Once you make your toy idea a real product, how do you sell it? In today’s podcast episode we sit down and chat with Chloe Kershaw, the National Sales Manager at Hape Toys. Chloe didn’t start her career in the toy industry...she actually wanted to be a psychiatrist! But eventually, she began her career in consumer goods working in the warehouse of a handbag company. Her curiosity and enthusiasm for the work of the sales team at that same company, led her to discover a career path even better suited for her than tagging handbags.

Chloe shares the steps she took to eventually cross over into the sales side of the toy industry including her joyfully offering to do the grunt work that her coworkers didn’t want to do. Learn what she thinks the heart of a physical product-based company is and why, and walk away with insights on why you might want to start working with a sales rep for your company.


EPISODE CLIFF NOTES:

• Find out what toy job will have you traveling over 200,000 miles per year. [02:50]
• The biggest demotivator to a sales-person [4:42]
• The difference between house accounts and a sales representative accounts [07:38]
• Get a peak and overview of a toy company sales catalog. [08:39]
• An email hack that will help you never leave out an important part of an email again. [16:00]
• What Chloe sees as the heartbeat of a company, and what professional experience taught her this [20:12]
• Chloe’s FAVORITE part of her job. [22:55]
• How the sales and product development teams work together at Hape [24:50]
• The different challenges for small entrepreneurs vs large manufacturers in setting up sales systems and processes. [23:38]
• What a sales rep group can do for your toy business? [29:04]
• Find out the innovative way Chloe came up with to showcase and sell product virtually before everyone was doing it. [35:12]
• What Chloe sees will happen in the future now that virtual events have started to come to the forefront of the toy industry [40:40]
• What draws vendors to virtual shows? [45:00]

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/102

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

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About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt

Before you can build the toy business of your dreams, you’ve got to know the history of the toy businesses that came before you. In today’s episode I’ll be sharing insider information directly from the producers of the new History Channel series, The Toys that Built America! This upcoming series dives into the history of toy titans like Hasbro and Mattel, with expert interviews and dramatic reenactments.

During today’s episode you’ll get mini toy history lessons on Hot Wheels, Matchbox cars, Barbie, GI Joe, and Slinky! Everything discussed is just a preview of what you’ll learn when you watch The Toys That Build America, which airs on November 28th. Plus! If you tune into the series you might catch The Toy Coach teaching you some important toy history.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/101

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the show

About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt

Every week for the past 100 weeks I have shown up with a new episode designed to help you take another confident step forward in your toy journey. This podcast is filled with lessons from my decade long career, and the career of others. But for episode 100 The Toy Coach podcast is going to do two things. First we’re going to celebrate the listeners of this podcast with an audio montage of who they are and lessons learned from listening to the show. After we celebrate the impact made by 99 episodes of this podcast, I’m answering personal and professional questions that came directly from listeners of this show.

Today I’m sitting down to answer a list of personal and professional questions submitted through my website, instagram, and Facebook. These questions cover everything from my experience as a child actress on Sesame Street, to how I handled a shocking cancer diagnosis at a young age, and even how I go about raising capital for my growing business. Ever wanted to know more about The Toy Coach? Well, this episode is for you. After listening you’ll feel more connected and aware of the community that loves this podcast, you’ll know more about the vision behind The Toy Coach, why I do the work I do, and what qualifies me to be your guide.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/100

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the show

About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt

Finding the courage to pitch your toy or game idea can be challenging, so that’s where important industry events like the one covered in today’s episode come in. Today on The Toy Coach podcast you’ll discover yet another in-person pitch event turned virtual for 2021 because of the pandemic. What we’ll learn in this week’s episode is that there is a huge benefit to going virtual for toy industry pitch events.

Could the new norm be turning away from in person pitches to virtual? It seems that toy companies, industry professionals, and inventors are growing accustomed to this new method of pitching toy games and toy ideas even in a speed pitch format. Is it easier to make your voice heard on a virtual platform rather than a conference room? That’s what we’ll explore in today’s episode.

The Women in Toys Empowerment Day helped connect over 80 women inventors and entrepreneurs to decision makers and professionals in the toy industry. In this episode you’ll learn what this event is, who it’s for, and how you can make the most of the incredible opportunities It creates.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/99

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the show

About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt

If you’ve ever had a toy idea or a game idea, it’s likely that you’ve wondered where you should go to get that incredibly groundbreaking idea in front of toy companies. Well, this week on The Toy Coach Podcast, we are going to learn about one of the biggest toy industry events for toy inventors and game inventors that you need to know about.

