From Self-Doubt to Queen of Crowns with Kevlyn Walsh of Festive Gal

In this episode, we are bringing back Kevlyn Walsh, founder of Festive Gal, who you may remember from episode 155 of our Pivot & Sell series back in May of 2020. We have had the honor of working with Kevlyn, for almost a year now, in our Mastermind program and she is going to share with us where her business is at now (hint: it's multiple six figures!)

“Learn to Take a Win — Then, Keep Winning!” - The Product Boss Podcast

At the start of her journey, Kevlyn was a school teacher who knew she wanted to leave the the education field when her school went on strike in 2019. Since Festive Gal was making about the equivalent of her teacher's salary, she knew it was time to leave her old life behind to become a full-time entrepreneur. Now, Festive Gal brings in multiple six figures!

Kevlyn’s major growth during the pandemic had her worried that her success was a total fluke and that it wouldn't last in 2021.  She was able to strategically implement and lean into some new things which has allowed her business to continue growing and scaling to new levels.

As a result of these actions, Festive Gal brought in even more sales in 2021 than 2020! Thanks to wholesale, Festive Gal is now in 200 stores, and has a permanent showroom space. 

Early on, Kevlyn realized that she needed to clone herself three times to continue to be able to operate the company at its new levels – so that’s what she did. She hired two more people just like herself to take on the workload. Since then, Festive Gal has expanded to a team of eight! 

Continuing an established pattern with our guests, she points to participating in Masterminds, specifically The Product Boss Mastermind,  with likeminded people as a catalyst that helped her handle each new step of her entrepreneurial journey. 

Kevlyn's growth and success of Festive Gal over the past couple of years is an excellent example of how surrounding yourself with fellow product based business owners, who are at the same level as you, can make all the difference in your business journey.

Brought to you by the Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge! Commit to making 1 in 5 of your purchases from a small business, whether online or offline. The Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge is a way to make an impact together when (and where) it matters most. Join us and take the pledge today!

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6 Key Behaviors of Building a Leadership-Based Company Culture with Marcel Schwantes

Marcel Schwantes is an international speaker, executive coach, and syndicated columnist attracting more than 1.5 million readers per month to his thought leadership pieces. His work has been featured in Inc., Time, Forbes, Business Insider, Fast Company, CNBC, and more global media outlets.

A Healthy Workplace Culture Starts With Leadership. - Marcel Schwantes, Love In Action

He’s also the host of the wildly-popular podcast Love In Action, born out of Marcel’s belief that strong leadership and company culture start with human empowerment. The truth is, “employee engagement” is a really cold way of saying that you need to care for your employees. When you call it what it truly is – love – you start to see how those behaviors translate into good business outcomes.

He gives us some incredible advice regarding how to grow and scale a small business without ruining the work culture. Surprise! It always comes back to leadership. When you’re hiring based on a shared set of values, rather than hiring as quickly as possible in order to grow, you see that those values actually scale rather well.

We also talk about what sets apart the companies that make Monday-to-Friday drag and those that people love to work for, as well as the six distinct behaviors you can put into place to start seeding a healthy and happy culture.

Brought to you by the Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge! Commit to making 1 in 5 of your purchases from a small business, whether online or offline. The Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge is a way to make an impact together when (and where) it matters most. Join us and take the pledge today!

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Female Founders: Ann Williams of Yearly Co.

Happy holidays! We’re excited to be re-airing one of our favorite episodes of the Female Founders series to, once again, highlight the amazing work of Ann Williams of Yearly Co. Hear the amazing story of how she went from making jewelry in her garage to running a successful brick-and-mortar shop – just the kind of inspirational story that’s perfect for this time of year.

“When I finally trusted my employees, things got done.” - Ann Williams, Yearly Co.

Ann is someone we’d known for a long time before having her on the podcast. She was famous in our world after starting an amazing business based on a family tradition where her grandfather would gift her grandmother a gold bangle every year that they were married.

Eventually it became clear that they needed a reliable place to buy gold bangles. Different jewelers charged different amounts for products of varying quality. Ann decided she would start making these high-quality bangles herself.

