Proof to Product

Adam Smith is the founder of Life is Funny Press, a letterpress greeting card company based in Los Angeles. Adam worked a pressman for Sugar Paper before branching out on his own to start  Life is Funny Press. Adam’s passion for printing, his family and making products with purpose really shines through in this episode. Adam came to Paper Camp in 2014 before jumping into trade shows. He currently sells his products via wholesale, retail and custom channels. On today’s episode we’re talking about leaving a full time job to pursue entrepreneurship, a dad’s perspective on juggling family & business, plus why it’s important to not force yourself into creative work that doesn’t feel right.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: When Adam first grew an interest in letterpress printing When and how he started Life is Funny Press The benefits of working at Sugar Paper while building his business The things that motivate him when he is creating new products Printing in small batches at first to test products before printing large quantities Pricing letterpress cards with multiple colors How he balances his roles as a dad and a business owner How Adam defines success and how that has changed over time The retail portion of Life is Funny Press Transitional times in his business and how he handled them The advice he would give to anyone starting a product based business What’s next for Life is Funny Press How often he does product releases KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “We need to stay true to who we are and I think that the best work we produce comes from just our natural interests.” - Katie Hunt “I might love an idea and think that it's like the best thing that I've ever come up with but I don't want to print like a thousand and then find out that it's just it's only funny to me or it doesn't work so well.” - Adam Smith “I absolutely love being on the press and wouldn't ever want to take myself away from that.” - Adam Smith “When's going to be a good time for anything? Let's just do it and then adjust on the back end.” - Adam Smith “Choose what you want your brand to represent." - Adam Smith "If it doesn't work, don't force it." - Adam Smith “There is a market for everything and you need to be true to what you want to do." - Adam Smith   LINKS: Website: https://www.lifeisfunnypress.com/ Facebook: @LifeisFunnyPress Instagram: @LifeIsFunnyLA Pinterest: Twitter: @LifeIsFunnyLA JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Our signature Paper Camp program is back and we’re now enrolling for Winter 2018!  We’re talking about product development  sales tools, trade shows, marketing, working with buyers, sales reps and the press.  Attend live or online.  It’s the similar content, available in different formats. Paper Camp Conference:  an intensive 2-day program taking place March 1-2 in Los Angeles. Paper Camp E-Course:  4-week online program with live Q&A calls starting January 16th. Get all the details and grab your seat at www.tradeshowcamp.com/papercamp 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!

Since 2010, Samantha Barsky, the founder of Note•ify has combined her love of travel, photography, and entrepreneurship into making paper and textile goods. She has had success growing her business through a wide range of sales channels including Etsy, craft shows, her own website, as well as licensing and collaborations. On today's episode, Samantha talks about sourcing new partners for manufacturing and how tough it is, leveraging passive income streams, and the importance of starting small when branching into new products.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: When Samantha knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur Her background prior to starting her business Note•ify’s products and the basis for the design elements How she decides what products to pursue and which ideas to drop Researching manufacturers and how to decide who to use How Samantha has nurtured her retail clients through her online shop and craft fairs Her strategy on where to direct customers to purchase products when selling from multiple platforms The necessity of managing two stores The statistics she looks at and why Samantha’s advice for those starting out in the product industry How she leverages passive revenue streams What’s coming up for Note•ify KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “I'm done working for the people. I'm going to try this stationery thing. See what happens." - Samantha Barsky “My products are based off all of my original photographs.” - Samantha Barsky “Obviously paper is and was my first love.” - Samantha Barsky “I think it's important to remind people that you don't always get it right the first time. Sometimes, you gotta work through a few different print partners or manufacturing partners or whatever it might be.” - Katie Hunt “I think we all, we start ourselves, but there comes a point where we need to outsource it and pass it off to somebody else.” - Katie Hunt “I do think that they're [Craft Shows] the best way to get direct feedback.” - Samantha Barsky “I have everything on Etsy as well as on my website. I just think it's what you gotta do. I mean, there's traffic there. Why not?” - Samantha Barsky “I will order in smaller quantities at the beginning just to test them and see, and obviously, I'm paying a little bit more, and so my profit margin isn't as great, but I don't want to be stuck with a whole lot of extra inventory.” - Samantha Barsky “I'm a huge proponent of passive income.” - Samantha Barsky   LINKS: Website: http://www.noteify.