Proof to Product

Katie Hunt
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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, Nordstrom or Barnes & Noble? When should I consider hiring a sales team or sales reps? Can I really turn my passion into profits? Whether you're a just starting out on your business journey or you've been at it a while growing an empire, this show is for you. Proof to Product is like on-demand business school for product sellers spanning a wide range of industries. Whether you're in home decor, apparel, beauty, food & beverage, hand-made items, jewelry, consumer gifts or the stationery world, you'll gather new ideas each week to help you grow your profit, build your team and lead with integrity. Host Katie Hunt and her guests bring you actionable ways to expand your product line, manufacturing overseas, optimize your e-commrce websites on Shopify, Faire, Etsy, Abound, Tundra, Squarespace or in brick & mortar locations. How to start or scale wholesale sales including pitching stores, wholesale outreach, trade show exhibition, working with sales reps, managing inventory, warehousing product, sales systems, wholesale follow-up strategies and working with key accounts. Marketing strategies for small businesses including content creation, leveraging tik tok and instagram tactics without feeling burned out, why you can't rely solely on social media for sales and why email marketing systems on platforms like Klaviyo, Flodesk and Active Campaign are so powerful. Listen in as Katie and our guest experts help you strategize and tackle your biggest business goals. Host Katie Hunt brings a unique perspective to entrepreneurship. Since 2011, she's helped thousands of product brands get their products on the shelves of their favorite retail stores through her Paper Camp program (www.prooftoproduct.com/papercamp). Prior to that she worked in the corporate world for over a decade leading business development and marketing teams. She has two MBAs - one in finance and one in marketing. And, she owned & operated her own product based business for over 8 years, selling her products to stores throughout the world from her garage. Katie knows the struggles you face as a product based business and she's here to pull back the curtain and share her best kept secrets so that you don't have to learn things the hard way. Find our free trainings & resources for product based business owners at www.prooftoproduct.com/resources

  1. 1 hr ago

    459 | What Happens When You Built a Successful Business You No Longer Want to Run with Lisa Congdon

    Today I'm talking with someone I've admired for a long time— artist, author, illustrator, and creative entrepreneur Lisa Congdon. Lisa has been building businesses around her art for nearly 20 years, and in this conversation we talk about something that I think a lot of established brand owners will relate to, and that's what happens when you've built a successful business but you realize it's no longer the business you want to run. Lisa recently made the decision to close her retail business after 20 years, not because it was failing, but because she wanted more time and space to make art and pursue the work that really energizes her. I appreciate how intentional she was about that decision. She didn't just burn everything down and hope for the best, like some of us feel like doing every day, but she looked at her finances and considered other revenue streams. She created a plan and gave herself and her team a runway. We also get into how Lisa developed a recognizable artistic point of view, why making work that actually means something to you can create a stronger connection with your customers, and the difference between trend-driven, trend-agnostic, and trend-informed. There are so many good nuggets in this conversation about building a product brand that works commercially while still staying true to your creative voice and knowing when it's time to make a change. Today’s episode is sponsored by our Unlock Buyer Secrets Interview series. To make a strong first impression with wholesale buyers, we need to do a few things really well: We need to make it easy for stores to purchase from usWe need to have clear pricing and terms & conditionsWe need to clearly communicate and add value at each touchpointWe need to focus on building strong relationships with our customers. And all of this becomes infinitely easier when we actively listen to our customers. This on-demand interview series will give you a competitive edge by providing an exclusive window into what buyers want and need from you. And, the best part, it's only $27 bucks. Get Access to the Unlock Buyer Secrets Interview Series You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/459 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp Mentioned in this episode: Take the free quiz! Map out your next 90 days here: http://prooftoproduct.com/quiz

    459 | What Happens When You Built a Successful Business You No Longer Want to Run with Lisa Congdon

  2. 5 days ago

    Quick Hit: How Do I Find My Unique Voice as an Artist When The World is Hard?