The event, formerly Chitag, is currently called the People of Play Innovation Conference. The event is entirely virtual for the second year in a row which makes it extremely accessible no matter where you are in the world. In today’s episode, you’ll learn what this event is, who it’s for, who will be there and why you should attend.

Toward the end of today’s episode, I’ll share with you how the event has changed since going virtual and what you can do on your own, to replace one of the benefits of the in-person show. This Innovation Conference starts mid-November, so if you don’t know what POP Week is, I want you to hit play and learn all about it ASAP.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/98

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the show

About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt

It’s toy pitching season and e-mail is one of the best ways to make connections and capture people’s attention. However, business people receive tons of e-mails each day. Some of them receive 16 promotional emails per hour (or more!) How can you cut through the noise? With a great headline! 

In this episode I share my best practices for an amazing e-mail headline that will grab attention. The information I share with you is based on my own research and experience. I’ll tell you all about the “four U’s” to make your headline really pop, and give you real life examples of my most popular and successful e-mail headlines.

Each headline example that I share in this episode has an open rate of 30% or more. Plus, if you’re a member of my podcast insider’s club, you can download a file of my top 10 most successful e-mail headlines. These tips can help you to get people to open your e-mails, and get your ideas in front of the right person!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/97

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the show

About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt

On October 11th, toy social channels exploded with the news that California Law would force toy retailers to fill their shelves with gender neutral toys by 2024. While partially true, the law is much more nuanced than the poppy articles make it seem. 

In this episode of The Toy Coach Podcast, we dive into the new California Law and try our best to decipher what it truly means for toy retailers like Walmart, Target, and Toys R Us. Will this mean the end to the pink/blue divide still seen at many toy stores?

If you’ve been wondering about the details of this California Law and want to sit in on a though piece around what it could mean for the future of toy design at retail, then pop your earbuds in, and tap play my friend. You’re in for a treat.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/96

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the show

About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt

Do you have an idea for a game? Well, you’re in luck because to close out Hispanic Heritage Month, The Toy Coach sits down with Christian Castro, the Design Director of What Do You Meme? to talk about what makes a great game idea…GREAT! Together Azhelle and Christian compare parlor games and commercial games in an effort to identify the key characteristics of classic party, family, and kids’ games. From today’s episode you’ll learn the right and wrong way to use theming in your toy ideas, so that you’re truly innovating and not just masking an existing play pattern with a trendy theme.

If you absolutely love the insights into the toy industry you get from this podcast, but you never thought that YOU could come up with a toy or game idea, then you need to press play right now. We touch on how classic games like Candyland and brands like Spongebob weren’t invented by toy industry pro’s, they were created by everyday people outside of our incredible industry.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/95

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the show

About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt

Learn about outside-of-the-box thinking with the 2nd part of my interview with Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez, the creator of the hit comic La Borinqueña. In today’s episode, Edgardo tell us how he got unique contract opportunities and came up with creative licensing deals, including chocolate bars and a toy deal!

Edgardo also teaches everyone an important lesson about asking for what you want and how he was able to create opportunities that worked for him. This allowed him to create this amazing comic that is so much more than just a superhero story. It’s become a symbol of social change and hope for Puerto Ricans.

Listen to learn more about how Edgardo infused his values into his work and gave many different types of Puerto Ricans much needed representation in his comics. By the end of this episode I hope you will feel inspired to work on a project that has a piece of your identity or story in it, or just something that is close to your heart.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/94

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the show

About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt

If you’re wondering just how much of yourself you should put into your intellectual property, you need to listen to Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez’ amazing story. You might be afraid to truly put yourself, your identity, or your story out there in your intellectual property because you worry it could hurt your chances of success, but the opposite is true, especially when you are focused on what the application will be.

Today’s episode features Edgardo’s story of how he infused his identity as a Nuyorican into the hit comic series La Borinqueña. It all started as a costume idea for the Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC, and now is not only a comic book series, but a symbol of social justice for Puerto Ricans. He self published the series, and due to its success, has raised nearly $250,000 for grassroots organizations in Puerto Rico.

This inspirational story shows that authenticity, when combined with strong values can work! It also shows how much representation matters. This is just part 1 of my interview with Edgardo. Stay tuned for part 2!


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/93

Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!

Support the show

About My NEW Podcast Art:
The podcast art for Season 6 of Making It In The Toy Industry features product illustrations of toys and games I helped guide in Toy Creators Academy and TCA Accelerator. Tap the brand name below to check them out!

Playcor by Courtney Smithee
9 to 5 Warriors by Brandon Braswell
Catoms by Kieche O'Connell
The Lunch Room by EAP Toys and Games founder, Chrissy Fagerholt