Once you make your toy idea a real product, how do you sell it? In today’s podcast episode we sit down and chat with Chloe Kershaw, the National Sales Manager at Hape Toys. Chloe didn’t start her career in the toy industry...she actually wanted to be a psychiatrist! But eventually, she began her career in consumer goods working in the warehouse of a handbag company. Her curiosity and enthusiasm for the work of the sales team at that same company, led her to discover a career path even better sui...
Dec 01, 2021•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Before you can build the toy business of your dreams, you’ve got to know the history of the toy businesses that came before you. In today’s episode I’ll be sharing insider information directly from the producers of the new History Channel series, The Toys that Built America! This upcoming series dives into the history of toy titans like Hasbro and Mattel, with expert interviews and dramatic reenactments. During today’s episode you’ll get mini toy history lessons on Hot Wheels, Matchbox cars, Bar...
Nov 24, 2021•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every week for the past 100 weeks I have shown up with a new episode designed to help you take another confident step forward in your toy journey. This podcast is filled with lessons from my decade long career, and the career of others. But for episode 100 The Toy Coach podcast is going to do two things. First we’re going to celebrate the listeners of this podcast with an audio montage of who they are and lessons learned from listening to the show. After we celebrate the impact made by 99 episod...
Nov 17, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Finding the courage to pitch your toy or game idea can be challenging, so that’s where important industry events like the one covered in today’s episode come in. Today on The Toy Coach podcast you’ll discover yet another in-person pitch event turned virtual for 2021 because of the pandemic. What we’ll learn in this week’s episode is that there is a huge benefit to going virtual for toy industry pitch events. Could the new norm be turning away from in person pitches to virtual? It seems that toy ...
Nov 10, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you’ve ever had a toy idea or a game idea, it’s likely that you’ve wondered where you should go to get that incredibly groundbreaking idea in front of toy companies. Well, this week on The Toy Coach Podcast, we are going to learn about one of the biggest toy industry events for toy inventors and game inventors that you need to know about. The event, formerly Chitag, is currently called the People of Play Innovation Conference. The event is entirely virtual for the second year in a row which m...
Nov 03, 2021•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s toy pitching season and e-mail is one of the best ways to make connections and capture people’s attention. However, business people receive tons of e-mails each day. Some of them receive 16 promotional emails per hour (or more!) How can you cut through the noise? With a great headline! In this episode I share my best practices for an amazing e-mail headline that will grab attention. The information I share with you is based on my own research and experience. I’ll tell you all about the “fou...
Oct 27, 2021•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast On October 11th, toy social channels exploded with the news that California Law would force toy retailers to fill their shelves with gender neutral toys by 2024. While partially true, the law is much more nuanced than the poppy articles make it seem. In this episode of The Toy Coach Podcast, we dive into the new California Law and try our best to decipher what it truly means for toy retailers like Walmart, Target, and Toys R Us. Will this mean the end to the pink/blue divide still seen at many t...
Oct 20, 2021•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do you have an idea for a game? Well, you’re in luck because to close out Hispanic Heritage Month, The Toy Coach sits down with Christian Castro, the Design Director of What Do You Meme? to talk about what makes a great game idea…GREAT! Together Azhelle and Christian compare parlor games and commercial games in an effort to identify the key characteristics of classic party, family, and kids’ games. From today’s episode you’ll learn the right and wrong way to use theming in your toy ideas, so tha...
Oct 13, 2021•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast Learn about outside-of-the-box thinking with the 2nd part of my interview with Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, the creator of the hit comic La Borinqueña. In today’s episode, Edgardo tell us how he got unique contract opportunities and came up with creative licensing deals, including chocolate bars and a toy deal! Edgardo also teaches everyone an important lesson about asking for what you want and how he was able to create opportunities that worked for him. This allowed him to create this amazing com...
Oct 08, 2021•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you’re wondering just how much of yourself you should put into your intellectual property, you need to listen to Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez’ amazing story. You might be afraid to truly put yourself, your identity, or your story out there in your intellectual property because you worry it could hurt your chances of success, but the opposite is true, especially when you are focused on what the application will be. Today’s episode features Edgardo’s story of how he infused his identity as a Nuyor...
