Joel Primus is a serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, and award-winning filmmaker. He founded a premium underwear brand Naked and took the company public in 2015. He is also a founder of Kosan Travel adored by travelers around the world and a filmmaker behind the “Raising Global Citizens” documentary. Joel shares his business story in his book “Getting Naked” which is released on February 1, 2021.
As a founder of Naked, Joel helped raise over $17M, establishing retail distribution at Holt Renfrew, Nordstrom, Hudson’s Bay, and Bloomingdale’s. The brand partnered with three-time NBA Champion Dwyane Wade for an exclusive Wade X Naked Collection and was worn in The Amazing Spider-Man. Recently, Joel co-founded Kosan, a travel clothing company that launched one of the most successful Kickstarter apparel products of all time — reaching over $1M in sales in 30 days.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you ended up writing a book?
I was a long-distance runner turned entrepreneur. My first real company was an underwear line called Naked. It started in my kitchen and in what seemed like the blink of an eye we were selling products in every major department store in North America, had raised millions of dollars, and uplisted on to the Nasdaq. There were so many lessons learned and run-ins with failure and success that I knew from day one that I wanted to write a book. So I started writing Getting Naked almost the same day I started the company. My goal was to create a raw, honest, and first-hand account of starting, growing, and selling a company!
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
I like to think of Getting Naked a book of important questions that point the entrepreneur in the direction they need to go. It’s filled with the lessons and questions I wish I’d known to ask when starting my business. The better questions we ask the better answer we get the fewer mistakes we make personally and professionally. It’s part memoir and part how-to, and the book takes the reader on the journey of a startup from beginning to sale. More importantly, it also delves into balance, family, mental health, and cultivating inner happiness.
What are the top three tools you are currently using to write, publish, and promote your books?
I usually start with either the Apple Notes app or a Journal. I still like writing with a pen! From there it goes to Microsoft word. I prefer Google Docs for writing but my editor and publisher prefer word!
Ingramspark and Kindle Direct are what we used to publish the book. ACX does the audiobook.
I had a great publicist for the book who focused on Podcasts, IG Lives, Clubhouse and editorial. Those were our key focus areas to build awareness. I know that’s more than three!
What were the top three mistakes you made publishing your book? What did you learn from them?
Well…I re-wrote the book entirely four times over 10-years! The key mistake was not sticking to a clear object (message) for the book and an outline that delivered it.
You need to be incredibly organized with your marketing and launch dates to build momentum. At first, I wasn’t so we had to push the launch date twice.
And lastly, I didn’t include my audience in the process enough…at least not until the very end. So you need to focus on your audience and community building along the way.
When will you consider your book a success?
Good question! Honestly, writing and publishing it was a success. And as long as those who need it find it, read it and it offers them something helpful then I’ve accomplished what I hoped to!
Can you share a snippet that isn’t in the blurb or excerpt?
Getting Naked is a book about failures. It’s about the misses, missteps, misunderstandings, mishaps, and misdirection that lead us exactly where we need to go.
What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?
If we’re talking about the book specifically, it’s a marathon. If you’re a parent or have a job that isn’t writing, time is a scarce commodity, and creativity gets challenged when you’re exhausted and stressed. You overcome this challenge by being consistent in doing the work every week. The consistency allows you to capture the creativity and overtime build something into meaningful work.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before publishing your book?
Towards the end of the process, I burnt out and would find myself stuck in the mindset of just wanting it done. I wish I’d taken more time to enjoy it and relish in the creation of it. Completing, publishing a book is a beautiful moment in a creator’s life and it doesn’t come around all that often. I’ve checked myself and am enjoying the moment.
Can you share some of the marketing techniques that have worked for you when promoting your book?
Absolutely – there’s a lot to unpack here! Authors need to be very intentional about their goals. We set a target goal (not one that will determine whether I think it’s a success) but one that provides an objective target for a team to reach. I built out a team via Upwork that included a Facebook and Google Ads buyer, a social media manager, Mailchimp Specialist, and Graphic Designer. From Upwork, I also hired a Book Publicist and keywords Amazon book launch strategist. Lastly, I hired a video editor to help me make a book trailer.
I developed an Online Course that could be used as a loss leader to promote the book.
The ecosystem of my launch strategy centered around a landing sales page that included reviews and greater detail on the book than could be found on Amazon or other outlets. All traffic is geared towards my landing page except the amazon ads.
For awareness, outside running Facebook and Google ads, podcasts, editorial, and collaborations on IG and Clubhouse were key. As was building out my email list and book launch team. The book launch team being those who I specifically asked to buy and review the book. Leading up to the launch I increased my time on social media fold trying to offer as much FREE value as I could.
I don’t think we did anything incredibly unique for the launch per se, but we focused on being consistent, looking for base hits, and leaving no stone unturned.
If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
I’d enjoy the process more. I’ve spent too much of my career always focusing on and trying to get to the next thing.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs and authors?
This is tough. I owe a lot of favors! For an online course check out Chakra girl business school. For books read Like a Finger Pointing to the Moon by Dr. Jason Gordon. I don’t have a podcast, so hopefully, this is okay….if you check out the podcast section on my website you’ll see all the amazing podcast hosts I’ve worked with. Sincerely, they’re all awesome.
If you only had 1000 dollars to promote a new book, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
I think you tell from my response I didn’t spend $1000 on the launch! But that would have been a great exercise to think of ahead of time. The most effective tool outside “spending” money is taking the time to build an engaged community and incentivizing a book launch team. A good book launches a team and makes or breaks a launch.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new authors?
Know exactly who you are writing the book for. Know exactly what message you’re trying to share, develop a clear outline to write from, and be consistent with your writing schedule. Your book will come together if you follow those steps.
What is your favorite quote?
He who jumps into the void owes no explanation to those who stand and watch.
– Jean-Luc Godard
Who should we interview next and why?
Dr. Jason Gordon, whose book I mentioned above, would-be killer. He’s a friend and spiritual and business mentor. And quite possibly the most interesting and knowledgeable guy on the planet. He has much to teach and offer.
How can we get in touch with you?
You can find me on my website or Instagram, which is both just my name Joel Primus.
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