149 | Let's encourage one another with Katie Hunt & Friends
149 | Let's encourage one another with Katie Hunt & Friends

Kristen Ley recently asked me and our peer mastermind group to come together for a free webinar to support & encourage other small business owners. It was such an amazing conversation that I asked Kristen if we could rerun the audio version here on our podcast, so today’s episode is just that.

Today’s episode features feedback from me, Kristen Ley of Thimblepress, Tonya Dalton of Inkwell Press, Jenn Jett of The Well Summit and Myrna Daramy of Myrna & Co.

We discuss how we’re handling COVID-19 in our own businesses, recommendations for other small business owners, how to serve your customers, what to prioritize right now and we even share how we’re navigating working from home with children.

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Special Edition | Greetabl Rolls Out Platform Partner Program
Special Edition | Greetabl Rolls Out Platform Partner Program

I was on the phone with Zoe Scharf of Greetabl this morning and  we decided to hit record on our conversation.

As you may remember, Zoe is one of our Paper Camp alumni and she was on episode 50 of Proof to Product telling her start up story, then she came back for episode 88 where she talked about email sequences and how they love on their clients.

Today we’re talking about a new program that Zoe and the team at Greetabl are launching to support small business owners and independent makers called The Platform Partner Program.

Listen on for details about how the program works, how you can apply and what Zoe feels optimistic about during this Covid-19 pandemic.

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148 | Coaching with Katie Hunt: Expanding Into New Product Categories
148 | Coaching with Katie Hunt: Expanding Into New Product Categories

Hey friends! Has the thought of expanding into new product categories crossed your mind lately? You aren’t alone! In fact, today I had on a Paper Camp alumni for a live coaching session where we chat ALL about her hopes to expand into new product categories. It can be pretty scary to try to logistically plan for expansion but I think today’s episode will be really helpful for all of you who are looking to bring on more products to serve your people.

What are the first steps to this process? For today’s guest, Tomi Hill of Little Happy Things, we broke down the steps she needs to take to make this happen and since it was a coaching episode, I gave her my advice and some homework so she could start taking action right away! I challenged her to start thinking and dreaming big about the new product category she’d want to layer in and to start setting some goals around that.

We broke through some of the barriers that have been holding her back and had a frank discussion about diving deeper into the people you really want to serve. At the end of the day, it’s about recognizing WHO your customer is at the core - what kind of solutions are you providing for them? What problems do they have that your products solve? What stores do they shop at? We also touch on digging into the financials (because knowing your numbers is key to success) and looking through your numbers from both a retail and wholesale lense.

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147 | Expanding products enhanced her brand with Rebecca Townsend, Seaside Designs
147 | Expanding products enhanced her brand with Rebecca Townsend, Seaside Designs

Have you ever considered how building a strong brand can make you stand out and ultimately help your business stand the test of time? Today’s guest is Paper Camp alumni Rebecca Townsend. Rebecca is the owner and creative director of Seaside Designs. She literally built her whole business around her love for the beach and sea. Pretty fascinating, right?

The business didn’t always come easy and she’s had to overcome many ups and downs through her entrepreneurial journey. She rode the rocky tides of being a business owner and now she’s riding the waves of success. In this episode, she shares her story of navigating a huge rough patch that made her shut down her business and the story of her resurrecting it and bringing it back to life.

We talk about her experience of overcoming burnout and figuring out a way to work smarter, not harder. She shares her research and development process for products and how she balances the financial risks of expansion (you might be surprised to hear how she does it). Rebecca gives her advice for other business owners who want to expand into new product categories and shares what’s next for Seaside Designs including why she’s decided to focus on sustainable packaging.

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146 | Leveraging point of sale systems in a brick & mortar with Biff Ulm, MN Nice Enough
146 | Leveraging point of sale systems in a brick & mortar with Biff Ulm, MN Nice Enough

Hey friends, have you ever considered how you could leverage point of sale systems for trend tracking and buying decisions? Biff Ulm, founder of MN Nice Enough came on the podcast today to share how he uses technology to help grow his business and how he relies on the help of sales reps to ensure his store is stocked with products that are a fit for his customers.

