Episode #112: How To Get Started In The Toy Industry When You Have ZERO Contacts
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Listener Erika wrote in asking how you can “Make It” in the toy industry when you’re just starting out with ZERO contacts. So, for today’s episode we will dive into 3 networking strategies that will help you jump start your toy network to connect with toy brands and toy people. Networking is best done when you don’t need anything because Networking is essentially lending a helping hand, making another person's day a little brighter or their load a little lighter so that they hold you and your name in high regard. But the hardest part of Networking is just finding the right people to network with! So where do you begin?
In this podcast episode The Toy Coach dives into the top 3 networking strategies that you can start using and implementing TODAY to grow your own toy network. All you need to start doing this work is an honest interest in being a part of the toy industry, getting to know your fellow toy creators and helping in any way you can even if that help utilizes your non-toy skills. To learn how to make the most of your non-toy skills, your unique toy story, and free toy communities online, tap play and listen to this episode.
EPISODE CLIFF NOTES
Find out how one of the students of toy creator's academy first grew her toy network [07:08]
Find out why you might want to wait until you’re a little further along in your toy journey to start networking with networking strategy #1 from today’s episode [10:59]
Swipe a script on exactly what to say when you have unique non-toy skills that you can offer a toy brand when the opportunity arises. [12:54]
Learn about the different toy industry organizations you could join and how you can contribute to these organizations through committees. [13:38]
How to harness the power of your unique toy story to grow your toy network through content creation. [15:23]
The definition of your toy journey [16:43]
How to set yourself up for success even before you start developing your toy or game idea. [18:10]
How to structure your heroic toy story by looking back on your toy journey. [20:30]
Find out where and how to connect with fellow toy creators like yourself online for free [27:20]
A list of free online communities for toy creators on Linked in and Facebook for toy makers, inventors, entrepreneurs, and corporate toy people [31:22]
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[00:00:00] Azhelle Wade: You are listening to making it in the toy industry episode number 112.
[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. Today, we are going to talk about a topic that was suggested by a listener of the podcast, Erika Deery of milliebooks.com. Make sure you give her some love if you enjoy this episode. So Erica asked this question, how would you recommend someone get started in the toy industry when they have zero contacts? Something I've always noticed is that some people on your show already have a network or have connections in the industry, either toy or TV, but how about if you're starting from no connections and not working in the industry at all?
[00:01:11] Fantastic question and that's why in this episode, we are going to cover how to get started in the industry when you have zero contacts or no contacts at all. But I also want to give a call back to a few of our episodes that do feature toy people who weren't toy people when they started launching their toy products. So I want you to head over to thetoycoach.com/112 to grab a link to our Kickstarter episode category. Now out of these five episodes that we currently have in this category, four of them are from people who didn't start off in the toy industry. They built their way in on their own. So I want you to check that link out after listening to this episode. Okay. Let's get down to the business of starting out when you have zero contacts in the toy industry.
[00:02:08] By the end of today's episode, you will know the most important thing you need to focus on when you are just starting out in the toy industry and you have zero contacts plus where to get started with it all. We're going to get into a lot of the what, why, how, where and who all of the tips from today's episode apply to. If you've listened to an episode of this podcast before then, you know, that we like to address all toy creators from toy makers, toy inventors, toy entrepreneurs, to corporate toy people. So you might be wondering how are we going to do all that? What one thing could apply to every category of toy person? Well, it should be no surprise to you that my answer to this question, in a nutshell, how to start out in the toy industry with zero contacts is to network. But how do you network is what we're really going to focus on today?
[00:03:09] So for today's episode, let's talk about three different networking strategies that you can implement and which one you'll use will likely vary depending on where you're currently at in your toy journey and where you want to be. You ready? Let's dive in. Now the first example for a networking strategy is one that I utilize to my surprise by accident. And the first networking strategy is to network using your non toy skills. What? I know as you might be thinking a shell, I'm trying to network in the toy industry, I'm trying to grow my toy contacts and my toy authority. What kind of sense does it make for me to network utilizing my non toy skill? Well, let me tell you something. I've worked in the toy industry since 2010, and I've always had my hand in design and product development and a little bit of brand management.
