204 | Marketing Data Points We Should Focus On with Maureen Mwangi, Startward Consulting
204 | Marketing Data Points We Should Focus On with Maureen Mwangi, Startward Consulting

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!

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203 | How to Negotiate Licensing Contracts with Stacie Bloomfield, Gingiber
203 | How to Negotiate Licensing Contracts with Stacie Bloomfield, Gingiber

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.

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202 | Community & Coaching in LABS with Janine Kwoh, Kwohtations & Christy Asper, Paper Baristas
202 | Community & Coaching in LABS with Janine Kwoh, Kwohtations & Christy Asper, Paper Baristas

Hey friends! The doors to Proof to Product LABS are wide open. We are welcoming a new class to our community so on the podcast this week we wanted to highlight the growth of our community and how we’ve enhanced the program throughout its first year.

In this episode, I am joined by two people you might recognize if you’re a longtime listener of the show, Janine Kwoh of Kwohtations and Christy Asper of Paper Baristas. Both of these ladies are founding members of our LABS program and have been active participants in our monthly masterclasses, group coaching calls and our peer masterminds and coffee chats.

You’ll hear their experiences with LABS — which trainings have been most impactful and how LABS has helped them grow their business and connections with colleagues.

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201 | LABS Celebrates One Year with Madeline Hunt
201 | LABS Celebrates One Year with Madeline Hunt

Hey friends! This episode is a little different today. The roles were reversed and I was in the passenger seat as I was joined by my daughter, Madeline for an interview. Madeline asks me some of the most commonly asked questions I get about the Proof to Product LABS as we head toward the one year anniversary of the program. Take a listen to get a peek inside of what we do inside of LABS.

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200 | The Most Common Thread Among Entrepreneurs (You Might Be Surprised!) with Katie Hunt
200 | The Most Common Thread Among Entrepreneurs (You Might Be Surprised!) with Katie Hunt

Hey friends! Can you believe that it’s the 200th episode of the Proof to Product podcast? Quick confession: I’ve been stewing over this episode and what I’d cover for weeks to celebrate this landmark 200th episode.

After grappling with this thought for a while, something happened at home that really put it all into perspective and brought me a lightbulb moment.

In this episode, I share that story with you and reveal the one common thread that ties all entrepreneurs together (and it might even surprise you!).

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199 | How to make your website diverse, inclusive & accessible with Myrna Daramy
199 | How to make your website diverse, inclusive & accessible with Myrna Daramy

Hey friends! In 2020, conversations around diversity, inclusion and equity rose to the forefront of conversations around how we’re conducting business. Many entrepreneurs in the online space took time to reassess their company values to include more diverse images and copy while weaving more inclusivity into their brand, marketing and customer experience.

In this episode, I had on Myrna Daramy. Myrna is a friend of mine and a tech-savvy Digital Media Optimization Specialist who came on to talk about what has been missing from this conversation: technology.

She has spent the last year diving into what it means to have diverse, inclusive and accessible technology and how business owners can make their digital home welcoming to all. She shares so much wisdom around digital inclusivity, 3 reasons why you want to make accessibility a priority for your business and simple solutions that you can implement right away.

She will be doing a live training in our LABS community later this year so if you love this conversation and want to hear even more be sure to join us in LABS so you don’t miss out.

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198 | Pinterest trends & best practices with Kate Ahl, Simple Pin Media
198 | Pinterest trends & best practices with Kate Ahl, Simple Pin Media

Hey friends! Are you ready to start getting more results from your Pinterest strategy? Then you’ll love this conversation with guest, Kate Ahl. Kate is the owner and CEO of Simple Pin Media, a Pinterest management and marketing agency.

Kate and her team have worked with over 600 Pinterest accounts and consulted with thousands of people about how to best use Pinterest for their business or brand. In this episode, she talks about some of the upcoming trends she’s seeing for Pinterest and how to rethink your Pinterest strategy to inspire and inform pinners.

Kate and I discuss a lot in this episode about the things you need to know about Pinterest including what analytics are important and how to determine when you should outsource your Pinterest strategy.

If after this episode you find yourself wanting to know even more about doing ads on Pinterest, be sure to check out our LABS community. Kate’s colleague at Simple Pin Media, Erin Harding will lead an upcoming training on Pinterest ads for our community very soon!

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197 | 4 Virtual Roles to Hire in your E-Commerce Business with Katie Hunt
197 | 4 Virtual Roles to Hire in your E-Commerce Business with Katie Hunt

Hey friends! I recently sat down and had a conversation with Micala Quinn on her show, the Live Free Podcast to have a conversation about how virtual support professionals could support e-commerce and product based businesses.

