← The Product Boss with Jacqueline Snyder
The Product Boss with Jacqueline Snyder
674. Why Relying on Just One Sales Channel is Killing Your Business (And What to Do Instead)
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Hi, I'm Jacqueline Snyder and this is the Product Boss podcast. I've helped launch and grow thousands of product based businesses, even one of my own. And over the last 20 years, I've seen behind the scenes of businesses just like yours. Whether they are makers, manufacturers, artists, or food and beverage businesses. I have spent so many hours studying it all. I've discovered what makes them successful, what mistakes they could have avoided, how did they turn their ideas into a successful business, and what are the strategies that they have used to make more sales and be discovered by more customers. And this is what this show is all about. Whether you're just starting out or you're looking to become a million dollar product boss, I'm here to give you the permission to chase your dreams, no matter how big or small. All you need is the right mindset, a little courage, strategy and support, and you too can be the next million dollar product boss. Let's do this. Oh my goodness. Friends, if you are anything like me, you probably spend more time running errands than running your business. Am I right? Like, everything needs something, we got to run around. And I knew that this was like a major issue for me back in the day, which is why I decided to get help where I could. And I decided to let Instacart handle all of my grocery shopping. So I no longer had to worry about running all the errands and having to run out and get more almond milk for my lattes. Rather, I was like, you know what, we're just going to let Instacart handle that. So I want you to imagine skipping the store and getting back to designing packaging, orders, making, or maybe actually taking a break, even a nap. Remember those? Okay, so with Instacart, you can get groceries and essentials delivered in as fast as an hour so you can focus on growing your business without sacrificing a meal. Plus, less stress and more focus. And here's a tip. I've actually used Instacart before to order gifts from my daughter's friend's birthday parties because I haven't had time to run out and get presents. And I've been able to get the packaging like the gift bag and the gift, like hello, Sephora Aura. Delivered to my house while I was in the middle of coaching sessions so that I could have the present right. It's like having a personal assistant without having a personal assistant. So if you want to do what I do and get the help where you can, you can try it. Now, if you head to the productboss.com instacart hey friends, and welcome back to another episode of the Product Boss podcast. I am so glad that you are here today. So I'm gonna just kind of like tell you a little bit behind the scenes of what's happening over here and some conversations I've been having. And so I recently hopped on a call with a partner of ours here at the Product BO who they are Amazon specialists and they work with some of our, you know, million dollar, multiple million dollar masterminders and clients and students on their Amazon. And we got into this really interesting conversation and I thought, you know what, I need to bring this to my listeners because this is just something that I think is so essential in this time in 2025 when things are just up and down and sideways and all over and we don't really know what's going on. And we've got some 2020 vibes happening in a different way, but it's got those vibes of like, hmm, what, what's going on? So welcome to the Product Boss podcast. If you are new here, I'm your host, Jaclyn Cider. We have an episode twice a week. Please make sure that you follow the show so that you know when we are posting. Once a week we do calls where they are behind the scenes coaching calls where you get to listen to me and a student kind of dig deep into their business. And then episodes like this one are fun. We could be workshop style, could be an interview, could be a chat, and today is going to be a bit of a chat. So here's the craziest thing. And I hate to be right. No, I love to be right, my husband would tell you, but also hate to be right in the way of what I have been telling you all for so many years. And what I've told my, my one on one clients for the last 20 years is that we can't rely on one single sales channel. And I think this is kind of really starting to prove itself in 2025. And I love when I have these conversations with people that I look up to and respect and their colleagues in this industry, but then they're doing things a little bit different and that we somehow we talk about things and it's like, yes, we're both saying the same thing. So this conversation that I had with one of our partners, again who runs multiple millions like she works with like companies up into the 50 million on Amazon. All right, so she knows her thing. She actually used to work at Amazon and we got into this conversation yesterday and she said, you know what's what? The thing that people have to realize is that people are shopping everywhere these days. They're shopping on third party platforms like Amazon and Etsy marketplaces like Walmart.com, even Nordstrom's has a third party right now. They're shopping on social media, shopping on websites, they're shopping in retail stores, they're shopping in so many places, they're shopping on multiple sales channels. Okay, you might have heard me talk about this before. And she said if they're going on that sales channel and they're searching for something and your product is not there, they're going to buy from somebody else. So we were talking about one of my fellow, one of my masterminders that I've been coaching since she was a baby, baby business. She's also a multi Stream machine student and we were talking about her cause she's working with her now as well. And this student did very well on Amazon. For example when she first joined Multi Street Machine get a singular product. She got onto Amazon, she made like six figures in her multi six figures in her first year on Amazon with one product. So exceptional, exceptional story. Now she's also selling on platforms like Walmart. Com through their third party. Third party is basically like how Amazon is, right? It's, it's this platform that you can upload your product to, you can write your product descriptions, you get everything up there and then