418 | Expanding into Tabletop Products with Alyson O'Connor, Rust Belt Love
Friends, you know that I am all about simplifying and systematizing your business, but I'm also about taking risks and experimenting within your business.
When we run these experiments, sometimes we have to adjust our thinking and our normal processes to make it happen.
That's what we're talking about today: taking risks, experimenting, and releasing a new product category during an off-cycle season.
Today's interview is with Alyson O'Connor of Rust Belt Love.
Frankly, it's your permission slip to lean into the things that you're excited about, even when it doesn't feel like the timing is right.
Alyson is an Advisory Board member, and I invited her on today because she recently launched a brand new tabletop collection. Think paper placemats, napkin rings, and table tents. These products are available now, just in time for the holiday season.
We talk about where her inspiration for this collection came from, what it took to get this product to market, and the logistics of quickly launching. We talk about the easy things and the more difficult parts of this process, and the perks of her having manufacturing in-house. We talked a lot about her manufacturing processes and how this has changed over her 15-year career in this business.
So if you're just getting started, this is going to be really enlightening for you to hear how they've done things both in-house and also outsourced.
Alyson also reflects in this episode on her 15 years in business, the evolving landscape of wholesale, the pricing and margin challenges that are unique to this season, and the importance of staying agile, especially during uncertain times like we're in right now.
Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product resource library. It’s where you can get your hands on our free resources to help you start, streamline and scale your business in your own way and at your own pace.
MEET ALYSON
Alyson O’Connor is a classically trained visual artist specializing in nature-inspired illustrations, stationery, and gifts. She runs Rust Belt Love Paperie with her husband, Nick in Buffalo, NY, in the heart of the Rust Belt. Alyson draws and designs, then Nick prints, often on their 100-year-old letterpresses. After closing their retail stationery shop during the pandemic, they launched their wholesale line of heart-centered greeting cards and gifts in 2021. Rust Belt Love Paperie products can now be found in over 1000 stores worldwide. Alyson is an active member of the Greeting Card Association of America and the committee chair of the industry’s Louie Awards. They live in the suburbs of WNY with their two young children and a rambunctious dog.
CONNECT WITH ALYSON
WEBSITE: http://www.rustbeltlove.com | INSTAGRAM: @rustbeltlove
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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