Proof to Product

Erin Dollar, the owner of Cotton & Flax is an artist and textile designer, focused on creating home goods and bold surface pattern designs. Her background as a printmaker guides her work for Cotton & Flax, and the entire collection of Cotton & Flax home goods are designed, silkscreen printed, and sewn in California. On today's episode we're talking about how Erin licensed her artwork for a line of fabrics manufactured by Robert Kaufman. She'll share her story of how this licensing partnership came to be, considerations when partnering with other brands and things she learned along the way. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: Cotton & Flax's product offerings What motivated Erin to start Cotton & Flax How she came up with the name when she decided to re-brand How the collaboration with Robert Kaufman came about and why she chose to work with them How she crafted her licensing pitch Considerations smaller companies should take into account when looking at a partnership with a larger company Red flags when it comes to contracts Flat rate compensation versus royalty compensation Brand strategy when co-marketing your products with a larger company How diversifying her income has allowed her to feel more confident in her ability to be self-employed What she would do differently on her next licensing deal How Erin defines success in her business The advice she would give to someone starting out in a product-based business KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "Cotton & Flax was a weird experiment that got out of control. It was almost completely accidental." - Erin Dollar "I wanted to explore working with manufacturers who have that expertise, have that ability to scale up and really create a quality product but without having to do it all myself." - Erin Dollar "Thinking about the way that I could craft a pitch that would be appealing to their end use customer was really important." - Erin Dollar "It has to be a blend of the strength of your work and your ability to get that message across in an effective way." - Erin Dollar "It's really about that partnership. It's not, 'What can I get out of it?' It's, 'How can we work together to have a successful collaboration?'" - Erin Dollar "If you don't feel comfortable looking over legal documents and really feel like you can understand those documents, get someone to help you" - Erin Dollar "Licensing has been a way for me to really grow my brand beyond my own product line while holding onto the rights to my work to be able to use in other ways." - Erin Dollar "If you're not comfortable with what's in the agreement, ask for more of what you want. Don't be afraid to speak up." - Katie Hunt "The diversification in income is something that's really helped me to feel more confident in my ability to be self-employed." - Erin Dollar "Success to me means freedom to do the type of creative work that I want to do." - Erin Dollar "I feel like we're all our own worst critics. We need to get ourselves out of that mindset and give ourselves more credit for the amazing things we're doing." - Katie Hunt "Having a network of folks that you can turn to who care about you and want to see you succeed is so vital." - Erin Dollar LINKS: Website: https://cottonandflax.com/ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/cottonandflax Instagram: http://instagram.com/cottonandflax Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/cottonandflax Twitter: http://twitter.com/cottonandflax Ethical Pricing Guidelines Handbook for Designers -- new 2018 version available for presale here. 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. Figure out which program is best for you 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!

Sarah Edmonds and Tammy Lawrence are the owners of Banquet Atelier & Workshop, a Vancouver-based design studio. All of Tammy and Sarah's products are conceived, designed, printed and produced in Canada with a fine attention to affordability and environmental sustainability. They offer screen printed signed and dated prints, stationery, textiles as well as clothing and jewelry. They've also licensed work and collaborated with large brands such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Terrain, Anthropologie, Land of Nod and others to create exclusive products and designs. On today's episode we're talking about taking risks with new products and why it took them over 4 years to bring their textiles to market. We also discuss why you need to follow your passions when making business decisions and why this Canadian company chooses to exhibit at US wholesale shows. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: How Sarah & Tammy first met What prompted them to start Banquet Atelier & Workshop Making Banquet Workshop their full-time gig from the outset Utilizing their maternity leave to focus on and grow their businesses Balancing being a mom & running a business How they split responsibilities within their business The products they started with and the motivation to expand into other areas The reasons it took 4-5 years to get their textiles to market How they decide which new products to take action on Sarah's difficulty with letting go of creative ideas she's in love with Licensing work and collaborations and how they got those opportunities The wholesale side of Banquet Workshop and the challenges of doing US shows What advice they would give to someone just starting out in a product-based business What's next for Banquet Workshop KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "We left the other jobs. It was definitely the intention to work for ourselves and build the dream." - Tammy Lawrence "As somebody that's so go, go, go, that [maternity leave] was a really nice time to focus on my family and also focus on building the businesses that I was trying to run because I wanted that to be my full time that I was working on." - Katie Hunt "You just make due in those beginning stages of being a mom and starting a business. It's kind of a deadly combo, but an amazing combo at the same time." - Tammy Lawrence "We want to try everything, and we want to make what we love." - Sarah Edmonds "It does take a long time to bring new things to market. I think it's very important for people listening to hear there are a multitude of challenges." - Katie Hunt "What we want to make, we just make it. Sometimes that's not the smartest business move but it's really being true to ourselves." - Tammy Lawrence "Paper pays the way for us to move into these other categories." - Tammy Lawrence "Ultimately, we're a business, we want to make money. We want to support our families." - Sarah Edmonds "To be creative, to be an artist, you have to be somewhat self-indulgent, and I can't always." - Sarah Edmonds "Being able to work with these companies is such a great opportunity to make things that we just don't have the resources to make." - Tammy Lawrence "If you're going to make a go of doing the trade shows, you have to commit to being there for more than one year." - Sarah Edmonds "Be weird. Stay weird. Follow your dreams." - Sarah Edmonds LINKS: Website: https://banquetworkshop.com/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/banquetworkshop Instagram: http://instagram.com/banquetworkshop Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/banquetworkshop Twitter: https://twitter.com/banquetworkshop 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. Figure out which program is best for you 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!

