In 2015, John Williams of St. John’s, N.L. almost threw in the towel on his sports nutrition micro business. Jacked Factory consisted of Williams and a part-time staffer. They were making and selling supplements direct to consumers—and losing money on every product sold. But in two short years, he had grown his company 2,000 per cent. In 2018, he sold a million units and “did eight figures in revenue.” The question, of course, is how?

The short answer? Williams found his future in his past.

Back when Williams was into weightlifting and powerlifting, he made his own supplements. Featuring quality ingredients and natural flavours, he thought there might be a market for them. So he paid a manufacturer to produce a small batch of 1,000 units—and listed the formula right on the label. It was an example of unconventional thinking that would ultimately become his competitive advantage.

Faced with his do-or-die pivot point back in 2015, he chose to ‘do’: he rebranded, added new flavours, expanded his target market to include both sports and lifestyle customers and lowered prices.

And, because he sells direct to consumer through his online portal and Amazon, he gets instant feedback about his products. If something doesn’t sell well, he takes immediate action. “We’ve literally gone in, changed the formula… in a month or two months and rolled it back out. (Our) competitors can’t do that because most … sell to retail.”