294 | 4 Things that Made the Biggest Impact in Her Business Growth with Sam Kramer, Near Modern Disaster (Part 1)

You have heard me talk about this time and time again, but there is no singular pathway in business! Even though we may all be running physical product-based businesses, we each embark on a different journey working towards different goals and making different choices along the way.  One of my favorite parts about the work I do is seeing the transformation as folks continue their entrepreneurial journey, and in my position, I am lucky enough to have a lot of candid and confidential conversations about what that evolution includes, both the good and the bad. I wanted to bring you into one of those important conversations with both a friend and client of mine, Sam Kramer of Near Modern Disaster.  You may remember Sam from episode 2 of Proof to Product, which we recorded way back in 2016. So much has changed since then in Sam's life and in our business.  Since that podcast aired, Sam moved to Florida, outgrew two studio spaces, and increased her team, including bringing her husband on full-time as the studio manager. Not only has her product line grown, but her confidence in her products has as well. Today is part one of a two part series. On today's episode, Sam is sharing some updated stats about how many stores she's carried in the number of skews she sells and how her wholesale program has evolved. She also shares four things that have made the biggest impact on her business growth. Today's episode is brought to you by our Is Wholesale Right for You private podcast! This free 12 part audio series will help you decide whether wholesale is a good next step for your specific business. After listening to this audio series (in less than an hour), two things will be true. You'll know whether you want to pursue wholesale for your product business, and you'll have the confidence and action steps to get started with wholesale. Sign up for the private podcast today! SIGN UP You can view full show notes and more at prooftoproduct.com/294 Mentioned in this episode: Episode 2: Working with Sales Reps with Sam Kramer Faire If you are looking for a safe space to talk openly about the challenges and solutions needed to scale a product based business, look no further. We have carved out a space just for you! Our LABS community consists of brands across industries and across the globe, who are building profitable, sustainable businesses. We're talking about things like processes, systems, marketing strategies, and more. We have trainings, templates, coaching calls, and community connections to help you make forward progress towards your goals.  JOIN NOW  

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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