What if getting passed over was the best thing that ever happened to your business?

In this episode, Charlene shares her personal story of waiting over a decade to be chosen—only to get pushed aside when she finally asked. But instead of giving up, she chose herself... and everything changed.

From launching 8 sub-brands to building a platform that no one could take away, Charlene breaks down why choosing yourself isn’t just empowering—it’s profitable. You'll also hear how Jamie Kern Lima, founder of IT Cosmetics, turned rejection into a billion-dollar brand—and what that means for you.

If you’re a toy entrepreneur, small business owner, or creative founder who’s tired of waiting for permission—this episode is your sign.

🎧 Listen in to learn:

• Why being overlooked can actually be a turning point
• How choosing yourself creates ROI on your time, energy, and confidence
• One bold action you can take this week to stop waiting and start building

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup

Your biggest leverage point isn't your product, pitch, or pricing strategy—it's your vibe. Not just your mood, but your visible impact and bold energy that creates a signature presence in every business interaction.

When the right person enters a room with the right energy, everything shifts. Clarity sharpens. Momentum builds. Ideas transform from hypothetical to achievable. That's the power of bringing your authentic vibe to business, and it might be the most valuable asset you're overlooking.

Drawing from an experience speaking to young women in an entrepreneurship program, I share why understanding your VIBE—Values, Impact, Brilliance, and Expression, or Visible Impact + Bold Energy—matters more than credentials or comparisons. Your values represent what you fundamentally believe in, your impact reflects the mission driving your work, your brilliance encompasses your unique talents and experiences, and your expression is how you authentically show up in the world.

This framework proves especially powerful when facing self-doubt, career transitions, or feeling overshadowed by competitors with seemingly more resources or followers. The entrepreneurial journey rarely follows a straight path, but your distinctive vibe remains your constant competitive advantage. No one can steal, suppress, or replicate the unique combination that makes you who you are.

Whether you're launching a business, pivoting your career, or simply feeling stuck, reconnecting with your authentic vibe can reignite your confidence and purpose. Share what you think your vibe is by reaching out on Instagram or Facebook @thetoypreneur, and subscribe to continue challenging conventional thinking about what makes businesses—and the people behind them—truly extraordinary.

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup

If your brand can't survive you taking a nap, you don't have a business. You ARE the business.

Plot twist: I used to build functional organizations for a living, and now I'm watching brilliant toy brand founders turn themselves into human bottlenecks. Time for an intervention!

Here's the brutal truth nobody talks about in our industry: If every product decision, social media post, retailer email, and customer service issue still runs through you, you're not scaling. You are just getting really good at being exhausted.

In my latest episode, I'm serving up some tough love about why so many passionate business owners and managers feel perpetually drained despite "doing everything right." Spoiler alert: burnout doesn't always look like a dramatic crash. Sometimes it's that persistent fog where you're simultaneously busy and bored, knowing you are meant for more but unable to access it.

The solution? Stop being the fuel and start building the engine! 🚀

I break down the four critical shifts every growing brand needs:

⚡ Decision-making systems that turn YOUR brand instincts into guidelines others can follow
⚡ Content engines that don't stall when you take time off
⚡ Products that generate revenue without your hourly energy
⚡ Team members who are true partners, not instruction-waiters

As Naval Ravikant said: "My goal wasn't to make a ton of money, it was to build a machine that made money." The brands that truly grow don't scale their effort. They scale their impact.

Ready to get out of your own way and build something that works even when you don't? Listen now and transform from being the glue to becoming the architect!

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup

Your toy brand might be hemorrhaging potential customers without you even realizing it. Within a single second—less time than it takes to blink—70-90% of your website visitors have already decided to leave without reading a word about your products. This silent exodus is happening right now, costing you thousands in wasted advertising dollars and lost sales opportunities.

What drives this snap judgment? Psychology tells us visitors make instantaneous, emotion-based decisions about your website before logic kicks in. They're unconsciously answering three critical questions: "Am I in the right place? Is this for someone like me? Do I want to stay here?" The answers come not from your carefully crafted product descriptions, but from the immediate visual and emotional signals your website sends.

The CLEAR framework provides the solution to this costly problem. By Clarifying your essence through age-appropriate colors and fonts, Leveraging consistent alignment between your product and presentation, creating Emotional connections through lifestyle imagery, Amplifying immediate identification for your target customers, and Refining that crucial first impression, you can dramatically reduce bounce rates. Think of your website as a toy store window display—it must instantly convey who it's for and why they should stay.

