Bring Your Product Idea to Life

Have you ever looked closely at what’s actually in the products you use on your dog? My guest this week, Kiera Harrison, did exactly that after noticing that her Labrador, Buddy, was itching and uncomfortable after every bath. What she discovered led her down a rabbit hole of ingredients, pet cosmetics and regulation, and eventually to creating her own natural dog grooming brand, Fido and Oak. In this episode, Kiera shares how she went from having an idea for a better dog shampoo to developing a range of products here in the UK. We talk about how she found the right manufacturer, what it was actually like developing the formulations and testing samples, and why creating a shampoo alone wasn’t enough for the experience she wanted to give customers. Kiera ultimately developed a three step grooming collection with a shampoo, conditioner and coat mist. We also talk about some of the decisions that have gone into creating Fido and Oak, from natural ingredients and sustainability to packaging and branding, and why Kiera has chosen not to launch certain products rather than compromise on what she wants the brand to stand for. There’s also a really interesting conversation about pet cosmetic regulation and what Kiera believes dog owners should know about the products they’re using. This has become such an important part of the mission behind Fido and Oak that Kiera is now campaigning for higher standards across the industry. If you’re interested in how an idea becomes a physical product, particularly when you’re creating something where ingredients, formulation and your choice of manufacturer really matter, I think you’ll find Kiera’s story fascinating. Find Kiera here: Website: www.fidoandoak.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/fidoandoak Instagram: www.instagram.com/fidoandoakofficial/ TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@fidoandoak LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kieralharrison Change.org petition: https://c.org/vgjcyGZWFY Want some support with Amazon? Join me for Amazon Seller Support & Connect, my free monthly online session held during the first week of every month. Bring your Amazon questions, get practical advice and connect with other product-based business owners. Find out more and book your place on the next call here: https://calendly.com/vickiweinberg/new-meeting LET’S CONNECT Follow me on YouTube Find me on Instagram Work with me Buy My Book: Bring Your Product Idea To Life If you enjoy this podcast, and you’d like to leave a tip, you can do so here: https://bring-your-product-idea.captivate.fm/support Mentioned in this episode: Amazon Made Easy is now open My membership, Amazon Made Easy is now open. It’s a membership for people who are selling on Amazon (or planning to) and want regular access to support, somewhere to ask questions and talk things through, and a bit of structure and accountability as they grow. Inside, there are live Q&A calls, optional co-working sessions and a small, supportive community. Find out more: https://vickiweinberg.com/membership membership

Have you ever wondered what actually happens to your products once you send them into Amazon FBA? I recently visited Amazon’s LCY3 fulfilment centre in Dartford, the biggest Amazon distribution centre in Europe, and in this episode I’m taking you behind the scenes and sharing what I learnt. I followed the journey products take through an Amazon fulfilment centre, from arriving at the loading bays and being checked into stock, through to stowing, picking, packing and eventually being sent out to customers. There were quite a few things that surprised me, including just how much of the process still involves people, despite all the automation and robots you might expect to see. More importantly, I came away with a couple of things that I think are really useful to know if you sell on Amazon. Some of the information you enter into Seller Central has a very real impact on what happens to your products and customer orders inside the Amazon fulfilment centre, so there are some simple things worth checking in your own account. If you sell through Amazon FBA, or you’re simply curious about what happens behind the scenes after you send your stock to Amazon, I hope you find this episode interesting and useful. Want some support with Amazon? Join me for Amazon Seller Support & Connect, my free monthly online session held during the first week of every month. Bring your Amazon questions, get practical advice and connect with other product-based business owners. Find out more and book your place on the next call here: https://calendly.com/vickiweinberg/new-meeting LET’S CONNECT Follow me on YouTube Find me on Instagram Work with me Buy My Book: Bring Your Product Idea To Life If you enjoy this podcast, and you’d like to leave a tip, you can do so here: https://bring-your-product-idea.captivate.fm/support Chapters 00:00 Inside Amazon’s biggest European fulfilment centre 02:21 What happens when your FBA stock arrives 04:43 How Amazon stores your products 07:02 Why Amazon deliberately spreads your stock around 09:21 How customer orders are picked and packed 11:46 What happens before an Amazon order is dispatched 14:05 Damaged stock and Amazon returns 16:30 The important Seller Central checks I’d make now Mentioned in this episode: Amazon Made Easy is now open My membership, Amazon Made Easy is now open. It’s a membership for people who are selling on Amazon (or planning to) and want regular access to support, somewhere to ask questions and talk things through, and a bit of structure and accountability as they grow. Inside, there are live Q&A calls, optional co-working sessions and a small, supportive community. Find out more: https://vickiweinberg.com/membership membership

