Proof to Product

On this episode, Katie shares how she overextended herself in 2016 and how it caused her to refocus her priorities and make some difficult decisions about her business. If you've ever felt stuck, stretched thin or pulled in too many directions, this episode is for you. Katie talks about how she realized she was over scheduled and how she fixed things — including discontinuing manufacturing, pushing pause on speaking at conferences and asking for help / investing in a team.

Lichia Liu is the founder and creative director of Gotamago, a stationery & gifts brand based in Toronto, Canada. A self-taught illustrator, Lichia took a detour from her urban design career in 2013 to start Gotamago when she realized that she needed more authenticity, autonomy and artistic exploration in her work. Besides running Gotamago and being a mom, Lichia is a musician, an urban sketcher, a member of a Japanese Taiko drumming group, and a foster dog parent. On today's episode we're talking about how Lichia left her day job to pursue her passion, how she involves her team in building systems to automate and streamline her business and why she thinks it is important to jump before you feel ready ON TODAY'S EPISODE: What Lichia was doing before she started Gotamango & how that lead her to start her business The first time she was reached out to by a retailer who wanted to carry her line & what her reaction was When she decided to leave her full time job Where Lichia gains inspiration for her work How she makes time for designing while trying to balance the rest of Gotamago How becoming a mom has changed her routines and schedules within her business Lichia's team & the systems she has in place that allow her to step back and prioritize her family The types of canned email responses that she has written How her team grew slowly over time Some of the challenges that she faces being a Canadian exhibitor at U.S. based shows How preparing for her second National Stationery Show is different from preparing for her first The advice she would give to someone who is just starting out in a product based business What's coming up for Gotamago KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "I was working on weekends and I thought, what am I doing? I really need to be grabbing this creative force that I have inside of me and giving it a chance." - Lichia Liu "It's just such a different feeling when you know that strangers who don't know you at all are really liking your products, it gave me a lot of confidence." - Lichia Liu "Everything I've done is pretty much a reflection of what I've been going through in my life." - Lichia Liu "I was kind of a workaholic before I had my baby." - Lichia Liu "Leading up to the baby being born, I really took time to start to systemize everything and delegate it out." - Lichia Liu "Because I feel so much emotional attachment to my products that I'm not the best person to be dealing with things when things go wrong." - Lichia Liu "The first lesson I learned was that when you take your stuff across the border you have to have all your forms filled. So make sure you get your forms filled." - Lichia Liu "If I had waited until I thought it was perfect, I would have spent way more time on getting it to what I thought people wanted rather than actually making a good product that people actually will want." - Lichia Liu LINKS: Website: http://gotamago.com Facebook: http://facebook.com/shopgotamago Instagram: http://Instagram.com/go.tamago Twitter: http://twitter.com/shopgotamago SUBSCRIBE TO PROOF TO PRODUCT: If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests, head over to www.prooftoproduct.com and sign up for our email list. ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

TSBC alum, Kim Burks is the founder of Ramona & Ruth is a boutique letterpress studio located in Omaha, Nebraska. Kim started Ramona & Ruth in 2009 with her tabletop letterpress in a spare bedroom of her home. Kim makes simple and thoughtful letterpress greeting cards and a variety of other paper goods including gift wrap, notebooks and planners. Ramona & Ruth products can be found in retail shops across the country. On today's episode we're talking about Kim's decision to change her business name after being in business for five years, how her design aesthetic has evolved and how bringing on sales reps has enhanced her business. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: Kim's business journey and whether she always wanted to be an entrepreneur How she learned to do letterpress When she decided to take her new hobby and make it into a business The catalyst for changing her business name & why it was a difficult decision The story behind the name Ramona & Ruth How she communicated her name change to retailers What inspires Kim the most when creating her work & how that has changed over the years How she manages doing most of her own printing, designing new ideas, and running her business When she first entered into the wholesale market and how she has grown her wholesale program The factors Kim considered when going to her first stationery show The impact sales reps have had on her business How to nurture relationships with sales reps & the tools that she provides her reps Kim's advice to anyone starting out in a product based business What's next for Ramona & Ruth KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "It was a super scary thing to do and probably pretty risky, but I'm glad that I did it. I feel so comfortable with my new business name. I'm proud of it." - Kim Burks "It took me a while to figure out that I needed help... but it has been amazing asking for help. ." - Kim Burks "You can send out mailers and emails until you're blue in the face, but there's something about a real person, a rep, going to that store physically."