    Over the years, we've had hundreds of conversations on this podcast about what it means to build a sustainable, profitable product brand. And some of those conversations are just too juicy. They're too good to live in the archives. Today, I'm bringing one back. What you're about to hear is a short clip from a past episode. It's a topic that has stuck with me and still feels very relevant today. These throwback episodes are intentionally short and to the point because sometimes you don't need a full deep dive. All right, let's dive in. You can listen to the full episode with Danielle Coke of Oh Happy Dani here: http://prooftoproduct.com/189 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp Mentioned in this episode: Take the free quiz! Map out your next 90 days here: http://prooftoproduct.com/quiz

    Quick Hit: How Do I Find My Unique Voice as an Artist When The World is Hard?

  3. 1 Sept

    458 | How Her Watercolor Kits are Helping People Reconnect with Their Creativity with Melissa Hyatt

    Today's conversation is about building a business that truly evolves alongside your life and also having the courage to reinvent yourself more than once along the way. I'm joined by one of my clients, Melissa Hyatt. She is an artist, a surface pattern designer, and an entrepreneur. Before launching her own product brand, Melissa spent more than 2 decades designing textiles, wallpaper, home decor, and licensed products for major brands in New York. She eventually served as the design director for Waverly Fabrics. Today, she brings all of that industry experience and knowledge into her own business where she creates stationery, watercolor art, and beautifully created watercolor kits that are helping more people reconnect with their creativity. In this episode, Melissa shares how her career evolved from the corporate design world to entrepreneurship, why she intentionally built multiple revenue streams in her business, and how one unexpected setback became kind of the catalyst for creating a business that's more resilient and also more fulfilling for her. We also dive into her wildly successful watercolor kits, the product development process behind them, and how following her curiosity has opened doors that she never really expected. I really love Melissa's perspective on experimentation, perseverance, and creating products that create a meaningful impact in people's lives. If you've ever wondered whether it's too late to pivot or launch something new or reinvent your business, I think you will find so much encouragement in today's conversation. Today's episode is brought to you by our Is Wholesale Right for You workshop. Wholesale is not the only way to make money selling your products. Selling in bulk to retail stores that order multiple times a year instead of relying on one-off direct-to-consumer sales— yes please! Whether you are brand new to wholesale or you've hit a sales plateau, this free 25-minute on-demand workshop will give you actionable steps that you can take to strengthen your wholesale sales and marketing right away. SIGN UP You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/458 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp Mentioned in this episode: Take the free quiz! Map out your next 90 days here: http://prooftoproduct.com/quiz

    458 | How Her Watercolor Kits are Helping People Reconnect with Their Creativity with Melissa Hyatt

  4. 27 Aug

    Quick Hit: Should I Be Collaborating More in My Business?

    Over the years, we've had hundreds of conversations on this podcast about what it means to build a sustainable, profitable product brand. And some of those conversations are just too juicy. They're too good to live in the archives. Today, I'm bringing one back. What you're about to hear is a short clip from a past episode. It's a topic that has stuck with me and still feels very relevant today. These throwback episodes are intentionally short and to the point because sometimes you don't need a full deep dive. All right, let's dive in. You can listen to the full episode with Morgan Harper Nichols here: http://prooftoproduct.com/206 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp Mentioned in this episode: Take the free quiz! Map out your next 90 days here: http://prooftoproduct.com/quiz

    Quick Hit: Should I Be Collaborating More in My Business?

