Hey Friends! Winter show season is kicking off so we thought we would re-run this episode from last year. We have alumni going to Atlanta, Japan, Las Vegas and of course NY Now and NSS in February. It is show season so we wanted to get this front and center for you so you could get ready for your show or just here what is going on at market. Enjoy! -------------- Hey Friends! I just got back from NY Now and the National Stationery Show in New York where more than 39 Tradeshow Bootcamp alumni and...
Jan 16, 2020•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy 2020 friends! For our first episode back in the New Year, my friend Kristen Ley of Thimblepress is back on the show. Kristen was first featured on Episode 4 of Proof to Product back where we talked about how she fell into business backwards and discussed tips on partnerships and collaborations. That episode was recorded back in early 2017 and since then, Kristen has done a lot of soul searching and ridden the waves of transition and upheaval in both her business and personal life. On today...
Jan 07, 2020•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast As we head into the holidays, I want to take a moment to reflect back on 2019 and look forward to what’s in store for 2020. I encourage you to do the same! 2019 was an amazing year around here. We published 58 podcast episodes this year and surpassed 400,000 downloads. This show has been live for almost 3 years and during that time we’ve taken very few breaks. We bring you fresh, new content weekly and sometimes multiple times a week and I have a small team of highly talented people that ensure ...
Dec 20, 2019•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast When we first start our businesses, more often than not, we don’t have the big picture idea of what our brand or business will look like down the road. So many of us embark on this so-called maker’s journey, where we truly discover our strengths, opportunities, and long term vision for our business. Lucky for us, one of our talented Paper Camp alumni, Genesis Duncan of Graphic Anthology , is joining us today on Episode 138 of Proof to Product to share her experience and advice for other makers o...
Dec 17, 2019•31 min•Ep 138•Transcript available on Metacast Hey Friends, in episode 136 I walked you through how I do my annual strategic planning for the business. I got into the weeds sharing what reports I look at, how I analyze that data and then how I schedule things out to ensure that I’m not overloading myself, my team or my family with my grand plans! Ha! Now that we’ve covered the question about big-picture planning, I want to circle back on the requests I received to share how I manage my day to day flow of family life & business life. For epis...
Dec 12, 2019•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends, I have been getting a lot of requests from people curious about how I map out my annual plan for the business, and how I work my family schedule into that. I’m going to be honest, balancing a busy family schedule and a very busy business schedule can be hard. There's a number of things that I need to consider and weigh in on when I'm making decisions in my business. And that really ties into how I plan my year because I don't want to overload myself with too many things, only to do ...
Dec 10, 2019•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Remember your high-school economics class? Okay good, because today’s episode is going to be nothing like that. Today we’re making numbers, margins, pricing and market metrics fun with Michelle Loretta, a business consultant, financial strategist and founder of Sage Wedding Pros . Before launching her own business, Michelle worked as an accountant for Deloitte, sales and marketing manager for DDLA and merchandiser for Coach. Since then, she’s applied her corporate and entrepreneurial expertise t...
Dec 03, 2019•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy almost-Thanksgiving Proof to Product Friends! This week we’re taking a break to spend time with loved ones and we hope you are all able to do the same. In case you find yourself on a road trip, waiting to catch an airplane or with some much-needed downtime, we’re sharing three great episodes from the archives. It’s a binge-worthy week starting on- Tuesday you’ll hear how Johnny & Joanna at Letterfolk reinvented the Letterboard Wednesday Nicole Walters will remind us why we can’t rely on so...
Nov 28, 2019•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy almost-Thanksgiving Proof to Product Friends! This week we’re taking a break to spend time with loved ones and we hope you are all able to do the same. In case you find yourself on a road trip, waiting to catch an airplane or with some much-needed downtime, we’re sharing three great episodes from the archives. It’s a binge-worthy week starting on- Tuesday you’ll hear how Johnny & Joanna at Letterfolk reinvented the Letterboard Wednesday Nicole Walters will remind us why we can’t rely on so...
Nov 27, 2019•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy almost-Thanksgiving Proof to Product Friends! This week we’re taking a break to spend time with loved ones and we hope you are all able to do the same. In case you find yourself on a road trip, waiting to catch an airplane or with some much-needed downtime, we’re sharing three great episodes from the archives. It’s a binge-worthy week starting on- Tuesday you’ll hear how Johnny & Joanna at Letterfolk reinvented the Letterboard Wednesday Nicole Walters will remind us why we can’t rely on so...