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noteify Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noteify/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/noteify/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/noteify JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Our signature Paper Camp program is back and we’re now enrolling for Winter 2018! Paper Camp Conference our 2-day, intensive conference focused on wholesale and tradeshows will take place March 1 - 2, 2018 in Los Angeles. Our Paper Camp E-Course starts on January 16th and is a 4- week online program with live Q&A calls. Both programs dive deep into product development, sales tools, trade shows, marketing and working with buyers, sales reps and press.   Our Paper Camp conference will only run ONCE in 2018, which is a change from previous years.  And, we like to keep things intimate so you can get all your questions answered. Get all the details and grab your seat at www.tradeshowcamp.com/papercamp   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, Jeanette Champion-Fanning is the founder of Sweet Perversion a quick witted line of stationery and gift products. Jeanette got her start on Etsy in 2006 and has had over 20,000 sales there. She attend Paper Camp twice, once was to refine her wholesale program, and the second time was to figure out whether wholesales shows like the National Stationery Show were right for her. She’s had a lot of growth over the last few years and on today’s episode we’re talking about gaining momentum in business, running a debt-free company and owning our mistakes in business.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How Sweet Perversion got its start Gaining momentum on Etsy Seeing results from injecting her humor into her work The sales channels Jeanette is using How her focus in her business shifted at different times to accommodate life circumstances and the direction she wants to take her business Determining how much of a product to order, specifically when breaking into new categories Becoming more comfortable spending money in her business The importance of not comparing yourself to others on social media Pivotal times where Sweet Perversion received a lot of attention How she nurtures relationships with new clients Learning to outsource and being ok with it Why Jeanette came to Paper Camp twice The community she has gained through being a part of Paper Camp Her mindset towards copycats and how she avoids becoming one The advice she would give to someone starting a product-based business KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “Making money, and making smart decisions in your growth, bringing in new product categories is a big deal.” - Katie Hunt “I try and keep myself out of debt with this business. I don't want to be in debt with it.” - Jeanette Champion-Fanning “Social media is a stupid place to look at stuff because we all are working really hard to make ourselves look amazing on social media.” - Jeanette Champion-Fanning “We all make mistakes. We all make mistakes in our business every single day. Small, big, we all do.” - Jeanette Champion-Fanning “I have to keep reminding myself that honestly, the only goal for Sweet Perversion was so that I could work from home once we had kids. That was literally the only goal at the beginning, was to make enough money to work from home, and I'm doing it.” - Jeanette Champion-Fanning “I think the first time [at Paper Camp] was so good for me because I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't realize I wasn't in industry standard for a lot of things.” - Jeanette Champion-Fanning “When you work by yourself, it's very easy to become stagnant, and it's nice to be around your people.” - Jeanette Champion-Fanning “I feel great about it [Paper Camp] because they came and spent two days with us, and they spent a lot less money than time and energy than they would've spent if they spent a year preparing for a show, and getting their wholesale line ready and thousands and thousands of dollars to only find out then that isn't something that they wanted to do.” - Katie Hunt “I try to remind myself that I am me, and nobody else is going to do things the way I do it, nobody's going to create the work I create, or design the things I design.” - Katie Hunt “When I have a new card design, sometimes I go and just Google it, and see is it possible that I saw this somewhere and that's why it's in my brain. Because I don't want to use something that I saw.” - Jeanette Champion-Fanning “Do your research, find out what industry standard is, keep yourself in line with cost too and with pricing.” - Jeanette Champion-Fanning “If you are new and starting out, don't randomly email someone and ask them where they get their stuff made, do the research.” - Jeanette Champion-Fanning LINKS: Website:  http://sweetperversion.com Instagram: @sweetperversion   JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Our signature Paper Camp program is back and we’re now enrolling for Winter 2018! Paper Camp Conference our 2-day, intensive conference focused on wholesale and tradeshows will take place March 1 - 2, 2018 in Los Angeles. This program dives deep into product development, sales tools, trade shows, marketing and working with buyers, sales reps and press.   Our Paper Camp conference will only run ONCE in 2018, which is a change from previous years.  And, we like to keep things intimate so you can get all your questions answered. Get all the details and grab your seat at www.tradeshowcamp.com/papercamp   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!

