How I Got My Handmade Products into 600 Stores in 2 Years

My first handmade business was a line of edgy, eco-friendly hats for kids. Early on in my business journey, I learned the perks of wholesale. I first spent years hustling for small, individual sales at markets and online, before I got in touch with my first wholesale buyer. After a quick chat about my product, she placed a $2000 order!! As a small business owner, this was huge! Suddenly I was hooked on a new business model: focus on wholesale and see my brand skyrocket in sales and popularity. 

But, right as my wholesale started to take off, my 14-month-old daughter started having major health problems. The next few years were really hard. I focused on finding help for my daughter’s undiagnosed rare disease, while still trying to run my business on the side. I got my baby hats into over 100 stores, but I was still also trying to get online orders, attending craft shows, and working every moment that I wasn’t with my kids. It was exhausting and I almost burned out. 

At that time I was also having new success with a new product – a simple headband for women, that could be worn many different ways. The headbands were outselling all my other products at markets. 

One day after an exhausting market weekend, I knew I could no longer carry on the way I was. I was done. I was ready to throw in the towel and close my business, but I also felt that my new headband for women was very special and it could take this business to new places. 

So, instead, I decided to close the baby line and give myself one year to focus on selling just the headbands. I didn’t have a lot of time or energy left, so I knew that I had to stop hustling for online orders, stop attending markets and focus just on wholesale. I had success with wholesale in the past and I believed that I could make more money doing less work, by focusing on selling to retailers. 

I was right. 

Before I knew it, my small handmade brand was sold in over 600 stores across the US, Canada, and Japan. My headbands became a retailer and customer favorite, and I was making more money than ever before! I was winning awards, being asked to speak at conferences, and getting regular media features. I finally had the money to hire staff to help me grow even further and I started paying myself properly. The business was bringing a steady and exciting income that allowed me and my family to go traveling and soak up life outside of work. 

The Winning with Wholesale Method