When your STEM robotics toy uses teenage-appropriate visuals rather than preschool colors, when your travel toys show families on planes rather than generic product photos, when your wooden educational toys feature earthy tones that match their natural aesthetic—visitors instantly feel "this was made for me." These subtle yet powerful signals can transform your website performance without changing a word of copy.

Ready to stop the silent exodus from your toy brand's website? Subscribe to the Toypreneur Podcast for more insights that help toy brands think outside the toy box, or reach out directly to see how we can help you convert more browsers into buyers. Because building a successful toy brand isn't about playing harder—it's about playing smarter.

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup

Struggling with influencer marketing that doesn't drive sales? You're not alone, and the problem isn't your product or even your choice of influencers – it's your strategy.

Most toy brands approach influencer marketing backward, expecting content creators to close sales when their true superpower lies in opening doors. When we treat influencers as salespeople rather than introducers, we set ourselves up for disappointment and missed opportunities. Those glossy reports showing thousands of impressions mean nothing if you've failed to capture potential customers who weren't ready to buy immediately.

The solution? Stop gambling on immediate conversions and start building a system that works with human psychology. By creating dedicated landing pages that offer two clear paths – an immediate purchase option AND a valuable free resource – you transform influencer traffic from a one-time opportunity into an owned relationship. One toy brand using this approach captured 500 email addresses alongside their direct sales, generating four times more revenue through thoughtful follow-up.

This episode walks you through exactly how to implement this strategy, from creating the right lead magnet to designing landing pages that convert in multiple ways. You'll learn why the traditional approach leaves money on the table and how simple adjustments can dramatically improve your ROI on influencer spending.

Ready to stop renting attention and start building real connections with customers? This mindset shift might be the most valuable change you make to your marketing strategy this year. Subscribe now and join our community of toy marketers who are thinking differently about growth – and getting results that prove it works.

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup

The harsh reality of rising costs in the toy industry doesn't have to mean declining customer loyalty. Through a compelling yoga studio analogy, this episode reveals how price increases, when handled with transparency and value-building strategies, can actually strengthen customer relationships rather than damage them.

The C.U.S.T.O.M.E.R framework offers toy brands eight strategic approaches that transform necessary price hikes into opportunities for deeper connection. From creating personalized notes with orders to utilizing QR codes that deliver extended play value, each strategy focuses on demonstrating genuine care for customers during challenging economic times. Rather than simply blaming external factors like tariffs, successful brands clearly communicate the value behind their pricing decisions.

Particularly valuable is the distinction between transactional versus relationship-based communications. When prices increase, customers don't just want explanations – they want to feel valued. The episode explores how sharing authentic behind-the-scenes content, carefully selecting appropriate influencer partnerships, and offering compelling narratives about product enhancements creates emotional connections that transcend price sensitivity. The strategies of monitoring customer feedback, engaging regularly through valuable content, and reinforcing value through thoughtful product bundling complete this comprehensive approach.

As the current tariff crisis forces difficult pricing decisions across the industry, this episode provides practical guidance for toy brands navigating this challenge. Remember, as the marketing wisdom goes: "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it." Subscribe to the podcast for more strategic insights or visit toymarketingtimes.com for additional business support in these challenging times.

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup

Are you overlooking your most valuable potential hires? The toy industry—like all business sectors—is changing rapidly, yet many companies still rely on outdated hiring practices that prioritize degrees, titles, and linear career paths. This approach might be the very thing holding your brand back from breakthrough innovation and growth.

In this eye-opening exploration of skill stacking, I challenge the conventional wisdom around team building and reveal why the most valuable contributors aren't specialists with perfect resumes—they're the people who bring unexpected combinations of skills and experiences. Drawing from wisdom that dates back to anthropologist Gregory Bateson's observation that "the most important task today is perhaps to learn to think in a new way," this episode demonstrates how diverse skill sets multiply value rather than simply add to it.

Through practical examples and actionable strategies, I show how a marketing person with legal training and economic understanding can transform your business in ways a traditional marketing specialist never could. You'll discover why adaptable "stackers" become essential during economic challenges and why they often spark innovation that propels companies forward. Most importantly, you'll learn concrete steps to revamp your hiring approach: from rewriting job descriptions that attract versatile talent to asking interview questions that reveal a candidate's range rather than just confirming past experiences.

