The Product Biz Podcast by Monica Little Coaching

The Ultimate Product Party with Cat & Allison

November 09, 2022 Monica Little Episode 25
The Product Biz Podcast by Monica Little Coaching
The Ultimate Product Party with Cat & Allison
Show Notes Transcript

Allison Carter and Catherine Hildner were two strangers who connected at a conference, turned into business besties, and a few years later saw a gap in the product-based business space and decided to take action to fill it. In addition to the two businesses they run individually, Allison and Cat are the founders and hosts of Ultimate Product Party (UPP for short!).

UPP is a 2-day creative conference that serves product-based businesses. Allison and Cat create a unique experience and space for the product-based business owner where they can connect with other like-minded small business owners who are looking to grow, scale, and make more money! UPP is definitely not your average biz conference- it’s a business meets FUN party, full of action-focused education, and immediate takeaways for attendees to apply to scale.

In this episode of The Product Biz Podcast, we'll be talking all things Ultimate Product Party with Allison and Cat!

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU'LL​ LEARN:

  • The importance of attending in-person events as a product business owner
  • What you can expect when you sign up to attend the Ultimate Product Party
  • Your next chance to attend UPP!

When you finish listening, I'd love to hear your biggest takeaway from today’s episode. Take a screenshot of the episode you're listening to, share it to your Instagram stories and tag me @monicalittlecoaching - or send me a DM!​

While you're there, make sure you follow me so you can see behind the scenes of how I grew my handmade organic skincare small business to multiple six-figures... and how you can grow and scale your business, too.


LEARN MORE FROM MONICA LITTLE

Website:www.monicalittlecoaching.com

Instagram: @monicalittlecoaching

My small business:www.shopplantbasedbeauty.com

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODE

Follow Allison and Cat on Instagram: @ultimateproductparty

Learn more about registering for the next Ultimate Product Party at https://ultimateproductparty.com?aff=16

00:03

Are you ready to go behind the scenes and learn what it really takes to create consistent sales each and every month with your handmade small business? Join me Monica little self taught multiple six figure small business owner and your product business coach, as I give you the insight and inspiration on how to better run your business and increase your sales in ways that you may not have even been aware of, so that your business can truly become what you knew it could be fact when you first start, learn how to let go of perfection, overcome the fear of failure that is holding you back. And finally, start taking action so that you walk away feeling like you've cracked the code on how to run a successful small business. You're listening to the product biz podcast.


00:53

Hello, and welcome to episode 25 of the product biz Podcast. Today we are talking all about the ultimate product party with cat and Allison. I want to give a brief introduction to cat and Alison before he listened to the remainder of the episode. They are so much fun, so high energy and it totally translates into this amazing event that they host once a year, called the ultimate product party. So Alison and Kat are two strangers who connected at a conference, they turned into business besties, and a few years later, so a gap in the product based business space and decided to take action to fill it. They run their own two businesses, product based businesses. And then they became the founders and the hosts of the ultimate product party. UBP is a two day creative conference that serves product based business owners like you and I, Alison and Kat really worked to create a unique experience and space for the product based business owner, where we can connect with other like minded small business owners who are looking to grow, scale and make more money with their business. UBP is not your average business conference, which you will hear about in this episode. It's where business meets fun. It's a party, it's full of action. It's focused education. But there's immediate takeaways for attendees to apply to scale. So you have the perfect mix of fun, but also action oriented. And this episode, other product bits podcast, we'll be talking all things ultimate product party with Alison and Kat and I can't wait for you to get to know them.


02:31

Welcome, Alison and Kat. I'm so excited to have you both on the product, this podcast to talk all about the ultimate product party. Thank you so much for joining me to talk to everyone hear about your amazing event that you have. Yeah, thanks for having us. Thank you for having us. I'm so excited. So I was at EPP earlier this year, and I had a blast. And I'll be there next year too. But for everyone that's listening, I would love for you both just to set the stage of what is up what is the ultimate product party? What's the point of this amazing event that you to put together? Okay, So picture this, you're at a business conference, but it's not your daddy's Business Conference. It is like, literally the ultimate business party. And it's for product based businesses. So that's important to add. So if you have a product that you can hold in your hand that you ship out in the mail, that you created design manufacture, like however you brought it to life, like you need to be at the ultimate product party because we know that growing and scaling, any type of business is extremely hard, let alone a product based business. We didn't see a need in the industry. No, we saw a need in the industry. because not a lot of events had tons of content that was geared towards product based businesses. And we just want to make you come and feel so alive and ready to take on the world. So in your products. Yeah, absolutely love that. Because when you guys say like it's a party, the event that you held earlier this year was so much fun. And I think that's what makes it really unique too. Well, I think there's two parts of it. Were you going to other product based events and it just was kind of like oh my gosh, this is boring. I can't stand to be here or was it like this didn't even exist so let's create something and then add in both your personalities and make it like this fun awesome party throughout the entire event too. Yeah, we there weren't any that we knew about Lisa and Kat and I are both events people we are not like doing this life by ourselves. It doesn't work for our personalities mine especially so I cannot just sit in my house all day all alone talking to my internet friends and bothering my husband to take a walk with me like I need to be out and getting that like bucket filled. And so we just saw this need for product especially


