Episode #146: How To Stand Out As A New Toy and Game Inventor or Entrepreneur
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Today’s episode is for those of you who are 1, just getting started in the toy industry, maybe you’re in your first few years or 2, haven’t started yet but keep looking over the fence and waiting for the perfect moment to jump in. In today’s episode, The Toy Coach discusses how you can stand out as a new creator in the toy and game industry.
If the toy industry feels like a big, noisy place and you have no clue how to stand out as a new-ish creator…keep reading. In this episode we cover 4 ways you can start to gain visibility for your toy or game product or if you’re a toy inventor and you’re not looking to promote a specific product, you can apply these concepts to promote yourself! For each tip on how to stand out, we’ll cover why it works and hear examples of toy creators who have put that tip into action.
To continue the lessons learned in this episode, check out Toy Creators Academy at toycreatorsacademy.com which is open for enrollment right now.
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This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
Catoms: Atoms with Attitude, designed by Toy Creators Academy Alumni, Kieche Meleson O’Connell - view award here.
Chrissy Fagerholt, TCA Alumni & Founder of EAP Toys & Games, Creator of The Lunch Room Game now available in CAMP stores and Barnes & Noble.
Trudy Susan, TCA Alumni & Founder and Creator of Ruby Rae Society and the Brains & Beauty Matching Card Game.
Brenda Ekstrom TCA Alumni & Owner of the award winning games publisher, Blue Ninja Studios.
Misty Castañeda TCA Alumni & Founder of the TOTY Nominated Doll Line, Global Kidizens.
Marjorie Spitalnik, TCA Self Study Alumni & Founder of Little Rebels dolls soon to be available in Macys.
Nicole Hawthorne TCA Alumni & Founder of Jayla’s Heirlooms.
Terri Nichelle Bradly TCA Alumni & Founder of Brown Toy Box now available in Target.
Register for my new masterclass “Spooky Mistakes New Toy and Game Creators Make” by clicking here.
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[00:00:00] Azhelle Wade: You are listening to making it in the toy industry episode number 146.
[00:00:05] Hey, there toy people, Azhelle Wade here. And welcome back to another episode of The Toy Coach Podcast, Making it In The Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach.com. First, I want to say hello and welcome to you. If you're a new listener to this podcast, making it in the toy industry has been around for two years, helping listeners like you make it and then toy industry.
[00:00:44] Today, I want to give special attention to those of you who are either just getting started in the toy industry. Maybe it's been a few or those of you who haven't started at Maybe you're on the outside, looking in, waiting for the perfect moment to dive Well in today's episode, we're going to talk about how you can stand out as a new toy creator. When you do decide to dive in and get started in this industry.
[00:01:13] If the toy industry feels like a big, noisy place, and you're not sure how you'll make an impact. This episode is for By the end of today's episode, you will learn four ways that you can stand out and be seen even as a new toy creator. I'll be presenting these topics and tips to you in the order that you might do them when you're first starting out.
[00:01:39] And for each standout tip, we'll get into why it works. And some examples of toy creators who have actually put these things into action. Are you ready? Let's get started. First tip of the day to stand out when you are a new toy creator or new ish toy creator. Is to use your non toy expert knowledge.
[00:02:03] If you've been listening to this podcast for some time, or you've been to one of my masterclasses before then, you know that one of the terms I talk a lot about is zone of toy genius. Oh. By the way right now, I have a new free masterclass that still has a few time slots available and it's called the spookiest mistakes, new toy and game creators make you can register for the next available time slot of that master class by heading over to learn dot the toy coach.com/spooky.
[00:02:39] So hurry up. I'm only holding this masterclass three more times. Okay. Let's dive back in again.
[00:02:45] Again, as I've said, if you've been listening to this podcast for some time, or you've heard one of my many master classes, then you, my friend know that I talk about zone of toy genius a lot. I've refined the concept over this past year to boil down to this, your zone of genius is where your passion meets your know-how.
[00:03:07] And your know how is typically associated with your non toy expert knowledge, that knowledge that you gather from either a hobby that you have and are passionate about like building model cars or the specific expert knowledge you gain when you have a full-time career outside of the toy industry.
[00:03:27] So let's say you're a software developer and you have specific knowledge around coding. Well, your non toy expert knowledge is key for you to stand out as a new toy and gain creator. And I really hope you don't forget that. Now here's why this works when new toy and game creators start from the outside of the toy industry
[00:03:50] And they come in trying to make it in the toy industry. They sometimes feel like a fish out of water, every word or toy term fuel. So new. The product development process seems so daunting. They feel like they don't know enough to be in the rooms that they're in or talking to the major players in the industry.
