Hey friends! This week on Proof to Product I'm sitting down with Amy Tan, founder of the creative lifestyle company, Amy Tangerine. I'm really excited to have Amy on the show, because not only is she a creative entrepreneur that designs online content as well as fun, tangible products like t-shirts and craft supplies, she also teaches workshops around the world, makes YouTube videos, consults with awesome brands and wrote the book, Craft a Life You Love. Amy believes everyone has a story to tell, and her mission is to inspire women everywhere to feel joy and confidence by infusing creativity, fun, and intention into the everyday.

On today's episode, Amy shares how she got her start as an entrepreneur and how her business has evolved over time. She gives advice for curating an authentic and organic social media presence, and the best way to approach contracts and collaboration. We also talk about her favorite mediums, how she connects with her audience and how she decides which partnerships and collaborations to say yes to.

ON TODAY'S EPISODE:

• Why Amy enjoys Instagram as a medium
• Her perspective on vlogging
• How she keeps her YouTube channel authentic
• The importance of separating self-worth from "likes"
• What Amy did to monetize her Instagram organically
• How she learned to negotiate contracts
• Amy's three criteria for collaboration
• Legal advice for freelancers and influencers
• How writing a book helped Amy heal and deal in difficult times
• A sneak peek at what Amy's got going on in 2019

KEY TAKE-AWAYS:

"My parents always instilled this value of you can do anything you put your mind to and your heart in, they really had this vision that the American dream was to work for yourself." - Amy Tan

"I had all these ideas for side hustles, without knowing that that's what they were. I magically somehow ended up turning a lot of hobbies into work. " - Amy Tan

"It's so valuable to try different things and you don't actually have to go all in on something. You can dabble." - Amy Tan

"There's so many things that you can learn and I just think that experimentation is the best way to do so." - Amy Tan

"I really wanted people to get a feel of what it was like as a small business owner, as a creative entrepreneur who sits in a studio working and have that dialogue and that feeling that you're right alongside me in the studio creating, and on the adventures that I take." - Amy Tan

"I feel like it's still me being on Instagram. I'm still authentic, I'm still real. I'm still the same person. Even though the content that I share might vary to a certain degree, I just love being able to do that in such a fun format." - Amy Tan

"I experimented with different types of videos. Sometimes I would do a tutorial, sometimes I would talk straight to camera, sometimes it would be short, sometimes it'd be longer. I played around and I took the pressure off of myself for making things perfect." - Amy Tan

"You're trying to be true to yourself and you're not trying to create an image just to appease people." - Katie Hunt

"Sometimes I actually don't want to post that many pretty things because I don't want people thinking that all I'm focusing on is the pretty aspects and nothing bad is happening in my life. That is so untrue." - Amy Tan

"Show the type of work you want to be doing and then that'll ultimately attract the same type of people that are interested in it." - Katie Hunt

"I do love helping people and working with people. But at the same time, I realize that my time is really limited and I can't be spread too thin because I've been there before." - Amy Tan

"Why are you starting this business to begin with? Who do you want to serve and how you want to make an impact in their lives? Because if you don't have a reason for starting this business, then it's not truly a business, if you're not solving problems." - Katie Hunt

"I don't have a rate sheet. I don't believe in her rate card. I believe everything is a conversation." - Amy Tan

"I don't know if you know this, but you can't really tell an entrepreneur what to do." - Amy Tan

CONNECT WITH EMILY MARKS:

Website: http://amytangerine.com/

YouTube: http://youtube.com/amytangerine

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amytangerine/

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PAPER CAMP E-COURSE

Many of you have been patiently waiting for the return of our Paper Camp E-course and I'm excited to tell you that it's here. This is a 4-week online program that kicks off March 18. You'll get new videos to watch each week on your own and we'll have a live Q&A call every week with me and special guest experts.

But you've got to act fast, because registration closes on March 16. If you've want to see your products on the shelves of retail stores big & small, if you want to launch or refine your wholesale program, or maybe you want to exhibit at large scale trade shows, this is the program for you! We'll cover product development, sales tools for wholesale, working with reps, marketing to retailers and exhibiting at shows.

To learn more and register, head to http://bit.ly/pce2019 I look forward to having you there!

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ABOUT PROOF TO PRODUCT:

Proof to Product is brought to you by Tradeshow Bootcamp and hosted by Katie Hunt. Since 2011, TSBC has worked with hundreds of product based businesses to help them up level, scale, and build profitable sustainable companies. You can find our show notes and additional resources at ProofToProduct.com. If you like what you heard today, please head over to Apple Podcast to leave a five star review and subscribe. Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back next week with a new episode!