05:00

So Kat and I actually met at an event we met at a creative conference, we sat next to each other at breakfast totally randomly, started striking up a conversation kept in contact, hit it off throughout the years, and we were in Nashville on a retreat that I took my coaching girls on that cat was in that group. And we were just talking about events and how fun it is all the girls together, we're at dinner, we're just talking about all our fun, silly things that we did during the retreat, and how powerful it is when women especially get together and are in community with each other and learn together and hang out together and really just fill each other's cups and, and collaborate and connect. And there's such strong like power and magic that comes from that in moving like the needle forward in just your personal life but also in your business. And so the thing that Kat and I kept saying is like God, I just wish there was something like this for product though because I had a subscription box for years cat is like a stationery extraordinaire aficionado designer, most the most this and has an incredibly like large, successful line. And we always would be at events thinking, raising our hand in the back being like, how does that strategy work for product? Or can you like help us walk through how that would work for a product based businesses? And so many of the educators would be like, Well, no, sorry, because I'm not a product. So I don't know how that would work. I just don't have experience to share. And it's like, well, crap, like, who does. And so there's definitely product coaches and product podcasts, like Monica has so many resources, but not that event, and not that experience and not that fun vibe. And so Kat and I literally pulled up my notes app on my phone. And at that table with all the other girls in Nashville brain dumped what our ideal event would be. And it was fun and flashy and a good time party vibes, but super targeted strategic sessions, like with actual speakers that are product based businesses that know what it is to run a product based business, and then to teach in their area of expertise. So email marketing, specifically for product, like wholesale manufacturing, packaging, all of the things that actual product based businesses need. And not just like the fluff of any business or like influencers, creators, like content creators, things like that we really, really, like work really hard to pick the lineup of speakers and to pick the session topics and to pick the panelists and everything like that, that are going to give the best overall view of their strategies to help these product based businesses really scale their business. So you're no for sure gonna come learning and having a whole notebook full of stuff. And but you're also going to be like listening to Whitney Houston and having champagne and like, this year we're having it's even more of a party because we're bringing in a live band turning the venue into a honky tonk, like because we're going to be in Nashville. So we're leaning into that, and that's going to be you know, hair to the high heavens and fringe and disco balls, and just a good time with your girlfriend's while knowing that you are making like the best business expense ever, because you're really, really leaving with a solid plan of attack to grow your business. Yeah. And I think that was like my exact experience as a guest. There's a couple of words that you said. So number one, just like fun, it was so much fun. And a lot of times you think of conferences and you think of like stuffy and you think of like sitting in a conference room all day with like the shades down and it's just like 9am to 9pm and it's like oh my god and dying. But YouTube did such a good job with such a fun event. And it was so welcoming. But it was like this perfect balance of fun and community and meeting people but also like you said strategic right like I left with so many tactical things that I could implement. I remember the last day I went got drinks with Sarah after it ended and then I went back to my hotel room and for like, until midnight, which is like so late for me I'm normally in bed at like nine I was just like typing up all these ideas and making a plan of what I'm going to do next. So you really walk away yeah, you walk away with so much tactical stuff, which is great because there's a lot of times where you go to learn and it's more just like concepts right? But if you guys and you did do this, he was such a You did such an eloquent job of getting speakers set up.


10:00

only talk about concepts, but then actually break it down into how tos. And like what to actually take from that and implement. So it was like, it was a great experience as a guest. What was other feedback that you got from other participants who were there? I will say our one negative comment. We


10:19

were like dying laughing when we got this. So we put a survey out obviously, like right after to get feedback, testimonials, everything like that, because we really, we've never we've never done this before. Like a we I've done events, I've added parties stuff like that, never on this scale in this capacity. And so we want to make sure that we also are putting on the best event possible. And so we want as much feedback good and bad as we can to change and to you know, pivot like we are leading with our guts for the most part, but we also are not doing this for like shits and giggles. Like we want to do this for to be impactful to these businesses and so that we were like dying, laughing because the one thing was like, Oh my gosh, so fun. Love the conference, met lifelong friends hated the salad.


11:08

We were like, oh my


11:11

god I've ever had trouble. We were like, Oh, that was a $35 effing salad. Okay? Salads don't grow on trees when it comes to events and food is expensive. Thank you very much man. Salad and be grateful for your lunch.


11:30

A lot of money to salads. We're just like, died. We were like, I was like, texted or someone doesn't like Zell. And he's like, I don't care.


11:39

I probably cried. Because that's my oh my god. So there's definitely things like oh my gosh, that was just our like, funniest thing. But yeah, the the most impactful for us. And the thing that means the most for us is the amount of people who still talk to each other still connect, still have worked together, have collaborated together have been in each other's podcasts have done brand collabs have taught in each other's groups and memberships. And like, that is something I don't know that we fully thought through that was going to happen, like we knew that connections would be made because cat and I are connection that came from an event. And so we knew the power of that. I don't think we knew how impactful that was going to be. And I don't think that we really took the space and time to think about that. Because we were so head down to just create the experience. And so now still getting tagged into people's meetups and people's, like posts that they're posting about it or like a thing that they're working on together. It's so cool. It's so cool. Yeah, I was actually right before we got on to record this podcast, I was thinking through how did like the connections that I made really turn into this bigger web exactly, like you said, and from the ultimate product party. I met so many awesome not only like peers, but also other coaches and other like business owners that own agencies. And I ended up working with Polina from the marketing model, she helped with my plant based beauty Instagram and I met her and ultimate product party ended up signing up with Kelly's affiliate program to learn more about affiliates and how to really utilize that to and then the dual collective, like you mentioned, like their SEO whole second in my course now too. So not only like I also met Kaylee, I met Sarah just like really great people that I still keep in contact with, but also like connections to help you grow your business to so your things and how to grow it yourself. But you're also going to meet people that can help you to grow your business to which is like awesome, in case you're like, okay, all this amazing stuff. But how can I continue to get more support from the connections that I met? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Like, it makes us so happy. Like I'm like die and like, Oh, my God, cat has the chills. And I'm like sweating because of like,


