#253: 4 Key Lessons to Launch and Scale Your Toy Business While Juggling a 9-to-5
Building your dream toy business while working a 9-to-5 might be overwhelming, but with the right mindset and a dash of creativity, you can take small, actionable steps to turn your big ideas into reality! It’s all about getting scrappy, seeking unfiltered feedback, and spotting opportunities to stand out from the crowd.
In this episode of Making It in the Toy Industry, host Azhelle Wade shares the four key lessons inspired by her previous interview with Ron Weizman, the co-founder of South Beach Bubbles, that will help you launch and scale your toy business—even if you’re working full-time.
You’ll hear why it’s okay to get scrappy with your first orders, why honest and harsh feedback is the secret weapon for creating products that will strike an impact on your target market, and how to identify “white space” in even the most crowded markets. You’ll also hear why launching your product before it’s perfect is definitely okay and is necessary for your toy or product to thrive.
This episode walks you through practical tips like using local shows to test your product, leveraging unfiltered feedback to improve your designs, and finding opportunities to innovate in competitive categories.
If you’re dreaming of creating your first toy or looking for strategies to grow, this episode gives you the tools to take your toy business to the next level, one small, strategic step at a time!
Listen For These Important Moments
[00:00] - Exciting New Podcast Format Unveiled
[00:47] - Recap of Ron Weizman's Interview
[02:54] - Key Lesson #1: How To Get Your First Big Order
[05:48] - Key Lesson #2: The Importance of Honest Feedback
[13:32] - Key Lesson #3: Finding White Space in the Market
[19:00] - Key Lesson #4: Just Launch Already
[23:37] - Wrapping Up with Actionable Next Steps
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This episode is brought to you by www.thetoycoach.com
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Grab the Toy Trade Show Handbook and get all the insider tips you need to stand out, network like a pro, and secure those big deals. https://www.thetoycoach.com/the-toy-trade-show-handbook-for-toy-people
Missed the last episode? Catch up now by heading over to thetoycoach.com/252
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[00:00:00] Azhelle Wade: You are listening to Making It In The Toy Industry, episode number 253. Hey there, toy people! Azhelle Wade here and welcome back to another episode of Making It in The Toy Industry. This is a weekly podcast brought to you by thetoycoach.com. This week marks the beginning of a new trend on this podcast, and that trend is to expand on our interview episodes with a key lessons recap episode, which is what we're going to dive in today. Last week, we had an incredible interview with Ron Weizman, co founder of South Beach Bubbles, where Ron shared how he and his partner Shooki turned their passion for outdoor play into a thriving toy company and how they earned a Toy Of The Year nomination along the way.
[00:01:02] Azhelle Wade: This week, I'm breaking it all down for you. We're going to recap the key lessons from that conversation and highlight how you can apply those same strategies To your own growing toy or game business.
[00:01:15] Azhelle Wade: Whether you were just getting started with your toy idea or you're scaling your business, my goal is for you to walk away with some clear tips that you can take and apply from that interview to your business.
[00:01:28] Azhelle Wade: Now, you can listen to this week's episode before you heard last week's episode. You could listen to last week's episode first. It doesn't matter. We're going to recap it all. South Beach Bubbles was co founded by Ron Weizman and Shooki Graciani, and from humble beginnings of Giant Bubbles to earning a Toy Of The Year Nomination, South Beach Bubbles has proven that even evergreen categories like bubbles can be reimagined with creativity and innovation.
[00:01:54] Azhelle Wade: Today, we're going to dive into four key lessons. One, how to get your first big order even while working a nine to five. Two, why harsh and honest feedback is the secret to creating a standout product. And three, breaking down white space in the market, finding gaps and using them to innovate for why launching your toy before it's perfect is actually essential for success. Now, all of these key lessons again came from my interview with Ron Weizman. In that interview, I'm talking to a founder of a toy bubble company, a category of outdoor toys and outdoor play that might seem like a saturated category, but South Beach Bubbles proved there's always room for innovation.
[00:02:40] Azhelle Wade: Their journey shows how identifying white space, embracing feedback, launching with confidence can set your business apart. Now, whether you're working on your first toy or you're scaling that existing business, I'm sure these lessons are going to help you. Take it all to the next level.
[00:02:54] Azhelle Wade: So without further ado, let's dive into key lesson number one, 'How To Get Your First Big Order'. Well, it starts with the lunch break, phone calls, local shows, and homemade packaging. If you're wondering how to get your toy business off the ground, what we've learned from this interview last week is don't be afraid to get scrappy. Ron started selling their bubbles on Amazon first, but with one founder working full time in corporate, they dreamed of being able to do the bubble biz full time and made every effort to expand into retail in every free moment, including lunch breaks.