Oct 06, 2021•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode is a treat for the senses toy people. My guest today is a published book author and illustrator with books released by Sky Pony Press, Abrams Books, and Harper Collins. Charles George Esperanza grew up in the south Bronx and found the mentor and structure he needed while studying Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology. During our chat today Charles shares his come-up story, premiers a banger of a song, and of course, provides advice to all you aspiring book authors a...
Sep 29, 2021•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Have you been looking for an overview on all the possible career paths in the toy industry? Wondering what it takes to make it as an inventor or corporate toy person? Well during my chat with the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures I covered just that. And lucky for you, that incredibly valuable talk is now available right here on your favorite podcast. The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is home to the world’s largest collection of fine-scale miniatu...
Sep 22, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast According to Gallup research, the great resignation of 2021 found 48% of the American workforce actively looking to change jobs. Among the reasons to leave? Not seeing opportunities for growth, lack of community at work, and not feeling a sense of purpose or passion in their work. 2021 was a good year for the toy industry regarding sales, but how has it been regarding hiring? On today’s podcast episode I invite two listeners of the podcast, on the podcast to share their toy career stories. These...
Sep 15, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you’re a devoted listener of this podcast, then I’ve been calling you a toy person for almost 100 episodes now, and it just hit me recently, that I’ve never actually talked about what it means to be a toy person! Today’s episode covers just that. Learn 3 simple strategies that you can start implementing today to become a toy person in this industry. This episode is for YOU if you’ve ever felt a little imposter syndrome when you’ve been referred to as a toy person. This episode will also help ...
Sep 08, 2021•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Students of Toy Creators Academy join The Toy Coach on the podcast today to share their experience going through Toy Creators Academy, and ultimately pitching at the TCA Virtual Pitch Event. During this chat, Chrissy Fagerholt, Geordie Humphrey, and Scott Underwood share lessons learned, and achievements as new toy creators. In this episode, hear specific stories about what it was like to virtually pitch to major toy companies like Hasbro, Mattel and Spinmaster. Chrissy shares her what it was li...
Sep 01, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Remember when you came up with your latest and greatest toy idea? At any point, did you stop and wonder to yourself, is this really a toy product? If you’ve had an idea or two that you weren’t quite sure fell into the category of toys and games, then today’s episode is going to help you clear that thought process right up. Today’s episode was inspired after about a dozen inquiries I’ve gotten asking to clarify what makes a toy a toy. This episode will walk you through 3 exercises to take your id...
Aug 25, 2021•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Remember Brexit? Well, back in late January when the UK left the EU, I reached out to a Toy Safety expert friend of mine and asked, “What is this going to do to our labeling requirements?” The answer was, "a little when it comes to testing, and "a lot when it comes to paperwork. " Today’s podcast episode is our Toy Safety 102 lesson, and we spend about 90% of this conversation focusing on the cost, complication, and changes in labeling and testing requirements brought about once t...
Aug 18, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you’ve ever looked into attending a toy trade show and thought, “Nope. Toy trade shows are for the big toy companies with thousands and thousands of orders at least, they’re not for me.” Well, it’s time to declare that a myth right here and right now my friend. Today’s podcast episode we dive into a review of the ASTRA Marketplace and Academy that takes place every year to connect specialty toy retailers with the manufacturers that make creative, innovative specialty toy products. In this epi...
Aug 11, 2021•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast You know that feeling when you submit a job application but you’re pretty sure no one is going to see it? The process of applying for jobs has become more and more impersonal in the digital age. The personalities of resumes today are defined by the template and type face that was chosen. Well today, the ever-growing social media platform, TikTok has stepped up to the plate to create a more personal hiring experience that can almost ensure your resume gets seen…at least once. TikTok Resumes ran a...
Aug 04, 2021•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast How much do you know about how the toy products that you make and play with get to you? Most likely, they were shipped to the city you bought them from, on boats in containers. In January of 2021, shipping container prices started to climb. By early spring they were double the standard pricing and today shipping container prices have been reported to have increased 4x what importers are used to paying to ship their products. The growth in sales that the toy industry experienced over the past yea...
