Proof to Product

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  

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  

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!

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  

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  

I'm excited for today's episode because we've got Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income. Pat is a father, a husband, a lifelong learner, and, honestly, one of the most generous teachers out there when it comes to business and entrepreneurship. He has built several successful companies, launched best-selling books, and invented products like the SwitchPod. He's created communities around smart passive income, and somehow, he still finds time for his top-rated podcast about business building, and he runs a top YouTube channel about Pokémon cards, which we'll actually talk about today.  Today, we're talking about Pat's newest book, Lean Learning, How to Achieve More by Learning Less. The book is all about cutting through the noise, taking action faster, and building real momentum, especially if you're feeling overwhelmed by everything that you think you “should be” learning or doing.  If you have ever felt stuck in learning mode, chasing ideas and information but not applying them and making real progress, Pat is going to show us how we can do this better because sometimes doing less and focusing smarter on things is exactly what you need to get bigger results. Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product LABS coaching program. This is a coaching program specifically built for product-based business owners, with members from across industries and across the globe. We have member-only events inside of LABS, so request your invitation to join below!  REQUEST YOUR INVITATION You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/397  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  

This week's podcast topic has been highly requested, and so I'm happy to bring it to you today. I invited Skye Watterson who is an ADHD strategist, coach, and the founder of Unconventional Organisation. She helps business owners stay focused, build consistent revenue, and scale without feeling burnt out.  Skye was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and it completely changed her entire approach to her career, and, eventually, it inspired her to help other entrepreneurs who are having similar challenges.  During our conversation, Skye breaks down common challenges that people with ADHD have, things like issues with focus and task initiation, prioritization, and burnout.  She explains how she uses neuroscience-backed systems to move her clients from feeling overwhelmed and scattered to feeling focused and empowered. We also dig into practical strategies for cutting through mental clutter, effective prioritization for when everything feels urgent, and Skye shares her realistic approach to motivation and dopamine management. Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product LABS coaching program. This is a coaching program specifically built for product-based business owners, with members from across industries and across the globe. We have member-only events inside of LABS, so request your invitation to join below!  REQUEST YOUR INVITATION You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/396  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  

We are back with part two of my conversation with Jessica Totillo Coster, covering the State of the Product Industry survey. You can listen to part 1 by heading to prooftoproduct.com/394.  During part two of my interview with Jessica, we cover how product-based businesses are making money in their businesses, including the percentages of those that are selling wholesale vs retail vs licensing. We talk about how many revenue streams product business owners have, their gross revenue versus net revenue, what people are actually paying themselves, and the importance of paying yourself. Friends, if you are not paying yourself, you should. We have a podcast episode that helps you figure out how to start paying yourself.  We also discuss Jessica and I's thoughts on burnout in the industry, just generally as a whole, but also how to handle balancing real-life struggles while running a business.  I really appreciate Jessica taking the time to sit down with me to talk through this. She was a huge help as I was crunching the data and assessing the numbers. I do think this survey and the data will help all of us grow stronger businesses together. You can get the full results of the survey at prooftoproduct.com/2025survey. 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/395  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  

I’m loving all the feedback that we're getting about the State of the Product Industry survey. Last week, we released two podcast episodes. One was an overview of what the report was saying, what the different stats were, and then the second episode I covered 10 opportunities that all of you should be harnessing as we continue into 2025.  Because we got such great feedback, we're going to keep this going. I asked Jessica Totillo Coster to come and analyze the survey data with me. Jessica has been on the podcast several times in the past (episode 195 & episode 319). If you're new to her, she's an e-commerce and email marketing strategist specifically for boutique owners and product entrepreneurs. She and I share a lot of the same values when it comes to building product brands, so I'm really happy that we were able to have this conversation and dissect some more of the survey data.  If you want the full report, head to prooftoproduct.com/2025survey.  We talked for a long time, so we had to split this into two parts. Today's episode is part one where we discuss the correlation between having a large number of skews to overall sales revenue, the shocking statistics of business owners who don't have their own website, Jessica's thoughts on how product based business owners are using or not using email marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy, and also why it's important to have your own email list, which email marketing platforms are best for product sellers.  They drive the most revenue, and if you're not using email marketing, you need to be. Part two of our conversation will be up on Thursday this week, so tune in to that because we are diving into the financials of product-based businesses, and it's pretty fascinating. 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/394  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  

Explore the intriguing insights gathered from 400 product-based business owners about income, profits, and marketing strategies. Discover 10 key opportunities for growth in the industry, emphasizing the importance of community support and education. The conversation highlights financial milestones and profit margins as essential factors for success in entrepreneurship. Plus, learn about an exciting upcoming coffee chat with Emily Ley, sharing her experience in scaling her business!