303 | What Retail Shops Look for When Buying Wholesale with Ginger Diaz, Feliz Modern & Rancho Diaz

Opening a retail storefront is no joke. It's a whole lot of work and a completely different business model than selling products online or to the wholesale market. Brick-and-mortar retail requires different strategies, operational systems, and of course staffing needs. I know there are many of you who dream of someday opening a shop, in fact, we have many product brands that also have brick-and-mortar shops in our Proof to Product community.  So today we're going to hear from Ginger Diaz, the owner of Feliz Modern and Rancho Diaz in San Antonio, Texas. Ginger Diaz came to retail to bring her favorite artists’ and makers’ works to a wider audience. What started as one brick-and-mortar shop in San Antonio has expanded to a second shop, as well as their online store at felizmodern.com, for those national customers that they service. All three shops are centered around products that bring joy and some cheeky fun to their customers. It's a small business full of hundreds of other small businesses and makers from around the globe.  On today's episode, we're talking to Ginger about motivations for opening her stores, how relationships played a key role in their survival during the pandemic, and how Ginger's incredible staff has helped improve efficiencies in her business. We also talk a little bit about her buying preferences and red flags that she sees in manufacturers' pitches or outreach, and what she looks for when she's purchasing from smaller independent brands. 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/303 Connect with Ginger felizmodern.com  @felizmodern Ranchodiaz.com @rancho.diaz Mentioned in this episode: Proof to Product LABS  

Om Podcasten

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