14:01

that's the magic that is it. Like it's, it's wild when you put yourself out in a group. And when you get behind from behind your computer, and from behind your packing tape and your poly mailers. And when you get in a room with people who get your life because there's a difference between business friends, and product based business friends, because your business owning friends understand it that your name is on the door, they understand that you have it on the line. They do not understand your life when it comes to shipping rates and inventory and profit margins. They don't get it because they don't have those same struggles. And so when you really find a core group of people that are like, Oh, if Shopify raises their prices one more effing time like I can't handle it or how are you how are you raising your prices to keep up with that and like really be able to have some of those conversations of like, what kind of box are you shipping you're wrapping paper rolls in because I


15:00

I am struggling like to find something that can fit. Those are the conversations that you just need that pool of people to send in a group text to have your group DMS open to really just help each other and be a support system and event area, like event not like event sessions what I mean not event that is so important to every business owner. But I really, really think products specifically because we can really feel alone when it comes to like the business world, which is so wild because products are like everywhere. But it's not something that gets talked about so much. And it's not something that you really can find common ground with a lot of other people. Because product can also be really competition and really like, I'm not going to tell you my like my secrets, like I'm not going to let you into my world. And if anything, the thing that we're most proud of when it comes to the event is I don't think anyone left feeling like not included or like judged or not good enough or not fancy enough or like they were holding things too tight to them. It was a very inclusive and welcoming. And I like Sherry environment. And that's something that was really, really important to us, because that's how Kat and I are we are 100% Open Books. We're very transparent in the journey. This planning this event was the hardest thing we've ever done in our whole lives. It was the most amount of money that either of us have ever lost in our whole life. And in our career to date invest invested, yes, it was the money comes to us, easily and freely. Yes, they, it was a lot. But like we want to be an example of Success takes time. And building a business takes time. And this is not this is an idea that yes, we thought about and we acted on immediately. But it's not like everything just fell perfectly into place. And it was the easiest thing to just get hundreds of people in a room and just pull this off like and I don't want anybody to see our story and be like, Oh my gosh, things just come so easily to them. They're like super successful and like fancy. And it's like no dog. We're like crying in a corner. Like, what should we do this year is a million times better. But last year, it was a lot of stumbling blocks in the road. But we threw off a kickass party and we helped a ton of business owners. And this year is going to be even better and even more bigger and better and cooler. And it's all the things but that inclusive environment is like wildly important to us. And we don't want anyone to feel like you can't sit with us or you are not ready or your product is not refined enough. Like you are welcome. You have a seat at the table. Yeah, and I think I totally felt that that welcoming effect, especially because I'm an introvert and I know that you said that you're an introvert too. So when you said that on stage, I was like, Oh my gosh, it's so nice to like, have another introvert in the room especially you like CO hosting this event and being up on the stage. Like that's so empowering to see someone who says like yeah, I'm an introvert but still able to like be in large groups of people and I know like step outside of your comfort zone. So Kat from like introvert to introvert how what advice would you give for others to like, make the most of an in person event if they are an introvert? Oh, gosh, to just, this is what I tell myself every single day. Do you want to sit on the sidelines while people like Allison who just you know, have no problem. Putting it all out there literally all day long while they get the success. And you don't because you're too afraid of what that success could be? Are you going to make the choice to feel uncomfortable anyway and go for it. Like I'll go to trade shows or doing this event or even simply showing up on Instagram stories like I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I don't like it. I don't feel comfortable. But you know what I like more money and growing my business and making an impact in the world. And I can't do any of those things. If I'm this scared little kid or gal cat who is too afraid of her own shadow and I sat in that nastiness for a long time until through the help of business friends decided no like I am made for something so much more grand and I don't need to be for everybody in this event doesn't need to be for everybody. But like we know our people when they walk in the room. And we just need to speak to those people. Investing in your business is really hard and it's scary. And full transparency Allison and I collectively we lost or invested over 15


