This week's Year One episode is a continuation of my interview from Episode 070 with Isaac Parkinson of SkinGrip. He has worked hard to build a business around a tight-knit community, and it continues to grow and get stronger every day. With years of experience now, Isaac pulls back the curtain and offers you his playback of everything you should do when you are launching a product to ensure its lasting success.

Some of the key takeaways from this episode are:

• How to position yourself in a way that focuses on solving your customers' problems, NOT hard selling them.
• How to work with influencers in a way that's beneficial to them, and in a way that shows measurable results for your company. 

Check this episode out to learn these tips AND MORE!

Also, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you can get immediate access to our new episodes as soon as they are released.

SkinGrip Website: Click Here

This week's Year One episode is a continuation of my interview from Episode 071 with Scott Brown of PaddleSmash. He built and sold one business in the toy & game industry, and has created another successful product with PaddleSmash. If you've ever had an idea for a toy or a game to create, then you especially need to listen to this episode.

Some of the key takeaways from this episode are:

• How to get honest product feedback from family and friends, instead of them telling you what you want to hear.
• When it's best to build and launch a game yourself, and when it's better to license it.

Check this episode out to learn these tips AND MORE!

Also, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you can get immediate access to our new episodes as soon as they are released.

PaddleSmash Website: Click Here

Have you ever looked at the games on the shelves at the store and asked yourself, "Who in the world came up with that?" You wouldn't be the only one. The toy and game industry is extremely large and lucrative, and today's episode is with a man who has succeeded in it multiple times, without actually inventing a toy or game (that I know of).

Scott Brown is an experienced and successful entrepreneur who got his start being paid to sit around and think of potential business ideas (sounds like a dream to me). But it also meant a lot of hard work, because once he found one that had potential they worked hard to grow it. They failed immediately and had to shut down and regroup, but once they did they grew their concept to over 40 stores.

This time around, Scott was presented a game that was extremely fun, and leveraged the fastest growing sport in North America - pickleball. He decided to take the opportunity and run with it, and they were on this most recent season of Shark Tank and have done extremely well.

This episode is unique in that he wasn't the one who came up with the idea, but I wanted to showcase it because it shows how you can find business ideas anywhere, and Scott tells his story with both.

Stay tuned for our next Year One episode with Scott, where he breaks down everything he'd do to start a toy or game business and set it up for success in that first year.

PaddleSmash Website: Click Here

Isaac Parkinson has been a really good friend of mine for over 10 years now. AND he was the original (and better, I might add) host of Freedom to Fail with me when I started on this journey a few years ago. Unfortunately for all of us who tune into this podcast, the company he started with a friend called SkinGrip started doing really well, and he needed to focus all of his time there, so he could no longer be my co-host.

That was 4 years ago, and now SkinGrip has thousands of reviews on Amazon, has a dedicated and passionate following, and has really grown to be an amazing company. This is what Isaac has been working on for years, and his success is well-deserved. One of his big beliefs is to work hard for at least 5 years to see if something will be successful, and I'm really happy that he has followed through on that to build something incredible.

Even with all that success, however, there have been bumps along the way - like when he had tens of thousands of units of product seized by the FDA. It hasn't been all smooth sailing, but he's always bounced back to find success in the face of challenges from the environment or that he unknowingly created (like the FDA incident). Find out what happened with that story, and a whole lot more, on this week's episode of Freedom to Fail!

SkinGrip Website: Click Here

This week's Year One episode is a continuation of my interview from Episode 068 last week, with the founder of Stay, Shane Ball. He has built an apparel brand that has been around for 9 years, which is a crazy long time in such a competitive industry! If you've ever been interested in standing out and building a sustainable business, then you need to listen to this episode.

Some of the key takeaways from this episode are:

• How to get feedback on your brand from your target market BEFORE you even spend any money
• What margins you should be shooting for in order for your business to not only survive, but leave enough margin for growth

Check this episode out to learn these tips AND MORE!

Also, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you can get immediate access to our new episodes as soon as they are released.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussions of mental health disorders and suicidal thoughts. Please use self-awareness in deciding to listen or not. If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please contact the Suicide Crisis Hotline at 988.