Cara Underwood is the owner of Underwood Letterpress which is a lifestyle brand offering custom work and stationery & gift products to the wholesale and retail markets. Cara attended Paper Camp in 2014 when she was undergoing a transition in her business - shifting from custom work and deciding whether wholesale was something she wanted to go into. Since then, Underwood Letterpress' greeting cards, paper goods and gift items can be found in stores nationwide. Cara and her products have been featured in major design publications including Domino Magazine, Design Love Fest, Apartment Therapy and Martha Stewart Weddings. On today's episode we're talking about outsourcing manufacturing, building relationships and living life with no regrets. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: How Underwood Letterpress got its start Transitioning from her full time job to her business full time The products she offered originally How Paper Camp impacted her business How she juggles wholesale, retail, and custom work Cara's process for finding manufacturing partners Learning experiences Cara had when she transitioned to outsourcing Why living life with no regrets is one of her core values What success looks like to her How she schedules her time between her family and her business What's next for Underwood Letterpress KEY TAKE-AWAYS: " I knew I was not going to get into the greeting card business because I had cheeky phrases or funny things to say, but I really was interested in developing a design aesthetic." - Cara Underwood "I just try to use some restraint when it comes to how much I bite off on either side." - Cara Underwood "I think if you can really dive deep into certain systems, and certain technologies to help you scale, they can really ease a lot of the workload or just make that system a lot more streamlined." - Katie Hunt "I'm using individuals as contractors, to help me print the larger rounds." - Cara Underwood "The thought of trying to do it all in-house is overwhelming." - Cara Underwood "It is so important to be professional and respect everyone's efforts and the kind of business they're running." - Cara Underwood "We're on a very windy, loopy road, and you might as well enjoy it. It could stress us out, or cause us to feel regret, but it could also just be a really fun adventure." - Cara Underwood "It's important to acknowledge and nurture your passions, and allow space for them, and not look back because there's just so much ahead of us that we don't even know about." - Cara Underwood "There's so much out of your control, that if you don't allow for chaos and flexibility, then you're going to have a hard time." - Cara Underwood "I want this business to grow and continue to grow, as long as it's also supporting the happiness and the balance that I currently have with my family." - Cara Underwood LINKS: Website: www.underwoodletterpress.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/underwoodletterpress/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/underwoodletterpress/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/underwoodcl/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/UnderwoodLttr 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. Figure out which program is best for you 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!

Gia Graham is the founder of Betsywhite Stationery. Gia started her first stationery business in 2005 and has been undergone major transitions over the last 12 years. She's renamed and rebranded her business, shifted from custom work to ready-made products, ramped up wholesale to the point she was working with big box stores and multiple reps and most recently she's scaling back and slowing down. On today's episode we're talking about how pinterest helped her business, the importance of faking it until you make it, and why she chose to discontinue her wholesale line. ON TODAY'S EPISODE: What prompted Gia to launch her business How her business first began Rebranding her business as "Betsywhite" and the transitions her business underwent How Pinterest impacted and enhanced her business Learning how to create Pinterest ads The importance of having beautiful pictures of your products How fakin' it 'til you make it really does work Creating a line that could be sold wholesale Making the decision to discontinue selling on the wholesale market How her life and business has changed since discontinuing her wholesale business What's next for Betsywhite The importance of determining what success looks like for yourself The advice that she would give to someone just starting out in a product-based business KEY TAKE-AWAYS: "I chose Betsywhite because it linked to my heritage; I'm from Barbados and I had this book of Barbadian dialect and "betsywhite" was in there. It refers to the chirp of a local bird that we have in Barbados." - Gia Graham "Pinterest came on the scene, and that made a big change in how I was able to connect with customers." - Gia Graham "It wasn't as easy to connect with customers with just the wedding invitations anymore, so I realized that I needed to pivot a little bit so that I stay afloat." - Gia Graham "If you can style your photos and your products in ways that people can see themselves using them or having them in their home, they want to buy." - Katie Hunt "The "fake it 'til you make it" absolutely works." - Gia Graham "I was forced to step outside of the hustle and look at it from the outside, and you know, that helped me to really take stock and think about what I really wanted." - Gia Graham "I loved designing products, I loved all of that, but what I didn't love was the never-ending churn." - Gia Graham "You cannot look at what anybody else is doing because you have no idea that's going on behind the scenes." - Gia Graham "It's weird that it took me forever to realize that, 'Hey, you're your own boss. Do what works for you.'" - Gia Graham "The goal now is to figure out how to work even smarter rather than working harder." - Gia Graham "You have to determine for yourself what success looks like." - Gia Graham LINKS: Website: https://betsywhite.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopbetsywhite Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopbetsywhite/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shopbetsywhite/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/shopbetsywhite 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. Figure out which program is best for you 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!

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!