294 | 4 Things that Made the Biggest Impact in Her Business Growth with Sam Kramer, Near Modern Disaster (Part 1)

You have heard me talk about this time and time again, but there is no singular pathway in business! Even though we may all be running physical product-based businesses, we each embark on a different journey working towards different goals and making different choices along the way.

One of my favorite parts about the work I do is seeing the transformation as folks continue their entrepreneurial journey, and in my position, I am lucky enough to have a lot of candid and confidential conversations about what that evolution includes, both the good and the bad. I wanted to bring you into one of those important conversations with both a friend and client of mine, Sam Kramer of Near Modern Disaster.

You may remember Sam from episode 2 of Proof to Product, which we recorded way back in 2016. So much has changed since then in Sam's life and in our business.

Since that podcast aired, Sam moved to Florida, outgrew two studio spaces, and increased her team, including bringing her husband on full-time as the studio manager. Not only has her product line grown, but her confidence in her products has as well.

Today is part one of a two-part series. On today's episode, Sam is sharing some updated stats about how many stores she's carried in the number of skus she sells and how her wholesale program has evolved. She also shares four things that have made the biggest impact on her business growth.

Today's episode is brought to you by our Is Wholesale Right for You private podcast! This free 12-part audio series will help you decide whether wholesale is a good next step for your specific business. After listening to this audio series (in less than an hour), two things will be true:

You'll know whether you want to pursue wholesale for your product business, and
You'll have the confidence and action steps to get started with wholesale.

Near Modern Disaster: Then and Now

With Near Modern Disaster, Sam has found her voice, allowing her to create products that she’s proud of. As she reflects on the why and how behind her greeting card company, she’s found that her art has always had a message of love. That feeling of love is the biggest sentiment behind her brand, making it an easy purchase decision for customers who are buying based on how her cards make them feel.

Ultimately, she sees her brand as a way for her to be a part of everybody’s relationship.

Value of Trade Shows

With the growth and success of Sam’s brand, Near Modern Disaster, over the last few years, I had a few rapid-fire questions for her regarding where she is now in her business and we spent a big chunk of our time talking about the importance of exhibiting at trade shows for your small business!

How many stores is Near Modern Disaster featured in?

Near Modern Disaster is in over 600 stores across the US with reps in other countries as well.

How many SKUs does Near Modern Disaster have?

Near Modern Disaster has around 500 SKUs representing:

greeting cards
postcards
stickers
art prints
enamel pins

Is Near Modern Disaster still working with Sales Reps?

Near Modern Disaster stopped working with sales reps right after the pandemic based on the changes in the industry, how Faire works, and with her husband becoming the full-time studio manager handling those relationships.

Sam said that she doesn’t think working with sales reps is a bad thing. It just isn’t what is right for her and her business at this time. Tune into my conversation with Carina Murray about working with sales reps if that is something you are pursuing in your business.

How many trade shows does Near Modern Disaster participate in?

The current plan regarding trade shows for Near Modern Disaster is four per year.

The last few have included:

There is so much value in a buyer seeing your products in person, therefore trade shows have become a priority in their marketing efforts. This allows buyers to connect with you and see the product, but also get an idea of the quality of the product that you offer (through high-quality manufacturing)!

Listen in on my conversation with Christy Asper from Paper Baristas on lessons she learned from exhibiting at Atlanta, Noted, & NY Now.

Stop Being a Delicate F—ing Flower

Recently, Sam shared with her community that she used to be a delicate f—ing flower in the early days of her business. That’s likely the truth for many of us because we’re artists, not business owners. At least, that’s how we start out.

We struggle with delegating and coming back when things go wrong. We hesitate to take risks after risks go unrewarded. This can hold us back. Sam was that person.

Through trial and error, she learned what she needed in her business. The things that made the biggest impact on her business included:

Working with a coach
Finding a community to lean on
Asking for help & hiring someone you trust
Going to therapy (and talking business in therapy)

By making these changes, she’s been able to make business decisions based on her business, not herself. She’s able to delegate tasks and accept the work even when it’s not exactly how she would do it, because the end result is completed and supports the business!

In situations where mistakes happen, she’s also come to accept that people are human and mistakes happen—she herself has even made common mistakes with orders and products. These mistakes aren’t the end of the world and we can correct those mistakes.

In Conclusion,

Part of being a small business owner is learning as you go. Sometimes you will make choices and think, “wow! that was a great choice!”

And other times, you will have to learn the lesson the hard way.

Sam shared with us two of the biggest impacts on her business:

Getting involved in trade shows
Growing thicker skin around the reality of doing business

In part two of this conversation, Sam reflects on what therapy has provided for her as a business owner, why we should prioritize self-care and hobbies for ourselves, and what she wishes she’d done in the early days of her career.

Quick links:

Here is a recap of all the links mentioned in this post:

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MEET SAM

Near Modern Disaster is fronted by Sam Kramer, who has been working under the name since the late 90s. NMD has gone through many incarnations over the years (it was a killer Geocities page back in the day,) but its current form as a line of “cards for people who don’t think they’re card people” was born around 2009. Over the last decade+, NMD has added many product offerings beyond greeting cards - the most popular being vinyl stickers and fridge magnets. Always humorous (and sometimes sweary), every product NMD offers is still written and illustrated by Sam - emblazoned with her own hand-drawn block lettering.

CONNECT WITH SAM

WEBSITE: nearmoderndisaster.com | INSTAGRAM: @moderndisaster

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