Jul 28, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast I absolutely love talking marketing. Both digital marketing, traditional PR, and earned media are the main ways you can create awareness for your business. Before you spend any money developing your toy idea, I want you to have a realistic plan to build awareness around your product before you launch it. And you’ll build that awareness throughout marketing. Without that awareness you can’t collect generate email leads and interests. Without email leads and interest, you can’t generate or grow sa...
Jul 21, 2021•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Getting publicity for your toy business can seem like a daunting task at first. Imposter syndrome is often the culprit preventing many toy entrepreneurs from getting their name and toy products a well-deserved spotlight. Having been featured on NBC’s Access Daily, interviewed by Marie Forleo, and Amy Porterfield, I have a few tricks up my sleeve to teach you about getting media coverage. By the end of today’s episode, you’ll have the tools you need to start highlighting and pitching your creativ...
Jul 14, 2021•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Amy Porterfield is an online marketing expert and the host of the top-ranked podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy. Before building a multi-million-dollar digital course business, Amy worked with mega brands like Harley-Davidson and Peak Performance Coach, Tony Robbins, where she oversaw the content team and collaborated on ground-breaking online marketing campaigns. And today, friend of the show Amy Porterfield joins The Toy Coach for a conversation around the importance of list building. In this...
Jul 07, 2021•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast Are you in the process of sourcing with a factory overseas? Or perhaps you’re in the middle of working with a factory to produce your toy product. Or maybe you’ve just been considering reaching out to a factory in China but you haven’t taken the leap just yet. If you answered yes to any of those questions, then today’s episode is a must listen. In today’s episode I walk you through three of the 3 BIGGEST and most common mistakes you need to avoid when you start working with factories. Some of to...
Jun 30, 2021•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s episode is for all of the aspiring professional toy designers out there who have reached out at one time or another for advice on how they can get a job in the toy industry. Perhaps you have a degree in industrial design, graphic design, or illustration, and you’ve recently discovered this podcast and realized—wait a minute. I want to be a toy designer. Well finally I have the perfect episode for you. By the end of today’s episode, you will have uncovered a few resources to find jobs in ...
Jun 23, 2021•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast If the expense of returning to in-person toy trade shows has you a little worried, then there’s a year-round toy trade show platform that you need to know about. In today’s episode we take a behind the scenes look at Toy Fair Everywhere, a year-round, 24/7 virtual trade show that is changing the way the toy entrepreneurs and buyers connect and do business. The platform functions as a product discovery tool for buyers and a wholesale ecommerce site for sellers. You can make, nurture, and grow new...
Jun 16, 2021•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast For today’s episode of the show, I invited three of my star students of Toy Creators Academy to be guests on the podcast to share their experiences pitching their ideas right to major toy companies. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a clear understanding of what it takes to pitch your toy ideas in a virtual event, you’ll learn some lessons, and be inspired to take action whether you’re a toy inventor or toy entrepreneur. Today you will meet Ruthie Wallberg, Kieche O’Connell, and Pamela Sal...
Jun 09, 2021•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast The first ever Toy Creators Academy virtual pitch event concluded at the end of May 2021. Over a dozen toy companies, reviewed dozens of product pitches in 2 weeks of speed-dating style toy and entertainment pitch meetings. The toy companies that attended this pitch event were connected with new toy entrepreneurs and toy inventors in the toy space, and the students and alumni of Toy Creators Academy who pitched were able to jumpstart their toy network. If you are curious about the TCA Virtual Pi...
Jun 02, 2021•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you’re wondering how to break into toys, just know this. There are MANY paths into the toy industry. Get ready to hear how a self-published author found herself as the VP at a major toy company leading Marketing and Emerging IP’s. Our guest today is Karen Kilpatrick, an author who has both self-published and traditionally published her work with major companies like Macmillan. In this episode, you’ll learn from Karen’s journey and mistakes, and finally, realize that you don’t need to know whe...
May 26, 2021•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do top toy companies really want to work with inventors? Today’s episode answers that question with a resounding YES! Our guest today is Zack Pentecost of ZURU Toys. If you don’t know the name ZURU, you most definitely know some of their smash hit toy brands. Like Bunch O Balloons, Fifi The Flossin Sloth, or the Funky Flamingo, many of these toys have been featured on major media outlet like Good Morning America and featured by toy industry publications like The Toy Insider. Inventor, if you’ve ...
May 19, 2021•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
