Proof To Product

TSBC alum, Christine Miller is the creator and designer of Bundle Design — home to cheerful, cheeky greeting cards, balloons, party supplies and Good Day Decals.     On today’s episode Christine shares her journey of turning her hobby into a business, lessons learned from exhibiting at the National Stationery Show and how being at the show opened the door to working with Paper Source.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: What Christine was doing before Bundle Design How starting her family influenced her decision to step away from her full time job Starting her business a hobby and a creative outlet after having her son and transitioning it to a business a few years ago Opening her Etsy shop in 2011 and what made her realize that Etsy may not be the best path for her Making the decision that wholesale was the direction she wanted to go The difficulty she faced in establishing her own brand identity and creating products that had a cohesive aesthetic How her style has changed over the years The fears and concerns she had go

Kelly Parker Smith is a multi-talented business owner and creative artist. Kelly is a rubber stamp designer and manufacturer living just outside St. Louis. She has grown her shop, Hello World Paper Co., with the idea that great products become even better when paired with top-notch customer service, a little surprise and delight, and the perfect packaging!   Kelly is also the co-host of the Creative Biz Rebellion podcast where she and Caroline Hull show other business owners how to build, maintain, and grow a profitable online shop through their podcast and online workshops. In her free time Kelly enjoys painting and drawing on her iPad Pro and is soon to release her second fabric collection with Sweet Bee Designs fabric company.   On today’s episode Kelly is sharing how she juggles multiple arms of her business - manufacturing stamps, designing fabric and mentoring through her podcast. We also talked about time management, prioritizing profitable tasks and setting boundaries to protect our time. Kelly also s

TSBC alum, Lisa Sarmento is the owner of Tiramisu Paperie a sassy brand located in Nashville that sells greeting cards, gift wrap, pencils and other gift items. Lisa has had tremendous growth in her business over the last two years. She attended our Paper Camp conference in February 2016 and describes those two days as the launching point for Tiramisu Paperie. Her products are currently carried in hundreds of retail shops throughout the United States. Lisa works with sales reps nationally and has exhibited at several trade shows including NSS, Las Vegas Market and Dallas Market.   On today’s episode, Lisa shares her personal story of getting laid off from her high level advertising agency and how ‘entrepreneurial gardening’ and motivation from her son prompted her to start this business.  She shares how she connected with sales reps, what she skimped and splurged on at her first trade show and reminds us to not let fear hold us back from what we want in life and business.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Her time at a

Jessica McSweeney is the owner of Little Well Paper Co, a letterpress greeting card company aimed at celebrating and deepening the connections between loved ones. Prior to starting Little Well she taught herself calligraphy and offered wedding calligraphy and invitation services. Jessica’s calligraphy work has been featured in The Knot, Southern Weddings Magazine, and Once Wed. Jess attended Paper Camp in fall 2016 when Little Well was just a spark of an idea, and she launched to the retail and wholesale markets in fall 2017.   On today’s episode we’re talking about shifting from a service based business to a product based business, her vision for Little Well Paper Co., and why relationships are critical to building a successful business. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How she got started her calligraphy business & Little Well Paper Co. Taking online courses to learn calligraphy The impact relationships within the wedding industry had on her business What the calligraphy side of her business looks like now What p

Megan Auman is a designer, metalsmith, educator, and entrepreneur who has built a multi-faceted business around her passion for art, commerce, and visual content creation! (Which is just a fancy way of saying she's obsessed with Instagram and Pinterest.) In addition to running her Megan Auman jewelry line, she runs the site Designing an MBA, where she writes and teaches about the intersection of art and business.   On today’s episode we’re talking about product photography and why you should be leveraging pinterest to get more sales. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: A common mistake that Megan sees product-based business owners making around marketing strategies When she started her jewelry line and how it lead to her starting her Designing an MBA program Her product photography & the importance of having high quality photos of your products Megan’s tips on preparing for a photo shoot The editing software that Megan uses How she is leveraging her product photography and Pinterest for sales Some of Megan’s struggles

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

Lichia Liu is the founder and creative director of Gotamago, a stationery & gifts brand based in Toronto, Canada. A self-taught illustrator, Lichia took a detour from her urban design career in 2013 to start Gotamago when she realized that she needed more authenticity, autonomy and artistic exploration in her work.  Besides running Gotamago and being a mom, Lichia is a musician, an urban sketcher, a member of a Japanese Taiko drumming group, and a foster dog parent.   On today’s episode we’re talking about how Lichia left her day job to pursue her passion, how she involves her team in building systems to automate and streamline her business and why she thinks it is important to jump before you feel ready   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: What Lichia was doing before she started Gotamango & how that lead her to start her business The first time she was reached out to by a retailer who wanted to carry her line & what her reaction was When she decided to leave her full time job Where Lichia gains inspiration fo

