Do you have a product idea that has never existed before? If so, you may be wondering what it takes to bring an entirely new product to market or how to find suppliers and manufacturers. How do you market and sell something that no one has ever heard about? Kristina Schlegel of Make Bake faced these questions and concerns when she created edible stickers. In today’s episode, she’s taking us behind the scenes of how she broke into a new category, challenges she faced with packaging, and how she sourced her manufacturing! Today’s episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide which will help you map out a year’s worth of marketing emails in under an hour.  If you’ve ever struggled with what to say or how many emails to send to either your wholesale or Direct to Consumer customers, then this tool is for you.  GRAB THE GUIDE You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/272 If you're currently feeling stretched thin, needing to refocus within your business, or you just want to connect with other product makers who are starting and scaling their sales and marketing, come join us in Proof to Product LABS. We'll be opening up the doors again at the end of the year and everyone on our waitlist will get early access to secure your seat. JOIN THE WAITLIST

Are the tasks and projects that you have going on in your business leaving you feeling overwhelmed? In today’s episode, I’m sharing how to reduce that overwhelm by deciding where to focus your time and energy, and identify areas where we can delegate responsibilities within our business. If you’ve been nervous to hire or delegate in your business, this episode is for you! Today’s episode is brought to you by our free, on-demand masterclass, Deciding What to Delegate in Three Simple Steps, which will teach you how to quickly and easily hone in on tasks that you can delegate to somebody else within your business. Grab free access to this class inside our resource library!  GET ACCESS NOW You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/271 If you have ever wanted to pick my brain, or get my eyes and ears on your business, Proof to Product LABS is the place to do it. We have monthly group coaching calls and a wide range of On Demand training specifically for product based business owners. We'll be opening up the doors again at the end of the year and everyone on our waitlist will get early access to secure your seat. JOIN THE WAITLIST

Is a retail store an avenue you’ve been wanting to explore in your product-based business? Lisa DiVito of Tiramisu Paperie joins us today to share her own experience in opening a retail store as an additional revenue stream to her already successful wholesale business. Listen in as she shares what she’s learned through the process and shares advice for anyone looking to open a brick-and-mortar store. Today’s episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide which will help you map out a year’s worth of marketing emails in under an hour.  If you’ve ever struggled with what to say or how many emails to send to either your wholesale or Direct to Consumer customers, then this tool is for you.  GRAB THE GUIDE You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/270 If you're currently feeling stretched thin, needing to refocus within your business, or you just want to connect with other product makers who are starting and scaling their sales and marketing, come join us in Proof to Product LABS. We'll be opening up the doors again at the end of the year and everyone on our waitlist will get early access to secure your seat. JOIN THE WAITLIST

It’s not often that we hear from product makers and businesses that are selling 100% retail here on the podcast, but at McKinnon Collective, Danella Ruth McKinnon and her husband have done over 150 retail markets since 2019 and their experience in this space comes with so much value! In today’s episode, Danella is sharing why they don’t sell wholesale for their handmade leather bags and how she’s found success at retail markets, including her tips for standing out, merchandising, and inventory. Listen in as she highlights how they’ve also decided to incorporate an e-commerce store into their holiday sales with a limited time run over 4 days this November. Today’s episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide which will help you map out a year’s worth of marketing emails in under an hour.  If you’ve ever struggled with what to say or how many emails to send to either your wholesale or Direct to Consumer customers, then this tool is for you.  GRAB THE GUIDE You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/269 If you enjoyed today’s episode, Danella will be leading a coffee chat on October 19th where she’ll answer all your burning questions about exhibiting at markets inside of LABS, our 12-month group coaching program that was built for product based business owners who want to streamline their systems and revenue. If you’re not a member, make sure you’re on the waitlist for when we open enrollment! JOIN THE WAITLIST

If you’re looking to develop a strong product line for your business, I highly encourage you to stay away from assorted products. While some brands can make them work well, I highly despise them. In today’s episode, I’m sharing exactly why assorted products can hurt your business and why you should consider discontinuing any assorted products in your product line. You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/268 Today’s episode is brought to you by our free Is Wholesale Right for You? Masterclass! During this class, I'll walk you through 12 questions to ask yourself to determine if your products and your business are ready to sell wholesale, plus I'll provide tips so that you can move forward with confidence in your next steps. Get access to this free masterclass inside our resources library! GET FREE ACCESS NOW