[00:04:16] Since I worked for companies like Toys R Us and Creative Kids that sold to mass retailers. I would work on upwards of 50 products, a season, and that's everything from sketching ideas, building BOM's or bill of materials, requesting pricing, testing samples, traveling overseas the whole nine. But what built my toy network up faster than my 11 plus years of developing products was when I started connecting with toy people and talking about things outside of the toy industry. Weird right? Well, I mean, I guess it makes sense that everyone in the toy industry, whether they are aspiring entrepreneurs or big companies already selling to target or toy organizations like Women in Toys, Who they are. They enjoy learning non toy things from toy people, because as toy people, we have a toy perspective on these non toy things.
[00:05:24] A great example of what non toy thing Azhelle might be talking about is a recent podcast episode I had on Zapier. So this podcast episode. All about Zapier is not something you likely expected to hear on the toy coach podcast. But this episode, all about Zapier really helped some fellow toy people that were looking for ways to automate and connect their different shops online, where they sell their toy products. And because us as toy people can be so hyper-focused on the toy industry. Sometimes we don't focus as much on things outside of the industry, and it's hard to get information about different marketing techniques or automation techniques. So people are very open to hearing from those that can share insights from outside of the toy industry that we as corporate toy people, toy entrepreneurs or toy inventors can apply to our toy businesses to make them run better, smoother, or become more profitable.
[00:06:40] So the episode I'm referencing about Zapier is episode number 108. If you want to listen to it, it's at thetoycoach.com/108. Let's keep going. So all of this means if you are a toy inventor or a toy entrepreneur who comes from another industry, you can utilize your non toy skills to jumpstart your toy network. How would you do that? One of the students of toy creator's academy, who is an incredible inventor of baby and infant product. First grew her toy network by joining a toy organization that she could benefit with her experience as a lawyer, because she could join a committee within that organization and offer insights and perspective that most of the other committee members didn't have. I remember meeting with that student and saying, oh, you definitely should get involved with this organization. They are going to love you and your background.
[00:07:45] Now, if you're curious about how to become a student of mine, head over to toycreatorsacademy.com as soon as possible, because at the time of this recording, we are less than a month away from opening enrollment for the next group of toy creators academy students. Okay. Let's get into who this networking strategy is good for and why. Remember, we're talking about utilizing your non toy skills to grow your toy network. That's our strategy number one. If you are a toy maker, a toy inventor or entrepreneur who wants to get involved in the toy industry, or if you're hoping to work corporate, this networking strategy is great for you. Why? Because it's an opportunity for you to give unique value to someone in the toy industry or an organization in the toy industry and value that may be uncommon in that specific organization or group that you may join or company you might assist.
[00:08:48] So let's say you've got a knack for copywriting. You could join a toy industry organization, and offer to help with writing their onboarding emails for their members. Let's say you're a fan of making memes or identifying Tik TOK trends. You can offer your ideas or knowledge to some of the toy brands that you follow that you think might benefit from it. You also might decide to offer your services to speak at events or to help with social media. I'll tell you the combination of your unique skill and your being a knowledgeable toy person is gold in the toy industry, because it can be so hard for companies to find help in areas like social media or IP protection and even modern toy marketing from people that truly get what it is to be a toy person, what it is to work in the toy industry. That combination is gold.
[00:09:52] And it matters a great deal to us in the toy industry that the people that we work with in our toy businesses really get this industry or really want to get this industry. So I'm telling you your unique, non toy skills combined with a love and knowledge for this industry can do wonders to grow your toy network. Now let's get into when to use this strategy. This networking strategy is best used when you are either just starting out or in the middle of your toy journey, because it's heavily weighted on giving without expecting to get anything in return. As always it's best to start networking when you really don't need something. So that's why, when you're just starting out, maybe you're just starting out your toy career. You're just starting out building your toy idea. It's a great time to network in this way, but if you wait a little bit, typically early on in your toy journey is when you'll have the most free time available to be able to offer that help.
