In this episode, Zeba shares about the early success of her business, including how she fulfilled orders 1 by 1 on a shared maker space laser cutter to now having a warehouse space that supports multiple laser cutters, a team, and her production space to service again the direct to consumer and wholesale customers. We also talk about the challenges of bringing a new product to market and how she's legally protecting her brand and the products that she creates.
Read MoreJessica and I have a unique perspective on what’s happening in the product space right now — observing trends with sales and marketing and spotting issues before they become widespread.
That’s what our focus is on today’s episode. Sharing what we’re seeing on the sales & marketing front for product-based business - what’s working, what’s not and sharing advice that you can implement right away.
Read MoreDuring today’s episode, we are discussing how you can make sure you are selling every single day. You’ll learn why you need to sell every day and three actionable ways you can make sure you are doing so.
Read MoreKatie, Jen, and I talked about the importance of clear communication between vendors and shop owners, zip code protection, and how these two shop owners are utilizing Faire to place orders with existing wholesale accounts.
Read MoreIn today’s episode, we’re talking about their summer 2023 sales season, how they are preparing for the Q4 holiday season, how the current economic climate is affecting their businesses and what’s on the minds of shopkeepers right now.
Read MoreThe idea of finding your people and creating community is a common theme in today's episode. We also discuss why his products and yours are not for everyone and how finding his people positively impacted his business.
Read MoreNews recently broke that Shopify was closing Handshake, its wholesale sales platform and investing as a shareholder in Faire. Today’s episode is bringing you the news mixed in with a few of my thoughts on the topic.
Read MoreTuning in, you’ll hear all about Sonia’s career, how you can diversify your products and circle of influence, how to audit your customer experience to be more inclusive, the importance of considering how different people are and making them feel seen and heard, why you must stay true to your values, and much more!
Read MoreIn this conversation, Betsy shares how she first got into licensing, how her partnership with Recycled Paper Greetings came together, how she hired a full-time employee and moved their studio, and why her experience has been overwhelmingly positive.
Read MoreIn this episode, Lauren te Velde recounts the rollercoaster of experiencing a 4000% increase in wholesale orders, and why she believes your brand story is crucial to your success. She expresses her thoughts on prioritizing relationships, why you can’t just jump into wholesale, and the difference between pursuing wealth versus money.
Read MoreKatie is answering some frequently asked questions often heard at Paper Camp, regarding creating and utilizing SKU systems. Listen in to hear tips on setting up your SKU system early on in your wholesaling journey and why you shouldn’t overcomplicate your SKU systems.
Read MoreBridiga shares the journey of starting her business, while still pursuing her teaching career. She dives into what it was like venturing into wholesale, how she has experienced rapid growth, and describes what happened after deciding to leave social media.
Read MoreThere’s no “easy mode” in business. Selling physical products is a lot of work and being a product entrepreneur requires grit, tenacity, and courage.
Today’s episode is for seasoned wholesalers who might be experiencing a slower sales season. If your sales have stalled, there are two metrics that you can tap into to build stronger relationships with your current accounts and sustainably scale your revenue for wholesale.
Read MoreThere’s no “easy mode” in business. Selling physical products is a lot of work and being a product entrepreneur requires grit, tenacity, and courage.
Today’s episode is for seasoned wholesalers who might be experiencing a slower sales season. If your sales have stalled, there are two metrics that you can tap into to build stronger relationships with your current accounts and sustainably scale your revenue for wholesale.
Read MoreYou have heard me say it before, and I'm gonna remind you again, strong businesses are built through slow, steady, intentional growth. Today's guest is proof of that. Jill Shephard is the owner of Ruff House Print Shop. She started her business in 2009, initially specializing in custom wedding invitations. She then spent 14 years prioritizing professional development, refining her business model, expanding her team, and strengthening her customer experience. In the process, she built a profitable and sustainable company that she is proud of.
Today, Jill and I are talking about her entrepreneurial journey from custom wedding invitations to a brick and mortar retail shop to selling wholesale to over 3,000 shops around the world. Jill also reveals her strategies for maintaining a thriving business, the importance of continuous learning, and the impact of participating in programs like Paper Camp, even as a seasoned entrepreneur.
Read MoreToday we are continuing our conversation with Katie Hart of Odd Daughter Paper Co. If you missed the first part of our conversation, head back and listen to episode 304. In that episode, Katie and I talk about how she got started with her product-based business, and why you don't necessarily need to exhibit at trade shows to be successful with selling wholesale. Katie waited 10 years to do her first show, and we're talking about it in episode 304.
For today's episode, which is part two of our conversation, Katie is taking us behind the scenes of her business and what it is like running this business with her sister by her side. We also talk about setting boundaries in business and how the best lessons truly come from just years of experience.