[00:04:10] But what I see, many of them forget is this, that they have something to offer that most likely no other longterm toy career people have. And that is their non toy expert knowledge that they've gathered from either a serious hobby or their own non toy career.
[00:04:28] Using your non toy expert knowledge can often be translated into the industry to such depth and with such authenticity that someone who's just been focused on toys, their whole career can't do without your help. That's why companies worldwide, not just toy companies, hire experts, time to time to come in and consult on certain projects when elements of it fall outside of the realm of their normal business operations. So a toy company might have employees that are experts in doll, design, plastics, and even manufacturing pricing, probably toy marketing.
[00:05:06] But do they have a chemist on staff? Probably not. So I want to talk to you about a student of mine named Kesha. Kesha who is actually a chemist. I joined toy grader's academy with an incredible idea for a children's IP. When we first started working together, I could sense how nervous she was about her idea and how unsure she was. If she had something special.
[00:05:33] In may of 2022, Kesha won the licensed, this competition for that same IP that we worked on, refining and pitching through her time and TCA. Are you curious what that IP is? Well, I want to tell you in her own words. So here's a description from her LinkedIn profile. What happens when chemistry meets cats?
[00:05:57] Explore the world of catacombs. Join them on their adventures. As they explore the universe, learn to use their super powers and solve problems with teamwork and real science Katims are characters that help kids learn chemistry through stories. It's edutainment in the form of books and cartoons. Now, if that idea sounds pretty cool to you. I've got to tell you the artwork of the characters is even better, but beyond the artwork, the thoughtful storylines and personalities that Kesha the chemist developed for her characters is what really brought them to life. And I believe what wholeheartedly attributed to her winning her license.
[00:06:42] You award. It was her non toy expert knowledge as a chemist
[00:06:47] And her love for cats that made this a really remarkable concept when combined.
[00:06:53] Okay. Let's move on to the second way that you can stand out as a new toy or game creator and that's borrowing contacts or relationships. When you're just starting out in toys, you start realizing how valuable contacts are and not just contacts in the form of having an email, but contacts in the form of having an actual relationship.
[00:07:16] But how can you develop a relationship that really stands out to the important decision makers in the industry? Well, you can start out by borrowing them. So here's an example. There are organizations in the toy industry. One, I talk about a lot is women in toys and there are communities like the one that I've built inside of toy creator's academy.
[00:07:37] Both of these things. All of the other ones in the industry are all incredible launch pads for new creators. Because it gives you the opportunity within these communities to build your own internal group of like-minded creators, who will support you by doing things like liking your Instagram product posts or your LinkedIn article posts, but also.
[00:08:01] By joining a community like wit or TCA. You are getting the chance to borrow a little bit of credibility to give yourself a leg up in the industry saying that you're a wit member or a grad of toy creator's academy, carry some credibility because of the work the organization has done to build up that
[00:08:24] So here's why it works. Communities are designed to uplift their members. Right. So by joining a community in the toy industry, that is exactly what you can expect to happen. If you do the work and you engage in that community, you will be rewarded by connections and visibility. The amazing scenario that can happen for you as a new toy creator, who is part of a community in the toy industry? Is this.
[00:08:52] You could be attending a women in toys, networking event, and find yourself eating and drinking with the head of a major media company in the toy industry. True story. It happened to Or you could be nervously fumbling through a pitch meeting only to discover that the person you're pitching to is also a member of that same organization that you're actively engaged in. Maybe it's wit and boom, right there, your nerves go away
[00:09:21] Because you found common ground and something to talk about beyond the dreaded small Or imagine this, you might find yourself alone at an in-person toy industry event focused on honing your craft, but feeling a little bit out of place when suddenly you recognize a face from across the room, a face, which up until then, you'd only seen on group coaching calls inside of toy creator's academy.
[00:09:49] And then boom, you instantly feel more at home. You suddenly don't feel so alone or so out of place anymore.
[00:09:57] And that confidence will show in your body language. I saw it happen. At the last wit empowerment day in September, as I met many TCA students and alumni, and I watched as they met each other for the first time in person. Now, aside from joining communities, there is another way you can borrow contacts. And that is by building partnerships with other companies or going into contract and hiring other companies.
[00:10:28] And one type of company you might want to work with is a toy distributor toy distributors take toys created by manufacturers and their job is to get them placed in toy stores. Sometimes online, sometimes retail. Now typically distributors handle everything from relationship building through sales, to fulfillment through shipping.