Heather Lins is the founder of Heather Lins Home, a textile and home goods business. Heather comes from a design background and has a fascinating story of starting her business before she even had products to sell. On today’s episode we’re talking about licensing opportunities, simple strategies for pitching the press and why hard work and being busy doesn’t always equate to being productive.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How Heather got into this business & Heather Lins Home’s product offerings Thinking about wholesale and outsourcing from the beginning of her business Entering a competition for a spot in Accent on Design before even having product made Heather’s experience with licensing Her advice on how to structure the licensing aspect of your business How Heather pitches to the media Diminishing the fears of not selling enough or selling too much when seeking press coverage on your products Heather’s experience as an American Made Award Incorporating ideas from Tim Ferriss's Four Hour Work Week into her  business and life Her definition of success What’s next for Heather Lins Home KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “I kind of took a different route of thinking about wholesale from the beginning and pricing it accordingly, and also about outsourcing from the beginning.” - Heather Lins “I thought to myself, the only way I'm going to get 20 years' experience is screen-printing for 20 years. That's part of the beauty of outsourcing or delegating. You get 20 years' experience when you didn't have to wait that long to get it.” - Heather Lins “You need to know where your customers are and how to find them.” - Katie Hunt “If you outsource, you can have more variety in the materials you're working with.” - Heather Lins “There's a lot of value in putting yourself out there even though it's sometimes hard to hear no.” - Katie Hunt “To get press on a product is great, but to get press on the right product is super awesome.” - Heather Lins “When I approach bloggers, I don't send my whole line. I just send what works for me and what's timely.” - Heather Lins “When you're reaching out to your customer, to the press, whatever it is, talk about how people are feeling when they use your product, how it's going to benefit their life, and how it's going to impact them.” - Katie Hunt “My ideal is really a 20 hour work week. I've told myself, I'm looking for a full-time salary, full-time payment from a part-time job. I can't run my business how most people run their businesses. I'm going to have to make different decisions.” - Heather Lins   CONNECT: Website: http://heatherlinshome.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heatherlinshome Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherlinshome/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/heatherlinshome/ 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 on why she chose to share her business experiences and resources with her ‘competitors’ and the importance of community over competition.

Kyle Durrie is the founder of Power and Light Press, a ship-shape letterpress print shop built to handle all of life’s messy emotions.  On today’s episode we covered a lot of ground including the pros & cons of different trade shows, how Kyle has grown her team and why she makes travel and down-time an important part of her life. We also talked about how Kyle has donated over $80,000 to Planned Parenthood through the selling of her Stand with Planned Parenthood Tote bags - how she did it, her motivations for giving back and how she dealt with public backlash.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Power and Light Press, and the products they make Hiring on help when you can’t do it all anymore Kyle’s background and what led her to letterpress What lead her to start her own business & her favorite part of being a business owner Her Power and Light Press team and the roles they play The pros and cons of different trade shows Donating $80,000 to Planned Parenthood and her motivations behind it How Kyle handles negative attention and “trolls” How she structured the tote and the donations Why she makes travel and downtime an important part of her life The advice she would give to somebody wanting to start a product based business What’s next for Power and Light Press KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “You need to balance between what your interests are, what your passion is, but then also, what's the best use of your time.” - Katie Hunt “I do love being my own boss. I love setting whatever weird schedule I want to stick to.” - Kyle Durrie “When I step back and think that I make a living and help support other