Proof to Product

Katie Hunt

Episodes

Mentioned books

undefined
Aug 5, 2025 • 37min

406 | From 0 to 60+ Stores Selling Watercolor Kits with Kate Talcott

I'm curious, have you been thinking about niching down or focusing in on one product type? But maybe you're nervous about making that transition or having all your eggs in one basket?  This is exactly what Kate Talcott did and she reaped the benefits and then some.  Kate is our guest this week, and I'm excited to share her story. Kate is one of our Paper Camp alumni and her business is called Splatter & Bloom. She sells watercolor kits that give you instant creativity boosts without any of the hassle.  Before joining Paper Camp, Kate was in zero stores and now her products are carried in nearly 70. She didn't always focus on selling watercolor kits, though. During this episode, you'll hear Kate share about the challenges she faced evolving her product line, the pivotal moments that led to her distribution of her watercoloring kits into 60-plus stores, and her experience of going viral on TikTok.  You'll also hear her talk about burnout and her experiences with that, which is super important for us to talk about. I know you're going to love this one.  Before we jump in, I wanted to tell you about a free workshop that I'm hosting on August 12th at 9:00am Pacific Time.  Wholesale buying season has been really eye-opening. As someone who has been in the wholesale game for over 17 years and I've worked with over 35,000 thriving wholesale brands, I have a really unique viewpoint to spot mistakes, missed opportunities, and more importantly, I can troubleshoot and find solutions for those that are facing a sales slump. The market is changing and our strategies need to shift with it. In this free workshop, I'm going to talk about how you can land consistent wholesale orders without over-relying on Faire without using bad wholesale pitches or discounting. RSVP for this free workshop at http://prooftoproduct.com/RSVP  You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/406  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  
undefined
Jul 31, 2025 • 14min

405 | I Just Got On Faire. Am I Supposed to be Pitching My Products? with Katie Hunt

The discussion opens with a crucial question about pitching products on wholesale platforms like Faire. The speaker emphasizes the importance of proactive sales strategies, especially for beginners. They reflect on the evolving market dynamics and share insights gained from over 17 years of experience. Listeners can also look forward to a free workshop aimed at helping businesses navigate sales slumps without relying heavily on platforms or resorting to discounting. It's an eye-opening guide to thriving in the wholesale world.
undefined
Jul 29, 2025 • 9min

404 | 5 Things That Paper Camp Scholarship Winners Have in Common with Katie Hunt

It is that time again. We are now accepting Paper Camp scholarship applications.  If you have wanted to attend our wholesale intensive coaching program, but you need a little help with tuition, now is your time to shine. We award one full tuition scholarship for each and every round of Paper Camp. Since 2011, we have awarded more than $345,000 in scholarship funds to students. This has enabled us to provide support to a lot of up and coming product brands that you know and love. People that are making huge strides in the industry. I'm talking Inklings Paperie, Ladyfinger Letterpress, E. Francis Paper, Brainstorm and dozens of other brands that were past scholarship recipients. They showed up in Paper Camp, asked their questions, and implemented what they learned.  Ultimately, they did the hard work and now they have built incredible brands that make a huge impact in our world and in our industry.  Our scholarship applications do take a bit of time to fill out. There are questions to answer and even a short video component to complete. We typically receive anywhere from 80-90 scholarship applications for every round of Paper Camp.  It takes my team and me several days to review each application, and honestly, it's such a challenge to whittle it down to just one scholarship winner. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, head to prooftoproduct.com/scholarships and get your application in today. Applications will close this Friday at 5pm Pacific Time. You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/404  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp
undefined
Jul 24, 2025 • 15min

403 | Best Wholesale Pitching Practices with Two Shopkeepers, Victoria Venturi & Katie Wilson

