418 | Expanding into Tabletop Products with Alyson O'Connor, Rust Belt Love

Friends, you know that I am all about simplifying and systematizing your business, but I'm also about taking risks and experimenting within your business.

When we run these experiments, sometimes we have to adjust our thinking and our normal processes to make it happen.

That's what we're talking about today: taking risks, experimenting, and releasing a new product category during an off-cycle season.

Today's interview is with Alyson O'Connor of Rust Belt Love.

Frankly, it's your permission slip to lean into the things that you're excited about, even when it doesn't feel like the timing is right.

Alyson is an Advisory Board member, and I invited her on today because she recently launched a brand new tabletop collection. Think paper placemats, napkin rings, and table tents. These products are available now, just in time for the holiday season.

We talk about where her inspiration for this collection came from, what it took to get this product to market, and the logistics of quickly launching. We talk about the easy things and the more difficult parts of this process, and the perks of her having manufacturing in-house. We talked a lot about her manufacturing processes and how this has changed over her 15-year career in this business.

So if you're just getting started, this is going to be really enlightening for you to hear how they've done things both in-house and also outsourced.

Alyson also reflects in this episode on her 15 years in business, the evolving landscape of wholesale, the pricing and margin challenges that are unique to this season, and the importance of staying agile, especially during uncertain times like we're in right now.

Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product resource library. It’s where you can get your hands on our free resources to help you start, streamline and scale your business in your own way and at your own pace.

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MEET JESSICA

Jessica is an eCommerce & Email Marketing Strategist for boutique owners & product entrepreneurs. She supports scrappy female entrepreneurs with actionable steps & strategies to grow and scale their eCommerce businesses. After 20+ years in retail, owning her own multi 6-figure brick & mortar boutique and 3 years as the ONLY employee of a 7-figure eCommerce store and having the pleasure of learning from the top experts in the digital marketing & eCommerce industry - now she’s sharing everything she learned the hard way so you don’t have to.

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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