Are you building a 90-day marketing roadmap that provides results in your business? In today’s episode, LABS community leader and alum, Shea Bailey-Burkett of Planned and Proper joins us to share how her 90-day roadmap helped grow her email list to over 10,000 subscribers in one year! Listen in as Shea shares how she built and implemented her 90-day roadmap with LABS guest expert, Lyndsay Clements, and how it’s helped keep simplified and improved her business’ marketing efforts. Inside LABS, our 12-month group coaching program, we focus on specific topics each quarter to push our businesses forward. Q1 was focused on hiring, where we shared sample job descriptions, pay structures, and even had a call with an HR compliance expert. Q2 focused on product development and talk through sourcing fulfillment and inventory management. Q3 was all about marketing and we learned how to create and implement our 90-day marketing roadmap with Lyndsay Clements.  In Q4, we’re focusing on sales. The value in this ongoing group coaching program isn’t just the education, but the opportunity to implement and get feedback. We offer this accountability and sharing through our peer mastermind, our accountability check ins, and our community coffee chats, which is where a portion of today’s episode comes from. You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/267 Today’s episode is brought to you by LABS, our 12-month group coaching program that was built for product based business owners who want to streamline their systems and revenue. If you’re already a LABS member, make sure you review Lyndsay’s full training! If you’re not a member, but want access to the full training and are ready to join, make sure you’re on the waitlist for when we open enrollment! JOIN THE WAITLIST

If you haven’t raised your prices in the last 6-12 months, it’s time for you to audit your product costs and pricing to see exactly what your profit margins are. It’s likely that costs have risen and your profit margins aren’t as high as they used to be. In today’s episode, I’m sharing a few approaches you can take to communicate your price changes with your customers. You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/266 Today’s episode is brought to you by my free Email Marketing For Product Makers Guide, where you’ll learn how to  map out 12 months of emails in under an hour and learn more about strategies for wholesale and direct to consumer audiences! GET ACCESS NOW

Have you started preparing your business for the holidays? In today’s episode, we’re sharing a portion of Mei Pak’s holiday sales training that she shared with our LABS community. In this training, Mei shares 8 tips to prepare for Black Friday, how she structures her ladder sales strategy, and plans out her marketing leading up to the sales. Today’s episode will walk you through the 8 tips to get your product business ready for holiday sales! You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/265 Today’s episode is brought to you by LABS, our 12-month group coaching program that was built for product based business owners who want to streamline their systems and revenue. If you’re already a LABS member, make sure you review Mei’s full training! If you’re not a member, but want access to the full training and are ready to join, make sure you’re on the waitlist for when we open enrollment! JOIN THE WAITLIST

There’s a quote that reads something along the lines of “Remember that once you dreamed of being where you are now.” Business growth and success looks a little different for everyone depending on where you are in your life and the goals you have for your business—but a past version of yourself has likely dreamt of being exactly where you are. It’s so easy to keep grinding and moving along in our business, but today I want to encourage you to take some time to reflect on where you started in your journey and where your business is today.  In this episode, Nikki Tyler of Little Lovelies Studio joins us to discuss what the last 10 years of business has looked like for her, what her journey to wholesale entailed, and what she’d do differently if she was just getting started. Listen in as she shares how wholesale went from an idea to contributing to 95% of her revenue at Little Lovelies Studio! You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/264 Today’s episode is brought to you by my free Email Marketing For Product Makers Guide, where you’ll learn how to  map out 12 months of emails in under an hour and learn more about strategies for wholesale and direct to consumer audiences! GET ACCESS NOW

As if business owners hadn’t had enough of pivoting over the last two and a half years through the pandemic, now we are in the midst of a recession. Small businesses everywhere are worried about how to prepare and thrive during this time. As someone who has personally worked through three recessions now, I'm sharing my thoughts about what you can do to keep your business moving forward during this recession! You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/263 Today’s episode is brought to you by LABS, our 12-month group coaching program that was built for product based business owners who want to streamline their systems and streamline their revenue. If you’re ready to join this program, make sure you’re on the waitlist for when we open enrollment! JOIN THE WAITLIST