Proof to Product 073 | Catherine Hildner, Kitty Meow Boutique on launching to wholesale
Catherine Hildner is the founder of Kitty Meow Boutique, an online stationery show where you can peruse beautifully designed paper goods based on your many moods. Catherine came through our Paper Camp conference in 2017 and since then she's undergone a rebrand, built a new retail website, revamped her product line and she launched to the wholesale market!
On today's episode Catherine shared how her product line has shifted over the years, fears she's had during the last year of growth and how she combatted them and how she reaches out to her wholesale buyers.
ON TODAY'S EPISODE:
- What motivated Catherine to start Kitty Meow
- The products that she offers now & how that has shifted over the years
- What the rebranding process Kitty Meow looked like
- The fears and doubts Catherine had to work through during the rebranding process
- Her experience entering into the wholesale market & the three things she did to prepare her business for wholesale
- Catherine's process for outreach to retailers
- How she manages marketing both the wholesale and the retail sides of her business
- The tasks that Catherine's VA is responsible for
- Her advice for someone just starting out in a product based business
- What's next for Kitty Meow
KEY TAKE-AWAYS:
"I'm really grateful that I've been able to take Kitty Meow with me wherever the heck we've been, and it's come a long way since that lonely little baby shower design in my sad little Etsy shop." - Catherine Hildner
"I said, "If I'm going to invest money, I just want to do it right", and I'm not a website designer, so I'm not even going to waste my time doing something that's not my strengths." - Catherine Hildner
"I wasn't foolish enough to think that if I build it they will come, because I don't think it's just as easy as that." - Catherine Hildner
"I want my two little girls to know that they can do anything. It doesn't matter what other people think. If they care, that is enough." - Catherine Hildner
"None of this stuff happens overnight, and it's a daily struggle no matter how pretty pictures might look on Instagram or any of that garbage." - Catherine Hildner
"If I didn't do the Tradeshow Bootcamp, I would just be looking around, not knowing what the hell I'm doing because there's so many things you need to do, and you don't know what you don't know." - Catherine Hildner
"I don't have time to do all the things that maybe I would make time to do before I had children." - Catherine Hildner
"There was a long time I didn't even know that there was this creative community of women who were totally killing it." - Catherine Hildner
"Having a professional who's doing what you want to do, that can give you advice and feedback, so you're not wasting your time doing stuff that's just a waste of your time is so valuable." - Catherine Hildner
"I've been an entrepreneur for 10 years now. There's always ways that we can improve our businesses. There's always ways that we can streamline things or improve." - Katie Hunt
CONNECT WITH CATHERINE HILDNER:
Website: http://www.kittymeowboutique.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/kittymeowboutique
Instagram: http://instagram.com/kittymeowboutique
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kmeowboutique
PAPER CAMP E COURSE
I'm thrilled to tell you that the fall session of our Paper Camp E Course is now open for enrollment! This is our four-week program that includes a mix of do-it-yourself videos and live coaching calls with me and some pretty amazing guest experts. We will cover developing your product line, wholesale sales tools, working with sales reps, and marketing to retailers. Classes will begin on October 8th, and this will be the very last time that Paper Camp is offered in 2018. So if you're doing any winter shows like New York Now, Las Vegas Market, or even the Stationery Show in February, you want to sign up for this program because we're not going to offer it again before those shows.
To register, head to http://www.tradeshowcamp.com/pce If you have any questions, or if you're wondering if this is the right program for you, feel free to email me Katie@tradeshowcamp.com.
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ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT:
Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!