Katie Hart is a self-taught illustrator and the founder of a stationery brand called Odd Daughter Paper Co. She founded that company in 2013 and it began as a side hustle that she ran on the weekends and during her lunch hours; it evolved into a full-time brand that both Katie and her sister now work at. Michelle helped on the side for years and finally joined the team full-time in 2022. Katie does all the illustrating and hand lettering while Michelle handles operations, wholesale, and sales and marketing. They both love brainstorming sentiments for cards and their goal is to sound like a real friend in their products, whether that's clever, sincere, encouraging, or empathetic. Odd Daughter is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico and draws a great deal of creative inspiration from the desert.
Read MoreYes, friend, you can be successful with wholesale without exhibiting at trade shows. This is a question that I frequently hear from our Paper Camp students and today’s guest is a shining example of how slow, intentional growth without trade shows leads to success.
Today’s guest is Paper Camp Alum & Advisory Board member, Katie Hart of Odd Daughter Paper Co. Katie launched Odd Daughter in 2013 as a side hustle. The brand evolved into a thriving product brand whose revenue primarily comes from wholesale and her products are sold in stores throughout the world.
This was such an inspiring conversation that I decided to break it up into two parts. On today’s episode, which is part 1, Katie shares how Odd Daughter got started, the intentional decisions she’s made along the way to make her business growth more sustainable, and we talk about her decision to exhibit at her first wholesale trade show in 2023—after 10 years of successfully scaling wholesale.
Read MoreOpening a retail storefront is no joke. It's a whole lot of work and a completely different business model than selling products online or to the wholesale market. Brick-and-mortar retail requires different strategies, operational systems, and of course staffing needs. I know there are many of you who dream of someday opening a shop, in fact, we have many product brands that also have brick-and-mortar shops in our Proof to Product community.
So today we're going to hear from Ginger Diaz, the owner of Feliz Modern and Rancho Diaz in San Antonio, Texas. Ginger Diaz came to retail to bring her favorite artists’ and makers’ works to a wider audience. What started as one brick-and-mortar shop in San Antonio has expanded to a second shop, as well as their online store at felizmodern.com, for those national customers that they service. All three shops are centered around products that bring joy and some cheeky fun to their customers. It's a small business full of hundreds of other small businesses and makers from around the globe.
On today's episode, we're talking to Ginger about motivations for opening her stores, how relationships played a key role in their survival during the pandemic, and how Ginger's incredible staff has helped improve efficiencies in her business. We also talk a little bit about her buying preferences and red flags that she sees in manufacturers' pitches or outreach, and what she looks for when she's purchasing from smaller independent brands.
Read MoreToday we're gonna talk about paid advertising. I have spent years searching for someone that has extensive experience in the e-commerce space, and who understands the unique challenges and needs of micro-businesses, solo entrepreneurs, and small businesses, particularly with paid advertising. What I found in my search was that there were a lot of people who were focused on paid ads, but for service businesses or for larger brands with huge budgets. There were people that only focused on ads, but did not look at the holistic marketing strategy that the ads were pushing to. I also encountered a lot of people who just didn't understand the nuances of e-commerce sales.
So this is a topic that our community has asked for over and over again, but I never felt like I could find the right expert to put in front of you. Until today—my guest today is Taylor Frame from Focus Funnels. Taylor is the co-founder of Focus Funnels, which is an e-commerce growth shop. He has consulted and worked with over 400 e-commerce companies including several from our Proof to Product community. Focused Funnels has launched and scaled over 100 brands to consistent six-figure months, finding creative solutions for bootstrap founders.
In addition to the overall success, Taylor's team has managed over $45 million in performance ad spend across a variety of niches. Taylor and his team specialize in working with women-owned e-commerce brands on holistic marketing that ties together both organic and paid advertising efforts. This is key—this is critical to success. As you will soon hear he breaks down complex ideas and strategies into easy-to-understand solutions, which I love. On today's episode, we're talking about trends in the marketing space, how much money you'll need to spend to get started in paid ads, and how to leverage different ad platforms for different outcomes.
Read More"You are your number one resource." This is a direct quote from today's guest, Michelle Angenent. Michelle is a Paper Camp alum, LABS member, and the fierce founder behind 417 Press, an award-winning letterpress greeting card company and paper goods brand based in Montreal, Canada.
Always observing life with a dash of humor. Michelle's product line is a direct reflection of the personal challenges she has faced from infertility to ADHD, midlife, divorce, and now midlife dating. Now in her fifties and a happily single mom to teen twins, Michelle is proof that everything is divinely timed for a reason and that it is never too late to pursue your passion.
Today Michelle and I are talking about navigating divorce as a business owner, overcoming and continually working on our mindset, and what to say when someone asks you proprietary questions about your business.
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![317 | The State of Independent Retail with Jen Palacio & Katie Wilson [Part 2]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c6fe4c07eb88c2f00243613/1697556660703-UVVWWTH1L3UN5DAPUS37/state-of-retail6.jpg)
