Proof to Product

• 389 | Communicating Price Increases to Your Retail and Wholesale Customers with Katie Hunt

  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 selling retail or wholesale. And it's a great and valid question. I understand why people are asking it right now. So I'm bringing back an episode that we aired in 2022. It's called How to Communicate Price Increases with Your Customers, and this is honestly more relevant now than when I first aired this episode. With increasing tariffs and practically everything getting more expensive, a majority of you will need to increase your prices. I want your businesses to survive for the long haul. I want you to thrive. I want you to be building a profitable business that will continue for a long time. Understanding when it's time to raise your prices and how to do that is going to be a critical piece for you maintaining your business. I hope you find this episode helpful. Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product LABS coaching program. This is a coaching program specifically built for product-based business owners, with members from across industries and across the globe. We have member-only events inside of LABS, so request your invitation to join below!  REQUEST YOUR INVITATION You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/389  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp

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• 388 | Leveraging Funding to Expand Your Business with Zeba Parkar, Treleaf

  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? We get this question a lot when we talk with our students.  Many brands in our industry are self-funded, meaning that they use their own money for start-up costs and then they reinvest those revenues or profits back into the business.  Another option is grants. We talked with Ashley Sutton of Hustle and Hope in episode 374 about how she has utilized grants to grow her business, and grants are funding that we do not need to pay back. Today, we're gonna talk about leveraging debt and funding as a means to expand your business. I do not want to glorify going into debt for your business, but I do believe and know firsthand that there are responsible ways to leverage debt and essentially use other people's money for strategic growth within your business. And that's why I asked Zeba Parkar from Treleaf to come back on the podcast. Zeba was on the podcast for episode 320, where we talked about the challenges she was facing in bringing a new product to life.  She does these incredible laser cut trellises and modern plant accessories that she manufactures in-house in her studio and warehouse, and she has a whole team and a lot of equipment.  Since then, she has expanded her business even more, and some of that has been done through funding from outside sources.  Zeba and I catch up on what's been happening in her business since late 2023, since we last talked on the podcast, including how she did 13 trade shows in 2024. We discussed her approach to finding funding for her business and different loan options that she looked at, including Shopify Capital, and lines of credit options. We also talked about hurdles that she came up against when she started applying for this type of funding and she shared things that she wished she had known before she started applying for different types of funding. Today’s episode is brought to you by our Proof to Product resource library. It’s where you can get your hands on our free resources to help you start, streamline and scale your business in your own way and at your own pace.   GET FREE ACCESS You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/388  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  

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• 387 | 2025 State of Product Industry Survey Now Accepting Submissions

  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 to do it sooner than later and then help to spread the word. As a recap, in last year's survey, we found out a lot of information. We asked about annual revenue, take home pay, the revenue streams that people were utilizing, how much help people have within their business, tech tools that they use day in and day out, and so much more.  Last year, we had 925 people respond, and this year, our goal is over 1,000 participants. We're going to dive into many of the same questions and topics that we tackled last year, and I want to do a year-over-year comparison of how things have shifted.  We have also added new topics and questions based on some of your feedback, including how many people are full-time in their business or whether it's a side gig.  We’re also asking whether the business is the primary source of revenue for the owner, how businesses are adjusting for tariffs and current economic conditions, whether sales are up or down compared to last year, plus future plans for sales, marketing, and operational strategies.  Head to prooftoproduct.com/2025survey to take the 10-minute survey and please share with any other product-business owner friends!  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp

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• 386 | How Do I Align My Product Release Cycles with Wholesale Buying Seasons with Katie Hunt

  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 similar questions too. So we're going to talk about wholesale release cycles today on the podcast.  Before we dive in, if you missed this round of Paper Camp, I highly recommend that you join the waitlist for the next round, which will run later this year. You can get on that waitlist at prooftoproduct.com/papercamp.  Paper Camp is our wholesale coaching program where we teach you our four-part framework for building a profitable and sustainable wholesale business.  Over the course of four weeks, we will ensure that you have your wholesale foundations in place, and we'll tackle growth strategies for your product line, your sales tools, wholesale marketing, and even trade shows. Every week's lessons build upon the next, and we lay out clear milestones so that you know where to focus first, second, and third. Plus, we do weekly coaching calls, and you get to connect with other product creators in our class community. It's an incredible combination of coursework, coaching, and community that's truly built to help you thrive with wholesale.  SIGN UP FOR THE WAITLIST You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/386  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp  

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• 385 | How E-Commerce Brands Are Using Pinterest Trends To Get More Sales with Heather Farris, Heather Farris Co

  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 traffic and sales through both organic and paid Pinterest ads.  During the episode, we talk about how to use the Pinterest trends tool, which helps you determine which keywords are and are not popular on the platform. We talk about missed opportunities that e-commerce brands make when it comes to Pinterest, how much time you should allocate to Pinterest marketing, and also how AI is affecting how people use Pinterest and so much more. This episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide. 49% of our customers want to hear from us consistently, yet, only a small percentage of product-based business owners are actively sending monthly emails to their customers.   If you’ve struggled with what to say, when to send, or how to plan out your email marketing strategies, we’ve got just the tool for you. This tool and the optional training have helped hundreds of product makers plan out an entire year’s worth of emails.  And, the best part… they are creating templates that they can rinse & repeat year after year.   DOWNLOAD NOW You can view full show notes and more at http://prooftoproduct.com/385  Quick Links: Free Wholesale Audio Series Free Resources Library Free Email Marketing for Product Makers PTP LABS Paper Camp

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