Proof to Product

We are back with part two of my conversation with Jessica Totillo Coster , covering the State of the Product Industry survey . You can listen to part 1 by heading to prooftoproduct.com/394 . During part two of my interview with Jessica, we cover how product-based businesses are making money in their businesses, including the percentages of those that are selling wholesale vs retail vs licensing. W...

I'm loving all the feedback that we're getting about the State of the Product Industry survey . Last week, we released two podcast episodes. One was an overview of what the report was saying, what the different stats were, and then the second episode I covered 10 opportunities that all of you should be harnessing as we continue into 2025. Because we got such great feedback, we're going to keep thi...

Today's episode continues the conversation about the State of the Product Industry survey that we did. Last episode , I summarized what we learned when 400 product-based business owners shared intimate details about their income, profit, how much they pay themselves, their product line, their team, their sales and marketing strategies. If you have not listened to that one yet, I would suggest star...

Every founder I know has been wondering at some point or another how much other brands are making, what tech they're using, and how big their teams are. Everyone wants to see what other brands are doing and how they are successful. Even though we know that every business journey looks different, it's natural to be curious. The product world is shifting so fast. Right now, we're seeing rising costs...

Do you have excess inventory that you have no idea how to move? On today's podcast, we have Melodie van der Baan, cofounder of Max Retail . It's a platform designed to help independent retailers and brands easily sell their excess inventory online. During our conversation, Melodie shares how she started out as a sales rep, and then how she owned her own retail store in Palm Beach and how the chall...

Today's episode is an important and timely one. It is a conversation about resilience as small business owners and what we can do or how we navigate things when we are backed into a corner by forces outside of our control. Our guest this week is Emily Ley. She is the founder of Simplified® , a wildly successful brand of planners and organizational tools that many of you know and love. She also hap...

With everything going on in the global economy right now, there have been a lot of discussions about price increases. It's been a hot topic in Paper Camp , in our LABS community , and even in my Advisory Board mastermind. People are asking about how to raise their prices, if they should raise their prices, and also how to communicate those price increases with your customers, whether you're sellin...

Let's talk money. Money is a necessity in business, but it can also be a pain point, particularly for product-based business owners because our investments, overhead, and risks are generally heightened compared to service-based businesses. We not only need to make money, but we also need to spend money for future expansion and growth. But where does that money come from? How are people doing this?...

It has been almost one year since we conducted our 2024 State of the Product Industry survey , and we are back doing it again. So from now until April 11, our 2025 State of the Product Industry Survey is open, and we wanna hear from you and all of your physical product-based business owner friends. You can head to prooftoproduct.com/2025survey to share your responses with us, and I encourage you t...

When should I release new products to the wholesale market, and how do I align my release cycles with wholesale buying seasons? I get these questions and more about product release cycles all of the time. In fact, this has been a hot topic in this round of Paper Camp , our coaching program about wholesale. If our Paper Camp students are asking about release cycles, I know that many of you have sim...

It's been a minute since we've talked about Pinterest marketing here on the podcast, so I thought it was time that we revisit this topic. A lot has changed over the years with Pinterest, especially given the explosion of AI. So this week, Heather Farris is joining me on the podcast. She runs a Pinterest agency and education company. Heather has helped hundreds of creators on Pinterest grow their t...

When you think of public relations or PR, what first comes to mind? Is it holiday gift guides, being on the Today Show? What if I told you that PR can often be more effective than social media or paid ads for boosting a business's credibility and visibility? That's exactly what today's guest is sharing. Gloria Chou is an award-winning PR strategist and the host of the top-rated Small Business PR P...

Today's guest is LABS member, Sarah Hart, the founder and creative director of Simply Curated , a home fragrance brand that has been in business for twelve years. Sarah also recently launched a sister brand called Hart and Co . In this episode, Sarah shares the origins of her candle and home fragrance business, including the pivotal moments and challenges that she faced along the way. She provides...

I know we've been talking a lot about our wholesale coaching program, Paper Camp , which is where we are going to teach you everything you need to successfully sell wholesale. But today, I want to hand the mic over to four of our Paper Camp alumni to share their experiences. I'm calling this our "Before and After Paper Camp" series, where you can hear from real people who took our program. They ca...

To successfully sell wholesale, you must focus on your product line first. If you do not have a product line that has a unique point of view, is priced right, and has strong profit margins, you'll have a difficult time when you start doing sales and marketing, particularly on the wholesale side. A strong product line is the foundation of a strong wholesale revenue stream, which is why we start eve...

How did you decide that it was time to start wholesaling for your business? This is one of my favorite questions to ask my coaching clients, our Paper Camp students, and even the guests here on this podcast. Even though there are a lot of similarities between our stories, everyone's journey is so incredibly different. In some cases, like mine, deciding to sell wholesale was a very intentional and...

Hey, friend. I'm pulling an amazing episode from the archives with over 375 episodes here on the Proof to Product podcast. There is a gold mine of information for you to help you grow your business, and, frankly, it can be hard to take it all in. Today's episode is a look back at Paper Camp alumni, Brittany O'Brien's journey growing her stationery and gift company, Brittany Paige . In episode 258...

Have you been thinking about joining us for Paper Camp , but aren't sure if this program is a good fit for you? Or maybe you're a new listener of the podcast, and you're thinking, what the heck is this Paper Camp program that I keep talking about? This episode is for you. I'm answering the top questions that we get asked about our wholesale program to help you decide if it's the right fit for you....

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 physical products to the wholesale market. These bran...

Hey, friend. This week, I'm pulling an amazing episode from the archives with over 375 episodes here on the Proof to Product podcast. There is a gold mine of information for you to help you grow your business, and, frankly, it can be hard to take it all in. So whether you are a new listener or you've been around for a little while, this one is a must-listen. It features Ginger Diaz, a two-time ret...

I love using our platforms, particularly this podcast, to highlight our community members and all of the cool things they are doing within their businesses and lives. I also love to bring folks back for updates, a "where are they now" situation. So today's guest is Jodi Kostelnik of The Neighborgoods . Jodi was previously on episode 233 which aired in January of 2022. In that episode, she shared r...

Have you ever thought about licensing your art, but have no idea where to start? Licensing can be a really great supplemental revenue stream for your business. Nowadays, there are lots of folks looking for art to apply to their products. This week, we have Bonnie Christine on the show. She's an internationally renowned surface pattern designer, an entrepreneur, and an award-winning online educator...

This week, we have Arianne Foulks from Aeolidia back on the podcast. Arianne was on episode 114 talking about abandoned cart email sequences, and she also came on for episode 288 where we talked about SMS and email marketing strategies. Today, Arianne and I are talking about 2025 trends for e-commerce marketing. Arianne is a founder, speaker, and Shopify Partner who has focused her career on build...

Happy New Year, friend. I hope that you were able to take a break over the holidays. I know the last month of the year is always pretty busy for all of us, whether it's personal stuff or we're getting our shops and businesses ready for the end of the year. I hope that you have plenty of time for some rest and relaxation. We're back on the podcast with a new episode, and this week's episode is a re...

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 7, 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 370+ incredible episodes to help you strengthen your business. Have a great two weeks and I will se...