Author: Henry Murphy

I talk to creative entrepreneurs and eComm brand owners all the time and when the conversation shifts to “how business is going,” most say things are good. They’re making sales, orders are rolling in, and their brand is moving.

But then I ask a few deeper questions, and the answers tell a different story:

The Questions That Separate Hustlers from Builders

ME: What’s your tax strategy?

THEM: I don’t really have one yet.

ME: Do you pull your profit first?

THEM: I don’t even know what that means.

ME: What’s your profit margin on each product?

THEM: I’m not sure, but I know I’m making money.

ME: What’s your average order value (AOV)?

THEM: I haven’t really tracked that yet.

ME: What’s your customer journey for turning one-time buyers into repeat customers?

THEM: I just try to give good service.

ME: What’s your mission statement?

THEM: I don’t have one yet.

ME: Is your brand trademarked?

THEM: Not yet, but it’s on the list.

If This Sounds Like You, Don’t Panic, but Don’t Stay There

If those answers hit a little too close to home, it’s not the end of the world, but it is a sign. A sign that it’s time to tighten up.

Making money is one thing. Building a real business is something else entirely. And if you’re serious about being in this for the long haul, you’ve got to get intentional.

Don’t Build Your Business on Quicksand

I’m not saying you have to understand every piece of industry jargon before you launch, but we do have to commit to consistently learning. We have to build our businesses on solid ground not quicksand.

It’s easy to chase temporary money and lose sight of the big picture. But that picture matters.

The goal is sustainability. Longevity. Legacy.

Pay Yourself First & Know Your Numbers

That means getting into the habit of paying yourself first.

That means knowing your numbers.

That means studying your industry until you know it inside and out.

If you don’t know where to begin, grab a copy of Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. It’ll teach you how to set your business up so profit is built-in, not an afterthought. This one mindset shift can change how you see money, how you run your business, and how long you last.

This Is Bigger Than Sales

Creative entrepreneurs listen. You weren’t just called to make sales. You were called to build.

Something that serves your people.

Feeds your family.

Leaves a legacy.

That takes strategy. That takes structure. That takes discipline.

So, let me ask you again:

Are you really running a business or are you running a sustainable business?

God Bless The Entrepreneur.

It works! I opened up my phone and saw a text message from Wells Fargo that said, “You just got paid!” I was like, “Who, me?” and I started smiling. I immediately made a Facebook post about small beginnings because somehow, I always tend to forget this.

When I built out my first company, I built it with the intention for it to make residual income, although I really didn’t know what I was doing at the time.

I got a deposit today from Teachable, and it reminded me of that. I built the system out about 10 months ago for The Ground Up Academy, and at the time, it was on a monthly subscription model. The deposits I’m seeing now come from the people who were grandfathered in. We’ve since moved to a yearly subscription base, but it’s still subscription-based nonetheless.

Let me get back to the point. When you’re building out a system, it takes time. A lot of times, we want something to work immediately, but for most people, it doesn’t work like that. Take your time, build it out right, and always be thinking about the future. Because if you build the foundation right, in time, the system will produce again and again and again for you.

I’m not sure if I remembered my first company when I started building out The Ground Up Academy, but I thank God that I was reminded of it today. So I wanted to do two things—one, write this blog to remind myself and anyone who finds it, and two, speak to my Facebook friends who are entrepreneurs: do not despise small beginnings. Everything has to start somewhere.

God Bless The Entrepreneur.

I created The Ground Up Academy in an awkward place in my life an in-between stage, if I’m honest. I’ve been an entrepreneur for over a decade and have done pretty well in business. But I’ve also made a lot of mistakes. As I started reading more, thinking more, and working through different frameworks and systems, I realized how much of what I had learned could help others. There are so many entrepreneurs who could benefit from the lessons, strategies, and resources I’ve gained over the years, applying them to their own businesses to avoid some of the pitfalls I encountered.

A mentor of mine, Myron Golding, once shared how a tree grows in two directions, and it perfectly captured the heart behind The Ground Up Academy.

Before a tree stretches toward the sky, it first grows downward into the soil. Its roots take hold in the dark, damp earth, pushing through resistance, searching for stability and nourishment. That unseen work done in an environment few acknowledge or admire is what allows the tree to rise.