- Kim Burks "It's so valuable to have our reps' input when they're on the front lines." - Kim Burks "Working with reps has made me hone down on systems even more and how can we get an order out the door the quickest" - Kim Burks "The most important thing is to really hone in on your voice and your aesthetic, because honestly, there's so many of us." - Kim Burks "It's easy to see some sort of style doing well and say, "Oh, maybe I should do that because that's selling," but I think when it comes down to it, you have to be true to your own voice and really focus on developing that, and that'll set you apart." - Kim Burks LINKS: Website: http://www.ramonaandruth.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ramonaandruth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ramonaandruth/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ramonaandruth/ SUBSCRIBE TO PROOF TO PRODUCT: If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests, head over to www.prooftoproduct.com and sign up for our email list. ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

TSBC alum Zoe Scarf is the co-founder and Chief Brand Officer at Greetabl–a personal and easy way to make your friends feel super loved. If you're not familiar with Greetabl, you should be. It's an impressive gifting service where you choose your packaging, gift and personalize your message and they take care of the rest — getting it in the hands of your recipient. Greetabl has delivered 200,000 happy moments and is continuing to quickly grow. On today's episode Zoe shares how they unsuccessfully chased wholesale, struggled with figuring out who their audience was and how impactful their fulfillment relationships have been. We also spent a good amount of time talking about how Greetabl sought funding from angel investors. They achieved three rounds for $50k, $750k and most recently $1.5M — we talked about how the process worked, what they did with the money and she shared some resources for those interested in learning more. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: How Zoe and her business partner, Joe, came up with the idea for Greetabl Her background as a graphic designer Their experience in the wholesale industry and why they decided to pivot to retail Narrowing down their audience & identifying their core customer How customers order their gifts through Greetabl The process of finding a fulfillment partner & how they landed their current partnership How Zoe & Joe decide what gift items to purchase & what their requirements are How featuring products on Greetabl has helped other small business grow The number one requested product What the Greetabl team look like & when they started bringing people on The fundraising process & how they decided to work with angel investors What they had to provide to the angel investors to get them interested What it looks like if an angel investors decide they want to move forward with you The importance of women investing in and pouring into other women Resources out there to help entrepreneurs connect with angel investors The benefits of a mastermind group What's coming up for Greetabl KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "Buyers need simplicity, and they need to really clearly understand the product." - Katie Hunt "We really wanted to help those women fill what we call the gifting gap. That $15-30 price point where you want something that's really personal, really beautiful, and not gonna break your bank." - Zoe Scharf "Greetabl is like a greeting card that you customize with your photos and a message and then it folds up to become this gift box." - Zoe Scharf "We love these makers and empowering them, and helping them as much as we can, because we were and are in the same boat." - Zoe Scharf "The more connections we can make, and the more we can be involved with companies, the happier I personally feel." - Zoe Scharf "The most effective way to do things was to work with Angel groups, because that's when you talk to anywhere from 10-50 Angel investors at once." - Zoe Scharf "Because our product is very unique, if it sees as much success as we want it to, there are gonna be other people out there who try to do the same exact thing, and it's just up to us to do the best job fastest." - Zoe Scharf "We need more women investing in other women's businesses." - Katie Hunt "I feel very strongly that designers and women just need some more examples to know that it's possible for them to do this stuff." - Zoe Scharf LINKS: Website: http://www.greetabl.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greetabl Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greetabl Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/greetabl/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/greetabl Sequoia Capital resources for business planning, writing a pitch deck and pricing your products: https://www.sequoiacap.com/build/ JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Do you want to scale your business and add new revenue streams? Are you ready to get a handle on your cash flow and tuck money away for retirement? Maybe you are interested in increasing your visibility and fine-tuning your marketing outreach? Perhaps you have a team that you want to nurture or need help building your team? Our newest on demand program, Paper Camp+ can help you with all of these things and more. The program includes 5 keynote presentations and 2 panels from a wide range of business experts. You can watch what you need, when you need it most and revisit the videos as often as you'd like. This course was built for anyone running a product based business, and extends way beyond the paper industry. Enroll at www.tradeshowcamp.com/pcplus! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