20:00

$1,000 when it came to last year's event, so we know what it's like to be afraid to buy a ticket for something, and you immediately think, Well, how am I gonna make that money back. But it comes back to you, and so many more ways than you don't even know it's gonna hit you like a ton of bricks and bricks, it's not going to be the one strategy that you learned, it's literally going to be the magic that happens after the event because you stepped outside your comfort zone, and made friends with the person sitting next to you. And then you went home, and you continue to have a relationship with them after the fact. That's exactly how Alison and I grew. This crazy thing that I never even dreamed would be possible. When Alison said she wanted to put this event together. We were sitting there in Nashville at that table at dinner, just like she said, and I tell the story all the time. I was literally in my mind thinking, I really hope that you've I can forget about this. Very busy. And I do this sounds like a lot of work. But I'm so glad I had someone who pushed me in the direction of stepping outside my comfort zone. And that's what we want up to be for everybody to just step outside your comfort zone and watch yourself come alive in the process. Yeah, and there's so many awesome, like lessons learned across the board. So not only for people attending, like investing in yourself, like that's a huge step. But like you said, when you invest in yourself, then you like show up differently for your business, and you're going to attend this event, and you're going to put your best foot forward to learn as much as you can to make the most of it. And now you're like showing up differently for your business. You're stepping outside your comfort zone and talking to more people if you are an introvert. So I love that takeaway that you said. But it's also so interesting to see how many like general business lessons you two said that you learned that are just in total applicable for everyone, right? Like, growth takes time, it's going to be a longer road, everyone wants to have like this immediate success right off the bat. But like you said, you didn't want to vent and you learned a ton. And maybe it wasn't entirely profitable and more of an investment. But that's like the name of the game with business business in general, right? It's like we have to invest, we have to show up, we have to buy raw materials we have to buy knowledge and coaching and education. So I love hearing all of that. One thing that was interesting. So I know after the first event, you two were like, Well stay tuned to see if we're gonna do another one. So it wasn't like for sure it felt like So how was that conversation afterwards about like deciding when and where and what to do next. I mean, I knew that there was going to be another one, I would say, there we go, there is no way we're gonna fall on our face. But we also were like, we can't commit to this until we actually have hosted it. We also, we're not excuse people, and we're not we don't take excuses. Like, we will call you out on your excuse. And I want to come to the next one that we kept hearing from other people. We were not taking that as an excuse. Like if you do if you feel in your gut, and if you feel in your heart that you are meant to be in this room, then you don't need to wait to see like how it's gonna turn out. And I like that excuse really bothers both of us because we value being action takers, and we want to surround ourselves with action takers, knowing that this is scary. Do not think it was insanely scary. To one say we're gonna do this event, like poop it out in a couple of months. Like we did not have a huge runway from like, actual starting to plan was probably November, we were like, oh, we should put this up for Black Friday. Number one mistake. And then so really, end of November to April was our runway for selling these tickets, finding all the vendors finding the venue putting it all together. That was really hard. And so when we were not putting up all these excuses, like, oh, we should wait until next year. Oh, we should like we should have more time to plan like we were like, No, we're going for it. And that's the people that we want to attract every single thing we did, we did scary. But we also did it knowing that this had the potential to be way bigger than us. And it it did like I mean, and that really came true like this, we created something that's so beyond us because it's so impactful for a mass amount of people. And so we get to create this experience, where it's all of our creativity and all of our like little magic put together in a bottle that we get to share. But also we're in the room in community with you and we are not in any way like we're up here and you're down here because now we're the fancy hosts like that's why it's important to us to show the behind the scenes of how we're building this and how we're closing


25:00

You need a way to, like every ticket and every vendor and every sponsored and all the parts that go into something like this because this doesn't come easy in this doesn't come naturally like even for an extrovert who is obsessed with events and gathering women like, that's my favorite thing in the whole world. But that does not mean that that's an easy path. And it doesn't mean that it just like one day, we wake up to 250 tickets sold. Like, that's not how that works. And so we don't want to ever be like this. This, like, we're so fancy with this giant, huge event, like we're in the trenches with you. We're both building our businesses to we're a couple steps ahead in some areas. We're like a couple, you know, maybe we're brave. And we're hand raisers. And we're trailblazers, and we are natural leaders, that is something that both of us have.


25:57

But when it comes to like, we just wanted to see and feel what it felt like to be in the room. And then we were like, we had already been thinking like, Okay, what's next, you're going to look like are we going to keep it the time, like, we want to keep it the same time of year, every year, it's going to be May every year, so people can count on that in their calendar, but the location is going to change because I am particular in someone that will get bored very quickly. So I cannot have there's no chance in hell, I'm going to have the same event at the same place with the same speakers like never, ever, ever, ever, ever, is that ever gonna happen. And so we want to continually like challenge ourself also, to have each one be different and tweak it and different themes and different like vibes. So the other one was much more like sunset Arizona, like, you know, colors. And then this one's like much more like disco cow girl, like dolly vibes. And it just, we want to continue having fun. But we want people to be like, That's the event that I have to be at. It's like a girls getaway meets a business write off for me to go learn all the things that I need to learn really quickly and really effectively. And I've been me a ton of people and a ton of brands, and a ton of people that are going to remain context of mine. And then go off and I'll see you next year like we want people to come over and over and over. We want something this to be something you count on. Coming to as part of just your expenses for the year, knowing that each year is going to have different takeaways and different relationships and different networking experiences. And we don't want you to live in the excuse of being like Oh, see what they do next year, maybe next year is going to be closer to me. And location. Nashville seems kind of far I don't know if I want to get on the plane. And we're like, get on the oven play.


27:56

Like, we want you to get scared. If I always say if you are not doing scary things in your business. If you don't want to like vomit or your pants at least once a week, you are not trying hard enough and you are not doing something right. And what's more exciting to share in your business that you think people can relate to? Is it the picture perfect, like oh, my gosh, things are going so amazing. No, no one gives a crap about that. People want to know about the struggles, the real raw truth. And that's why we like to show up being like


28:28

we're having nightmares every single evening about this event. And that's totally true. Right? Both Alison and I would wake up.