people's lives by making stupid greeting cards, I'm constantly blown away by that.” - Kyle Durrie “It makes such a difference to have a team you can trust, that you have confidence in, for when you can't be there.” - Kyle Durrie “It was all for a good cause and I still believe in it and I am really proud of what we've done and what my team has managed to do.” - Kyle Durrie “I made this product and I better stand behind it and know what I'm talking about because I was being challenged, and I think that was really useful for me to not just throw some meme up online and then walk away.” - Kyle Durrie “It's got to make sense for your business because all the good will in the world, if it ends up putting you out of business, it maybe isn't ... Maybe it wasn't the best idea.” - Kyle Durrie “You can do good in the world without it being a drain on your business or without it negatively impacting the sustainability of your company.” - Katie Hunt “It's always been a really important part of my life to kind of resettle me and to re-inspire me to just make me feel like a complete human being.” - Kyle Durrie “It's really such a good time for me to reflect and step away from my personal life, from my work life, and just kind of re-figure myself out.” - Kyle Durrie “It makes such a huge difference when you're not stressed out because your rent is $1500. You don't need that right away. Start in your closet or wherever you have some space and then just kind of grow as it demands” - Kyle Durrie “ I think there are a lot of people nowadays that want just the playbook or whatever it might be, and the fact of the matter is, even with a playbook you've still got to go through the trial and error of learning and figuring out what works best for you.” - Katie Hunt   LINKS: Website: www.powerandlightpress.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/powerandlightpress/   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!

Sean McCabe is the author of Overlap: Start a Business While Working a Full-Time Job. He has helped tens of thousands of students with his courses on copywriting, client work, pricing, and marketing. On a daily basis, he runs seanwes.com: a learning community for entrepreneurs looking to do fulfilling and meaningful work. On today’s episode we’re talking about getting unstuck in your business, overlapping a day job and a side hustle and the power of masterminds.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Sean’s background and career path His book Overlap: Start a Business While Working a Full-Time Job How he managed all of his overlapping jobs at the beginning The financial benefits of transitioning rather than leaping The concept of curation The thing that responsibility and excuses have in common Why is it important for business owners to hone in on their passion What Sean is most passionate about right now The inspiration behind his book How his mastermind group has helped him How Sean defines success in his business Revising business practices or systems when something is not sustainable What is next for Sean and the SeanWes community KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “Show up every day for two years and don't expect any results during that time because it really is just being consistent.” - Sean McCabe   “What might look like an overnight success is really this culmination of a lot of things over time.” - Sean McCabe   “I would start with client work and get that cash that you can later invest in products.” - Sean McCabe   “Overlapping is about starting a business while you're working a full-time job.” - Sean McCabe   “If your bills are covered, you can let this build up however you want. You can say yes to the clients you want. You can say no to the clients you don't want. That kind of selectivity is going to allow you to enjoy it.” - Sean McCabe   “My day job allowed me to do things I wouldn't have otherwise been able to do in my business.” - Katie Hunt   “If you're looking for ways to take responsibility for your life and where you're at? You can find ways to do that. If you're looking for ways to find excuses and say why it's not your fault, you're also going to find that.” - Sean McCabe   “Passion is what allows you to keep going when you encounter resistance.” - Sean McCabe   “Success to me would be getting to do what I want, when I want, where I want, on my terms.” - Sean McCabe   LINKS: SeanWes Community Overlap Book CONNECT: Website: https://www.seanwes.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/seanwes Instagram: https://instagram.com/seanwes Twitter:  https://twitter.com/seanwes Youtube: https://youtube.com/seanwestv   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!

