Show Notes
Here it is, your long-awaited, highly anticipated Faire market recap for this summer season. I've been watching brands in our community have wildly different experiences during this Faire market, and I've also been studying a lot of what people outside of our community have experienced. Some walked away with 6-figure orders over 4 days, others didn't get a single order, and we're talking about the same platform, the same market, the same 4 days. I'm going to share with you what I saw behind the scenes, what worked, what didn't, and what this means for your wholesale strategy going forward. 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. SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/453 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
More from Proof to Product
One pattern I've noticed time and time again after working with thousands of product brands across lots of different categories, is that while our products might be different or our tools and platforms might change, all of our core business foundations and fundamentals are not changing. And that's exactly why I wanted to share this short clip from the archive, something that I think is worth revisiting because the takeaways still hold true today. Maybe listening will spark an idea or help you take action on a decision that you've been sitting on. Really, the goal here is to help you take your next intentional step in business. That's what I want for you. Enjoy this clip! You can listen to the full episode with Reese Spykerman of Design By Reese here: http://prooftoproduct.com/224 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
"How did you get your products into so many stores?" Melissa Gullatte hears this question often. Her business, Gracefully Made Art, started with original paintings and wedding invitations. After her first daughter was born, she pivoted to officially licensed collegiate and sorority gifts. She took Paper Camp in spring 2023, thinking wholesale would be a nice side channel. Three years later, wholesale is two-thirds of her revenue and she's in more than 1,000 stores. In this episode, you'll learn: How collegiate and sorority licensing works: applying school by school, getting each product category and every piece of artwork approved, and planning six months to a year ahead of launch How Melissa landed Ole Miss after two years of rejections Why sorority licensing opened up a national market when collegiate products sell regionally How she prices for wholesale first, with royalties of 12 to 20 percent built in, then sets her retail price from there What tactics got her into 1,000+ stores How she keeps retailers reordering, and why fewer SKUs helped her business grow
I know you have a lot on your plate right now. You've got products to make, orders to ship, and about a hundred decisions that you're making every day. I do not take it lightly that you are spending time with me today and I want to thank you for being here. Today's episode is a short, focused, throwback episode designed to give you one thing that you can do today to move your business forward. No fluff, no filler, just ideas that we've shared in the past that will benefit you today. Let's dive in! You can listen to the full episode with Mei Pak of Creative Hive Co here: http://prooftoproduct.com/265 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
How do you decide what to make next, what to cut, and where to put your limited time and money? For Elizabeth Rees, founder of Chasing Paper, the answer has come from her customers for nearly 13 years. She shares how customer feedback shaped her product format, her materials, her wholesale approach, and her newest line, and why she checks every instinct against the data before acting on it. In this episode, you'll learn: Why Chasing Paper sold wallpaper in panels instead of rolls from the start, so a customer with a small project could spend $60 instead of $250 and buy in at any budget How launching with two materials, Standard and Luxe, worked like an accidental A/B test, and why Elizabeth discontinued the lower-priced option about nine months in instead of continuing to explain the difference How Chasing Paper treats wholesale as a customer acquisition channel, drop-shipping for retail partners and using those placements to build brand trust Why the trade program, where repeat rate, average order value, and lifetime value run three to four times higher than direct-to-consumer, became the reason to launch fabric Why deepening relationships with the customers you already have can matter more than constantly finding new ones, and why a small team has to be selective about new channels How Elizabeth pairs instinct with data, and why one source of truth for attribution keeps her team from cherry-picking numbers to support a hunch
I know you have a lot on your plate right now. You've got products to make, orders to ship, and about a hundred decisions that you're making every day. I do not take it lightly that you are spending time with me today and I want to thank you for being here. Today's episode is a short, focused, throwback episode designed to give you one thing that you can do today to move your business forward. No fluff, no filler, just ideas that we've shared in the past that will benefit you today. Let's dive in! You can listen to the full episode here: http://prooftoproduct.com/419 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