One of the highlights of our Paper Camp program is the weekly coaching calls that we host by me and our guest experts. You not only get to ask questions about that week's curriculum and content from Paper Camp, but you also get to hear firsthand from industry experts.  These are wholesale experts: large-scale wholesale manufacturers, retail shop owners, sales experts, trade show exhibitors, all of the people that are deeply embedded in the wholesale world.  This week on the podcast, I wanted to share a snippet of one of our calls from Marketing Week. This is the week in Paper Camp that we traditionally talk with shopkeepers to find out how they like to be pitched, how much follow-up is too much, do they want to see samples before they buy, and so much more. This is your chance to ask all of your burning questions of our guest experts and to hear direct feedback. This excerpt is a conversation with Victoria Venturi of Paper Epiphanies and Katie Wilson of Crush & Touch. These are two shopkeepers who are getting pitched all of the time from brands and vendors that are just like you.  Victoria and Katie are providing feedback on how they like to be pitched, including the best way for vendors to capture their attention, methods that they use most when placing orders, and red flags that they see in wholesale pitches.  They talk about whether they want to receive samples and about follow-up and how much follow-up is too much.  This is just a small portion of the incredible value that our Paper Camp students receive during their time in our program.  I am incredibly grateful for people like Victoria and Katie and our other speakers that come back to share their knowledge and preferences with us.  These calls are my favorite part of Paper Camp. Speaking of Paper Camp, we will be opening enrollment for the next round very soon. This is a program that we only run live twice a year. It is not a course you do on your own. We are there to hold your hand and help you through it, answering questions for your specific brand and circumstances.  I wanted to let you know that we have some new, exciting surprises to share with you during this launch round, including a free event that you won't want to miss. I'm not quite ready to spill all the tea yet, but everyone who is on our Paper Camp waitlist will be the first to hear about this live event and the new incentives that we're offering.  You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/403  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  
undefined
Jul 22, 2025 • 12min

402 | 5 Big Mistakes I See in Product Catalogs (and How to Fix Them) with Katie Hunt

Today on the podcast, I want to talk about your wholesale catalog. Your wholesale catalog is the most important sales tool in your wholesale toolbox. Yet simple mistakes may be costing you a lot of money and a lot of headaches. So this week, I want to talk about five common errors that I see when I'm reviewing catalogs for clients so that you can avoid making these same mistakes.  As a quick background, I have done thousands of catalog audits for our Paper Camp students and my advisory board mastermind clients. Yes, thousands. Looking through this volume of wholesale catalogs, it really gives me a unique viewpoint, one that mirrors the experience of buyers. I can easily spot red flags in wholesale catalogs, but I can also spot unique and innovative trends. Many of these things are things that we teach in our Paper Camp program. My team and I know what buyers are looking for and how to structure your wholesale catalog so that you can convert more of these prospects into actual customers.  We want you to convert to more sales. We will also want you to make it easy for your wholesale customers to purchase from you. That means optimizing each page so that it does a good job of selling your products when you're not there. Today's episode is brought to you by our Is Wholesale Right for You private podcast! This free 12-part audio series will help you decide whether wholesale is a good next step for your specific business. After listening to this audio series (in less than an hour), two things will be true. You'll know whether you want to pursue wholesale for your product business, and you'll have the confidence and action steps to get started with wholesale. Sign up for the private podcast today! SIGN UP You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/402  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  
undefined
Jul 15, 2025 • 29min

401 | Going From 20 to 120 Wholesale Accounts with Carley Hussain, Parcel Island

Hey friend. You know how much I love sharing success stories here on the podcast and this week is no exception.  I had the pleasure of connecting with Carley Hussain of Parcel Island, which is a gift and stationery business based out of Philadelphia. Carley is one of our talented Paper Camp alumni who started with 20 wholesale accounts and she is now in over 120 stores. Yes, she has grown by more than 100 accounts while also working at a full-time job.  During our conversation, we talk about the key strategies that fueled her business growth, including marketing automations she set up, finding her unique brand voice, and leveraging platforms like Faire. Carley also leveraged the resources available to her in Paper Camp, such as our wholesale pitch process, email templates, and postcard templates, adding her own unique voice and brand positioning to the outreach. You’ll hear what project management tools Carley uses to keep her business organized and her tasks on track. We discuss the challenges of inventory and product launches. Plus, we talk about how she's building strong local relationships that have helped her brand flourish. Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit. Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners.  Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions. We will open enrollment for our next round of Paper Camp soon, and we sell this program out every time we run it. Join the waitlist and you’ll get early access to enroll. SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/401  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  
undefined
Jul 8, 2025 • 53min