TSBC alum, Kim Burks is the founder of Ramona & Ruth is a boutique letterpress studio located in Omaha, Nebraska. Kim started Ramona & Ruth in 2009 with her tabletop letterpress in a spare bedroom of her home. Kim makes simple and thoughtful letterpress greeting cards and a variety of other paper goods including gift wrap, notebooks and planners. Ramona & Ruth products can be found in retail shops across the country.   On today’s episode we’re talking about Kim’s decision to change her business name after being in business for five years, how her design aesthetic has evolved and how bringing on sales reps has enhanced her business. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Kim’s business journey and whether she always wanted to be an entrepreneur How she learned to do letterpress When she decided to take her new hobby and make it into a business The catalyst for changing her business name & why it was a difficult decision The story behind the name Ramona & Ruth How she communicated her name change to retaile

TSBC alum Zoe Scarf is the co-founder and Chief Brand Officer at Greetabl–a personal and easy way to make your friends feel super loved. If you’re not familiar with Greetabl, you should be. It’s an impressive gifting service where you choose your packaging, gift and personalize your message and they take care of the rest — getting it in the hands of your recipient.  Greetabl has delivered 200,000 happy moments and is continuing to quickly grow.   On today’s episode Zoe shares how they unsuccessfully chased wholesale, struggled with figuring out who their audience was and how impactful their fulfillment relationships have been.  We also spent a good amount of time talking about how Greetabl sought funding from angel investors. They achieved three rounds for $50k, $750k and most recently $1.5M — we talked about how the process worked, what they did with the money and she shared some resources for those interested in learning more.     ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How Zoe and her business partner, Joe, came up with the

Emily Thompson is an author, educator and web designer.  She’s the founder of Indie Shopography and co-host of the Being Boss podcast, where she inspires, writes and curates content to help creatives own their path and be more boss.  With over 3 million listens, the impact of the podcast inspired Emily and her business partner and co-host on Being Boss, Kathleen Shannon to write their first book called Being Boss:  Take Control of your Work and Live Life on your Own Terms.   This episode is a fun one and we talked about some key topics in the book.  Emily shared her thoughts on why being boss requires vision and hustle, the importance of setting boundaries that align with your values and why you need to do the work. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: The biggest misconception that people have around being an entrepreneur The career path that has led Emily to multiple businesses, an amazing podcast, and a book How she met her podcast co-host, Kathleen Shannon, and how they grew their “business bestie” relationship Starti

TSBC Alums Laura Hooper Leader and Alyssa Bobbett of Laura Hooper Calligraphy have served clients with hand calligraphy and stationery needs for weddings, showers events & more since 2002.  These sisters have grown a dynamic business that includes their custom work, ready made product, calligraphy kits, offer in person and online educational programs and these girls wrote a book last year.      On today’s episode we’re talking about their business model including their process for adding new revenue streams.  We dove deep into their custom work regarding pricing and how they’ve set better boundaries to provide a better experience for their customers.  And, we talked about their strategies and goals for engaging with their 318k instagram followers! A little side note here — but they aren’t happy with the IG algorithm changes either! ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How Laura got her start in calligraphy and how her love for hand lettering turned into a business When Alyssa joined her sister at Laura Hooper Calligrap

Meet Autumn Witt Boyd, an attorney who specializes in helping ambitious entrepreneurs reach their big goals faster and smarter — guiding them as they go. Autumn loves helping creatives put together collaborations and partnerships, grow their brand with trademarks, and protect their content with copyrights. Autumn is also the host of the Legal Road Map podcast, which teaches business owners about legal issues they may face as they grow profitable companies.   On today’s episode we’re talking about the difference between copyright and trademarks, the process for protecting your work and how to handle copycats. Autumn does a fantastic job of breaking this complex topic into bite size pieces and provide tangible steps that you can take in your business now.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: The most common mistake Autumn sees product-based businesses making The difference between copyright and trademarks and where to start when working to protect your work Copyrighting multiple pieces as a collection-- when you can do it an

Richele Silva is the founder of Richie Designs, a boutique design and letterpress studio located in Long Beach, California. Richele is an art director, stylist, designer and printer. She founded Richie Designs 12 years ago, first as a side hustle while she worked at an advertising agency. Richele's products are sold at Paper Source, Urban Outfitters and Sugarfina along with hundreds of independent boutiques across the U.S.   On today’s episode we’re talking about leveraging past work experiences in business and the benefits of moving slowly and steadily in your business. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Her career path and how her previous stationery business led to Richie Designs Walking her first National Stationery Show in 1990 Her first greeting card company, Three Mulligans How her background in advertising helped prepare her for being a business owner Starting Richie Designs as a side hustle and then transitioning into it being her full-time gig How her background as a printer shaped the decisions she’s made for