[00:03:29] Azhelle Wade: Ron and Shooki would call local Learning Express stores. Learning Express is a local specialty toy store, if you don't know, and they would tell them about their amazing new bubble product. If they got any interest, they would run the product over to the store to demonstrate it for the store owner.
[00:03:45] Azhelle Wade: They would also go to local shows, non toy specific local shows like seafood festivals, jazz festivals, where they'd have homemade packages with their bubbles and pitch tents to sell their product underneath direct to customers. They'd have huge lines of people coming up to buy as many bubbles as they could fit into their luggage. So, how can you leverage this lesson from Ron and Shooki? Well, number one, if you want to get started with your product on Amazon, you've definitely got to head over to toycourses.com We have a brand new Amazon course all about getting your product started on Amazon.
[00:04:24] Azhelle Wade: If you can't find it on toycourse.com, just head over to thetoycoach.com/253, where I will put the link to that course in this episode. You've got to check that out. Then you want to head over to local trade shows. Well, for students of Toy Creators Academy, I always recommend using this website called tentimes.com. It is a website that has a ton of trade shows, but what's great about this website is you can filter it by your location so that you can identify opportunities for small non toy specific trade shows or events for you and your product. So you want to use that to leverage your local community.
[00:05:05] Azhelle Wade: You want to be known in your community, get your product known in your community and these non toy specific trade shows or craft fairs and events are a great place to do that. When you're ready to go forward into toy industry trade shows like Ron did , you can check out my toy trade show handbook.
[00:05:22] Azhelle Wade: It is a great resource to help you identify the best trade shows for your business. It's got comparisons of the top 13 toy trade shows, including costs, nicknames, and who they're best for inventors, entrepreneur, key events at those shows. We will put the link to that in the description of this episode as well, head over to thetoycoach.com/253 to grab that.
[00:05:45] Azhelle Wade: Let's move on to key lesson number two. One of the most impactful lessons from Ron's journey creating South Beach Bubbles was the importance of feedback. So Ron shared how honest, unfiltered feedback from friends, retailers, and industry peers actually shaped South Beach Bubbles products and packaging.
[00:06:07] Azhelle Wade: Now, getting feedback is important, but getting honest feedback is game changing. One of the things I teach most new toy creators is you cannot continue showing your product to friends and family and taking all of their feedback at face value.
[00:06:23] Azhelle Wade: Those people love you. So of course they're going to love whatever product you create and you show them. You've got to show it to people that don't love you. You've got to show it to people who are out there in the toy biz every day. Get that honest feedback from retailers and toy industry experts whenever you can.
[00:06:41] Azhelle Wade: Now, in our interview last week, Ron emphasized that the toy industry surprised him with its culture of unfiltered feedback. And he's right. Harsh feedback can be the key to creating a product that truly stands out, but it can be hard to hear. I've had it happen to myself, pitching products for clients to retailers in this industry who are really lovely people, but they will be honest if your product is not going to work.
[00:07:06] Azhelle Wade: So why is harsh feedback so valuable? Well, it forces you to confront what isn't working and while it might hurt to hear someone say this design feels outdated or your product is too complicated or it's too expensive or these colors do not sell. That feedback gives you the opportunity to fix those problems before you either invest in more inventory, before your product hits shelves and doesn't sell and destroys relationships in that way, or just before you waste too much of your time and energy developing a product that clearly won't sell. So how do you seek this harsh feedback? You've got to definitely choose the right people. So again, don't ask for feedback from people who will sugar coat their opinions. Like your friends and your family.
[00:07:55] Azhelle Wade: You do want to reach out to experienced retailers in the toy industry. You want to reach out to inventors in the toy industry who are not your friends, or even experts in the industry. You might want to book a consultation call with me, or there might be somebody offering some free guidance at many of the toy industry trade shows like the People of Play Innovation Conference.
[00:08:17] Azhelle Wade: Next, you want to ask direct questions. Do you like this? It's a vague, vague question. Instead, you want to ask something very specific, like, what would stop you from buying this? Or does the pricing feel off about this product?
[00:08:33] Azhelle Wade: Or, a great question for retailers after showing them your product, what price point do you think this would sell at your store? Asking specific questions allows the retailer, the inventor, or the expert that you're working with to filter all of the knowledge that they've gained over likely decades of experience down to exactly what you need to know about your product.
