039 | Benefits of having a workspace outside of the home with Nicole Block, The Nic Studio & Tyles

Nicole Block is the owner of The Nic Studio a stationery, design and illustration studio. She’s also the founder of Tyles, which is a line of sophisticated, removable wall decor made from cut vinyl! Nic and I first met on Twitter back in 2009 and she’s been a part of the Paper Camp community since we started in 2011!

On today’s episode Nicole shares how her life inspires her work, the benefits of getting a workspace outside of her home and the logistical challenges she faced when creating a new product category — including how she was turned down by more than 75 manufacturers she approached to help make her Tyles!

ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

Nicole’s career path
Entrepreneurial grit and figuring things out as you go
How Nicole & Katie met industry colleagues on Twitter
Why Nicole is allergic to ‘trends’
Recognizing that your style and skills will evolve over time & how you need to create products that your audience will love
Why she created Tyles and the story behind it
Transitioning from stationery market to home decor with Tyles
Challenges when entering a new industry
Sourcing & scaling manufacturing
Getting turned down by 75 manufacturers
Moving her business out of her home and into a studio space
Creating for your audience
Recognizing that we can’t all be good at everything

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KEY TAKE-AWAYS

“Things have evolved over the years and I’ve realized how to do it better and within my style, but it takes a while.” – Nicole Block

“Sometimes you forget that you’re not just creating things that you like. You have to remember that there’s an audience out there that also has to like what you do.” – Nicole Block

“You have to remember that you can’t force something to happen, especially if you’re creating a completely new product. That’s a hard thing to make work. You have to be willing to do a lot of trial and error and spend some money, not necessarily that much money, but some money trying to get the product right and find the right fit for you.” – Nicole Block

“If you’re not a natural marketer for your product, that you need to either learn fast or bring somebody onboard that can help you with that.” – Nicole Block

“You can’t be good at everything.” – Nicole Block

CONNECT WITH NICOLE BLOCK

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