Kimberley is the New York sales representative for Crow + Canary . During her 15+ year career in the stationery industry, Kimberley has worked at Crane & Co., Kate’s Paperie, as well as two of her own independent boutiques. She got her start running a letterpress studio, and has since worked all sides of the business – manufacturing, wholesaling, custom printing, multi-unit retail, buying, merchandising, and now repping. Kimberley’s vast experience in the industry provides a unique and valuable ...
Jul 27, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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/ For full show notes and resources, head to: https://www.prooftoproduct.com/podcast-epi...
Jul 20, 2021•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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,...
Jul 13, 2021•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends, when you’re building your wholesale business there’s no doubt that you’ll be headed to trade shows to get your product out there and in front of the right buyers. The reality is, trade shows are expensive and you don’t want to waste a single minute while exhibiting. In this episode, I reverse engineer what it really costs to exhibit at a trade show from an hourly rate perspective. This will help you to realize how much every hour counts while exhibiting and the importance of using y...
Jul 06, 2021•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today on Proof to Product we’re welcoming Paper Camp Alum, and founder of Chez Gagne, Alex Gagne! Alex attended our Paper Camp Conference back in February of 2015 before debuting her wholesale line at the National Stationery Show. Since then, Alex has gone on to expand her product offering, add new team members, and achieve her vision for the Chez Gagne brand. Chez Gagne is a paper and gift brand that offers greeting cards, wine and spirit tags, mugs, wine glasses, candles, and rocks glasses. Al...
Jun 29, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dream with me for a moment: what could happen if you committed to posting daily on TikTok for 2 months straight? Could you perhaps significantly grow your visibility, traffic to your website and even sales? On this episode, I’m talking to Kyle Sommer of Sommer Letter Co. She's someone who did exactly that and her results were pretty incredible. Kyle and I dive deep into her TikTok growth including how she’s grown her website traffic by 30%, and increased daily sales by 15%. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: W...
Jun 22, 2021•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are in-person trade shows worth it right now? This is a question that came up in my community recently in my LABS group coaching call. Jodi, a member of Proof to Product LABS was feeling unsure of where to focus her efforts: trade shows? A big marketing push? In this episode, I am going over my 4 ideas for this client to help her meet her goals within her budget. As more things begin to reopen it’s no surprise that many are wondering where they should invest their time and energy. You’ll hear wh...
Jun 15, 2021•15 min•Ep 209•Transcript available on Metacast Think back for a minute to April of 2020. We’re all on lockdown from the pandemic and figuring out new routines and ways of life. Now, imagine that you’re launching a business for the first time all while homeschooling your children and your business is taking off very quickly… This was the reality for Tiffany Grimes, founder of Posterity Paper. After winning the Minority Business Women’s Grant her business accelerated - she was able to collaborate with brands like A Beautiful Mess and Kids Made...
Jun 08, 2021•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Proof to Product takes you behind the scenes of growing a product-based business. Join us each week as our Paper Camp alumni, speakers and friends share their successes, struggles and how they’ve made difficult but important transitions in their business to continue growing. You’ll gather inspiration, learn about new resources, and hear new ways of scaling your creative business. Proof to Product is hosted by founder, Katie Hunt. Since 2011, Proof to Product has helped thousands of product based...
Jun 07, 2021•1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Closing one chapter and deciding to put an end to things is never easy. Whether that’s discontinuing a product line that was close to your heart or even shutting down your business entirely. In this episode, I had a conversation with Tammie Bennett of Show Up Society. Tammie is a creative entrepreneur and mindset coach who closed down her business at the height of its success. In fact, during the pandemic, her business, Tiger Pocket Press tripled and had tremendous growth but that success didn’t...
Jun 01, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast How often do you take a step back to look at and soak in the goodness of how far you’ve come? That’s exactly what guest, Morgan Harper Nichols encourages us all to do as she joined me to chat about the inspiration behind her new book, How Far You Have Come. Morgan and I also dive into setting boundaries and upholding them, how she maintains being true to herself on Instagram and why she’s a big advocate for collaboration. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: What inspired Morgan to write How Far You Have Come Ho...
