If you have a demanding full-time job, you might feel that launching a side business is just too difficult. But Kate Matsudaira, the Founder of Ink and Volt, did just this and shares her success story with the CEO of the Smart Marketer Agency. Kate’s journey showcases the power of community engagement for product development, knowing when to delegate, and some creative solutions to practical problems.
In the episode, Pepijn Hufen and Kate dive into the numbers, the thinking behind some of Ink and Volt’s strategies, and what it’s like to work with the Smart Marketer agency (Ink and Volt is a client).
You Will Learn:
- How to decide which products to create?
- Why Community Engagement is your secret sauce!
- When a fulfillment center is not the best strategy (and a creative alternative).
- What Kate would do differently if she could start over.
- What they’re doing in the Ink & Volt Facebook Ad Account.
And More…
Links:
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Time Stamps:
00:00 “We’re selling people better versions of themselves, and when we write our product pages, we really try not to talk about the products themselves, but the results people will get using them.” Kate Matsudaira.
01:09 Let’s dive in.
04:13 The joy (and pain) of two Kick Starter Campaigns
07:30 How Ink & Volt determine which products to create
14:01 The benefits of hiring an agency.
14:52 “I hope that we continue to have Smart Marketer run our Ads for a long time because it’s really been great in terms of the growth of the business.” Kate Matsudaira.
15:37 “You can have an amazing product, but sometimes your product is just not a good fit to acquire customers through a social network like Facebook.” Pepijn Hufen
17:10 Katie Shares The Ink & Volt Numbers.
18:31 Pepijn shares what they’re doing in the Ink & Volt Facebook Ad Account
19:20 How did they grow their team fast enough to handle the growth?
21:31 Fast Shipping Is A Way You Can Delight Your Customers
26:09 How a hands-on approach provides insight that would be lost at a fulfillment center.
27:37 How To Think About (And Tweak) Your Product Pages
28:34 A Better Way To Start A Business