Have you ever taken a look at bigger brands or household products and considered, how can I implement what they’re doing in my own business?

In this episode, I was joined by brand growth strategist and founder of Startward Consulting, Maureen Mwangi. She shares how big brands are humanizing their marketing and what data points we should (and shouldn’t) be paying attention to. Spoiler alert: you can stop worrying about the number of followers you have on Instagram.

Maureen and I also chat about tech tools to use for measuring the ROI on your marketing, how you can leverage data and her tips on optimizing your brand!

Hey friends! Considering additional revenue streams for your business? Ever thought about licensing? It’s true that most of the seasoned product based businesses have multiple arms of their business: they might sell wholesale, retail, license art, have a brick & mortar shop or offer drop shipping….. there are a lot of ways to build a profitable, sustainable business.

That’s why I brought on Stacie Bloomfield. Stacie has an abundance of experience in licensing and has been creating artwork for brands and products since 2009. Her brand, Gingiber, has products sold in more than 800 stores. In 2020, Stacy began educating the creative community about licensing through her course Leverage Your Art AND she published her first book!

Take a listen to hear how she landed her first licensing deal, tips for negotiating licensing contracts and the importance of resilience when it comes to pitching yourself for licensing deals.

Hey friends! You’re in for a fun episode today. I have Juliana and Ryan Kissick on the show to chat about their business, Good Juju Ink. Juliana founded Good Juju Ink in 2014 and the company is now run by herself, husband Ryan and their dear friend Marina Lieban.

The trio attended Paper Camp Conference in 2018 and it has been so much fun to watch their business blossom since. I was thrilled to talk to them in this episode about an amazing campaign they’ve been working on since the start of the pandemic called 18 Million Thanks.

You’ll hear how they’ve incorporated a give-back program into their business model, their experience working with sales reps and the challenges they’ve faced as their business has grown. Juliana and Ryan share their perspectives on how they divide their responsibilities among each other and how you can get involved in their campaign to send handwritten thank-you notes to America’s 18 million healthcare workers.

Hey friends! I am super excited for you to listen in on today’s conversation with Mei Pak, founder of Creative Hive Co. and Tiny Hands. She’s been running her creative, handmade business since 2006 and coaching makers since 2014. She even taught her husband how to start selling personalized art and now makes over $55,000 per month in sales!

Mei is all about creating a consistent income without relying too much on social media. In this episode, you’ll hear the 4 steps for pitching your products to media outlets and the difference of proactive versus reactive marketing.

She talks about leveraging Facebook ads to generate sales and why she recommends learning, testing and DIYing over hiring an agency. We also touched on why you HAVE to know your numbers and ensure that your products are priced correctly before jumping into paid advertising.

This episode is jam-packed with SO much tactical, strategic advice and concrete examples - so grab a notebook and let’s dive in!

Fulfillment has been a hot topic in our Proof to Product communities lately so I wanted to bring on a special guest to chat about how fulfillment works from the 3PL side of things.

I was joined by Allen Befort of Givington’s, a fulfillment company that pays attention to the small details so you can focus on the bigger picture of your business. Allen jokes that he kind of fell into starting this business with a friend. Seven years later they’ve seen great success and pride themselves on the relationships they’ve built with their customers and the genuine, personalized experience that they can create with their partners.

Allen and I covered a lot of ground in this episode and it's rich with information for anyone who may be considering outsourcing their warehousing and fulfillment process. We went over the logistics of working with a 3PL including how to know if you’re ready, technology integrations they have, questions to ask when interviewing fulfillment centers and common pricing models. We also talk about why it’s critical to build trust and relationships when outsourcing fulfillment.

Hey friends! With the world being such a visual place, more and more of our customers are relying on product photography to tell them a story. We only have a few seconds to quickly grab our customers’ attention and get them engaged in what we’re selling.

That’s why in this episode I’m talking with Chaitra Radhakrishna. Chaitra is the founder of PinkPot Studio, a Shopify design and photography studio specifically for product-based business owners.

Chaitra shared so much valuable information in this episode about how to nail your product photography. You’ll hear about the 7 different product shots that you can take (and tips on deciding which shots to take). She also shares her 5 step process for taking photos with your smartphone which, spoiler alert: you don’t need to invest in fancy equipment or tools.

Be sure to listen with a notebook handy because she gives us so many insider tips on using the “rule of thirds”, apps she recommends for editing photos and her secret formula for editing photos in lightroom: making the whites low, turning the highlights up, going high on shadows and low on blacks.