28:36

I mean, I don't see what 1000s I don't know for sure. But we talk a lot. A lot. I would wake up anxiety ridden like in a panic having nightmares, at least a couple of times a week, like, what are we doing? This is a mistake? Can we get out? I mean, so many doubts. So if you think that you get to a certain stage in your product based business or really any business and you're like, Oh, I got this all figured out? No, it just gets harder. And you spend, I was talking about this with one of my mastermind or my coaching girls today. She's like, I just invested a bunch of money on new products, and I kind of want to throw up and I'm like, yep, that's all a part of it. And


29:18

the more sales you get, the more money you're gonna have to invest because you're going to need even more products. And this is all part of the game. But knowing that if you're spending money in your business, it means that there's a reason for it. Right? That because you're making money and you need to spend money to make money as cliche as that sounds and God just don't want people to be scared. Like, don't be afraid of what could be because you're whether you come to this event or not. I absolutely want you to don't get me wrong. But there's so much that people could do if they just get out of their own way and put themselves in the room of other people who feel that in their hearts. And I think you both


30:00

You know, Your vibe attracts your tribe, right? And how you both said like, you two are like action takers and trailblazers and because you, too, have those qualities, and because you're doing things that scare you. That's why I think the people that were at up this first time around worse, though, like, also action oriented and actually make connections and actually come up with those connections, because you, too, are attracting those people that have the same quality. So I love to just hear like your passion for what you do, because it's so awesome. And that's really what brings in the people that come to your events to which was so much fun. So talk me through like some of the main takeaways from this first up, in terms of maybe like, what were some of the topics or what were just some of the main takeaways that people had. And then we can talk a little bit about some of the details for the upcoming one and 2023. One feedback that stands out, in my mind was that people wanted more high level content. I understand not everyone is at a super beginner entry level stage in their business. And we want this event to appeal to people, no matter what stage of their business they're in. And I really took that to heart because as I'm entering this higher level in my own business, I'm like, Yes, I would need that. Like I totally, I totally agree. So hiring and some of the like boring things like taxes and things that don't sound so exciting to talk about. But we really need and a lot more mindset. Because I do think mindset is


31:40

so important, way more important than people realize. It's kind of like getting them to the event and giving them


31:49

what they want, but then showing up for what they need. And we know what they need, and they need a mindset shift. Last year, we were like, Okay, what are all the topics? Like if we were like, if I was just starting boxes, like what are the things that I would need? Or what are some of the things that I feel like, like are takeaways and those action things that we talked about? Because, like mindset, yes, we love. I'm someone that's like, No, give me the steps and cats. Like, let's talk about mindset. And I'm like, I want to run away. But I understand the importance of it. But so last year, we were like, okay, SEO is something they are not thinking of as the how important it actually is. So what do they want? They want to learn how to do reels, okay. Sure, great. That's not what they need in any sort of way, they actually need SEO, they actually need to repurpose the content in the reals to make them into emails, and to make them into blog posts, and to put them on their website. So people can get traffic, not from a couple of views of, you know, Joe, Mike and Sally that we don't even ever know, on Instagram, and they're never gonna buy anything from us, like, so. There's a lot of things that we were like, okay, they're gonna want social media, but how can we do social media in a way that's, like, impactful? And so we had like Renee talking about repurposing content and like pillar brand pillars, and content wise, we had Hillary talking about show like, show showing up and storytelling. And a lot of times, we know, and we still know that product based businesses massively struggle with thinking that they don't have to be the face. They think that their product has to be the face of their business. And that is what they lean on. And that is the comfort zone. So I don't need to do reels with my face on them. Like, I can just have my hands and showing my story and using that funnel audio. And it's like, no, no, like, we need to know you because you're going to set your business apart, and people need to trust you, and they need to see who the heck you are. And so a lot of business owners, especially those that came to EPP last year, were like, I don't have stories, I don't want to I don't know how my story relates to my product. I don't know how to do that. And so we really wanted to help kind of push out of that comfort zone and like introduce yourself, as the maker show the behind the scenes showcase your life a little bit to have your customers relate to to you and to show the story of how you even thought of your product. Because chances are they're going to relate to that origin story so much and they're going to relate to the storytelling of how your product can solve a problem or bring joy or help them save time or whatever it is that you do. And so really showcasing themselves as the maker is a huge theme that we have.


34:43

I wish we had so many nitty gritty things also we had like crowdfunding we had a third, like the third world like manufacturing, we had


34:56

bookkeeping we had trademarking and copywriting


35:00

Unlike a lot of things that people were like, I think I'm supposed to trademark.


35:05

How do I know? Can I just ask a couple questions to a lawyer like we had Etsy. This year, we're gonna have Shopify represented, we're gonna have Tik Tok, we're going to have


35:20

welcomed sequences mapped out for new customers for emails. What are some of the other topics we've we've talked about, we're doing in person markets.


35:30

There's just so many things that are some things we have on the docket, don't feel like are important, because all they're just focused on like Instagram, Instagram, I need to show up on Instagram. Like, that's not the way to build a profitable sustainable business. Maybe you could get a little bit of luck in the beginning, but it's all about building relationships with your customers. But if you can't even really get to them, because Instagram, like yesterday was so glad to have a glitch, what's going on God, this is the worst day ever. I'm like, Oh, God, no, I can't like live in an unstable environment like that.