Business works the same way. The effort you put in behind the scenes, when no one is watching, is what makes the visible success possible. The late nights, the failures, the refining of skills, the sacrifices these are your roots. And just like a tree, the stronger your foundation, the greater your capacity to grow and flourish in the light.

People admire success, but they rarely see the struggle that built it. They see the brand, the revenue, the influence but not the hard-earned lessons and quiet perseverance beneath it.

That’s what The Ground Up Academy is about helping entrepreneurs lay a solid foundation. Because real, lasting success isn’t built on what people see. It’s built on what happens in the dark.

God Bless The Entrepreneur

You always have to give yourself grace with the learning curve when tackling anything new. Whether it’s business, personal growth, or mastering a new skill, progress takes time.

What Is the Learning Curve?

The learning curve is the process of getting better at something over time. At first, things may feel difficult or overwhelming, but with practice and experience, they become easier.

I read a lot of books, listen to countless podcasts, and participate in masterminds, constantly absorbing a wealth of information. Some of it is about entrepreneurship, some about becoming a better coach, and some about sales and pricing. Lately, I’ve been diving deep into finances and the stock market. With so much learning happening, I have to remind myself not to rush the process. I want this information to stick. After all, information without implementation means little to nothing.

When I explain e-commerce strategies and business systems to others, I often see frustration set in. They want to grasp everything instantly, but I always remind them that there’s a learning curve to it all.

Why Repetition Matters

This is why I believe in reading books multiple times. Each time, you pick up something new, especially as your perspective shifts with experience. Learning is a layered process; you’ll never absorb everything at once. However, as you grow, you retain more, and with each new piece of information, you gain clarity on how to apply it.

Turning Knowledge Into Power

The key isn’t just gaining knowledge but putting it into action. Knowledge can be power, but only if you use it. And take it from a high school dropout: learning never stops. Give yourself the time, space, and grace to master the process.

God Bless The Entrepreneur

I’m not sure what book I was reading when it referenced this quote, but it was so powerful that I had to write on it. After looking it up, I found that it comes from Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence:

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.”

I’ve been a passive dreamer before, and let me tell you, people who live passively often end up drowning in regret because they procrastinated their way through life. One thing life will show you is that whether you do something or do nothing, time still passes. And if that’s the case, we might as well do something. We might as well go after our dreams.

When we start, we won’t have everything figured out, but all we really need to get going is the will to move forward. If we have that along with a touch of faith and perseverance we’ll become more resourceful as we go. I’m big on asking the Lord to order my steps, to give me wisdom, and to fill me with His Spirit because I don’t want to do anything alone. I need Him with me.

So my question today is, what kind of dreamer are you? Don’t sit on the sidelines when you could be in the game, impacting lives. You hear me talk about imagination all the time it’s one of the greatest gifts God has given us. But if we don’t act on the dreams He placed in our hearts, they’ll never happen. And I believe we will be held accountable for what we do with those dreams.

I’m training myself to dream bigger. Anytime doubt creeps in when I’m thinking beyond what seems possible, I remind myself to go even bigger. Because what you think might take 20 years could actually take 10, then you look back and realize you wasted a decade with no goals or objectives. And for dreamers like me, that can feel like a slow death.

So do yourself a favor—make the dream so big that it feels impossible to achieve in your lifetime.

God Bless The Entrepreneur

Can we be real for a minute? Some days, we just don’t feel motivated. Some days, we just don’t feel like it. But if you have a plan and I hope you do (and if not, get one) then the objectives you’ve set for yourself must be executed consistently.

This is where discipline comes in because motivation doesn’t show up every day. It’s unreliable. If you’ve lived long enough, you’ve seen it firsthand, discipline is what allows you to switch gears and say, “I’m going to show up no matter what. I’m going to do what I said I’d do. I’m not going to break the promise I made to myself.”

Lately, I’ve added more things to my life, which has taken time away from writing my blogs. And I could have written them, I had the time—but I just didn’t feel motivated. So today, I’m writing because this is discipline in action.

There will always be days when you don’t feel like showing up, but success is built on consistency, not feelings. The difference between those who make it and those who don’t is the ability to push through even when they’re unmotivated. Obedience to the call outweighs comfort.

So even when you don’t feel like it, get up and get it done.

God Bless The Entrepreneur.

OK, OK! I  gotta tell you, I’m geeked out just talking about this. Let me walk you through how I landed on this whole vertical acquisition thing.

