Proof to Product

Expert Katie Hunt shares 5 steps to turn trade show leads into customers. She emphasizes the importance of follow-through. Strategies include tracking leads, sending personalized emails, and nurturing relationships for success.

We all have big goals, dreams, and plans for our businesses. In order to meet those milestones, we need to take action. What do you do when you look at your to-do list and everything starts to feel really overwhelming?  Today's guest is Ashley Brown of Routines and Things and this episode is an excerpt from a recent Coffee Chat that she led inside of our Proof to Product LABS program on time management. Ashley is our resident routines expert, teaching us how to establish and sustain routines in our life and our business, so that we're less stressed and more fulfilled.  On today's episode, you'll hear Ashley speak candidly about how she personally handles task management, as well as energy management in her life and business. We talk about mindset work, delegating and outsourcing, and how to conserve and restore our energy. This episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide. 49% of our customers want to hear from us on a consistent basis, yet, only a small percentage of product-based business owners are actively sending monthly emails to their customers.   If you’ve struggled with what to say, when to send, or how to plan out your email marketing strategies, we’ve got just the tool for you. This tool and the optional training have helped hundreds of product makers plan out an entire year’s worth of emails.  And, the best part… they are creating templates that they can rinse & repeat year after year.   DOWNLOAD NOW You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/292   If you are looking for a safe space to talk openly about the challenges and solutions needed to scale a product based business, look no further. We have carved out a space just for you! Our LABS community consists of brands across industries and across the globe, who are building profitable, sustainable businesses. We're talking about things like processes, systems, marketing strategies, and more. We have trainings, templates, coaching calls, and community connections to help you make forward progress towards your goals.    JOIN NOW  

Many entrepreneurs are high achievers! We work hard. We go above and beyond. We care deeply about the work we do, whether it's for ourselves or for others. So when things don't go as planned or are even outside of our control, we can sometimes feel like we're failing. Today's guest is Paper Camp Alum Alyssa Manoleas, who makes and sells hand illustrated greeting cards and gifts through her brand Grey Street Paper. Prior to running her business full time, Alyssa worked as a fashion designer in New York, a job that she was great at. She was climbing the corporate ladder, earning more money, gaining titles, but despite being excellent at her job, she was furloughed and then laid off in 2020. On today's episode, we're talking about the mental shift of moving from corporate to entrepreneurship. Alyssa candidly shares how she felt like a failure when she was let go from her corporate job, and how she had to carefully work through the grief tied to that. She also shares how she came out better on the other side with a profitable thriving business that allows her to make a bigger impact. Alyssa also shares the methods that she's using to work towards her goal of 500 wholesale accounts, and why Paper Camp was the best investment that she's made in herself and her business. 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 prooftoproduct.com/291  

Think back to when you started your business. Was choosing a name an easy or difficult task for you?  I’m terrible at naming things—particularly my own projects, so this is something I labored over for too long. In today’s episode I’m replying to a question from Tiffany, one of our community members who is struggling with naming her business. She’s unsure whether to name it after her personal name or create a unique business name. I’m going to run through some pros & cons of each, plus share 7 tips for naming your business if it is not your name. This episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide. 49% of our customers want to hear from us on a consistent basis, yet, only a small percentage of product-based business owners are actively sending monthly emails to their customers.   If you’ve struggled with what to say, when to send, or how to plan out your email marketing strategies, we’ve got just the tool for you. This tool and the optional training have helped hundreds of product makers plan out an entire year’s worth of emails.  And, the best part… they are creating templates that they can rinse & repeat year after year.   DOWNLOAD NOW If you’ve ever wanted to pick my brain or ask a question like this one, our LABS coaching program is the way to do it! Through our monthly group coaching calls and on-demand trainings, we’re helping you scale your business. LEARN MORE You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/290 Mentioned in this Episode: Emily Ley of Simplified Emily McDowell of Em and Friends Episode 100: Listeners help us celebrate episode 100! Episode 101: Why I Rebranded to Proof to Product Episode 102: Logistics of Our Rebrand with Katie Hunt, Proof to Product