Biff has a rich background in the product based business industry and has seen all sides of it including owning his own brick and mortar business, selling eCommerce, doing wholesale, as well as creating his own products. He’s done it all and has a vast wealth of knowledge in this line of business.

In this episode, we talk about everything from the challenges he’s faced from having multiple streams of revenue, what numbers he tracks, how he cultivates wholesale relationships and the importance of studying what bigger brands are doing in their businesses.

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145 | Transitioning From Etsy to Your Own Website With Rebecca Inkrote, Bex Marie
145 | Transitioning From Etsy to Your Own Website With Rebecca Inkrote, Bex Marie

Today’s guest Rebecca Inkrote has a fantastic story that I can’t wait to share with you guys. She gives her insight on the best ways to transition from a third party platform to your own website (plus how to build brand recognition and steps to make it go smooth).

Rebecca got her start in the creative entrepreneur space when she started making soaps as a hobby. It quickly turned into a business that brought her into Facebook groups with other handmade business owners and it was there where she recognized how much she could help entrepreneurs in this space.

As a graphic designer, she was well versed in the areas of technology and found this niche of hers to be an area she could stand out in. In this episode, Rebecca shares how she stumbled into this path, the growing pains one can face when transitioning from a third party platform to their own website and the benefits of having your own eCommerce website.

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144 | Coaching with Katie Hunt: When should I launch to wholesale?
144 | Coaching with Katie Hunt: When should I launch to wholesale?

Hey friends! We’re going to be switching things up a little for today’s episode. I’ve decided that once a month we’ll be airing a live coaching session with one of my coaching clients or a Paper Camp alumni on the podcast. It’ll be a short, hot seat format coaching session where the guest will talk about what they’re working on and what they need help with. I’ll be giving them my candid off the cuff advice, recommendations and even some homework because we’re all about taking action!

For our first live coaching episode, I was joined by Paper Camp alumni, Shirlee Fisher of Quiet Lines Design. She has a few hesitations and questions about the timing of her launch and the wholesale market. We work through the three things she needs to prepare and make ready before the launch so she can launch her products confidently.

In this episode, we chat about lining up your launch with the release cycles of the stationery industry, why having 40+ SKUs will help you get more customers and why sometimes you have to wait until things are ready.

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Special Edition | NY Now & NSS 2020 (Part 2)
Special Edition | NY Now & NSS 2020 (Part 2)

Part 1: Last week I took a whirlwind trip to New York to visit with more than 40 of our Paper Camp alumni who were exhibiting at NY Now and the National Stationery Show. It was so exciting to see everyone’s hard work live and in person — their new products were innovative, their booths were beautiful and their confidence was shining through. It was awesome.

While I was there, I was able to grab some time with a handful of our alumni to talk shop about the show, goals they set and how they plan to follow-up after the show.

We’re breaking this into a two-part series. The first part features several of our veteran exhibitors from the Paper Camp family including Rebekah from Wild Ink Press, Christina from Public School Paper Co, Beth from Little Goat Paper Co, Jeni from E. Frances Paper and Juliana from Good Juju Ink.

In Part 2 on Thursday, we’re sharing interviews with Paper Camp alumni who were exhibiting in the emerging artists’ section as well as first-time exhibitors! Today’s show features Rachel from Hazel & Dolly, Chandler from Joy Paper Co, Lisa from Rhino Parade, Janine from Kwohtations, Tammie from Tiger Pocket Press and Juana from Loteria Press.

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Special Edition | NY Now & NSS 2020 (Part 1)
Special Edition | NY Now & NSS 2020 (Part 1)

Last week I took a whirlwind trip to New York to visit with more than 40 of our Paper Camp alumni who were exhibiting at NY Now and the National Stationery Show. It was so exciting to see everyone’s hard work live and in person — their new products were innovative, their booths were beautiful and their confidence was shining through. It was awesome.

While I was there, I was able to grab some time with a handful of our alumni to talk shop about the show, goals they set and how they plan to follow-up after the show.

