148 | Coaching with Katie Hunt: Expanding Into New Product Categories

Hey friends! Has the thought of expanding into new product categories crossed your mind lately? You aren’t alone! In fact, today I had on a Paper Camp alumni for a live coaching session where we chat ALL about her hopes to expand into new product categories. It can be pretty scary to try to logistically plan for expansion but I think today’s episode will be really helpful for all of you who are looking to bring on more products to serve your people.

What are the first steps to this process? For today’s guest, Tomi Hill of Little Happy Things, we broke down the steps she needs to take to make this happen and since it was a coaching episode, I gave her my advice and some homework so she could start taking action right away! I challenged her to start thinking and dreaming big about the new product category she’d want to layer in and to start setting some goals around that.

We broke through some of the barriers that have been holding her back and had a frank discussion about diving deeper into the people you really want to serve. At the end of the day, it’s about recognizing WHO your customer is at the core - what kind of solutions are you providing for them? What problems do they have that your products solve? What stores do they shop at? We also touch on digging into the financials (because knowing your numbers is key to success) and looking through your numbers from both a retail and wholesale lense.

ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

Why Tomi got into her business, Little Happy Things
Transitioning away from wooden dolls into enamel pins, stickers and other gift items
Making the leap from an Etsy shop to a wholesale model
Making all of your products cohesive with one another
Determining which products sell the best (and honing in on those)
Looking at your products from a financial and passion perspective
Layering in one new product category at a time to figure out the manufacturing process, fulfillment and the numbers (and of course, profits!)
Getting to know your audience personally and finding out what they want and need
Dialing it back to the basics, no matter how new or seasoned your business is

Download These Quotables to Save and Share

KEY TAKE AWAYS

“I feel like my collection's kind of all over the place and I'm not sure if it'll translate well to a wholesale catalog and I don't know how to make it all fit together and organize it such that I can make that leap.” - Tomi Hill

“Diversify the product categories for the audience that you're trying to serve.” - Katie Hunt

“Lean into the things that, one, you're super excited about. And then two, the things that are selling best.” - Katie Hunt

“I will tell you that slowly adding new categories and taking time to figure out that manufacturing process and fulfillment and knowing that your numbers are solid and your profit margins for each product are solid. That is going to enable you to have a stronger wholesale brand. .” - Katie Hunt

“I would try to find something that is serving a need for your audience that you're speaking to with these different collections. What kind of things are they using in their day to day lives? What kind of things inspires them? Like what would encourage them to purchase these products?” - Katie Hunt

“Do the math and do the research to figure out whether or not it's a sustainable product and you can make the pricing and the margins work for you.” - Katie Hunt
“Step out of that comfort zone. Try it, start with a small quantity and test the market and see if it's something you want to do. And if not, you can always make changes later.” - Katie Hunt

CONNECT WITH TOMI HILL:

Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/littlethingsHAPPY | Instagram: @littlethingshappy

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