The Merchant Mastery Podcast

Hin Lai is the CEO and founder of Sidekick, which develops the highest quality muscle recovery tools trusted by professional athletes worldwide. Hin emphasizes the importance of providing value to customers through excellent products. This core philosophy requires a quick method to validate product fit and connecting with their customers through influencers and ads. 

On Season 2, Episode 3 of the Merchant Mastery Podcast we're chatting with Janey Ganson from My Daughter Fragrances, an indie perfume house with ties to the perfume capital of the world: Grasse, France!

In this episode we discuss:

•  How Janey has scaled her online store while maintaining her day job.
• How she managed to land in retailers across North America, Australia, and in Hong Kong.
• Where they'll be selling next. *Ahem* China *Ahem* 
• Why sometimes you'll make your daughter scrambled eggs and chocolate pudding for supper and that's okay.

Sina Zere, Co-Founder of Buff Experts, shares SO much incredible information in this episode, we had a hard time wrapping it up at one hour.

You don't have to operate in the beauty industry to get some key takeaways from this episode, including:

- How to find a manufacturer.

- Why standing behind your brand is the single most important thing you can do.

- What to do when a big retailer like Nordstrom comes knocking.

- Why "naive optimism", as Sina likes to call it, has helped her navigate the sometimes treacherous waters of entrepreneurship.

Trust us, this is one episode you'll want to bookmark.

Michael James started selling his line of men’s grooming products named after his grandfather, the original Frederick Benjamin, out of the trunk of his car into barber shops. He started to get a nice following, and from there began moving to other locations. Gradually, Michael noticed upticks in his eCommerce store as he was out there beating the streets, trying to hustle this product. Tune in as we chat with Michael in Harlem, New York.

Jose Diaz didn’t start selling cowboy boots because he thought he could turn a quick buck. He did so because he was a fan and believed there were other cowboy boot fans out there. While Jose dropships some of the boots on his site, he also has a line that he manufacturers. Tune in for a very real look into the hustle of this business owner, and find out how he became a sensation on Tik Tok! 

Please note: You may want to listen to this episode when the kids aren’t around due to some colourful language. We get VERY excited talking about cowboy boots! 

The team behind Mine & Yours, a consignment store based in Vancouver that specializes in luxury items, spends a lot of time on Instagram showing off their latest arrivals and one-of-a-kind items. They also spend a lot of time updating their website because, as is often the case, they only have one of each item, and once it’s gone, it’s gone! If you’ve been thinking about starting a consignment store, this episode is full to the brim with helpful tips and advice!

Cassandra is the founder of women’s lounge and sleepwear brand, hernest project. Her #1 tip for entrepreneurs? Do everything with intention. While she admits that her brand is not perfect and not everything works or looks the way she wants it to, every part of her business is very intentional and very centered around how she wants her customers to feel.