One thing led to another and soon she was bringing on an intern, and then hiring full-time staff. It can be daunting to put people on your payroll, but Ann says it was something she had to learn to be comfortable with because, ultimately, they were better at some jobs than she was. The right choices are always what’s best for the product, the customers, and the business – even if they’re hard to make at first

Her experience has pushed her away from diversifying, as she instead prioritizes the improvement of their current products and serving the niche they now dominate. As Ann says, she learned to “grow forward, not in 10 directions.” Serving loyal customers is always the right choice as opposed to pushing to an expanded audience that may bring with it a diluted interest in your project. 

Brought to you by the Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge! Commit to making 1 in 5 of your purchases from a small business, whether online or offline. The Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge is a way to make an impact together when (and where) it matters most. Join us and take the pledge today!

Resources:

  • Yearlyco.com

  • Yearly on Instagram

  • Product Biz Owners at $250k+ yearly revenue: Are you a product business owner that has built your business to a multi-6 figure to multi-million dollar business? If so, sign up here for our FREE live training, The Proven Path to a Million Dollar Product-Based Business, where we will discuss the 3 stages of business to grow and level up to a profitable million dollar business that works for you. The Product Boss Mastermind has limited spots available that are open for consideration to applicants $250k and above, apply here.

  • Join the Shop 1 in 5 Small Business Shopping Directory. It’s holiday-ready, too! Get listed now!

  • 101+ HOLIDAY CONTENT IDEAS Beyond the Discount is YOUR shortcut to creating a marketing strategy for the 2021 holiday season so that you can create content that successfully resonates with your customers during the busiest season of the year and gets you loyal customers that actually buy from you! The first-ever holiday content marketing plan designed to help you grow your customer base and increase your product sales – without spending a single dollar on ads!

  • Check out and shop from hundreds of small businesses from the Small Business Shopping Directory. It’s the go-to directory to discover, support, and shop small businesses all in one place.

Connect:

Your Path to a Million Dollar Product-Based Business and Beyond

So, you’ve started your business and things are going well. What are the income milestones you should look out for, now? And how can you leverage your success into further growth? In this follow-up to episode #298, “Stages of a Product Business on the Way to $100k,” we tell you exactly how.

How Can You Grow A Multimillion Dollar Business While Living Your Dream Life?

What about salary – when should you expect that to kick in? Have you considered how things like scaling and delegation might evolve on your journey? There are distinct stages in the lifespan of any business and it’s super helpful to know what they are. For example, once you hit the million-dollar stage, you can’t be expected to do it all anymore. And, once you enter the acceleration stage, you shouldn’t be deciding everything yourself any more, either.

This is about stepping into your strengths so that your business can become the best version of itself that it can be. It might seem unimaginable right now, but the goal is to find other people you can rely on so that your business can function without you. This is your path to a million dollar product-based business and beyond.

Brought to you by the Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge! Commit to making 1 in 5 of your purchases from a small business, whether online or offline. The Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge is a way to make an impact together when (and where) it matters most. Join us and take the pledge today!

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Creating Your Dream Business & Life as a Maker with Susan Gordon Pottery

So many makers wonder how to create their dream lives while following their passions. Today, Susan Gordon, the founder and Chief Creative Officer of Susan Gordon Pottery is sharing how being a part of a Mastermind helped her transform her business. From being in the top one percent of Etsy to opening a brick & mortar and having products sell out within MINUTES, Susan's journey through business, life, and Masterminds shows the limitless possibilities of being a maker.

Support and follow Susan at:

Susan Gordon Pottery Website

Susan Gordon Pottery Instagram

Susan Gordon Pottery Facebook

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This episode was recorded LIVE on FB! Check it out here!

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Brought to you by the Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge! Commit to making 1 in 5 of your purchases from a small business, online or "offline". The Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge is a way to make an impact together when (and where) it matters most. Join us and take the pledge today!

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One Big Thing That Super Successful People Do

With the holiday season in full swing, we thought we'd explore the one big thing that all successful people seem to do: consciously choose who they surround themselves with.

