Ranked in the top 1% of ALL podcasts, the Proof to Product podcast is your trusted resource for sustainable business growth - especially if you make and sell physical products! Join Katie Hunt, each week as she shares strategies & solutions to enhance your sales & marketing so that you’re building a business that supports your best life. If you’ve ever asked yourself can I make money selling physical products? Am I ready to sell my products wholesale to stores like Target, Anthropologie, Nor ...
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The Product Biz Made Easy Podcast helps entrepreneurs scale their product-based businesses. Each week we share sales strategies, marketing advice, or inspiring interviews. We chat all about wholesale, eCommerce, Amazon, Etsy, private label, trade shows, sales reps, manufacturing, and all things product-based business.
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Kelly from Hello World Paper Co. & Stamps and Caroline from Caroline Creates are two product based biz owners who want to connect with and help other product based business owners. The product based business world is shrouded in mystery... why? Why is it so easy to get information about starting a service based business, but when you ask people questions about their product based business they run and hide. That's dumb. When we lift each other up we not only help someone else's business, we ...
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368 | How to Reengage Your Email Subscribers with Dawn Richardson, Flodesk
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Earlier this year, we conducted a state of the product industry survey. We had 925 people respond. We found that 15% of respondents are not utilizing email marketing to reach their audiences. My jaw fell to the floor! I've talked about why email marketing is so important in previous episodes. The number surprised me because email marketing has the …
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367 | This is Strategy with Seth Godin
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I feel like today's guest needs no introduction, but it would be a complete disservice to not share all of his accolades. Today, I'm talking with Seth Godin. He's an author, entrepreneur, and most of all, a teacher. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, he has written 22 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin…
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366 | Is It Harder to Start or Scale a Business with Katie Hunt
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Is it harder to start a business or scale a business? This was a question that someone posed over on Threads recently, and it got my wheels turning. In 2024, scaling is harder. It is easy to start a business these days. However, most don't have the grit to keep going long-term and scale the business. During this episode, I dive into why it’s easier…
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365 | Her Embroidery Kits Sold Out in 3 Days on Faire with Riki Inge, Rikrack
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Have you ever sold out of your inventory in a few days? Today's guest did that when they were launching their embroidery kits to the wholesale market through Faire. Riki Inge of Rikrack had stocked up inventory. She'd prepped her Faire shop. She went live, and everything completely sold out in just a few days. While most people would see this as a …
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364 | Turning Instagram Followers into Customers with Brock Johnson
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I am excited to share today's episode with you because we have a fun guest. It's Brock Johnson. If you're not familiar with Brock, he is an Instagram expert who has coached thousands of entrepreneurs and creators on how to grow on Instagram, and he's been doing it since 2018. In 2021, his personal following blew up, thanks to his strategy of using …
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363 | How to Pitch Your Products to Retailers with our Paper Camp Coaches
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We are back with another compilation episode with our Paper Camp coaches. If you missed last week’s episode, you can check it out by going to episode 362. In this episode, I'm taking a different approach and asking a different set of questions. These questions are directly aimed at our coaches who are wholesale buyers that run retail storefronts. T…
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362 | Wholesale Growth Strategies with our Paper Camp Coaches
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We are in the final week of our signature program, Paper Camp. In Paper Camp, we teach product-based business owners how to get their products on the shelves of their favorite stores, big and small. Paper Camp is an insanely comprehensive coaching program focusing on foundational and growth strategies for selling wholesale. During Paper Camp, we an…
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361 | Creating Products That People Want to Buy with Biff Ulm, Nice Enough Stickers
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I love staying connected to our community while they're out exhibiting or attending trade shows throughout the year. One update that caught my eye this summer was from Biff Ulm of Nice Enough Stickers about his experience at the Las Vegas gift show. Now Biff is no stranger to the podcast. He's been sharing tips about leveraging point-of-sale system…
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360 | How Quitting Social Media Boosted Revenue with Brigida Swanson, Yardia
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Is it possible to have a thriving business and not be on social media? In episode 309, Brigida Swanson from Yardia joined me to discuss what it was like for her to leave social media. We talked a lot about choosing contentment over business growth, and this episode was a listener favorite. We decided to invite Brigida back onto the podcast to check…
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359 | Strengthen Your Brand Identity with Kiwi Schloffel [Inside Look at our LABS Program]
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We have all heard that we need to showcase our authentic selves for our businesses, but what does that actually mean? What does that look like in our business? This week's podcast episode features a recent portion of a coffee chat hosted by Kiwi Schloffel held inside of our private LABS program. LABS is our membership for product-based business own…
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358 | Paper Camp Alumni Growth Stories