36:04

But it's super interesting, too. Because, like all the different topics that you mentioned, and like how you said, a lot of people don't realize that they need to think about these things. So I think one of the main benefits was, at least for me, last year, if there was a topic that I wasn't super sure about, I could go to like a 30 minute roundtable. And like, see, like, do I need to learn this? Or how can I best do this? Because there's a lot of things that we don't know that we don't know, right? So like, oh, bookkeeping, let me go here. And like, see how bookkeeper could help me. So I loved how there were so many different topics. And then it kind of was just like, go to a roundtable that interests you either where you want to get stronger, or where you like, don't have enough knowledge on even to begin with. So it was both the beginner knowledge if needed, but I found a lot of really good like fine tuning. So cat, I remember your fair wholesale Mini Round Table. And there were so many like, good tips and tricks, like just like small things that you said, that's like, Oh, I've never thought of that, like genius, you know. So it was super interesting to see both like how deep some of the conversations went, but also the really good high level, just basic understanding for topics that I wasn't really well versed in. So it was nice to have that difference, right of like, play to whatever extent you want to play and go to the tables that are interesting to you. Is the layout for 2023 gonna be similar in terms of like topics and roundtables, or what can people really expect when they sign up and they get there on the first day? We want to keep them surprised.


37:40

But the format of okay, you have keynotes, everyone's together in the main room. And then we have smaller roundtable breakouts, we're just trying to fine tune everything to accommodate all of our ideas, right? Because we were like, we want this topic and that topic. Do we have room for this person? This person? That's amazing. How could we leave them out? Yeah, yeah, tables, tables are expensive. What can we do instead of chairs are expensive. There's lounges like pillows on the ground, like, Let's Get creative with all the things. And so breakout workshops, we're going to allow for more time for people to like the present, the breakout workshop is going to present. But then we're going to actually have more time for questions and action taking and doing on the spot. So you don't feel totally overwhelmed when you go home. And you're like, Well, I just had all of this knowledge thrown at me. And now I'm too tired. I need to go have a cocktail and take a really long nap. But yeah, our biggest problem is that we just have so many things that we want to jam pack into two days that it's prioritizing. Yeah.


38:54

It's so hard. We had so many people apply to speak, and they're all like freaking phenomenal. And we're like, okay, we still have one more round of people to announce and everything. And then we're just like, where best to utilize the most amount of people and the way that it's going to be their strengths and their zone of genius pouring out of them. And there's actually like a spot for them to actually be with their body like it's all of those little parts mixed in. But I also think something that sets our event apart is like literally every speaker there signs a contract saying that they will be there the whole event they will be walking around and they will be there to answer any questions participate just like a guest. There is absolutely zero. I'm going to do my little talk and then I'm going to ghost or I'm going to go like sit in the back room because I'm better than the people attending or anything like that. So we literally have it mapped out on their contract like that doesn't happen up. So if you are attending that bookkeeper roundtable and you're like oh my


40:00

My gosh, I love that question that just came to me or I was just thinking about this, like, you're like, oh my gosh, hey, can we talk real fast? Or can I sit by you at lunch? And then like, can we just chat and that that's why they're there. And they are there like having agreed and are excited about participating and learning right alongside of you, but also been like a mentor for two full days. And you know, you have access to a lot of these people that have zone of geniuses in all kinds of different places. Like, come up to me and talk about your gift guide pitch like, let's like talk about how to get your your product like more visible like, done, like I could talk to all the all day come up and talk to God about wholesale and like, that's why we're here we are here to pour into the businesses that are coming in. And we also are like, Jeepers, creepers, and we have fully like, we know the people that are coming. Like we know their names. We know their Instagrams, like we follow along, like on their stories we see like what you guys are doing, because we want to know you and we want to know your business. And so when you come to up, it's like, yes, of course, I already know you, this is what we need to like work on, like, let's like, let's really, you know, I think this roundtable would be great for you like and you know, just from what we see on social or your email list or whatever. And really like having that connection. And having this be a place where you feel totally comfortable. And you are happy to ask questions. And you are like you ask cat like how to make the most out of this event. It's like, you're in the room with a bunch of experts and with a bunch of people that are a couple steps ahead of you use that time and you go out and have those conversations and ask those questions. And don't ever feel like you're bothering someone, or that you're interrupting someone or whatever. Like that's what you're paying for, like we were not, we totally understand the cost of going to an in person event and, and the logistics that it involves and the childcare and the the juggle and everything we get it, we totally get it, we've experienced it all, we've thought through it all we have been in your position, we know exactly what it is. And so when you are in that room, well, we want to make sure that you we are helping you maximize every single dollar of that investment. So you feel so good about putting that forward and being like oh my gosh, I'm going home with like a notebook of actual emails that I like, wrote out so I can get ready to you know, just add them to my flow desk or whatever I am walking away with 25 new tick tock ideas that are all story based that are going to showcase me boom in my notebook because my breakout session allowed me the space and the time to work and to put pen to paper, fingers to keyboards and get some of that thinking done. I think that's the thing that's kind of really setting next year's apart more is just a little more breathing room a little bit more hangout time, a little bit more like work time, implementation time, while also knowing that we want to showcase as many speakers and sessions and stuff as we can, but also we want people to just connect and have those conversations instead of running to the next thing constantly. Do you think that a lot of people or maybe you know this, a lot of people who came to up the first iteration? Did they know others? Or did they kind of come without knowing anyone and hoping to like build some connections, or maybe a mix of both? I think it was a little half and half. I think a lot of us don't know each other in real life. But we follow along on Instagram and we feel like we know each other and oh my gosh, one of my biggest fears is someone comes in an attendee comes to up walks in the door, and I don't like know them by face and business name. I mean, Allison and I really do our due diligence, we're like, okay, that's Monica. She's educators with Peter brand, like, you know, blah, blah, blah. And we take the time to really go through everybody's because this is our family. And this is like a party that we are hosting at our home. And we want guests to feel welcome and loved on and seen and heard. And if we don't take the time to know who you are before you walk into that door to me, that is a huge