[00:11:02] But on the other hand, if you wait until you're a little bit further along in your toy journey, then you'll be able to offer more seasoned help, which would honestly be even more appreciated. Okay. Let's keep going. Where to apply this networking strategy is definitely the hardest part. You don't want to start just, DM-ing a bunch of random toy industry executives saying, Hey, I'm really good at marketing believe me, here's a few ideas for me. Instead you've got to authentically engage with the brands that really align with your personality and your goals. Why? Because you're going to follow those brands. You're going to read the posts that they put up. You're going to engage with them until you actually see the ideal opportunity to start a conversation or to offer your unique skills or to join their organization or community.
[00:11:57] So that opportunity to offer your skills or join the organization might be after they post that they need help in social media and maybe are looking for a copywriter, looking for someone to come up with ideas for funny posts. Or they might post about a toy industry organization that they are a part of and how happy they are to be working with them. Or they might be talking about an award they just won, or you might even find yourself in a conversation with a leader at a toy brand that you follow and respect. And they could mention how challenging it is to find someone to work customer service who really gets and understands their toy brand. So you've got to be ready for these opportunities ready to offer a helping hand backed by years of experience in whatever non toy industry skills you have that their current needs aligned with.
[00:12:55] Now, you might say something like, you know, I've been a marketer for five years and I absolutely love your brand I bet I have a few ideas that could help. And what's great about this strategy is you don't have to start working for a company full time in order to establish a positive relationship with them. Once they are solicited, you can offer those ideas and suggestions and help them. And just by helping a brand that you are fan of, you will raise your authority and value in their eyes, which is exactly what we want. So let's get into an example of organizations you could join to do something like this. You could join an organization like women and toys. You could join the toy association and you could even join Astra. Now, every organization in the toy industry has different requirements.
[00:13:51] Some are very open, you know, you just have to be interested in the industry. Others require that you work in the industry, but all of these organizations have committees that you can join. And these committees are usually volunteer positions that in which you will help work to further the organization and the work that they do in the industry. And you don't have to be a toy expert to join these committees. But it would be very beneficial for you to have non toy skills that you could apply to these committees. So for example, you might find an organization has a marketing committee, which is dedicated to connecting with new members or engaging with current members. And your job could be to come up with ideas and how to do just that.
[00:14:42] You might also find that an organization has a committee that is dedicated to diversity and inclusion within the toy industry and your job could be coming up with ideas or helping implement some of those initiatives. And joining a committee is just such a fun and easy way to start growing your toy network because all of the people that you see on these committees, you will meet with on a regular basis, either weekly or biweekly, and you'll work together toward a common goal. And through that process just naturally build rapport and a relationship, which is essentially building your toy network. Now let's get into our second networking strategy to build your toy network. You can also build content with your toy story.
[00:15:38] Okay. So we all know that content is king, right. But did you know that your toy journey could be utilized as a tool to increase your toy network through content creation. Now more than ever media outlets and organizations in every industry, not just the toy industry, but every industry are seeking out interesting, good, unique click worthy content to feature on their podcasts, blogs, websites, newsletters, and social channels. Your unique toy journey could be crafted into an engaging piece of content that a toy industry, publication or organization might love to feature. If you are still thinking about developing a toy idea and you haven't started the process yet, then you should definitely add content creation to the top of your marketing plan. Because your toy journey, which is just the process of making your toy idea real could make for a really, really engaging heroic toy journey story for an industry magazine or publication to feature.