they are having the customers come to them and they're connecting your product with the customer through their sales channel. And we were talking about Walmart and she was saying, you know, she, she's on Walmart. And I was like yeah, she was telling me Walmart's not doing that well for her. But. And so she's not sure. And this partner said, you know what, it doesn't matter because if that customer happens to see her stuff on social media or someone tells her about it and they happen to shop on Walmart which fits well with the kind of product that it is and they go there and they don't find her product, they're gonna buy somebody else's. They're gonna buy something else that fits their needs on that sales channel. And so I thought oh my goodness, this is what we've been talking about for so long. But I've always talked about multiple streams of revenue, multiple sales channels from the persp perspective of well one that the most successful businesses that I've studied sell in multiple places. Right. And we've always talked about not having all your eggs in one basket. And I think we know this from all the years of the universe hitting us in the head and saying like, hey, you know, there's a global pandemic, they're shutting down retail shops. What are you gonna do? Or meta crashes. What are you gonna do? TikTok's disappearing. What are you gonna do? Whatever it is. Amazon at one time was only selling essentials, right? What are you going to do? So the universe was like bonking us over the head, saying, like, what you going to do? But now what I'm realizing is this shift is in a higher. Like it's a very competitive time. It always has been, but it's competitive and people are catching up. The cool thing about being competitive is that being a small business, you all have the same access to the same customers online that big businesses have. I didn't necessarily have that when I was running my business, right? It was like websites were an E comm was kind of on the newer side. People were shopping it, which was leveling out the playing field. But before it was like, if I wasn't selling in a department store, then I didn't have the same access to customers that bigger brands had. Well, now we can access people anywhere, anywhere in the world at any point through social, through our websites, through email, through all of these different ways of marketing and building our companies. So this is where we're leveling the playing field, right? So my question to you though is what would happen? I don't want to get doom and gloom too much in this episode, but this is really a conversation. I have this with my students, I have this in my communities and I want to bring it to you here on the podcast. Ask what would happen to your business if you sell on Etsy and Etsy shut down tomorrow, or if your customer, your ideal customer, is showing up to shop somewhere and you're not there. Now I know we can't be everywhere all at once, right? Like we can't be at every in person market and we are going to let customers kind of certain customers are going to find us and not. But being online or having a multiple sales channel presence is essential. In fact, I think that's truly the difference between a struggling business and one that's thriving. They really have the same this multiple sales engine sales strategy, and that's how I've really been talking about it lately, is that you need sales engines. And so usually the first one is the one that you're currently selling on. Maybe it's you do sell in person, you sell on Etsy, you have a website, so you sell e commerce direct to consumer, you sell wholesale. Right? That's your main sales engine, the one that's the main one that drives the most revenue right now. But then the idea here is what if that thing breaks? Think about it, like think about the last time a car broke down. Did you have to borrow someone's car? Did the dealership give you a car to borrow? Like what happened when it broke down? So if something breaks down, do you have another car to ride and, or wouldn't it be great to not worry about it because you have one and then you have another one like as a backup and then even multiples, multiple ways of getting around multiple engines. So that's really what I've been working on over the past few months with my multi stream machine students is we first started to work on their first sales engine. So where they currently sell, that's what we're optimizing. We're making it better. We wanna like make sure that it runs well and then we're gonna talk about adding on these extras. But I just kind of like, you know, in this call with her I was just like, yes, exactly. So that's the stuff that I want you to start to think about because the risks that are involved in like single platform, single sales engine businesses. You know, I, I know a lot of my Etsy students and even Amazon people who sell on Etsy and Amazon, I still love these as sales channels. Okay, there's a cost to doing business but the fees are rising. Right. Or wholesale buyers are getting pickier. There's just all these things that are happening. We're dealing with tariffs now and so there's going to be, Listen, I might do another episode on this but I don't want you, yes, tariffs are going to mess with us. I don't know why we need to be messed with but they're going to mess with us a bit. Especially if you're importing or exporting, you're getting your stuff from other places. Yeah, prices are going to go up. But a couple of things I want you to remember. One, prices are going to go up for everybody. So don't worry about that part because it's not like you're the only one. And two, there might be a shift towards back to Made in America, Made in Canada. Right. People are going to. Maybe it's when I was growing up in the 80s and I remember being a kid and going to a store and looking at the bottom being like mom, this isn't made In America. So that was trend back then. And if that's where we're at, then that's where we're at. There are enough customers in the us, in Canada, in New Zealand, right? I've seen this, I've seen this like happen. I have a student that makes millions of dollars selling in New Zealand and it's a small country and they make tons of money selling what they're, they're known for. So I just want you to really start to think about the idea here of what are you going to do and why are you going to put yourself at risk if you're going to be doing all these other things where you're spending the money, you