Emily Thompson is an author, educator and web designer. She's the founder of Indie Shopography and co-host of the Being Boss podcast, where she inspires, writes and curates content to help creatives own their path and be more boss. With over 3 million listens, the impact of the podcast inspired Emily and her business partner and co-host on Being Boss, Kathleen Shannon to write their first book called Being Boss: Take Control of your Work and Live Life on your Own Terms. This episode is a fun one and we talked about some key topics in the book. Emily shared her thoughts on why being boss requires vision and hustle, the importance of setting boundaries that align with your values and why you need to do the work. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: The biggest misconception that people have around being an entrepreneur The career path that has led Emily to multiple businesses, an amazing podcast, and a book How she met her podcast co-host, Kathleen Shannon, and how they grew their "business bestie" relationship Starting the Being Boss podcast & the inspiration behind it What lead to Emily & Kathleen deciding to write a book & how their experiences shaped it How Emily balances being both a visionary and an implementer How values set the stage for decision making within business The advice Emily has for people pleasers who want to say "yes" to everything The red flags people experience when they need to set better boundaries Emily's definition of success What's next for Emily and the Being Boss brand KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "My life probably looks a lot easier to some people than it actually is." - Emily Thompson "Most successful people have super windy roads that get them to the place they are now." - Emily Thompson "Once you make that first leap, all the other leaps are easier. " - Emily Thompson "I understand that I have to know what those day to day tasks are, in order to reach that big vision, and so it was a practice of finding a system that worked for me, and then just implementing it, day after day after day." - Emily Thompson "As creative entrepreneurs, we live our work, and our work in a lot of ways, defines who we are." - Emily Thompson "If you have some good parameters around what you allow yourself to say yes to, you can say yes with confidence and no resentment, to things that are going to fit, and you can say no with confidence and no fear, to the things that don't fit." - Emily Thompson "Once you are good at holding your boundaries, it's so much easier to be fluid and maintain control." - Emily Thompson "Just because somebody else is doing it, does not mean you need to do it. You need to do what is best for you, your company, your business, your circumstances, your family." - Katie Hunt "My success looks like doing whatever I want to do, but also being super productive while I'm doing it." - Emily Thompson LINKSBook: https://www.amazon.com/Being-Boss-Take-Control-Terms/dp/0762490462/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1520391475&sr=8-1&keywords=being+boss+kathleen+shannon&dpID=51hskd%252BskIL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch&linkCode=sl1&tag=tradesbootc07-20&linkId=82b7a7e0f16f088a9455de3037cfc23c Website: https://beingboss.club Facebook: https://facebook.com/beingbossclub Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beingbossclub/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/beingbossclub JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Do you want to scale your business and add new revenue streams? Are you ready to get a handle on your cash flow and tuck money away for retirement? Maybe you are interested in increasing your visibility and fine-tuning your marketing outreach? Perhaps you have a team that you want to nurture or need help building your team? Our newest on demand program, Paper Camp+ can help you with all of these things and more. The program includes 5 keynote presentations and 2 panels from a wide range of business experts. You can watch what you need, when you need it most and revisit the videos as often as you'd like. This course was built for anyone running a product based business, and extends way beyond the paper industry. Enroll at www.tradeshowcamp.com/pcplus! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

TSBC Alums Laura Hooper Leader and Alyssa Bobbett of Laura Hooper Calligraphy have served clients with hand calligraphy and stationery needs for weddings, showers events & more since 2002. These sisters have grown a dynamic business that includes their custom work, ready made product, calligraphy kits, offer in person and online educational programs and these girls wrote a book last year. On today's episode we're talking about their business model including their process for adding new revenue streams. We dove deep into their custom work regarding pricing and how they've set better boundaries to provide a better experience for their customers. And, we talked about their strategies and goals for engaging with their 318k instagram followers! A little side note here — but they aren't happy with the IG algorithm changes either! ON TODAY'S EPISODE: How Laura got her start in calligraphy and how her love for hand lettering turned into a business When Alyssa joined her sister at Laura Hooper Calligraphy and how she defined