  5. 25 Aug

    457 | The Cost of Not Doing Paper Camp with Katie Hunt

    What did it cost you to not do Paper Camp last round? Not what it costs to join the program — we'll get to that. I'm talking about the other number. The invisible one. The wholesale orders you didn't land because your pricing wasn't dialed in. The reorders that never came through because you weren't sure how to follow up and you didn't know what to say, or when to send it. The stores that passed on your line because your minimums didn't align with industry standards.The nights you spent Googling "how much should I charge for ___" instead of just knowing the answer off the top of your head or having a place to go and ask. Those missed opportunities cost you real money. But they don’t show up on your profit and loss statement. No one sends you an invoice for the money you left on the table. In this podcast episode, we're putting a number on it. Today's episode is brought to you by our Paper Camp program. Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you everything you need to know to build strong wholesale foundations. Over the course of 4 weeks, we tackle your product line, sales tools, and marketing plan, and we even talk about how to exhibit at trade shows if that's what you want to do. We start with your product line and go into everything from how often you should be releasing new products to ensuring that your numbers are sustainable for the wholesale market and their price for profit. Then we move into sales tools you must have for selling wholesale so you make a strong first impression with buyers like catalogs and your terms and conditions. Then, we cover marketing strategies and ways to reach various store owners. Each week's teachings build on the previous week, and we host weekly live engaging coaching calls to answer all of your questions. We will open enrollment for our next round of Paper Camp soon, and we sell this program out every time we run it. Join the wait list and you’ll get early access to enroll. ENROLL NOW You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/457 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp Mentioned in this episode: Take the free quiz! Map out your next 90 days here: http://prooftoproduct.com/quiz

    457 | The Cost of Not Doing Paper Camp with Katie Hunt

  6. 20 Aug

    456 | 690 Wholesale Accounts and We Still Found Money Left on the Table, Case Study with Rachel O’Neill, Loftipop

    Thirteen years in business. Nearly 700 wholesale accounts. And the biggest shift Rachel O'Neill of Loftipop made this year was admitting her wholesale business was being run like a D2C channel. If you started in direct-to-consumer and layered wholesale on top, this episode will feel familiar. Rachel came into Paper Camp with a thriving business at Loftipop and left with major enhancements: separate pricing logic, a leaner product line, and a strategy built around the retailers she already has. In this episode, you'll learn: Why wholesale is not an extension of your D2C business — it's a separate model with its own pricing, margins, and rulesHow Loftipop added 60 accounts in the 6 months after Paper Camp, growing from 690 to about 750Why Rachel discontinued SKUs that were still selling — and why she felt "so much lighter" afterwardHow to run channel-by-channel margin math before keeping a product in your wholesale catalogWhat it looks like to nurture current retailers — email outreach, direct mail, and consistent touchpoints — instead of only chasing new accountsHow staying open to change, 13 years in, became the shift that moved her whole business forward From the episode: "The biggest takeaway is that your wholesale business is not D2C. We came into wholesale thinking it was just an extension of our D2C... it's actually a whole separate business model and strategy." — Rachel O'Neill"If you're serious about wholesale, it's 100% worth the investment. In terms of numbers, we've already made our money back and more." — Rachel O'Neill Paper Camp is currently open for enrollment, which only happens twice a year! SIGN UP FOR PAPER CAMP NOW You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/456 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp Mentioned in this episode: Take the free quiz! Map out your next 90 days here: http://prooftoproduct.com/quiz

    456 | 690 Wholesale Accounts and We Still Found Money Left on the Table, Case Study with Rachel O’Neill, Loftipop

  7. 19 Aug

    455 | From 3 to 50 Wholesale Accounts With a Day Job and a New Baby, Case Study with Sherry Lam, Sherry's Palette

    "My business is too young for this." If you've ever said that about wholesale, this episode is for you. Sherry Lam joined Paper Camp with fewer than 20 SKUs, a handful of inconsistent accounts, a full-time day job, and a brand-new baby — and decided that was exactly the right moment to build her wholesale foundation. She went from 3 shaky accounts to more than 50. This is her story, in her own words. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Sherry started wholesale with fewer than 20 SKUs — and how starting early with the right foundation paid offHow she grew from 3 inconsistent accounts to more than 50 while working a day job and raising a babyHow doing wholesale correctly early on turned a "maybe this is a hobby" question into a real revenue streamHow to vet whether Paper Camp is right for you: free resources, the podcast archive, and talking to alumni before you investWhy she came back and took Paper Camp a second time — and what had changed, from Faire's growing role to new outreach normsWhat the alumni community looks like after the course ends, especially for solo founders About Sherry: Sherry Lam is the founder of Sherry's Palette, where she designs greeting cards, enamel pins, art prints, and more. She built her wholesale business from 3 accounts to over 50 while working a full-time day job — and she's offered to be a resource for anyone on the fence about Paper Camp. Paper Camp is currently open for enrollment, which only happens twice a year! SIGN UP FOR PAPER CAMP NOW You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/455 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp Mentioned in this episode: Take the free quiz! Map out your next 90 days here: http://prooftoproduct.com/quiz

