311 | 4000% Increase in Wholesale Orders this Year with Lauren te Velde of Paper Farm Press

Today’s podcast guest, Lauren te Velde from Paper Farm Press, a woman-owned stationery and gift design shop in Kingsburg, California, Lauren is a big fan of having a brand story that is strong and simple and believes that doing this has led to her increase in wholesale orders. She is intentionally focused on authentically pursuing wealth and believes money will follow because she wholeheartedly believes in putting better products out into the world.

Hailing from a long line of farmers, Lauren's deep connection to farming inspired her to create stationery and gifts that pay homage to farms within a five-mile radius of their family farm. This unique concept sets Paper Farm Press apart from other stationery businesses and forms the foundation of her brand story. 

Each product Lauren creates expresses her great love for farming and her faith.

In this episode, she recounts the rollercoaster of experiencing a 4000% increase in wholesale orders, and why she believes your brand story is crucial to your success. She expresses her thoughts on prioritizing relationships, why you can’t just jump into wholesale, and the difference between pursuing wealth versus money.

Join the conversation as we hear from Lauren about her journey venturing into increasing her wholesale orders. 

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Crafting a Brand Story

Building a strong brand story is at the core of Paper Farm Press and one of the key pieces that has allowed Lauren to increase wholesale orders by 4,000 percent this here. . 

Originally, Lauren planned to start a wedding stationery business. She made a bold pivot during the pandemic by launching the Paper Farm Club, a stationery subscription service. 

The Paper Farm Club quickly gained traction and proved to be a success, prompting Lauren to develop more collections and eventually enter the wholesale market.

Lauren's goal is to bring the farm experience to customers in a sweet and meaningful way. By focusing on this brand story, she was able to establish a connection with her customers, who appreciate the authenticity and unique offerings of Paper Farm Press. 

The support and admiration from customers also stemmed from their preference for supporting smaller, more personal brands over bigger stores. 

The feedback from customers has played a crucial role in shaping the products and collections offered by the brand.

 
 

Building Relationships is Key to Increasing Wholesale Orders

One of the key insights from Lauren's journey is the importance of building relationships. 

By reaching out to successful individuals in the same industry, she acknowledged her own vulnerability and sought guidance. She did this through attending Paper Camp and meeting other stationery brands that were on a similar path as hers as well as those who were a bit farther ahead. 

Lauren quickly learned that farmers and small business owners are open to sharing their knowledge and experiences.  

These relationships & professional development opportunities allow business owners to scale their business in ways that support other businesses along the way. 

 
text overlay: "relationships are huge, you have to have a balance of humility and confidence. lauren te velde"
 

Embracing Risk and Confidence

A big part of Lauren’s journey involves taking big risks and developing the confidence needed to continue taking risks. 

She found herself stepping out of her comfort zone by showcasing her products on platforms and social media. Despite initial self-doubt, Lauren gained confidence by seeing the positive response from customers. 

She also knew that if she wanted to scale her business, overseas manufacturing was going to be a big piece of the puzzle. Again, she took a risk by finding & hiring an overseas manufacturing company that she is still working with and has developed a really great relationship with. 

If you are looking for help with manufacturing overseas, we have a few episodes on the topic: 

These experiences taught her the importance of embracing risk and putting oneself out there in order to achieve growth and success.

Some future risks she is looking to take include:

  • Moving into a fulfillment center

  • Enter another product category

  • Hire out people to do the parts of business, like SEO and marketing so that she can focus on product development 

Pursuing Wealth vs. Pursuing Money

For Lauren, pursuing wealth goes beyond solely focusing on making money. 

Instead, it means using her abilities and inspirations to build a better world. By authentically pursuing wealth, Lauren believes that money will naturally follow. 

This mindset shift allows her to focus on creating a meaningful business rather than getting caught up in the stress and unhealthy mindset that come with prioritizing money above all else.

Increase Wholesale Orders

Lauren te Velde's entrepreneurial journey with Paper Farm Press exemplifies the power of creating a strong brand story, embracing risk, and pursuing wealth authentically. 

 
text overlay: "I didn't go into wholesale without testing my brand's story- it's a huge investment to go into wholesale- you don't just run into wholesale, there is a lot of money, investment, and time that goes into it. Lauren te Velde"
 
 

If you have ever wanted to pick my brain, or get my eyes and ears on your business, Proof to Product LABS is the place to do it. We cover many of the strategies Brigida talked about in her episode & you can get access to those same trainings!

We have monthly group coaching calls and a wide range of On Demand training specifically for product-based business owners. We open up the doors a few times a year so be sure to sign up to learn more!

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MEET Lauren te velde

We are a woman-owned and run stationery and gifts design shop in Kingsburg, California, the fruit basket of the world. Each product we create expresses our love for farming and our deep roots in faith. We are passionate about cultivating our community through written cards.

Our studio is across the street from our home, nestled in the middle of our farm, which I’m inspired by every day. Both my husband and I are third-generation farmers, with both sets of our grandparents immigrating from The Netherlands / Holland. We have four children, and live in central California.

We exist to share the beauty of farming through stationery and gifts. Our pieces are filled with hand-drawn farm artwork, and help you give the gift of handwritten notes in a busy, modern world, all the while bringing us closer to our agricultural heritage.

CONNECT WITH Lauren

WEBSITE: www.paperfarmpress.com | INSTAGRAM: @paperfarmpress

Connect with Katie Hunt

Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com  |   Instagram: @prooftoproduct

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