her role How having people on her team handling very specific tasks frees Laura up to focus on the creative side of the business The importance of investing in your business & outsourcing when possible What led to the diversity of Laura Hooper Calligraphy's product offerings and how they determined what direction to go in The start of their calligraphy workshops & why they decided to "train the competition" The custom work they are doing The systems & boundaries they have in place to standardize their custom work The strategies they use to engage with their followers on social media Laura & Alyssa's thoughts on the Instagram algorithm How they measure conversions from Instagram What's coming up next for Laura Hooper Calligraphy KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "I'm very logistical and Laura is very artistic. You could say that it was a good little marriage of skills." - Alyssa Bobbett "I've never been afraid to take risks and step out and try something new. I like to look at what we're doing, what's working, what isn't working and what do we need to change." - Laura Hooper Leader "You could spend a week researching something and figuring it out and doing it, but think of all the other ways that you could put your actual skills to use during that week if you outsource something." - Alyssa Bobbett "We kind of let the people tell us what direction to go in. We listen to what our clients or potential clients are asking for." - Laura Hooper Leader "People talk about the market being so saturated, which it is, but at the same time it allows you to kind of streamline what you want to do." - Alyssa Bobbett "There's an endless number of weddings. There's an endless number of greeting cards at Paper Source or wherever. There's plenty of work to go around." - Alyssa Bobbett "I want everyone to be happy, and that's just not 100% feasible. You have to have policies or you're just going to be miserable all the time. You need to enforce them or else people walk all over you." - Laura Hooper Leader "We like to use our social media as an extension of our brand." - Alyssa Bobbett "We don't consider followers or likes to be the goal. We consider conversions to be the goal." - Alyssa Bobbett "We're not always trying to sell to our followers. We want people to follow because it's beautiful, but we don't want them to feel like we're just using them to make money." - Laura Hooper Leader LINKSWebsite: http://lhcalligraphy.com Facebook: http://facebook.com/lhcalligraphy Instagram: http://instagram.com/lhcalligraphy Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/lhcalligraphy Twitter: http://twitter.com/lhcalligraphy JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Do you want to scale your business and add new revenue streams? Are you ready to get a handle on your cash flow and tuck money away for retirement? Maybe you are interested in increasing your visibility and fine-tuning your marketing outreach? Perhaps you have a team that you want to nurture or need help building your team? Our newest on demand program, Paper Camp+ can help you with all of these things and more. The program includes 5 keynote presentations and 2 panels from a wide range of business experts. You can watch what you need, when you need it most and revisit the videos as often as you'd like. This course was built for anyone running a product based business, and extends way beyond the paper industry. Enroll at www.tradeshowcamp.com/pcplus! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

Meet Autumn Witt Boyd, an attorney who specializes in helping ambitious entrepreneurs reach their big goals faster and smarter — guiding them as they go. Autumn loves helping creatives put together collaborations and partnerships, grow their brand with trademarks, and protect their content with copyrights. Autumn is also the host of the Legal Road Map podcast, which teaches business owners about legal issues they may face as they grow profitable companies. On today's episode we're talking about the difference between copyright and trademarks, the process for protecting your work and how to handle copycats. Autumn does a fantastic job of breaking this complex topic into bite size pieces and provide tangible steps that you can take in your business now. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: The most common mistake Autumn sees product-based businesses making The difference between copyright and trademarks and where to start when working to protect your work Copyrighting multiple pieces as a collection-- when you can do it and when you cannot The importance of copyrighting your work earlier rather than later Autumn's opinion on when to pursue legal action The steps a product-based business owner can take when they find a copycat online that is worth putting the time, energy, and effort into shutting down What information a cease and desist letter contains and whether you need a lawyer to send one How to ensure that you're not inadvertently influenced by things like social media or other people's work Utilizing song lyrics or quotes in your work and the potential consequences you can face The process of protecting and fighting for you trademark Legal document templates that would be helpful to product-based business owners When to start looking for an attorney and how to find one Autumn's firm and the companies that she works with The five minute IP audit worksheet that Autumn has put together for businesses Her podcast, The Legal Road Map Podcast KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "Under US law, you cannot file a lawsuit for copyright infringement without having a copyright