You probably hear this advice a lot, but what does it actually mean? 

Product Boss Success Hack: Surround Yourself With People Who Have Achieved Your Goals

This goes for almost anything in life, but if you have a goal, it helps to be surrounded by people who share it with you, even those who have conquered it already! Think about how much help it can be to surround yourself with fellow moms when you first have a kid, or how many people find success losing weight after joining a diet group. 

The same principles apply to business!

Spending your time with people at and above the level you want to achieve has so many benefits. They understand your problems in a way that other people who haven’t been where you are, don’t. Consciously or not, they’ll show you the path to where you want to be if you’re looking in the right places and asking the right questions.

If that sounds too simple on paper and you’re wondering how on Earth you can actually go about making it a reality, that’s where Masterminds come in. They’re a place full of like-minded individuals looking to grow together through connecting with one another and contributing to the group’s common betterment. Find the people you thrive best with, and make your goals a reality, too.

Brought to you by the Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge! Commit to making 1 in 5 of your purchases from a small business, whether online or offline. The Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge is a way to make an impact together when (and where) it matters most. Join us and take the pledge today!

Resources:

  • Product Biz Owners at $200k+ yearly revenue: Are you a product business owner that has built your business to a multi-6 figure to multi-million dollar business? If so, sign up here for our FREE live training, The Proven Path to a Million Dollar Product-Based Business, where we will discuss the 3 stages of business to grow and level up to a profitable million dollar business that works for you. The Product Boss Mastermind has limited spots available that are open for consideration to applicants $200k and above, apply here.

  • Join the Shop 1 in 5 Small Business Shopping Directory. It’s holiday-ready, too! Get listed now!

  • 101+ HOLIDAY CONTENT IDEAS Beyond the Discount is YOUR shortcut to creating a marketing strategy for the 2021 holiday season so that you can create content that successfully resonates with your customers during the busiest season of the year and gets you loyal customers that actually buy from you! The first-ever holiday content marketing plan designed to help you grow your customer base and increase your product sales – without spending a single dollar on ads!

  • Check out and shop from hundreds of small businesses from the Small Business Shopping Directory. It’s the go-to directory to discover, support, and shop small businesses all in one place.

Connect:

How to Build a Brand with Ashley Viola of Meridian

Today, we highlight the amazing work of Masterminder, Ashley Viola, who founded Meridian in 2016 and has since grown it into an amazing, highly sought-after producer and purveyor of beautiful, handmade home decor pieces.

“I always had that plan and a vision for the brand.” - Ashley Viola, Meridian

Ashley started her career working with the world famous Muppets. Specifically, she was a producer and director on Sesame Street, tasked with finding ways to produce content and grow the brand on new and emerging platforms. That’s arguably the start of her entrepreneurial journey, as she had to go out and discover new possibilities and turn them into reality before anyone else had laid a path yet.

The skills she developed on Sesame Street transferred right over into launching and running a product line – especially one like Meridian which is sold direct to consumer, and without a reliance on paid ads.

Ashley talks about how she believes the pandemic contributed to the rapid growth she's seen over the last couple of years - her business was fortunate enough to remain operational as the rest of the world closed down and, with everyone stuck indoors, people started making an effort to decorate their homes as nicely as possible. 

We also get into the deeper introspective side of business building. What is your identity? Are you a business, just a shop, or a full-blown brand? In Ashley’s case, it seems pretty clear that she’s now operating as the latter! Then we explore what the future holds for Meridian and how Ashley is continuing to turn her plans into reality.

Brought to you by the Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge! Commit to making 1 in 5 of your purchases from a small business, whether online or offline. The Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge is a way to make an impact together when (and where) it matters most. Join us and take the pledge today!

Resources:

  • Meridian on Instagram

  • Meridian Website

  • Product Biz Owners at $200k+ yearly revenue: Are you a product business owner that has built your business to a multi-6 figure to multi-million dollar business? If so, sign up here for our FREE live training, The Proven Path to a Million Dollar Product-Based Business, where we will discuss the 3 stages of business to grow and level up to a profitable million dollar business that works for you. The Product Boss Mastermind has limited spots available that are open for consideration to applicants $200k and above, apply here.