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We are gearing up for our next round of Paper Camp and we are so excited! This is our wholesale intensive program, and I wanted to do something fun for this week's podcast episode to celebrate this milestone and the fact that enrollment for Paper Camp is currently open. I asked our past Paper Camp students to answer 1 question: How have you and you…
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357 | The Most Important Sales Tool for Wholesale with Katie Hunt
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A wholesale catalog’s purpose is to sell your products, tell your story, and build a relationship with a buyer when you can’t be there with them in person. Ultimately, the goal of your wholesale catalog is to sell your products, and it’s important to build your catalog with your retailer in mind. Today I’m going to go through five quick tips for cr…
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356 | Two Wholesale Metrics To Monitor with Katie Hunt
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There’s no “easy mode” in business. Selling physical products is a lot of work and being a product entrepreneur requires grit, tenacity, and courage. Today’s episode is for seasoned wholesalers who might be experiencing a slower sales season this summer. If your sales have stalled, there are two metrics that you can tap into to build stronger relat…
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355 | How Big Box Stores Buy Wholesale with Sally Diguette, Anthropologie
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Pitching large retailers is a completely different process and timeline than working with independent retailers. Having worked with thousands of brands, I know that it can feel like an intimidating process to pitch your work to these key accounts. Today on the podcast, we're pulling back the curtain and explaining how it all works. My guest today i…
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354 | Paper Camp Alumni Panel with Janine Kwoh, Jesse Regis, and Lucia Saisse Morris
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When we have our eyes set on a specific business goal, something like selling wholesale, it is incredibly beneficial to hear from people who are a few steps ahead of us in the process, which is why we close out every round of our Paper Camp program with an alumni panel. I want our students to hear from their peers. In today's podcast episode, we're…
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If you’re listening today that means you’re likely interested in applying for our Paper Camp scholarship! Giving back is one of our core values here at Proof to Product and we give back through our time, knowledge as well as financial scholarships. Since 2011, we’ve awarded over $275,000+ in scholarship funds to creative entrepreneurs who sell phys…
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352 | 5 Myths About Selling Wholesale with Katie Hunt
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Selling wholesale can be a valuable and lucrative strategy for businesses of all sizes, but there are a few myths about the process that can discourage some entrepreneurs from exploring whether wholesale is a good fit for them or prevent some brands from pushing further into wholesale and expanding the revenue stream. Listen in to hear 5 myths abou…
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351 | Getting into Your Dream Store After Being Told No with Nellys Siria, Cocoa Loves Grey
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It is so deflating when we put our work out into the world and either don't hear back or we're told that now isn't the right time. Our students feel this deeply when they are pitching wholesale accounts, but today's guest is reminding us that a no today doesn't always mean that it's a no forever. Nellys Syria is the owner of Cocoa Loves Grey, a col…
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350 | How to Audit Your Product Line with Katie Hunt
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Today's episode is short but very detailed, so find a quiet place to listen and grab a notebook. This is a quick training that I recorded for our LABS members. Our LABS members are Paper Camp alumni, so they have been through our intensive program. This is something that we walk you through in Paper Camp as well, but I wanted to bring it up here pu…
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349 | Sales Rep Challenges & Opportunities with Keli Faw, Crow & Canary
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I love bringing a variety of perspectives and people from the retail space to this podcast. Buyers, sales reps, you name it, they've been on the Proof to Product podcast. This week's episode, I'm joined by Keli Faw, who is the owner of Crow & Canary. Crow & Canary might sound familiar as we've had the previous owner, Carina Murray, on the show in e…
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348 | Optimize Your Faire Shop with Kristin Fisher, Bocu
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If you want to hear from someone who has more than 18 years of corporate retail buying experience and who knows what buyers are looking for when they are shopping on Faire, you are in luck because today's guest on the podcast is Kristin Fisher of Bocu. Kristin owns the gifting brand, Bocu, and she is also a retail strategy mentor for brands and ind…
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The Proof to Product team is practicing what we preach and we are going on summer break for the next two weeks! We will be back in your ears mid-July and we are so excited about our upcoming episodes. In the meantime, we are gearing up for another round of our Paper Camp program which will start at the end of August. We only run Paper Camp twice a …
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347 | State of Product Industry Survey with Katie Hunt
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Every day, I hear from product-based business owners who are curious about other people's business models, revenue streams, team structure, tech stack, how much revenue they're not only earning but what profit they're taking home, and how much they're paying themselves. Although we know that every business is different, it is completely natural to …
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346 | Tripling Revenue by Focusing on Wholesale with Rachel Kroh, Heartell Press
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What if you lived in a different state than your business? Meaning, all of your products, your inventory, your team, and your operations were in a completely different state. For today's guest, Rachel Kroh of Heartell Press, this is her every day now. She lives in Washington with her family, while her team of 5 works remotely across the country. Th…