Most people usually try to dress nicely, including me (although you wouldn't know it at times). Fashion has always been a part of humanity since the beginning of time, and when you look good you feel good. Shane Ball has always wanted to have a clothing brand, but he wanted to also focus on the interior of a person and not just the exterior. This is wear Stay was born, with its focus on mental health and suicide prevention.

In 2014 Shane worked hard to start his clothing brand, and things went well for a few years. Then, in 2019 he almost had to close Stay. But it was a conversation with a surprise mentor (hint - he was actually a previous guest of mine) that convinced him to keep working, and since that time they have weathered many storms but have been able to find more success than they ever had previously. Find out the rest of this story in this week's episode of Freedom to Fail!

This week's Year One episode is a continuation of my interview from Episode 066 last week, with the CEO of Kizik, Monte Deere. He comes from a very unique background as a corporate lawyer, and his perspective is very savvy! If you've ever wondered how you can protect your idea or product, this episode is for you.

Some of the key takeaways from this episode are:

• How to protect your IP and ideas when you're collecting feedback from others
• What your most valuable asset is for bringing existing customers back for more

If you've ever wanted to learn more about footwear or just know how to build a brand from scratch with amazing visual content, this is the episode for you!

Also, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you can get immediate access to our new episodes as soon as they are released.

I just flew home from across the country today. While I was going through security I actually saw an advertisement posted right before the security entrance advertising the company from today's episode. It's Kizik, and they make hands-free shoes! It was brilliant marketing and specific targeting of people who may think about buying their product for the future (taking off your shoes for airport security is a hassle). This was just the perfect example of having your marketing dollars work smarter for you.

Monte Deere is the CEO of Kizik, and I had the opportunity to sit down and talk a little bit about Kizik as a whole, and his own personal journey. He had been a lawyer for his entire career before joining Kizik as the CEO, and since he joined they have really taken off. His story is amazing, and he's just a stand-up guy. I'm looking forward to you hearing this week's episode of Freedom to Fail.

This week I'm bringing you all the Year One episode with Hayden & Jake Wadsworth, the creators of HydroJug. They have grown their business to 8 figures, have close to 500k Instagram followers, and are super amazing. Side note - if you haven't listened to my Freedom to Fail episode with them to learn more about their story, go check it out on episode 056!

In this episode they break down exactly what they would do in their first year if they were to restart HydroJug all over again. Some of the things you'll learn are:

• Where you should look to find a good idea (hint: don't reinvent the wheel)
• Where to find manufacturers for your product & how to know what to pay them

To learn specifically how they would do this, as well as many other amazing tips, listen to this episode now!

Also, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you can get immediate access to our new episodes as soon as they are released.

This week's episode is my Year One episode with Amy Lund! She's seen massive growth and constantly had lines wrapped around the corner for her incredible sweet rolls from The Dough Lady. She knows a thing or two because she's seen a thing or two. And with all that experience, she was kind enough to talk to us about what she did when she launched and everything she would do in the first year if she were to restart today.

Some of the important action items for growth she discusses are:

• How to create a personal relationship with your customers to build brand loyalty
• The importance of creating easily replicable processes in order to manage labor costs and your time expense (your most valuable asset)

To learn specifically how she would do this, as well as many other amazing tips, listen to this episode now!

Also, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you can get immediate access to our new episodes as soon as they are released.

NOTE: This episode was recorded in May 2022 before the #utahcookiewars began. We stand behind Dirty Dough and Crave and the right to an open and competitive market. Cookies aren't meant to be divisive, they're meant to bring people together. Hopefully, we can get back to that as soon as possible and move away from silencing any newcomers.

And now back to the episode summary:

This week's Freedom to Fail episode is the second part of my interview with Bennett Maxwell. In this Year One segment we discuss what Bennett would do to get his business up and running if he were to start his cookie business from scratch again. Some of the things that he discusses the importance of are:

• Knowing your numbers (how to find out what your COGS should be)
• Creating a board of advisors (where to find them and who to look for)

There are plenty of other great tips for all you future entrepreneurs, so if you're looking to start a business then this the episode for you!

Also, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so that you can get immediate access to our new episodes as soon as they are released.