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

TSBC alum Caroline Hull is the founder of Caroline Creates.  A designer and owner, Caroline has a background in music and was actually a ballet dancer at the University of Oklahoma before finding her niche in design and podcasting. Caroline has a passion for helping other small business owners like herself through her podcast, Creative Biz Rebellion.   On today's episode, we're talking about switching gears in business, the benefit of taking a break to really reassess how you're feeling about things and she also shares how past experiences shaped who she is and what she's doing today.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Caroline’s career path and what motivated her to start Caroline Creates Her custom wedding invitation designs and how the word got out about her Etsy shop Making the transition from working Caroline Creates part-time to full-time How her move to Nashville impacted her business and her decision to transition to the wholesale market The pain points that made her realize she needed to make some changes in her

Heather Haynie and Dani Antol are the owners of Rock Paper Scissors, a custom invitation and paper goods shop in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rock Paper Scissors is the go-to destination for locals and visitors alike looking for laugh-out-loud greeting cards, journals, dec accessories, calendars, planners and modern gifts.     On today’s episode we talk about a wide range of topics including what it takes to run a retail storefront, how they divide responsibilities as business partners and what success looks like for each of them. We also got personal. Dani shares her story of battling cancer. We also discuss how Heather & Dani were able to unify their local community after the hateful rallies in Charlottesville. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: What prompted Heather & Dani to go into business together What their day-to-day looks like running a retail storefront The custom design side of their business The benefits of buying an existing storefront and how they made it their own The growth of Rock Paper Scissors ov

Renee Griffith, the founder of HeartSwell, designs and creates her products using her original hand lettering style, incorporating patterns, colors and textures inspired by her deep love of the ocean and lush landscape where she lives in South Florida. Renee is a TSBC alum who has attended our Paper Camp Conference twice, once when she was starting her business and a second time after she had revised her line and rebranded her company.   On today’s episode we’re talking about why she changed her business name, how she nurtures relationships with customers and the importance of finding your voice within your product and brand.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How she got into the world of entrepreneurship and product creation The beginnings of her Etsy shop, Perro Paper What inspires Renee when she’s creating and developing new products The catalyst for changing the name of her business from Perro Paper to HeartSwell The process of brainstorming new names and how she came to HeartSwell Bringing other people into the nam

Beth Penn is a professional organizer, speaker and life hacker. She is the founder of Bneato Bar, a professional organizing service whose clients range from corporations looking for big-picture management solutions to busy individuals simply flooded with email, paper or stuff in their home. Beth has been featured in Real Simple Magazine, Oh Joy!, DesignLoveFest, and more, and has collaborated on projects with Style by Emily Henderson and Apartment Therapy.     On today’s episode we’re talking about misconceptions people have around cluttering and organization,  and how to get started with decluttering.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Some of the common misconceptions that people have around clutter and organization What got Beth started in this business and if she always knew she wanted to help people reduce overwhelm Systems to help reduce inbox overwhelm Beth’s new book “The Little Book of Tidying”  and where most people get hung up in the decluttering process What advice she gives to people who just aren’t sure whe

TSBC alum, Melanie Karlins of Grey Moggie started letterpress printing in 2008 as a creative outlet while she was in law school, and later taught letterpress classes at a local art center. In 2011 she started selling her products at local craft fairs and picked up wholesale accounts through her Instagram feed. Today, Grey Moggie is Melanie's full-time job and her greeting cards are sold in stationery and gift shops all over the United States, including Paper Source   On today's episode, Melanie is sharing how retail craft markets shaped her business and product line, how she overcame creative blocks, and why her definition of success shifts with different seasons in her life.   ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Melanie’s motivation for starting Grey Moggie How she began teaching letterpress classes The types of products she creates and the motivation behind them How craft shows shaped her business and how it shaped her product line Merchandising tips for people considering retail shows The benefits of selling her products

Rebekah Tennis is the founder of Wild Ink Press, a letterpress studio and retail storefront located in northern California. Rebekah started Wild Ink Press in 2009 and was part of our very first Tradeshow Bootcamp class in 2011. The Wild Ink Press brand offers witty and pretty greeting cards, stationery, and other paper goods that can be found in hundreds of retail shops nationwide including the Container Store, Papyrus, and Paper Source. On today's episode, Rebekah talks about the power of slow, organic growth and why it's okay to not have all your ducks in a row when you're starting out. She also shares her thoughts on responsiveness, reliability, and why she likes sending catalogs and samples to prospective wholesale buyers. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: How Wild Ink Press got its start and what lead Rebekah to starting her own business How she first got started with greeting cards When she first hired a team member and how the Wild Ink Press team grew from there The catalyst for wanting to open up the retail shop