Celebrating 400 Episodes: Getting Candid About Podcasting, Resilience, and Business Growth with Katie Hunt

Hey friend, it's Brittney Lynn. I know you're likely expecting Katie Hunt and I promise she is featured in this episode. If we haven't met before, I am Katie's publicist and I am also the podcast producer of this very podcast. We wanted to do something special for the 400th episode of the podcast, so we decided to turn the tables and I'm interviewing Katie.  We discuss Katie's favorite part of the podcast recording process, advice she'd give to herself when she was just starting out, the real cost of running this podcast, and also the Proof to Product business as a whole, examples of times when she felt stuck in business and what she did about it and so much more.  This was such a fun episode to record, and we really hope you enjoy it. We are excited to hear the feedback from the episode and don't worry, Katie will be back in the host seat next week. Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit. Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners.  Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions. We will open enrollment for our next round of Paper Camp soon, and we sell this program out every time we run it. Join the wait list and you’ll get early access to enroll. SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/400  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  
undefined
Jun 24, 2025 • 2min

We're on Summer Break!

The Proof to Product team is practicing what we preach and we are going on summer break for the next two weeks! We will be back in your ears soon and we are so excited about our upcoming episodes, including our 400th episode! In the meantime, we are gearing up for another round of our Paper Camp program which will start soon. We only run Paper Camp twice a year, so if you are wanting to learn how to start with wholesale, click here to join the waitlist (we sell out every time!) Have a great two weeks and we'll see you soon!
undefined
Jun 17, 2025 • 15min

399 | A Peek Inside Paper Camp - Our Alumni Panel with Janine Kwoh, Jesse Regis, and Lucia Saisse Morris

When we have our eyes set on a specific business goal, something like selling wholesale, it is incredibly beneficial to hear from people who are a few steps ahead of us in the process, which is why we close out every round of our Paper Camp program with an alumni panel. I want our students to hear from their peers. In today's podcast episode, we're sharing a portion of our alumni roundtable with all of you.  This alumni panel features Janine Kwoh from Kwohtations, Jesse Regis from Virgins on Fire Candle Company, and Lucia Saisse Morris from Lucy Loves Paper.  Each of these Paper Camp alumni shares details about their brand, how many stores they're working with, what has been challenging about growing wholesale, and more.  Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit. Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners.  Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions. We will open enrollment for the next round of Paper Camp soon, and we sell this program out every time we run it. Join the wait list and you’ll get early access to enroll. SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/399  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  
undefined
Jun 10, 2025 • 16min

398 | How Do I Know If I’m Ready to Exhibit at a Wholesale Trade Show with Katie Hunt

It is officially trade show season, so today we are diving into a question that I hear all the time. It's how do I know if I'm ready to exhibit at a wholesale trade show? This is one of the biggest topics that we cover inside of Paper Camp. Paper Camp is our coaching program for product-based business owners who want to see their products on the shelves of independent stores in their neighborhood or big box stores all over the world. During Paper Camp, we will not only help you decide if shows are a good fit for your brand, but we'll help you figure out which shows to do, how to prepare your trade show budget, what you need to be doing pre and post show in your marketing to maximize those sales. There is so much more that we cover too, specifically regarding trade shows, but also about wholesale in general. Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit. Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners.  Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions. We will open enrollment for our next round of Paper Camp soon, and we sell this program out every time we run it. Join the waitlist and you’ll get early access to enroll. SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/398  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
 Get the app