Scaling a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand is no easy task. The pressure to stay on top of product innovation, customer acquisition, and brand identity can be overwhelming. However, there’s one aspect that often gets overlooked—building the right team to drive growth. It’s easy to focus solely on the numbers, but what if the P&L statement wasn’t just a financial report but a reflection of strategic hires and team structure?
While it may seem like an unconventional approach, the right team in place can have a significant impact on a brand’s cost of goods sold (COGS), acquisition costs, operational expenses, and more. In this post, we’ll explore how rethinking team structure and hiring strategies can drive sustainable growth and make P&L work harder for a DTC brand.
Rethinking Your P&L: More Than Just Numbers
When you think of your P&L (profit and loss) statement, what comes to mind? For many entrepreneurs, it’s simply a reflection of revenue, expenses, and profit margins. But what if your P&L could serve as more than a financial tool? What if it could reflect your team’s structure and the strategic decisions you’ve made around hiring?
Lara Guevara, CEO of More Staffing, shared a refreshing perspective on this during the webinar. Instead of looking at your P&L as just numbers on a page, consider it a direct reflection of the roles that drive your business forward. From the cost of goods sold (COGS) to operating expenses (OPEX), each financial line item can be directly impacted by the roles you hire.
How Strategic Team Building Impacts Your P&L
Each department and team member in your company affects key financial metrics like:
- COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) – The people who manage your supply chain and production processes are essential for reducing waste, lowering costs, and improving product quality.
- Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) – Your marketing and sales teams directly influence how efficiently you can acquire customers.
- Operating Expenses (OPEX) – Operational roles, including HR and IT, contribute to streamlining processes, improving efficiency, and reducing overhead.
This approach emphasizes the importance of aligning hiring decisions with financial goals. By building a team that directly influences these costs and metrics, you can drive profitability while maintaining scalability.
Want to learn more about how strategic hiring can transform your P&L? Check out the full webinar on-demand for deeper insights from Lara and JC.
The E-Commerce Generalist: The Unsung Hero of a DTC Brand
As your brand grows, it becomes increasingly important to have versatile team members who can wear multiple hats. One of the standout roles discussed during the webinar is the e-commerce generalist—a versatile position that has a wide range of responsibilities and deep knowledge across multiple functions.
Why E-Commerce Generalists Are Essential for Scaling
In the early stages of building a DTC brand, founders often find themselves wearing many hats—whether it’s handling operations, marketing, customer service, or logistics. But as the brand grows, it’s important to find team members who can take over some of these responsibilities and bring additional expertise.
An e-commerce generalist plays a crucial role in this transition. They are not experts in just one area but are highly skilled across several, allowing them to manage the diverse needs of a growing online business. Their expertise can span:
- Product management
- Website optimization
- Customer service processes
- Logistics and fulfillment
Their versatility makes them invaluable, especially when building out teams that can scale quickly without adding too many specialists early on. Lara shared her experience in helping brands streamline operations with e-commerce generalists, noting that their broad skill set can often save time, reduce hiring costs, and enable quicker decision-making.
The Backbone of Operations: Supply Chain Experts
In addition to generalists, DTC brands also need specialized experts to handle specific, high-stakes aspects of the business. One key area that often makes or breaks a brand’s success is the supply chain. The webinar highlighted the importance of having dedicated supply chain professionals who can manage everything from sourcing products to logistics.
Why You Need a Supply Chain Expert
Your supply chain is the engine that drives product delivery. Without a reliable system in place, your brand risks delays, cost overruns, and poor customer experiences. That’s where supply chain experts come in. These professionals specialize in:
- Vendor management: Ensuring you’re working with reliable suppliers to maintain product quality and reduce costs.
- Logistics coordination: Overseeing the transportation of products, including production schedules and shipping.
- Production management: Coordinating production timelines to ensure that your products are delivered on time and meet quality standards.
JC Ventura, Director of Talent Acquisition at More Staffing, discussed how having an expert handle these areas helped brands reduce costs and optimize workflows. Their deep knowledge of supply chain management can make a significant difference in both profitability and customer satisfaction.
For example, a well-managed supply chain can help you:
- Reduce delays by improving vendor relations and logistics.
- Lower COGS by identifying cost-effective production processes.
- Ensure high-quality products that reach customers in perfect condition.
Strengthening Your Hiring Process
Hiring the right people is foundational to building a successful team. But how can you ensure you’re hiring the best talent for your DTC brand? According to Lara, strengthening your hiring process is a critical step in scaling your team.
The Importance of Thorough Hiring Practices
While it’s tempting to hire based solely on a resume or interview performance, Lara emphasized that assessment and background checks are non-negotiable for long-term success.
- Assessments: Lara recommends incorporating assessments into your hiring process to ensure that candidates can perform the tasks required for the job. This can range from short, unpaid tests to more extensive paid assessments for critical roles.
- Background Checks: This step is crucial for avoiding costly mistakes. A thorough background check helps you understand how a potential hire has performed in past roles and can reveal red flags that might not come up in interviews.
Need guidance on refining your hiring practices? We have a guide on character reference checks to ensure you’re choosing the best hire for your team.
Conclusion: Scaling Your DTC Brand through Strategic Team Building
As you focus on growing your DTC brand, remember that the strength of your team will directly impact your ability to scale.
By rethinking your P&L as a reflection of team roles, investing in versatile e-commerce generalists, and bringing in experts for specialized areas like supply chain management, you can lay the foundation for long-term success.
Additionally, refining your hiring process with More Staffing will ensure that you’re building the right team to meet your goals.
Hiring the right talent is not just about filling a position; it’s about strategically building a team that drives growth, optimizes costs, and improves efficiency. By following the insights shared in this blog, you can make informed decisions that will help your DTC brand thrive in a competitive market. For further insights into strategic team-building and scaling your DTC brand, don’t miss the full webinar on-demand, available now.