    455 | From 3 to 50 Wholesale Accounts With a Day Job and a New Baby, Case Study with Sherry Lam, Sherry's Palette

  8. 18 Aug

    454 | From 75 to 125 Wholesale Accounts including Her First Key Accounts, Case Study with Charina Cabanayan, Orchid & Pine

    You know that moment when your business starts asking more of you than your systems can deliver? A key account shows interest, your line is scaling, and you can feel the gap between where you are and what's coming. That's exactly where Charina Cabanayan was when she joined Paper Camp — 75 independent accounts, a sales rep group, and a growing pressed floral line at Orchid & Pine Studio. This episode shares her experiences participating in Paper Camp. In this episode, you'll learn: How Charina grew from 75 to 125 wholesale accounts — including her first 3 key accounts — by building systems before chasing salesHow to take the emotion out of pricing, and why creatives struggle with this more than any other part of wholesaleWhy she pulled her handmade collection from her wholesale catalog when the numbers showed it couldn't scaleWhat changed in wholesale between her first business (250 accounts, twenty years ago) and today — and why experience goes out of dateHow to work with sales reps and showrooms without costly mistakesWhy slowing down intentionally can be a sign of a healthy business, not a failing one Paper Camp is currently open for enrollment, which only happens twice a year! SIGN UP FOR PAPER CAMP NOW You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/454 Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp Mentioned in this episode: Take the free quiz! Map out your next 90 days here: http://prooftoproduct.com/quiz

    454 | From 75 to 125 Wholesale Accounts including Her First Key Accounts, Case Study with Charina Cabanayan, Orchid & Pine
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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, Nordstrom or Barnes & Noble? When should I consider hiring a sales team or sales reps? Can I really turn my passion into profits? Whether you're a just starting out on your business journey or you've been at it a while growing an empire, this show is for you. Proof to Product is like on-demand business school for product sellers spanning a wide range of industries. Whether you're in home decor, apparel, beauty, food & beverage, hand-made items, jewelry, consumer gifts or the stationery world, you'll gather new ideas each week to help you grow your profit, build your team and lead with integrity. Host Katie Hunt and her guests bring you actionable ways to expand your product line, manufacturing overseas, optimize your e-commrce websites on Shopify, Faire, Etsy, Abound, Tundra, Squarespace or in brick & mortar locations. How to start or scale wholesale sales including pitching stores, wholesale outreach, trade show exhibition, working with sales reps, managing inventory, warehousing product, sales systems, wholesale follow-up strategies and working with key accounts. Marketing strategies for small businesses including content creation, leveraging tik tok and instagram tactics without feeling burned out, why you can't rely solely on social media for sales and why email marketing systems on platforms like Klaviyo, Flodesk and Active Campaign are so powerful. Listen in as Katie and our guest experts help you strategize and tackle your biggest business goals. Host Katie Hunt brings a unique perspective to entrepreneurship. Since 2011, she's helped thousands of product brands get their products on the shelves of their favorite retail stores through her Paper Camp program (www.prooftoproduct.com/papercamp). Prior to that she worked in the corporate world for over a decade leading business development and marketing teams. She has two MBAs - one in finance and one in marketing. And, she owned & operated her own product based business for over 8 years, selling her products to stores throughout the world from her garage. Katie knows the struggles you face as a product based business and she's here to pull back the curtain and share her best kept secrets so that you don't have to learn things the hard way. Find our free trainings & resources for product based business owners at www.prooftoproduct.com/resources

Information

  • Creator
    Katie Hunt
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    561
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    ©Proof to Product & Katie Hunt
  • Show Website
    Proof to Product

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