[00:08:57] Azhelle Wade: So these specific questions are just helping them filter everything they know and tailor it specifically to you. Now, when you book a consultation call with me, the conversation doesn't have to be that defined and that strategic because you are investing in your product when you book a consultation call with me.
[00:09:17] Azhelle Wade: So I will do the work to dig and find the right questions and ask you the right things to discern whether or not your product idea can work. But if you are reaching out to somebody as a favor, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to help you by devising really specific questions that will actually help you sell this product.
[00:09:38] Azhelle Wade: The next way to seek harsh feedback is to test in real environments. So South Beach Bubbles didn't just ask for opinions, they actually created and tested their product at festivals and events with real consumers to see how families acted.
[00:09:52] Azhelle Wade: Not only that, he's not afraid to show new products to retailers at toy trade shows. So an example story of this was where Ron shared how the toy industry surprised him with its culture of unfiltered feedback.
[00:10:04] Azhelle Wade: So Ron shared that his retailer friends in the toy industry weren't afraid to say things like, just move the logo or what else you got, Ron? Feedback that told him exactly when a product was or wasn't working and would transform their packaging and their product approach. Now, here's an example from my own experience. When I first started Toy Creators Academy, I had a student come in with a great game, but the box footprint was just too big. I think at the time it was something like 20 by 14. It was, it was huge for 20 inches by 14 inches. And we pitched the game. The, toy companies were really interested in it.
[00:10:42] Azhelle Wade: But when we showed the box, because all of the pieces were quite large, when we showed the final box, they said, Oh my gosh, that box is so huge. And I said, yeah, I know, we're going to work on it. And because we got interest, but also some reservation because of the box size, I worked with that student to come up with a way to reduce the size of the components in the box.
[00:11:03] Azhelle Wade: And it actually ended up being a simple exercise of scoring. Scoring is a situation where you essentially do a creased fold on a paper product, scoring a piece of the game board that allowed it to cut in half, which then reduced the package size by, oh my gosh, I would say about, oof, 60%. It went down to like a seven by eight box size, very small.
[00:11:26] Azhelle Wade: When we re-pitched it, we were able to get a lot more interest in the game because the box size itself was realistic and sturdy enough for shelves
[00:11:35] Azhelle Wade: And while the student had been struggling with this box size issue, hearing that feedback from the different toy companies we were pitching to allowed me to zero in on the years and years of, insight and information I had in product development and design and say, okay, whatinformation that I know can I apply to solve this problem right now? I was able to apply the scoring technique, reduce the box size, and ultimately make that product more shelf ready and more marketable.
[00:12:04] Azhelle Wade: So, let's get into a quick example that can help you execute on that lesson. I love to recommend my students, my clients before finalizing their ideas, I want you sharing the prototypes, the idea, concept with someone. If it is a trusted friend that you want to share this idea with, one thing you cannot do is ask them to give their feedback to your face or ask them to give their feedback with their name attached to it.
[00:12:35] Azhelle Wade: So what you want to do instead, if you have no other option than to use friends and family is to use something like Survey Monkey or Google Form to create a questionnaire of sorts about your product. You want to find things out like, do they buy products like this? Have they bought products like this in the past?
[00:12:54] Azhelle Wade: How much have they spent on products like this? What do they think of your product, et cetera, et cetera. You want to make sure that form is anonymous. So if it is people you love, they can be completely honest about what they think about the product and using a form will just allow them to have the capability to do that.
[00:13:09] Azhelle Wade: Additionally, a form makes it easier for you to share with other people that maybe you don't know personally, because you can hop on LinkedIn, you can hop on Facebook and Instagram. You could share it with any following you might've already built for your toy brand. You could share it with any retailers you might've connected with online and get their individual insight onto your product as far as it is currently developed.
[00:13:32] Azhelle Wade: Okay, let's move on to key lesson number three, 'Finding White Space In A Competitive Category'. So let's quickly talk about white space. What is it and why is it the key to standing out in a crowded market? This is another key takeaway from my interview with Ron last week, and it's how identifying white space and a focus on innovating that white space was key to avoiding becoming a commodity item as most simple outdoor bubble toys could be. So what is white space? White space is the gap in the market where a customer's needs aren't being met. It's the untapped potential between what exists and what customers wish existed. In South Beach Bubbles' case, the initial white space they found was creating giant bubbles, no one was doing it. So they created WOWmazing Giant Bubbles, right?