44:30

Yeah, no, it's not not good in my book. Yeah. And I think that shows too, though, like if someone doesn't know anyone, not to feel intimidated, right, because you guys are so welcoming. And you're gonna know them. I remember when I walked in, I think it was UK, you're like, oh, yeah, you just signed up a couple weeks ago you were


44:49

so it was nice. Just that like you knew that and recognize that. So I think it just shows like, especially again from an introvert point of view. I have an event on Thursday and Friday with one of my business co


45:00

which is and the first thing I think of as like, Okay, I don't know anyone is this gonna be awkward? It's just putting myself outside of my comfort zone, right? But you to do such a good job of like, like you said, like you know people by name before you've actually met them and everyone there is just so nice and welcoming that it's just an awesome community. So I hope if anyone's listening if they're like, Well, I don't know anyone, like, don't let that stop you, right? Because you're gonna learn so much, you're gonna meet so many people. And like you said, it's all about stepping outside your comfort zone, right? Yeah. And there's also so much time to connect. Like, we have a Facebook group and a lot of girls got Airbnb together and didn't know each other. And there were like, I have five rooms and people were like, I'll take one I'll take one and then they like, still have a group chat like a group call like that they are all on they had a photographer at one of our events photographer stayed at that house did like brand shoots with all of them at the house. I mean, like, like, fun. And so that is another way Like, I literally just left a retreat that was really expensive, and a really scary investment that I made in my business. And it was me and 15 other women and I didn't know anyone and I was starting to freak out about it. And I'm a big extrovert, but I also was like talking to cat like, I don't know that I'm gonna connect with these girls. Like, I don't know if these are my people. Like I'm really like nervous. I don't know, if I'm gonna like I like I just kept like talking to myself, like about being scared. And so it totally is intimidating. Whether you're in a room with 15 people or 250 people like it's totally intimidating, and it feels weird. And you feel weird, like, oh, there's a group of girls like, I feel weird going up to them because they're already talking around me I'm gonna be out like person like in the, in the corner, like waiting to be invited in like, we've all experienced that feeling. But you're not alone in that. And if you start with your introverted selves, or extroverted selves, in introducing yourself in the Facebook group, and saying like, Hey, is anyone live in Seattle, like anyone want to meet up for a cup of coffee, like before we go to up like, that's another way to like, have a familiar face or to just, you know, get that kind of those conversations started or Hey, like any stationery designers in the group, like, what to have group chat, and just like, kind of talk about our trade shows, like go, you know, like, whatever, like how, find some common ground with some people that are coming, that we've already created a space to connect, then, and start that way, because you're already comfortable online. So start kind of continuing the online relationships. And then at least you know, some names, at least you can be like, Okay, I'll meet you at the front. You know, before we go in, I'll be wearing a lightning sweater, whatever. And we haven't we haven't shared this part yet, but we'll share it with you first Monica, we are going to have a pre event like an official pre event, not like last year where we're like, Hey, meet up at this random bar. And hopefully we can all sit together and then it was a total densifier boiler we can't


48:02

we have a really cool event space that has pinball and bowling and it's not going to be part of your up ticket you will just pay for whatever you eat or drink on your own. But we're gonna have a little mini networking session there for anyone who wants to come and we will have a


48:27

speaker sound so like formal but Amy she was one of our roundtable leaders last year just talking about literally making the best of being at an in person event. So I think it'll be a really fun icebreaker letting people just like get excited for the next two days. And yeah, it's gonna be so good. Yeah, and then you meet someone and then you're like, oh my gosh, we could sit together. You know, like, just this is more comfortable like and it's just as a little kickoff of meeting someone have her in a familiar face. So then when you do get to the big room, then it's like, okay, I remember you remember we bowled together I love that so much and I love how you mentioned the Facebook group too. So I think the Facebook group in conjunction with also this like day before event, there's no need to feel nervous to get a ticket in terms of like, I don't know anyone, right? Because you have all these opportunities to get to know people before the actual event. So you're not just walking in like oh, like who do I talk to type of situation? So I'm super excited for the the kickoff event the day before it sounds like so much fun. Yes, yeah, no, no, you they are already friends with you. Like they listen to you all the time. So they're gonna be like, Oh,


49:38

Monica. Yeah, that would be awesome.


49:42

Showing up my favorite pictures is of Monica and her like awesome purple and pink sexy sweater and your stand in front of the action wall and yeah,


49:53

yeah, yeah. Fair. It wants to I gotta post that. I haven't posted it yet. Again. Put that up on Instagram.