registration." - Autumn Witt Boyd "Think of copyrights as protecting creative works." - Autumn Witt Boyd "If you're registering something, you're really kind of buying the right to stop other people from using your stuff." - Autumn Witt Boyd "You just have to make a judgment call of how much time and energy it's worth, and money, because lawyers are not inexpensive. And it also takes a lot of your energy and time to gather all the evidence and do all the work to try and shut them down." - Autumn Witt Boyd "Make sure that you either take screenshots or save whatever evidence you can find that they're infringing your stuff, because once you get in contact with them, often it will disappear." - Autumn Witt Boyd "You don't poke the bear when you're trying to get the bear to do something nice for you." - Autumn Witt Boyd "I always say stay in your own lane, make up your own stuff. You're going to be safest that way." - Autumn Witt Boyd "I do like to recommend that people work with an attorney who has some experience, either with a specific issue that you're having or with your particular industry." - Autumn Witt Boyd LINKSWebsite: http://awbfirm.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AutumnWittBoyd/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/autumnwboyd/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/AutumnWittBoyd IP Audit Worksheet: http://awbfirm.com/free-legal-guides/ JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Do you want to scale your business and add new revenue streams? Are you ready to get a handle on your cash flow and tuck money away for retirement? Maybe you are interested in increasing your visibility and fine-tuning your marketing outreach? Perhaps you have a team that you want to nurture or need help building your team? Our newest on demand program, Paper Camp+ can help you with all of these things and more. The program includes 5 keynote presentations and 2 panels from a wide range of business experts. You can watch what you need, when you need it most and revisit the videos as often as you'd like. This course was built for anyone running a product based business, and extends way beyond the paper industry. Enroll at www.tradeshowcamp.com/pcplus! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

Richele Silva is the founder of Richie Designs, a boutique design and letterpress studio located in Long Beach, California. Richele is an art director, stylist, designer and printer. She founded Richie Designs 12 years ago, first as a side hustle while she worked at an advertising agency. Richele's products are sold at Paper Source, Urban Outfitters and Sugarfina along with hundreds of independent boutiques across the U.S. On today's episode we're talking about leveraging past work experiences in business and the benefits of moving slowly and steadily in your business. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: Her career path and how her previous stationery business led to Richie Designs Walking her first National Stationery Show in 1990 Her first greeting card company, Three Mulligans How her background in advertising helped prepare her for being a business owner Starting Richie Designs as a side hustle and then transitioning into it being her full-time gig How her background as a printer shaped the decisions she's made for her business The "tipping points" in her business that helped her realize she could do this full-time Richele's slow and steady approach to growing Richie Designs Her approach to social media and how it has changed over the years The advice she would give to people early on in their product-based businesses Richele's favorite resource for her business What's next for Richie Designs in 2018 KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "I remember having a conversation sitting with college girlfriends and we were talking about our dream jobs and greeting card designer was mine." - Richele Silva "I want to meet everyone in their journey exactly where they are and I want to help them with whatever phase they're in." - Katie Hunt "Having printed for other designers who don't print, I feel like it shapes my design for sure. Somebody who doesn't print is going to dream up three-color designs versus somebody who has to stand there and actually print it." - Richele Silva "I just know I have to work slowly." - Richele Silva "I don't think it's a bad thing to sit back and take a little breath." - Richele Silva LINKSWebsite: http://www.richiedesigns.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Richie-Design-Letterpress-164221064003/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richiedesigns/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/richiedesigns/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/richiedesigns JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Do you want to scale your business and add new revenue streams? Are you ready to get a handle on your cash flow and tuck money away for retirement? Maybe you are interested in increasing your visibility and fine-tuning your marketing outreach? Perhaps you have a team that you want to nurture or need help building your team? Our newest on demand program, Paper Camp+ can help you with all of these things and more. The program includes 5 keynote presentations and 2 panels from a wide range of business experts. You can watch what you need, when you need it most and revisit the videos as often as you'd like. This course was built for anyone running a product based business, and extends way beyond the paper industry. Enroll at www.tradeshowcamp.com/pcplus! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!

