2024 State of the Product Industry Report

Everyday I hear from product-based business owners who are curious about other people’s business models, their teams, their tech-stack, how much revenue they are earning and what other product business owners pay themselves.

And although we know that every business is different, it is natural to want to see behind the curtain of other brands in your industry.

But it is more than curiosity. 

We know the industry has experienced major shifts over the last several years. Everyone has been pivoting and recalibrating.

We're experiencing new normals.

You need to know what’s happening in our industry.

So, the Proof to Product team decided to take an industry-wide temperature check.

And, 925 product based businesses owners answered the call, anonymously sharing their business details with us for the 2024 State of the Product Industry Report

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How to Find The Right Manufacturing Partners For Your Wholesale Business

Expanding your wholesale product line can be both exciting and daunting. There are a lot of factors that go into creating a new product and finding the right manufacturing partners to turn your vision into a reality is crucial, particularly if you’re planning to sell the product to the wholesale market. In this article, we’ll guide you step-by-step through the process of finding a product manufacturer that aligns with your product specs, budget, timeline and quality. We also want to make sure our manufacturing partners communicate well, work efficiently and have values that align with our brand.

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The 6 Steps to VA Success: Hiring and Training a Virtual Assistant for your Wholesale Business

Are you a business owner looking to hire a virtual assistant in 2021? Maybe you’ve even googled “hire a virtual assistant” only to be met with thousands of Websites that sent you into a state of analysis paralysis? Today we are breaking down the exact steps you need to take (plus what to avoid) to hire a virtual assistant and build a lasting, effective working relationship. It just might be the best business decision you ever make.

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How to Know When You're Ready to Outsource Your Social Media

These days, social media isn’t an optional part of running a business. Like book-keeping, sales, and marketing, it’s a necessary part of building an enduring, sustainable brand. But just like other areas of entrepreneurship, you don’t have to do all of it yourself. Social media can be outsourced to free you up to focus on work that matters most to you, whether that’s driving sales or developing new products.

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5 Bookkeeping Mistakes That Cost Your Wholesale Business Money

Small Business Bookkeeping Has A Cost If Not Done Right. Bookkeeping is one of those necessary aspects of business. However, it can end up being one of the last things small business owners and service professionals want to deal with. It’s important to know that bookkeeping is more than just adding categories to your expenses and income. Good bookkeeping gives you data you can use to make better decisions for your business growth.

So you can imagine that if your books aren’t organized and accurate, is a stressor that can build up and over time wreak havoc on your business plans. There are many common mistakes that we see business owners make, especially physicians, attorneys, allied health providers, therapists and other service professionals.

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7 Strategies for Boosting Holiday Sales with Email Marketing

Let’s get real for a moment and agree that 2020 has been insane. But, however you look at it, online sales this holiday season are a sure thing. Plenty of folks are avoiding bricks and mortar stores in favor of ordering online. Last festive season, ecommerce sales hit $138.65 billion in the US. Out of total retail sales of $722.60 billion (source: Digital Commerce 360). Whatever happens, there’ll be lots of fingers tapping credit card details into phones, tablets and laptops. So let’s talk strategy. How can you make sure your emails get opened and read - and bring in sales for your brand?

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How the Proof to Product Mastermind Kept Me Focused, Boosted my Confidence and Increased my Revenue

My goal when joining the Proof to Product Mastermind was to build the wholesale arm of my stationery business. Two months in, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States, forcing many small businesses to close their doors and the economy to take a worrisome dip. I needed to redirect my immediate focus. Had I not been a part of the Mastermind group, I know my confidence and my ability to react with clarity would have suffered. Yet instead of floundering, I was inspired by our coach, Katie’s ideas for actionable steps, and her wise advice to do what felt right for my business, once I felt ready. Katie’s reassurance, plus the ability to speak openly with our group, helped prevent me from spiraling in a time of high stress and uncertainty. It allowed me to sit with our current circumstances and take everything in, then move forward. The biggest help for me was to embrace connection, reach out for support, and offer it back in return. All while giving myself some time and grace. The Mastermind group gave me the perfect outlet to do so, and then to take the same approach within my business.

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7 Strategies for Effective Trade Show Visual Merchandising

Visual Merchandising, by definition, is the creation and projection of an attractive, exciting, practical sales
environment, whereby the proper presentation of merchandise within that environment acts as your most important selling tool … the silent salesperson. It is a marketing practice that uses floor plans / booth layouts, themed color, lighting, graphics, display props, technology, and other elements to attract customer attention. Its goal is to use the available trade show floor space to generate more sales. Keep reading for 7 tips to effective visual merchandising for your trade show!

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Loudhouse Creative Picked Up by Paper Source

Francesca Fuges was in the process of launching her business Loudhouse Creative when she came to Paper Camp.