What does it really take to start a product business when you have no experience in the industry and no idea where to begin? In this episode, I’m joined by Louie Watkins, founder of Clear for Men, a British skincare brand with a mission to encourage more conversations around male mental health. Louie didn’t have a background in skincare or business. In fact, before starting Clear for Men, he was working on the railway and thought that was where his career was heading. We talk about how Louie took his idea and turned it into a real product, from finding a UK manufacturer and developing his cleanser to getting his first customers and gradually building trust in the brand. Louie is also really open about how difficult those early stages were. His first year brought just 31 orders, and without a big advertising budget, he had to work out how to get people to discover and trust a completely new brand. We also talk about building a brand around a genuine purpose, why community comes before product for Louie, and what he’s learnt about focusing on what works for your business rather than getting distracted by what everyone else is doing. If you have a product idea but feel like you don't have the experience or knowledge to make it happen, I think you'll get a lot from Louie's story. Find Louie here: Website: https://clearformen.co.uk LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/louis-watkins-29637126a Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareclear_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@weareclear_ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareclear1 Chapters 00:00 Meet Louie Watkins and Clear for Men 00:28 Where the idea for Clear for Men came from 05:17 Developing a skincare product from scratch 07:59 Finding the right UK manufacturer 13:46 Creating packaging and the customer experience 16:27 Putting community and mission before product 18:44 Conversations around male mental health and self care 25:40 Finding the first customers 28:30 Building an audience through live streaming 32:48 The reality of growing a product business 37:04 Where to spend your time as a solo founder 41:10 Focusing on what actually works 45:37 Business, purpose and wellbeing 47:11 Louie’s number one piece of advice for product founders 49:36 Why you don’t need to do what everyone else is doing LET’S CONNECT Follow me on YouTube Find me on Instagram Work with me Buy My Book: Bring Your Product Idea To Life If you enjoy this podcast, and you’d like to leave a tip, you can do so here: https://bring-your-product-idea.captivate.fm/support Mentioned in this episode: Amazon Made Easy is now open My membership, Amazon Made Easy is now open. It’s a membership for people who are selling on Amazon (or planning to) and want regular access to support, somewhere to ask questions and talk things through, and a bit of structure and accountability as they grow. Inside, there are live Q&A calls, optional co-working sessions and a small, supportive community. Find out more: https://vickiweinberg.com/membership membership

What happens when you decide to build a business in an industry where you don't necessarily fit the mould? In this episode, I'm joined by Lizzie Lane, founder of Carparts Queen. Lizzie started working in the motor parts industry at 18 and spent more than a decade learning the trade before deciding to take everything she'd learnt and start a business of her own. We talk about what growing a product business has really looked like for Lizzie, from making her first sales to experiencing much faster growth than she expected, and some of the challenges that have come with that. Lizzie also shares her experience of building a business in a traditionally male dominated industry, why making car parts easier and less intimidating to buy is so important to her, and how she's using customer service to create a business that feels very different from others in the industry. There's a really interesting conversation about growth too. We talk about the pressure to keep pushing for more, knowing when you might need to slow down and get your processes in place, and the parts of growing a product business that aren't always visible from the outside. In this episode, you'll hear about: • How Lizzie went from working in the motor trade to starting Carparts Queen • Finding a way to stand out in a competitive industry • Building trust and confidence with your customers • The realities of running a business in a male dominated industry • Managing unexpected growth and knowing when to slow down • Staying true to what makes your business different If you're starting or growing your own product business, I think you'll really enjoy Lizzie's openness about what's worked, what's been challenging and what she's learnt along the way. Find Lizzie here: www.carpartsqueen.co.uk Chapters 00:00 Meet Lizzie Lane and Carparts Queen 02:05 From employee to business owner 04:42 Starting Carparts Queen 07:22 Women in the motor parts industry 13:23 Helping customers feel more confident 20:07 Making car parts easier to buy 23:07 Building trust with your customers 30:18 Running a business in a male dominated industry 36:07 Managing unexpected business growth 40:35 Growing the team and looking ahead 44:17 The reality behind running a business 46:33 Lizzie's advice for product founders LET’S CONNECT Follow me on YouTube Find me on Instagram Work with me Buy My Book: Bring Your Product Idea To Life If you enjoy this podcast, and you’d like to leave a tip, you can do so here: https://bring-your-product-idea.captivate.fm/support Mentioned in this episode: Amazon Made Easy is now open My membership, Amazon Made Easy is now open. It’s a membership for people who are selling on Amazon (or planning to) and want regular access to support, somewhere to ask questions and talk things through, and a bit of structure and accountability as they grow. Inside, there are live Q&A calls, optional co-working sessions and a small, supportive community. Find out more: https://vickiweinberg.com/membership membership

