead, we slog through it and say no because we're busy, all the while not realizing we could be a hell of a lot less busy and a lot happier if we could crank through it quicker and smarter. For Commonsku users, that time has come. Join the Commonsku success team. Profs Aaron, Allison, Marcella, Alina, Noma, and Aaron on March 22nd at Commonsku University. And in just 2 hours, you'll learn enough to grow from no, I'm too busy, to becoming a power user. And if you're a leader, now's the time to enroll your team and get the most out of a very short amount of time. Register at commonsku.com/university. And lastly, have you heard about our new newsletter called The Backpack? The Backpack is our email newsletter that we send to you on the first and third Friday of each month. It features trends in merch, top articles and podcast episodes, and global news that impacts merch life. I have to tell you, I really enjoy contributing to this newsletter because we take up-to-the-minute news and consider it through the lens of the branded merch industry. So for example, this week we highlight potential industries impacted by the SVB bank collapse crisis and how to respond to economic news like this. Plus, we highlight some of the coolest merch campaigns happening in the world. You can check out previous issues and subscribe at commonscue.com/backpack. Today's episode is brought to you by CommonSkew, the work-from-anywhere platform that powers your connected workflow, enabling both distributors and suppliers to process more orders easily and dramatically grow your sales. To learn more, visit commonscue.com. Now here's our chat with Ethan Dowey, CEO of Indigo Promotions.

Ethan, thanks for being here, man.

Thank you for having me, Bobby.

You bet. Where did you grow up? Where'd you go to school and college?

So I grew up in Pearl River, New York, and I went to college at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

How do you think those backgrounds shaped who you are today?

Well, Pearl River, you know, and Rider as well, both small town type places. Rider had like an attendance maybe of 5,000 or so, and Pearl River, super small as well. For me, I feel like it's kind of like the, you know, chip on the shoulder, you know, everyone's underestimating you type of thing where it's like, right, it's cool. Not a big, not a big community, but everybody knows each other. Everyone is nice to each other. That's kind of, that's kind of the vibe of both places, which is what I like. And that's how I like to keep it.

Yeah. How old are you?

I'm 25. Okay.

How long have you been in the business now? Is it 2 years?

Oh, it's officially 2 years since March.

You know, we love to interview those that are new to the business. Mainly we want to hear your perspective, like on why you thought this was a great industry to jump in. What did you see about the business? Like what did you see about this industry that you went, I'm fascinated by this?

Well, when I was brainstorming businesses that I wanted to create, and this is really what I did in my 9-to-5 job, I would go home and I'd be like, okay, how do I get out of here? And what type of company can I create that I'd be good at? The biggest thing that motivated me that which was a suspicion of mine that got confirmed when I entered the industry, was that a lot of the success came from effort. And I think that's true for any distributorship and manufacturer as well, that the harder you try to solve a problem and the harder you work to, to work with the clients and really understand what they need, the more successful you're going to be. And I feel like for me, that was perfect because I knew that I would, I would work as hard as possible to make sure I'm growing something that is meaningful.

Now, when most of us get in the business, we tend to do everything. So we're wearing all the hats, and then we're wearing some of the hats. As you jumped into it, you quickly realized that you can do everything, and you can't be everything to everyone. Where is your strength?

What—

how does your strength manifest itself in the business where you're at today?

That's such a funny question, because going into Indigo, I always felt like my strengths were in marketing and sales. And it wasn't till recently when I was on the phone with a friend/mentor of mine, Lisa Teach, where she was kind of, she kind of picked at it a little bit. She kind of kept me going. She kept asking questions 'cause she really didn't like believe me. And I was like, no, it's sales and marketing, that's it. And she finally got me to say that it's in the customer relationship and building customer relationships. And I feel like the best explanation is that I'm good at taking it from level 1 to level 5 and just making it from, You don't know me, you don't order from me. Now you know me, now you order from me. Now we know each other. And just keeping it going. Like, that's what I love to do. I love treating my customers well so that they just know who I am and wanna really be with me, you know?

I love that. There's a test out there called the Kolbe Indicator Test, and it tests your strength. It's, you know, they have all these personality evaluations and things. This one evaluates who you are when you strive, and it sort of breaks down, you know, your strength. And you just kind of did that anecdotally. You were like, You know what? I know I'm really good at working with people. That's my strength. That's going to be a huge benefit for you as you move in the business, because one of the sort of things that get us tripped up is we focus on too many things at once. And it's nice that you nailed that down. You named your company Indigo Promotions. Love that name. What? Why Indigo?

I wish I could say I thought of the name myself, but when I— I was bouncing around between a bunch of names and I put it out to my friends, I put it out to my family. And someone finally came back there and was like, what about Indigo? And I was just like, I heard it. And it was that thing that I feel like all great business names do. It makes you think about it and it makes you say like, what is Indigo? What is this? It makes you pause. And I feel like the best businesses have names that make you pause and go, huh, I'm gonna remember that. And on top of that, it also just, it can mean anything. And that's what I love about it. It can mean anything. It could mean anything. It's not just, one specific thing. So that's why I liked it and that's why I feel like it really rings a bell with a lot of people that, that order from us and that hear about us.