Nov 26, 2019•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Okay, so did you catch Episode 133 (Part One) with Caroline Hull and Brittney Lynn on Tuesday? We talked about the dos and don’ts of pitching and podcasting. Caroline and Brittney shared real stories, tips, and advice from their experience in the podcast world. If you missed it, definitely push pause and go back and listen to that episode first, because today we’re catching up right where we left off. Today, Brittney, Caroline and I are sitting down to continue our conversation about podcasting....
Nov 21, 2019•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast I am really excited about our topic and guests for this week because two of my team members, Caroline Hull and Brittney Lynn, are joining me for two special episodes about how to pitch yourself to podcasts. Caroline and Brittney both have experience working in the podcasting world. Caroline owns her own podcast editing company, Wild Home Podcasting , and Brittney Lynn specializes in PR management. Today’s we’re covering everything what to do and what not to do, how to prepare for an interview an...
Nov 19, 2019•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today we’re lucky to have Alisha Cohen on Episode 132 of Proof to Product. Alisha is the founder and creative director of LISH Creative, a content agency for vibrant lifestyle and hospitality brands. Alisha took the leap to found her company in 2016 when she realized she had to leave agency life to break out on her own. Since then, Alisha and her team have created content for some of the world's leading brands including Nickelodeon, Nestle, General Mills, Facebook, Dunkin' Donuts, Delta Airlines...
Nov 12, 2019•27 min•Ep 132•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends, it’s just you and me today on a special mini episode of Proof to Product! This week, I want to talk to you about delegating. There comes a time in most businesses where you are going to want to start hiring a team. For some of us, we hit a wall, we start to realize we're overwhelmed, and we just simply cannot do it all. If you want your business to grow, delegating is a key skill that I want you to have. So I recently did a free master class about delegating where I identified four ...
Nov 05, 2019•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you ready for round two? Because we are! This is the second of two special episodes this week, featuring Paper Camp alumni who are taking us behind the scenes of what it’s like to run a manufacturing business and brick and mortar retail shop simultaneously. Yesterday, on Episode 129 we heard from the Los-Angeles based, Katie Wilson. Now today, on Episode 130, I’m sitting down with Meg Sutton, the founder of Belle & Union, based in San Antonio Texas. Meg first shared her startup story back on...
Oct 31, 2019•30 min•Ep 130•Transcript available on Metacast This week on Proof to Product we’re bringing you not just one, but TWO episodes with two special Paper Camp Alumni who are sharing what it’s like to run a manufacturing business and brick and mortar retail shops simultaneously. Today on Episode 129, Katie Wilson, founder of The Good Twin, and owner of two Los Angeles-based retail shops, Crush and Touch, returns to the show to share what it’s like to be a buyer, how being a retailer has changed over the years, and how she markets her own wholesal...
Oct 29, 2019•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Being a product based business owner takes a lot of creativity on all fronts- in your designs, in operations, your marketing and how your reach people and tell your story. Now there are so many different platforms and technologies it can be hard to know where to start or which platform to choose. On today’s Proof to Product episode with Dani Nagel, the founder of Dazey LA , we sit down to talk about the importance of finding platforms that work best for your creativity and that start your kind o...
Oct 22, 2019•31 min•Ep 128•Transcript available on Metacast If you were following our rebrand earlier this year, you probably remember that there were two technical pieces that really scared me as we were rolling out the rebrand. The first was switching over our Instagram handles and making sure that we were keeping our larger account as our primary account for Proof to Product going forward. You can hear how I did that here on a past podcast episode. The second thing was switching over our email accounts. And I don't know why this made me so nervous. I ...
Oct 15, 2019•10 min•Ep 127•Transcript available on Metacast A few weeks ago I posted a poll on Instagram asking how many people out there were also feeling pulled in too many directions. More than 50 responses came in, 100% agreeing they felt overwhelmed and overscheduled. It might be the time of year, it might be the season of business, but I think we can all agree we need to find a way to create some blank space on the calendar. To handle this situation, I asked my friend Kelly Higdon of Calibrate Your Year to join me on Episode 126 of Proof to Product...
Oct 08, 2019•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast As product-based business owners and entrepreneurs, so many of us are under constant pressure to juggle the design and operations sides of our businesses. It can be hard to focus on both moving product and creating the designs for that product, especially when we’re juggling online, wholesale and licensing accounts. Turns out, you don’t always have to do it all. Today’s Proof to Product guest, Erin McManness, is a Paper Camp alumni who’s lived every side of the business and decided to stick to t...