Way back in 2008, when I had my stationery brand I purchased a light box off of Amazon, borrowed my sister’s DSLR camera and spent hours reading photography tutorials on blogs to learn how to use the camera and to get ideas for what my shot list should include! When I say hours, I literally mean dozens of hours were spent trying to learn how to take product photos that would make my brand look polished & professional. And, the results… Well, they were ok.  Not great, but ok.   Then in 2010, I hired a professional photographer to take product photos for me. It was a big investment for my small business but I knew that if I had stronger photography, that I would likely sell more of my product and it would give me content to post on social media. Even with the professional photographer, there were still several aspects of the shoot that I was responsible for like a shot list, styling, and making sure we got everything shot that we needed. I remember feeling a lot of pressure to get it right, because I was investing a lot of time and money into this photo shoot. Fast forward to today and thankfully there is a less expensive & convenient way for you to get your products photographed, styled and edited by professionals. Meet soona, a creative technology company that helps over 15,000 commerce brands with photo and video production.  They are disrupting the industry with their innovative services, creative process, and use of technology. Today’s guest is Rikin Diwan, who handles sales & marketing at soona. We’re talking about their scaleable creative process and how soona is alleviating pain points for ecommerce brands that need digital assets to sell more of their products. If you’ve struggled with product photography… this episode is for you. Today’s episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide. This was a training I taught inside of our Proof to Product LABS program—where hundreds of product makers mapped out a year of emails in under an hour. If you’ve struggled with what to say, when to send or how to plan out your email marketing strategies for wholesale or direct to consumer audiences we’ve got just the tool for you. Grab our free guide that has helped hundreds of product makers plan out a year’s worth of marketing emails in under an hour. We’ll tell you what to say, when to send and help you create an email strategy that works for your specific business.  GET FREE ACCESS You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/289. If you’re ready to give Soona a try, they’re giving our community an exclusive offer of your first photoshoot free! You can find that inside our LABS vendor directory! If you’re not in our LABS community, this is our 12 month membership built specifically for product based business owners they're looking to streamline their business and boost their sales!  LEARN MORE  

Research has shown that you have about 8 seconds to capture people’s attention when they come to your website.  That’s the average attention span for your website visitors, and that’s not a lot of time!  If you fail to articulate what you sell, who those products are for and how you’re different from your competitors, you may have lost your chance to convert that potential customer. We have to be intentional about how we’re interacting & connecting with our customers so that we’re not only keeping their attention, but also converting them to customers. Today’s guest is Arianne Foulks, of Aeolidia, a web and graphic design agency.  Arianne and her team work exclusively with brands with a penchant for design and they have launched thousands of online shops.  She loves having a problem to solve, and has focused throughout her career on building online homes for fascinating people. You may remember Arianne from episode 114 of Proof to Product where we talked about abandoned cart emails.  On today’s episode we’re talking about common mistakes she sees product business owners making with their e-commerce site, SMS marketing strategies, and why you need automated email flows—like welcome and abandoned cart sequences—to better nurture and retain your current customers. If you’re a LABS member, Arianne will be joining us in April to lead us through achievable ways to optimize your e-commerce website for more sales. She’ll also be back in July to do website audits for our LABS members! Keep an eye on our events calendar so that you don’t miss these exciting trainings live! If you’re not already in our LABS program, head to prooftoproduct.com/labs to learn more.  As a reminder, all past LABS trainings are available as replays (and we have a really rich archive of trainings)—but only active LABS members are able to attend our trainings live and ask questions. Today's episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product LABS program. If you are looking to strengthen your business foundation and are looking for coaching and a trusted community for support, come join Proof to Product LABS. Our vault of on-demand trainings runs deep, but the incredible community, the connections, and the collaborations are like no other. If you sell physical products, come join us! This is a space that was intentionally built just for you.   ENROLL NOW   You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/288.  

