This episode is packed with valuable information for developing a successful buyer presentation. We’ll share the 5 Keys to a Successful Buyer Presentation as developed by today’s guest Marie Nastasi. She brings a wealth of experience and advice from her roles as both a buyer and a manufacturers’ representative for companies large and small. 

Marie is on the show today to serve up a mini toy sales masterclass. She explains the importance of extensive and in-depth consumer research, price-to-value relationships, price point play, vendor of record, and exactly what you should include in that PowerPoint deck for buyers. We’ll also take an in-depth look at what these toy industry terms mean. Get ready for a toy conversation that’s filled with valuable, actionable, and toyspirational advice.

Ok, toy people! Are you ready to pitch your product to retail buyers? Listen in now!

Learn more about Creating a Successful Buyer Presentation by clicking here.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/62

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

In celebration of Black History Month, The Toy Coach presents a mini-series: Getting To Know Black Women In Toys and Entertainment. In this mini-series, The Toy Coach asks four interviewees the same 10 questions, in an effort to celebrate their career achievements in toys and entertainment, connect on a personal level, reminisce about toys from their childhood, and share their valuable life lessons. The women highlighted in this series include a SAG award winner, a Golden Globe nominee, a well-known industry veteran, and a history making inventor. Throughout this mini-series you’ll notice similar themes of persistence, resilience, and patience as these incredible black women share their achievements and what it took to get there. 

For today’s bonus episode, our guest is Taura Stinson, a vocalist, producer, composter, and award-winning songwriter and author. Taura joins The Toy Coach on the podcast today to answer 10 questions and we dive into an honest conversation about what it means to hide in your own skin to succeed, and why representation matters. 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/61

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

In celebration of Black History Month, The Toy Coach presents a mini-series: Getting To Know Black Women In Toys and Entertainment. In this mini-series, The Toy Coach asks four interviewees the same 10 questions, in an effort to celebrate their career achievements in toys and entertainment, connect on a personal level, reminisce about toys from their childhood, and share their valuable life lessons. The women highlighted in this series include a SAG award winner, a Golden Globe nominee, a well-known industry veteran, and a history-making inventor. Throughout this mini-series, you’ll notice similar themes of persistence, resilience, and patience as these incredible black women share their achievements and what it took to get there. 

For today’s bonus episode, our guest is Donna Moore, the Vice President of Advertising at aNb Media and TTPM.com where she handles accounts across the company’s multiple divisions: toys, baby, pets, and more! Donna joins The Toy Coach on the podcast today to answer 10 questions about her life and career, and finally shares important advice for anyone starting or growing their toy career.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/60

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

In celebration of Black History Month, The Toy Coach presents a mini-series: Getting To Know Black Women In Toys and Entertainment. In this mini-series, The Toy Coach asks four interviewees the same 10 questions, in an effort to celebrate their career achievements in toys and entertainment, connect on a personal level, reminisce about toys from their childhood, and share their valuable life lessons. The women highlighted in this series include a SAG award winner, a Golden Globe nominee, a well-known industry veteran, and a history-making inventor. Throughout this mini-series, you’ll notice similar themes of persistence, resilience, and patience as these incredible black women share their achievements and what it took to get there. 

For today’s bonus episode, our guest is Chantel Calloway, the creator of Rhyme Antics, the hilarious rhyming vocabulary game inspired by hip hop! Chantel joins The Toy Coach on the podcast today to answer 10 questions and shares valuable advice on what it takes to get your product on shelves at mass retailers like Target and Walmart.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/59

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

In celebration of Black History Month, The Toy Coach presents a mini-series: Getting To Know Black Women In Toys and Entertainment. In this mini-series, The Toy Coach asks four interviewees the same 10 questions, in an effort to celebrate their career achievements in toys and entertainment, connect on a personal level, reminisce about toys from their childhood, and share their valuable life lessons. The women highlighted in this series include a SAG award winner, a Golden Globe nominee, a well-known industry veteran, and a history-making inventor. Throughout this mini-series, you’ll notice similar themes of persistence, resilience, and patience as these incredible black women share their achievements and what it took to get there. 