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345 | Redesigning Products to Create More Ease in the Business with Janine Kwoh, Kwohtations
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We've been telling you a lot of stories here on the podcast about brands making big scary shifts in business, and part of the reason we're doing this is to normalize that it's okay to pivot when you need to. In episode 342, Alyson O'Connor shared how she shut down a 6-figure revenue stream so she could focus on a revenue stream wholesale that bette…
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344 | Normalizing the Hard Stuff in Business with Tammie Bennett, Show Up Society
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Running a business sure is a roller coaster, isn't it? We have our ups and downs. We have to balance the future forecasting and envisioning while also putting out the day-to-day fires in front of us. It takes a lot of grit and determination to be an entrepreneur, particularly when you're building something that aligns with your personal interests a…
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343 | 5 Tips for Creating an Effective Wholesale Catalog with Katie Hunt
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A wholesale catalog’s purpose is to sell your products, tell your story, and build a relationship with a buyer when you can’t be there with them in person. Ultimately, the goal of your wholesale catalog is to sell your products, and it’s important to build your catalog with your retailer in mind. Today I’m going to go through five quick tips for cr…
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342 | Replacing a 6-figure Revenue Stream with Ready-Made Products for Wholesale with Alyson O'Connor, Rust Belt Love
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Have you ever wanted to make a transition in your business, but you resisted because the thing you wanted to move away from brought in the largest chunk of revenue for your business? I have definitely been there, and so has today's podcast guest. Alyson O'Connor is a classically trained visual artist specializing in nature-inspired illustrations, s…
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We are seeking 1,000 product-based business owners who are willing to anonymously share their details for the 2024 State of the Product Industry Report: www.prooftoproduct.com/2024survey The data will help you make stronger decisions in your business. It will help you better understand the industry and your competition. It will help you identify gr…
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341 | How Fashion Influences Her Product with Priyanka Batra, My Darlin’
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I love using the podcast to spotlight our different community members and their unique businesses and stories because we know that no two businesses are the same. We all have our lived experiences and interests that play into the types of businesses we create and how we choose to run these businesses each day. Today's guest is Paper Camp Alumni Pri…
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340 | How To Pitch Holiday Gift Guides with Nora Wolf, Wolf PR
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I know what you're thinking. Why are we talking about holiday gift guides when it's only spring? I know. But just like how product development cycles require advanced planning, so does pitching the press and getting your products featured in holiday gift guides. Today's guest is Nora Wolf from Wolf PR, a boutique public relations firm that she foun…
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339 | New Laws about Independent Contractor with Kira La Forgia, Paradigm Consulting
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If you work with independent contractors in your business, you will want to listen closely to this podcast episode. In March 2024, the US Department of Labor issued new stricter guidelines regarding independent contractor workers. Today's guest is HR consultant and expert, Kira La Forgia of Paradigm Consulting. She is breaking it all down for us so…
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338 | Exiting and Acquiring a Business with Kiwi Schloffel & Meghan Hopkins Sokorai
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If you have ever considered exiting your business or even acquiring another person's business, today's podcast episode is for you. My guests today are two of my clients and also friends: Meghan Hopkins Sokorai of And Here We Are, and Kiwi Schloffel of Your Gal Kiwi. Last year, Kiwi made the decision that she wanted to exit her product-based busines…
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337 | Exclusivity and Ethics in Retail with Kimberley Yurkiewicz, Measure Twice
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One of the things that sets Proof to Product apart from other people teaching about wholesale is the breadth and depth of not only my personal knowledge but also the fact that we bring in a variety of other perspectives from buyers to sales reps to consultants and manufacturers. This wide lens allows us to share best practices and current trends th…
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336 | Utilizing Abandoned Cart Emails to Drive Sales with Katie Hunt
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Did you know that almost 70% of shoppers abandon their online shopping carts and don't follow through with a sale? That means that only 3 out of 10 of your customers who go to your website and load up their shopping cart complete their purchase. The same report from Baymard Institute said that more than $18,000,000,000 in e-commerce sales are lost …
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335 | In-Person Retail Markets with Emily Chiang, Danella McKinnon, and Kate Pinto
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Our focus here at Proof to Product is teaching people how to successfully sell their products to the wholesale market. But many of our community members sell through multiple sales channels, including licensing, custom work, direct-to-consumer online sales, and in-person retail markets. For today's episode, we're sharing a portion of a recent coffe…
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334 | Expanding into 1,000 Stores with Brittany O'Brien, Brittany Paige
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The last time Brittany O'Brien was on the podcast was back in 2022, and we were talking about how she scaled her business to 500 wholesale accounts. Earlier this year, Brittany crossed a new milestone. Her products are now sold in over 1,000 stores, and today, we're going to dig into what the last year and a half has looked like for her. Specifical…