I wanted to bring a piece of that conversion to my podcast. In this episode, I am exploring the 4 areas of your business where virtual, freelance support could make a positive impact for you.

If you’ve been wondering how you can get some remote, flexible, rockstar team members to support you while you grow your business then tune in!

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196 | When should you outsource social media with Andréa Jones, OnlineDrea
196 | When should you outsource social media with Andréa Jones, OnlineDrea

Hey friends! How are you feeling about social media these days? Is it lighting you up? Does it leave you feeling heavy? I personally have been on both sides of the pendulum and thought my guest in this episode would be perfect to help you determine if it’s time to outsource social.

I had Andréa Jones of OnlineDrea to walk us through everything we need to know. She explains the pros and cons of hiring a social media agency versus hiring a VA or freelance social strategist. We chat about what you need to know before you hire and how she tests potential hires with paid projects!

We covered a LOT in this episode so you’ll want a pen and paper handy to jot down some notes and if you’re wanting even more from Andréa, I have great news - she’s doing a private live training inside our Labs community. She’ll be doing this training in April so if you want to get your questions answered directly from Andréa, be sure to check that out!

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194 | Hiring Soon? Do this first with Katie Hunt
194 | Hiring Soon? Do this first with Katie Hunt

I see how hard you have been working, but you are not alone! Today’s episode is all about how to prepare for hiring help for your business.

In this episode, I talk about some of the strategies that I use in my own business before bringing on new team members. As you explore the idea of bringing on help later this year, this quarter or even this month you’ll want to make sure you are hiring right.

Whether you are hiring your first team member or your tenth, whether you’re planning to hire employees or contractors — today’s episode includes pre-work — so things you’re going to do before you even advertise the job you’re hiring for.

Flag it, come back to it, take notes and be sure to use the four T’s framework to guide you along the way.

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Paper Source Files for Bankruptcy
Paper Source Files for Bankruptcy

I wanted to share this quick, informational episode on the recent announcement from Paper Source about them filing for bankruptcy on March 2, 2021.

In the last few weeks, members of our community have shipped hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of products to Paper Source. Paper Source placed large orders ($9K, $15K, etc) from small independent businesses and in many cases asked companies to move up their ship dates (send them sooner). With the recent news, this is a huge hit to independent brands who now don’t know if they will get paid.

I’m not an attorney nor do I have experience with bankruptcy in a B2B setting but in this episode, I am sharing some thoughts and advice I have for those affected by this news.

Keep an eye on the show notes from today’s episode and my Instagram feed @prooftoproduct. I’ll share additional resources & information as they become available.

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193 | Creating paid memberships & communities with Joe Casabona
193 | Creating paid memberships & communities with Joe Casabona

Hey friends! I know we can certainly all agree that if 2020 and 2021 have taught us anything it’s that we need to get more creative and consider additional revenue streams.

This has led to more and more membership models and subscriptions popping up in not only the service space but the physical product space too. That conversation was prompted in our Proof to Product LABS community and is the reason behind this episode with Joe Casabona.

Joe’s passion lies in teaching his knowledge about website development, podcasting and course creation with other business owners, entrepreneurs and freelancers. In this episode, we dive into creating paid memberships and communities for your customers.

We chat about how artists and creators can use paid memberships to nurture customers. He shares some simple ways to get started with tech platforms and content ideas so be sure to take notes!

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192 | Attracting a diverse audience with visual branding with Dana Kaye, Bouquet Stock Photo
192 | Attracting a diverse audience with visual branding with Dana Kaye, Bouquet Stock Photo

Hey friends! If you’ve used stock photography, you may have noticed how difficult it can be to find diverse imagery. Enter Dana Kaye of Bouquet Stock Photo.

Visual branding can be a huge factor in who we attract to our business. So how can we use visual branding to be more inclusive?

In this episode, Dana and I dig into the importance of visual branding and why creating meaningful connections with our customers is such an important piece of doing business. She also shares her definition of what makes a value based business.

We all want to see ourselves in the products and services we shop for. This is such an important conversation and there are so many actionable take-aways in this episode!

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191 | Why Your Email List Is More Important Than Any Social Media Platform with Meera Kothand
191 | Why Your Email List Is More Important Than Any Social Media Platform with Meera Kothand

Hey friends! Are you utilizing your email list to its full potential? If you aren’t there yet then you’re definitely going to want to tune into this episode with Meera Kothand, email marketing specialist and three-time Amazon best selling author.