We’re breaking this into a two-part series. The first part features several of our veteran exhibitors from the Paper Camp family including Rebekah from Wild Ink Press, Christina from Public School Paper Co, Beth from Little Goat Paper Co, Jenn from E. Frances Paper and Juliana from Good Juju INk.

In Part 2 on Thursday, we’re sharing interviews with Paper Camp alumni who were exhibiting in the emerging artists’ section as well as first-time exhibitors! Today’s show features Racheal from Hazel & Dolly, Chandler from Joy Paper Co, Lisa from Rhino Parade, Janine from Kwohtations, Tammie from Tiger Pocket Press and Juanna from Loteria.

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143 | Bootstrapping Success with Cecily Moore, The Paper Curator
143 | Bootstrapping Success with Cecily Moore, The Paper Curator

For Cecily Moore, her business, The Paper Curator, started as a blog and over time, transitioned into a product based business. She first began her journey while working at a job and trying to find the next step in her career. She thought, “why not start a blog?” From there she began to document the creative endeavors she pursued in her everyday life before launching her first products.

She gives us a breakdown of her first craft show experience, her Paper Camp journey and what she’s learned from attending the show. We chat about how putting ample effort into her research and development has helped her build a sustainable business. 

Today’s episode dives deep into what it means to bootstrap your business and build everything from the ground up. She talks about how she decides whether to invest in equipment to help her create her products, how bootstrapping has integrated into her wholesale strategy and budget and what it’s been like scaling her handmade products into wholesale. 

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142 | The Hourly Rate of Exhibiting at a Trade Show with Katie Hunt
142 | The Hourly Rate of Exhibiting at a Trade Show with Katie Hunt

Hey friends, when you’re building your wholesale business there’s no doubt that you’ll be headed to trade shows to get your product out there and in front of the right buyers. The reality is, trade shows are expensive and you don’t want to waste a single minute while exhibiting. 

In this episode, I reverse engineer what it really costs to exhibit at a trade show from an hourly rate perspective. This will help you to realize how much every hour counts while exhibiting and the importance of using your time to connect with others, write orders and doing market research. It’s not the time to be admiring other people’s products or talking to your booth neighbors (there’s plenty of time to do that during break down or set up or even after hours). I talk about why you need to know your numbers, how Paper Camp helps attendees to know where to save money and where to splurge during shows and the importance of preparation.

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141 | Bookkeeping Strategies with Greg Higdon, Grow the Books
141 | Bookkeeping Strategies with Greg Higdon, Grow the Books

Does the thought of bookkeeping make you feel uneasy? I know that for so many creatives, knowing your numbers and doing your bookkeeping can feel a bit overwhelming. That’s why I brought on today’s guest because let’s face it... The reality is that even though numbers aren’t always our favorite, they are essential for knowing your business’ financial health and profitability.

Today you’ll hear from Greg Higdon, founder of Grow the Books, a bookkeeping company for small businesses. Greg helps entrepreneurs with a done for you service but he also helps those who want to DIY to understand what they need to know about reconciling their numbers.

We explore the topic of bookkeeping and how you’ll know when it’s time to outsource this task to someone else. We also talk about what questions you should ask before hiring a bookkeeper, the importance of setting aside time to do your bookkeeping and why sometimes you need to have someone outside of your business looking at the numbers. 

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140 | Adding products to a service based business with Robin Long, The Balanced Life
140 | Adding products to a service based business with Robin Long, The Balanced Life

Today we’re so happy to have Robin Long on for Episode 141 of Proof to Product. Robin is the founder of The Balanced Life,  a website that provides quick and effective Pilates workouts for busy women. Robin made the transition from the traditional teaching model of working in studios, gyms and training private clients to serve her clients online. 

On today’s episode, Robin shares how she shifted from the more traditional service offering into a successful membership model for her service based business. She tells us why she has decided to grow her business slowly and organically - ensuring that she’s building a business that fits her lifestyle and brings her joy. 

Robin and I dive into how she’s used drop shipping to add additional income streams to her business and why she decided to create physical products for her service based business. She opens up about her experience with building her team including why going on maternity leave has helped her to put more strategic systems in place. We talk about setting boundaries, hesitations she had before moving to a membership model and her advice for someone who is just getting started in business. 