[00:14:23] Azhelle Wade: And when South Beach Bubbles further realized that traditional bubble solutions were just bulky and expensive to ship, they went even further and developed a concentrate, a lightweight portable solution. So later they tackled an even bigger challenge creating stain free disappearing color bubbles, which became the TOTY nominated product PoppinColorz. So, how do you find white space? One, you've got to look for frustrations. Pay attention to customer complaints or pain points. Are parents frustrated by messy bubble solutions? Is the packaging inconvenient for shipping? Two, re imagine the product. Ask, how can I solve this problem in a new way?
[00:15:05] Azhelle Wade: For South Beach Bubbles, that meant ditching bulky bottles that bubbles normally came in and creating a concentrate pouch that was lightweight and easy to ship. But for your brand, what is a problem that parents are currently experiencing, that kids are currently experiencing that you can solve for?
[00:15:24] Azhelle Wade: Third way to find white space, study adjacent markets. So sometimes inspiration comes from outside of your category or even outside of your industry. Ron actually shared that the idea for their bubble concentrate pouch came from yogurt packaging, something completely unrelated to toys.
[00:15:42] Azhelle Wade: I absolutely love when we find inspiration from outside of our industry. I would highly recommend that if you're trying to innovate packaging, let's say in the toy industry, you go check out packaging at the makeup counter, you go check out packaging, at the grocery store and find innovative ways to use that in the toy industry.
[00:16:02] Azhelle Wade: Another great example, from my own experience is, I was working on a brand called wrap and wear. And I remember we were trying to come up with some innovative packaging because we wanted to stand out, against the other hair products in the market at the time. And I just wasn't finding that sparkly inspiration that I wanted, and I say sparkly because it was a sparkle that eventually caught my eye. During a Toy Trend trip, I was walking with my team through Macy's on 34th Street in New York City, and we were passing by the makeup aisle. And at the time, I hadn't, Developed this habit that I have now of looking outside of the toy industry for this inspiration But as we pass the makeup aisle this pink box with this glitter tray caught my eye and I told my team was like "Stop. We need to go look at this, to go look at this tray.", and we get closer to this tray and it is like a glitter tray.
[00:16:58] Azhelle Wade: It's actually a clear vac tray with like a glitter paper just laid over it, but from a distance, it looked like the tray itself was glitter and it looked very high end. And this was a very high end brand. And I thought, "This is it. This is exactly what we're going to bring into our brand." And it was.
[00:17:13] Azhelle Wade: And it did create this high end look for the brand that helped it sell. So definitely go outside of the toy industry if you're looking to innovate something like packaging. But even if you're looking to come up with innovative mechanisms, there might be mechanisms from outside of the toy industry that can help you.
[00:17:30] Azhelle Wade: Another example of finding white space in an industry is if you look at Osmo Educational Toys. So Osmo saw a gap in the market for screen based learning experiences that also had a physical play component, and they created interactive kits that connect with tablets, blending technology with tactile learning.
[00:17:50] Azhelle Wade: So really, whatever category you're in, there is always a white space. You do just have to find it. So how do you apply this? Look at your category and ask what is missing. Is there a problem that you can solve or an experience you can enhance? You want to use tools like Google Trends. Go to googletrends.com or you can conduct your own customer surveys to identify gaps.
[00:18:15] Azhelle Wade: In Toy Creators Academy, I do teach my students to do this. We like to look on amazon.com, look at our competing products and use the review section to identify complaints that customers have or things that customers wish they had in that product. It's a great resource, Amazon. Any review site would be a great resource for that. And again, observe trends in other industries. What is trending in fashion? Let's say that you can borrow and adapt to our category. Another great example, years ago, flip sequins was trending in fashion and very quickly thereafter, there was a toy line of flip sequins, plushy characters.
[00:18:56] Azhelle Wade: So really look at other industries and see what trends you can pull from those.
[00:19:00] Azhelle Wade: So let's move on to key lesson number four, which is 'Just Launch Already'. There is major importance in taking action before your product is perfect. And when the early days South Beach Bubbles started small, Ron said they sold on Amazon, they sold locally, they were testing products at festivals. These grassroots events, Effort to help them refine their ideas and build momentum for their brand. In Ron's interview, he mentioned that they had handmade packaging when they first launched. And further, when Ron worked on his new now TOTY nominated PoppinColorz, they'd been developing the formula for over two years before finally releasing it.
[00:19:41] Azhelle Wade: And when they finally released it, they are still perfecting it, iterating on it. So why launch early? Why do I have to hurry up and just launch already? If you wait until everything is perfect, you run the risk of spending too much time or money on features that your customers just don't care about. You also run the risk that someone else will beat you to that innovation. So instead, start small, learn from real world feedback, and then iterate on your creation.
