Small Business Straight Talk | Productivity, Time Management, Mindset, & Business Strategies · Amber De La Garza, The Productivity Specialist For Small Business Owners

399 | From Near-Death To $55 Million In Sales: Behind The Business With Kris Dehnert

October 20, 2025·1 hr 4 min·5 clips

Amber opens by framing the episode for small business owners who want better productivity, stronger systems, and more profit. Chris Dennert then shares the story behind Dugout Mugs, the company that turned baseball bats into drinkware and grew into a powerhouse brand with over $55 million in sales. He talks about sales, branding, e-commerce, networking, understanding people, customer experience, and building products that sell themselves. The conversation treats growth as something tied to both business systems and personal alignment. Chris keeps coming back to the need to know yourself clearly. He says owners should stop and reflect on who they are, what they represent, what they want, what they hate, what lights them up, what they are great at, and what they are not. He argues that most people already know these answers but bury them under constant busyness. He describes choosing to step away from half-finished work and stay out of everybody's way until he is needed in the right place. That idea becomes a thread through the episode. The talk is practical, but it never feels dry. Chris uses a horseback-riding story from North Carolina to show how he sees himself. He is big, blunt, and a little grumpy in a way that makes the image stick. The story is funny, but it also reinforces his point about working in a way that matches who you are. Amber keeps the focus on what small business owners can actually use. The episode does not separate mindset from operations. It treats them as connected. Chris's growth story shows what happens when branding, sales, and self-awareness line up. The result is a conversation about building something real without pretending the owner has to become someone else. Amber closes by urging listeners to subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with another business owner who would benefit from it.

As heard by us

A founder story that turns self-knowledge and sales instinct into a business advantage.

The episode tracks Chris Dennert as he turns a wild idea into Dugout Mugs, a brand that has cleared over 55 million in sales. Beneath that scale, it keeps its attention on the less flashy work: knowing who he is, what he represents, what he does well, and what he does not, then…

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want a founder story with real sales lessons.

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