MWH 029 : Wholesale – What you need to know to get started with Mel Sorenson

Wholesale!

Many of the Mums in biz that I serve are productpreneurs, meaning they design, make and brand their own products. They may sell them at markets or via their e-commerce store BUT they have also thought about getting their products into retail outlets and starting the wholesale process. They just don’t know how and they haven’t had time to do the research.

That’s where this podcast comes in handy!

To help you feel confident and know if wholesale is for you, I’ve invited Melanie Sorensen onto the podcast to share her expertise and give you the 101 on WHOLESALE.

The best way to start the wholesale process is to get informed and then start taking action by approaching the local businesses in your area.

Why stay local?

There are a number of reasons, but firstly there’s the added bonus of the location. People like to support local. Getting the most out of your retail connection will involve close communication and if you’re like the rest of the mamas I know, the hours in your day melt like butter, so travelling crazy distances out of area just doesn’t make sense.

A second reason is that starting small will give you all the experience that you need in order to get to the place that you need to be before you start contacting larger retail chains for wholesale opportunities. By then, you’ll have built up confidence, you’ll have your pricing figured out, you’ll know the lingo and areas where you can negotiate… There’s so much to gain from taking baby steps.

Now, there are a lot of things that prevent people from going wholesale and it’s not just confidence. It’s also things like pricing, agreements, minimum order quantities, line sheets, how to deal with returns from customers and the expectation of in-store displays.

If you’ve started your biz without the intention of wholesaling your product and now you’re thinking, “yes, this is something I want to expand into”, the good news is that you might be able to! It’s certainly not off the cards.

If you’re in the very early days of your biz, then this is a podcast you don’t want to miss, particularly as we chat about the ins and outs of pricing (you never know where your biz journey will take you). Dream BIG start small baby!

I definitely recommend a pen and paper for this one. So if you don’t have one handy, go grab one because you’re going to learn a tonne!

Get ready to learn:

• How to start the process of getting your products in stores
• Line sheets – what is it, what goes onto it, how to create it.
• How to price your products for wholesale.
• Understanding minimum order quantities.
• In-store displays – are they essential?
• How to feel comfortable selling.
• What goes into an agreement?
• Advice for getting the absolute most out of any wholesale relationship/agreement.

Freebie

In true Mums With Hustle style, I’ve made you a freebie printable worksheet to help you get yourself started with wholesale. It’s my “Wholesale Goal Sheet”. This will make more sense when you listen to the podcast but it’s essentially taking the ‘wishing’ and ‘dreaming’ about wholesale and turning it into a plan. There’s power in writing things down with pen and paper, so if you're ready to start that process, you can access your freebie by filling in your email address (so I know where to send it) and hey presto, you’re ready to go!

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Oh! A bonus is that Melanie will be our guest in the Mums With Hustle Biz Club (free private FB page).

It will take place on Wednesday April 20, 2016 at 8.30pm AEST.

Have your questions prepped and ready to post live. If you can’t make it, we will keep the thread up for you to access and read when it suits you