Tell us about the type of clients you focus on. Like, what have you learned from working with those types of clients?

Yeah, so I wish I could say we had like one, one specific niche that we focus on, you know, selling to every day. But we found success in selling to cosmetic companies, ad agencies, and e-commerce companies. That's usually where we tend to play ball and where the majority of our biggest projects come from. And I feel like the main thing that I've learned from not only working with them, but also just working with companies that are on the bigger side and that have projects that are very, very complex and kind of intense, if you will, I feel like you understand what branded merchandise is for and the power of it because they're not talking to you about it. Like, it's like, hey, I need 10 shirts. They're using it as a vital part of their branding or their campaign. And it's something that you need to, to plug in as if it was one of the most crucial puzzle pieces. So when I started thinking of it like that, I feel like it just changed my mindset on not only the industry, but also my business as a whole and, and kind of the importance of it too.

Yeah. I just interviewed Mike Schwandt, the Senior VP of Brand Strategy over at Imprint Engine, and he just said something similar to what you said in that he, loves to find clients who their psychographic is the fact that they get it and love it. They love branding. They're— they consider important, like they're not just buying a bunch of volume and they don't care. That was really interesting. And it parlays a little bit into what you just said right there. As you look at the industry, you get into it and you're like, no doubt you have ideas on how you want to do things. Like a lot of folks actually get in the industry brand new and they, and they, they see a mess. They're like, or they see really bad branding or they see— because when you look at things in aggregate, that's typically what happens is there's an average. Of course, you've already gravitated to a lot of folks in business who are doing some incredible work, which we'll talk about in a minute. But as you looked and surveyed the industry, how do you want to do things different?

Well, I feel like not only with this industry, but a lot of other industries, as you grow bigger, it's hard to maintain the same level of, of customer service and, and quality that you did when you were small time. You know, on my first day of the job, I cold called 500 people 'cause we didn't have any clients. I can't possibly do that now as we grow and we have more projects to work on. But with anything, I don't want people to say, oh, Indigo, you know, they got big and they kind of stopped caring about the little guy or they stopped doing stuff to the level that they once did. I never want that to be in a sentence with anyone or have, or be a concern of any of our clients. So, For me, I feel like I just wanna bring on people into my company who have the same values as me and really the same respect for my clients that I do, but also bring on customers who respect what we do and value our time because I feel like that combination is gonna make us different in the sense that we're servicing to such a high level. Okay, a lot of times that's the downside of growing bigger. It's hard to maintain that type of thing.

You mentioned earlier your influence, the schools, and how the influences, you know, you kind of come from smaller communities, smaller schools, and you've got something to prove. And I loved your boldness. Like, you just reached out to me on LinkedIn and we struck up a chat. I also loved how you just reached out to Jeremy Parker, CEO at Swag.com, on LinkedIn, and you guys had a chat. You literally got on a call and talked about life and work. And what did you learn from him?

Yeah, it was 2 for 2. I reached out to him first and then I reached out to you. He was such a cool guy. He confirmed my belief that like some entrepreneurs are just cut from the same cloth. I reached out to him just saying hi, really just trying to introduce myself. He immediately said, let's hop on a call. And I'm like, what? I kind of was taken aback. I was like, what? What are you talking about? And then the next week we hopped on a call. We, you know, I just, I introduced myself further, said what I want to do. And for me, I love talking to people who are where you want to be and have done stuff that you want to do. I feel like I just get so much value and I just get so much value out of talking to people who are smarter than me and, and who have just such a mastery for their craft. So he was really cool. He— I just asked him some questions about, you know, running a big company, a big distributorship, and, and, you know, where he saw the value in what he— and what he does. And he just gave such great responses, such a cool guy. So nothing but respect for him.

I love that you heard the podcast and reached out to both of us. And here we are. Who's, who's been your greatest influence, personal influence in your life?

You know, it'd be tough. It'd be tough not to give my parents the nod there. They're such a huge— they've been such a huge part of my life for, you know, all 25 years. And my, my dad specifically for how hardworking he is. He had 3 jobs when, when I, when I was growing up and would just do anything to make ends meet. And I would literally watch him just get home nap for an hour, leave, go to work. And it's like you see that and, and I feel like it just crafts how you work. Like you, you start to think like, okay, how do I work more efficiently? How do I work just as hard? What can I do here? And that really, you know, really is a deciding factor into what I do with Indigo and why I want to build it so big. And then the opposite side of that, my mom, you know, whoever you talk to, they'll say she's the nicest person in the world. And, and that's how I try to be with my clients. I feel like their combination kind of mold how I act and how I treat people.

Who's been your greatest business influence?

Is that hard?

There's a lot of mentors.