[00:17:08] So make sure you're getting in your practice on telling your story and make sure you are recording the process and the steps that you're taking to break into the industry bit by bit. This strategy is great for you to think about if you're just starting out, but it's best to actually implement once you are just about to launch your product or your service. Because once you launch the strategy, that's when you'll start to get the media coverage, the stories written about you and you'll get many more eyeballs on you. So you would love the ideal would be for you to reserve actually implementing that strategy until you have your product or service ready to sell. Now what if you are listening to this episode and you are just thinking like, Azhelle this is way too advanced for me, I am nowhere near ready. I just have an idea. I barely have an idea. That's okay.
[00:18:09] If you were just starting out, maybe you have an idea, but you haven't quite figured out how to manufacture it get. And you haven't started documenting your journey yet. You can still set yourself up for future success by building out a list of media publications, that one day you want your toy story to be featured on. And if you take it a little bit further, you can start reading these media publications. To see what they write about other toy creators that they might feature in their newsletter or feature on their website. What makes for a compelling story on these sites. So that research will have you thinking, as you go through your entire toy journey, what's important for you to write down or reference as you're getting ready to be featured to launch your product.
[00:19:04] Now, if you've already launched a product or you're just about to launch one and you're like, oh, Michelle, I'm already there. I don't have a toy story. I don't have a heroic toy journey story. I need one. Where do I start? Well, first, we've got to talk about what is your toy story? Essentially your toy story is who you are, why you've created the brand you've created, what you have accomplished so far, what you intend to accomplish and why now is really the perfect time for the brand that you've created. That toy story would be what you pitch to toy and kids, product media sites to gain coverage for your product. Once you have that coverage, share it as much as you possibly can with others inside of the toy industry. Ideally within communities that you are a part of and if you're not sure what communities to join, we're gonna address that in the final networking strategy so stick around.
[00:20:11] Now, you might be wondering where should you use this strategy? Anywhere that you have read an article about a mom or a dad launching a toy product or a small company launching a toy product. That is where you were going to implement the use of this strategy. That is where you're going to pitch your toy story in attempts to get a feature. Now, let's talk about how to use this strategy before you can offer up your toy journey or your toy story as a powerful content piece, you're going to have to write one and you can easily do this in three parts. And even if you are someone who just has an idea and you haven't gone through the process of developing it yet, I want you to listen to these steps because as you're going through your toy journey, which has not yet begun, you can keep these steps in mind and you can write these things down as they happen instead of having to look back to figure them out after the fact.
[00:21:14] Okay. So let's figure out our toy journey right now. I want you to take out a piece of paper and draw two vertical lines to create three columns. We're going to label these three columns differently. The left column will be toy dream. The middle column will be taking action and the final column will be toy success. Now, underneath each of those columns, you want to add bullet points. What kind of bullet points? We're getting into that next. Starting with a toy dream column, you would want to bullet point your dream for the industry and the fears and worries you had about maybe not being able to make your dream happen. You would also even want to include some of the setbacks you had some of the struggles you had to make this dream happen. For example, you might say. I had an idea for a steam doll, but I had no idea where to get started. You might also bullet point. I've had ideas stolen in the past. So I was worried if I put this out there, it would get stolen as well. You could also in this area, write something like I just had mortgaged my house. I had absolutely no money to make this idea real.
[00:22:37] Now in the middle column, undertaking action you're going to add in some bullet points there as well. Here is where you add in bullet points of the actions you took toward achieving your toy dream. So here is where you're going to list the actions you actually took. I want you to think back to the moves that you made when you didn't exactly know what you were doing, the nervous steps forward the times when you felt like you weren't doing things right, but at least you were doing them. So an example here would be, you know, I contacted a toy designer and started working on developing my idea. Or I discovered the making it in the toy industry podcast. And I heard an episode all about how you can develop an idea with a factory overseas. Or you might even write something in like, I took a leap and opened a mold for my action figure line, even though it was a huge cost. Or you might say, I discovered the coaching and connections program toy creators academy. And even though I had a full-time job, I worked nights to make time to be an active member of that program.