Mary Beth Storjohann of Workable Wealth  is an author, financial planner and accountability coach working to help clients in their 20s-40s make smart, educated decisions with their money.  I met Mary Beth at a conference last year and was so impressed how she spoke about money from a place of confidence and power.  We were honored to have her speak at our Paper Camp+ conference and I’m excited for you to listen to this episode. Today we’re talking about money misconceptions and fears, common reasons people seek out a financial planner and why it’s important for you to know your numbers!   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: A misconception that business owners tend to have about money Mary Beth’s core client base Helping her clients with both professional and personal finances due to the intersection of both The importance of reassessing where your business is often Her role with her clients Her philosophy on keeping overhead expenses down The importance of being aware of and managing subscriptions Having a goal when you are reviewing your spending What SMART goals are and how to utilize them Not comparing yourself to other people’s highlight reels Listening to constructive criticism but not allowing it to take you off course What you should be focusing on The importance of accountability when working towards your financial goals Having two numbers in mind when setting your goals Creating structure around pro bono work What’s next for Mary Beth & Workable Wealth KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “A lot of people think that they'll never have financial success, financial clarity, or financial peace, and that's a huge misconception, because although it does take work ... there's no magic pill ... it's just really about taking small steps.” - Mary Beth Storjohann   “You want to reevaluate where your business is at and what your goals are for yourself on a consistent basis.” - Mary Beth Storjohann   “I like the numbers, I am in the numbers, but I still need somebody else to bounce ideas off of and to help hold me accountable for getting things done.” - Mary Beth Storjohann   “Let's not make that investment until you are certain that this new side project is actually up and running and worth it." - Mary Beth Storjohann   “Instead of paying this subscription $50, pay yourself $50 because you deserve to be paid more.”- Mary Beth Storjohann   “We're cutting back so that you can meet your personal goals, not just to be frivolous.”- Mary Beth Storjohann   “There's lots of goals, and so before you dive into reviewing your spending, one of the things that is important is having that goal around what you're looking for.” - Mary Beth Storjohann     “Focus on what your net revenue is. What are you taking home?”- Mary Beth Storjohann     “At the end of the day, what everybody else is doing doesn't matter. It's not going to affect your bottom line; it's not going to affect your retirement savings.”- Mary Beth Storjohann     “It's important to remind people that there's different seasons in life; that number may be changing; the goals may be changing; but it's just important to constantly be considering them and thinking about them.” -  Katie Hunt   “This is a business, and you want it to be successful, and you want it to sustain your goals and your lifestyle and your family, and without you getting paid, you're really just creating stress and taking yourself even further away from those things that matter to you on the personal side.” - Mary Beth Storjohann   CONNECT: Book: Work Your Wealth: Nine Steps to Making Smarter Choices with Your Money Podcast: Work Your Wealth Website: http://workablewealth.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/workablewealth/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marybstorj/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/marybstorj   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!

Tonya Dalton is the owner of Inkwell Press and host of Productivity Paradox. Tonya is a productivity expert who believes that too many women feel overwhelmed with all that they have to do each day. She helps women use productivity to pursue their big goals and end each day feeling satisfied and successful.   On today’s episode we’re talking about systems, automations and prioritizing at both home and in your business. She’s an amazing business woman who tells us her story of building her business from her kitchen table and gives more details on the new course that she is offering through inkWELL Press. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Tonya’s background prior to starting inkWELL Press The motivation and inspiration behind inkWELL Press The systems Tonya put into place to take her kitchen table hobby into a huge business How her background as a teacher helped her set up systems & run her business efficiently What overwhelm is & how to overcome it Common pain points Tanya sees in entrepreneurs when it comes to productivity in systems and automations The need to come up with an action plan to meet your goals Creating priority lists instead of to-do lists How Tanya breaks down her priorities for the week Preventing “urgent fires” from popping up by prioritizing Systems she has built into the inkWELL Press team What success looks like to Tanya What’s next for inkWell Press KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “That is really what started inkWELL Press, was figuring out what were the things I was passionate about? How was I going to make these things work so I could do something that fulfilled me?” -  Tonya Dalton   “One of the mistakes a lot of people make is they think, "I need to create all the systems all at once and try to implement them" and then because that becomes so overwhelming, it just falls apart.”  -  Tonya Dalton   “Overwhelm is not having too much to do. It's not knowing where to start.” -  Tonya Dalton   “People get really caught up in more is more, and so often less is more.” -  Tonya Dalton   “Productivity is velocity, and that means you're moving in one direction, instead of trying to move in all the directions.” -  Tonya Dalton   “It's really important that you are always making an action plan and stopping to assess.” -  Tonya Dalton   “We need to be focused on the things that are going to have the biggest impact, and make the most strides in your business.” - Katie Hunt   “To me, success looks like harmony.” -  Tonya Dalton   “My definition of productivity is not getting more things done in less time. It really is getting the important things done.” -  Tonya Dalton   LINKS: The liveWELL method course: http://inkwellpress.com/course Podcast: http://inkwellpress.com/podcast   CONNECT: Website: http://inkwellpress.com    Instagram:  http://instagram.com/inkwellpress Facebook: http://facebook.com/inkwellpress Twitter: http://twitter.com/inkwellpress JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY:   Do you enjoy listening to our Podcast and learning from our guests as they discuss how they grew their businesses? Interested in learning more actionable steps that you can implement into your business? Check out our Business Camp E-Course. 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!