Whether you're currently hiring or planning for future growth, this episode provides a framework for building a toy company that doesn't just follow trends but sets them. The businesses that thrive tomorrow won't be the ones with the most specialized teams—they'll be those who thoughtfully combine diverse perspectives to create unique problem-solving capabilities. Subscribe now and sign up for my free newsletter at toymarketingtimes.com to ensure you're building a team that can innovate, adapt, and lead in an ever-changing marketplace.

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup

Ever wonder why meticulously designed businesses still fail? The answer lies in a fascinating maritime disaster that perfectly mirrors modern business challenges.

The Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, had every safety improvement imaginable after learning from tragedy. Yet it sank faster than the Titanic itself. Why? Because crew members left watertight doors open for convenience, undermining all the sophisticated engineering designed to protect them.

This podcast reveals how the same pattern plays out in businesses every day. Your carefully designed inventory system fails when staff track things manually because the new software feels clunky. Your quality control protocols collapse when production teams skip steps during tight deadlines. Your marketing campaigns flounder when someone bypasses the approval process "just this once."

These aren't catastrophic events but accumulated shortcuts taken for convenience – the very things silently sinking businesses everywhere. While we obsess over creating perfect systems, we often neglect the human behaviors that make or break them. The dangerous reality? Your team usually knows the correct procedures but chooses convenience when systems feel cumbersome.

Through practical strategies like simplifying processes, implementing accountability check-ins, and fostering open communication, you'll learn to bridge the gap between perfect systems and imperfect human implementation. As I often remind my clients: business success isn't about building an unsinkable ship – it's about building a crew that won't let it sink.

Ready to stop the small conveniences creating your biggest vulnerabilities? Subscribe now and join me as we navigate these waters together. Visit toymarketingtimes.com for more insights that keep your business not just afloat, but sailing smoothly ahead of the competition.

To see my original John Liner Letter article, click here. 

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup

What happens when the social media platforms you've built your toy brand on start wobbling all at once? Today I'm tackling the unprecedented volatility facing Meta, TikTok, and X—and why this creates both serious risk and golden opportunity for forward-thinking toy brands.

Think of your marketing strategy as a three-legged stool. When one platform suddenly disappears or drastically changes, will your brand stay standing? I'll share why this moment of simultaneous platform uncertainty is fundamentally different from previous digital shifts, and why your customers aren't disappearing—they're dispersing their attention more cautiously across multiple channels.

Drawing parallels to retail evolution (from Main Street to malls to e-commerce), I reveal the four essential diversification strategies every toy brand needs: platform diversification beyond social media altogether, style diversification that leverages your brand's unique narrative, strategy diversification through smart content repurposing, and ownership diversification by building direct customer relationships independent of any platform.

The toy brands positioned to dominate aren't those with the biggest following on a single platform—they're the ones meeting their customers wherever digital attention shifts next. I share actionable steps you can take immediately, starting with just one new platform test and one powerful brand story. Ready to build a marketing approach that stays resilient no matter which platform thrives or fails? Press play for your blueprint to truly unshakable brand growth.

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup

Imagine walking away from a trade show with not just memories, but a clear roadmap for your next big business moves. In our latest discussion, we dive into the importance of capturing insights in real time as the lively energy of a trade show fades. Learn how implementing a structured approach allows you to leverage the valuable conversations and trends observed during the event. 

By using AI to process and analyze collected notes, you can discover actionable steps that help elevate your brand's strategy in the marketplace. You'll gain practical tips for brain dumping insights daily and structuring them into a post-show strategy that keeps the momentum alive. Whether your goal is to boost sales or enhance product offerings, we aim to equip you with the tools to act fast and maintain that competitive edge. 

Don't let the valuable insights go to waste—tune in and discover how to transform trade show experiences into impactful business growth. 

Here are the prompts mentioned in the episode:

Prompt One:
I’ve uploaded a PDF with raw feedback from my trade show experience—and my team’s, if applicable. Please analyze it and identify trends, patterns, and problems. Highlight what comes up most often, any opportunities I might’ve missed, and anything else that stands out. Summarize it clearly in bullet points.

Prompt Two:
Based on the trends, patterns, and problems you found, what should I do next? Suggest actionable steps to improve my strategy, fix issues, or capitalize on opportunities. Be specific and prioritize what’s most impactful.

Connect on Instagram |
Follow on LinkedIn |
Free Newsletter Signup