May 25, 2021•33 min•Ep 206•Transcript available on Metacast Are you wearing all of the hats and juggling all of the balls in your business? That might be a sign that it’s time to hire help and bring on support. Your time as an entrepreneur is so valuable and you want to make sure that you are focusing on what you do best. Recently, my mastermind retreat clients and I got together virtually for a retreat and one of the big topics that came up was hiring. This has also been a hot topic within my Labs community so I wanted to create an episode to chat about...
May 18, 2021•21 min•Ep 205•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever taken a look at bigger brands or household products and considered, what are they doing that I could implement in my own business? In this episode, I was joined by brand growth strategist and founder of Startward Consulting, Maureen Mwangi. She shares how big brands are humanizing their marketing and what data points we should (and shouldn’t) be paying attention to. Spoiler alert: you can stop worrying about the number of followers you have on Instagram. Maureen and I also chat abo...
May 11, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! Considering additional revenue streams for your business? Ever thought about licensing? It’s true that most of the seasoned product based businesses have multiple arms of their business: they might sell wholesale, retail, license art, have a brick & mortar shop or offer drop shipping….. there are a lot of ways to build a profitable, sustainable business. That’s why I brought on Stacie Bloomfield. Stace has an abundance of experience in licensing and has been creating artwork for bra...
May 04, 2021•46 min•Ep 202•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! The doors to Proof to Product LABS are wide open. We are welcoming a new class to our community so on the podcast this week we wanted to highlight the growth of our community and how we’ve enhanced the program throughout its first year. In this episode, I am joined by two people you might recognize if you’re a longtime listener of the show, Janine Kwoh of Kwohtations and Christy Asper of Paper Baristas. Both of these ladies are founding members of our LABS program and have been acti...
Apr 29, 2021•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! This episode is a little different today. The roles were reversed and I was in the passenger seat as I was joined by my daughter, Madeline for an interview. Madeline asks me some of the most commonly asked questions I get about the Proof to Product LABS as we head toward the one year anniversary of the program. Take a listen to get a peek inside of what we do inside of LABS. ON TODAY’S EPISODE: Why Katie started Proof to Product LABS When she started thinking about creating LABS Her...
Apr 27, 2021•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! Can you believe that it’s the 200th episode of the Proof to Product podcast? Quick confession: I’ve been stewing over this episode and what I’d cover for weeks to celebrate this landmark 200th episode. After grappling with this thought for a while, something happened at home that really put it all into perspective and brought me a lightbulb moment. In this episode, I share that story with you and reveal the one common thread that ties all entrepreneurs together (and it might even su...
Apr 20, 2021•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! In 2020, conversations around diversity, inclusion and equity rose to the forefront of conversations around how we’re conducting business. Many entrepreneurs in the online space took time to reassess their company values to include more diverse images and copy while weaving more inclusivity into their brand, marketing and customer experience. In this episode, I had on Myrna Daramy. Myrna is a friend of mine and a tech-savvy Digital Media Optimization Specialist who came on to talk a...
Apr 13, 2021•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! Are you ready to start getting more results from your Pinterest strategy? Then you’ll love this conversation with guest, Kate Ahl. Kate is the owner and CEO of Simple Pin Media, a Pinterest management and marketing agency. Kate and her team have worked with over 600 Pinterest accounts and consulted with thousands of people about how to best use Pinterest for their business or brand. In this episode, she talks about some of the upcoming trends she’s seeing for Pinterest and how to re...
Apr 06, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! I recently sat down and had a conversation with Micala Quinn on her show, the Live Free Podcast to have a conversation about how virtual support professionals could support e-commerce and product based businesses. I wanted to bring a piece of that conversion to my podcast. In this episode, I am exploring the 4 areas of your business where virtual, freelance support could make a positive impact for you. If you’ve been wondering how you can get some remote, flexible, rockstar team mem...