On today’s episode I’m interviewing Debbie Lee of Penelope’s Press, a letterpress print studio founded in Chicago and now based in Southern California. Debbie opened her business in 2009 selling on Etsy and doing custom wedding work, then later launched to the wholesale market. She shares her important story of how getting sick forced her to scale back in her business and gave her a newfound perspective of how she was spending her days. She talks about her struggle to say no to new opportunities, why her family is at the center of her business decisions and why she didn’t let comparison deter her from her path of slow growth.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: What motivated Debbie to start letterpress printing How she balances marketing to different audiences The things that inspire Debbie when creating new products and how she comes up with new concepts Her cross-country move & how she prepared Balancing being a mom and being a business owner The importance of not letting comparison deter your growth or your priorities Making the tough decision to pull back when her stress was impacting her health, her business & her family The importance of saying no Debbie’s advice for a young entrepreneur starting a product based business How she handles the concern of copycats or people taking inspiration from her work What’s next for Penelope’s Press KEY TAKE-AWAYS: “All these things in my life have brought me to the point I'm at.” - Debbie Lee   “There's always a little backstory to every item that I sell.” - Debbie Lee   “It was really important for me to stay grounded and to know what my focus was and what my goals were for my business and for my family.” - Debbie Lee   “Everyone's businesses are different. Everyone's circumstances are different.” - Katie Hunt   “Time is not going anywhere. I have plenty of time to grow my business. There's no race. The race is with myself.” - Debbie Lee   “I think it's important to know what you can handle.” - Debbie Lee   “It doesn't define us to be busy every second. You're not better because you're busier than the next.” - Debbie Lee   “Be friendly and give back.” - Debbie Lee   “During the thick of it, when I'm tired, and I don't want to be doing this anymore and I tell my husband I'm going to shut down the business, I think why I got in the business in the first place.” - Debbie Lee   “Just because everybody's doing something doesn't mean that you need to be doing that thing too, even though it's trendy.” - Debbie Lee   “We shouldn't look at each other as competitors. We should look at each other as colleagues and leverage each other's strengths and knowledge and experiences to better what we're doing in our own business.” - Katie   “You have art that needs to get out there, and by you being scared that somebody's going to copy you, that doesn't do anything. You don't gain anything from that.” - Debbie Lee   “For those that are creating new work and trying to figure out their own unique voice and their own aesthetic, just be cautious of looking around too much and make sure that you are really trying to hone in on your unique voice instead of mimicking somebody else's work.” - Katie   CONNECT:   Website: http://www.penelopespress.com Facebook: @penelopespress Instagram: @penelopespress Pinterest: @penelopespress Twitter: @penelopespress   JOIN THE TSBC FAMILY: Do you enjoy listening to our Podcast and learning from our guests as they discuss how they grew their businesses? Interested in learning more actionable steps that you can implement into your business? Check out our Business Camp E-Course.   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!