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333 | Scaling without Employees with Beth Roszkowski, Tiny Hooray
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We have shared many incredible business growth stories here on the Proof to Product podcast. One thing that I always try to emphasize is that business is not one size fits all. Every business will look different, operate differently, and have different goals they're working towards. To build a profitable, successful long-term business, we have to b…
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332 | Rebuilding Self-Trust and Confidence as a Business Owner with Ginny Krauss & Elli Runkles, Supported CEO (Part 2)
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Last week on episode 331, you met my friends Ginny and Elli from the Supported CEO. They very candidly shared their stories of experiencing burnout in entrepreneurship, including what that was like, what they felt, and they shared their journey back from burnout and what they did to get to where they are today. Today is part 2 in the discussion wit…
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331 | Back From Burnout with Ginny Krauss & Elli Runkles, Supported CEO (Part 1)
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The topic of burnout is popping up a lot in my business circles. People are tired, and they are struggling with decision fatigue. Many people I talk to are questioning whether to even continue with their business or whether they should make an exit, but these types of conversations typically happen behind closed doors, or worse, they don't happen a…
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330 | How to Have Tough Conversations with Your Team with Tatiana O'Hara, T. O'Hara Consulting
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If you're looking for ways to be a stronger leader within your business or you're considering expanding your team, please block off some quiet time to carefully listen today. Our guest for this episode is Tatiana O'Hara, a team and leadership development consultant who helps successful yet overwhelmed online business owners create the structure nee…
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329 | How These 9 Businesses Have Grown Since Attending Paper Camp
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We are gearing up for the 43rd round of Paper Camp and we are so excited! This is our wholesale intensive program, and I wanted to do something fun for this week's podcast episode to celebrate this milestone and the fact that enrollment for Paper Camp is currently open. I asked our past Paper Camp students to answer 1 question: How have you and you…
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328 | An inside look at what Paper Camp is like
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Have you ever wondered what it's like to attend our Paper Camp program? If so, today's episode is for you! I am sharing an inside peek into one of our Paper Camp coaching calls. This one is with Alex Gagne of Chez Gagné. Alex has been a longtime member of our Paper Camp community. When she first attended as a student, she had been in business a lit…
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If you’re listening today that means you’re likely interested in applying for our Paper Camp scholarship! Giving back is one of our core values here at Proof to Product and we give back through our time, knowledge as well as financial scholarships. Since 2011, we’ve awarded over $275,000+ in scholarship funds to creative entrepreneurs who sell phys…
…
continue reading
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326 | The State of Trade Shows in 2024 with Katie Hunt
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I have been doing so much good content for other people and I’m doing my best to bring it back around so that you all have access to it and know about these resources. Recently, the team of Aeolidia asked me to weigh in with my thoughts on the changing landscape of wholesale trade shows for their blog. The post features comments from Arianne Foulks…
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325 | How To Plan Out New Wholesale Product Releases With Divya Guruju, Mellowworks
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I’ve been thinking a lot about how our past work experience and general lived experience shape how we start and build our businesses. For me, I spent 12 years in the corporate world leading business development and strategic marketing teams for large law firms before starting my product line. That time in my life taught me about project management,…
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324 | New Year Business Checklist for Product Brands
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Happy New Year! I hope you had a restful and relaxing holiday season. I enjoyed a lot of downtime with my family and also worked on a few things behind the scenes to get Proof to Product ready for 2024. I thought it might be helpful to share some of the things that I look at as I’m wrapping up one year and starting a new one. So today’s episode is …
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The Proof to Product podcast team and I are practicing what we preach and the podcast is taking a winter break! We will be back with a new podcast episode on Tuesday, January 9, and we have some incredible things lined up for you! While we're gone, be sure to dip back into the archives. We have over 323 incredible episodes to help you strengthen yo…
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323 | 6 Reasons Why You Should Not Be Doing Monthly Wholesale Promotions
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There is a lot of noise on the internet. Lots of gurus, experts, and other people claim you have to do things a certain way in order to be successful. We see ads on social media telling us there is a magic formula or 5-step process that will make all of our dreams come true. It seems that a new business coach is popping up on the scene every day wi…
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322 | Navigating the Ups & Downs of Entrepreneurship with Katie Hunt
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Hey everyone! I was recently on Shirlee Fisher's podcast, The Tillage Podcast, where we talked about a variety of topics: how to navigate challenges during a crisis, how to make informed decisions with my four-factor framework, how to embrace knowing your numbers as a neutral tool for success and so much more. I had such a good time that I asked Sh…
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