Is it harder to start a business or scale a business? This was a question that someone posed over on Threads recently, and it got my wheels turning.

In 2024, scaling is harder. It is easy to start a business these days. However, most don't have the grit to keep going long-term and scale the business.

During this episode, I dive into why it’s easier to start a business in 2024 but harder to scale a business. I touch on how different marketing is these days, the differences between finding manufacturing partners now vs in the past, changes in technology, decision fatigue, and more.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product LABS coaching program. This is a coaching program specifically built for product-based business owners, with members from across industries and across the globe. We have member-only events inside of LABS, so request your invitation to join below!

REQUEST YOUR INVITATION

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/366

Quick Links:

Free Wholesale Audio Series

Free Resources Library

Free Email Marketing for Product Makers

PTP LABS

Paper Camp

Have you ever sold out of your inventory in a few days? Today's guest did that when they were launching their embroidery kits to the wholesale market through Faire.

Riki Inge of Rikrack had stocked up inventory. She'd prepped her Faire shop. She went live, and everything completely sold out in just a few days. While most people would see this as a good problem, it highlighted a lot of issues with Riki's packaging, her product details, and even her fulfillment workflow. And she's here today to share her story with us, how she navigated that situation and came out ahead.

Rikrack Embroidery creates kits that are not only beautiful and unique, but also fun and simple to stitch, as well as embroidery-inspired gifts that she's recently expanded into. Riki created embroidery art in college but stopped stitching while working as an in-house artist for more than 18 years.

Rikrack combines the love of art making with the fun of embroidery to design kits that allow anyone to create their own special piece of art.

On today's episode, Riki shares why she felt like she was starting over when she moved from selling direct to consumer to selling wholesale. We talk about the challenges she faced and the solutions that she implemented when she sold out of all of her inventory in just a few days when launching wholesale. And we talk about why slow, steady, and intentional outsourcing have served Riki well in growing her business.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product LABS coaching program. This is a coaching program specifically built for product-based business owners, with members from across industries and across the globe. If you have ever wanted to pick my brain or get my eyes and ears on your business, our LABS coaching program is the place to do that.

One of our founding members, Cedric Victor of Special Orbit, said it best. He said: if you don't want to find out months or years down the line that there was a better way to run your business, get in LABS. We are constantly talking, figuring things out together, and sharing hard-won insights.

Cedric, thank you so much for this. I could not agree with you more. LABS is a special community that includes a wide range of product makers like Riki, our guest today.

We have member-only events inside of LABS, so request your invitation to join below!

REQUEST YOUR INVITATION

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/365

Quick Links:

Free Wholesale Audio Series

Free Resources Library

Free Email Marketing for Product Makers

PTP LABS

Paper Camp

I am excited to share today's episode with you because we have a fun guest. It's Brock Johnson.

If you're not familiar with Brock, he is an Instagram expert who has coached thousands of entrepreneurs and creators on how to grow on Instagram, and he's been doing it since 2018. In 2021, his personal following blew up, thanks to his strategy of using Reels, and he has grown at a rate of approximately 1,000 followers per day since then. He now has over 700,000 followers. He consults with Meta and Instagram staff and is an international keynote speaker on all things Instagram.

During the interview, we discussed the emerging platform of Threads and how he's using it for business. Fun fact: Threads is actually how Brock and I got connected. (You can follow Brock here on Threads and Proof to Product here on Threads!)

He shares how to optimize your Instagram profile, how to create share-worthy content, and how to balance content creation with all of the other tasks that you have to do in your business. We also chat about tools that he's using, like Metricool (affiliate link) and ManyChat (affiliate link).

I wanted to bring Brock on the show because our recent industry survey showed that Instagram is one of the primary marketing channels that many of our product based business owners are using, and I thought this advice would be super valuable to you.

If you're interested in reading the 2024 State of the Product Industry Survey Report, click here to download it. Over 925 product brands participated in this survey, and they shared intimate details about their businesses. We're talking money, team, how much they're working, how they're retaining and attracting new customers.

This episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide. 49% of our customers want to hear from us consistently, yet, only a small percentage of product-based business owners are actively sending monthly emails to their customers.

If you’ve struggled with what to say, when to send, or how to plan out your email marketing strategies, we’ve got just the tool for you. This tool and the optional training have helped hundreds of product makers plan out an entire year’s worth of emails. And, the best part… they are creating templates that they can rinse & repeat year after year.

DOWNLOAD NOW

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/364

Quick Links:

Free Wholesale Audio Series

Free Resources Library

Free Email Marketing for Product Makers

PTP LABS

Paper Camp

We are back with another compilation episode with our Paper Camp coaches. If you missed last week’s episode, you can check it out by going to episode 362.

In this episode, I'm taking a different approach and asking a different set of questions. These questions are directly aimed at our coaches who are wholesale buyers that run retail storefronts. Today's questions focus on tips for pitching products to buyers and building wholesale relationships between stores and brands. Last week we wrapped up the 44th round of Paper Camp, and I am so grateful to these coaches for providing so much personalized feedback to our students.

Myself and our coaches were in our community group every day answering questions, sharing solutions, and connecting with our students. So many of our students have already updated their pricing and their terms and conditions. They've created catalogs. They're sending out their first wholesale pitches.

Some have completely revamped their retention strategies and how they're reaching out to existing accounts too. It has been so fun to see the transformations in such a short amount of time.

The coaches featured in this episode are Theresa Delaney of Creative Kind and Jen Palacio of Tiny Turns Paperie. Both have retail storefronts and purchase products from members of our community.

Questions I asked these Paper Camp coaches:

1. What is the best way that you like to be pitched by a brand?

2. How do you not want to be pitched by a brand?

3. What is something that you see brands worrying about that doesn't really affect your buying decisions?

Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit.

Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners.

Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions.

We won’t be offering another round of Paper Camp until 2025 so if you are listening to this episode and you missed this round, be sure to get on the waitlist by clicking the link below.

SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/363

Quick Links:

Free Wholesale Audio Series

Free Resources Library

Free Email Marketing for Product Makers

PTP LABS

Paper Camp

We are in the final week of our signature program, Paper Camp. In Paper Camp, we teach product-based business owners how to get their products on the shelves of their favorite stores, big and small. Paper Camp is an insanely comprehensive coaching program focusing on foundational and growth strategies for selling wholesale.

During Paper Camp, we answer hundreds of business owners' questions about product development, sales, marketing, and more. If it correlates to selling wholesale, we cover it in this program.

This week on the podcast, we thought it would be fun to ask a few of our Paper Camp coaches questions that we could share with all of you here and give you an inside look at what it's like being inside a Paper Camp and asking very personal questions about your brands.

The coaches featured in this episode are Theresa Delaney of Creative Kind, Kiwi Schloffel of Your Gal Kiwi, and Jen Palacio of Tiny Turns Paperie.

Questions I asked these Paper Camp coaches:

1. What is something you struggled with when you started selling wholesale that you also see our Paper Camp students struggling with?

2. We had a lot of great questions during the first week of Paper Camp, which was focused on product development. What advice do you have for brands that are working on refining and strengthening their product line?

3. What is a missed opportunity for wholesale brands when it comes to how they are presenting their work to stores?

4. What is something you wish more brands would celebrate when growing their wholesale sales?

Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit.

Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners.

Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions.

We won’t be offering another round of Paper Camp until 2025 so if you are listening to this episode and you missed this round, be sure to get on the waitlist by clicking the link below.

SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/362

Quick Links:

Free Wholesale Audio Series

Free Resources Library

Free Email Marketing for Product Makers

PTP LABS

Paper Camp

I love staying connected to our community while they're out exhibiting or attending trade shows throughout the year. One update that caught my eye this summer was from Biff Ulm of Nice Enough Stickers about his experience at the Las Vegas gift show. Now Biff is no stranger to the podcast. He's been sharing tips about leveraging point-of-sale systems back on episode 146, and we did a COVID check-in with him during episode 177 where he shared how things were going for his brick-and-mortar shop at the time.