[00:20:09] Azhelle Wade: So let's just talk about some points for how to launch early. So one, can you create a limited run and sell them at local events or on Etsy or through Kickstarter?
[00:20:19] Azhelle Wade: Next, testing in target markets. So, South Beach Bubbles told us they started by pitching their products to local stores and selling them at festivals. This allowed them to gauge interest of which product was working and which wasn't, to refine their offerings without over committing to inventory.
[00:20:36] Azhelle Wade: Three, accept imperfections. Remember every product evolves. Ron said it best , "If your product is perfect, when it launches, you waited too long to launch.". So I'd love to give you an example from my own experience. When I first launched The Toy Coach, this podcast, my course, Toy Creators Academy, I launched beta versions for all of them.
[00:21:00] Azhelle Wade: The course specifically, it was just the basics. And I used all of the feedback and the development week by week to refine the educational content of the program, to add features that my students wanted, to take away things that they didn't want. If I had waited until everything was perfect, I might have missed the opportunity to connect with hundreds of students because it wouldn't have launched for years.
[00:21:25] Azhelle Wade: Since Toy Creators Academy has first launched in 2020, there have been now four versions of this program. It's been updated continuously. The things that we offer, we didn't used to have monthly coaching calls throughout the year. Now that's something that we have. It's changed so much to match with what my target market wants and needs, and that is what your product can do as well.
[00:21:51] Azhelle Wade: Do not feel like whatever you launch, this is it. This is how it has to stay forever. It can evolve and iterate. And you should be listening to your target market to give them more of what they want. Now, another great example is the company exploding kittens. So they launched their card game on Kickstarter with a prototype and a simple video pitch.
[00:22:12] Azhelle Wade: And the campaign became one of the most funded projects on the Kickstarter platform. They had 219, 000 backers that pledged over $8, 700, 000 to bring that game project to life. That proves that you don't need perfection to succeed, but you need a clear idea and a willingness to test the market and deliver.
[00:22:34] Azhelle Wade: Okay, let's bring this back to you. If you're waiting for your product to be perfect, stop, stop it right now. I want you to start small, sell at local markets, test it on Etsy, launch a Kickstarter campaign or a Backer Kit campaign.
[00:22:49] Azhelle Wade: The feedback that you'll get from real customers is far more valuable than the endless tweaking and perfecting on a product that might never see the light of day.
[00:22:59] Azhelle Wade: So I'd love to give you an example tool that can help you launch now, launch early. I would just recommend Canva. Canva is a super easy graphic design editing tool that anyone can use. I recommend it to my students and clients all the time. It can help you, lay out your entire like Kickstarter website.
[00:23:20] Azhelle Wade: It can help you do some initial packaging design layout. Well, but you will need to hire someone to do the final packaging design files. It can help you figure out some visuals, graphics for your toys and games. So, I would definitely recommend checking out Canva to start bringing some things to life.
[00:23:37] Azhelle Wade: Before we close out today's episode, I'd love to give a shout out to TMama15 who said, "What an amazing show. I've been seeking help and insight on my product for some time. This podcast has given me clear next steps for my prototype." Thank you. You are so very welcome TMama15. I appreciate you for being a listener.
[00:23:56] Azhelle Wade: If you want to be featured in an upcoming episode, please leave a review wherever you're listening. And maybe I'll give you a shout out next week.
[00:24:04] Azhelle Wade: Now, quick recap on what we learned today. Maybe this recap will have you rewinding this episode. Number one, how to get your first big order. You've got to get scrappy. Don't be afraid to talk to those retailers and go show them your product to use feedback, to innovate, embrace unfiltered, hard feedback to perfect your product and make it stand out. Two, find the white space, solve a real problem in your category. Just like South beach bubbles did with the stain free color bubbles.
[00:24:34] Azhelle Wade: Finally, launch and iterate. Don't wait for perfection. Get your product out there and refine as you go.
[00:24:42] Azhelle Wade: So let's talk about your action item this week. This week, I want you to research your category, hop on Amazon, find a competitor product for the category that you're creating a product in, or you're interested in creating a product in . And take a look through those Amazon reviews, see what people have to say about the product, the good and the bad.
[00:25:03] Azhelle Wade: See if you can identify white space or a market gap to enhance an idea that you already have, or to start up a brand new toy business. And please feel free to send me a message when you get it done. I'd be interested to hear your progress.
[00:25:20] Azhelle Wade: You can put it as a story, tag me in the story or send me a DM.
[00:25:23] Azhelle Wade: 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.
[00:25:34] Azhelle Wade: I'll see you later, toy people!
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