  • Join the Shop 1 in 5 Small Business Shopping Directory. It’s holiday-ready, too! Get listed now!

  • 101+ HOLIDAY CONTENT IDEAS Beyond the Discount is YOUR shortcut to creating a marketing strategy for the 2021 holiday season so that you can create content that successfully resonates with your customers during the busiest season of the year and gets you loyal customers that actually buy from you! The first-ever holiday content marketing plan designed to help you grow your customer base and increase your product sales – without spending a single dollar on ads!

  • Check out and shop from hundreds of small businesses from the Small Business Shopping Directory. It’s the go-to directory to discover, support, and shop small businesses all in one place.

  • Attention: It's the Biggest Small Biz Holiday Collab Ever: For the month of November, over 200 businesses from our Directory are offering exclusive discounts. Don't miss it! Get your FREE discounts guide here: www.shop1in5.com/deals

Connect:

Invest in Her: Our Journey to Becoming Investors in Lite Pink - Part 1

Happy Thanksgiving! We recently became investors (for the first time!) after being invited to become part of Lite Pink, a new beverage line run by women, for women. The journey has been way more complicated than we ever imagined, so we wanted to share our story so that you can learn a little bit about what to expect when you invest, and why you should do it! 

We Have Found Power in Working in a Female-Led, Female-Funded Environment

Investing is one of those topics that’s often not discussed out in the open – and that’s especially true when it comes to women. There’s no reason for that. It’s just going to take a little bit of a push to change things. Now that we’ve seen how beneficial investing can be, we want to kick the door down and hold it open for the next woman to come through.

Lite Pink is something special. It’s a completely female-run business, and more than that, it’s completely female-funded, too. We’ve found it amazing to be a part of something so impactful. We’ve now joined a club made up of other female investors, and our investor calls give us amazing access to work alongside these other entrepreneurs and learn from them in a way we never would have been able to before. Remember: collaboration over competition! 

As two first-generation Americans, how could we ever imagine having a literal seat at the table – or, in this case, tables full of 40+ powerful females. And all of them were investing too. It’s a level we never knew we could actually reach.

This is a more candid conversation, as we share a personal mix of humble pride, tears and laughter. We’re learning so much through this experience and we want to share it with you. We hope to inspire you to start having the rare conversation about women and wealth. Lite Pink has a similar mission to us: to connect women around the world. We're so excited for you to listen!

Brought to you by the Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge! Commit to making 1 in 5 of your purchases from a small business, whether online or offline. The Shop 1 in 5™ Pledge is a way to make an impact together when (and where) it matters most. Join us and take the pledge today!

Resources:

  • Product Biz Owners at $200k+ yearly revenue: Are you a product business owner that has built your business to a multi-6 figure to multi-million dollar business? If so, sign up here for our FREE live training, The Proven Path to a Million Dollar Product-Based Business, where we will discuss the 3 stages of business to grow and level up to a profitable million dollar business that works for you. The Product Boss Mastermind has limited spots available that are open for consideration to applicants $200k and above, apply here.

  • Join the Shop 1 in 5 Small Business Shopping Directory. It’s holiday-ready, too! Get listed now!

  • 101+ HOLIDAY CONTENT IDEAS Beyond the Discount is YOUR shortcut to creating a marketing strategy for the 2021 holiday season so that you can create content that successfully resonates with your customers during the busiest season of the year and gets you loyal customers that actually buy from you! The first-ever holiday content marketing plan designed to help you grow your customer base and increase your product sales – without spending a single dollar on ads!

  • Check out and shop from hundreds of small businesses from the Small Business Shopping Directory. It’s the go-to directory to discover, support, and shop small businesses all in one place.

  • Attention: It's the Biggest Small Biz Holiday Collab Ever: For the month of November, over 200 businesses from our Directory are offering exclusive discounts. Don't miss it! Get your FREE discounts guide here: www.shop1in5.com/deals

Connect: