Proof To Product

Kate Woodrow is the founder of Present Perfect, a full service literary agency serving clients from across the globe. Kate launched the agency in 2015 with the goal of advocating for artists and creatives in publishing and is recognized as an industry leader in design driven nonfiction work. Kate specializes in developing visually arresting books that offer a unique perspective across a wide range of topics, particularly art, lifestyle, personal growth, and anything with a practical bent.   Before becoming an agent, Kate was an acquisitions editor at Chronicle Books where her experience spanned 10 years and hundreds of books and gift products. Bringing that many projects from a simple brainstorm to the bookshelf gave Kate a keen sense of what makes a book commercially successful and how to be a professional collaborator.   On today's episode, we're talking about the process for finding an agent, how to create your pitch, and how to find the right publishers. If you have ever wanted to write a book or wondered

Don Hejny is the inventor of Nerdwax, a wax based product that keeps your glasses in place. Nerdwax was launched on Kickstarter in 2014 and featured on the hit television show Shark Tank the following year. Nerdwax is hand made in Nashville, TN and shipped all over the world. On today’s episode we talked about managing risk, running a debt free business and why Don strives to work smarter, not harder.    ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How Don came up with the idea for Nerdwax Starting a Kickstarter campaign & what his experience was with it The timeline for fulfilling orders after the Kickstarter campaign The importance of planning for success What the Shark Tank experience was like & what his goals were for it How they handled the influx of orders after their episode aired The infrastructure of Nerdwax & how they have approached scaling Why Don strives to work smarter, not harder Don’s priority to stay debt-free How Don creates a great customer experience Don’s advice for someone just starting out in a p

Brittney Lynn a PR and marketing strategist who works with online entrepreneurs worldwide. She's also the host of Day in the Life podcast. Brittney has nearly 10 years of experience working in the online marketing industry, and has a passion for helping others grow their reach, their revenue, and impact through strategic PR.   On today's episode of Proof to Product, we talked about the importance of building a brand story, how to find the right media opportunities for you, and strategies for gaining visibility for your brand. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: The type of work Brittney is doing & how she helps creative entrepreneurs Her career history & how she started her own PR business Why it’s important to know your story when you're reaching out to press How you can be leveraging your story in your marketing The biggest misconception about PR The steps creative entrepreneurs can take to make their products & services more visible An example of how honing in on your story & knowing your audience can l

During Episode 65 Katie Hunt sat down with Caroline Vasquez of Paloma’s Nest and the topics of having a brand story and establish core values for the company kept coming up.  Caroline talked about how it shaped the products they made, the story they told about the brand as well as the products and ultimately, how they communicate with their customers.   When we’re starting our businesses, most people skip over the part where we identify our mission, core values and long term goals for our business.  We get excited about the process of creating, selling and connecting with customers.  But, having a strong brand story and leveraging your company’s core values within this story are going to help you in several ways.  It will provide clarify in your decision making, hiring processes and long term goals for your business.   Our core values at Tradeshow Bootcamp are:  Community, Collaboration, Education and Giving Back.   We treat everyone in our community like family and want to foster a collaborative and supporti

TSBC Alum, Caroline Vasquez is the founder of Paloma’s Nest, a family-run business, founded in 2007, that creates timeless, heirloom-quality pieces and new traditions for modern families to celebrate wedding, baby, home and holiday.   The brand has been featured in countless publications including Martha Stewart, the New York Times, Magnolia Journal and more, and their work has been carried by Anthropologie and Nordstrom.   Today, Caroline combines her education as a professional counselor with her experience and passion for small creative business through Handcrafted Consulting, where she provides education on the marketing, growth and management of online business to clients worldwide. She also serves as the marketing consultant for the web design firm, Aeolidia.  All while also running Paloma’s Nest and nurturing her family.   On today’s episode, Caroline talks about the growth of Paloma’s nest,  staying true to your brand story in both your messaging and the products you sell,  why we need to be proactive

  I’ve been thinking a lot about boundaries, particularly as it relates to what I say yes to and what I say no to in both my personal and business life. I don’t know about you guys but I have a tendency to take one too much, or under estimate how long things will take.  I mostly get excited about opportunities, say yes and then find myself over scheduled and stretched thin.  I know I’m not alone in this.   But here’s the deal.   We all have the same amount of hours in the day, and as entrepreneurs we have a lot of different things pulling on us for our time — projects, family, friends, exciting opportunities, daily grind of running a business. Its exhausting trying to do all these things, keep everyone happy and yet still have time for ourselves.   When I interviewed Rosie from Sugarfina on episode 64 she stressed how important self care is, why we need to take action before things are perfect, and we both acknowledged that its difficult to protect our time because as entrepreneurs the running to do list is n

Rosie O’Neill is the co-founder of Sugarfina, a luxury candy boutique that features the finest sweets from artisan candy makers around the world. Rosie and her fiancé Josh Resnick launched Sugarfina in July 2012. The idea for the company was inspired by their third date — when they watched the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and they were left wondering why their wasn’t candy boutiques for grown ups.   Rosie was named to Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People” list, and Goldman Sachs’ “100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs,”. She is disrupting the sweets space with an innovative approach to confections and retail.   Before candy, Rosie played with dolls for 7 years as Director of Marketing for Barbie at Mattel, where she led a global business unit that sold more than 50 million Barbie dolls annually. She received her MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BA in Communication Studies from UCLA. Her favorite candies are Champagne Bears, Peach Bellini and Sparkle Pops.   On today’s ep

There’s a lot of talk on the internet about knowing your ideal customer, but a lot of it doesn't resonate with me. Maybe you feel this way too?   On Episode 63, Mary Bruno shared how she is her ideal customer.  And, that she focuses on creating things that she loves & that she finds funny even if it doesn’t resonate with everyone.   It got me thinking about something I’ve talked about in the past in my emails, but I’m not sure I’ve talked about it on the podcast.   Your products aren’t for everyone.  And, that’s ok.     In fact, it’s fantastic.  You don’t want to be everything to everyone.   Just like Mary talked about past ideas falling flat, sometimes you’re going to make duds.  Or, sometimes what you make is going to appeal to a smaller audience.   You make beautiful products, that are likely hand crafted or personally designed by you.  You have your own unique style & aesthetic that you’re continuing to develop.   Instead of feeling like you need to appeal to the masses, I want you to focus on fou

Mary Bruno is the owner of Bruno Press, a printer, artist, and advocate for her local creative community. She grew up in a small town in central Minnesota and learned the love of printing from her father Don Bruno.  Mary has an irreverent line of greeting cards that is sold nationwide and she teaches the old school art of letterpress printing the way her father taught her. Mary loves to collaborate with other printers, poets, musicians, kids, designers, you name it. And, we’ll talk about some of those collaborations today.   On today’s episode Mary tells it like it is, shares her story and how she organically grew her business through hard work and learning as she went. We also talked about her personal growth—why she no longer let’s the criticism of one person overpower the praise of hundreds. She also shares about why she’s her ideal customer. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: The oldest piece of machinery that she has in her print shop Where she learned her love of printing Her background prior to starting Bruno Pres

On this mini episode, Katie Hunt reiterates something Brice McBeth of Reap marketing talked about on Episode 62 of Proof to Product — the difference between search engine optimization and conversion rate optimization.   Here's what we learned from Brice:   Search engine optimization is driving traffic to your website.   Conversion Rate Optimization is getting people on your website to take action & buy.   Brice shares a lot of great ideas and strategies in episode 62, if you haven’t listened yet I highly recommend it.   There’s so much more to dive into here, so Brice and I will be hosting a free online masterclass next month to talk about why SEO is a hoax.  And, how you can be leveraging your existing marketing to get more customers.  If you to be notified about the details when we open registration.  Head to http://www.tradeshowcamp.com/join and make sure you’re on our mailing list. 

Brice McBeth is the founder of Reap Marketing, the only digital agency that hired itself to build an e-commerce business and optimize its own conversations by over 950% on its way to creating a multi-million dollar store that disrupted the salon equipment industry.  Brice also wrote about his journey in his book, Salon Chairs Don’t Sell Themselves which is a fascinating read. He speaks and provides education on the topic of Conversion Rate Optimization to help companies, like us, get better results from their current marketing efforts.   On today’s episode, Brice explains the difference between conversion rate optimization and search engine optimization and why you need to be thinking about both.  He shares a shocking statistic, that typically 99% of your online shop visitors aren’t buying from you and why slick and sexy websites don’t always sell more of your product.     I wanted to let you in on a secret.  We’re going to be doing a free online masterclass with Brice next month, where we’ll talk about why

  Katie Hunt, founder of Tradeshow Bootcamp dives deeper into how to create a wholesale resource section on your website, something she and Rhonda Warren talked about briefly on episode 61. Katie shares what to include in your resource center, how to structure things and why it is important to make it easy for your wholesale customers to buy.   Listen to Episode 61 Here: http://tradeshowcamp.com/prooftoproduct061/     SUBSCRIBE To subscribe on iOS, go to the iTunes page and subscribe to Proof to Product. On Android, you can listen using your favorite podcast app.   WRITE A REVIEW Writing a review on iTunes will help other product based business owners find Proof to Product as they are working to up level, scale, and build profitable and sustainable companies.   FOLLOW PROOF TO PRODUCT Follow Proof to Product on Instagram for the latest updates.   JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our guests,

Rhonda Warren is the owner of Color Box Design & Letterpress, a letterpress studio located in Dallas Texas. Rhonda has a multi-faceted business. She has a line of paper goods that she sells to both the retail and wholesale markets; as well as a bustling custom invitation arm through which she creates wedding invitations, corporate event invitations and everything in between.   On today’s episode Rhonda jokes that she accidentally started this business that is still going strong after 13 years.  She shares details about the custom side of her business and why relationships with local vendors and word of mouth referrals make up almost 70% of her business.  Rhonda also shares information about her team - how she knew it was time to hire, everyone’s roles and why she wished she had hired sooner. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: What Rhonda was doing before Color Box Design & Letterpress How she first go into letterpress by accident Where she gets her inspiration from How Color Box marries three different design sty

Katie talks about the importance of building relationships with your manufacturing partners.  She shares some of her own experiences, fears and missteps when searching for her own print partners.   The risks she faced and what you should look for when reaching out to new manufacturing partners. Want to join the conversation in our free Proof to Product Facebook group?  Join us:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/prooftoproduct/ SUBSCRIBE To subscribe on iOS, go to the iTunes page and subscribe to Proof to Product. On Android, you can listen using your favorite podcast app.   WRITE A REVIEW Writing a review on iTunes will help other product based business owners find Proof to Product as they are working to up level, scale, and build profitable and sustainable companies.   FOLLOW PROOF TO PRODUCT Follow Proof to Product on Instagram for the latest updates.   JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST If you'd like to receive more information about our upcoming episodes of Proof to Product including show notes and information about our

Ronnie Williams is the owner of DeFrance Printing, which is a full-service commercial print shop located in Southern California. Ronnie grew up in the print industry and is the third generation to own and operate DeFrance. His grandfather began printing in the late 1930s, followed by his father in the early 1970s, and Ronnie was a fixture in the print shop by the young age of five. Ronnie's background brings a unique perspective, in that he has expertise in both the print process, as well as the outcome.   This episode is a little bit different than most, in that we're diving into some of the technical aspects of printing, common mistakes that people make in file setup, ways to save money on your print runs, and how DeFrance helps a wide range of industries with packaging, catalogs, marketing materials, and more.   Ronnie, and the team at DeFrance, have recently expanded their services to include warehousing and fulfillment, helping independent brands with not only printing, but also storage, fulfillment, and