Oct 01, 2019•31 min•Ep 125•Transcript available on Metacast You’ve likely heard me say this here on the Proof to Product podcast and in our emails, but I’m a firm believer that relationships are they key to running and building a successful business. Everyone from our team, to our customers, to our colleagues, to our vendors plays a significant role in our personal growth as well as the development of our company. Your relationships with wholesale buyers, are no exception. BUT HOW DO YOU FIND THE RIGHT STORES? HOW DO YOU CONNECT ON A PERSONAL LEVEL WITH ...
Sep 26, 2019•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Can we talk about product packaging for a minute? You want your products to look unique and stand out from the crowd, but you don’t have to break the bank to do it. There are so many packaging options available, and it’s important to know when to follow the crowd and use standard packaging and when to get creative and do your own thing. Ultimately, your product packaging must make it easy for the end customer to understand what your product is and how they can use it. And, from a business standp...
Sep 25, 2019•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast I’m recording this on a Sunday evening, just two short days after I finished hosting our 16th Paper Camp conference and I’m just now getting a chance to reflect on everything we did at Paper Camp and the amazing feedback we had from our students. In this episode, I want to share some of their key take-aways with you here on this episode. But first I want to preface this conversation by saying we cover a lot of ground at Paper Camp. This is our signature program and we’ve helped over 1,000 small ...
Sep 24, 2019•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do you ever sit down at the end of a long day of work, after checking box after box off your to-do list and still think, wow, I have so many more things I should get done. This feeling of overwhelm is common for small business owners and mompreneurs alike and it’s the reason today’s guest, Tonya Dalton , was inspired to write her new book, The Joy of Missing Out. You may remember Tonya from Episode 26 of Proof to Product , where she shared her start-up story of founding inkWELL Press and how she...
Sep 17, 2019•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast On the Proof to Product Podcast we cover so many topics, from marketing and operations to tradeshows and product launches, but today I’m super excited to have Kaitlin Fontenot on the show to talk about what every product-based business absolutely needs to be successful in our modern world - a well-built eCommerce platform. Kaitlin is the founder and lead designer of Kait Studio , a branding and web design company specializing in retail. Kaitlin is passionate about helping entrepreneurs feel more...
Sep 10, 2019•34 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast Behind every great business is an even better story. Kelly Wang Shanahan, creative director and founder of the Ziran fashion design company has just that - an amazing story. Kelly officially started her line in June, 2016 after becoming disillusioned with the luxury fashion industry, particularly it's waste and fast fashion mentality. While researching ancient fabric techniques in China, Kelly discovered a special fabric called Xiang Yun Sha silk and instantly fell in love with its luxurious bea...
Sep 03, 2019•26 min•Ep 119•Transcript available on Metacast This past week I traveled from Los Angeles to New York for two trade shows — the National Stationery Show and New York Now . We had just over 35 alumni exhibiting between the two shows, and while I was there, I had the chance to catch up with them about their exhibiting experiences. Today’s compilation episode features interviews with 8 of our Paper Camp alumni. We talk about why each chose to exhibit where they did, they walk us through their decision-making process, what their goals were for t...
Aug 27, 2019•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Creating new products and tinkering with new design ideas is why most of us went into business. It’s the draw of the creative process. We love to brainstorm, create and then create some more. And it keeps our businesses exciting and alive—for us and for our bank account. Releasing new products is our ticket to business growth. It sets us apart from the competition and shows retailers that we're serious about our business and our product line. But it’s important to realize that timing is a major ...
Aug 20, 2019•6 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast As entrepreneurs and product-based business owners, there comes a time for all of us when we have to make the decision to pivot. The pivot period can be a tough and turbulent time, but today on Proof to Product, my friend Kristin Kaplan is here to tell us how she managed to gracefully pivot away from her successful wedding planning business after 10 years to begin working as an integrator for online entrepreneurs. Kristin now creates strategic plans, action steps and manages profitable, sustaina...
Aug 13, 2019•32 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast We’ve heard a lot of fun origin stories on the Proof to Product Podcast, but today’s episode with Dani Paquin, founder of the jewelry company Agapantha , is an extra sweet and serendipitous start-up story. Dani founded her jewelry company in 2004 somewhere on a dusty road as she was touring the United States as a singer-songwriter. Between tours, Dani worked at her home in Brooklyn assembling jewelry for other designers, but at that moment on the road, she finally realized she had to bring her o...
Aug 06, 2019•30 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast 