are investing the time and all the things like why put your business at risk of like the single sales channel or, or the competitor part? So the competitor part is really the idea of like customers already shopping on multiple platforms. You know this. Am I right? You know this. You probably shop in multiple places. I'll bet you're not shopping in just one place. And so if you are shopping in multiple places, so is your customer. And so if they're there and you're not there, then they're going to buy someone else's. My mom would always say this to me. She's like, well if you don't buy it, someone else is going to. So it was the result, it was the like reverse side, like, mom, should I buy this like bracelet? And she's like, well if you don't, someone else will be like, oh, you're right, mom, I should absolutely buy this bracelet. Well, it's that same idea, right? If your bracelet's not there, they're going to buy someone else's because they're looking for a bracelet. So I want you to be in more places because if your competitors are there, then you should be there too. Hey friends. Okay, so I don't know if you're anything like me, but sometimes it feels like my self care routine is slipping through the cracks. Because when I'm juggling and wearing all the hats in my business and doing all the things, I mean, the last thing I have to do is like really fulfill that self care routine that my doctor's talking about. She's like, mom, so listen, so when it comes to running a successful business, you can't really pour from an empty cup. And a lot of times that self care is like one of the first things to get yourself recalibrated. So that's why I want you to glossy. Now. Glossy is my favorite daily beauty supplement designed to transform your skin and gut health from the inside out. And I'm actually an investor in this business because I so believe in this idea of science backed ingredients for digestion and skin hydration and glossy makes it really easy to look and feel your best without that whole 10 step routine in the mirror. The thing I don't actually have time for, all I have to do is simply mix the stick into my water and I'm good to go. So if you want to try this, because I so believe in this business, I think it's, it's amazing. It's done so many wonders for my skin and my gut, which are two things that I need help with. And you want to simplify your wellness and your beauty. All you have to do is click in the show notes and you can use the code Jaclyn Snyder. So it's my full name. Use the code Jaclyn Snyder and I'm hooking you up with 15% off your order. So cheers to glowing skin and a thriving business. Hey friends, are you unsure of what to say on social media or what to even send in your weekly emails? Well, what if creating content could be easy? Would you be looking for a shortcut to creating consistent content? Yes, consistent content. Because you know consistency is key. Well, let me tell you, you are not alone when you feel like you're struggling on what to post or what to write in emails. And we know that you have that product part of your business down. But as you're listening to this podcast, you probably already know that to get more people to your products, to buy your products, you need to create great content. Now, I see, I keep saying content and that's the dreaded C word. And we can't tell you how many product bosses tell us that they want to create great content for their audience and their customers, but they don't know what to say or they are so busy they can't find the time or they really, really, really don't want to be the face of their brand. Well, no worries because that's exactly why we created a year of content. It is your shortcut to creating consistent content that resonates with your audience and brings more loyal customers who can't wait to buy your products. If you want to see how easy this is and how easy it is to create content for your audience and your customers, head to www.yearofcontent.com and then I think the other side of all of this is, is especially for my students. And this is why I don't Tech. I don't teach ads in some of my programs because I know that a lot of the students that are in my world, that you might be a listener, you're putting a lot of money into your product and you don't have a ton left over to play with advertising. Maybe you're not ready for it, you're self funded, right? You're not, you're. Most of you are probably not working with investors and it's self funded and maybe it's coming from your savings like it was for me, or from your full time job like it did for me. And so we don't have a ton of room in there for reaching our customers, like for the expenses to reach our customers. So we don't have a ton of money for ads. Am I right? Some of you might be running ads and you know how it is. And then a lot of us are like, we don't actually have the money for that. So ads are expensive anyways. Right? And it's harder to reach customers. So if you aren't able to do that, then we do need to make sure that we're showing up in multiple places for customers to find us on the more organic side or in the partnership side. So things can feel kind of weird. But then I think also in this discussion was like, okay, yeah, I knew that what we had taught originally at the product boss and the idea of multiple streams of revenue, I, I knew that that made sense when we were first teaching it. And then, you know, we were teaching it, teaching it. And then 2020 comes around and things start to shut down and we're like, oh, yeah, yeah, no, no, this, this makes a lot of sense. Like this still works. And then I also remember, I, like we've been around for so long. I mean, I've been doing this for 20 years. That I was also recalling when I was teaching wholesale in the way that I teach it at quote unquote, old school. And it was before, let's say platforms like Fair.com became mainstream for product bosses. And then it did. And now there's a wait list to get onto fair. You have to kind of be invited. There's a wait list that the channel is like over flooded with products and brands. They can't even get everyone on there because they still need to have like selective choices for their customers for their, for the retailers to come buy from. So even with that happening, I was like, yep, the way that I teach wholesale, you cannot take away og original marketing and sales tactics. You just can't do it. Right, people, we know this. I used to think we were never going to breathe