This topic is so near and dear to my heart because email marketing is such a powerful tool yet it’s so underutilized by independent brands that sell physical products.

In this episode, Meera and I dig into why your email list is the most valuable platform you have (yes, even more powerful than your favorite social platforms). She talks about how to build your email list with creative lead magnets and strategies for nurturing your audience through a welcome sequence and ongoing, consistent emails.

We also break down some key pointers on how you can get comfortable with selling to your email list so you’ll want to stick around to the end to make sure you hear her advice on this!

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190 | 10 Lessons Learned Through 10 Years in Business with Katie Hunt
190 | 10 Lessons Learned Through 10 Years in Business with Katie Hunt

Hey friends! This week marks the 10 year business birthday of Proof to Product! It was 10 years ago that I opened up enrollment for my first program that is now Paper Camp. I didn’t have a website, email list and Instagram wasn’t even a thing yet.

Things have sure come a long way since then and I am so glad that I trusted my gut and stuck with it. Since 2011 we’ve helped thousands of product based business owners get their products on the shelves of their favorite retailers, big or small!

In this episode, I am walking you through the 10 lessons I’ve learned over the last 10 years in business.

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189 | How Art Can Inspire Change and Positive Action in the World with Danielle Coke, Oh Happy Dani
189 | How Art Can Inspire Change and Positive Action in the World with Danielle Coke, Oh Happy Dani

Hey friends! I am so excited for today’s interview with Dani Coke of Oh Happy Dani. If you lived through the year of 2020 and are active on social media, I’m willing to bet that you’ve seen Dani’s beautiful and impactful art making waves across the internet.

Dani is an illustrator, social justice advocate and entrepreneur. Her illustrations aim to make complex issues more digestible and provide practical ways to help others make a difference in their spheres of influence. Dani also is the founder of a social media agency, So Happy Social where she helps positive mission-based brands use social media for good.

In this episode, Dani and I chat about what 2020 was like for her as her illustrations began to go viral online. She gets into how she stays inspired to create, her process for creating new illustrations and how she holds boundaries with her audience. Her episode is a strong reminder that art is powerful and can inspire change and positive action in the world.

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188 | Providing Comfort for Grief and Loss Through Products with Janine Kwoh, Kwohtations
188 | Providing Comfort for Grief and Loss Through Products with Janine Kwoh, Kwohtations

Hey friends! It’s no secret that grief is hard. It comes with so many unexpected feelings and emotions.

My guest in this episode, Janine Kwoh, the owner and artist behind Kwohtations is no stranger to grief. Her own loss is what inspired her to create a product line to comfort people dealing with the pain of losing a loved one.

In this episode, we chat about her business and how she took it from a hobby to side hustle to her full-time gig. She also shares her experiences running her business as a one-woman show.

Janine and I chat about her process (she actually letterpress prints each card on an antique printing press and hand paints them all). She even shares her advice for other entrepreneurs and how lack of knowledge can sometimes be a benefit as a business owner!

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187 | How should I follow-up after a wholesale order with Katie Hunt
187 | How should I follow-up after a wholesale order with Katie Hunt

Hey friends! We all know that follow up is a key part of the sales process. But what about after you’ve received and shipped the order? Should you follow up then? What should you say?

These are the questions that commonly pop up within our Paper Camp community so I wanted to share with you on this episode. I’ve had conversations with hundreds of buyers about their follow up preferences and the large majority of them don’t like follow-ups after orders.

Take a listen to hear what you should do instead to help foster purposeful relationships (while making their lives easier)!

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186 | Ethical Sourcing with Christy Asper, Paper Baristas
186 | Ethical Sourcing with Christy Asper, Paper Baristas

Hey friends! Have you ever considered how the products you use on a day-to-day basis are made?

In this episode, I was joined by Christy Asper of Paper Baristas to talk about her journey of finding ethical manufacturing partners.

Paper Baristas is a paper goods company run by Christy and her husband Jon. They started their business to create ethically sourced products by beautiful people for a beautiful cause. They are on a mission to help fight modern-day slavery in the supply chain industry.

Christy shares some of the biggest takeaways she’s encountered on her journey to ethical sourcing. She gives us insight into her biggest accomplishments and how she defines success in her business. Christy also shares her own experience as a Proof to Products Lab member and what big benefits she’s had from being a part of the program.

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