For today’s bonus episode, our guest is Tanya Wright. If you’re a fan of Orange is the New Black, you may remember Tanya for her portrayal of Crystal Burset or as Deputy Kenya Jones on HBO’s True Blood, a role she held for 7 seasons! Tanya joins The Toy Coach on the podcast today to answer 10 questions and shares inspirational insight into how she keeps active and positive in an industry known for rejection.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/58

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

Content is King. How many times have you heard that statement? And how many times did you take that statement seriously? Today’s podcast episode is focused on teaching you strategies and tactics to build your brand identity as a toy creator. In today’s world, a big part of building that identity is going to be the content you create. So that’s why I reached out to Albert Lawrence, an experienced show host who has interviewed Oprah, Dolly Parton, and Kermit The Frog throughout his media career.

Albert shares how he first started building his media personality within the white space that he identified within his own industry. You’ll learn there's a cross between opportunity, passion, and identity that generates the magnetism and vibe that leads to organic engagement and virality. In this conversation, we even chat about Amazon Live which is essentially a home shopping channel filled with social media influencers. If you’re looking for inspiration and motivation to build your toy brand, this episode is a must-listen.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/57

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

Have you ever thought about inventing or designing a game? There are two markets you can create games for. The mass market and the hobby market. And on today’s podcast episode, we have Eric Slauson, an accomplished game designer who specializes in designing social and party games. Eric shares with us the process he uses to develop his game concepts, and this process is proven and works!

As the creator of two popular games, Tattoo Stories, and MonsDRAWsity, Eric jumps into a valuable conversation around the different tiers of trade shows for new game inventors and what value you can take from each. What’s especially interesting about this conversation is the conversion of mass from The Toy Coach and hobby from Eric. Get ready to learn from both sides, and pick up insights along the way.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/56

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

Get your notebook and pen toy people, because we’re about to get down to business. In today’s podcast episode, we talk about the grind of obtaining funding for your toy business. My guest is Terri Nichelle Bradley, the founder, and CEO of Brown Toy Box. Terri’s toy company, Brown Toy Box, makes STEAM culturally representative, accessible, and fun. In 200, Terri was named one of Inc’s 100 Top Female Founders, her company received $10,000 as a part of Targets Accelerator program and was also a recipient of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund. Terri drops in to share her toy business journey. From failures to successes and everything in between, Terri shares tips and advice based on her personal experience.

This episode also touches on very sensitive topics to black women in business. Terri and I chat about the monetary limits black women tend to place on themselves. We talk about the importance of asking for what you need and not what you can “make work”. If you’re ready to learn some actionable next steps to take in raising funding for your toy business, give this episode a listen.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/55

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

Ready for a myth-buster? How about 5? 
 
 For today’s episode I’m going to dispel 5 myths you may have about the toy industry and share personal stories, and lessons that you can learn from each of these myths. When I first started my toy career I had a pretty clear idea about what it would be like to work in toys. I thought I knew what I’d be doing every day, who I’d be working with, and what would be driving my design decisions. Over the past decade, as I learned what really goes on behind the toy curtain, I’ve also come to be aware of myths other aspiring toy creators have about this industry.

 The goal of today’s episode is to help you clarify your thinking. If you’ve been hearing a lot of “no” as you’ve been pitching your toy or game idea, this episode could help shed some light on why. We’ll touch on the correct use of intellectual property, who leads the toy development process, why toys are designed to price first, when patents are necessary, and the different paths you might take if you’re just breaking into this field.
 
 Let’s dive into the episode.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/54

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

As a toy inventor or entrepreneur, you know that there are about a hundred decisions you make on any given day. A decision to partner with a specific person or organization, a decision in how you interact with your customers, the factory you choose, the suggested retail price point you set. And at times it can seem overwhelming and challenging to continue to make the right decisions day in and day out.

In this episode, we’ll talk about developing the key to guiding the decision making in your toy business, and that key is your vision statement. We'll go through a few examples of vision statements from both toy companies and non-toy companies and then highlight the 4 big questions you should ask yourself to start defining a vision statement of your very own.

Get ready to take action, and define the future vision of your toy business.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

For the links and resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the episode page at www.thetoycoach.com/53

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