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139 | Letting go of sales reps, employees & downsizing her product line with Kristen Ley, Thimblepress
139 | Letting go of sales reps, employees & downsizing her product line with Kristen Ley, Thimblepress

Happy 2020 friends! For our first episode back in the New Year, my friend Kristen Ley of Thimblepress is back on the show. Kristen was first featured on Episode 4 of Proof to Product back where we talked about how she fell into business backwards and discussed tips on partnerships and collaborations. That episode was recorded back in early 2017 and since then, Kristen has done a lot of soul searching and ridden the waves of transition and upheaval in both her business and personal life.

On today's episode, Kristen bravely shares what she learned from her journey. She talks about why she decided to let go of all her sales reps, say goodbye to 15 employees, downsize her warehouse and office space and discontinue over a hundred SKUs in the Thimblepress line. Kristen not only shares her journey of reevaluating what she wanted to get out of her business, but also how she implemented those changes.

Today's episode is a heartfelt one full of advice, wisdom and encouragement for anyone feeling stuck in their business or worried about the changes they need to make. Friends, remember this is your business. You set the rules and at any time you can decide to go a different way. I hope Kristen's story helps you and I hope you enjoy it.

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138 | Shifting the maker mindset with Genesis Duncan, Graphic Anthology
138 | Shifting the maker mindset with Genesis Duncan, Graphic Anthology

When we first start our businesses, more often than not, we don’t have the big picture idea of what our brand or business will look like down the road. So many of us embark on this so-called maker’s journey, where we truly discover our strengths, opportunities, and long term vision for our business. Lucky for us, one of our talented Paper Camp alumni, Genesis Duncan of Graphic Anthology, is joining us today on Episode 138 of Proof to Product to share her experience and advice for other makers on the path. 

Based in Portland, Oregon, Genesis started Graphic Anthology in 2010 with just three art prints and an Etsy shop. Almost a decade later, her product line has grown to include a wide range of greeting cards and gift items that focus on joy, simplicity, and strengthening relationships with those you love most.

Today's episode is a powerful one and I know it will resonate with many of you. We talk about how Genesis started her business as a creative outlet and hobby, and why she had to shift her mindset and step into her role and title as an entrepreneur and business owner. Genesis also shares how adding a line of Spanish greeting cards was not only beneficial to her business, but also her personal development.

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137 | How I juggle day to day work & family life with Katie Hunt
137 | How I juggle day to day work & family life with Katie Hunt

Hey Friends, in episode 136 I walked you through how I do my annual strategic planning for the business. I got into the weeds sharing what reports I look at, how I analyze that data and then how I schedule things out to ensure that I’m not overloading myself, my team or my family with my grand plans! Ha!

Now that we’ve covered the question about big-picture planning, I want to circle back on the requests I received to share how I manage my day to day flow of family life & business life. For episode 137, I'm sharing what my day to day looks like with four young children (currently ages 3 to 9 years old), a growing business and an active family life.

I talk about strategies I use to make my shortened workdays more productive including batching tasks, delegating more and not checking my email a million times a day. And, the biggest tip I can offer is to remain flexible -- because my day to day is constantly changing and I'm guessing yours is too. What works for me now, wouldn't have worked a few years ago and may not work for us one year from now. But, give yourself space and permission to make changes as you go.

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136 | How I do my annual strategy planning with Katie Hunt
136 | How I do my annual strategy planning with Katie Hunt

Hey friends, I have been getting a lot of requests from people curious about how I map out my annual plan for the business, and how I work my family schedule into that. I’m going to be honest, balancing a busy family schedule and a very busy business schedule can be hard. There's a number of things that I need to consider and weigh in on when I'm making decisions in my business. And that really ties into how I plan my year because I don't want to overload myself with too many things, only to do all of them less than stellar. I want to do my best at everything.

In this episode, I get granular about how I do my big picture, strategic planning each year for my business so that I'm not overloading myself, my team or my family. I talk about what reports I look at, how I analyze what's working and what's not working to decide which programs, products and services we'll offer the following year.

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