Does the economy have you worried? I know that the words inflation and recession have been hot topics in several small business groups that I'm in, and I know that people are worried. Today, Jess Van Den of Create and Thrive joins me to talk about how small businesses, particularly in the handmade space, can prepare for and survive through these types of economic downturns.  Jess is the founder of Create and Thrive, a community for handmade product makers where she teaches them how to craft the business they've dreamed of. Since 2013, Jess has helped 1000’s of makers to create a thriving and profitable handmade business. Jess teaches what she knows. She owns and operates a successful jewelry business selling online and wholesale to shops.  On today's episode, Jess shares how she accidentally started two businesses with a startup story that is oddly similar to my own! Then we dove into talking about recession, inflation, and what business owners can do to adapt during these times. We specifically talk about ways to diversify your revenue streams, why you need to be auditing your expenses, and the importance of surrounding yourself with a trusted community.  Today's episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product LABS program. If you are looking to strengthen your business foundation and are looking for coaching and a trusted community for support, come join Proof to Product LABS. Our vault of on-demand trainings run deep, but the incredible community, the connections, and the collaborations are like no other. If you sell physical products, come join us! This is a space that was intentionally built just for you. ENROLL NOW You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/287.  

When I talk to people about their business, they often say they “fell into business” or became an “entrepreneur by accident.” It’s a common story, especially in the creative online space that we all work in. These people solved a problem, likely for themselves, and then that solution led to something greater… whether it be a new business, new product or revenue stream. One thing I always like to remind these entrepreneurs of… is that even though the idea or the initial spark of the solution may have been an accident, building, growing, sustaining that new business, product or program is never an accident. It is an intentional choice to continue and that intentionality is what leads to success and greatness over the long haul. Today I want to share one of my stories… about my own “happy accident.”  I made an intentional decision that some considered to be a rash decision—it was scary, but necessary and the outcome has truly been beautiful. Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product resource library. It’s where you can get your hands on lots of free resources to help you start, streamline and scale your business in your own way and at your own pace.   GET FREE ACCESS You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/286  

I’m back from a whirlwind trip to New York where over 50 of our Paper Camp alumni were exhibiting at NY Now and Shoppe Object - two wholesale trade shows. It was such a treat to visit with everyone and to see their new products on display. Both shows were buzzing with buyers, press and brands looking to collaborate. The energy was high and orders were being written. You know… at Paper Camp we like to talk about how selling wholesale is a marathon, not a sprint.  And, exhibiting at wholesale trade shows is just one way to get your products in front of your buyers. Exhibiting at a trade show is no small feat though. There are endless decisions, logistics and shows are a big investment of time, energy and money. When done well, the payoff of exhibiting comes not only through sales at the shows, but also new contacts we meet, conversations we have and face time with our buyers, which is where the long term benefits come into play.  Those face to face connections with current and prospective accounts are priceless. Today’s episode is a compilation of short interviews I conducted on the show floors in New York. At NY Now I talked with Ashley Sutton of Hustle & Hope who shared how in within one year of selling wholesale her products are carried in Home Goods & TJ Max, Divya of Mellowworks who launched her Home Decor line at the show, and Desiree of Paper Anchor who moved from the Emerging artist kiosk to her own booth this year. At Shoppe Object I interviewed Jana of The Completist who traveled from the UK to showcase her new collection of desktop and paper goods and Katie of The Good Twin who shared what it was like moving from NY Now to Shoppe Object. All of today’s guests are alumni of our Paper Camp program.  Our Paper Camp program is the longest-running, most trusted, results-driven wholesale training program.  We combine expert coaching, comprehensive content and a rich community to guide & support you in building a profitable, sustainable wholesale brand.  LEARN MORE   You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/285   Connect with our guests:   Ashley Sutton - Hustle & Hope https://hustleandhopecards.com/ https://www.instagram.com/hustleandhope/   Divya Guruju - Melloworks https://www.shopmellowworks.com/ https://www.instagram.com/mellowworksart/   Desiree Perez - Paper Anchor https://paper-anchor.com/ https://www.instagram.com/paperanchor.co/   Jana Starcevic - The Completist https://www.the-completist.com/ https://www.instagram.com/the.completist/   Katie Wilson - The Good Twin https://www.thegoodtwin.co/ https://www.instagram.com/thegoodtwinco/

Discover the intriguing reasons behind brands venturing into wholesale. It’s a mix of intentional decisions and serendipitous opportunities! Dive into common mistakes newcomers make and learn about a four-part framework that can help pave the way for success. Whether you’re an eager entrepreneur or simply curious, this insightful discussion illuminates the essential steps to mastering the wholesale landscape.