each other's air again. We are out shopping and traveling and going to events again. People are out at stores, they want to be out. They don't want to be in their houses. So I'm just realizing that, like, it's just not an option. It's just not an option anymore. This idea of you having multiple sales engines, multiple sales channels, being in places where your customers are is actually essential. In 2025, it is just. It's no longer an option. I know I was presented like, well, if you want to add on an additional sales channel, I think. I think, honestly, as I've been reflecting on all of this, it's actually adding them on is actually about protecting your business. Right? It's protecting your business from platform instability and, like, ad costs and lost customers and the algorithm changing. It's all that. I also think it's the difference between those of you out there who really want to have a business. Maybe it was an idea that you wanted to turn into income, maybe it's a side hustle, but you really want to see it turn into a business. For those of you that are serious about a business, I think, truthfully, that's going to also be the difference. You might listen to this podcast and you might be like, not for me, that's okay, right? But I'm speaking to my friends out there that are like, you know what I actually do. It might be a little scary. Scary because it's the unknown, but scary or fear or being excited, it's all kind of the same. So. But you're just like, no, no. Like, I really see this as being the thing, a business that makes good money for me, for my family, gives me time, freedom, gives me money, freedom. Right? The time part. The time is so important. We don't get time back. So I think that that's another big difference. And just knowing that, like, the landscape is competitive. You all have so much more access to customers than I ever did when I had my business. But at the same time, it' a plus and a minus. You also have so much more access. So does everybody else. So how are you going to get in front of your customers? How are they going to discover you? And I got to tell you, people who are listening to other podcasts, and they're listening, like, this is how you get onto Etsy, or this is how you get onto Amazon, or this is how you sell wholesale. And they're listening to very, very singular strategic focus. I don't know if that even makes sense, what I just said. But one strategy, right? They're listening to one strategy from one expert, giving one way of doing things. And I think that the biggest difference between the product boss and me and my how I coach is that I actually believe that there are multiple paths to the same result. Meaning the result is, is that the entrepreneur, the business owner, the person with the idea, wants to bring that idea to life. Whether it's because they're creative, whether it's because they've come up with an invention, whether they really love making something and they want to sell it. That is the core of who my listeners and my students are. They're not just, they're not just people that are like, I want to build a business, I want to find something easy peasy to do. I'm going to go source a product overseas and then try and sell it. Honestly, that's. You're probably not there listening, maybe you are, but most of my listeners are like me. We're creative, we're scrappy. We come up with ideas all the time. We might be artistic that we were able to make a lot of things or we can. I, I draw really well, right? So I could draw up things and give them to someone else to make. Right. We're just, we're creatives with like really creative ide. Instead of, oh, I don't know, slime is trending. I'm going to go source slime from China and try and sell it to people. There are coaches for that. That's not really the world that I'm in. So knowing that, that you're aligned from the creative front end part that you're excited about, what you want to bring into this world, what you're going to birth into this world through a physical product, no matter whether you're hand making it, manufacturing it, sourcing it, you have a really cool idea or a good idea or something that you're excited about and now you're like, I got to make this thing and I want to sell it. And so if you want to make the thing and you want to sell it, aw. But here's the deal. We all are making different things and we can all sell it in different ways. But what, it's the end, what's at the end? We want to make good money. We want to make an income from the things that we're making and selling. And maybe, just maybe, and I say this with a huge smile on my face, it's actually going to give us the time we desire with the people we love doing the things that we love, it's going to pay us really well and potentially employ and hire other people, Right? Other artists that maybe weren't going to ever really start and run their own business, but they get to work for you. And I say artists because they could be artisans, they could be makers, they could be other designers. Right? They can be just people who also want to be creative. And so at the end, we want to have businesses that make money, that make a profit, that give us what we want and need in our life so that we can live our lives and enjoy them. And so the difference, I think, is. Is the idea of me showing you it doesn't matter what you're selling. We gotta have that idea to figure out how to make it, figure out where to sell it and market it, and then make the sale. And that's the deal here. That's. That's the biggest kind of change. So, anyways, I just wanted to pop in because I wanted to just kind of realize from this conversation with her that I was like, yeah, it's even a different strategy than one than the one I was talking about. It's almost like it's no longer an option because we're gonna lose customers if we're not there selling it to them as well. So let me know. You can send me a DM on Instagram @ the product boss. Let me know if this resonated with you. And if you're like, huh, yeah, right. I do have to take control over my products are sold, because if I'm not selling, there's someone else will. And I'm here to support you through all of it. All right. But I just. I wanted to bring that up because I think it's a really, really important thing, as we're still in the beginning of the year of 2025, and we still have time to strategize and figure out ways to keep growing our businesses. All right, all right, my friends. We'll see in the next one.