It started on Instagram. I kept running into this lady breaking down acquisitions, and she was talking about Amazon; how their downstream acquisition was Whole Foods, and how they strategically built out community Amazon pickups, lockers, and so much more. That alone was crazy to me, but I never connected it to my own business.

Then I’m listening to Sam Walton’s book, Made in America, and boom, there it is again. Walmart was expanding to the East Coast, and instead of starting from scratch, they acquired Kuhn’s Big K stores. But that wasn’t all. They took it further, building distribution centers to make sure stores got their inventory on time and customers got what they needed. That’s when it clicked.

Within a week, all this info started coming to me from different angles. Then one night, the Lord showed me exactly how this applies to my business. Now, I don’t know how He talks to y’all, but with me, it’s like that scene in Iron Man, you know, when Tony Stark is moving stuff around on the screen, piecing everything together? That’s how my mind was working.

I jumped out of bed the next morning and started researching upstream and downstream acquisitions. Let me break it down real quick:

• Upstream acquisition – This is when you take over a supplier. So for Unapologetic, that could mean acquiring a textile company to control material costs and quality.

• Downstream acquisition – This is when you take over a distributor or retailer. So for a brand like mine, that could mean owning a screen printing facility or even our own stores and fulfillment centers.

Man, let me tell you, I talked about this to everybody I saw that day! This opened up my mind to so many possibilities for making my business more efficient, cutting costs, and expanding in a smart way.

If you’re an entrepreneur, I challenge you to think about this. What’s the upstream and downstream move for your business? How can you own more of your process instead of relying on outside companies?

Stay motivated. Keep building. God Bless The Entrepreneur.

God Bless The Entrepreneur 

We all deal with broken promises, especially when it comes to ourselves and the things we want to do in life. I refuse to give up on this. I’m always striving to keep my promises to myself. If I put something on the calendar, I do my best to stick to it even if I have to shift the task to another date or even move it to another list. The goal is to get to it.

Blogging is one thing I’ve stayed consistent with, and I’m proud of that. I’m actually 2 to 3 months ahead right now because I built a system for it. At the time of this writing, I’m doing great with my eating habits, and while I still want to improve, I’m focusing on building consistency where I’m at. Looking back, I can see how far I’ve come. The way I used to eat was ridiculous. I had to educate myself about where food comes from and what it does to the body, and that knowledge has helped me on my journey.

I’ve stayed true to learning diving into podcasts, reading books, and seeking to become a better entrepreneur. I also want to grow as a student of the word of God. Both of these require intentionality. There are still things on my list that I haven’t accomplished yet, but I think about them every day. Once I make a commitment, I have to keep that promise. It’s about building the mental fortitude to do it day in and day out.

The mind can easily become relaxed if you let it. If you let it, the mind will start telling you what to do instead of you telling it. It doesn’t matter how small you start. We just have to stop lying to ourselves and stop letting broken promises run our lives because they affect every area of it. Broken promises chip away at our confidence, and if we don’t believe in ourselves, how can we expect anyone else to?

Enough with the broken promises.

God Bless The Entrepreneur

The next thing I want to talk about is Customer Service. Now, we all know how important that is. Lately, I’ve been on X (formerly known as Twitter), trying to get in touch with Teachable just to let them know that their customer service is trash. For real, it’s been a nightmare trying to get a response from them.

And look, I get it. AI is the future. Even as I’m building out my Shopify platform, I know I’ll be using a chatbot to handle quick questions. But here’s the thing, there has to be a limit. At some point, if a customer is asking multiple questions or getting frustrated, they need to talk to a real person.

I’ve been on the other side of this, trying to get help from different companies, and it’s frustrating when you can’t reach a human. And a lot of these companies? They got the nerve to put you in “tiers” based on how much you pay! Nah, I’m not rocking with that. I don’t want my business to be another company that ignores its customers.

This is what I’m thinking about as I build Unapologetic. And honestly, this is why I respect Sam Walton so much. Back in the day, Walmart employees used to wear vests that said, “How May I Help You?” Customer service was built into the culture. But after he passed in ‘92? That whole vibe disappeared.

I refuse to let that happen in my company. Customer service has to be a priority. I want my customers to feel valued, not ignored. And I hope you feel the same way about your business.

At the end of the day, no customers = no business.

Let’s do better. Let’s build better. 

God Bless The Entrepreneur.