[00:23:53] Okay, let's move on to the final column where we have toy success. This is where you're going to bullet point your big wins. The wins that gave you that feeling of vindication, that feeling of success and pride, like you've made it. So for example, your first bullet point could be, you know, I received my first production run samples and secured a meeting with a retailer who after seeing my samples agreed to test my product in their stores. So now my product has retail placement. The purpose of this three column exercise is for you to identify where you were, what your struggles were, the actions that you took and then at the end, the success you saw from those actions. All together, those are your toy story, and that is going to help you build a compelling content piece that a media outlet would be interested in picking up.
[00:24:55] If you're wondering, how do I even go about developing my toy idea or my toy story? Well, I would love if he did that with my help inside of toy creators academy. Which is a group coaching and connections program that will guide you into making your two ideas are real thing. So if you want to learn more, you can head over to toycreatorsacademy.com. Okay. Let's get into the final networking technic that we need to talk about today, which is connecting with fellow creators like yourself in free online communities. Now the final way that I want to talk about today to grow your toy network when you have zero contacts in the industry is to make an effort to connect with fellow toy creators like yourself. While connecting with fellow toy creators, you might think, but Azhelle, I want to connect to people in the toy industry.
[00:25:51] This is a great first step and honestly, these relationships are going to be the stronger relationship that stand the test of time throughout your toy journey. One of my listeners, Jeff Lawber joined the Facebook group that supports this podcast and there he met Allen, a fellow toy creator, who he was able to start working with to develop the next generation of his product Marmals. Now that relationship flourished because of communication that happened inside this Facebook community, a free community designed for up and coming toy creators to connect, ask each other questions and give each other advice. So this strategy for connecting with fellow toy creators in free online communities is ideal for anyone looking to break into the toy industry, whether it's corporate invention or entrepreneurship paths.
[00:26:48] And the best time to use this networking strategy is when you're feeling a little bit isolated. If it's because you just started in this toy industry and you don't know anyone, that's a great time to use it, but if it's just because of COVID and you haven't been able to travel or connect with fellow toy creators, another great time to utilize this strategy. The more information you can gather early on in your toy journey and the more connections that you can make and more connected, you can stay to what's going on in the toy industry right now, the more time and money you will save throughout your development process and the better decisions that you're going to be able to make about, you know, what manufacturers to go with, what companies to work for, etc.
[00:27:38] So let's talk about where, where do you use this strategy? How do you use this strategy? Well, to connect with fellow toy creators, you just need to search for free communities online. There are a ton of toy communities on Facebook for aspiring toy people, but of course, I'm going to recommend you join the one that fills with listeners of this podcast. And to join, you can head over to thetoycoach.com/fb. But additionally, there are other public groups on Facebook for toy people. There are also public groups on linked in for aspiring toy creator. And threads that you can follow on Reddit. While these networks may not give you the direct contacts in the toy industry. That might be your initial goal. They are a great way to meet people who have done what you're trying to do.
[00:28:31] Other creators who have launched a toy business or broken into a career in the toy industry. Connecting with these like-minded toy people. You can avoid common pitfalls. If you ask the right questions about whatever topic it is that you're interested in, whether that's where to find the best manufacturing insurance, or to inquire about the interview process at toy companies. Plus the benefit of these communities is that because they are filled usually with more beginners and newbies, they're also more willing to help newbies just starting out. Let's talk about how to use the strategy the right way. When you join these communities online, I want you to introduce yourself. The worst thing you can do is join a community, you know, not turn on notifications and just say, oh, this community isn't working for me. That's not the attitude I want you to have. These communities online are only going to work for you as much as you work for them. You're going to get back what you put in.
