The biggest determinant in wholesale success – both in the early days and as you get more established – is having a great product… and finding unique, personal ways of connecting with store owners about that product. And both elements of that – product and connection – require creativity and your best approach will not look the same as someone else’s best approach.

One of our wonderful community members, Ann, wrote to us the other day with a question that may sound basic to some. But it’s a question that so many folks struggle with… and feel like they’re missing something. So today, I'm answering a tough question that almost everyone using wholesale marketplaces struggles with at one point or another!

The coaching I do isn’t generally about telling the person WHAT to decide or what to do. Rather, I support business owners in getting clear on HOW to decide. Of course, there are a lot of approaches to “how to decide” depending on the specifics of the situation. But there is one useful tool that I find myself returning to over and over again. And it can be seen in the form of a formula:

Numbers + Intuition = Good Decisions. 

The more Faire becomes a market leader, it’s easy to feel like Faire is the “only” wholesale platform that brands need to know about. But there are some great platforms that serve a more specific niche. And that focus can be an incredible opportunity. Sometimes these platforms have better terms and buyers who are a better fit — so are worth considering as a part of your overall wholesale strategy.

Recently, we were lucky enough to sit down with the folks from Powered By People and got to dig into all the specifics of how PBP works, how they find the balance between profit, people, and planet — and how to think about whether PBP is right for you.

A wholesale line sheet can be the most powerful document to have on hand if you’re growing wholesale. Many makers spend a lot of time developing a wholesale line sheet to win the hearts and minds of buyers – but lose the sale because of simple mistakes that they could have avoided. So in this article, we’re putting a big old “WATCH OUT!” sign in front of all the pitfalls before you get to them.

In December, I’m sitting at the kitchen table, working on my laptop, and Etan springs in the doorway with a cardboard box, crusted with packing tape. He hands it to me, and I immediately notice the return address: Gopi Shah Ceramics. When I see this, I’m thrilled -- I’ve wanted a Gopi Shah mug for years but haven’t gotten one, partly because of the tyranny of a small business owner’s budget and partly because we didn’t have a steady home base.

If you’re working to grow wholesale, your line sheet is one of your most important tools. In this article, we will show you how to create a line sheet for wholesale as a maker or independent brand. You’ll get a a simple example of a wholesale line sheet you can use as a starting point — and avoid common mistakes.

Some makers feel intimidated by store owners -- they seem inaccessible, powerful in the maker world, and ultra-discerning in their preferences. Other makers are a cavalier with how they interact with shop owners, being informal to the point of rudeness or using an approach that just isn’t effective. The remedy for both? Really understanding store owners’ experiences and perspectives -- developing empathy for what they’re up to and what they’re all about.

I get a lot of questions from makers that relate to wholesale terms. So to all of these makers, my answer was simple: stick with the terms you already set. And do so in a friendly, collaborative, and clear way.

In my coaching work with Wholesale In a Box makers, there are certain mistakes I see people make over and over when it comes to growing wholesale. These are the things that, if left unfixed, can dramatically slow down one’s wholesale growth.

I call them “rookie” mistakes not because only beginners make them – but rather because they’re basic, simple mistakes that can be easily fixed at any stage of wholesale growth. Now, the land of business is a diverse place and you’ll always find someone who says they went against the grain and did one of the below things successfully. I don’t dispute that. But I will tell you that 99% of the time, it’s in your interest to avoid these approaches.

The most common piece of advice that we give the makers we work with is this: sound like yourself. Usually we don’t say it like that. But sounding like yourself, telling your story, and expressing your values and personality through your business communications is the subtext to many of the practical pieces of feedback we give, when looking over line sheets or websites or emails to stores.

Having a great product is always Job One for a maker. The beauty, artistry, quality, and branding of the pieces you make are the foundation of everything that happens in a handmade business.

That said, if wholesale is your focus, your primary customer is the creative, hardworking store owner who buys from you. And that means that your job is to help them sell your work -- not simply to hand off your line and hope for the best.