Katie Hunt, Founder of Tradeshow Bootcamp and Host of Proof to Product shares three important business lessons that her daughter used to sell Girl Scout cookies — things we should all remember in our own businesses. Listen to more episodes of Proof to Product at www.prooftoproduct.com

TSBC alum Caroline Hull is the founder of Caroline Creates. A designer and owner, Caroline has a background in music and was actually a ballet dancer at the University of Oklahoma before finding her niche in design and podcasting. Caroline has a passion for helping other small business owners like herself through her podcast, Creative Biz Rebellion. On today's episode, we're talking about switching gears in business, the benefit of taking a break to really reassess how you're feeling about things and she also shares how past experiences shaped who she is and what she's doing today. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: Caroline's career path and what motivated her to start Caroline Creates Her custom wedding invitation designs and how the word got out about her Etsy shop Making the transition from working Caroline Creates part-time to full-time How her move to Nashville impacted her business and her decision to transition to the wholesale market The pain points that made her realize she needed to make some changes in her business Her decision to homeschool her children and how that impacted her decision to pivot in her business Taking a break in her business to evaluate how she felt and what she wanted to change Transitioning her Etsy shop to all downloadable products or drop ship The start of her podcast, Creative Biz Rebellion and how she met her co-host, Kelly How community and professional development have impacted her business How Caroline became a podcast producer and editor The growth of her podcast business Caroline's advice to anyone just starting a product-based business KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "The business itself started to feel more like a chore and a burden and it felt very hard and it felt like I was constantly having to fight to get to where I wanted to go." - Caroline Hull "It's hard to make changes sometimes in our business unless we're forced to." - Katie Hunt "I would not have that podcast [Creative Biz Rebellion] and the success of that podcast is having and the joy that it brings to me if I hadn't have had the business in a way that I had it." - Caroline Hull "I think that is super important is to be able to say, 'You know what, things aren't working. I need to take a step back and see how I feel.'" - Caroline Hull "These print-on-demand services and the drop shipping options, they're really great especially for people that work at home and are still at the beginning stages of their business or scaling back and don't want to have a whole manufacturing warehouse." - Katie Hunt "When I could feel like my business was hitting a point where I needed to grow but I wasn't sure how to do it, that was when I knew that I needed to go do something and be around people who knew more than I do." - Caroline Hull "I've become like this mini podcast launch cheerleader and helping people figure out all the pieces that they need to get going." - Caroline Hull "Podcasting was a hobby and now it's my business and doing the shop and the design was my business and now it's gone back to being my hobby." - Caroline Hull "It is so just amazing that by opening myself up and being open to new possibility that I've ended up with this business that I love that to me is so similar to the original thing I had set out to do when I was a young 18-year-old." - Caroline Hull LINKSWebsite: www.carolinecreates.com Website: http://creativebizrebellion.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolinecreates/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/carolinecreates JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Do you want to scale your business and add new revenue streams? Are you ready to get a handle on your cash flow and tuck money away for retirement? Maybe you are interested in increasing your visibility and fine-tuning your marketing outreach? Perhaps you have a team that you want to nurture or need help building your team? Our newest on demand program, Paper Camp+ can help you with all of these things and more. The program includes 5 keynote presentations and 2 panels from a wide range of business experts. You can watch what you need, when you need it most and revisit the videos as often as you'd like. This course was built for anyone running a product based business, and extends way beyond the paper industry. Enroll at www.tradeshowcamp.com/pcplus! ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT: Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!