50:00

Yeah, that was an awesome like, I love that, that you guys had this action while last year where it was like claim your goal right or claim your dream and actually write it out and put it on this wall and make it you know, claim it that you're going to achieve that. So there was just so many great things about last year's event that just makes me so excited for next years. So, next year, give us the details. I know you mentioned it's in Nashville, but I'm set the stage of the dates, the location, all the fun stuff happening next year.


50:29

Yeah, so it is in May 20 23/17. And 18th. It is a Wednesday and Thursday two day event at Clementine Hall, which oh my gosh, we visited venues. And when we stepped into this one, I mean, I just got the chills. And I told our eyes are like we we need this space. This is the space of our dreams that totally fits our vision. It's totally different. Then the events space that we had last year at the Clayton house in


51:06

so many awesome details. It is just so unique. So fun. It's


51:13

yeah, lots of cool, like different like surprises around every corner. And so we'll have the two day event from about like, eight, nine to four each day. And then the last day you're gonna go home after the champagne toast, you're going to change get into whatever makes you your feel your most fierce self being a Nashville, you know, cowgirl vibes, whatever you do you you don't necessarily need to just like a cowgirl, we will. That's just us.


51:43

And we're gonna have a live band and cocktails and some apps and just tons of fun dancing and letting loose because that was one of our biggest things last year is that Allison and I went home after the event and we're like, so tired, but felt like blah, we just did the most incredible thing ever in our businesses. And we kind of want to like not do the work and celebrate with all of you. Because the whole time we were like, gonna get to this roundtable with the salad someone's complaining.


52:18

Like, we want to let loose and just celebrate with everybody there and enjoy their company without the stress of running an event. And so yeah, after party, it's gonna be epic. Oh my god. Yeah, we're so excited for the after party. And like, who doesn't want a giant dance party with all of your girlfriends like, that is the best, because there's no one there to judge you. Because you can dance whatever you want. I will be judging Allison.


52:46

Be at the front, like get me on this.


52:49

Like I will do let her on stage.


52:54

But it's gonna be so fun. Like that is just there's this a perfect like cap. And you don't have to be like a big party or to come like anything like that. It's like a just come and have fun and be silly and have like a true Nashville night out


53:12

that we create. And then that's part of your ticket like enter. It's so fun. Like I'm dying for Thursday night. I love


53:21

so much fun. So how can people register? Or how can I follow along and learn more about the ultimate product party? Well, ultimate product party.com All the information you need, right there, we can give you a special link that you can put in your show notes, follow us on Instagram, at ultimate product party. We do talk about the event. But we also make a point to share ways tips and tricks that you need in your life to grow your product based business. So we hope that you find like value in the education that we're trying to provide outside of the events because it's ultimately about the people and we want them to like learn learn all the things because there's a lot to know it's hard and we've got payment plans for tickets and everything like that. And so we just want it to be the biggest no brainer that it can possibly be to be like oh my gosh, I for sure have to go hang out with these two chicks they are there is three chicks. Because


54:26

for to like just have like a rad type and I think that we just really freakin deserve to have a rad time with some cool chicks and just have fun out while growing our business. I think that fun is a priority that we put to the wayside. I mean, not me because I live my life for fun, but a lot of people get so bogged down in all of the drama and all of the stress and all of the burnout city and it's like oh my gosh, you are allowed to have so much


55:00

Fun, while also building your business and while also really working on learning strategies to apply, while also having like, a kick ass time with a bunch of fun girls like, Guys, we got some guys. There's some guys, there's some guys coming too. There's some guys coming too mostly women, but there is some guys coming. But yes, I mean that is literally nothing better like i It's my perfect, perfect mix of things is talking about business while hanging out with my girlfriends my favorite thing in the world. Yeah, I'm super excited for May 2023. In Nashville, it's gonna Yeah, oh, good to see you both and see all the speakers and see all the guests attending and just to keep building that network. So thank you both so much for joining me and sharing all about your passion and ultimate product party. And I know everyone listening is just going to be super excited and pick up on your enthusiasm to join to so thank you so much for your time. I appreciate it. And I'm sure I will be in touch with you soon. And if anyone has any questions about the ultimate product party, you can of course reach out to me you can reach out to Townsend and Kat. We're all here and open to answer any questions. But thank you both so so much for joining me. Thank you for having us. Thanks so much. And we'll see you in Nashville everybody.


56:17

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the product based podcast. If you are interested in learning more about the ultimate product party, there is a link in the show notes for you to learn more for you to get your tickets. And if you have any questions at all please feel free to reach out to me on Instagram at Monica little coaching. Thank you so much and I will see you next week on the next episode of the product biz podcast.


56:39

Thank you so much for hanging out with me here inside the product biz podcast. If you love this episode, don't forget to subscribe and to leave a five star review. And if you're interested in learning more about product biz Academy my signature group coaching program for handmade small business owners like you who are looking to create consistent online sales with their business, then go to the product biz podcast.com to join the waitlist. Doors are currently closed but you'll be first notified when they reopen. Thank you so much and I'll see you on the next episode of the product base podcast.


SUMMARY KEYWORDS

people, event, product based businesses, product, business, roundtable, talk, year, nashville, party, fun, learn, feel, kat, vibes, cat, so much fun, met, instagram, allison