[00:29:39] So as soon as you join an online community, whether it's mine or whether it's another one, introduce yourself, ideally, the owner of the community will welcome you in when you join. I love welcoming in new members of my own Facebook community, but even if they don't, toss up a photo of yourself and say, hello, I'm happy to be a part of this group. These are my toy goals. I'm looking to get to know more of you and ask a question, ask other people what toy things they're working on. This will allow people to see you, get to know you for a connection. And ultimately the goal is that you will be able to ask for help when you need it later on. Additionally engage with the posts that you see inside these groups. If you ever posted something to one of these online Facebook communities with, for toy creators and you haven't gotten a response, I bet it's because you are not giving responses.
[00:30:39] I can't tell you how important it is to comment back to the posts that others share in these groups if you really, really, really want to form meaningful relationships, even if you're just saying thank you for the tip or congratulations on launching your product. It looks cute. Those responses can easily strike up a relationship where the other person is also going to pay attention to your posts and offer help whenever they can. And these posts conversations can easily move to a DM or direct message conversation, which then could turn to a zoom meeting or a phone call or an in-person meeting, which is ideally what we want here to grow that toy network. And while you might be saying, oh yes, Azhelle, but I don't want to get to know newbies. I really want to work on increasing my contacts at toy retailers and target. And I want to connect with Hasbro. I just want to remind you baby steps toy person.
[00:31:41] Now I gave you a quick overview of some group names that you can join, of course you are always welcome to join the toy coach podcast, making it in the toy industry facebook group, we would love to have you there. But additionally, on Facebook group, there is a pretty fun toy people Facebook group that you might want to join. And then if we move over to LinkedIn, there is also a toy people group on LinkedIn that you might want to join and a toy game and play innovator group that you might want to join. If you're more into the corporate toy world, you might be looking at the toy and entertainment jobs. So there are a ton of groups that you can join and you can start by posting and sharing, you know, a little bit about yourself, start get the conversation going, but you can also just reply to posts that have already been posted by others to start genuine conversations, meaningful relationships with these people.
[00:32:43] Before I jump into my summary of today's episode, I want to take a quick break and give a shout out to Annette Smith of Mrs. Annie's books. Thank you so much for joining the Facebook group recently Annette, it's been a pleasure seeing your posts and the conversations that you start in there. You, my friend are doing the true work to start building up your toy network. And I just want to let you know that you are seen and appreciated in the community. Okay, let's do a quick recap of what we learned today. Three ways to grow your toy network. Number one, utilize your non toy skills. Ideally utilize them in committees within toy industry organizations, you will meet people and grow your toy network while helping further an organization within the toy industry. And you'll be getting to use your area of expertise while learning things about the toy industry.
[00:33:45] Networking strategy number two, that we learned content creation with your toy story. So we learned the importance of knowing your toy story, writing it down and utilizing that toy story to get media coverage. But we're not looking at this as just media coverage, but we're looking at it as toy industry publications, media publications in the toy entertainment and kids industry. All need content. You my friend can offer them some valuable content that they can report on. So give them a good story. We even broke down how to figure out your toy story if you want to know how we did that, just relisten to that part of this podcast episode. And third, and finally the last networking strategy we covered today, connect with fellow toy creators like yourself in free communities online. Not to be overlooked. You know, don't overlook the power of building yourself a new community. So get out there, join the Facebook groups or the LinkedIn groups that speak to you and try to build some meaningful connections with your fellow toy creators. You'd be surprised at what you can do when you come together.
[00:35:02] So here's your action item to do before we meet again next week. I want you to join a toy community online. Obviously I'd love you to join mine thetoycoach.com/FB. I want you to join any community. I just want you to take that action to start building your toy network organically with people that might be at the same level as you are. So join a community and introduce yourself as a two-part homework assignment. I don't care if you think not everybody's doing it. If it looks like no one else has introduced themselves, you haven't seen that when you scroll back to the post, I want you to join a committee and introduce yourself. If you don't know what to say, when you introduce yourself, here's a quick script just say who you are, why you're there and share what you hope to achieve while being a part of that group. Okay. 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 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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