[00:10:48] Now, although you'll need to pay a fee and likely a percentage, a distributor can open doors that you just had little to no chance. Of getting through alone. Depending on your contract with the distributor, you may be able to retain those new relationships after your contract with that distributor ends.
[00:11:09] Now here's why it works. Two of my star students, Krissy and Trudy, both worked with a distributor to get their products out into the market. Because of working with a distributor, Trudy was able to take a lot of logistics work off of her plate and focus more on the aspect. She loved the most about her brand.
[00:11:30] Ruby Ray society and that aspect. Was designed. Being able to focus on design, expanded the bandwidth and speed at which she could make new products while caring for her family and being a boss that her full-time job. Trudy is now able to focus on standing out through the design of our product instead of getting bogged down by logistics and slowing or reducing her impact on the toy industry.
[00:11:59] Now my other student, Chrissy got her game, the lunch room into a major retailer, Barnes and noble. When she started working with a distributor. Now as you know, if you listen to last week's episode, getting that first retail placement is the hardest step.
[00:12:15] But Chrissy didn't stop there. With that initial placement, Chrissy was able to also get her product into camp stores. And today is a stand out toy creator who is also nominated for a taggy award. As a rising star due to her incredible success on her first few games in just a year. Now, if you want to see Chrissy or Trudy's games, head over to the toy coach.com forward slash 1 4 6, where I'll add a link and a few photos. So you can check those out.
[00:12:53] Now let's keep it moving. We've got tip number three, coming up next. Apply for toy awards. The third way that you can stand out as a new toy creator is to apply for some toy and game awards in this industry. Of course you have to wait until after you've either manufactured a product or licensed an idea or done something notable in the industry.
[00:13:18] But if you need help getting those things done, you can always join me inside of toy creators academy. Just visit toy creators academy.com to learn more. Now toy and game awards in the toy industry are incredible for two things, one credibility and exposure, and two. Uh, internal motivation. Am I right?
[00:13:39] It is hard and expensive developing your own product or being an entrepreneur. And when you're doing that work, we all could use a little recognition now and again, to keep us motivated. So toy awards are some of the most powerful ways to make that happen and to expedite credibility for your toy brand.
[00:14:00] Now you can't always guarantee a win though. Some toy awards are paid to play, but even a nomination for some of the most prestigious awards can garner attention for your toy brand. You know what I should say will garner attention for your toy brand because they will. Now let's talk about why this works.
[00:14:23] To dive into why this works. I want to share a story of one of my OJI students of toy creator's academy who joined when the program first opened, Brenda. Brenda has received 23 awards and media mentions
[00:14:39] For the games. Released by her publishing company, blue ninja studios.
[00:14:45] And she's gotten 23 awards since 2019.
[00:14:50] I've just got to stop here and cheer on Brenda. Cause that is incredible.
[00:14:55] Brenda's awards include everything from making the Forbes list of 30 amazing board games, not to miss in 2019, all the way to winning game of the year in the preschool games category by creative child magazine. When Brenda started taking home award after award,
[00:15:12] She did what most people forget to do. She talked about it all on social media and she really celebrated her wins. Brenda's site now has a media buzz section where you can see the details and link to every single award gift guide or media mention of her product. This is how you stand out in a noisy industry. You come with receipts.
[00:15:37] Not only did Brenda pop up on my feet as a winner when she shared her awards time and time again. And I'm sure she popped up on the feed of some other toy industry executives as well. But now every time she reaches out for a product feature or review, she has a list of reasons why the publication should listen.
[00:16:00] Now the experience of being nominated for a toy award feels like you're on a roller coaster. For sure. I can tell you from experience. Just take that nomination itself as a win ended there. Do not sit by your inbox, waiting to see if you're going to be crowned best of the best just by being nominated. You were already among the best. And just having that nomination is enough to put on your highlight reel or your media buzz page. The example of this I'd like to share is from one of my students, Misty, whose product line for purpose kids and the global
[00:16:38] Well collection was nominated for the doll of the year toady award, which many people call the Oscars of the toy industry. Now that nomination alone was a major achievement. Why is that? Because the organization that puts on the Toadies, the toys association promotes this award
[00:16:58] Along with all of the nominees of
[00:17:02] They share the announcement of nominees with our email list, which I can only assume holds tens of thousands of toy contacts. And they push the story out to various media outlets. Now, even as a nominee, you are getting seen in the industry. Remember that you're doing exactly what we set out to do at the top of this episode, by being nominated, you're standing out.