Biff and I had a lot to catch up on in this episode, but one thing that stood out was that his observations at the Las Vegas gift show were about product development strategy. He has much to say about it, and I'm excited for you to listen in.

For background, Biff’s stickers are now in over 3000 stores with 8,000 locations, so he knows a thing or two about creating products that people want to buy. Biff also owns a wildly successful retail shop, which provides him with a unique viewpoint as both a wholesale buyer and seller.

In this episode, we discuss the importance of patience, iteration, and customer feedback in developing successful products. We also discuss how to leverage data and understand buying behaviors.

This episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide. 49% of our customers want to hear from us consistently, yet, only a small percentage of product-based business owners are actively sending monthly emails to their customers.

If you’ve struggled with what to say, when to send, or how to plan out your email marketing strategies, we’ve got just the tool for you. This tool and the optional training have helped hundreds of product makers plan out an entire year’s worth of emails. And, the best part… they are creating templates that they can rinse & repeat year after year.

DOWNLOAD NOW

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/361

Quick Links:

Free Wholesale Audio Series

Free Resources Library

Free Email Marketing for Product Makers

PTP LABS

Paper Camp

Is it possible to have a thriving business and not be on social media? In episode 309, Brigida Swanson from Yardia joined me to discuss what it was like for her to leave social media.

We talked a lot about choosing contentment over business growth, and this episode was a listener favorite. We decided to invite Brigida back onto the podcast to check in and see how things are going 1 year later.

Brigida Swanson is a multiracial Chamorro watercolor artist from Seattle and the one-woman show behind her company, YARDIA. She creates watercolor-driven and Pacific Northwest-inspired art, stationery, and home goods that help folks to express their intersectional identities and love the places they live.

During this interview, we discussed how her business has thrived without the constant scroll. We talked about the positive impact the shift has made on her personal life and how her focused efforts on email newsletters and direct outreach for wholesale have helped her expand.

This episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide. 49% of our customers want to hear from us consistently, yet, only a small percentage of product-based business owners are actively sending monthly emails to their customers.

If you’ve struggled with what to say, when to send, or how to plan out your email marketing strategies, we’ve got just the tool for you. This tool and the optional training have helped hundreds of product makers plan out an entire year’s worth of emails. And, the best part… they are creating templates that they can rinse & repeat year after year.

DOWNLOAD NOW

We have all heard that we need to showcase our authentic selves for our businesses, but what does that actually mean? What does that look like in our business?

This week's podcast episode features a recent portion of a coffee chat hosted by Kiwi Schloffel held inside of our private LABS program. LABS is our membership for product-based business owners where we talk about how to work smarter, not harder within our businesses, including how we show up as a leader.

In this coffee chat, Kiwi touches on a variety of topics, such as the importance of staying true to your brand's identity, how to use personal interest to inject authenticity into your business, and more.

This week's podcast episode is brought to you by Kodi Collective, who is also a sponsor of our Paper Camp program. Kodi Collective is a leading omnichannel marketing company that supports B2C and B2B brands and publications. They offer a wide range of print, procurement, and creative production solutions, including digital and offset printing, sourcing, and logistics. They are focused on helping you achieve an integrated marketing mix to reach your audience in meaningful ways. You can learn more about Kodi's services by going to their website.

All of our Paper Camp and LABS students get access to a private Proof to Product portal with Kodi, where they get discounted rates on print services and a dedicated sales rep to help us with all of our project management.

They provide support throughout the process of getting your project off the ground. So if you are looking for a new print partner, our community has had great experiences working with Kodi Collective. And if you missed our latest round of Paper Camp, click here to get on the waitlist for our next round.

You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/359

Quick Links:

Free Wholesale Audio Series

Free Resources Library

Free Email Marketing for Product Makers

PTP LABS

Paper Camp