Mar 30, 2021•13 min•Ep 197•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! How are you feeling about social media these days? Is it lighting you up? Does it leave you feeling heavy? I personally have been on both sides of the pendulum and thought my guest in this episode would be perfect to help you determine if it’s time to outsource social. I had on Andréa Jone of OnlineDrea to walk us through everything we need to know. She explains the pros and cons of hiring a social media agency versus hiring a VA or freelance social strategist. We chat about what yo...
Mar 23, 2021•40 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! By now, you probably know that email marketing is very near and dear to my heart. It’s a stronger marketing tool than any social media platform, it’s less risky than paid advertising and it gives you a chance to speak human to human to your customers. In this episode, I was joined by Jessica Totillo Coster of eCommerce Badassery. Jessica is an ecommerce and email marketing strategist that works with boutique owners and product based entrepreneurs. She helps scrappy female entreprene...
Mar 16, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast I see how hard you have been working, but are not alone! Today’s episode is all about how to prepare for hiring help for your business. In this episode, I talk about some of the strategies that I use in my own business before bringing on new team members. As you explore the idea of bringing on help later this year, this quarter or even this month you’ll want to make sure you are hiring right. Whether you are hiring your first team member or your tenth, whether you’re planning to hire employees o...
Mar 09, 2021•14 min•Ep 194•Transcript available on Metacast I wanted to share this quick, informational episode on the recent announcement from Paper Source about them filing for bankruptcy on March 2, 2021. In the last few weeks, members of our community have shipped hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of products to Paper Source. Paper Source placed large orders ($9K, $15K, etc) from small independent businesses and in many cases asked companies to move up their ship dates (send them sooner). With the recent news, this is a huge hit to independent b...
Mar 04, 2021•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! I know we can certainly all agree that if 2020 and 2021 have taught us anything it’s that we need to get more creative and consider additional revenue streams. This has led to more and more membership models and subscriptions popping up in not only the service space but the physical product space too. That conversation was prompted in our Proof to Product LABS community and is the reason behind this episode with Joe Casabona. Joe’s passion lies in teaching his knowledge about websit...
Mar 02, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! If you’ve used stock photography, you may have noticed how difficult it can be to find diverse imagery. Enter Dana Kaye of Bouquet Stock Photo. Visual branding can be a huge factor in who we attract to our business. So how can we use visual branding to be more inclusive? In this episode, Dana and I dig into the importance of visual branding and why creating meaningful connections with our customers is such an important piece of doing business. She also shares her definition of what ...
Feb 23, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! Are you utilizing your email list to its full potential? If you aren’t there yet then you’re definitely going to want to tune into this episode with Meera Kothand, email marketing specialist and three-time Amazon best selling author. This topic is so near and dear to my heart because email marketing is such a powerful tool yet it’s so underutilized by independent brands that sell physical products. In this episode, Meera and I dig into why your email list is the most valuable platfo...
Feb 16, 2021•36 min•Ep 191•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! This week marks the 10 year business birthday of Proof to Product! It was 10 years ago that I opened up enrollment for my first program that is now Paper Camp. I didn’t have a website, email list and Instagram wasn’t even a thing yet. Things have sure come a long way since then and I am so glad that I trusted my gut and stuck with it. Since 2011 we’ve helped thousands of product based business owners get their products on the shelves of their favorite retailers, big or small! In thi...
Feb 09, 2021•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! I am so excited for today’s interview with Danielle Coke of Oh Happy Dani. If you lived through the year of 2020 and are active on social media, I’m willing to bet that you’ve seen Dani’s beautiful and impactful art making waves across the internet. Dani is an illustrator, social justice advocate and entrepreneur. Her illustrations aim to make complex issues more digestible and provide practical ways to help others make a difference in their spheres of influence. Dani also is the fo...
Feb 02, 2021•32 min•Ep 189•Transcript available on Metacast Hey friends! It’s no secret that grief is hard. It comes with so many unexpected feelings and emotions. My guest in this episode, Janine Kwoh, the owner and artist behind Kwohtations is no stranger to grief. Her own loss is what inspired her to create a product line to comfort people dealing with the pain of losing a loved one. In this episode, we chat about her business and how she took it from a hobby to side hustle to her full-time gig. She also shares her experiences running her business as ...
Jan 26, 2021•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