 She knew she wanted to sell wholesale and exhibit at the National Stationery Show the following year but she needed help developing her product line, building her sales tools and preparing for the show.

 In her scholarship application for Paper Camp, Francesca set her sights high sharing that Paper Source was one of her dream stores that she hoped to work with one day.

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Strategic Follow-Up Lands Woodsy Foxman in Her Dream Store

Meet Ariel of Woodsy Foxman. She's one of our Paper Camp alums!


Ariel's dream store was located too far away for her to connect in person, so she wrote a handwritten, personalized note and sent a few extra samples since she didn't a physical catalog.

She followed up a week later via email and the buyer wrote back gushing about the samples and placed an order right away.

It took Ariel three touch points (snail mail, email and connecting on social media) to get the sale and now the store re-orders month.

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How Do I Know if a Store is a Good Fit for my Products?

You’ve probably heard me say this on Proof to Product and in previous emails, but I’m a firm believer that relationships are they key to running and building a successful business.

Everyone from our team, to our customers, to our colleagues, to our vendors plays a significant role in our personal growth as well as the development of our company. Your relationships with wholesale buyers, are no exception.

But how do you find the right stores?

How do you connect on a personal level with the buyer?

How do you know if a store is a good fit for what you sell?

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Chez Gagné Expands to Over 300 SKUS and Diversifies Product Categories

When Alex Gagné from Chez Gagné came to Paper Camp, she had been in business for just under 2 years and had created a collection of 80 greeting cards.

She knew that wholesale was her end game, so she soaked up a ton of info at Paper Camp; then went home and put what she learned into action sourcing new products, reaching out to buyers and streamlining her processes.

Within one year of coming to Paper Camp, Alex’s hard work and hustle landed her products in more than 500 stores, including Paper Source.

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Tradeshow Booth Inspiration: Parrott Design Studio

Parrott Design's booth consisted of an 80sq ft in-line booth under the low ceilings at Javits. Sarah and her team designed and built the booth in Rhode Island than drove into NY via a U-haul van, saving significantly on shipping costs . The hard walls were built from 1/4" plywood with 2x3s for the frame. She has used the same 6 clip on lights from Ikea for two years, and did not use a parcan. The jute rug was literally pulled up from a room at her house (easy, convenient and free!). The rug was durable and a neutral shade that hid dirt well yet cleaned easily. Her signs and booth numbers were made from wood and cut with a CNC Router at a local shop. They sanded and spray painted the sign and hung with small nails and glue dots. Shelves were made out of wood and L-brackets purchased at Home Depot. She reused them the following year and spray painted them for a different look. Sarah purchased a vintage credenza from Craigslist and 2 chairs from Overstock.com - both pieces are now being used at her studio everyday. This was Sarah's second year exhibiting at the National Stationery Show. I love that blue accent wall!

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Katie Hunt, 40 Under 40 Honoree

We have exciting news!

Our very own Katie Hunt, Founder of Tradeshow Bootcamp, has been selected as one the first-ever Gift + Stationery 40 Under 40 honorees.

Katie, along with the other 39 honorees, were selected based on leadership qualities, creativity, innovative thinking and commitment to the industry by representatives of Gift Shop, Stationery Trends, Museums & More, the Gift & Home Trade Association (GHTA) and GHTA’s Young Gift Executives Program (YGE).

Katie is honored to be chosen as one of the stationery industry’s top 40 professionals under the age of 40, and would like to extend Congratulations to all the TSBC alums, speakers and friends that also made the list!

Below is the full list of honorees that were chosen as well as a snippet of Katie’s amazing accomplishments. Congrats Katie!

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Tradeshow Booth Inspiration: Anemone Letterpress

Anemone Letterpress had a 80 sq ft in-line booth under the low ceilings for their fourth year exhibiting at NSS. They built framed hard wood walls, using plywood and laminate on the plywood on the rear wall for color. Their booth was lit with 6 halogen spot lights - similar to Skanda lights - that they sourced on eBay. Carpet tiles were from FLOR and their signage was cut vinyl created by a guy local to them in Los Angeles. For past shows Carrie and Wally had affixed their cards direction to the booth walls, but for this show they added trim for shelving to display cards. All furniture was purchased at Ikea and will be reused for future shows. They used Showtime Express to ship their crate to NY, and it is now stored in Showtime's warehouse. One way shipping cost about $750 and storage for a year is roughly the same. Carrie recommends communicating with tradeshow unions via email so you have everything in writing.

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Booth Brainstorm: Good Lighting

Excellent lighting is critical to your trade show booth. You want your booth to be inviting and display your products in the best possible way. And, lighting is a big component of this. As you’re weighing your lighting options, keep in mind the reasons behind why you want to have great lighting in your trade show booth.

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