[00:17:27] The fourth and final way we'll cover today on how to be seen as a new toy or game creator in the toy industry is to share your toy story. Now the first few years of your toy journey are the toughest. And because of that, there are likely the most interesting to write about and to read So, if you're looking for a way to increase your visibility, consider sharing your toy story.
[00:17:54] There are a few people I know who have done this so well, two of them are not TCA alumni, but they are such fantastic examples. I would be just remiss to not include them.
[00:18:07] So Marjorie spittle, Nick, the CEO and founder of little rebels plush Is kind of LinkedIn famous. MJ as our friends color is a TEDx speaker and she has just over 6,000 followers on LinkedIn. Marjorie's goal was never to gain followers in the platform, but it happened because she shared her story and people were interested in hearing the details of her toy journey. And I got to say, Marjorie is really good at telling it.
[00:18:39] It's really clear why this approach works. If MJ posts a story of the process she had coming up with her idea or fighting for her brand little rebels and just one person in the toy industry takes interest in it enough to like it or to interact with that post. Well, their entire network will be notified. Boom. That is instant visibility for Marjorie.
[00:19:05] Now I've found that most times when I talk with a friend in the industry about her brand, they'll say, oh yes, little rebels. I know that brand. And that previous knowledge of Marjorie's brand that previous visibility makes the contact much more susceptible to hearing whatever sales pitch I might be offering them about the brand in our conversation.
[00:19:26] Now, the next person I've got to mention here is Connor Lewis, the creator of the Fort project that raised over $3 million of. On Kickstarter now, while Connor definitely got himself in over his head, when he couldn't fulfill all of his orders on time or at cost, he did have a pretty boss marketing plan. Once he gathered enough emails of those people interested in his product, he started sharing his toy story. He did this inside of a Facebook group where he kept his interested customers aware of almost every step in the product development process.
[00:20:05] In my opinion, that was a brilliant idea to track his toy story and keep customers engaged and patient as he developed the goods. And we all know there's a little bit of a history to Ford things didn't work out so well, but
[00:20:20] We've got to learn from the good lessons and the bad lessons in every toy story.
[00:20:25] now, the last person I want to mention here that did a great job. Of using their toy story to gain their visibility and stand out in the toy industry is a student of mine, Nicole Hawthorne, and Terry, Michelle Bradley. Both of these women use their toys, stories to gain media coverage. If you look up J LIS heirlooms,
[00:20:47] You will see story after story about how the creator Nicole Hawthorne was inspired. To create this doll line because she just couldn't find any heirloom dolls for her daughter that looked like her. And fellow student Terry Michelle Bradley leveraged so leveraged local media to gain coverage and build visibility for her brand brown toy box, which offers positive, fun, and affirming
[00:21:18] If you want to hear Nicole story, I want to invite you to listen to episode one 15 of this podcast, the toy coach.com forward slash one 15. And if you want to hear how Terry Nichelle Bradley. I raised visibility for her brand and gain funding for her toy. Business, listen to episode 55. She's brilliant. Also, uh, the toy coach.com forward slash 55.
[00:21:45] Now, before I jump into the summary of today's episode. I'd like to take a quick break and give a shout out to Chrissy. Fagre halt. We've got to say, congratulations on your nomination. You are making your toy Academy family proud if you haven't already voted in the taggies. I want to encourage you to give Chrissy a vote. She is up for rising star of the year.
[00:22:09] Okay. Here's our conclusion of what we learned today. We talked about four ways to stand out as a new toy and game creator when you're still making it in the toy industry. First use your non toy expert knowledge. What are you an expert in that most toy people aren't infuse that into what you create and you can be a standout toy creator to apply for toy awards, why to increase your products, visibility and your credibility, because even a nomination.
[00:22:38] Deserves a spot on your media buzz section of your website. Oh three. Share your toy story anywhere you can. Go on podcasts, be interviewed by websites, publications. This will serve as a unique way of marketing and can lead to new customers through your visibility. And finally, number four, borrow relationships or contacts by joining organizations like women in toys or communities like the one I built inside of toy creator's academy. You can also do this by working with other toy companies like a distributor.
[00:23:15] So let's talk about your action item to do next week. If you enjoy the way that I teach, I would love for you to join my masterclass. So you can learn with me, live in a meeting styles, zoom call. So we'll see each other. Hopefully you'll come dressed up in costume. And if you want to register for that master class, head over to learn.
[00:23:36] The toy coach.com. Forward slash spooky to get all signed up. As always, thank you so much for spending this time with me today. I know your time is valuable and that there are a ton of podcasts out there. So it truly means the world to me that you tune into this one. Until next week. I'll see you later. Toy people.
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