That, yeah, that is hard. Like, there's so many, you know, I feel like I could take it two different directions 'cause there's so many people that I have a relationship with business-wise that have molded me, but also just people that are amazing entrepreneurs that I see on TV, that I see on YouTube. Like, Jeff Bezos. I probably know more about Jeff Bezos than the majority of people at Amazon because I just studied him and I studied how he could become such a great entrepreneur. And it's, for me, I love seeing how businesses are built and how someone could take an idea and turn it into this magnificent company. So Jeff Bezos, you know, I have, I've seen a lot of interviews with him and just how he kind of holds himself, the standard he holds himself to, and how he's always constantly innovating. So he would be someone that I would say is just a huge influence on me that doesn't yet even know I exist.

Yeah. I love to tie or try to tie people's passions for what they do on the side or for fun or, and you like strategy games like Corridor. Am I pronouncing that right? Corridor?

Corridor, yep.

What is it about that game that compares to running a business?

My girlfriend's gonna laugh hysterically when she hears the mention of Corridor. I am a huge strategy board game fan. And for me, Corridor specifically, I just love the simplicity. And just to give the people watching this a quick maybe synopsis. Yeah. Yeah. The whole point of the game is just to get your pawn to the other side. And if you're playing someone, they're trying to block you with these little wooden blocks. It's such a simple concept. You're just trying to get to the other side, but then there's so many problems and strategy involved with getting across and beating the person across from you where it makes you think. It makes you think like, how do I do this? What is he thinking? What is he gonna do? What is he gonna do if I do that? And I love the chess match, like, comparison. And it just, it's something that really, it really gets me thinking and I feel like it makes me more intelligent and it just, it's a ton of fun.

It sounds like it's a great, you know, it's a muscle, like a workout for your brain for strategy because you're having to think of 2 or 3 different moves, 4 or 5 different moves ahead. It sounds fantastic.

It really is. It really just, it gets intense. It really does. That's great.

What books or articles or podcasts have you consumed lately that have really impacted how you think?

Well, I listened to, I don't know if you ever heard of How I Built This by Guy Raz. That's a a podcast, business podcast. I listen to that every single day. That's kind of like my rule for the day. I have to listen to an episode, whether it's new or past one, when I'm driving into work for 45 minutes, just to kind of, just to get business on my mind before I get in the office so that it's not like I'm getting there and I'm just like, gotta wake up and like, here we go. And he's amazing. He's an amazing interviewer. And I love seeing these, behemoth of companies on his show, and they're just people. They're just people with an idea. And it's pretty cool that it just, you know, he really breaks it down. And then book-wise, one of my favorite books that I read in the past few years is Shoe Dog. I'm a pretty big reader, and that is actually my favorite book of all time. The story of Nike is, it's a legendary story, and it doesn't just go over the positives and the amazing stuff they did. It goes over the problems that they had to solve and the trials and tribulations that Phil Knight really had to accomplish or get past, I should say. So really cool book. That's great.

I love to ask this question because it's such a window into your daily life. What projects are you working on right now? Like what's on your desk? If I were to walk in your office and go and hang out with you for a minute, you'd be like, hang on a second, I'm gonna knock this thing out. What would that be for you today?

It's a lot of PR mailers that we've been getting a lot of projects like that recently with our cosmetic companies, which is a lot of times what they're doing. They're sending out gifts to influencers. They're crafting a specific box type that is designed just to create that wow factor, which is why I love PR mailers. That would be one. And then I think the other biggest project right now too would be an influencer gifting project where it's just going to some celebrities that, and we're trying to make these gifts very, very special and very, very high end.

Final question for you. What advice would you have for entrepreneurs thinking about jumping in the business? I know you're 2 years in, but you know a lot more now than you knew 2 years ago for sure. So what would you tell Ethan if you had a chance to tell him before he got started?

Well, into a distributorship?

Specifically, I guess.

Great question. I feel like you have to know beforehand that what you're trying to create, no matter what, no, this is not, this isn't up for debate, is going to mold into something else. If I, if someone told me like, hey, this is where Indigo is now, I would have no idea that this is where we were gonna be in 2 years. Or even daily, my daily routine, what I focus on, I would have no idea this is the stuff I focus on. So, I think you have to prepare as much as possible, but you have to know also it's not going to be exactly how I planned it out. This is just a guideline system of when I get into certain situations, what I want to happen. So make sure you know it's going to become something else and you have to be okay with that. But make sure you always keep your, your core values and your, you know, the fundamentals that you built your business on the same so that you can always have something to go back to.

Ethan, that's phenomenal advice. Like, you literally could have had 10 to 15 years under your belt and said the same thing to somebody going into your 20th, 30th year. That's fantastic, my friend. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day knocking out these client projects to join us, and I'm really thrilled we connected.

I really appreciate it, Bobby. Thank you so much, man. You bet.

Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of SKUcast. Be sure to keep up with our latest content by subscribing to SKUcast on iTunes or to our blog at community.commsku.com. Until next time, friends, thanks so much for listening.

Mm-hmm.