314: Getting Help Vs. Going It Alone

·40 min·3 clips

Bergen Anderson hired an expensive ad agency, got sales, but also a huge credit card bill and lost control—how did she fix it?

The episode features an interview between host Susan Bradley and guest Bergen Anderson, founder of Lillabarn Clothing, a sustainable kids' and adults' clothing brand based in Chicago. Bergen explains that she started the business 14 years ago after being unable to find gender-neutral, bold-print baby clothes during her pregnancy, growing it from a side hustle to a full-time venture. She accidentally opened a brick-and-mortar store three years ago, using it for production, community events, and retail with strict hours to maintain boundaries. Bergen hired an ad agency last year, which quadrupled her online sales but led to inventory issues and high costs, making her feel unprofitable and out of control after four to five months. She then joined the Inner Circle, where she switched from MailChimp to Klaviyo, implementing abandoned cart and welcome flows that increased email sales from under 10% to around 30%. Following the Inner Circle's Black Friday event and dropping a new collection, she 10x'd her online sales from $700 in 2024 to $7,000 in the past year. Bergen also worked with coach Kate in December, who helped her create a strategic email plan that doubled her sales from $2,300 to $5,600. The conversation covers Bergen's background as an artist, her expansion into adult clothing, hiring a team to handle production sewing, and her plans for limited-edition drops. Susan suggests exploring print-on-demand options to leverage Bergen's art without fabric sourcing. Bergen emphasizes the importance of community for support and growth, advising others to seek it early. The episode concludes with Bergen sharing her website and social media details, and Susan promoting her free Conversion School course.

As heard by us

A candid ecommerce growth story about ad spend, inventory pressure, and learning what the numbers actually mean.

Bergen Anderson's account of building an ecommerce business gives a practical edge to the usual promise of paid acquisition. She had hired an expensive ad agency and saw sales come in, but the growth arrived with a big credit card bill, inventory strain, and metrics she did not…

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Why you'd press play

You want stronger sales, but you also want to feel steady about why they are happening and what to do next.

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