451 | Listening to Customers Without Letting Every Opinion Dictate your Direction with Kirstie Lee, A Jar of Pickles

Today's conversation is all about growing your business intentionally, experimenting with new ideas, and building a brand that evolves alongside you. Today's guest is Kirstie Lee, the founder of A Jar of Pickles, a product company that creates playful gifts and accessories that celebrate Asian appetites.

Kirstie's been in business for 12 years, starting as an Etsy hobby while she was in college, and she kept it running alongside her corporate job for 8 years. Then, she went full-time about 5 years ago after having her kids.

Her brand now sells online, at craft shows, and through wholesale partnerships. Last year alone, she managed 43 retail markets across 4 states. Kirstie has been part of our Proof to Product community for more than a decade, and it has been such a joy to watch her business grow.

In this episode, we talk about everything from balancing a corporate career while building a product brand to hiring your first employee, expanding into wholesale, building a devoted direct-to-consumer audience, and why treating your business like one big experiment has opened doors to opportunities that Kirstie never even planned for.

I especially love Kirstie's perspective on listening to customers without letting every opinion dictate your direction and how staying curious has helped her continue growing year after year.

If you are wondering what the next stage of growth could look like for your business and you're looking for encouragement that there is not one specific pathway to take for that success, then I think you're really going to enjoy today's episode.

Today's episode is brought to you by our Is Wholesale Right for You workshop! Wholesale is not the only way to grow a product brand, but it's definitely my favorite. If you are curious about selling to retail stores, or maybe you've hit a wholesale plateau and aren't sure what to do next, then this free on-demand workshop will help you identify your next best step along with action items to do that.

MEET KIRSTIE

A Jar of Pickles is a Bay Area small business that creates playful products to celebrate Asian appetites through stationery, plushies, keychains and more. Our small team is proudly made of AAPI women who design, source, and package all our products in-house and are committed to giving joyful customer connections.

CONNECT WITH KIRSTIE

WEBSITE: https://www.ajarofpickles.com | INSTAGRAM: @ajarofpickles_

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