273 | How she found her overseas manufacturing partners with Ashley Jankowski, The Typeset Co
Manufacturing partners aren’t simple or easy to find, but it becomes even more challenging when you’re trying to manufacture complex products that are best created overseas. In this episode, Ashley Jankowski joins us to share how she shifted from a branding agency into a product-based business, along with the journey to exploring manufacturers overseas.
Today’s episode is brought to you by LABS, our 12-month group coaching program that was built for product based business owners who want to streamline their systems and revenue. We'll be opening the doors again at the end of the year and everyone on our waitlist will get early access to secure your seat!
Typeset Co Product Inspiration
When Ashley was running her branding agency her employees were often in her home for work and community. She kept alphabet magnets on her fridge that her son had outgrown and she found that the adults (her employees) were the ones who were always playing around with them. They would put inappropriate and silly things on the fridge, making everyone smile. She started to wish they were prettier and available in more modern and trendy styles to match her home.
That’s when her first product business idea came about. Her husband, an engineer, decided to start exploring the creation process and products.
They took an existing product and reimagined it.
Manufacturing Overseas
Immediately, they began their search for a manufacturer, starting local, but found that most of the manufacturers weren’t interested in building the product they wanted. They struggled to find a US manufacturer who was interested in creating something that was labor intensive and complicated. That’s when they began exploring the idea of manufacturing overseas.
The first step Ashley took in finding an overseas manufacturer was to go to the only place she knew—the internet. Manufacturing overseas felt like this extremely complicated concept to source and vet manufacturers, but she found a website called madeinchina.com.
On that website, Ashley found a sales person who represented a manufacturer that made a similar product to what she wanted and reached out! She quickly found that overseas manufacturers in China want to kit everything, meaning that they want to take care of every step of the process. They decided to move forward with the process with that manufacturer and soon realized the investment was more than they anticipated for the molds.
Visiting Overseas Manufacturers
As they moved forward with the process of manufacturing overseas, they wanted to be more involved to ensure that the products were what they envisioned. That’s when they decided to head overseas and visit their manufacturer. This made such an impact on their business and their relationship with the manufacturer.
Having meals and meeting in-person with people in other countries is a big sign of respect—especially as Americans. Manufacturers in other countries are wary of Americans, but when you show up, share who you are, and get to know them, they’ll see you as a real person.
The respect and communication you can have with your sales reps and overseas manufacturers can build really valued relationships. The relationship Ashley built with that sales person was so strong that when the sales person left the manufacturer they were originally working with to become a sales rep for the industry, Ashley asked him to become her agent. She trusted him and he worked really well for their business. While the decision was an easy one, it didn’t come lightly—they would be leaving the original molds that they paid so much for behind.
The Benefit of the Change
While it felt scary to start fresh, this gave them the opportunity to change up the materials. They were able to make their products safe for children to play with as toys, rather than just marketing them as home decor to adults.
Adding in Additional Products
Now alphabet letters aren’t the only products that Ashley offers, they were just the starting point. Each and every product went through it’s own struggles with manufacturers, and even resulted in them producing their own products. Since they were testing out different products when they just started out, not every product was received well and other products needed to be improved. Every year, they re-evaluate their product line to improve and perfect it, even if that involves re-evaluating their manufacturers.
Whether you can’t find a local manufacturer to create your products and you’ve simply been playing around with the idea of manufacturing overseas, take lessons from Ashley and do some research, find a manufacturer you like, then visit them to build that relationship.
Today’s episode is brought to you by LABS, our 12-month group coaching program that was built for product based business owners who want to streamline their systems and revenue. We'll be opening up the doors again at the end of the year and everyone on our waitlist will get early access to secure your seat.
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MEET ASHLEY
Ashley Jankowski is the owner and founder of The Type Set Co. and has pioneered the re-imagination of colorful alphabet magnets for the modern family home. She's spent her career in design, photography, branding, and packaging and has been influenced by generations of family entrepreneurs to love the entrepreneurial life. The Type Set Co. is the culmination of a lifetime of passions, experiences, and influences, including a love for good design and word play. When she's not working to bring fun and whimsy to homes around the country and world, you can find her at home in Georgia on her 11-acre lakefront compound with her family and a menagerie of crazy critters. On a nice day, you might see her out in the garden or enjoying the lake life on her family's sailboat.
CONNECT WITH ASHLEY
WEBSITE: thetypesetco.com | INSTAGRAM: @thetypesetco | FACEBOOK: facebook.com/thetypesetco | PINTEREST: thetypesetco
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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