If you sell on Amazon, Q4 can creep up on you incredibly quickly. One minute it's September and Christmas feels ages away, then suddenly you're dealing with increased traffic, more expensive ads, stock deadlines and everything else that comes with the busiest shopping period of the year. The good news is that you don't need to do everything at once. In this week's episode, I'm sharing my practical Amazon Q4 preparation checklist, including the things I'd be looking at now to make life easier later in the year. This isn't about adding lots more to your to do list, it's about getting a few important things sorted before you're busy and don't have the time or headspace to deal with them. We start with your Amazon listings, including the new 75 character product title limit, updating your images and A Plus Content, and why September is a good time to get new products listed if you want them selling during Q4. I also talk about inventory planning and some of the important dates to be aware of, as well as checking your account health, building up reviews, using Amazon Vine and getting your advertising and budgets ready for potentially higher costs. We'll also look at Black Friday and Cyber Monday, why you absolutely don't have to take part in Amazon's deals, and a quick reminder about the potential increase in returns after Christmas. In this episode, I cover: • Getting your Amazon listings ready for Q4 • Amazon's new 75 character product title limit • Planning your FBA inventory and when to send stock • Checking your Amazon account health • Building up reviews before Q4 • Preparing your Amazon ads and budgets • Planning for Black Friday and Cyber Monday • Using FBM as a backup during the busy period • Preparing for returns after Christmas Getting ahead with your Amazon Q4 preparation now means there'll hopefully be much less to worry about when things get really busy later in the year. I've also got a free Amazon optimisation checklist to help you quickly audit your account, and you can join me at my next free Amazon Seller Support and Connect call if you have any questions. I'll put the links to both below. Chapters 00:00 Getting your Amazon business ready for Q4 01:05 Amazon's new product title limits 03:50 Updating listings and launching new products 05:45 Q4 inventory planning and important dates 08:15 Checking your Amazon account health 09:20 Getting more reviews before Q4 12:10 Preparing your Amazon ads and budgets 14:35 Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Amazon deals 16:00 Preparing for returns after Christmas 17:05 Your Amazon Q4 preparation checklist 18:05 Amazon Seller Support and Connect USEFUL LINKS: My free Amazon audit checklist: https://checklist.vickiweinberg.com/audit Everyting you need to know about Amazon Vine: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/31085d58-6597-4221-8627-35e4846480ba/ How to get your first reviews on Amazon: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/071d0e68-5b91-414a-93a9-f6b8dc823f35/ Join the next Amazon Sellers Support & Connect call: https://calendly.com/vickiweinberg/new-meeting Follow me on YouTube Find me on Instagram Work with me Buy My Book: Bring Your Product Idea To Life If you enjoy this podcast, and you’d like to leave a tip, you can do so here: https://bring-your-product-idea.captivate.fm/support Mentioned in this episode: Amazon Made Easy is now open My membership, Amazon Made Easy is now open. It’s a membership for people who are selling on Amazon (or planning to) and want regular access to support, somewhere to ask questions and talk things through, and a bit of structure and accountability as they grow. Inside, there are live Q&A calls, optional co-working sessions and a small, supportive community. Find out more: https://vickiweinberg.com/membership membership