Suann Song is a graphic designer and founder of Appointed, an American-made brand of carefully designed desktop products that make utility look luxurious. Prior to starting Appointed, Suann conducted an exhaustive but unsuccessful search when she tried to find refined and well-made desktop products that are manufactured in the US, so she decided to create her own. In March 2015, Suann launched Appointed through a kickstarter campaign reaching her goal of $25,000 dollars in the first five days.     On today’s episode, Suann is sharing what it was like to launch a brand and product line through Kickstarter.  She’s also sharing some behind the scenes info on why she’s redesigning the Appointed website and what that process has looked like.  Suann also reminds us that relationships and fresh product are at the core of a successful product based business. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How Suann got started in this creative field Transitioning from a service-based business with Simple Song Design to a product based busine

I’m back with our third and final National Stationery show recap.  Today you’ll hear from four of our Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni. We talk about sharing a booth, the benefits of planning ahead and how you gotta roll with the punches when things don’t go quite as planned.  Today’s episode features interviews with Jessica of Little Well Paper Co, Robyn from Lake & Loft, Meghan from And Here We Are and Allison from The Social Type.   Before we get started,  I wanted to let you know that we’re running our first ever summer session of the Paper Camp E-Course.  This course will help you get your product line ready for wholesale, refine your sales tools, strengthen your marketing and exhibit at shows.  We helped over 800 brands launch or refine their wholesale program. Brands that you’ll find on the shelves of Target, Anthropologie, Container Store, Paper Source and independent boutiques internationally.  If you want to build a strong wholesale foundation and see your products on the shelves of retail shops, I inv

I’m back with Part 2 of our National Stationery Show recap.  Today you’ll hear from three of our TSBC alumni about what went well at the show for them, where they skimped & splurged in their spending and benefits to being at a wholesale show like, National Stationery Show.   Today’s episode features interviews with Katie from Page Stationery, Monique from Violet Flamingos and Katie from The Good Twin.     Also before we get started,  I wanted to let you know that we’re running our first ever summer session of the Paper Camp E-Course.  This course will help you get your product line ready for wholesale, refine your sales tools, strengthen your marketing and exhibit at shows.  We helped over 800 brands launch or refine their wholesale program. Brands that you’ll find on the shelves of Target, Anthropologie, Container Store, Paper Source and independent boutiques internationally.   Classes start on June 4th! Learn more and register here.   Enjoy Part 2 of our National Stationery Show special series.  

I recently was in New York for the National Stationery Show where approximately 55 of our Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni were exhibiting. And, I thought it would be fun to bring the show to you.  While I was in New York, I chatted with a handful of exhibitors, everyone from first timers to seasoned pros.   This episode is part one of a three part special edition series and it features interviews with Kathryn from Blackbird Letterpress, Kim from Ramona & Ruth, Pippi from E. Frances Paper and Stefanie from Halifax Paper Hearts.   Before we get started, I wanted to let you know that we’re running our first ever summer session of the Paper Camp E-Course.  This course will help you get your product line ready for wholesale, refine your sales tools, strengthen your marketing and exhibit at shows.  This isn’t your ordinary online course where you’re left to do everything yourself. The class runs for four weeks and every week we’ll have a live coaching call with me and special guest experts.  Classes start on June 4th

Chelsea Sonksen is the founder and Editor in Chief of Bossladies, a movement that began with a print magazine in 2016 and has grown into a vibrant in-person and online community of entrepreneurs through her monthly event series, Work Sesh.   On today’s episode we’re talking about the mission behind Bossladies, how Chelsea is layering new products and services that will give her the freedom and flexibility to work from both California and Maine.  Chelsea also shares her thoughts on why making a good first impression is so important. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Chelsea’s motivation for starting Bossladies and why she choose publishing as her method for sharing her message with the world Her background as an editorial assistant Why she decided to stop reading other publications for the first six months of Bossladies The mission behind Bossladies How she decides which women to feature and which brands to include in each issue How Chelsea is layering in new products and services while staying true to the mission of Bos