skucast

In our chat today, Dean will share some-real time tactics and ideas that will help you build a brand that people want to connect with (through every business touchpoint). From the way your team communicates to generous marketing, Dean combines his experience as both client and distributor to help you build a brand your customers will like, love, and trust!

Today, we have a really special sneak peek episode featuring Charlie Moscoe, commonsku’s VP of Product Management. Whether you’re an OG client, a new client, a supplier, or even just someone who is commonsku curious, today, we’ll unpack some exciting new developments coming up in June and for the remaining year.

Doug Jackson, President of Storm Creek and Teresa Fudenberg CEO of Storm Creek, both join us today to talk about their sustainability journey, their passion for impact, and since they’re the OG’s of eco, we talk about today’s buyer demands, how it’s changed, and their practical tips on how we as distributors can make eco a priority with our clients.

Pop! Promos removed 36,000 pounds of plastic from their supply chain, expanded their organic, recycled, and sustainable materials, and achieved a bronze designation from EcoVadis, the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings.  And the Pops! Promos Transformation toward sustainability and its increased effort toward social impact all began with a small group of v...

Walk into the coolest, local, craft coffee shop in your market and the likelihood is high that you’ll see coffeeware and insulated drinkware on the shelves from our guests today, Jeremy Moss and Ryan Schneider, who started Created Co in 2015. Fast forward a few years and Jeremy and Ryan with Created Co and Numo’s Jim Martin found one another. Two strong and proven but disruptive brands that both h...

Today, we’re chatting with Issac Childs, founder of Rustico, one of the most beloved brands who closed their doors after a very successful run of 22 years.

Today we talk with Shed about so much, you’ll love the depth of his thinking, we talk about: candor with care, the most important traits of a leader, the struggle some of us have moving from roles like a sales driver to an organizational leader, and more - join us!

Shelley Stewart is the CEO, the Creative Experience Officer, at Red Promotions based out of Seattle WA. As a women-owned, led, and fully operated team, they have become a powerhouse for their clients and have worked hard to build an incredible culture and a fiscally vibrant business.

Danny’s talk walked us through the sometimes rocky and now incredible journey the branded merch industry has been through, from an advertising add-along to today’s intimate merch experience that is embraced by brands and adorned by fans.

Lia Garvin, author and speaker, is known as the team whisperer: She’s the bestselling author of Unstuck and author of a new book released just this week titled The Unstoppable Team: A simple formula for managing your team, reducing overwhelm, and increasing revenue.

Today, we talk with Ryan about this incredible business they’ve built in California, their expansion into the industry providing workwear, plus how their audiences have widened to include not only the trades but also this huge market for transitional workwear.

Our guest today is Ben Higgins, best known from season 20 of ABC’s hit series, “The Bachelor.” Ben stays connected with his loyal Bachelor following with his iHeartMedia podcast, “Almost Famous,” which he co-hosts with his friend and former Bachelor contestant, Ashley laconetti, which has over 150 million downloads.

Linni Kral is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, and educator. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, the BBC, Condé Nast Traveler and more.

Denise is the CEO and co-founder of one of the industry’s most respected brands, Fairware. Prior to starting Fairware, Denise spent seven years as the Director of Sustainability and Community for Mountain Equipment Co-op, Canada’s largest outdoor retailer. She is currently a board member of Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) and also a board member of Promocares, a group working...

Today, we’re sharing an episode that we recorded live from skucon where Jeremy and Jonathan answer questions from Catherine Graham, commonsku’s CEO, on a broad range of topics including: US/China relations and its impact on the supply chain, deglobalization efforts, the impact of international trade, the labor market, and a financial outlook for 2024.

Jason Lucash and Mike Szymczak, the two founders behind one of the industry’s most ingenious company’s Origaudio, are back. Jason and Mike sold their very successful company, Origaudio, to HPG in 2018, and after a few years, both retired from the industry. The two entrepreneurs, known for their innovation in product, production, and distribution, have launched a new brand with a bold new mission....

Frank Carpenito was a five-year board member on Gemline’s board of directors, and he loved the company so much that he wanted to help lead it; in 2019, he became President and recently was promoted to CEO and is now responsible for the day-to-day running of the business at Gemline.

Logomark’s story is one of innovation, not just in product but in production, masters at obsessing over speed and accuracy, we begin our chat today with Clive by talking about his entry into the industry, what the pandemic taught him and the team, and how it impacts their work today.

Right now, if you’re listening to this as it's published, you’re in the middle of your 2023 holiday break, and as has been a tradition for us, we like to use these few weeks during the holidays to republish a few hidden gems you might have missed earlier in the year. Today, since the new year is right around the corner, we're republishing our conversation with Rob Dube, CEO of Imageone on the topi...

Right now, if you’re listening to this as it's published, you’re in the middle of your 2023 holiday break, and as has been a tradition for us, we like to use these few weeks during the holidays to republish a few hidden gems you might have missed earlier in the year. Today, we’re republishing an episode about “How to Have a Good Fight” from the Teamwork Doctor Liane Davey. Liane was our keynote sp...

When we began our podcast adventure over 300 episodes ago, we had no idea the number of incredible people we’d meet along the way and the impact they would make on us and the commonsku community.

In our industry, distributors, and suppliers also have two distinct types of growth, and both are a requisite for future-proofing a thriving business. And since Q4 is well underway, many of us are beginning to think about 2025 business planning and benchmarking, we wanted to share a few ideas from our numerous interviews with leaders on how to create benchmarks for both type 1 and type 2 growth.

David Priemer has had 20 years leading top-performing sales teams, including his tenure with Salesforce, where he was not only the Vice President of Commercial Sales, he was the creator of the Sales Leadership Academy program, and he’s often referred to as “the sales professor”.

PromoCares is an all-volunteer-driven organization; their mission is to inspire, educate, and provide actionable strategies to encourage social and environmental responsibility in the promotional products industry and the industry's communities. Each year, the board at PromoCares picks a new initiative called their “4 good events” to rally the industry around a cause and use the collective energy...

Today, we’re talking mergers. KG Specialties is a Portland-based distributor who, this year, merged with Premier Press. Premier employs over 200 people, and they handle a wide variety of print, fulfillment, and logistics management for clients. Our guests are Kyle Gibson, the owner of KG Specialties and now Director of Promotional Merchandise at Premier, and Premier’s Vice President, Manuel Saez.